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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

President of China Xi Jinping (R) and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (L) attend the China-Africa Leaders' Roundtable Dialogue on the last day of the 2023 BRICS Summit in Johannesburg on August 24, 2023. (Photo by ALET PRETORIUS / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ALET PRETORIUS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

What's driving Gulf interest to join BRICS?

Joining the bloc allows Gulf states to gain traction in their status and stake holding as providers of both a model of economic growth and development, and in the mechanisms to provide capital.

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy

UAE NZ

UAE trade offensive continues, this time with New Zealand deal

The UAE is looking to secure its sixth trade agreement of the year as it increases its non-oil trade globally, with intentions to reach $1.09 billion by 2031.

United Arab Emirates

President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during the 2023 BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on August 22, 2023. (Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / AFP) (Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP via Getty Images)

Brazil set to capitalize on Saudi-UAE competition as investments take shape

South America’s largest economy has been actively engaging with the UAE and Saudi Arabia under newly reelected President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

An oil tanker unloads imported crude oil at Qingdao port in China's eastern Shandong province on May 9, 2022. - China OUT (Photo by AFP) / China OUT (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran's oil production bounces back as exports to China rise despite sanctions

Iran's oil industry was hurt by the reimposition of US sanctions in 2018, but has largely recovered since then, in part due to increased exports to China.

Nvidia

US bans Nvidia, AMD AI chips' export to some Mideast countries, amid China fears

The technological war between the United States and China is heating up, with both countries imposing limits on their prized assets.

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi sovereign wealth fund invests in US mixed martial arts league

The new area of sports investment follows major Saudi investments in golf and soccer.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Radhid Al-Maktoum 1

UAE’s non-oil trade hits record $340B in first half of 2023

Trade is set to increase after the BRICS bloc of major developing economies announced last week that the United Arab Emirates was among the list of countries invited to join the group.

United Arab Emirates

Employees work at headquarters housing Alibaba, Iran's largest online travel booking service, in the capital Tehran on February 17, 2020 - Iran's startup sector, which began to develop in the 2000s, took off from 2013. But new technology and the use of smart phones were hit hard by the reinstatement of US sanctions in 2018, after the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal. An unexpected effect of the sanctions has been that Iranian entrepreneurs have seized the opportunity to launch startups. (Ph

Iran's startups will continue to face pressure from hardline agenda

The security establishment has recently targeted entrepreneurs and entities in the country's startup ecosystem — but how far are Iran's hardliners prepared to go and what will be the reaction of constituents?

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

Tarek El Molla

Egypt to drill 35 gas wells by 2025 as BP invests

The energy giant pledged $3.5 billion in investment into gas exploration in Egypt over the next three years.

Aramco

Saudi Arabia’s foreign reserves shrink by $16B in July amid oil cuts

The kingdom’s net foreign assets declined to 1.53 trillion riyals ($407 billion), according to the central bank’s monthly report published on Monday.

A man walks by Tadawul, Saudi Arabia's stock exchange, Riyadh, December 12, 2019.

Saudi Arabia’s ADES to launch IPO

ADES rebooted its plans for an initial public offering, having delayed it earlier in the year after the kingdom’s stock exchange experienced difficulties.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey, Saudi Arabia ink critical mineral cooperation deal

Green energy investments will have an important share in cooperation between Turkey and Saudi Arabia, said the Turkish energy minister.