Musa Shihadeh, CEO, Jordan Islamic Bank

Jordan Islamic Bank started in the early 1980s as a small bank with $3m in capital. Its growth since then has been impressive: it holds 8.3 percent of assets in Jordan’s banking sector, and has a return on shareholder equity of 16.74 percent, the highest in the country. CEO Musa Shihadeh outlines how this growth has gone hand-in-hand with a commitment to servicing the community, including financing energy opportunities for a country formerly reliant on Egypt for its petrol.

Derya Gürerk, CEO, Türkiye Finans Katılım Bankası

Participation banking assets have grown twice as fast as Turkey’s overall banking sector during the last 10 years and now represent five percent of the industry. Derya Gürerk of Türkiye Finans believes this growth is sustainable if the required capital is brought in. He discusses the bank’s excellent performance last year, including a 25 percent increase in productivity and 22 percent increase in profits, its investment in infrastructure and developing entrepreneurial skills, and its recently issued Sukuks.

Musa Shihadeh, CEO, Jordan Islamic Bank

Jordan Islamic Bank has been serving its local community for nearly 35 years, developing strong trust among its SME clients and retail banking customers thanks to its conservative approach and long-standing commitment to Sharia rules. Musa Shihadeh discusses the importance of supporting local businesses and the potential for Sukuk trading on the Oman Stock Exchange.

Mohammad Al Mannai, CEO, Qatar National Broadband Network

Qatar’s government has launched a new initiative to roll out fibre-optic networking across the country: the first of its kind in the Middle East. The broadband segment is already expanding rapidly – it grew 21.5 percent in 2011 – so how will the new network enhance the industry? Mohammad Al Mannai discusses the potential impact that QNBN will have on Qatar’s economy.

Moataz Al Rafie, CEO, Ahli Bank Qatar

Qatar is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and is pursuing reforms to improve the entrepreneurial environment and diversify its economy beyond oil and gas. Supporting this business growth are commercial banks like Ahli Bank; CEO Moataz Al Rafie explains how the company is leveraging the latest technology to provide top services to its clients.

Seraj Al Baker, CEO, Mazaya Qatar Real Estate

Property in the GCC will hopefully never again reach the extraordinary levels of overvaluation it achieved in the pre-crash bubble – but the real estate market is well on the road to recovery, especially in those states not suffering from political instability and its resultant low investor confidence. Seraj Al Baker discusses Qatar’s progress and the opportunities of the 2022 Fifa World Cup.