The Middle East

A string of investments in both conventional and alternative resources is ensuring that Abu Dhabi sits at the very centre of the global energy map. The UAE increased production by approximately 14.2% during 2011 to 3m bpd of crude and condensate, faster than any other country in the GCC region. Yet despite vast reserves promising more than 80 years of production at current rates and conditions,...

Local insurers in Abu Dhabi have weathered a turbulent two years, during which they have been compelled to make the transition from an era of rapid economic expansion to one of more muted growth. Yet the sector has met the challenge of declining investment income while continuing to show healthy profit – a clear indication of the air of optimism that currently prevails within the emirate’s...

A significant proportion of the UAE’s Islamic financial services sector is based in Abu Dhabi. Home to two of the three largest Islamic banks in the country, three of its most successful takaful (Islamic insurance) firms and a multitude of sharia-compliant investment funds, the emirate is also emerging as an important regional centre of Islamic financing. Moreover, demand for Islamic mutual funds...

While it has been another challenging year for Abu Dhabi’s capital market, some developments in the fixed-income segment, new equities listings and a raft of regulations that promise to add more depth to the market have ensured that it was also an interesting one. The significant regulatory steps taken over the past year, supplemented by a pipeline of reforms still to come, form the framework for...

Operating within the largest banking sector in the GCC, Abu Dhabi’s banks have thrived, and today the UAE capital is home to some of the most successful lenders in the country. Recent years have seen a number of regulatory changes brought in. These include more prudent credit risk management policies, new controls on lending activity, and changes to the nature of banks’ concentration of risk...

Thanks in large part to high oil prices and an increase in its hydrocarbons production, Abu Dhabi continued its economic recovery in 2011 and 2012. Hydrocarbons remain at the centre of the emirate’s economy, accounting for nearly half of its GDP and almost 90% of government revenues in 2010. However, the emirate has been channelling its substantial oil earnings into other sectors so as to reduce...