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Economy & Business

Saudi Arabia football supporters wave flags

China-Saudi consortium wins $306M World Cup stadium deal: What to know

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.

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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

This picture shows the swimming pool of a luxury villa for sale on one of the Palm Jumeirah man-made island, on the coast of the Gulf emirate of Dubai, on May 19, 2021. - Dubais property market is powering out of a six-year malaise as "lockdown dodgers" and wealthy international investors drive a buying frenzy that is breaking records and fuelling an economic recovery. Luxury villas are the hottest segment in the market, with European buyers in particular seeking homes on Dubais signature Palm Jumeirah man-

Dubai’s real estate, cost of living conundrum creates opportunities for Gulf rivals to capitalize

The UAE’s red-hot real estate market could price out many expats and drive them towards neighboring countries, greatly impacting the regional competition to become a global business hub.

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP via Getty Images

Russia’s Tatneft makes new oil discovery in Libya

Russia and the controversial military contractor Wagner Group have longstanding interests in Libya’s oil, but instability has hurt the ability of Russian oil companies to operate in the North African country.

Lionel Messi Argentina

FC Barcelona 'hugely confident' on Messi return despite Saudi bid

The Catalonian soccer team are in a tug-of-war with Saudi Arabian team Al Hilal to snap up the 2022 World Cup winner.

UAE China flags

HSBC projects strong China-Middle East economic growth

In 2021, trade between countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and China surpassed GCC trade with the United States and Europe for the first time, according to the IMF.

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Saudi Aramco, high-value IPOs face impending pressure in 2023

The United Arab Emirates saw the world’s largest IPO of first quarter 2023, with ADNOC Gas PLC raising $2.5 billion on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

By Salim A. Essaid

A man walks past a shop selling replicas of Ancient Egyptian statuettes, figurines, and canopic jars at the Khan el-Khalili bazaar area in Egypt's capital Cairo on June 3, 2021. - Pyramids, Tutankhamun masks, Nefertiti busts -- Egypt's souvenir craftspeople are pinning their hopes on a new lease of life, after tourism was battered by the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) (Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt: Leading textile executive pushes for low-interest loans to save industry

Textile manufacturing is Egypt’s second-largest industry, but it was severely impacted by the pandemic and now the country’s economic downturn.

Workers at the Northern Oil Company carry out maintenance work at the pumping station in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

Iraq asks Turkey to resume oil exports as firms in Kurdistan region scale back

Turkey has still yet to restart oil flows from northern Iraq following a controversial court ruling despite efforts by Iraqi and Kurdish authorities. The stoppage is threatening the Kurdistan Region’s oil sector.

An Emirates Airbus A380 aircraft descends on its landing approach to Dubai International Airport, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, April 17, 2023.

UAE's Emirates reports record $2.9 billion in profit after two years of losses

The Dubai-based airline’s numbers indicate it has finally recovered from the coronavirus pandemic.

United Arab Emirates

China nuclear

Analysis

UAE-China nuclear deals signal evolving energy relationship

Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, which is developing the UAE’s nuclear energy sector, signed the three agreements with Chinese nuclear energy organizations on Sunday.

By Salim A. Essaid

Chinese investors pose for a picture in the land where an industrial city, including an oil refinery, is due to be built following an economic agreement, in the port town of Duqm on May 24, 2016 . Chinese investors signed a deal with Oman's government to establish an industrial city, including an oil refinery, in the port town of Duqm, both sides said in a joint statement. The agreement signed during the ceremony in Muscat would open way for investments worth $10.7 billion by 2022 to finance industrial proj

China to support Oman's economic rebound in 2024

Oman is expected to go from one of the Middle East’s lowest growth rates this year to the region’s highest in 2024. Here's how China will help it get there.

Sebastian Castelier

Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

Xi Jinping Vladimir Putin BRICS

Iran increases trade with BRICS including China as it looks to join bloc

Iran has seen a 14% year-on-year increase in non-oil trade with members of the five-state alliance, which includes Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa.

Two pairs of US hundred dollar and Egyptian hundred pound notes are held before a window showing the skyline of Egypt's capital Cairo and the Nile river on January 16, 2023. - With Egypt's economy in crisis, the currency in freefall and inflation skyrocketing, the poor have been hit hard but the middle class is also teetering on the brink. The Egyptian pound has lost half its value against the dollar since March, following a devaluation demanded as part of a $3 billion International Monetary Fund loan agree

Egypt inflation drops to 31.5%, but food prices still rising

Annual inflation fell slightly in April compared to the previous month as the central bank readies its next decision on interest rates.