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Saudi Arabia

December 22, 2025

Riyadh 11:56 am

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Traffic moves on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai on March 24, 2025.

Analysis

Gulf finance hubs race to expand as hedge funds flock to Dubai, Abu Dhabi

The Gulf’s top financial hubs have posted another strong year in 2025, with the UAE spearheading a regional push to attract hedge funds, asset managers, crypto and fintech firms as regional neighbors target growth of their own.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Solar panels in a Sinai desert, Egypt.

Egypt lands $572M UAE-backed solar deal, expanding Gulf's clean-energy footprint

Gulf companies have been increasing their investments in North African renewable energy.

Latest News

Saudi Arabia cements ties with Sudan during Burhan visit as UAE rivalry heats up

Sudanese leader Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Dec. 15, 2025.

Exclusive

Inside Netanyahu’s pressure campaign to block Turkey, Saudi Arabia from acquiring F-35s

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 07: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin (L) talks to U.S. President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on April 7, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump is meeting with Netanyahu to discuss ongoing efforts to release Israeli hostages from Gaza and newly imposed U.S. tariffs. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

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

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

This photograph taken on January 12, 2024, shows an oil refinery in the desert between Shubaytah and Shubaytah, of the Dakar rally 2024, in Saudi Arabia, on January 12, 2024. (Photo by PATRICK HERTZOG / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK HERTZOG/AFP via Getty Images)

What's behind Saudi Arabia's increase in crude oil prices for Asian market?

The kingdom wants to restrain oil production to keep demand up, but the increase in prices to Asian customers is more related to refining values, says one expert.

TOPSHOT - US President Joe Biden (C-L) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (C) arrive for the family photo during the Jeddah Security and Development Summit (GCC+3) at a hotel in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah on July 16, 2022. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden’s grand bargain between Saudi Arabia and Israel hangs by a thread

Diplomatic sources briefed on the discussions suggest it would likely fall short of Article 5 of the United States’ 1960 treaty with Japan, but would likely go beyond the benefits of major non-NATO ally.

This picture taken December 12, 2019 shows a man monitoring the board at the Stock Exchange Market (Tadawul) bourse in Riyadh. - Energy giant Saudi Aramco's market value soared above $2 trillion as its share price surged again on its second day of trading. The valuation milestone was sought by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman when he first floated the idea of selling up to five percent of Aramco, the world's largest oil firm, about four years ago. Aramco shares jumped another 9.7 percent to 38.60 riya

Mideast passes stress test as Iran-Israel trade blows, but economic challenges remain

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (C) speaks with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan (R) as they walk past portraits of the founding leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council during the Joint Ministerial Meeting of the GCC-US Strategic Partnership discussing the humanitarian situation in Gaza, at the GCC Secretariat in Riyadh on April 29, 2024. (Photo by EVELYN HOCKSTEIN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia 'very, very close' to US security pact tied to Palestinian state

In separate comments on Monday, the Saudi and US top diplomats said bilateral agreements on security and defense cooperation — which Riyadh is seeking if it agrees to normalize ties with Israel — were imminent.

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - APRIL 02: The many pylons that provide power to Dubai are seen in the desert on April 2, 2007 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Commerce and Industry is currently thriving in Dubai and Indian and Pakistani expatriot workers are the backbone of the workforce, sending money back to their families at home. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Gulf telcos flexing investment might amid drive to become global brands

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

An Austrian soldier guards the entrance to the OPEC headquarters on October 4, 2022 on the eve of the 45th Meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee and the 33rd OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting held on October 05, in Vienna, Austria. - The OPEC+ oil cartel will meet in Vienna for the first time since Covid curbs were introduced in 2020. The face-to-face meeting of the 13 OPEC members led by Saudi Arabia and its 10 allied members headed by Russia will be the first in the Austrian capital si

Can OPEC survive the energy transition?

Kate Dourian

In Dubai, reporting on energy

Saudi-UK tech hub

Interview

Saudi Arabia's giga-projects to offer 'testing ground' for British technology

Saudi startups and fintech firms are looking to tap into the United Kingdom's $1 trillion tech market.

Matt Jones

Matt Jones

Saudi British Joint Business Council Project Officer

(L to R) EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud during a plenary session titled "Transforming for a New Era", during the Doha Forum in Qatar's capital on March 26, 2022. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)

What does EU visa relaxation for Saudi, Bahraini, Omani citizens mean?

Under the new rules, Bahraini, Omani and Saudi Arabian nationals will be eligible for multiple-entry visas, allowing them to visit the Schengen area (the EU’s 27 member states as well as Bulgaria and Romania) and move freely between them.

A man walks past a stranded car on a flooded street in Dubai following heavy rains on April 18, 2024.

Dubai's record rainfall spotlights Gulf’s troubled relation with water

The Gulf’s longterm love–hate relationship with water lies behind a year and a half's worth of rain that fell on Dubai in 24 hours. It includes climate change-induced shifting rainfall patterns, groundwater extractions and unsustainable consumption.

United Arab Emirates

TOPSHOT - Saudi elite aerobatic flying team of the Royal Saudi Air Force Saudi Hawks performs during the aviation event 11th Athens Flying Week over Tanagra air base in Schimatari, north of Athens, on September 3, 2023. (Photo by Theophile Bloudanis / AFP) (Photo by THEOPHILE BLOUDANIS/AFP via Getty Images)

9% spike in Mideast military spending driven by Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey

Military spending in the region increased by its largest percentage in a decade, in part due to the Gaza war, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Muslim worshippers performing the umrah pilgrimage walk between the Marwa and Safa hills at the Grand Mosque on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, Mecca, Saudi Arabia, March 23, 2023.

Culture

After 9 years, first Iranian pilgrims head to Saudi Arabia for umrah

The flights carrying Iranian pilgrims are the latest sign of rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran after restoring ties last year.

Nuclear energy ambitions near inflection point in the Middle East

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech