Economy & Business - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Business and Economy Cover Image

Economy & Business

a large billboard featuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

What Netanyahu win or loss could mean for Israel’s economy

Economic concerns have taken a back seat to security as voters weigh Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s future — but rising deficits, cost of living and politically charged issues will be a challenge for whoever eventually prevails.

Qatar's Energy Minister and CEO of QatarEnergy Saad Sherida al-Kaabi speaks during a press conference in Doha, on June 22, 2026.

Qatar locks in US LNG through 2054 as it looks beyond Hormuz

The Gulf state agreed to buy up to 4 million tons of US liquefied natural gas annually through 2054.

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.

Latest News

Gulf oil exports surpass prewar levels despite escalating tanker attacks

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.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Macron secures Gulf diesel supplies as France grapples with fuel costs, unrest

Benoit Tessier / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

Iranian employees of Saipa auto plant assemble a Tiba (Gazelle) car in the central city of Kashan on May 9, 2010. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated the largest automobile factory in the Middle East with a capacity of producing 150,000 cars a year, creating 4,000 jobs directly and 20,000 indirectly in the region. The Saipa factory will produce a new small car called Tiba costing between 80 and 90 million Rials (8,000 to 9,000 USD) for lower-middle class population. AFP PHOTO/ISNA/ALIREZA SOTA

Iran's SAIPA signs $497 million car deal with Russia, Belarus

Iranian carmaker SAIPA will export vehicles to Belarus and Russia following a similar agreement with Venezuela.

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/05/turkeys-erdogan-indicates-refusal-hand-over-power-event-election-loss

Cristiano Ronaldo world’s highest paid athlete at $136 million

Cristiano Ronaldo tops Forbes’ 2023 list of the highest grossing athletes playing soccer in Saudi Arabia, which also gave tens of millions of dollars in upfront guarantees to top earners Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson.

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Turkey inflation drops below 50% 11 days before elections

Though inflation has dipped, Turkey’s monthly consumer prices continue to rise amid a cost-of-living crisis.

Iranian and Saudi foreign ministers in China

Should the US worry about China's expanding influence in the Gulf?

China's hosting of a diplomatic breakthrough between Iran and Saudi Arabia signals a different kind of Chinese interest in the Persian Gulf.

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy

Marcus Rashford of Manchester United controls the ball during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Aston Villa at Old Trafford on April 30, 2023 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Qatari royal to invest $1bn more in Manchester United bid: report

Despite the sweetened offer from the Qatari banker, British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe is understood to be the favorite to buy the English soccer club, according to reports.

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

UAE airports record 56.3% bump in traffic as Saudi Arabia tries to compete

Saudi Arabia recently launched Riyadh Air in an effort to boost its air travel industry.

BEIJING, CHINA - MARCH 17: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (2nd-L) meets with Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (2nd-R) at Great Hall of the People on March 17, 2017 in Beijing, China. At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, King Salman Bin Abdul-Aaziz Al-Saud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will pay a state visit to China from March 15 to 18, 2017. (Photo by Lintao Zhang - Pool/Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia and China’s Baosteel to establish steel complex

Saudi entities, including oil giant Aramco, have made a number of agreements with Chinese entities in the past year as Sino-Saudi ties continue to gain momentum.

Careem’s $400M deal signals Middle East telecoms becoming go-to tech investors

Careem's latest mega-deal for $400 million points to a growing investment role for leading telecom companies in the region.

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Turkey's Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman and Presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu speaks on the stage during a rally in Kocaeli, on April 28, 2023. - A sea of umbrellas and hoods at his feet, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the Turkish opposition candidate who will challenge Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the polls on 14 May, smilingly promises "the return of spring". (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP) (Photo by YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey election pledges foretell bigger budget deficit

A review of economic programs and a supplementary budget appear inevitable for the winner of Turkey’s May 14 elections.

Israel desalination

Morocco uses ties with Israel to improve water, food security

As Morocco battles water and food insecurity, Israel is becoming a strategic partner, with a number of sustainable solutions reflected in recent deals.

A picture taken on April 4, 2023 shows the Nahr Bin Omar oil field and facility near Iraq's southern port city of Basra. - Major oil powers led by Saudi Arabia announced a surprise production cut of more than one million barrels per day on April 2, calling it a "precautionary" move aimed at stabilising the market. (Photo by Hussein FALEH / AFP) (Photo by HUSSEIN FALEH/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Saudi-led OPEC turns deaf ears on oil cuts amid global slowdown

Predictions for GDP growth in the Gulf look more optimistic than those for the rest of the world, and the region is resisting calls to stop cutting oil production.

By Salim A. Essaid

his picture taken on September 24, 2013 shows US dollar notes being counted next to stacks of Chinese 100 yuan (RMB) bank notes at a bank in Huaibei, in eastern China's Anhui province. With deals from London to Singapore, China is seeking to have its yuan currency used more widely around the world and challenge the hegemony of the almighty dollar. CHINA OUT AFP PHOTO (Photo by AFP) (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Why China's yuan is unlikely to see boost from Saudi entry to BRICS

Oil transactions between China and the Gulf may be settled in Chinese currency, but experts do not foresee an end to the dollar's dominance soon.