Banking and Finance

The close-up of a phone tapping a POS at the coffee shop highlights the ease of contactless transactions.

Saudi Arabia, UAE accelerate cashless payment push in 2026: What to know

Dubai is targeting 90% cashless transactions by the end of 2026, while Saudi Arabia is now set to enforce an e-payments rule for domestic workers.

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia to open stock markets to all foreign investors in February: What to know

The Saudi Capital Market Authority announced that it would remove restrictions that have historically limited foreign investors' access to the country’s Tadawul stock exchange.

Railroad tracks by a quarry at the Jubail Industrial City, north of Dammam, in Saudi Arabia's Eastern province, overlooking the Gulf, Dec. 11, 2019.

Saudi Arabia awards record number of mining licenses in Vision 2030 push

Riyadh estimates the country’s mineral resources to be worth $2.51 trillion.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, head of the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia's influential sovereign wealth fund, addresses the opening ceremony of the Future Investment Initiative, in Riyadh, on Oct. 28, 2025.

Gulf accounted for 43% of global sovereign wealth fund investment in 2025

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund was the world's highest spending sovereign wealth fund in 2025, investing some $36.2 billion.

Latest News

Feature

Cheap oil, tighter finances, wars constrained Mid East economies in 2025

A picture taken from a station of Dubai's Palm Monorail shows traffic on a road in Palm Jumeirah on Aug. 28, 2025.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Analysis

Iran currency plunges to historic low amid factional blame game

Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran Iranian 100 rial banknotes.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Analysis

Gulf finance hubs race to expand as hedge funds flock to Dubai, Abu Dhabi

Traffic moves on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai on March 24, 2025.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Morocco’s markets rise as World Cup spending fuels largest IPO in decades

CASABLANCA, MOROCCO - AUGUST 20: In this handout image from Populous, digital renderings of the proposed Stade Hassan II stadium in Morocco, projected to be the largest football stadium in the world with 115,000 capacity are depicted on August 20, 2024 in Casablanca, Morocco. The stadium design is by Populous and Oulalou + Choi (Photo by Populous via Handout/Getty Images)

Egypt’s Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Hassan El Khatib speaking at the Egyptian-Qatari Investment Forum in Cairo, Egypt on Dec. 14, 2025 (State Information Service)

Egypt secures Qatari investment boost, launches first SCZONE industrial deal

Bilateral trade between the two countries rose to $143 million during the first 10 months of 2025.

Multiple exposure photograph of the Netflix and Warner Bros logos in front of a television screen at Kerlouan in Brittany in France, on Dec. 5 2025.

Mideast funds back Paramount's $108B Warner Bros. takeover bid

Netflix appeared to have won a weeks-long bidding war with Paramount and Comcast, securing a $72 billion equity deal for Warner Bros. Discovery's TV, film studios and streaming assets, but Monday's $108 billion bid changes the calculus.

An aerial view shows the destruction across Yarmouk camp, Damascus, Syria, on Nov. 8, 2025.

What role is Jordan playing in Syria's reconstruction?

As Syria’s southern neighbor, Jordan is already positioning itself as a logistics hub and diplomatic broker for Syria’s reconstruction.

RICHARD A. BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi PIF eyes $27B Japan portfolio as kingdom courts Asian investment

Saudi Arabia is strengthening economic ties with Asian countries as it pursues its economic transformation goals.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

A man monitors the board at the Stock Exchange Market (Tadawul) bourse in Riyadh, Dec. 12, 2019.

Saudi Arabia opens Nomu Parallel Market to new investors: What to know

Easing investing rules and deepening capital markets to diversify the Saudi economy are key to fulfilling Vision 2030.

His Excellency President CyrilRamaphosa welcomes G20 Heads of State and Government to the G20 Leaders’ Summit, hosted by South Africa at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in Gauteng, on Nov. 22, 2025.

UAE showcases global AI ambitions with $1B Africa pledge at G20

The Gulf country is the world's top investor in Africa, with Emirati companies committing $100 billion to projects on the continent between 2019 and 2023, according to data from the Financial Times.

United Arab Emirates

an waves as they walk down the Colonnade on the way to the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on Nov. 18, 2025.

Live Updates

Trump gives MBS red-carpet welcome, touts F-35 deal, $1T Saudi investment

Trump is hosting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House in a high-profile visit aimed at resetting US-Saudi ties and securing major defense, nuclear and investment deals.

A yacht is pictured at the Dubai Marina in Dubai August 6, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Dubai, Abu Dhabi make world’s top 5 destinations for wealthy: What to know

In Savills’ Spotlight on Wealth Trends 2025 report, Dubai topped the charts while Abu Dhabi ranked fifth.

United Arab Emirates

Aoun Gorka

Gorka praises Lebanon's President Aoun, discusses money laundering

Gorka, who led the US Treasury Department delegation that met Aoun, referred to the president as a “friend” and "Christian leader" in a post on X and said he could help expand the Abraham Accords.

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Billion-dollar AI, clean energy deals headline Saudi 'Davos in the Desert'

Humain, an AI firm backed by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, the PIF, signed a $3 billion deal with AirTrunk, a company backed by US asset manager Blackstone, to build a data center campus in the kingdom.

Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Yasser Barniyeh

Syria finance chief meets US, World Bank officials as Trump admin pushes more sanction relief

Less than two weeks ago, the US Senate approved a measure to repeal the 2019 Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act sanctions on Syria as part of its 2026 defense budget.

Khaled Alanani, the Bank of London & The Middle East's head of real estate and investments

Interview

Gulf real estate investors choose UK over US amid political instability

The London-based lender is seeing an increase in demand from Gulf investors in UK real estate as US markets have become less predictable.

Khaled Alanani

Head of real estate finance and investments, Bank of London and The Middle East