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

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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

KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images

UAE-Turkey reconciliation continues with trade agreement

The move follows a currency swap agreement between the two countries and the Turkish president's visit to the UAE.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Fourth Turkish drilling ship arrives from South Korea

Turkey's fourth drilling ship is set to bring the country's drilling fleet to another level.

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

UAE-Germany trade up more than 10% in 2021

Entities in the Emirates and Germany have signed several recent energy cooperation agreements.

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Egypt raises bank rates again

The Central Bank cited rising inflation and price increases due to the war in Ukraine for the move.

An Israeli woman works among marijuana plants at the Breath Of Life Pharma greenhouse in the country's second-largest medical cannabis plantation, near Kfar Pines, northern Israel, March 9, 2016.

Israeli cannabis industry grows with seeds export to US

The seeds from the Israeli crop science firm BetterSeeds are the first in the country to be exported internationally.

Iraq food

Iraqi court annuls food security bill

There are rising concerns over food security in Iraq due to the war on Ukraine and the drought, but the agriculture and trade ministries say there is no need to be concerned over the country’s strategic food reserve stocks.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s middle class priced out of home ownership

Buying a home has become an elusive dream even for middle-class professionals in Turkey as the country’s economic woes erupt into a perfect storm over the housing market.

A social worker plays an educational game with a homeless child inside one of the mobile units run by the Egyptian authorities and used as part of the "Atfal bala ma'wa" (Children Without a Home) social program, Abbasia district, Cairo, Egypt, June 22, 2020.

Egyptian startups reimagine mental health services in Arab-speaking world

In an attempt to fill some of the most urgent gaps in mental health issues across the region, online platforms have developed tech-enabled alternatives to offer services that are safe, stigma-free and help raise awareness — although concerns about accessibility persist.

Gaming in Israel

Israel's gaming industry continues expansion

ADNOC headquarters (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company) office complex (C).

Affiliate of Abu Dhabi oil company to list on stock exchange

Borouge is ADNOC’s joint venture with Austrian petrochemical firm Borealis AG.

United Arab Emirates

Turkish Airlines Airbus A321 takes off.

Airport wars flare up in Turkey amid claims of Gulf acquisition

A row over the fate of Istanbul’s iconic Ataturk Airport has escalated in Turkey amid opposition claims that a plan to demolish the facility is designed to gratify Gulf investors interested in operating the city’s newer airport.

Obsolete Turkish lira banknotes.

Turkish lira continues to fall

Turkey is in the midst of an economic crisis marked by high inflation.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change