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

Business and Economy Cover Image

Economy & Business

People walk past a cryptocurrency exchange office with a screen featuring US President Donald Trump holding cryptocurrency coins in Hong Kong on March 12, 2025.

Trump earns $810M from UAE-backed crypto firm: What to know

According to the disclosure, Trump earned $810 million from crypto token sales and sales of interests in UAE-backed World Liberty Financial.

United Arab Emirates

Omar Albaw / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

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.

Latest News

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

AFP via Getty Images

Interview

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

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

Olivier Badard

CEO of Armada Holding

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

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

Egyptian farmers harvest wheat in Bamha village.

World Bank approves $500 million loan to Egypt for food security

Egypt, like other countries in the region, is contending with food security and price increases related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

A man looks on near the stand of US multinational technology conglomerate Meta.

Qatar partners with Meta on digital economy

Gulf states are working to increase the size of their digital economies.

An aerial view taken on Oct. 2, 2021, shows people swimming and paddling off the coast of the northern Lebanese city of Batroun.

Outrageous prices keep Lebanese from swimming

Many Lebanese have been complaining about high entrance fees to swimming pools and water resorts amid low salaries due to the local currency depreciation.

ECOWAS flag with various member flags.

UAE to increase exports to countries in West Africa

The Emirates is one of the biggest investors in Africa. Turkey, Qatar and Israel have significant interests on the African continent as well.

Bedouin men eat their dinner in a tent on Oct. 9, 2013, in the Bedouin village of Al-Arakib, Israel.

Israel to build first solar plant on Bedouin land

A unique agreement with the State offers a Bedouin tribe in the south of Israel real ownership of its land, enabling it to rent out space for the construction of a giant solar plant.

A vendor sells fruits at the central market during the Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan, Rabat, Morocco, May 6, 2020.

Imports up pressure on Morocco’s foreign reserves

Energy and food imports alongside a growing trade deficit put pressure on Morocco’s foreign currency reserves.

Digital currency.

Gaza YouTuber scams million dollars, vanishes

Dozens of citizens in Gaza fell victim to the fraud of Palestinian YouTuber Jalal al-Najjar who collected one million US dollars and vanished.

A general view of the Egyptian Exchange, Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 6, 2013.

Islamic finance grows despite global economic turmoil

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Ankara forces companies to sell hard currency as circle tightens

The Turkish government’s latest loan restriction may help the embattled lira recover to some extent, but not without the risk of damaging side effects.

Morocco drought

Morocco invests in desalination plants as drought worsens

Located in an arid zone characterized by rain disruption, Morocco seeks solutions to solve water scarcity and ensure supply for domestic, industrial, and agricultural purposes

Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, speaks during a press conference after the release of the Panama-flagged MV Ever Given container ship, in the canal's central city of Ismailia, Egypt, July 5, 2021.

Suez, Panama canals sign cooperation agreement to boost investments

The Suez and Panama canals’ economic zones seek to attract more investments through a cooperation agreement to exchange experiences and information.

Boxes of coronavirus vaccines are stacked on the tarmac after the first batch arrived at Khartoum airport on an Emirates Airlines flight, Khartoum, Sudan, March 3, 2121.

Western creditors suspend debt relief to Sudan over coup as country’s economy sinks

The Paris Club of major creditors announced the suspension of a 2021 agreement with the now-deposed transitional government to restructure the large foreign debt of Sudan.