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The recent announcement of the creation of the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh has focused attention on Saudi Arabia’s financial sector. At Euromoney Conferences’ recent Saudi Arabia event, Hamad Al-Sayari, governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, noted that the opportunities for further growth in that sector are significant

Abu Dhabi’s regulator evolves strategy for trying times

Though the nuclear standoff makes the headlines internationally, other policy battles are also having an impact on Iran’s economic growth

Malaysia’s position as a leading Islamic finance centre is under threat from skills shortages and governance concerns

Bahrain Monetary Agency governor Rasheed Al-Maraj brushes off competition from the GCC region’s up-and-coming financial centres: Manama – with 360-plus banks in place – “is in an advantageous position – it’s not new to this business,” he tells Emerging markets. The BMA’s reputation as a solid regulator has long been one of Bahrain’s unique selling points but, Al-Maraj says, “It’s not the number of regulations you have, it’s the standard of the people behind it, and Bahrain has very good people.”

Gulf capital is pouring into Africa at an unprecedented rate – will it spur the continent’s regeneration?

The Gulf’s most famous investor, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal – grandson of Saudi Arabia’s founder King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, and listed by Forbes as the world’s eighth richest person – has turned his Midas gaze on Africa. Having invested in some of the biggest global players – as white knight to Citigroup, and then buying into Boeing, Disneyland Paris, McDonald’s, Apple Computers, News Corp, Procter & Gamble and a number of top hotel chains – Prince Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding Company has emerged as one of the leading investors in the African continent.

Islamic hedge funds could be the next big thing. The problem is creating the right structures

Rising crude prices are pushing the global economy to the edge

The IDB has a strategy to transform the economies of the Muslim world

Manama has long been the Gulf’s traditional financial centre but is now under pressure from fast-growing Dubai and emerging players such as Qatar

Developments in Qatar are changing the way banks think about project finance. Risk attitudes have been rethought as banks adjust their capacity to accommodate the financial needs of an economy that has sought to build one of the world’s largest energy production and export facilities in barely a decade. When Qatar decided in the mid-1990s to press ahead with the exploitation of its vast gas reserves, budgets were tight. As a modest oil producer, it had to keep a careful eye on affordability as it worked to develop its position in an industry that demands hefty up-front capital investment. The answer was to look offshore.