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Economy & Business

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.

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.

Gulf oil exports surpass prewar levels despite escalating tanker attacks

According to data from Kpler, oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and alternative routes across the Middle East averaged more than 24 million barrels a day last week, surpassing prewar levels of 23.3 million.

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

Benoit Tessier / AFP via Getty Images

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

France now has commitments for 295,000 metric tons of diesel per month from the Gulf, accounting for just over 10% of the European country’s consumption.

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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

Analysis

As Iran’s oil lifeline runs dry, can it outlast Trump's economic siege?

shoppers walking through the Tajrish Bazaar, a traditional market in Tehran

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

How much oil can cushion another Middle East supply shock?

A vessel transits the Gulf of Oman

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

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

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan walk at the Kremlin following their talks in Moscow on August 7, 2025. (Photo by Gavriil Grigorov / POOL / AFP) (Photo by GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE, Russia host first joint business forum despite Ukraine war sanctions

Trade between the two countries is projected to exceed $10 billion in 2025.

United Arab Emirates

Multiple exposure photograph of the Netflix and Warner Bros logos in front of a television screen at Kerlouan in Brittany in France, on Dec. 5 2025.

Mideast funds back Paramount's $108B Warner Bros. takeover bid

Netflix appeared to have won a weeks-long bidding war with Paramount and Comcast, securing a $72 billion equity deal for Warner Bros. Discovery's TV, film studios and streaming assets, but Monday's $108 billion bid changes the calculus.

An employee works at the Rmailan oil field in the northeastern Syria, near the border with Turkey, on Jan. 8, 2025.

Saudi Arabia deepens footprint in Syria with four new oil and gas deals

The year-old Syrian government looks to revive the country’s energy sector, in part by signing deals with international companies and attracting foreign direct investment.

People walk on the platform of the Haramain High Speed Rail Network at the airport station in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, on Dec. 12, 2019.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar ink high-speed rail deal advancing Gulf integration

Saudi Arabia is seeking to boost its railway infrastructure, and longstanding efforts to connect Gulf states by train are finally gaining momentum.

KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images

Qatar, UAE step up LNG plans as global demand surges

The United Arab Emirates and Qatar energy ministers share a vision of vastly expanding liquefied natural gas exports to meet the growing global demand.

United Arab Emirates

An aerial view shows the destruction across Yarmouk camp, Damascus, Syria, on November 8, 2025. Established in 1957, Yarmouk was once the largest Palestinian refugee community in Syria, but years of conflict left much of it in ruins. (Photo by Omar Albaw / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by OMAR ALBAW/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Feature

Syria’s new order faces old problems: Sanctions, reconstruction and volatility

Although President Ahmed al-Sharaa has obtained major commitments from potential foreign investors, the economic and political challenges ahead remain significant.

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

This picture taken on December 11, 2019, shows an oil tanker at the port of Ras al-Khair, about 185 kilometres north of Dammam in Saudi Arabia's eastern province overlooking the Gulf. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia advances gas ambitions as $100B Jafurah plant comes online

The Finance Ministry reported that initial output at the massive Jafurah gas field has begun, with a capacity of 450 million cubic feet per day.

An aerial view shows the destruction across Yarmouk camp, Damascus, Syria, on Nov. 8, 2025.

What role is Jordan playing in Syria's reconstruction?

As Syria’s southern neighbor, Jordan is already positioning itself as a logistics hub and diplomatic broker for Syria’s reconstruction.

RICHARD A. BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi PIF eyes $27B Japan portfolio as kingdom courts Asian investment

Saudi Arabia is strengthening economic ties with Asian countries as it pursues its economic transformation goals.

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

Spots of gold-rich ore speckle a stone pictured during a press tour at the Al-Amar Gold Mine, in the Riyadh region on May 28, 2008.

Analysis

US-Gulf critical minerals ties grow in bid to weaken China’s grip on industry

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are emerging as indispensable partners to the United States in its efforts to “friend-shore” a strategic sector and supply chains dominated by China.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A man monitors the board at the Stock Exchange Market (Tadawul) bourse in Riyadh, Dec. 12, 2019.

Saudi Arabia opens Nomu Parallel Market to new investors: What to know

Easing investing rules and deepening capital markets to diversify the Saudi economy are key to fulfilling Vision 2030.