Bahrain

A number of new credit facilities announced by Gulf central banks should boost liquidity in the sukuk market, and are a sign of the Islamic banking sector's increasing maturity. Given... 2008-06-10

Recent technical signals indicate that the Gulf sukuk market is starting to recover from the recent bout of global risk aversion, as in recent months the price of the Dubai Global... 2008-06-03

While global equity markets have experienced something of a short-term bounce in the last few days, markets in the Middle East have recovered strongly from the region-wide correction... 2008-02-19

With the US Federal Reserve cutting rates by 25bps to 4.25% yesterday we examine the implications of the move on the Middle East region.

The speed at which the Kuwaiti monetary authorities have chosen to revalue again (just two weeks after the last upwards move), and the magnitude (1.7% compared with previous revaluations... 2007-07-25

In a recent presentation attended by BMI, Bahrain's Minister of Public Works and Housing, Fahmi bin Ali al-Jawdar, outlined government plans to enhance private sector involvement... 2007-02-01

BMI View : We believe that a GCC currency union will take place in either 2010, or potentially 2012. However we have reservations about the long-term sustainability of a single... 2007-01-18

Oman's decision to opt out of monetary union is significant, not so much in the act itself, but in the comments it drew from GCC finance ministers, particularly the Saudi minister,... 2006-12-13

The insurance industry across the Middle East is growing rapidly, with various estimates projecting annual growth of around 20% in insurance premium payments over the coming years.... 2006-12-06

The downbeat stance we adopted on Middle Eastern stock indices has borne fruit in recent weeks, and this has been particularly noticeable in the Bahrain Stock Exchange (BSE) and the... 2005-07-12