Lebanon's economy has been underperforming in recent years, hit by political uncertainty and fears over the conflict in Syria. However, an injection of finance from a group of international donors, combined with excitement over oil and gas discoveries, provide some cause for optimism. James King reports.

Lebanese banks have weathered punishing conditions, including a tough new tax regime. Technological innovations continue to drive progress, but as James King reports, structural economic flaws must be addressed if they are to continue to thrive. 

Khalid Al Rumaihi, chief executive of Bahrain’s Economic Development Board, talks to James King about moving the country's economy away from oil, leveraging its financial hub credentials to attract fintechs and how Amazon gave it a vote of confidence by locating its first regional data centre there.

The United Arab Emirates is hoping to build on its growing reputation as a business hub with a law designed to boost its credentials as a regional centre for arbitration, an increasingly popular method of dispute resolution. Kit Gillet reports.

Saudi Arabia’s economy is changing as taxes on expat workers fuel an exodus, while the relaxation of driving rules is giving women more employment opportunities. Together with developing sectors such as entertainment and home ownership, this is providing local banks with plenty of opportunities, as James King reports.

Saudi Arabia is undergoing vast social and economic reforms, aimed at reducing its dependence on oil, providing employment for women and the young, and emerging as a regional capital markets hub. James King looks at the progress being made so far.

A key component of Saudi Arabia's wide-ranging reforms include modernising the economy, and the Capital Market Authority, led by Mohammed El-Kuwaiz, is in the forefront of driving this change. James King reports.

As Saudi Arabia pushes on with reforms designed to make it a regional investment powerhouse, Ibrahim AlOmar, governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, talks to James King about the part the licensing body will play. 

While a global deal to cut oil production has helped to rebalance the market, Kuwait, along with other oil-reliant countries, must now look to what happens when the deal ends. Kit Gillet reports.

Dr Meshaal Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah, director-general of the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority, discusses the country’s plans to cut bureaucracy and its ambitions to be a regional business hub.