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Economy & Business

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

Feature

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

Low oil prices, tighter financial conditions and elevated geopolitical risk hampered growth across much of the Middle East and North Africa this year.

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

View of Damietta Segas LNG Terminal, in Damietta, Egypt, which is an export terminal belong to Spanish Egyptian Gas Company.

Analysis

Egypt’s $35B Israel gas deal buys time, tests fragile energy partnership

The agreement is a critical stopgap as Cairo grapples with domestic power demands, but the last two years have tested Egypt-Israel energy cooperation in unprecedented ways.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Employees install new solar panels at the Kalyon Energy's Karapinar Solar Power Plant on December 02, 2021 in Karapinar, Turkey.

Turkey hits renewable milestone as solar surpasses gas in power capacity

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said in a statement that wind and solar capacity combined had risen to 39,215 megawatts by the end of November.

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

Analysis

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

The Gulf’s top financial hubs have posted another strong year in 2025, with the UAE spearheading a regional push to attract hedge funds, asset managers, crypto and fintech firms as regional neighbors target growth of their own.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Latest News

Maersk resumes Red Sea passage after two-year halt amid easing Houthi threat

A ship sails along Egypt's Suez Canal near Ismailia, April 16, 2025.

Egypt lands $572M UAE-backed solar deal, expanding Gulf's clean-energy footprint

Solar panels in a Sinai desert, Egypt.

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)

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

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

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

Jennifer Gnana

Gulf Correspondent

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

The exterior of a 787 Dreamliner at the Boeing manufacturing facility in North Charleston, on December 13, 2022. - Betting on robust demand for international travel, United Airlines on Tuesday unveiled an order of 100 new Boeing 787 Dreamliners with options for an additional 100 jets. (Photo by Logan Cyrus / AFP) (Photo by LOGAN CYRUS/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia to buy 121 Boeing-787s in ‘historic’ $37 billion deal

The agreements make up the fifth-largest commercial order by value in Boeing’s history and is valued at nearly $37 billion.

Lebanese protesters demonstrate against the monetary policies of Lebanon's Central Bank governor in the capital Beirut on January 25, 2023. - European investigators will question Lebanon's central bank chief Riad Salameh (portraits) next month as part of a probe into his and his brother's affairs, a judicial official told AFP earlier this week. Investigators from France, Germany and Luxembourg heard witnesses in Beirut last week as part of the case of suspected financial misconduct including possible money

Lebanon's pound hits new bottom, ahead of Riad Salameh interrogation

A French judge arrived in Lebanon this week to question central bank head Riad Salameh over his alleged financial crimes.

This picture taken on May 13, 2013 shows untreated phosphate being dropped off on a montain at the end of a conveyor belt at the Marca factory of the National Moroccan phosphates company (OCP/public), near Laayoune, the capital of Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara. - As a global leader in the market for phosphate and its derivatives, OCP has been a key player in the international market since its founding in 1920, the worlds largest exporter of phosphate rock and phosphoric acid and one of the worlds large

Morocco’s phosphate giant OCP put to test as Africa’s fertilizer market heats up

Global players are taking an interest in the African fertilizer market, putting the dominant position of Morocco's phosphate producer to the test.

Francisco Serrano

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (L) greets Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People on December 23, 2014 in Beijing, China. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is undertaking his first visit to China in hopes to secure investment deals. (Photo by Greg Baker - Pool/Getty Images)

Egypt’s exports to China up more than 20% in 2022

China is making inroads in the Middle East, including by strengthening economic ties to Egypt.

Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh gestures during an interview with AFP at his office in the capital Beirut on December 20, 2021. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon’s bank chief Salameh in hot seat as French judge arrives in Beirut

The French judge will question Riad Salameh over the central bank governor’s alleged involvement in financial crimes.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Silicon Valley Bank collapse reverberates in Israel, Gulf

Israeli startups had a lot of money in Silicon Valley Bank and may need the government’s help.

Riyadh Air

Saudi’s new Riyadh Air set to compete with Emirates, Qatar Airways

The airline is expected to better connect travelers to Saudi Arabia’s cultural and natural attractions, create more than 200,000 jobs and add $20 billion to non-oil gross domestic product.

A man counts Egyptian pounds at a currency exchange shop, Cairo, Egypt, Nov. 3, 2016.

Major bitcoin fraud case rattles Egypt

Hundreds of Egyptians were swindled by an international crypto mining company, raising controversy over the digital currency that has grown in popularity in cash-strapped Egypt.

An aerial view shows the Kingdom Centre skyscraper (Kingdom Tower) and the King Fahad road in the Saudi capital Riyadh, on May 24, 2020. (Photo by FAISAL AL-NASSER/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia’s 2022 GDP breaks record, exceeds $1 trillion

Saudi Arabia’s government report states that it achieved its highest gross domestic product growth rate in over a decade in 2022 at 8.7% and broke its total amount record of more than $1 trillion last year.

The Ritz hotel is pictured in central London on May 18, 2020.

UK Islamic bank: Soccer boosting Gulf property investments

Andrew Ball, the CEO of the Bank of London and The Middle East (BLME), spoke to Al-Monitor about how soccer is fueling a rise in Gulf investment in northern England.

A pedlar sells roasted corn cobs by the medieval Sultan al-Ghuri Complex (built in 1505) in Azhar district, Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 16, 2023.

Inflation in Egypt at 32.9% in latest spike

The Egyptian government’s inflation statistics in February could prompt an interest rate increase when the central bank next meets.

A Saudi man has his picture taken for his election ID card as registration opened 23 November 2004, for the kingdom's first municipal elections, to be held in February 2005. The first round of the elections, in which women are barred from voting, is the first of the three-stage process of choosing half the members of 178 municipal councils, the other half of which are named by the government, in a drive to introduce limited reforms which Riyadh insists must be tailored to Saudi specifications and not neces

What businesses can expect from PDPL, Saudi Arabia's incoming data law

Saudi Arabia’s new personal data protection law, which goes into effect next week, could significantly impact the cost of doing business for multinationals in the kingdom.

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech