Foreign banks are finding that the lure of Iran’s large population, oil-rich heritage and privatisation opportunities may outweigh the risks, writes Karina Robinson from Tehran.

Karina Robinson talks to Iran’s central bank governor Ebrahim Sheibany, about inflation, privatisation and the UN’s freezing of Iranian assets.

Lower oil prices have not dried out the huge liquidity available to most Middle East banks, which have continued to produce booming profits and strong growth in the region, especially in the Gulf. As a result, the number of banks from the Middle East region in the 2007 Top 1000 has increased from 83 last year to 94.

In an oversaturated commodities market, Renaissance Capital is branching out into Africa. Ben Aris reports.

China provides an example of growth-driven modernisation that Africans can aspire to, writes Kevin Godier.

Sharia-compliant investing and structured products are two of the largest and highest margin growth areas for investment banks. Both are born out of specialist structuring teams, rich with fiscal and regulatory experts, so it is almost inevitable that compliant structured products are fast becoming voguish. Natasha de Terán explores the market.

Bahrain’s regional dominance of financial services is being challenged by neighbours setting up their own shops. Stephen Timewell, in Manama, assesses the kingdom’s prospects.

Saudi Arabia seems to be entering a new golden age, with barriers to the financial sector being lowered and project finance booming. Stephen Timewell reports from Riyadh and Jeddah.

Unbanked and underbanked populations of the world are in the sights of companies developing mobile-based banking services. Wendy Atkins reports on the latest services to be launched.

Islamic-compliant insurance – takaful – is finally getting off the mark, with Moody’s predicting a global market worth $7bn by 2015. Farhan Bokhari, in Karachi, reports.