Sheikh Hamad Al-Sayari, governor of the Saudi Arabia Monetary Agency, talks to Stephen Timewell about banking challenges, rising inflation, and planned currency union with the GCC states.
Latest articles from Stephen Timewell
Non-stop wealth
April 7, 2008A boom in non-oil wealth looks set to accompany the continuing oil boom as huge projects get under way and economic reform continues, writes Stephen Timewell.
R Shanx Ravisankar
March 4, 2008India’s i-flex Solutions has grown into a market leader in the financial services industry since its launch in 1992. Founder R Shanx Ravisankar tells Stephen Timewell of the challenges that lie ahead for the software provider acquired by Oracle in 2005.
Virtual concept to critical mass
March 4, 2008Islamic finance is growing fast in the Gulf region as banks look for new growth opportunities, but it is also making inroads into non-Muslim markets, writes Stephen Timewell.
Looking beyond China
March 4, 2008China Construction Bank is the third largest bank in China and the 14th largest in the world. Stephen Timewell talks to chairman Guo Shuqing about his overseas ambitions and strategy.
Selective expansion
February 4, 2008Xiao Gang, chairman of Bank of China, talks to Stephen Timewell about the bank’s domestic and international strategy for the coming year.
Timely wisdom from an enduring master
January 2, 2008Bill Rhodes, chairman of Citibank and winner of The Banker’s Lifetime Achievement Award talks to Stephen Timewell about his 50-year career, offering insights on the Latin American debt crises of the 1980s through the end of communism and expansion eastwards, to the present day rise of protectionism.
HSBC plays waiting game on KEB deal
January 2, 2008The acquisition by international giant HSBC of the Korea Exchange Bank would benefit both parties, but is politically sensitive. Stephen Timewell reports.
Global shift as China looks overseas
December 1, 2007China is beginning a march abroad with banks aiming to imitate the international prominence of the country’s manufacturing industry. Stephen Timewell reports.
Gulf’s New Energy
November 5, 2007Finance is taking over from oil as the fuel that drives the engine of economic growth in the Gulf region, reports Stephen Timewell.