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The headquarters of SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, with a Falcon 9 booster in March 2024.

Explainer

Saudi investors could emerge as key winners from SpaceX’s historic IPO

A new disclosure from Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding ahead of SpaceX’s Nasdaq debut shows just how valuable Elon Musk's relationship with Gulf investors has become.

Latest News

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

David Rosenberg

In Tel Aviv, reporting on business and tech

An employee at "al-Gameya", a tech startup the runs an app to facilitate for strangers to create an informal money-pooling association to provide access for money in time of need, uses a computer with the official Facebook page of the application open on a web browser, at the company offices in Egypts capital Cairo on September 12, 2021. - Cash-strapped Egyptians fearful of banks have long relied on a "gameya" to access money in time of need, but now tech startups are cashing in on the practice. Such cooper

A reality check looms for Middle East's tech startups

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

An illustration picture taken in London shows a gold plated souvenir cryptocurrency Tether (USDT) coin arranged beside a screen displaying a trading chart, May 8, 2022.

Bahrain’s CoinMENA to facilitate real estate payments via cryptocurrency

The agreement with Carlton Real Estate only applies to certain coins. Cryptocurrency’s utility is increasing in the Gulf.

A member of Iraq's Electoral Commission demonstrates a digital machine that scans ballots of Iraqi voters.

Kurdistan government in Iraq hopes digitalization will bring investment

The Kurdistan Regional Government has made progress digitizing government services, but investors say more is needed to attract serious capital and spur startup growth.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (C), Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (2nd R) and UAE's President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (R) attend the leaders summit on the second day of the COP27 climate conference, Sharm el-Sheikh International Convention Center, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Nov. 7, 2022.

UAE, Egypt announce new wind farm during COP27

Wind power is growing in Egypt, which is relatively poor in oil and gas.

Russia begins production of equipment and components of Egypt’s El-Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant, Aug. 2, 2021.

Egypt, Russia commence second phase of nuclear power plant construction

Egypt is preparing to build the second unit of the Dabaa nuclear power plant about five months after establishing the first unit.

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi crown prince launches electric car company

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman wants the oil-rich kingdom to focus more on green technology as he seeks to diversify the economy.

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Saudi Arabia establishes open banking framework

Saudi Arabia wants to grow its fintech sector in line with its diversification plan, but finding the right talent could be a challenge.

Senator calls for investigation into Saudi Twitter ownership

Saudi Prince Alwaleed is the second-largest stakeholder in Elon Musk's Twitter, which has earned him criticism from Sen. Murphy. But the prince’s investment in the company is not new.

A general view shows a palm field suffering from desertification on Oct. 27, 2016, near Morocco's southeastern oasis town of Erfoud.

Egypt plans to launch first satellite to monitor climate change in Africa

In the lead-up to the COP27 scheduled to be held in Sharm el-Sheikh in November and in partnership with China, Egypt plans to launch its first satellite specialized in the monitoring of climate changes in Africa.

A man looks at cryptocurrency prices in a window of a cryptocurrency exchange office, Istanbul, Turkey, Oct. 19, 2021.

Report: Turkey has highest cryptocurrency interest in Middle East

CryptoManiaks also found a relatively high amount of crypto-related Google searches in Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Qatar signs deal with Google Cloud

Qatar is seeking to digitize its economy and government, while Google Cloud wants to expand in the Middle East.

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Aramco launches sustainability fund

The more than $1 billion new Saudi fund will invest in hydrogen, ammonia and other alternative fuels to oil.