Economy & Business - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Business and Economy Cover Image

Economy & Business

Saudi Arabia football supporters wave flags

China-Saudi stadium deal puts Saudi World Cup ambitions in focus amid attacks

The project is a vote of confidence to Saudi Arabia's ambitious Vision 2030 agenda to diversify the economy away from oil, despite an uptick in attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on the kingdom in recent weeks.

The Chinese-flagged container shipping vessel Hui Fa transits the Gulf of Oman off the coast of Khor Fakkan in the emirate of Sharjah east of the UAE, on Oct. 13, 2026.

Gulf oil exports surpass prewar levels despite escalating tanker attacks

According to data from Kpler, oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and alternative routes across the Middle East averaged more than 24 million barrels a day last week, surpassing prewar levels of 23.3 million.

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

Benoit Tessier / AFP via Getty Images

Macron secures Gulf diesel supplies as France grapples with fuel costs, unrest

France now has commitments for 295,000 metric tons of diesel per month from the Gulf, accounting for just over 10% of the European country’s consumption.

Latest News

Explainer

Indonesia first foreign country to own property in Saudi Arabia's Mecca

Vehicles move along a main street in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca on Sept. 16, 2026.

Saudi Arabia postpones 'Davos in the Desert' until 2027 amid Houthi attacks

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

As Iran’s oil lifeline runs dry, can it outlast Trump's economic siege?

shoppers walking through the Tajrish Bazaar, a traditional market in Tehran

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

How much oil can cushion another Middle East supply shock?

A vessel transits the Gulf of Oman

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

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

A worker fumigates a house against the Aedes aegypti mosquito to prevent the spread of dengue fever in a neighborhood in Piura, northern Peru, on June 11, 2023. (Photo by ERNESTO BENAVIDES / AFP) (Photo by ERNESTO BENAVIDES/AFP via Getty Images)

Dengue fever outbreak in Egypt forces Russia to issue tourism warning

Most cases of the mosquito-borne virus are not severe. Russia has implemented health measures for flights from Egypt as a result of the outbreak.

A man counts Turkish liras at a currency exchange office, Istanbul, Turkey, July 29, 2020.

Turkish lira hits record low, losing 2% amid concerns of smaller rate increase

As of 4:15 p.m. Istanbul time, the lira was trading at 26.99 against the dollar, 2.4% less than Monday’s close of 26.3505.

A car drives past a road signal indicating the Allenby (King Hussein) bridge crossing point to Jordan.

Work on Israel-Saudi land bridge has begun, Israeli Foreign Ministry confirms

The project will facilitate the transfer of goods in trucks intially between the UAE, Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

A woman takes a photo of the LEGO-made Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque miniature at Dubai's LEGOLAND theme park, on March 7, 2022. - Over 60 million LEGO bricks are in MINILAND, where LEGOLAND Dubai has recreated scenes and famous landmarks from the UAE and Middle East region, including Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Gulf’s non-oil growth offers new investment opportunities

The Gulf’s largest economy has encouraged foreign investors to invest in its emerging non-oil sectors.

Sebastian Castelier

Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during the UAE - Japan Business Forum in Abu Dhabi on July 17, 2023. (Photo by KARIM SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Japan’s PM visits UAE after Saudi Arabia, talks green energy, supply sources

Japan is trying to move away from fossil fuels toward greener energy, which it plans to promote in the region during Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to the Gulf this week.

The Barbados-flagged ship "Nord Vind" coming from Ukraine loaded with grain is anchored for inspection in Istanbul, on Oct. 11, 2022.

Wheat prices rise by nearly 3% as Russia-Ukraine grain deal expires

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he may call his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in an effort to save the export deal. The deal’s termination could have economic effects on the Middle East.

Traders follow the movement of stock prices at the Boursa Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait, March 2, 2022.

Kuwait's new sovereign wealth fund Ciyada to boost foreign investment

The Gulf country already has the Kuwait Investment Authority with assets of about $803 billion, making it the fifth-largest sovereign wealth fund globally.

Mark Rutte, Kais Saied, Ursula von der Leyen, Giorgia Meloni

EU, Tunisia ink 'strategic partnership' to help economy, stem migrants

It comes after weeks of talks between the two parties about the EU providing around 1 billion euros in aid, which would be dependent on Tunisia's IMF bailout.

BEIJING, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 05: Chinese President Xi Jinping (2nd-L) meets with Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia (4nd-R) at the Great Hall of the People at The Great Hall Of The People on September 5, 2018 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Pool/Getty Images)

Analysis

China eyes Algerian oil and gas as it receives Tebboune in Beijing

Algeria's president will want to use next week's visit to China to make a pitch for his country to join the five-nation alliance of emerging economies seen as an alternative to Western hegemony.

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

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) welcomes Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (R) during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on November 24, 2021. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

As Turkey grapples with deficit, Erdogan pins his hopes on Gulf funds during visit

Ankara is hoping for an inflow of Gulf dollars as the battered lira remains under pressure amid a gaping budget deficit and reluctance to take firmer measures to tame inflation.

Mustafa Sonmez

By Mustafa Sonmez

In Istanbul, reporting on economics

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia outranks US for expat life, Kuwait ranks worst

Saudi Arabia was found to be the 28th best country to live in as an expatriate while the United States ranked 30th, according to a Tuesday report.

An employee prepares a basket of groceries at the storage department of the Algerian delivery company Yassir, in the capital Algiers on February 23, 2022. - It's the Algerian start-up that made good: despite the country's notoriously complex business climate, taxi and home-delivery firm Yassir has millions of users and is expanding across Africa. (Photo by RYAD KRAMDI / AFP) (Photo by RYAD KRAMDI/AFP via Getty Images)

Algeria ready to deliver e-commerce growth

Algeria is forecasted to be the fastest growing e-commerce market in the Middle East and North Africa in the coming years.

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech