Business

Saudi Arabia Offers 100% Social Insurance Debt Waiver to Businesses That Have Exited Market

Business Officials from the General Organization for Social Insurance at an earlier meeting with businessmen and businesswomen at the Riyadh Chamber (SPA)

Saudi Arabia Offers 100% Social Insurance Debt Waiver to Businesses That Have Exited Market

Saudi Arabia's General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) has made businesses that have ceased operations and exited the Saudi market eligible for a 100%…

Bandar al-Mosalam (Riyadh)
Business A general view shows Ras Tanura's oil production plant near Dammam in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province (AFP)

From Aramco's Profits to State Budget Revenue: How Do Oil Proceeds Reach Government Coffers?

Saudi Aramco's financial results and Saudi Arabia's third-quarter budget performance report, released on the same day, revealed a divergence between the…

Hala Saghbini (Riyadh)
Business Representation of cryptocurrencies are seen in this illustration taken September 10, 2025. (Reuters)

Crypto Dips on Democrat Midterm Wins, Binance Hack Dents Optimism

Cryptocurrencies briefly dipped on Wednesday as Democrats won majorities in both the Senate and House in the US midterm elections, a potential blow to an…

Business A view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Getty Images file)

Saudi Non-Oil Sector Expands for Seventh Straight Month

Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector continued to expand in October, with business activity and output growth accelerating despite a decline in the Riyad Bank…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business  A general view of Riyadh city during the early hour of evening at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 28, 2025. (Reuters)

Growth in Non-Oil Revenue Bolsters Saudi Budget Resilience

Saudi Arabia’s non-oil revenue surpassed oil revenue in the third quarter of 2026 for the first time since 2020, highlighting progress in diversifying…

Bandar al-Mosalam (Riyadh)

Business The Public Investment Fund governor addresses attendees at the summit in Rome, Italy. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Aramco Weighs Global Oil Storage Facilities to Boost Energy Security

Saudi Arabia laid out a new strategy in Rome to strengthen global supply chains and build a broader partnership model with Europe, seeking to move beyond…

Asharq Al Awsat (Rome)
Business This photograph shows the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus over the skyline of Kuwait City on June 9, 2026. (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT / AFP)

Kuwait Says All Force Majeure Issued During War Lifted

Kuwait's Petroleum Corporation said on Thursday that all force majeure notices issued during the war have been lifted ⁠with immediate effect, ⁠government…

Asharq Al Awsat (Kuwait)
Business During the signing of the agreement between the Syrian Petroleum Company and US firms ConocoPhillips and Novaterra Energy. (SANA)

Syrian Petroleum Company to Asharq Al-Awsat: Syria to Receive 56% Share of US Gas Development Deal

Mohammad Nour Al-Ahdab, Director of Media Relations at the state-owned Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC), revealed on Thursday that under the contract signed with…

Muwafaq Mohammed (Damascus )
Business Saudi Arabia and Russia: A Strategic Partnership Beyond the Oil Barrel, Shaping Global Economic Stability

Saudi Arabia and Russia: A Strategic Partnership Beyond the Oil Barrel, Shaping Global Economic Stability

Economic relations between Saudi Arabia and Russia have entered an advanced stage of strategic transformation, moving beyond traditional cooperation in energy…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
Business The Saudi flag (SPA)

Saudi Arabia Ranks 3rd Globally in Creation of Firms

Saudi Arabia ranked third globally in the "Creation of Firms" indicator in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2026, due to streamlined procedures and…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, June 17, 2026. Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/via WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

Hormuz Reopening to Release Wave of Oil Supply, Depress Prices

Middle Eastern crude oil markets could come under further pressure if the Strait of Hormuz reopens on Friday following the US-Iran interim deal, releasing…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, June 17, 2026. Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/via WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

Three Saudi-Flagged Vessels Transit Strait of Hormuz after Washington-Tehran Agreement

Three Saudi-flagged supertankers transited the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, according to ship-tracking data, just hours after US President Donald Trump signed…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business There is a growing consensus in the European Union that it is too dependent on China. Nicolas TUCAT / AFP/File

EU Wrestles over How to Tackle China Export Flood

EU leaders will grapple on Thursday over whether the bloc needs new beefed-up trade defenses to curb the surge of Chinese exports deemed an existential threat…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business (FILES) This aerial view shows the fuel depot of Aral at the Ruhr Oel petroleum refineries of BP Gelsenkirchen GmbH in Gelsenkirchen, western Germany on March 9, 2026. (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP)

Oil Prices Sink Further as Trump Signs Deal to Reopen Hormuz

Oil prices tumbled again Thursday after US President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart signed off on a deal to end their war and reopen the Strait of…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business A safety and security vehicle operated by MODON (MODON) 

MODON Boosts Saudi Supply Chains With More Than $147 Million in Investments

Saudi Arabia’s Industrial Cities and Technology Zones Authority (MODON) has strengthened the Kingdom’s position as a global logistics platform and a key hub…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Syria’s Jihar gas field, one of the country’s major gas fields, in the desert west of Palmyra in Homs province. Syrian Energy Ministry/File Photo

Syria-US Gas Deal Aims to Ease Financial Bottleneck

The Syrian Petroleum Company has signed a major implementation contract with US companies ConocoPhillips and Novaterra Energy to develop gas fields and raise…

Muwafaq Mohammed (Damascus)
Business  A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft of Saudi airline Riyadh Air is pictured on the tarmac at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on June 7, 2026. (AFP)

Riyadh Air Wins Approval to Operate US Flights

Saudi Arabia's new airline Riyadh Air won the right to operate flights to and from the United States, the US Transportation Department said in an order Tuesday…

Business AUSTIN, TEXAS - JUNE 16: Gas prices are displayed at an Exxon Mobil gas station on June 16, 2026 in Austin, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images/AFP

Exxon Mobil to Supply South Africa's First Planned LNG Terminal

Exxon Mobil has signed a preliminary deal to supply liquefied natural gas to Zululand Energy Terminal, which will be South Africa's first LNG import facility…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

IEA Sees Gradual Hormuz Recovery Tipping Into Significant 2027 Surplus

The world oil market will recover gradually from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz before tipping into a significant surplus in 2027, the International…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh delivers a speech on the day of his swearing-in ceremony, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 22, 2026. (Reuters)

US Fed Set to Hold Rates Steady at Warsh’s First Meeting in Charge

The US Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday at Kevin Warsh's first meeting in charge of the central bank, with rate hikes…

Business A shopper in a London supermarket (EPA)

UK Inflation Holds Steady at 2.8% Ahead of Bank of England Decision

British inflation unexpectedly held at 2.8% for May, unchanged from the 13-month low reached in April, official figures showed on Wednesday, a day before the…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Business People walk past a gold business shop at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Türkiye, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP)

Gold Steady as Investors Await Details of US-Iran Deal, Fed Verdict

Gold prices were steady on Wednesday, near a one-week high, as investors awaited further details on the US-Iran agreement and the Federal Reserve's policy…

Business  A person prepares to pump gas at a Valero gas station on June 16, 2026 in Austin, Texas. (Getty Images via AFP)

Oil Dips as Investors Weigh Deal on Iran War as Uncertainty Persists on Hormuz

Oil prices inched lower on Wednesday, extending the previous session's declines as investors assessed the US-Iran peace deal, though uncertainty over the full…

Business Ships wait to transit the Strait of Hormuz on June 15. REUTERS

Energy Sector Clears ‘Hormuz’ After US-Iran Deal, Risk Premium in Focus

The energy sector and the global economy have avoided the worst-case scenario: oil at $150 a barrel. That was the level many financial institutions and…

Sabri Najeh
Business A screen displays the logo for ConocoPhillips on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, April 6, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Syria Signs Gas Sector Contract with US Energy Giant

Syria on Tuesday signed a contract involving US oil giant ConocoPhillips to develop the country's gas sector, state media reported, as Damascus seeks to…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business AUSTIN, TEXAS - JUNE 15: In an aerial view, oil storage tanks are seen at the Sunoco LP Fuel Supply Terminal on June 15, 2026 in Austin, Texas.  Brandon Bell/Getty Images/AFP

Oil Drops About 4% to Three-month Low as Markets Weigh US-Iran Deal

Oil prices fell about 4% on Tuesday to fresh three-month lows as markets weighed prospects for a resumption of supplies through the Strait of Hormuz alongside…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Two people look at gold jewelry outside a shop in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul (AFP)

Gold Rises over 1% as US-Iran Peace Deal Optimism Eases Rate Hike Bets

Gold prices rose more than 1% on Tuesday as expectations of an interest rate hike from the US Federal Reserve this year eased, following an interim US–Iran…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Riyadh International Industry Week in its previous edition. Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi-German Partnership Bolsters Kingdom’s Global Industrial Reach

Saudi Arabia is preparing to host Riyadh International Industry Week 2026, which will take place June 21–24 at the Riyadh International Convention and…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business A pair of solar installers haul a solar panel onto the roof of a home in Manila, Philippines, on April 30, 2026. (AP)

Iran War Is a ‘Wake-up Call’ for Southeast Asia’s Energy Sector, Report Says

The war in Iran has exposed major risks for Southeast Asia that could cost the region many billions of dollars if it does not diversify sources of energy more…