21-24 June: World National Oil Companies Congress, London
30 June-3 July: The 21st-Century Gulf: The Challenge of Identity, Exeter
7-10 July: First Gulf Research Meeting, Cambridge
Briefings & Reports
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Need an expert briefing to support an investment decision?
GSN’s team of experienced analysts are often called on by governments and their agencies, financial institutions, and energy companies to comment on developments in the Gulf region. Our analysts are available for private briefings (either by telephone or in person) and can produce tailored reports and research on a range of topics and issues. For more information contact Mark Ford. Email:mark@cbi-publishing.com
Politics, succession & risk in Saudi Arabia report
Politics, succession and risk in Saudi Arabia is a GSN special report, published in January 2010. The new report analyses Saudi policy on issues including succession, domestic and regional politics, defence, energy and financial trends, and features extensively researched biographical entries on 1,200 Al-Sauds from the ruling family’s main branch, together with profiles of leading cadet branch businessmen, and a range of maps and graphics.
Read more about the report
Islamic Finance Report
Published in June 2009, this GSN report is an essential reference tool for both newcomers, and well-established bankers and practitioners. Read more
Endorsements
"GSN now really is doing something (and at a quality level) that isn't available anywhere else that I know."
Professor Gerd Nonneman director Institute of Arab & Islamic Studies (IAIS), University of Exeter
"I have been a genuine admirer for many years. I regard GSN as the only one that focuses properly on Arabia and on Saudi Arabia in particular. That alone makes it very special as no country in the region is less understood in the UK than Saudi Arabia."
Stephen Day, consultant and former British ambassador
"GSN is by far the most professional and well-informed report on the region."
Luc Debieuvre, Bank Audi Saradar
"The website is excellent and adds value to an already very valuable publication"
José Silva Pereira general secretary Partex Oil and Gas
"Gulf States Newsletter provides a fund of information and insights for bankers and investors who are serious about doing business in the Gulf."
Francis Beddington, Banker and Economist
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announcements
Politics, succession and risk in Saudi Arabia
GSN’s new special report Politics, succession and risk in Saudi Arabia was launched to great acclaim at a 15 January seminar in London hosted and co-organised by Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. Senior figures from the banking, insurance and risk sectors joined industry and governmental political risk analysts for a frank roundtable discussion of the issues raised by a report that was recognised by discussants – who included Exeter University Professor Gerd Nonneman, political scientist Neil Partrick, Saudi academic Mai Yamani and Chatham House’s Maha Azzam and Claire Spencer – as a significant piece of research and analysis, which “raised the bar” for those researching the Kingdom. Read more about the report
The report is available to GSN subscribers for £175.
Need an expert briefing to support an investment decision?
GSN’s team of experienced analysts are often called on by governments and their agencies, financial institutions, and energy companies to comment on developments in the Gulf region. Our analysts are available for private briefings (either by telephone or in person) and can produce tailored reports and research on a range of topics and issues. For more information contact Mark Ford. Email:mark@cbi-publishing.com
Free email alerts of GSN's latest coverage
Keep track of the financial sector developments that affect your business by signing up for email Issue Alerts. You'll receive an email update when each issue is published, including excerpts of articles and links to full articles and other resources on our website. Sign up for eMail Issue Alerts
Issue 872 - 5 March 2010
UAE – ABU DHABI
Al-Fahim under pressure on all fronts
Former head of Abu Dhabi’s Hydra Properties Sulaiman Al-Fahim has provided the western media with a bounty of stories over the past two years, but has been in even deeper trouble back home more
BAHRAIN
Gulf Finance House debt restructuring deal
Another star of the Gulf’s credit-fuelled boom years, Gulf Finance House (GFH) has reached agreement with creditors to restructure its debt but has been further downgraded by ratings agencies more
INDICATORS
IMF releases first UAE Article IV info for years
The International Monetary Fund has issued a relatively detailed Article IV report on the UAEfor the first time in several years. It starts by outlining 2009’s “significant slowdown in growth and strains in the banking system as a result of the global financial crisis, the decline in oil prices, and the continuing fallout from the bursting of the Dubai property bubble” more
Iraq taps new $3.6bn IMF programme
The IMF approved a $3.6bn stand-by loan for Iraq. The two-year stand-by arrangement is to cover balance of payments needs; some $455m was made immediately available to the Iraqi authorities. more
OMAN
Gas exports, Iran connection and real estate plays in the mix as Oman looks to economic resurgence
Oman’s sovereign rating has improved and there is growth again, but the authorities still face a tough task if they are to lift living standards for the majority. An Iranian gas deal is among potential solutions to drive new projects more
Issue 871 - 12 February 2010
BAHRAIN/QATAR
GFH repays some debt but faces possible legal suit
Lawyers for businessman Khalid Bin Ahmed Al-Suwaidi have said that his case against Gulf Finance House chairman Essam Janahi will be heard by Bahrain’s Court of Cassation. more
REGIONAL
Middle East risk indicators – UAE needs to focus on transparency
It would be hard to tell there was a Dubai financial crisis, with the UAE’s bank reporting season in full swing. On the face of it, results so far suggest there is better news coming out of Dubai than Abu Dhabi, but consideration of UAE financial risk may be better based on transparency rather than good news. more
Issue 870 - 29 January 2010
YEMEN
IMF facility comes into view
In the run up to announcing that Sanaa would negotiate a new agreement, the International Monetary Fund, on 8 January announced the conclusion of its 2009 Article IV Consultation with Yemen. This underlined a difficult, but not impossible, economic situation, in which Sanaa is expected to seek an IMF extended credit facility. more
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Old hands for Dubai’s new committees
Dubai has established five new committees in an effort to climb out of its financial crisis. The committees are headed by conservative Dubai figures, underlining the emirate’s perception that appointing establishment figures to key jobs will help restore international confidence. more
Middle East risk indicators – creditor attitudes after Dubai crisis
Trade finance and insurance trends are changing as a result of the emergence in 2009 of major debt events in Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries. more
Thousands of investors have been swindled out of OR88m ($220m), the Omani prosecutor’s office said on 27 January. more
Issue 868 - 18 December 2009
DUBAI
Dubai World: $4bn down, (at least) $56bn to go
As lenders decide whether to approve Dubai World’s $26bn debt standstill request, many questions remain – not least over other entities, the legal case and wider impact on the region more
ABU DHABI: US Virgin Galactic ‘investigation’
The United States has launched a national security investigation into the proposed sale of a stake in Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic space company to Arab investors, according to a 14 December report in The Times newspaper. more
