There is no need for panic. Emerging market credit is outperforming US high yield and the investor base is stable.

Political tension and violence have marred Côte d'Ivoire for decades, but peaceful elections and an improving economy have raised expectations.

When Iran Air needed some Boeing spare parts before sanctions were lifted, JPMorgan took the US side of the trade. Why and how?

Submission deadline Thursday 10th March 2016

It wasn’t quite John Simpson on the plane with the Ayatollah returning to Iran in 1979, but nonetheless Euromoney experienced a bit of history in January.

Bourse expects 20 listings in three years; Nigeria and Ghana links planned.

Market set to slump, claims new report; financials make up 80% of bourse.

Teething troubles for messaging system; ICBC at vanguard of interested foreign banks.

Qatar Financial Centre always wanted to be different to the other Middle East hubs. But the model was confused. Now it aims to be the engine for the broader transformation of the country’s economy.

Saudi Aramco is a behemoth: the world’s most valuable company and the lifeblood of the Saudi state and royal family. Bankers and investors have mixed emotions over plans to list it; this could be a huge opportunity, but is it feasible?

A long history of dispute over what the Gulf-based adviser should be paid for her role in helping the UK bank raise capital during the financial crisis, first revealed by Euromoney, has been revived – and escalated – by a new claim lodged in the UK High Court.

Iran is emerging from the shadows to re-establish itself as a prime player in the Middle East. Moves are afoot to rid the country of its black-market exchange rate and develop a working currency forward market.

Trading bets against the Saudi peg have jumped since the collapse in oil prices, despite the Kingdom’s sizeable FX reserves cushion.

Political instability, falling commodity prices, central-bank policy uncertainties and conflict were the principal negative risk factors for investors to contemplate at the turn of the year, as China’s troubles were brought into focus by another round of financial volatility.

The South African president’s recent erratic changes in the ministry of finance highlight his flailing leadership.

Islamic banks in the GCC may have two advantages over their conventional counterparts at a time of weak liquidity: loyal retail money and the ability to tap two investor markets

American private equity sees sub-Saharan Africa as an opportunity in an era of slow growth, but have been slow to tap in to the region’s long-term potential.

Secondary buyout trumps IPO; Gulf markets need more liquidity.

Depressed oil prices are sending shockwaves through the Kingdom as it looks at ways to mitigate the macro-fiscal implications.

Commercial Bank of Dubai pays up; Gulf Investment Corporation cancels deal.

Low oil price no bar to expansion; international business up 13% year-on-year.

Impressive growth could stall if dynamic local businesses don’t benefit from an opening up of the banking sector.

In Adel Al-Ghamdi, Saudi Arabia had an impressive cheerleader for its plans to open up its stock exchange to foreign investors, who warmed to his open, engaging style. So why did he suddenly resign?

Saudi Arabia is six months into its programme to attract international institutional investors to its stock market. The verdict so far: an impressive willingness to listen and communicate, but slow progress in terms of getting any money in.

The government insists that its banking sector will remain closed to external investment. But can the country’s economy thrive without better access to international credit?

The new trading platform for emerging-market currencies is now live with the Indian rupee, Brazilian real, Chilean peso and Colombian peso.

Investors snapped up Angola’s $1.5 billion Eurobond debut this month, and yet the sovereign borrower’s country-risk score has plunged, putting it among the world’s worst default risks.

They may be well-capitalized, but their funding needs are rising, just as the buyer base falls away.

The borrower’s fundamentals are pointing to a downgrade that would chalk up a trio of Brics on junk status based on S&P’s metrics.

The drop in the oil price has combined with a general lack of liquidity to put issuers from Gulf states in an unfamiliar position. There may be no need to fear a crunch, but the region’s issuers must get used to the fact that they will have to pay up to raise capital.