Middle East Insight

Booming Arab construction market brings opportunities, challenges
The construction industry in the Gulf is experiencing an unprecedented boom, but the industry must deal effectively with key challenges and constraints in the next few years to avoid a downturn.
Middle East: Thursday, February 14 - 2008 at 10:14 |

Stronger US dollar makes GCC revaluation safer
Hedge funds have started to speculate in favour of a stronger dollar, reversing their previous positions. Meanwhile, rumours are circulating about large sub-prime write-offs in Japan which would impact on the yen. But this would actually make it easier for Gulf States to revalue their currencies to correct undervaluation, as the risk of sending the dollar into free-fall has gone.
Middle East: Monday, February 11 - 2008 at 11:31 |

Low interest rates boost Mid East bank profits
The fall in US interest rates to three per cent is designed to bail the US banking system out of its credit crunch and sub-prime crisis. But the same aggressive medicine will result in an additional boost to the profits of Middle East banks which have not suffered anything like as much from recent global financial woes.
Middle East: Sunday, February 10 - 2008 at 12:37

The Middle East's Ultra-Luxury Hotels
In the Middle East, it's not only oil that's booming. Business and leisure travel to the region has climbed 18 per cent a year since 2005, according to Deloitte's annual Hotel Benchmark Survey, and is expected to grow another six per cent this year, to 41 million visitors.
Middle East: Thursday, February 07 - 2008 at 13:30

$1.5 trillion for a 10 year GCC infrastructure boom
Delegates to the first Euromoney Global Infrastructure Finance Conference held in Dubai this week in association with HSBC heard that $1.5 trillion is the likely total GCC expenditure on infrastructure for the next decade. This eclipses expected US infrastructure investment of $1 trillion and $475bn in India.
Middle East: Tuesday, January 29 - 2008 at 16:22 |

World's richest sovereign wealth funds
Stability, liquidity and support in times of dire need: Sound like central banks? Today, they seem more fitting descriptions for some of world's fastest growing emerging market governments, thanks to their cash-rich sovereign wealth funds.
Middle East: Thursday, January 24 - 2008 at 13:18 |

Is the Middle East stock market rally over?
The decisive double top in the Saudi Arabian stock market and the sudden sell-off in the past few days probably signal an end to the rally that began last July. Where the region’s biggest bourse goes the others follow, and serious corrections are likely now across all the Middle East stock markets.
Middle East: Monday, January 21 - 2008 at 14:27 |

Can Middle East private equity deliver on its promises?
The annual MEED private equity conference in Dubai yesterday heard from leading regional practitioners. But with $18bn in private equity funds now pursuing limited investment opportunities can the funds really deliver the 30-40 per cent returns some promise? Will some funds do a lot better than others?
Middle East: Wednesday, January 16 - 2008 at 10:41