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The Investment Stability Fund (ISF), intended by the government to restore confidence in the Muscat Securities Market (MSM), was expected to be launched on 1 February.

Five country ratification is the first hurdle. Policy and structural detail will have to follow soon if markets are to take the GCC’s monetary union plan seriously.

GSN canvassed opinion in the credit and political risk markets to see how financing for the wider Middle East region might be affected by the New Year conflict. GSN may not agree with all their views, but specialist analysts can move markets, and several saw the Israeli assault on Gaza as a warning to Tehran; some believed that Israel would consider military intervention in Iran over the next six months, even without US support – but only as a last resort.

Recent bank reports have given the Qatari economy the thumbs up. Saudi Arabia's Samba Financial Group predicted strong growth in 2009.

No longer a global market leader for trade financiers, Iran has joined Iraq and Syria is in a difficult market for bankers to do business within the GSN area. “For banks, Syria will be the easiest of these three to do, but banking markets are pretty well shut for the rest of the year,

As its cautious economic reform continues, Syria is showing potential for foreign investment, shown by Virgin Megastores and Carrefour’s plans to open in Aleppo in 2009. But declining oil production pulled GDP growth down to 4% in 2007, according to the IMF’s most recent Article IV report. This noted that “private banks appear to be well capitalised”, while credit to public enterprises,

Capacity constraints for Iranian transactions are largely due to the standoff between Tehran and Washington, backed by European governments, on the nuclear question, which has cut US-based insurers and underwriters with US-based treaty reinsurance out of the market. Given the European Union’s ‘common position’ of August 2008 – which calls for restraint

Iraq’s banking sector is looking up as it profits from an upturn in regional trade deals, but local institutions remain under-capitalised, leaving them too weak to play a big role in the large-scale financing deals expected to materialise as reconstruction accelerates. Some consolidation is needed to address this challenge, bankers told GSN.

The Lootah Group is one of the oldest merchant families in the UAE and joins a string of investors that have recently signed agreements in Somalia and its neighbouring countries. Despite a brutal civil war between Islamic insurgents and Ethiopian military forces, some areas of the fractured state remain relatively sheltered and are seen as ‘virgin territories’ ripe for exploration and investment.

Swiss investment bank Crédit Suisse has expanded its presence in Saudi Arabia after announcing it had taken a majority 55% stake in its Saudi Swiss Securities joint venture, which it renamed Credit Suisse Saudi Arabia (CSSA).

Qatar-headquartered Al-Khalij Commercial Bank, which offers Islamic and conventional banking services, has bought the French branch of Lebanon's Banque Libanaise pour le Commerce (BLC). In 2007, Al-Khalij announced it was in advanced negotiations to buy the assets of BLC bank in the UAE, which has branches in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ras Al-Khaimah and Sharjah. The final deal however, has been extended to include all of the bank's operations, including its business in Paris. The value of the deal has not been revealed. The

QNB Al-Islami, fully-owned by Qatar National Bank (QNB), has opened its first branch outside Qatar in Sudan. Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) says it has suspended mortgage lending for ready properties to individuals. Private, joint-stock Unicorn Investment Bank (UIB) is establishing a new Islamic bank in Bahrain.

According to the latest Moody’s Investors Service report, Islamic finance is enjoying soaring demand, but requires more sophistication. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank chief executive Tirad Mahmoud has said that Islamic finance will continue to grow despite the current global financial crisis. Jeddah-based Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has announced plans to establish an Islamic bank. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has agreed to lend Tunisia a $195m to build two gas turbines.

The ever hungry QIA plans to take advantage of the global property slump in its bid to diversify its asset base.

One of the region’s strongest financial systems has weaknesses to address despite its successful management of last month’s mini-crisis.