This paper analyses the socio-economic impact of the noble Corona virus (COVID-19) on ‘Middle East and North Africa’ (MENA) region as well as the role and opportunities of Islamic finance post COVID-19. The findings show that pandemic has affected the MENA region massively like any other region in the world. Since around 69% of the word’s crude oil supply is from this region alone, this causes it to suffer from dual shocks of COVID-19 pandemic as well as the declining crude prices that is caused by shocks from both ends, negative supply shock and a negative demand shock. The 19 countries in MENA region include from some of the richest countries of the world such as, Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, to some of the most vulnerable, poor and war ridden countries like Yemen, Syria, and Morocco. To mitigate the adverse effects of the pandemic, we suggest some immediate actions that can be taken such as a public fund to support health system, financial support to individuals and SME’s, financial support to corporations in order to prevent job loss and layoff and assurance of liquidity in domestic markets to prevent liquidity crunch. Finally, the paper analyses the role of Islamic finance in the region in recovery post COVID-19 and show that Islamic finance can be utilized as an alternative financial system in providing the relief to the COVID-19 affected people and entrepren

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the determinants of capital structure for non-financial listed firms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the period 2004-2010. The contradiction between the different capital structure theories, limited literature on UAE and its distinctive characteristic of tax-free environment were the motivation for this paper. Design/methodology/approach: The authors used two panel data techniques to estimate the regression models, and a series of robustness checks. Findings: The authors find that growth opportunities, size, profitability and liquidity are the main determinants of leverage. The results support the argument of the inadequacy of one capital structure theory, although the results are more inclined toward the pecking-order level. Practical implications: The results provide a comprehensive overview of the capital structure in the UAE; this information will be of use to managers, shareholders and lenders. Originality/value: The findings of this paper contribute to the debate of the dominance of capital structure theories. The results also add to the strand of literature on the capital structure of firms in the Middle East, as the authors provide a comprehensive investigation of the determinants of capital structure in UAE non-financial firms.