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The chances of Iran being able to take delivery of the 80 jets on order from The Boeing Company seems to have taken a step backwards this month, after the US government signalled its continuing hostility to aviation deals with Tehran. On 5 February, the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced a temporary denial order (TDO) against Turkish national Gulnihal Yegane which bars her from exporting goods from the United States.

Two major financial bodies have appointed female leaders. Samba Financial Group appointed Rania Mahmoud Nashar as its chief executive officer on 19 February, taking over from Sajjad Razvi who resigned for personal reasons.On 16 February, Sarah Al-Suhaimi was appointed as chair of the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul). Al-Suhaimi is also chief executive of NCB Capital, the investment banking arm of National Commercial Bank, and is expected to retain that position.

Roula Khalaf has been appointed editor of The Financial Times, taking over from Lionel Barber who has held the job for 14 years. A former Middle East editor and deputy editor since 2016, the FT’s first female editor will assume her new role in January. Khalaf was born in Lebanon and educated in the United States. After a spell with Forbes she entered the FT in 1995 as North Africa correspondent, showing the blend of drive and perception that has taken her to the top of the London-based, Japanese-owned group.

As elections scheduled for 22 November approach, the kingdom of Bahrain remains bitterly divided. The main opposition parties confirmed on 11 October that they would boycott the polls, a decision that was not unexpected but which scuppers any hopes that the election might reinforce the government narrative that Bahrain is stable and on a path of economic recovery.While the boycott will be viewed as a setback by Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad, who has been leading attempts to restart dialogue, others in the royal family will use the decision as further proof that the opposition is obstructionist.

ICs – whose numbers almost doubled to 99 in 2005-08 – have on- and off-balance sheet assets equivalent to more than 100% of the banking system’s assets. This makes the ICs “systemically important” – posing a systemic risk if their solvency deteriorated further.

Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco)’s future has come under intense scrutiny as potentially momentous reforms to the Saudi economy unfold, driven by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS). The increased transparency implied by Aramco’s much-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) could force a significant change in the way the national oil company (NOC) does business. More detailed reserves and production data might emerge that would confirm whether skeptics – such as the late oil investment banker Matthew Simmons, who over a decade ago questioned the giant Ghawar field’s performance – are correct in arguing that Saudi reserves are much diminished from the authorities’ claims.

Banks came together in London on 26 May to compete for positions in a minimum $3bn syndication for Petroleum Development Oman (PDO). Pricing was expected to be extremely competitive, a banker told GSN, “not because Oman is seen as a particularly good risk, but because banks are scrambling for business”.Oman has been hit by two recent sovereign downgrades but – along with other GCC borrowers hit by the oil price slump – is proving very attractive to potential lenders, As with several other recent Gulf mandates, a position in the PDO loan is not expected to make big profits for investment banks.

Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al-Said dispensed with the long-serving governor of the Central Bank of Oman on 5 September. Tahir Bin Salim Bin Abdullah Al-Amri was appointed executive president of the central bank, taking over from Hamud Sangur Al-Zadjali who had been in post for 26 years.

It is still far too soon to talk about a peace dividend in Iran, but there are signs the political optimism sparked by renewed efforts to resolve the nuclear problem has begun to spill into the economy. The stock market has been hitting record levels and the currency is stabilising as people sense that the latest round of international negotiations might add up to more than just idle talk (see page 5). Allied to that, President Hassan Rouhani’s new cabinet has been taking a far more professional approach to managing the country’s domestic problems.

Coast Guard Commander Commodore Alaa Siyadi said on 18 September that three Bahraini boats with 16 fishermen on board had been detained by Qatari security forces in the previous three days. Such incidents have often occurred in Gulf waters, and Qatar tried to defuse the row, saying any fishermen entering its waters illegally were detained as a matter of course; they are generally released after a few days while their boats were impounded pending the outcome of court proceedings.

Tens of thousands of counterfeit products were seized across Qatar in a joint Qatar-Interpol operation on 12-16 March – the first such Interpol co-ordinated operation in the Middle East. Interpol said in a statement on 20 March that Operation Al-Shaheen, carried out by the Qatar Ministry of Interior and the Interpol National Central Bureau in Doha, involved more than 600 raids at shops, markets and retail outlets. Around 140,000 illicit products were confiscated and 147 people placed under investigation. Among the fake items seized were car parts, tobacco products, cosmetics, food, mobile phones and household appliances.

Ever keen to be seen as a global hub, Dubai’s ambitions to be a centre for international arbitration took a step forward in 2012 with a game-changing decision by the Court of Cassation. In the past, Middle Eastern jurisdictions have been criticised for their approach to arbitration – a legal dispute resolution process – which has often seen local laws take precedence over international conventions, even when foreign or international law is relevant to the dispute.

Recent financings worth a total $1.3bn for two Omani power projects and a $2.2bn package for Emirates Steel have maintained momentum in the GCC project finance market, according to participants canvassed by GSN

Newly appointed finance minister Ali Sherif Al-Emadi has been named chairman of Qatar National Bank (QNB)’s board of directors. Before being appointed to government, Emadi was chief executive of QNB for eight years, having joined the bank in 1998.

The Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) will open to direct foreign investment on 15 June, according to the Capital Market Authority (CMA). The much-anticipated move – which has come sooner than many analysts expected – will allow qualified foreign investors (QFIs) to buy listed shares directly from that date, the CMA said in a statement on 16 April. The CMA published draft rules for the opening of the market on its website in August 2014, and said it had “reviewed comments and observations… co-ordinated with concerned governmental parties, and received the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul)’s confirmation of its readiness”.