Boom time in the Middle East does not translate into an easy ride for fund managers, says Nick Kochan.

The Middle East private equity industry doubled in size in 2005, as more Gulf investors woke up to the potential for 25% annual returns.

Morgan Stanley’s managing director in the UAE, Georges Makhoul, tells Richard Dean how the bank has thrived since it opened for business in Dubai last year.

A sharp correction in UAE stock markets is unlikely to deal a fatal blow to Dubai’s ambitions as a financial centre.

UAE banks should see earnings rise in 2006 but the gravy train of triple-digit profit growth built on absurdly oversubscribed flotations appears to be ending. Richard Dean reports from Dubai.

National Bank of Abu Dhabi
Michael H Tomalin, CEO

Will the new Dubai International Financial Exchange fulfil the vision of its creators to become hub for the region? Omar bin Sulaiman, director general of the Dubai International Financial Centre, talks to Stephen Timewell.
The Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX), which was due to open on September 26, is an ambitious attempt to become the leading exchange between west Europe and east Asia.

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) issued its first three licences on September 20, marking the launch of a free zone that Dubai officials hope will catapult their city into the major league of global financial hubs.

His Excellency Sultan bin Nasser al Suwaidi, governor of the central bank of the UAE, tells Nick Kochan that the fight against money laundering is not new.

Nick Kochan finds Dubai and Bahrain are competing hard for the region’s growing business opportunities.
The announcement in April of a new federal law governing Dubai’s embryonic financial centre heralds a battle royal between the Gulf states of Dubai and Bahrain. Dubai is the upstart in the imminent struggle, while Bahrain is more established but there can be no doubting Dubai’s enthusiasm, ambition and ‘can-do’ approach.