The Middle East

When Turkey's finances crashed dramatically back in February 2001, intervention by the IMF was widely seen as having saved the day for the country's battered economy. Yet now - three years and around $18bn later - the Fund may be about to find itself nowhere near as welcome in the corridors of political Ankara.

International financial institutions are giving Qatar's local banks cautious nods of approval based on newly released results for 2003 - which was a third straight year of success for the sector. With oil prices high and the country's gas revenues also on the up, the banks now look set to continue seeing boom times for several years to come. But the question remains, can they use the current period of prosperity to fortify themselves for long-term success?

Despite the practically no-lose formula of mushrooming gas revenues and lofty national development ambitions, Qatar's construction boom has not been without its glitches. The fourth quarter of 2003 saw work at building sites grind to a halt as supplies of the vital ingredient - cement - dried up. A rash of new projects - and in particular the race to meet deadlines for the 2006 Asian Games - caused demand for the material to far surpass what could be produced by the country's sole cement supplier, the Qatar National Cement Company (QNCC).

While market watchers are now looking back at 2003 as something of a non-starter for Turkey's real estate and construction sectors, there are now signs that 2004 could yield some more positive developments. With prices stabilising, the forecast now is for a steady increase in the months ahead, with several areas likely to see more significant growth.

With a good new crop of statistics in this week on the state of the nation's economy, there was also some focusing on the state of the nation's banks. This came in on the back of news of an important merger, and of some more worrying news from a previously welcomed share bid.

The February 13 bomb blast that killed former Chechen president Salim Khan Yandarbiyev on the streets of Doha pulled Qatar briefly into the forefront of the "war on terror". It also highlighted the emirate's difficulty in balancing disparate, often conflicting, political interests, as with it have come international dispute, contradictory accusations and some tough decisions.