Not satisfied with being the number one bank in the Middle East, Qatar National Bank is looking further afield as it seeks higher growth opportunities outside Qatar. Its acting group chief executive speaks to James King.

With the UK, Luxembourg, Hong Kong and South Africa all preparing to issue, the popularity of sukuk is going global. And though each is likely to be limited in size, they will bring with them greater international awareness of sharia-compliant financing options.

Growth may be buoyant but that by no means makes managing the Qatari economy an easy task. Central bank governor Sheikh Abdulla Bin Saoud Al-Thani describes the steps that he has taken to make sure that such growth is sustained in the medium and long term.

Observers are already predicting that 2014 will be a record-breaking year for sukuk issuance. While the majority of deals are currently coming out of Malaysia, CIMB Islamic's CEO believes that developments in the pipeline will see the asset class grow its international presence.

Qatar's gross domestic product growth may be envied by much of the rest of the world, but the country's finance minister is not blinkered by the country's current economic success. As he explains to The Banker, the need to diversify the hydrocarbon-reliant economy is great, which is why he has just announced a record-breaking budget to this end.

As the Qatari economy has contracted in recent years, the country's banks have developed their own niches in order to remain profitable in what has become an increasingly competitive market.

Bahrain'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.