Euromoney recently sat down in Dubai with the heads of investment banking for HSBC in the Middle East. The conversation focused on the burgeoning trade and deal flow between the Gulf region and Asia, what investors on both sides are looking for and why they like what they see.

The Kingdom’s government has announced that international firms – many of whom are based in Dubai – that want to work with the state will need to base their regional headquarters in Saudi.

If Olam Agri’s planned dual-listing IPO goes ahead in June it will have a bit of everything: a Singapore-Saudi listing, geopolitics and sovereign funds jostling to defend their nations against strain in global food security.

Founded in 2009, Sidra Capital is a pioneer of private Islamic finance in Saudi Arabia, with offices in Riyadh, Dubai, Singapore and London. Licensed and regulated by the Saudi Arabian Capital Market Authority, Sidra’s Shariah-compliant asset business focuses on alternative asset classes, real estate and private finance and private equity.

Al Rajhi Bank had a busy 2022, arranging 12 high-profile transactions in the Saudi riyal and US dollar debt capital markets.

First Abu Dhabi Bank’s recent interest in a bid for Standard Chartered and an ill-fated investment in Credit Suisse by Saudi National Bank have put the spotlight on Middle East banks as potential acquirers of international firms.

Banks in the Gulf are embracing blockchain, fintech, cryptocurrencies and AI as they look to cater to changing consumer demands and a rapidly evolving financial landscape.

Rate rises, combined with the soaring price of oil, mean that Saudi banks enjoy unprecedented liquidity. This will accelerate the change already under way in the sector.

Why do Saudi Arabia and Malaysia still overwhelm every other state in Islamic asset management?

It’s rare to see a sovereign fund backing a digital bank before its launch.

Sovereign wealth involvement in football clubs has a chequered history. Saudi’s intentions with Newcastle are clearly about more than investment, but can these deals ever work?

The $15 billion merger that created Saudi National Bank is tipped to kick-start a cycle of consolidation in the Kingdom’s banking sector.

A corporate restructuring is one of the final steps in readying Tadawul for an IPO this year. CEO Khalid Al-Hussan says the moment for listing is almost at hand.

Ever since the launch of Vision 2030, housing has been a key priority for Saudi Arabia. Along with the home building has come a vibrant mortgage market, the formation of a secondary liquidity provider and the building blocks that will lead to a new securitized asset class in global markets.

The Public Investment Fund is unrecognizable from the sleepy vehicle it was until 2015. More risk has led to some bad investments, but the crown prince says overall returns are good. Can they stay that way?

Faced with an estimated $100 billion budget deficit but committed to a vast expenditure programme, Saudi finance minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan explains how he plans to balance the books.

The Gulf’s largest economy is facing unprecedented challenges from the coronavirus Covid-19 and oil at $30 a barrel. Has diversification under Vision 2030 done enough to help Saudi Arabia weather the storm or will it be forced to abandon its dreams of diversification?

A double shock of Covid-19 and falling oil prices brings the spectre of recession to the Gulf, while efforts to diversify economies are being derailed.

BayanPay, a digital payments company owned by London-listed Finablr, has received regulatory approval to operate its mobile money platform in Saudi Arabia, as the Kingdom looks to a future without cash.

Saudi Aramco’s intention to list aims to clear up any doubts wealth managers may have about investing on behalf of women, but it also draws attention to the fact that, despite reforms, the full inclusion of women in Saudi society is still a distant reality.

Advocating ESG while investing in one of the world’s largest oil companies is an uneasy truth.

Applications to operate banks in Saudi Arabia show that consolidation has not shut the door to new entrants.

Saudi Arabia is pressing on with capital markets reform and its planned IPO of Aramco in spite of drone attacks on its oil facilities that briefly spooked markets. Virginia Furness reports from Riyadh.

The deluge of bids for the debut issuers shows how reliant investors have become on primary allocation.

Saudi Arabia’s central bank governor recently gave international banks a clear signal that they will not be punished by a loss of fees for avoiding an investment conference in Riyadh due to public outrage over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Ken Moelis lived up to his nickname ‘Ken of Arabia’ when he showed up at the Saudi Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh in late October in his brave pursuit of future fee income despite the risk of international opprobrium.

The murder of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has sparked condemnation of the kingdom’s leadership the world over, but as the dust settles after the Future Investment Initiative, what are the real-world effects, if any, of this crisis on Saudi Arabia’s banking ties?

In early 2016, the Middle East’s two largest countries looked set to become the world’s most vibrant frontier markets. Two years on, many bankers doubt that either Iran or Saudi Arabia can live up to these expectations.

Delusional clients are complicating the business of collecting fees for advising on mega trades for customers such as Saudi Aramco and Tesla.

Inclusion in the emerging market index is recognition of the country’s reforms and could bring $50 billion of foreign investment.