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Aerial view of Cairo, Egypt skyline on a hazy day, in front of Mosque Madrasa Sultan Hassan and Al Rifai mosque

Bolstering Egypt’s trade with Africa

Egypt's portfolio of multilateral trade deals includes the largest continental free trade agreement in the world. We look at how it can do more business in Africa – a market of 1.5 billion people

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Growth-stage investment heats up as Gulf IPOs gain traction

Global investors are increasingly vying for stakes in later-stage Gulf startups, betting on the region’s economic expansion and stronger exit opportunities, as the regional IPO markets gain momentum. The region, long overlooked for growth-stage capital – minority investments in established companies aimed at accelerating expansion – is witnessing a surge of interest from giants such […]

Workers at a construction site near Riyadh. The need for project finance has grown as Gulf governments push ahead with mega-projects

The changing face of project finance around the Gulf

Contrasting trends are emerging in Gulf project finance, with deals increasing in duration but also more likely to be refinanced early. Project finance is a funding model often used for infrastructure, in which repayment comes from revenue generated by the completed facility rather than being guaranteed by the owners. “Repayment depends on the project succeeding,” […]

Latest Finance News

Street vendors in the historic Balad district of Jeddah. Falling oil prices have hit the Saudi economy

Saudi Arabia’s debt burden ‘to rise more quickly’, says IMF

The International Monetary Fund has revised its forecast for Saudi Arabia’s debt burden as tumbling oil prices dent the country’s revenues. The IMF is now projecting that Saudi government gross debt will be 44.5 percent of GDP by 2029, according to the twice-yearly Fiscal Monitor released in Washington DC on Wednesday.  In last October’s report, […]

Industrial shipping Maersk container shipping at Salalah Oman Middle east

Oman’s free zones attracted $4bn in investments last year

Private businesses invested OR1.6 billion ($4.1 billion) in Oman’s free zones, economic zones and industrial cities last year, highlighting the sultanate’s growing appeal as a regional business hub. The sultanate signed a total of 325 investment agreements across six major jurisdictions, Oman Daily Observer, a local news outlet, reported, citing a report by Duqm Economist […]

Customers use Al Rajhi cash dispensers at a branch in Mecca. The bank's total assets have topped SAR1 trillion

Al Rajhi Bank reports 34% rise in quarterly profit

Al Rajhi Bank, the world’s largest Islamic bank by capital, has reported a 34 percent increase in net profit for the first quarter of 2025, to SAR5.9 billion ($1.5 billion). The Saudi bank’s total assets have risen by 22 percent to SAR1.02 trillion, marking the first time Al Rajhi has surpassed the trillion-riyal mark. Its […]

Container vessels in Istanbul's Ambarli Port. Turkey's manufacturing base is struggling with rising borrowing costs

Turkey worried that cheap Asian goods will hurt economy

Turkey is concerned that an enduring trade war between the US and China and other Asian countries may encourage manufacturers to flood Turkey’s market with cut-price goods to make up for US losses, the finance minister has said. That could damage Turkey’s own manufacturing base, already struggling with high and rising borrowing costs and domestic […]

A shop in the Gold Souk in Deira, Dubai. Sellers are suffering as the price of gold continues to soar

Gold’s record run brings little joy for Dubai jewellers

In the bustling Gold Souk in Dubai, dubbed the “City of Gold”, 22-karat gold jewellery is a traditional favourite for weddings, religious celebrations, and as a family investment. Yet with bullion prices hitting record highs above $3,400 an ounce, there are signs of change, as buyers opt for diamonds and lighter gold jewellery instead. While […]

GCC officials are expected to push for better access to advanced US semiconductors and AI tech during Donald Trump's visit to the Gulf

Donald Trump will visit Gulf nations in May

US President Donald Trump will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from May 13 to 16, the White House has confirmed. The highly-anticipated visit to the Gulf region will mark Trump’s second foreign trip of his second term, as he will first travel to Rome this week for Pope Francis’ funeral. “The […]

Ramadan food discounting and lower transport costs contributed to inflation hitting a five-month low in March in Dubai, though housing costs persist

Dubai inflation falls to its lowest in five months

Dubai’s annual consumer price inflation fell in March to its lowest in five months, driven by lower transport and food costs, according to official data from Dubai Statistics Centre. The headline CPI inflation rate declined to 2.8 percent on an annual basis, from 3.2 percent in each of January and February. That is the lowest […]

2SBHG03 Serious thinking businessman working with tablet computer inside office. Businessman in shirt working at workplace, using laptop, sitting at desk, using financial app.

Turkish startup funding plunges in first quarter

Uncertainty in the Turkish economy and government budget cuts are weighing on the country’s startup environment, with venture capital funding for new projects falling in the first quarter to their lowest in more than 18 months. Turkish technology startups attracted $58 million in the three months to March 31, almost 50 percent down on the […]

Government debt insurance is rising in cost as investors reduce risk in turbulent markets

Saudi government debt insurance costs jump as oil prices fall

The cost of insuring government debt in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) has jumped this month, in some cases – including Saudi Arabia – to multi-year highs. Investors are fretting over the impact of global trade tensions on economic growth and international oil prices, and the risk of Israeli-US military action against Iran. […]

Passenger on the Riyadh Metro. The IMF expects consumer prices in Saudi Arabia to rise by 2% this year

IMF cuts Saudi GDP forecast as trade turbulence continues

The International Monetary Fund has lowered its economic growth forecast for Saudi Arabia in response to escalating trade tensions and falling oil prices. The IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook, released this week, predicts that Saudi Arabia’s GDP will grow by 3 percent this year, down from its previous forecast of 3.3 percent. It now expects […]

Lending income underpins record Q1 for Saudi banks

Three of Saudi Arabia’s five biggest banks by assets have reported record first-quarter profits after generating more income from loans and on lower operating costs. Saudi National Bank, the kingdom’s largest lender, reported a 19 percent jump in profit in the three months to March 31 to SAR6 billion ($1.6 billion), compared with the same […]

Rail tracks maintenance process. Railroad workers repairing a broken track

Iraq and Turkey to devise roadmap for expanded trade

Iraq and its northern neighbour Turkey will hold a series of meetings in the coming weeks to devise a roadmap for increasing bilateral trade, which hit an all-time high of nearly $15 billion in 2024. “There is a plan in this respect and it has been prepared with the help of various Iraqi economic parties… […]

Tourists in AlUla, Saudi Arabia. Visitors to the country will soon be able to claim back VAT on purchases

Saudi Arabia to expand VAT base as oil prices fall

Saudi Arabia has introduced new regulations allowing visitors to the country to claim back value added tax (VAT) to facilitate the tourism industry, but it plans to widen the tax base to include online transactions.  The world’s second largest oil producer is facing a steep decline in international oil prices on which the government relies […]

Total income at Emirates NBD jumped 11 percent year on year to AED12 billion

Emirates NBD profit slips despite strong loan growth

Net profit at Emirates NBD, Dubai’s biggest bank by assets, fell in the first quarter of 2025 compared to a year ago despite growth in loans and interest income. Tax paid caused the bottom line to decline more than 7 percent to AED6.2 billion ($1.7 billion) for the first three months, from AED6.7 billion a […]

A view of NBK headquarters. Customer deposits grew by 6 percent year on year to KD24 billion by the end of March 2025

National Bank of Kuwait earnings hit by corporate tax

Earnings of the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the Gulf state’s largest financial institution, fell 9 percent year on year in the first quarter following the imposition of 15 percent corporate tax from January. Net profit fell to KD134 million ($435 million) from January to March, compared to KD147 million a year ago, the lender […]

State-owned Gulf businesses have been raising debt but issues face high borrowing costs

Gulf issuers plan debt sales, undeterred by market turmoil

Gulf issuers, including Saudi Arabia’s $925 billion sovereign wealth fund, are working on a round of bond offerings, according to sources, braving debt markets despite recent turmoil ignited by US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. Markets have been volatile since Trump announced sweeping tariffs on April 2, even after he rolled most of them back, as investors struggle to […]

ADIB says its new sukuk platform "makes ethical, fixed-income investing easier and more inclusive”

Fractional sukuk platform launched by UAE bank

Sukuk investing in the Gulf has long been the preserve of institutional and wealthy investors because of a six-figure minimum investment threshold, effectively excluding ordinary people from buying sharia-compliant bonds directly. Now though, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has launched an investment platform, Smart Sukuk, on which retail investors can buy so-called fractional sukuk for […]

An Almarai processing plant. It reported increased revenue and profits for Q1

Almarai reports increased first-quarter profits

Saudi dairy congolmerate Almarai Company has reported higher profits for the first quarter compared with the same period of 2024, one year into a $5 billion, five-year expansion plan. The Riyadh-based dairy company reported a 6 percent increase in net profits to SAR731 million ($195 million) and a 6 percent increase in revenues to SAR5.8 […]

A container ship entering Port Sultan Qaboos in Muscat, Oman

UAE remains Oman’s primary exporter despite increase from China

The UAE maintained its position as the top exporter to nearby Oman last year despite a sharp increase in China’s exports to the sultanate, official figures show. The UAE, the second largest Arab economy and a major centre for re-exports, exported OR4 billion ($10 billion) to Oman in 2024 and accounted for almost a quarter […]