Economy & Business - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Business and Economy Cover Image

Economy & Business

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Abu Dhabi’s sovereign funds ranked wealthiest in world with $1.7 trillion

The assets of Gulf sovereign funds have risen considerably in recent years, in large part due to the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

United Arab Emirates

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.

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Las Vegas gambling operator Wynn Resorts to open first UAE casino

The UAE is looking to lure gaming tourists with the development of a large casino in the northern emirate of Ras al-Khaimah.

United Arab Emirates

This picture shows closed shops in an alley of Jerusalem's Old City, on Sept. 11, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian militants.

Analysis

A year after Oct. 7, Israel’s economy battered by endless multifront wars

A year after the deadly attack on southern Israel by the Hamas militant group and the ensuing war in Gaza, the direct cost to the Israeli economy has been more than 100 billion shekels ($26.3 billion), according to the Israeli Finance Ministry.

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

Latest News

Analysis

Israel-UAE trade to hit $3.3B in 2024 as wars in Lebanon, Gaza continue

The flags of Israel, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain are projected on the ramparts of Jerusalem's Old City on September 15, 2020 in a show of support for Israeli normalisation deals with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed landmark accords normalizing the Jewish state's relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as part of a peace push brokered by US President Donald Trump. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

Iranian oil tankers flee crude loading site amid fears of Israeli attack

An Iranian flag flutters on board the Adrian Darya oil tanker, formerly known as Grace 1, off the coast of Gibraltar on Aug. 18, 2019.

Sign up to our Daily Briefing

Keep up with Al-Monitor's top stories with a morning digest from across the region.

Al-Monitor newsletter collage

Turkey's annual inflation falls lower than expected to 49.4%

A street vendor sells corn as he waits for customers in the Eminonu district of Istanbul, Turkey, Aug. 30, 2024.

Analysis

How an Israeli retaliation on Iran could impact Gulf energy flow

A man walks across from a raging fire at oil storage tanks a day after Israeli strikes on the port of Yemen's Houthi-held city of Hodeidah on July 21, 2024.

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

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

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

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

Jennifer Gnana

Gulf Correspondent

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Sabena Siddiqui

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

Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

A Middle East Airlines commercial aircraft taking off from Beirut's international airport flies amid smoke billowing above the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs, in the aftermath of overnight Israeli airstrikes, on Sept. 28,2024.

Middle East airlines alter, axe flights following Iran missile attack on Israel

Late on Tuesday, Iran launched more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel in what it said was in retaliation for last Friday’s assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the chief of Lebanon-based militia Hezbollah.

A man walks near the new headquarters of Egypt's Central Bank at the New Administrative Capital megaproject about 45 kilometres east of the current capital Cairo on Aug. 1, 2023.

Analysis

Egypt-Saudi deals beckon after $5B PIF pledge but question marks cloud outlook

After a massive financial bailout powered by the UAE in early 2024, Egypt is banking on big Saudi investments that have been slow to materialize in recent years.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

The photo shows a tank for carbon dioxide of chemical company Covestro AG at their at their plant in Dormagen, western Germany, on Feb. 11, 2020.

UAE's ADNOC seals $16B deal to buy German chemical firm Covestro

The deal is set to be the largest takeover ever by a Middle Eastern company of a European firm.

United Arab Emirates

Iranian miners look on at the scene of a blast at a coal mine in Tabas in Iran's Khorasan province on September 22, 2024. The blast caused by a gas leak at the coal mine in eastern Iran has killed at least 50 people, state media said on September 22, in one of Iran's deadliest work accidents in years. (Photo by Mohsen NOFERESTY / IRNA / AFP) (Photo by MOHSEN NOFERESTY/IRNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Iran coal mine tragedy highlights prevalent corruption, workers' plight

Reactions from pundits, activists and ordinary Iranians focused in large part on how corruption and mismanagement has grown over the years, with companies and oversight bodies increasingly ignoring the safety of workers who were digging "for a loaf of bread."

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Turkey’s Erdogan calls for end to US defense sanctions amid reports of S-400 deal

Relations between the two NATO allies have worsened in recent years over political rifts regarding the Eastern Mediterranean, Gaza and Syria, as well as over Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 defense systems.

Saudi energy minister

How Saudi Arabia plans to lure foreign investors to kickstart nuclear program

Saudi Arabia is looking to begin an ambitious nuclear project and tap into its significant uranium deposits.

Protesters wave Palestinian flags.

Is Canada's partial arms suspension to Israel symbolic or consequential?

Canada suspended 30 permits for arms sales to Israel and canceled a contract with a US firm to sell ammunition made in Quebec to the Israeli army.

Nestle to build first food factory in Saudi Arabia with $72M investment

The Swiss food and beverage firm is investing an initial 270 million riyals in the project, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

David Ramos/Getty Images

Trial opens in London for UAE-backed Manchester City: What we know

The English Premier League claims Man City breached rules requiring it to provide financial data that "gives a true and fair view of the club's financial position."

United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (R) hosted China’s Prime Minister Li Qiang in Abu Dhabi on Sept. 12, 2024.

China's premier in UAE after Saudi Arabia as Beijing deepens Gulf ties

Prime Minister Li Qiang’s visit to Abu Dhabi follows a similar trip to Saudi Arabia where he discussed Chinese-Gulf ties.

United Arab Emirates

Saudi Aramco signs downstream agreements with Chinese refiners

Saudi Aramco is leveraging its existing relationships with Chinese oil buyers by expanding into chemicals. The oil company also looks to invite Chinese investments to its projects in the kingdom.

The President of UAE Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (L) walks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of a meeting in New Delhi on January 25, 2017.

Analysis

India, UAE relations move from crude oil imports to nuclear cooperation

India, which sources 51% of its crude from the Middle East, is looking to strengthen strategic ties with the UAE. The South Asian country, which has significant nuclear energy capacity, signed its first nuclear cooperation agreement with Abu Dhabi on Monday.

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics