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Economy

Economy and markets news from the Middle East. All the important stories, exclusive interviews, plus authoritative opinion and analysis

Oman ruler Sultan Haitham bin Tariq (2nd L) pictured at a meeting in Brussels in December. The draft of the new personal income tax now moves to the sultan for final approval

Oman makes key changes to draft income tax law

Oman has issued a new draft personal income tax law with key amendments, raising the exemption threshold and lowering proposed tax rates. The timeline for the law’s implementation remains uncertain. The latest draft, which was delayed last year, has been approved by the State Council and Majlis Al Shura and will now move to Sultan […]

The Central Bank of the UAE. In December 2024, the GCC central banks cut interest rates by 25 basis points, mirroring the Fed's move

GCC central banks align with Fed to keep rates steady

The central banks in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have aligned with the US Federal Reserve to hold their interest rates steady. The Central Bank of the UAE will maintain its base rate on overnight deposit facility (ODF) at 4.4 percent, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported. No other central banks in the […]

Aircraft, Helicopter, Transportation

Saudi Arabia in talks for $6bn Turkish arms deal

Turkey expects to strike a $6 billion agreement with Saudi Arabia for the sale of warships, tanks and missiles. The deal may include Saudi Arabia joining Turkey’s fighter jet development project, which could be signed during the visit of President Tayyip Erdoğan to the kingdom in March, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed officials. Ankara aims to […]

Body Part, Hand, Person

UAE to impose penalty for unpaid corporate tax

The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) said that failure to pay corporate tax will incur a monthly penalty of 14 percent per annum. The penalty will apply to the unpaid tax amount and be calculated from the day following the payment deadline, accruing monthly on the same date, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported. Tax […]

Under prime minister Mohammed Al-Sudani Iraq's domestic debt has grown through a combination of oil output cuts and increased public spending

Iraq’s fiscal policy under fire over record domestic debt

Iraq risks draining local liquidity and stifling economic growth with its policy to rely heavily on domestic borrowing to fund its widening budget deficit, experts say. The Opec producer’s domestic debt has now hit an all-time high of around 83 trillion dinars ($64 billion) as a result of heavy borrowing to shore up the shortfall […]

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud meets with Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut

Saudi Arabia has ‘great confidence’ in Lebanon’s reforms

Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud visited Beirut on Thursday, the first trip to Lebanon by a Saudi foreign minister in 15 years.  The visit coincided with early signs of recovery in Lebanon’s economy as it improves relations with Gulf states and others following the election of President Joseph Aoun. After his meeting with Aoun, Bin […]

US President Donald Trump makes a special address remotely during the 55th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos on January 23

Oil slips after Trump calls on Opec to lower prices

Oil prices were down on Friday after US President Donald Trump drew a direct link between persistently high inflation and global oil prices during video remarks before the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.  Trump said he intends to address the problem by boosting domestic production and by asking “Saudi Arabia and Opec to bring […]

Turkey's central bank cut the interest rate in line with expectations and is predicted to continue

Turkey cuts interest rate by 250 basis points

Turkey’s central bank cut its key interest rate by 250 basis points to 45% as expected on Thursday, carrying on an easing cycle it launched last month alongside a decline in annual inflation that is expected to continue. The central bank indicated it would continue to ease policy in the months ahead, noting that it anticipated a rise in trend inflation in January, […]

The skyline of the West Bay Central Business District in Doha. Qatar aims to achieve $100 billion in foreign direct investment by 2030

Qatar introduces laws to encourage foreign money

Qatar will launch three laws to deal with bankruptcy, public-private partnerships and commercial registration, commerce and economy, minister Sheikh Faisal Al Thani has said. The laws aim to attract foreign investment as competition grows from regional countries, particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The government is reviewing 27 laws and regulations across 17 ministries which […]

Shoppers at a market in Iran. Vegetables and legumes recorded inflation of 12.5 percent

Iran inflation rises as fuel price and rents surge

Inflation in Iran rose month on month in January, driven by a surge in housing rents and fuel prices, official data showed. Annual inflation reached 32 percent this month, a rise of 2.9 percent month on month, local media outlets said, citing data released by the Statistical Center of Iran. The annual inflation rate was […]

Donald Trump, pictured with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Saudi Arabia vows to invest $600bn in the US

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told President Donald Trump that he intends to increase the kingdom’s investments and trade with the US by at least $600 billion over the next four years. The call was the first Trump took with a foreign leader after beginning his second term as president. Bin Salman congratulated […]

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El Sisi met in Cairo in December 2024

Egypt targets €4bn EU funding by June

Egypt is aiming to strike a deal with the European Union (EU) to secure €4 billion ($4.2 billion) in financing to back its current reform agenda, according to a media report. Cairo has started negotiations with the EU, with the funds directed towards budget support and not specific projects, Asharq Business reported, quoting minister of […]

Investors keep their eye on prices at Boursa Kuwait, which is the third-busiest GCC exhange in number of shares traded

Non-GCC institutions increase holdings of Kuwaiti stocks

Non-GCC foreign institutions are net buyers of Kuwaiti equities – but active Western investors remain reluctant to hold its blue-chip stocks because of limited progress in diversifying the country’s economy. Nearly 69 billion shares were traded on Kuwait’s bourse last year, a total only bettered by the Saudi and Abu Dhabi exchanges within the six-nation […]

Person, Worker, Adult

Turkey’s exports to US surge but tariffs are a threat

Turkey’s exports to the US rose by $1.26 billion year on year to more than $13 billion in 2024, official data shows. The chemical and chemical products sector accounted for the largest share of exports at $1.5 billion, state-run Anadolu Agency reported, citing data from the Türkiye Exporters’ Assembly (TİM). The automotive industry followed at $1.2 […]

Saudi Arabia is always focusing on fostering more global dialogue, said economy minister Faisal Alibrahim

Saudi Arabia still assessing joining Brics says minister

Saudi Arabia is still evaluating accepting the membership in the Brics bloc, the minister of economy and planning has said. “The kingdom is always focusing on fostering more global dialogue,” Faisal Alibrahim told Bloomberg TV at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In August 2023, founding members, Brazil, Russia, India and China, together with South Africa, […]

A shopping street in Manama. Bahrain's GDP is expected to rise by 3.5% this year

Bahrain debt hits $48bn but analyst downplays spending fears

Bahrain’s public debt has risen to almost BHD18 billion ($48 billion), according to its ministry of finance, but a banking expert has downplayed concerns over its spending. Bahrain, the smallest country in the GCC bloc of six with a population of almost 1.5 million people, has dwindling reserves of oil and gas. It is partially […]

Beirut, Lebanon, where public debt exceeded GDP at the end of 2023

Lebanon and Sudan swell Arab countries’ public debt

Public debt in Arab countries swelled by nearly $142 billion at the end of 2023, mainly because of a sharp rise in obligations by Lebanon and war-battered Sudan. Total debt increased despite a fall in Egypt’s public, mostly domestic, dues as a result of a large depreciation in the pound against the US dollar. The […]