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Economy & Business

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Kuwait's Zain eyes $1.5B mobile network in postwar Syria: What to know

The Kuwaiti company is planning to invest more than $1.5 billion in Syria after securing a license to operate there, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images

Here's what to know about Iraq's corruption as Zaidi launches crackdown

Watchdogs and financial institutions regard Iraq as a significantly corrupt country as the new prime minister works to recover public funds.

AFP via Getty Images

Traffic plummets through Strait of Hormuz after Iran, US trade fire

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had recovered somewhat before renewed fighting between Iran and the United States saw traffic drop sharply over the weekend.

A student attends a training seminar at the Tourism Ministry Training center in the city of Riyadh on August 30, 2022.

Interview

Saudi labor localization will take ‘generation or two': Armada CEO

Around 70% of Saudi Arabia's population is 35 years old or younger, according to the kingdom’s General Authority for Statistics, providing ample opportunity for an educated and technology-savvy national workforce in the coming decades.

Olivier Badard

CEO of Armada Holding

Latest News

Analysis

Why the Hormuz oil shock never became an energy catastrophe

A tourist boat passes near crude oil tankers, bulk carriers, and other vessels anchored off Port Sultan Qaboos in Muscat, Oman, June 19, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Explainer

Gulf states push incentives for investors, expats after war dents image

FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

Explainer

After UAE and Qatar, could Iraq be next to leave OPEC?

A worker at a market for fuel oil and automotive fuel on March 17, 2026, in Erbil, Iraq.

Explainer

Syria’s energy push could soon get a major boost from Chevron: What to know

Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / 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

Saudi National Bank chairman resigns after Credit Suisse loss

Current CEO Saeed Mohammed Al Ghamdi will take over as the new chairman on March 27, with deputy CEO Talal Ahmed Al Khereiji filling his place.

Asian labourers work at the construction site of Saudi Aramco's (the national oil company) Al-Khurais central oil processing facility in the Saudi Arabian desert, 160 kms east of the capital Riyadh, on June 23, 2008. Deep in the Saudi desert, 28,000 Asian workers are racing to get a giant oil processing complex ready to help King Abdullah keep a vow to meet world demand for crude. AFP PHOTO/MARWAN NAAMANI (Photo by MARWAN NAAMANI / AFP) (Photo by MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP via Getty Images)

Why global energy giants are increasing their presence in the Middle East and North Africa

Global energy companies have all made the strategic assumption that they will be able to invest in exploration and production in the Middle East for several decades to come.

Gerald Kepes

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy trends

A stock market ticker displays financial information and world time zones in the lobby of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Israeli shekel, stocks rally as Netanyahu pauses judicial reform

The right-wing Israeli government’s controversial judicial reform plans have divided Israeli society and led to concerns among the Israeli tech sector and global financial institutions.

Lebanese forces try to prevent protestors from vandalising a private bank during a demonstration by members of the banks depositors committee against monetary policies, on March 24, 2023. - Lebanon's economic meltdown, described by the World Bank as one of the worst in recent global history, has plunged most of the population into poverty according to the United Nations. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon PM reverses daylight saving time decision after 48 hours of anarchy

The decision to postpone the switch to daylight saving time sparked a wide debate in Lebanon, in some cases taking on a sectarian nature.

A man rides a scooter with a woman and two children along a main street adorned with Christmas and New Year's decorations, in the northern suburb of Shubra (home to a large Christian population), Cairo, Egypt, Dec. 31, 2021.

Egypt offers cash for families to control births

The Egyptian government intends to pay 1,000 Egyptian pounds to married women with two children or less annually as part of efforts to curb population growth.

A general view shows the solar plant in Uyayna, north of Riyadh, on March 29, 2018. - On March 27, Saudi announced a deal with Japan's SoftBank to build the world's biggest solar plant. (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP) (Photo credit should read FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Oman's green hydrogen to face competition from Saudi Arabia, UAE

Oman aspires to be the Middle East's top producer and exporter of green hydrogen as global demand grows. It'll have to go through Saudi Arabia and the UAE first.

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

This picture taken on Nov. 17, 2019, shows the Hong Kong-flagged container ship CSCL STAR sailing through Egypt's Suez Canal.

Egypt-China relations strengthen with $2 billion factory deal

China is making major economic inroads into Egypt along with other countries in the Middle East.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk leaves the Phillip Burton Federal Building on January 24, 2023 in San Francisco, California. Musk testified at a trial regarding a lawsuit that has investors suing Tesla and Musk over his August 2018 tweets saying he was taking Tesla private with funding that he had secured. The tweet was found to be false and cost shareholders billions of dollars when Tesla's stock price began to fluctuate wildly allegedly based on the tweet. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Elon Musk denies report that Saudi Arabia, UAE intend to invest in SpaceX

An arm of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and an Abu Dhabi-based company were reported to be looking to invest in Elon Musk’s SpaceX, according to The Information, which cited people familiar with investor discussions.

People buy traditional lanterns and foodstuff ahead of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan at the market Sayyida Zeinab district, Cairo, Egypt, March 12, 2023.

This Ramadan, food prices change Egypt's longstanding Iftar customs

Surging food prices force Egyptians to strictly stick to the basics ahead of Ramadan.

The Dubai metro track is seen along Sheikh Zayed Road, as the Gulf emirate prepares to open its new metro network in a bid to cut dependency on cars and ease congestion, United Arab Emirates, Sept. 9, 2009.

UAE, Oman call for bids on $3 billion transnational railway project

The move aims to expand the role of the private sector in the state-owned project and promote regional integration, with the project connecting Oman’s Sohar Port with the UAE's National Rail Network.

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)

Russia surpasses Saudi Arabia as China’s top oil supplier

Energy-related cooperation between Saudi Arabia and China remains strong, but Russia and Saudi Arabia will continue to compete for the Chinese oil market in the near future.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - DECEMBER 05: People wallk past a currency exchange shop on December 5, 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey. As the Turkish Lira plunged to record lows in past weeks, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a speech Saturday said his political enemies were trying to sabotage the economy and urged citizens to convert their foreign currency savings into lira or gold. Borsa Istanbul, Turkey's main stock exchange, became the first institution to act on the presidents call, converting all it's cash assets to li

Increased gold reserves help stabilize Turkey's currency ahead of May elections

The value of Turkey's gold reserves have reached an all-time high of $50.6 billion and account for almost 40% of the central bank's gross foreign assets.

Piero Cingari