The Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority’s new chairman tells Stephen Timewell how the centre is establishing a one-country, two-system environment.

Qatar’s financial centre is based on a very different model to others in the Gulf, and is designed to attract big business, as Stephen Timewell explains.

Estimates suggest that the total value of investment project opportunities in Qatar in the 2004-2010 period across all sectors, from LNG to education and research to hotels, is around $110bn. And around $33bn of these are described as “open projects” which still have financing needs and are available to external investors.

Qatar is fostering a project finance partnership with the international finance community via establishment of the Qatar Financial Centre and the approval of new laws. Stephen Timewell reports from Doha.

Activity has increased in capital markets since the Capital Market Authority was set up last year. International investment banks are now lining up for a piece of the action. Stephen Timewell reports from Riyadh.

Stephen Timewell looks behind the booming profits in the Saudi banking sector at the factors that are driving growth and the new product lines that are beginning to come onto the market.

Samba managing director and CEO Eisa Al-Eisa has steered the bank into a strong position since the departure of Citigroup.

Hamad al-Sayari , governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, discusses Saudi Arabia’s booming economy with Stephen Timewell in Riyadh.

Another bumper year for the Saudi economy in 2004 included dynamic growth in non-oil private sectors, such as telecoms. And banks are beginning to benefit from growing capital markets activity, as Stephen Timewell reports from Riyadh.

Qatar, the world’s fastest-growing economy, has announced plans to establish a new financial centre based on a different model to other regional financial centres in neighbouring Bahrain and Dubai.