Middle East

Qatar: Bankers in hard hats

In a market where space limits scale, local firms have needed to be ambitious and smart about how and where they work. Qatar is the smallest country in the Gulf Cooperation Council by area and population after Bahrain. Banks and companies alike have grown accustomed to looking beyond the borders and offshore for business. For newer banks like Barwa that’s meant pushing to win work on international deals such as the UK sukuk.

Renewable energy: Backing the renewables bid

Arab heads of state signed the Damascus Declaration in 2007, a pledge “to take necessary measures and develop competent plans to enhance renewable energies in their countries’ energy portfolios.” Across the Middle East and North Africa today, it looks as if these promises are coming to fruition, with governments actively promoting the growth of the renewable energy sector.