In this study, the authors assess financial sector development in the MENA regionand propose several policy measures, which include reinforcing the institutional environment and promoting nonbank financial sector development, to enhance this sector’s performance.

Financial markets across the Arabian Peninsula have gone from being small, quasi-medieval structures in the 1960s to large world-class groupings of financial institutions. This evolution has been fueled by vast increases in income from oil and natural gas. The Financial Markets of the Arab Gulf presents and analyzes the banks, stock markets, investment companies, money changers and sovereign wealth funds that have grown from this oil wealth and how this income has acted as a buffer between Gulf society at large and the newfound cash reserves of Gulf Cooperation Council states (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain) over the last fifty years. By assessing the development of institutions like the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, the Public Investment Fund and the National Bank of Kuwait, The Financial Markets of the Arab Gulf evaluates the growth of the markets and provides a detailed, critical, snapshot of the current form and function of the Gulf’s financial markets. It argues that the markets have been controlled by various state institutions for socio-political reasons. In particular, the Saudi state has used its sophisticated regulatory regime to push for industrialization and diversification, which culminated in the Vision 2030 plan. The UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman have also been strongly involved in establishing modern markets for similar purposes but have done so through different means, with varying results, and each in line with what has been considered their respective comparative advantages. Along with critically surveying these institutions and their role in global finance, the book also presents case studies depicting transactions typical to the region, including the highly profitable documentary credits of commercial banks, the financial scandal of certain financiers and their regulatory arbitrage between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, a review of the Dubai’s trade miracle, and an assessment of the value and importance of the privatization of Saudi Aramco.

Islamic finance is growing at an astonishing rate and is now a $1200 billion industry, with operations in over 100 countries. This book explains the paradox of a system rooted in the medieval era thriving in the global economy. Coverage is exhaustively comprehensive, defining Islamic finance in its broadest sense to include banks, mutual funds, securities firms and insurance (or takaful) companies. The author places Islamic finance in the context of the global political and economic system and covers a wide variety of issues such as the underlying principles of Islamic finance, the range of Islamic financial products, and country differences. He also discusses a number of economic, political, regulatory and religious concerns and challenges. This second edition has been completely revised and updated to take into account the great changes and developments in the field in recent times. It includes the impact of the 9/11 and 7/7 terrorist attacks on the industry, the new forms of interaction with Western financial institutions, the emergence of innovative products such as sukuk, attempts by a broad range of financial centres - including Kuala Lumpur, London, Singapore, Bahrain and Dubai - to become global hubs of Islamic finance, and the repercussions of the 2008 global financial meltdown on Islamic institutions.