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Economy & Business

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China’s overland trade routes offer Iran wartime economic lifeline: What to know

Cargo rail traffic between China and Iran has reportedly surged since the US blockade began in April as Tehran seeks overland trade alternatives to help buy time.

In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency on May 4, 2026, the Iran-flagged tugboat Basim sails near a ship anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.

What to know about Iran's 'Persian Gulf Strait Authority' to control Hormuz traffic

The establishment of an entity seeking to control maritime transportation in the Strait of Hormuz is the latest sign that Iran wants to formalize authority in the strategic waterway.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly speaks in Beirut on Dec. 19, 2025.

Egypt ramps up energy investments amid war-driven price pressures

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Wednesday that Egypt has secured commitments exceeding $19 billion from international oil companies over the next three years.

Latest News

Few ships pass Hormuz despite US efforts to break Iran's hold

Tankers are seen at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal in the Sharjah Emirate, along the Strait of Hormuz on June 23, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran strikes UAE’s Fujairah oil hub as US pushes Hormuz reopening

Meysam MIRZADEH / TASNIM NEWS / AFP via Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Oman enters Gulf AI race with new special economic zone in Muscat

Haitham AL-SHUKAIRI / AFP via 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

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

Telegraph

UAE-backed RedBird IMI pulls out of Telegraph deal, will sell UK newspaper

RedBird IMI effectively took control of Telegraph Media Group in December, when it repaid the owner family’s debts, including a $753 million loan against the media outlets.

United Arab Emirates

Finalization of a historic Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Ukraine and the UAE.

UAE, Ukraine conclude trade deal talks, Emirates to help post-war reconstruction

Ukraine’s bilateral trade has sharply fallen since Russia invaded the country in February 2022.

United Arab Emirates

The Maiden's Tower is pictured.

Turkey eyes ExxonMobil LNG as country reduces dependence on Russian gas

The long-term deal being discussed with the American energy giant would give Turkey up to 2.5 million metric tons of LNG a year, Turkey's energy minister said in an interview.

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - APRIL 02: The many pylons that provide power to Dubai are seen in the desert on April 2, 2007 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Commerce and Industry is currently thriving in Dubai and Indian and Pakistani expatriot workers are the backbone of the workforce, sending money back to their families at home. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Gulf telcos flexing investment might amid drive to become global brands

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

View of an oil field at a base near Bentiu, South Sudan.

UAE company agreed to loan $13B to South Sudan in exchange for oil

A $13 billion loan to South Sudan, funded by Hamad Bin Khalifa Department of Projects, marks the largest-ever cash deal for the country.

United Arab Emirates

Dairy cows recline in a barn at the Havelland Ribbeck farm on March 22, 2024 near Nauen, Germany.

Algeria signs $3.5B deal with Qatari firm to develop world's largest dairy farm

A Qatari food giant announced a $3.5 billion agreement with the Algerian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to develop the world’s largest integrated dairy farming and production project in the south of the African country.

Turkey inflation

Breaking | Last Updated: April 25, 2024, 11:31 am

Turkey’s Central Bank keeps interest rates at 50% despite rising inflation

The decision comes after an unexpected hike of 500 basis points last month that increased rates from 45% to 50% as monetary tightening resumed after a one-month pause.

An Austrian soldier guards the entrance to the OPEC headquarters on October 4, 2022 on the eve of the 45th Meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee and the 33rd OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting held on October 05, in Vienna, Austria. - The OPEC+ oil cartel will meet in Vienna for the first time since Covid curbs were introduced in 2020. The face-to-face meeting of the 13 OPEC members led by Saudi Arabia and its 10 allied members headed by Russia will be the first in the Austrian capital si

Can OPEC survive the energy transition?

Kate Dourian

In Dubai, reporting on energy

Bahrain's Investcorp, China's CIC launch $1B Sino-Gulf investment platform

The companies the fund will target are expected to have high growth potential in attractive sectors, including consumer, health care, logistics and business services, the Bahrain-based alternative asset manager said.

Saudi-UK tech hub

Interview

Saudi Arabia's giga-projects to offer 'testing ground' for British technology

Saudi startups and fintech firms are looking to tap into the United Kingdom's $1 trillion tech market.

Matt Jones

Matt Jones

Saudi British Joint Business Council Project Officer

(L to R) EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud during a plenary session titled "Transforming for a New Era", during the Doha Forum in Qatar's capital on March 26, 2022. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)

What does EU visa relaxation for Saudi, Bahraini, Omani citizens mean?

Under the new rules, Bahraini, Omani and Saudi Arabian nationals will be eligible for multiple-entry visas, allowing them to visit the Schengen area (the EU’s 27 member states as well as Bulgaria and Romania) and move freely between them.

A customer orders food at a Chipotle restaurant on April 26, 2022, in San Francisco, California.

Chipotle opens restaurant in Kuwait, its first in Middle East

The Mexican-style food chain’s entry into the Middle East comes as Western brands in the region deal with the effects of Gaza war-related boycotts.