Banking and Finance

People walk past a branch of Turkish bank HalkBank on Dec. 1, 2017 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Supreme Court clears path for Turkey’s Halkbank trial over Iran sanctions

The Turkish president personally raised the Halkbank case with US President Donald Trump at the White House, as Ankara pushes for a settlement to avoid a drawn-out legal battle.

Installation view of CONVERGE in Seven Contours, One Collection at MACAAL © Ayoub El Bardii.

Marrakech's African Contemporary Art Museum reinvents itself two years after quake

Marking the two-year anniversary of the 2023 earthquake, Marrakech’s Museum of African Contemporary Art highlights the city’s recovery and its growing role as a hub for African art.

PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images

Blackstone, Abu Dhabi's Lunate set up $5B GCC logistics investment platform

The new platform will capitalize on the growing logistics sector in the Gulf.

United Arab Emirates

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

PayPal, UAE's DP World sign MoU to speed digital payments

Under the agreement, international transactions are expected to be executed in minutes rather than take up to a week.

United Arab Emirates

Latest News

UAE wealth fund ADIA scoops into $18B Haagen-Dazs owner Froneri

United Arab Emirates

What’s next for Saudi Arabia’s budget balancing act as deficit doubles?

A Riyadh Metro train makes its way along a track in the middle of a road in Riyadh on December 3, 2024.

Iran rial hits record low 1.13M to dollar as UN snapback sanctions resume: What to know

Iranians drive next to a billboard displaying pictures of nuclear scientists, centrifuges and a sentence reading in Farsi, "Science is the power," at the Enqelab Square in Tehran, on Aug. 29, 2025.

PayPal bets $100M as Middle East’s Gulf fintech giants amplify competition

PayPal headquarters pictured in San Jose, California, on Oct. 15, 2015.

United Arab Emirates

Retired US army general, David Petraeus, speaks at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha on May 15, 2024.

David Petraeus, ex-CIA head, tapped to lead KKR's push into Mideast markets

The newly-formed team will identify investment and partnership opportunities in the region, with a focus on the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, the private equity firm said.

People walk past the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street on April 11, 2025, in New York City.

Where Middle East’s top investors stand as tariffs roil US bond market

Turkey's Minister of Finance Mehmet Simsek takes part in a panel discussion during the Doha Forum in the Qatari capital on December 7, 2024. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey's Simsek says economy will ride out Trump tariffs without lasting scars

Mehmet Simsek stressed that his government’s economic program has made the economy more resilient against internal and external shocks, highlighting that inflation has fallen and continues to drop.

Jared Kushner, founder and CEO of Affinity Partners, and Steve Witkoff, US Middle East envoy, during a panel discussion at the FII Priority summit, Miami Beach, Feb. 20, 2025.

UAE, Qatar investments fuel Jared Kushner's firm assets to $4.8 billion

Commitments from Abu Dhabi–based asset manager Lunate and the Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund, increased Affinity’s assets by $1.5 billion over a year.

United Arab Emirates

Karim Souaid

Meet Karim Souaid, Lebanon’s new central bank chief with daunting mission

The appointment of a new central bank governor comes nearly two years after the term of embattled governor Riad Salameh ended in July 2023.

Protesters clash with Turkish riot police using tear gas and water cannon during a demonstration following the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul in Ankara, on March 22, 2025.

Imamoglu's arrest triggers emergency market measures as Turkey stocks plunge

The Turkish lira and equities have fallen sharply since the arrest last week of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu — a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — on corruption charges, which he denies.

Participants arrive to attend the annual Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh on Oct. 29, 2024.

UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia finance startups lead Forbes Middle East Fintech50

Some 119 fintech startups across the Middle East and North Africa raised $700 million in 2024, accounting for 30% of the total MENA startup funding for last year.

UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan walks with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, on an official visit to the United Arab Emirates, April 15, 2023.

Analysis

A year on, UAE walks BRICS tightrope amid escalating US-Brazil rhetoric

Trump is likely to go head-to-head with BRICS this year. He has declared the group to be "dead" and threatened to impose 100% tariffs on all imports from the member states if they planned to move against the dollar.

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

Syrian central bank

UK removes 24 Syrian entities from sanctions list, including central bank

The latest decision comes after the European Union lifted several sanctions across banking and energy on Syria on Feb. 24.

The PricewaterhouseCoopers offices are pictured on Oct. 2, 2018, in London, England.

Saudi Arabia's PIF bans PwC advisory, consulting services: What to know

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund will stop granting consulting projects to PwC until February 2026, Bloomberg reported.

Delegates arrive for the opening session of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, UNCCD COP16, in the Saudi capital Riyadh on December 2, 2024. Saudi Arabia is hosting the COP16 UN conference on land degradation and desertification as the top oil exporter pitches itself as an environmental defender despite criticism of its role at climate talks. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine / AFP) (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia markets Middle East's first euro green bond: What to know

The kingdom, currently the world’s top oil exporter, looks to have half of its electricity powered by renewable energy by 2030.

A member of the Syrian security forces stands guard outside the central bank in Damascus, on Dec. 31, 2024.

Analysis

Syria's new rulers set ambitious economic goals: Are they achievable?

Syria’s financial woes run deep, prompting the new government to radically change its economic policy.

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