Memos

Expert insights to understand regional trends.

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Iran's 'Productivity Plan' likely to lead to an increase in corrupt transactions

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

A picture taken on May 18, 2017 shows the skyline of northern Tehran from the "Nature" bridge in the capital Tehran on the eve of the presidential elections. / AFP PHOTO / Behrouz MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP via Getty Images)

A visitor takes an images with a smartphone at the Designer Showcase during the Vogue Fashion Dubai Experience 2015 at The Dubai Mall on October 29, 2015 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jacopo Raule/Getty Images for Vogue and The Dubai Mall)

Investors bank on Middle East super apps, from Algeria to the UAE

"Super apps" are starting to attract super-sized investments in the region.

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A picture taken on September 24, 2020 shows the Brega oil port in Marsa Brega, some 270kms west of Libya's eastern city of Benghazi. - Libyas state oil firm lifted force majeure on what it deemed secure oil ports and facilities on September 20, a day after strongman Khalifa Haftar said he was lifting a blockade on oilfields and ports. The blockade, which has resulted in more than $9.8 billion in lost revenue according to the state-run National Oil Corporation (NOC), has exacerbated electricity and fuel shor

Libya’s oil production unlikely to reach 2 million barrels per day ever again

Pro: Libya hopes to increase oil production to over 2 million barrels per day in the medium term. Here's why that is unlikely to happen. (subscriber only, access with free trial)

Gerald Kepes

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy trends

Israeli protesters hold placards reading in Hebrew "Israeli students fighting for democracy"(L) and "There is no academy as tool of democracy(R) during a demonstration against controversial government plans to give lawmakers more control of the judicial system, in Tel Aviv on January 26, 2023. - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies, who have formed the most right-wing government in Israel's history, say the reforms are necessary to correct an imbalance that has given judges too much power over e

Pressure from business, tech sectors likely to push Israel's government to compromise on judicial reforms

Pro: A proposal by Israel's new Netanyahu-led government to overhaul the judiciary risks harming the Israeli business environment. Here's what is at stake.

David Rosenberg

David Rosenberg

In Tel Aviv, reporting on business and tech

Employees stand at the Al Dhafra Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Independent Power Producer (IPP) project, in the United Arab Emirates' capital Abu Dhabi, during a visit by the French economy minister on January 31, 2023. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE and Saudi Arabia to compete for top global ranking in green energy

Here's how the UAE and Saudi Arabia can become the world's top green energy providers.

Afshin Molavi

The skyline of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 28, 2014, is seen at night in this aerial photograph from a helicopter. AFP PHOTO / Saul LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia’s ambitions loom large over UAE’s business expat community

Pro: Saudi Arabia is trying to pry multinationals away from the UAE's financial hubs, forcing business expats in the Gulf to make a difficult decision.

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Stock market brokers work at the Egyptian Stock Market in the capital Cairo on January 6, 2013. A top International Monetary Fund official will visit Egypt on January 7, for talks likely to focus on the $4.8 billion loan agreement frozen last month because of political unrest in the country. AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKI (Photo credit should read KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Pound devaluation, IMF deal send Egypt’s stock market soaring

PRO: Egypt's stock market has started 2023 as one of the world’s best-performing exchanges. Here's what it will take to maintain that momentum.

Marc Español

Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA: A Saudi banker displays the new one hundred riyal banknote bearing the portrait of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud at a bank in Riyadh, 05 June 2007. The banknotes featuring the king are the fifth issue released by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA). AFP PHOTO/HASSAN AMMAR (Photo credit should read HASSAN AMMAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Gulf governments enjoy fiscal flexibility; must spend wisely over coming years

Pro: With lower energy prices forecasted in the short-term, GCC governments will have to spend smartly to ensure momentum continues for their economic diversification efforts.

Robert Mogielnicki

Robert Mogielnicki

A Tunisian farmer harvests wheat on June 26, 2008 in the Mateur area near the northern Tunisian city of Bizerte. A two-day conference organized by the African Development Bank (BAD) opened on June 25, 2008 in Tunis to boost agriculture in light of the food crisis hitting Africa. Experts are to evaluate and analyze difficulties affecting the African agricultural sector in order to be more reactive to needs. AFP PHOTO FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)

Tunisia’s food crisis will worsen without an IMF deal

Francisco Serrano

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

Participants attend a session of the Abu Dhabi Space Debate, a two-day conference organised by the UAE Space Agency for stakeholders of the space sector, in the Emirati capital, on December 5, 2022. (Photo by Mumen KHATIB / AFP) (Photo by MUMEN KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)

From spaceports to startups, Gulf countries race to boost space sector

As the global space race accelerates, the Middle East is becoming a rising hub of activity with ample opportunities to carve out an impactful role in the space economy. (PRO subscribers only, access with free trial)

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A tourist swims in a swimming pool at a hotel in Tunisia's resort town of Hammamet, about 66 kilometres south of the capital Tunis, on October 7, 2021. - The October sun warms the sands of Hammamet beach on the Tunisian coast, but the coronavirus pandemic still casts a shadow, and visitors are few on the ground. After two ruined seasons in a row, operators in Tunisia are licking their wounds and hoping the lifting of travel restrictions will spell better days. (Photo by ANIS MILI / AFP) (Photo by ANIS MILI/

North African tourism hinges on stability in Europe and at home in 2023

PRO: Will tourism revenues make a comeback in North Africa in 2023? Here's what we're expecting. (access with one-week free trial)

Francisco Serrano

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

Representatives of OPEC member countries attend a press conference after the 45th Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee and the 33rd OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting in Vienna, Austria, on October 5, 2022. - The OPEC+ oil cartel meets for the first time face-to-face since Covid curbs were introduced in 2020. (Photo by VLADIMIR SIMICEK / AFP) (Photo by VLADIMIR SIMICEK/AFP via Getty Images)

Is OPEC+ losing influence over production and prices?

PRO: The next 5 years promise higher revenues for OPEC+ members, but the risks are extraordinary. (access with free trial)

Gerald Kepes

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy trends

A picture taken on July 14, 2022, ahead of a visit by the United States' president to Saudi Arabia, shows hostesses in a car manufactured by US electric vehicle maker Lucid Group at the KSA Green Transition Journey exhibition in the Red Sea port of Jeddah. - A exhibiton offered a presentation on the Saudi Green Initiative, which also includes goals for tree-planting and reducing emissions. (Photo by Amer HILABI / AFP) (Photo by AMER HILABI/AFP via Getty Images)

Electric vehicle manufacturing competition revving up in Middle East

2023 is expected to be a big year for electric vehicle production in the Middle East. Here's what to expect. (access with free trial)

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech