Banking and Finance

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Sharaa taps Visa as Syria reconnects to global finance: What to know

Visa and Mastercard announced Wednesday that their networks can now be used to make international card payments in Syria.

France's President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shake hands

France, Saudi Arabia announce more than $10B in deals on MBS visit

Among the deals included a 6 billion euro ($7 billion) pledge from the Public Investment Fund in three manga-themed amusement parks on the outskirts of Paris.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with King of Jordan Abdullah II during a signing ceremony at The Great Hall Of The People on Sept. 9, 2015, in Beijing, China.

Jordan's King Abdullah heads to China in first visit since 2015: What to know

Ahead of the visit, King Abdullah said that Jordan hopes to expand cooperation with China in green energy, tourism and aviation.

Motorists drive vehicles past a billboard depicting Iran's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei along a street in central Tehran on August 8, 2026. Hopes for an imminent US-Iran deal to end the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz added to optimism that oil and gas, along with other key products, would again start flowing freely after more than five months of war. But oil prices turned higher ahead of the weekend in the absence of any confirmation of an accord, amid reports that Iran was planning to block US and Is

Explainer

What would BRICS Bank membership mean for Iran's reeling economy?

Iran’s Central Bank governor said the country will soon join the New Development Bank as he traveled to India this week for a meeting of the group’s finance leaders.

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Explainer

UAE-Egypt ties keep growing as Cairo navigates shifting Gulf landscape

Building construction at the Red Sea in Egypt.

Analysis

Jordan shores up US lifelines as Iran targets Amman’s reliance on Washington

US President Donald Trump (R) meets with Jordanian King Abdullah II in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, DC, Feb. 11, 2025.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

How Gulf banks are absorbing Iran war shocks

A man counts Saudi riyal banknotes in the capital, Riyadh, Oct. 3, 2016.

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

US to drop Syria from terror blacklist

US President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) on the sidelines of the NATO Summit at Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara, on July 8, 2026.

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.

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

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

Syrian entrepreneurs can now directly apply for travel licenses at the Saudi Embassy in Damascus, while Saudi investors seeking to visit Syria can register via the Interior Ministry’s e-platform.

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

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

The 223-kilometer railway will connect to the existing train route that joins Turkey’s northeastern city of Kars and the Georgian and Azerbaijani capitals of Tbilisi and Baku.

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

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

Egypt is hunting foreign investment as part of its Vision 2030 strategy for sustainable development.

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

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

The deals were announced during the visit by a senior Chinese delegation led by the country’s premier to Cairo this week.

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.