Middle Eastern investment banking fees reached $536.1 million during 2012, a 19 percent increase over 2011, according to a report from Thomson Reuters. It also said M&A (mergers and acquisitions) transactions with Middle Eastern targets reached $20.0 billion last year, double the activity seen in the region during 2011 ($9.8 billion), and the strongest annual total since 2008.
Islamic debt issuance reached $37.1 billion from 91 issues during 2012, an increase of 11 percent from 2011, and marking the all-time strongest year for Islamic debt activity. The top Islamic debt issuer nation during 2012 was Malaysia with 48 percent of the activity, while the strongest industry was the financials sector………………………………………..Full Article: Source