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Economy & Business

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

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

A ceasefire reached between Israel and Hamas in October has prompted some shipping companies to consider resuming services, but security concerns persist.

Solar panels in a Sinai desert, Egypt.

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

Gulf companies have been increasing their investments in North African renewable energy.

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)

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

Shares in SGTM jumped by 10% on Dec. 16 after the construction firm raised roughly $550 million from its IPO, underscoring demand in a market that has featured few new listings in recent years.

Latest News

India’s Modi eyes closer ties with Jordan, Oman during visits

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al-Hussein bin Abdullah II (R) meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jordan, on Dec. 16, 2025.

Egypt secures Qatari investment boost, launches first SCZONE industrial deal

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)

Analysis

Yemen’s oil heartland fuels new conflict as STC seeks new political power

Yemeni employees walk at the Aden oil refinery company in Yemen's port city of Aden on Sept. 29, 2015.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Turkey, US push toward $100B trade goal as Bolat heads to Washington

U.S. President Donald Trump (R) shakes hands with President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Oval Office at the White House on September 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump has signaled that the U.S. might lift a ban on F-35 sales to Turkey during Erdogan's first visit to the White House since 2019. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/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

A man poses for video outside a Starbucks coffee shop in a market area in Dubai on May 18, 2023.

US firm mulls stake in Starbucks Middle East franchise as local competition heats up

Apollo Asset Management's reported interest comes after the coffee chain said boycotts related to the Gaza war had hurt its regional business.

ISMAILIA, EGYPT - JANUARY 10: A ship transits the Suez Canal towards the Red Sea on January 10, 2024 in Ismailia, Egypt. In the wake of Israel's war on Gaza after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, Houthi rebels in Yemen pledged disruption on all ships destined for Israel through the Red Sea's Suez Canal. The disruption on world trade is evident in the number of companies using this container ship route - a 90 per cent decline compared to figures one year ago. (Photo by Sayed Hassan/Getty Images)

Middle East-China trade prospects remain robust despite Red Sea crisis

Howard J. Shatz

Howard J. Shatz

An Egyptian woman shops at a fruit market in Cairo, on March 17, 2022.

What’s behind Egypt decision to raise minimum wage, government salaries by 50%?

Egypt’s economy has suffered from high inflation for years, and now the spillover from the Gaza war is exacerbating the situation.

A sign for the London Metal Exchange (LME).

London Metal Exchange to build delivery centers in Saudi Arabia

Investors and mining companies are bracing for a wave of exploration licenses awarded in Saudi Arabia after the kingdom nearly doubled its untapped mineral estimate to $2.5 trillion and announced new incentives for miners in January.

A billboard with pictures of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) and President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Gulf-India relations boosted by UAE deals, Saudi Aramco talks

India has made deals with the UAE and Qatar recently, and trade between India and the GCC is rising.

Farmers spray grapevines at a vineyard in Souidania town, 15 Km west of the Algerian capital, on May 16, 2022. (Photo by RYAD KRAMDI / AFP) (Photo by RYAD KRAMDI/AFP via Getty Images)

Algeria to miss its 2024 food import reduction target amid worsening drought conditions

Francisco Serrano

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi inks $3.2B missile defense deal with South Korea as Iran attends expo

The World Defense Show has yielded deals between Saudi Arabia and South Korea and may lead to the strengthening of the kingdom’s ties with Iran, the United States and others.

QatarEnergy India LNG

India bets on Qatar again with 20-year LNG deal

India is one of Qatar's top LNG customers, and the Gulf country is looking to expand its reach in Asia and Europe amid high export targets and increasing competition from the United States' expanding natural gas market.

ALI KHALIGH/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

How the Gaza boycotts are impacting McDonald's, Starbucks sales

Last month, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said “misinformation” about the company’s position on the conflict had hurt the business.

Two bank employees count dollars and Iraqi dinars in Baghdad on Sept. 28, 2000.

Why Iraq's dinar is trading below official dollar rate amid new restrictions

A top US official visited Iraqi officials last week to discuss countering illicit finance and strengthening Iraq’s financial system.

Milkor 380 drone.

South Africa’s Milkor gets go-ahead to produce drones in Saudi Arabia

The Gulf country is bolstering its defense capabilities amid increasing instability in the Middle East.

A THOR vertical takeoff and landing micro-unmanned aerial system, developed as military tactical mule platform and part of the "Legion-X" line of robotic and autonomous combat solutions produced by Elbit Systems, flies during a press demonstration at their headquarters in Ramat HaSharon, Israel, July 10, 2023.

Japan’s Itochu drops Israel’s Elbit defense systems as Gaza war impact deepens

Companies with connections to Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems have been targeted by activist groups including Palestine Action, which is calling for those involved in the company’s supply chains to sever ties.