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.

Attendees arrive for the yearly Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Oct. 24, 2023.

Saudi Arabia pushes for Africa debt relief as private investments set to reach $25B

Saudi Arabia is pushing for debt relief for African nations burdened with more than $1 trillion in liabilities.

Attendees take part in the annual Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, Oct. 25, 2022.

What to expect at Saudi Arabia's eighth Davos in the Desert

This year's Future Investment Initiative focuses on tech, energy and investment as Saudi Arabia steps up efforts to diversify its economy away from hydrocarbons.

Attendees take part in the annual Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh on October 25, 2022. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine / AFP) (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

What to make of Saudi Arabia's $96B in foreign direct investment in 2023

Driving foreign investment into key sectors is part of Saudi Arabia's efforts to diversify away from an oil-dependent revenue model.

Starbucks sales see 7% drop, largest since pandemic, amid Gaza boycotts

The company has been grappling with protests and boycott campaigns on social media due to the Israel-Gaza war and the union fight in the United States.

AFP via Getty Images

Middle East startups see 34% uptick in global investors

Data firm MAGNiTT reported Tuesday that the Middle East far outperformed other markets and regions, including Africa and Southeast Asia, which saw steeper drops.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday hosts Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during the Egyptian leader's first-ever Turkey visit, in Ankara, on Sept. 4, 2024.

Analysis

With reconstruction in mind, can Turkey-Egypt thaw offer lifeline for Libya?

The complex interplay of regional and international interests and entrenched divisions within Libya itself suggest that progress may be slow and difficult to achieve.

Mohamed Eljarh

By Mohamed Eljarh

Bahrain's Bapco Energies signs pipeline deal with BlackRock

Bahrain, one of the smallest producers in the Gulf, is focused on developing its downstream sector and looking at asset monetization deals.

Employees of Aramco oil company work in Saudi Arabia's Abqaiq oil processing plant on September 20, 2019.

Analysis

Can Saudi Arabia afford giga-projects with oil prices under $75 per barrel?

Riyadh could soon run a current account deficit as oil revenue declines amid huge spending commitments toward ambitious Vision 2030 projects. Saudi-led OPEC has also deferred an output increase plan to allow more time to reach desired oil prices.

Jennifer Gnana

Samuel Wendel

By Jennifer Gnana , Samuel Wendel

A bank teller counts money as a customer looks on at a bank in Libya's western coastal city of Misrata on Aug. 25, 2024.

Libya factions agree to appoint new central bank chief to end crisis: UN

The House of Representatives, based in the eastern city of Benghazi, and the High State Council in Tripoli in the west signed a joint statement after two days of talks hosted by the UN Support Mission in Libya.

Police officers stand guard outside Libya's Central Bank headquarters in Tripoli on Aug. 27, 2024.

Interview

From Turkey, exiled Libyan Central Bank governor decries 'coup d'etat'

Governor Sadiq al-Kabir spoke exclusively to Al-Monitor after he and other senior officials at the Libyan Central Bank fled to Istanbul at the end of last month, as militias linked to Libya's internationally recognized government threatened them.

Sadiq al-Kabir

Sadiq al-Kabir

Governor of the Central Bank of Libya

A clerk counts banknotes at a currency exchange office in Lebanon's capital Beirut, on January 20, 2023.

Analysis

How close is Lebanon to being added to FATF grey list for money laundering?

The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is considering adding Lebanon to its ‘’grey list’’ of countries that enable money laundering by terror groups.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

A vendor selling dates walks across a street in Islamabad on July 8, 2024, as cash-strapped Pakistan adopted a $68 billion budget laced with tax-raising measures on June 28, seeking to secure a new bailout from the IMF.

Pakistan to raise $4B from Middle East banks amid economic turbulence

For many years, Pakistan has relied on China and Gulf allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to roll over some of its debt to avoid having to repay it sooner.