Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat, has weathered economic and political uncertainty both at home and throughout the wider Middle Eastern region, and is now back on a path to growth, with its aviation holdings being at the forefront of this turnaround.
Middle East
Latest articles from Bahrain
Bahrain’s banking sector rises to domestic challenges
May 1, 2014Bahrain's central bank has steered the country's banking sector through a period of economic and political turbulence. With strong fundamentals and ample growth prospects, particularly in the Islamic finance segment, the country's lenders are now in a good position, but their future growth still hinges on the country maintaining social stability.
Islamic finance in 2013: beyond the growth
March 1, 2013Year upon year, the Islamic finance industry posts stellar growth figures. However, as large Western lenders withdraw from the sector, is Islamic finance in as healthy a shape as the figures suggest? The Banker asks a number of experts in the field what the future holds for sharia-compliant banking.
The struggle to find the right Islamic banking model
November 7, 2012The steady growth of sharia-compliant assets suggests banks believe in the future of the sector, but the dismantling of the largest cross-border Islamic window raises questions about whether global banking groups can make a success of the business.
The Gulf's three-way asset management traffic
October 1, 2012The financial centres of Bahrain, Dubai and Qatar dominate the Gulf's economic sphere and despite some major regulatory changes, the region as a whole is becoming more attractive to international asset managers in search of investable wealth.
Top Arab banks ranking, 2012
October 1, 2012Arab banks offset the turmoil of the Arab Spring and offered a robust performance in 2011 with impressive growth across the key financial indicators. And with minimal exposure to the eurozone crisis, the region's banks are expected to continue their recovery from the global financial crisis.
Rebuilding Bahrain's reputation
September 1, 2011In light of its ongoing political turmoil, many industry players have been quick to sound the death knell for Bahrain's status as the Middle East's financial hub but the country still holds many competitive advantages over its rivals.
Bahrain Financial Exchange targets sharia business
December 23, 2010Island kingdom Bahrain has opened a new Islamic exchange house and is launching innovative products to the market, such as an electronic trading platform, in an attempt to capture a bigger share of sharia-compliant assets. Writer Hafsa Kara
A tale of two centres
November 24, 2010From Hong Kong to London, established global financial centres are looking to reinvent themselves as Islamic finance hubs and capture a slice of a fast-growing and still largely untapped market.
Battling the odds
March 3, 2010Bahrain has had to deal with its fair share of problems on the back of the global economic downturn, but a sound regulatory and supervisory structure and deft handling of the crisis by the central bank has ensured it will emerge as a stronger, more confident nation as a result. Writer Charlie Corbett