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.

Stephen Timewell reports on FT Business’s seminar on new opportunities in Bahrain as it develops its Islamic banking sector and regulatory powers.

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.

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.

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.

A survey by Booz Allen Hamilton shows that, in much of western Europe, the branch is still customers’ preferred interface with their banks. Ironically, it is often in the regions where the branch is most popular that customers are the most dissatisfied with service. And even more worryingly a second survey by Finalta shows that bank are making poor use of this communication channel. Stephen Timewell digests the data.

Evidence is accumulating to show that microcredit can be a profitable business for commercial banks. Stephen Timewell reports on progress in the International Year of Microfinance.