Banking and Finance

Kuwaiti traders follow the stock market activity at Boursa Kuwait, in Kuwait City, on April 7, 2025.

Mideast private equity down 38%, but higher-value deals dominate

Saudi Arabia was the region’s most active market with 13 transactions, followed by the UAE with 12.

This picture taken on on Feb. 1, 2021 shows a view of the downtown Dubai skyline, with Burj Khalifa, as seen from the Dubai Frame vantage point.

Wealthy flock to UAE, fueling Dubai’s 32% company surge: What to know

Gulf states are diversifying their economies away from reliance on oil, and the UAE is leading the charge, with the country on track to welcome nearly 10,000 high-net-worth individuals this year.

United Arab Emirates

An image of Karim Attiyeh.

Meet Karim Attiyeh, youngest Arab American billionaire of Lebanese origin

Karim Attiyeh, a Lebanese-born technologist, has been named by Forbes Middle East as the youngest billionaire of Arab origin in the United States, joining the list of the 125 richest immigrant billionaires in the US.

BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia to invest $6B in Syria in boost to Sharaa: What to know

The kingdom has been at the forefront of diplomatic and economic efforts to support Syria's recovery.

Latest News

Saudi Arabia offers travel permits to Syrian businessmen, investors: What to know

A man carries the Syrian and the Saudi flags past a billboard thanking Qatar, in Damascus, on May 14, 2025.

Turkey secures $2.8B green financing for Azerbaijan railway: What to know

An export train to Russia and China leaves the Ankara station, on Jan. 29, 2021.

Egypt pitches new investment plan to US firms: What to know

Boats sail near the shore in the Egyptian Red Sea resort city of El-Gouna, on Nov. 1, 2024.

Egypt banks on Beijing as premier visit seals yuan, payment deals

Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly (R) meets with China's Premier Li Qiang at his office in Cairo on July 10, 2025.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, and Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto pose for a family photo.

Egypt urges BRICS to deepen financial ties after Trump threatens tariffs

Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly said that due to the global decline in multilateralism and crises engulfing the world, members of the bloc of developing nations should bolster their financial and economic ties.

Hisham Ezz Al Arab CIB CEO

Interview

How Red Sea attacks prepared Egypt’s economy for future shocks

The CEO of Egypt's third-largest bank tells Al-Monitor why he is hopeful about the country's economic recovery.

Hisham Ezz Al-Arab

Hisham Ezz Al-Arab

CEO, Commercial International Bank

Portraits of Iranian military generals and nuclear scientists, killed in Israel's June 13 attack are displayed above a road, as a plume of heavy smoke and fire rise from an oil refinery in southern Tehran, after it was hit in an overnight Israeli strike, on June 15, 2025.

Analysis

Israel-Iran war fuels risks for Mideast economies, energy flows after US strikes

The global economic fallout from the Israel-Iran clash has been limited but US strikes are adding to the risk.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Lebanese Minister of Economy Amin Salam (R) vists the port of the capital Beirut, as a corner of the silos which were destroyed in a massive explosion on August 4, 2020, burns on July 14, 2022. - The fire at the port's blast-hit grain silos, at risk of collapse due to severe damage, ignited at the start of the month because of fermentation of remaining grain stocks paired with rising temperatures. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon arrests fmr economy minister Amin Salam on embezzlement charges

The arrest comes nearly a year after the former central bank chief was arrested on charges of embezzlement and money laundering, among other things.

A woman looks on from Creek Harbout at the Dubai skyline with Burj Khalifa, the world's largest building (C) on Feb. 5, 2025.

EU commission removes UAE, adds Lebanon and Algeria to money laundering list: What to know

The changes to the list are still pending approval from EU member states and the European Parliament, likely within the next month.

United Arab Emirates

People enjoy the sun and the sea along the Kadinlar Beach of Kusadasi on July 17, 2005.

Turkey: $30M credit card scam hits tourists in coastal resort, 20 arrested

The alleged ringleader, a hotel owner identified as "H.O.," stole the money by sharing credit card details of tourists checking into the property.

Price tags of olives are seen at a store on March 3, 2025, in Istanbul, Turkey

As Turkey's inflation dips to 35%, will central bank pivot on interest rates?

Inflation has slowed to the lowest level since 2021, sparking speculation that the central bank could resume easing monetary policy amid mounting pressure on Turkey's finance chief — but analysts caution against a rush.

TOPSHOT - Kuwaiti traders follow the stock market activity at Boursa Kuwait, in Kuwait City on April 7, 2025. According to official news agencies, Kuwait's primary index fell 5.7 percent, the Qatari stock exchange was down 4.2 percent, and in Oman, the Muscat stock market closed with a 2.6-percent decline. Under Trump's policy, goods from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates will be subject to a 10-percent "baseline" tariff. The uncertainty over trade and manufacturing has helped t

Analysis

Gulf wealth funds weather US stock dip, target Amazon, Bitcoin in Q1

We take a look at the region’s exposure to American equities as the US president departs the Gulf.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Khaldoun al-Mubarak, Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of the Mubadala Investment Company, speaks at a panel session during the World Government Summit in Dubai on February 12, 2024. (Photo by RYAN LIM / AFP) (Photo by RYAN LIM/AFP via Getty Images)

Mubadala investments soar by 33% as UAE deepens AI ties with US

Mubadala made 119 billion Emirati dirhams ($32.4 billion) worth of investments in 2024, up 33.7% from the previous year, according to a Thursday statement from the UAE fund.

United Arab Emirates

Commuters drive past a newly-installed billboard bearing the image of a Lebanese flag and a statement that reads in Arabic "Lebanon a new era", replacing a Hezbollah billboard, on the road leading to Beirut's Rafic Hariri International airport on April 10, 2025. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon secures initial World Bank approval for $400M loan

Lebanon is seeking international support to cover an estimated $11 billion in reconstruction costs, as its government navigates ongoing political and security challenges.

Employees stand behind stacks of local currency notes as they serve clients at an exchange shop in Damascus, on April 16, 2025.

IMF appoints first Syria mission head in 14 years: What to know

Syria's new government faces the task of revitalizing an economy that has been devastated by 14 years of war and ravaged by international sanctions.

People wave the flag of Palestine and the new flag of Syria as Syrians gather in a protest dubbed "Syrians Against the Occupation" to denounce Israel's continued war on Gaza as well as its occupation of parts of Syria and Palestine in Damascus, Syria, on April 7, 2025.

First Syria delegation under Sharaa visits US, will attend IMF meetings: What to know

Syria's new government faces the daunting task of rebuilding an economy shattered by war and burdened with debt, ongoing sanctions and reconstruction costs.