15 STOCKS TO BUY AROUND THE WORLD, FROM OUR INTERNATIONAL ROUNDTABLE EXPERTS
15 min
With wars raging again in Europe and the Middle East, and U.S.-China tensions on the boil, the political order that underpinned markets for decades is under serious threat. So, too, is the financial order, as the U.S., Europe, and even Japan exit the zero-interest-rate era, and the U.S. and China face deteriorating fiscal health. In other words, after years of relative peace and prosperity, seismic changes could lie ahead. That is an opportunity for investors.
What to do now? Barron’s sought the advice of four of the savviest market watchers we know, who took us on a virtual global tour of investment hot spots in a Nov. 3 roundtable discussion held on Zoom, and in follow-up conversations. From the bull market unfolding along the Istanbul-to-Jakarta axis to the economic liberalisation taking place in parts of Latin America and the Middle East, our roundtable panelists see reasons to cheer the global transformation under way, notwithstanding some painful dislocations. They also see plenty of well-positioned companies around the world with irresistibly priced shares.
Our international experts include Joyce Chang, chair of global research at J.P. Morgan; Louis-Vincent Gave, co-founder of Hong Kong-based Gavekal Research; Matthew McLennan, co-head of the global value team at First Eagle Investments, who oversees $86 billion; and Rajiv Jain, chairman and chief investment officer of GQG Partners, which manages $107 billion.
An edited version of the roundtable discussion follows.
So far, the war in the Middle East hasn’t ruffled U.S. investors. Why is that?
Louis-Vincent Gave: Most actors in the region have been busy trying to de-escalate. Perhaps that is why the markets have brushed this off, as horrible as the events have been. Also, the days when the Arab world would embargo oil to Europe or the U.S. [because of their support for Israel] are over, as about 75% of oil exports from Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates now go to Asia. Plus, the U.S. is broadly self-sufficient when it comes to energy.
Matthew McLennan: A cautionary note: Thucydides, in the History of the Peloponnesian War, wrote that the course of war cannot be foreseen. We must be open-minded to the nonlinearities that could arise, given the nature of war and the tendency of conflict to spread.
There is also a broader aggregation of strategic interests crystallising here that supports an anti-Western narrative. In the 1900s, [Halford John] Mackinder developed the theory that whoever controls the Eurasian heartland controls the world. There has been a clear emergence of this Heartland Axis, with the Russians inviting Hamas representatives to Moscow and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin having been invited to China to meet with [Chinese leader] Xi Jinping.
Joyce Chang: We haven’t changed our overall economic and commodities forecast [as a result of the war]. Since 1967, there have been 20 major military confrontations in the Middle East and North Africa, 11 of them directly involving Israel. Other than the Yom Kippur War in 1973, none had any lasting impact on oil prices. As of now, oil flows haven’t been impacted.
State actors are trying to de-escalate the current situation, but we worry more about the nonstate actors. More generally, my concern is that people think of many geopolitical and macro risks as spiking and then de-escalating. What if we are in a new period in which high and volatile interest rates or geopolitical risks become more chronic?
One risk that investors are trying to assess relates to China. What is the status of China’s economic recovery?
Rajiv Jain: The situation isn’t nearly as bad as the sentiment. Economic data seem to be improving. Commodity markets are telling a similar story. Growth is slowing, but given China’s size, growth of 2% or 3% today is more powerful than growth of 7% or 8% 20 years ago. And geopolitically, for now, both the U.S. and China seem to be trying to mend fences. On the margin, I am more positive than I had been, but we have just 8% of our portfolio in China in our emerging markets strategy.
Chang: We have raised our economic growth forecast for China to 5.2% from 4.8% at midyear. But one of the issues is China’s debt burden. Debt rose to 282% of gross domestic product at the end of last year, and it is another 10 percentage points higher this year.
China is adding one trillion renminbi [about $139 billion] to its fiscal deficit as it supports targeted public spending by local governments. We have seen this [type of] increase in its fiscal deficit only three times before. It suggests that China is shifting toward less conventional policy and prioritizing a grand scheme to deal with local government debt that is more proactive and transparent, even if it means a higher deficit and lower medium-term growth.
One of China’s key policy challenges is weakness in confidence—domestic and international, whether among corporates, households, or home buyers. The risks in the property sector, which has been in a multiyear decline, are also still significant. About 60% of the property bonds outstanding at the end of 2020 have been effectively wiped out, given the defaults over the past 2½ years. That’s a big share of the economy.
What are the ripple effects of this downturn in property?
Chang: China’s potential growth might continue to slide in the coming years from around 6% in pre pandemic years to 3.5% to 4.0% in 2025, and stabilise in this range. That is a faster slowdown compared with our 2021 estimates.
This will have reverberations, but fewer than before the pandemic. In the past, we estimated that every 1% decline in China’s growth would dent global growth by about half a percent. Now, the hit is about 0.2% of global growth, as the impact of U.S. shocks is greater than those emanating from China. However, spillovers occur across emerging markets, so we see a 0.7% hit for those that are commodity exporters.
Gave: Chinese real estate was the big growth driver for the world from 2000 to 2014. It hasn’t been for a while, due partly to the fact that trees don’t grow to the sky. Also, the Chinese government actively tried to curtail the rise in Chinese property prices, while simultaneously making life challenging for real estate developers through much tighter lending policies.
But even as Chinese real estate has had another poor year, iron ore and energy prices have held up. The next big story for global growth is the integration of the Eurasian heartland Matt mentioned. If you draw an axis from Istanbul to Jakarta, you’ve got 3.6 billion people with strong demographic and income growth, and not a day goes by without a new infrastructure spending plan.
Abu Dhabi just said it is going to spend $50 billion on infrastructure in India. Big spending on infrastructure is also the case in Indonesia, Vietnam, elsewhere in the Middle East, and even Turkey, whose shares have done just as well this decade in dollar terms as U.S. stocks. The new bull market is this Istanbul-to-Jakarta axis. That’s what is going to drive commodity growth. China isn’t imploding. We are just moving on to a bigger and better story.
What does this mean for globalisation?
Chang: Deglobalisation has been a myth. It is more that trading patterns have shifted. There is the Middle East corridor and the Latin America corridor, and also connector economies that are important in the supply chain, including Mexico, Poland, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Morocco, which is part of the electric-vehicle-battery supply chain.
Gave: For the past 30 years, if growth came from somewhere, it came from the U.S. or China. You would buy Indonesia or Brazil if China did well. That hasn’t been the case for the past three or four years.
It is also the first time in 30 years that almost every emerging market has brushed off a more hawkish Federal Reserve. In 2013, when the Fed said it was thinking about perhaps starting to tighten monetary policy,[financial] markets in Indonesia, India, and Brazil imploded. This time around, these bond markets have outperformed by 20% to 40% against U.S. Treasuries. This is an absolute game changer.
Why is that?
Gave: U.S. Treasuries are supposed to be the anchor of our financial system, and have failed at that task in the past two years. You can’t have an anchor asset that loses 20% over 18 months!
Increasingly, countries such as Chile are realising that if they are trading with Brazil, that trade doesn’t have to be in U.S. dollars. This matters tremendously because as more trade moves into local currencies, the need to keep both reserves from central banks and working capital for companies in U.S. dollars diminishes.
McLennan: The fiscal deficit in the U.S. was 3.7%[of GDP] in July 2022 and will probably be more than 7% this year by our estimates—at the peak of the economic cycle. This is a catastrophic fiscal outcome that markets have yet to fully digest because last year’s fiscal expansion [including price escalators in entitlements and spending related to the infrastructure bill and the Inflation Reduction Act] has given the illusion of resilience.
This presents great risks. We have a structural fiscal issue in the reserve currency of the world, at the same time the Americans sanctioned the ability of the Russians to access their reserves. What incentive is there for others to accumulate dollar reserves? The ratio of the gold price to the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond exchange-traded fund [ticker: TLT] has almost doubled since late 2021, a signal that the real value of Treasuries has declined relative to gold.
Do you see a new anchor emerging for the financial system?
Chang: No. U.S. bonds remain the anchor. Certain features of the U.S. system—specifically, its deep and liquid capital markets—are prerequisites for reserve status and do not exist to the same extent elsewhere in the world. Other countries still want to hold their savings in the dollar. Saudi Arabia, for example, is still pegged to the dollar. I wouldn’t exaggerate de-dollarisation.
That said, we have seen a shift in the commodity markets, where we estimate 20% of commodity trading is being settled in non dollars because of the Russia sanctions, and we are seeing a de-dollarisation in China of overseas assets. China shifted away from the dollar to a significant extent, even though it still has a lot of U.S. Treasury holdings. We are also seeing rising purchases of gold by emerging markets. In our longer-term forecast, we see a 2% depreciation of the dollar annually.
Jain: We have never sanctioned such a large commodity exporter before. Russia is the world’s largest exporter of fertiliser, food, and arms, so [the sanctions] have forced the world to use fewer dollars. And rather than accumulate dollars and hold Treasuries, countries might as well invest domesticallyto improve infrastructure. In the Middle East—Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, or Qatar—countries are opening up their economies. There is a sea change happening. Good policies have come from countries with poorly performing markets over the past 10 years. The game is shifting.
What does all of this mean for investment portfolios?
McLennan: We probably saw a generational low in the cost of capital in 2021. As we move away from that and think about the emerging sovereign risks in the developed world, gold is a potential hedge. But we are also more diversified than the MSCI World Index, which is nearly 70% in U.S. stocks. Our portfolio is closer to 50% U.S. and 50% foreign.
Jain: The emerging markets stake in our global portfolio is the highest it has been in 15 years, but we have nothing invested in China. We have been pouring money into Turkish stocks, including the airline Turk Hava Yollari [THYAO.Turkey]. In Indonesia, another investment, Bank Mandiri Persero [BMRI.Indonesia], is a $35 billion state-owned bank selling at nine times earnings and seeing double-digit loan growth.
While Europe is on a fast track to socialising everything—from taxes on share buybacks to nationalising utilities—emerging markets are privatising. Brazil has privatised more than 50 companies. India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has been saying the government shouldn’t be in the business of running businesses. That is music to our ears!
Which other companies are beneficiaries of privatisation?
Jain: We have been adding to Adani Enterprises [512599.India], which is valued at about $30 billion, the same as Airports of Thailand [AOT.Thailand]. Yet, Adani’s airport assets alone are worth that much over the next few years, without accounting for its other assets, such as green hydrogen, roads, data centres, and mining services. About a third of Indian air passengers go through Adani’s airports, and 40% of Indian container volume goes through its ports. The stock has compounded at an annual clip of 30% in U.S. dollars over the past 25 years but is still attractive.
How can a stock still be undervalued after that kind of growth?
Jain: Adani has one of most successful records of incubating businesses that I have seen globally: They have spun off more than $75 billion worth of companies from Adani Enterprises.
Adani Enterprises was the target of a short seller earlier this year who alleged widespread fraud, which the conglomerate has denied. What is your take on the situation?
Jain: Almost all of the allegations had been dismissed by Indian high courts previously, and were dismissed by the Indian Supreme Court a few months ago. Adani Enterprises is the flagship business of the Adani Group, which just tapped the market for the biggest syndicate loan in Asia last month, funded by a dozen major global and Indian banks. Even the U.S. government has invested in Adani Group by financing a Sri Lankan port-related project it operates.
What else is attractive in emerging markets?
McLennan: Today, emerging markets are priced for imperfection, expecting either recession or sluggish conditions. The U.S. is priced for a soft landing, and the odds are that it probably won’t be soft.
Our largest stake in Mexico is FEMSA [Fomento Economico Mexicano (FMX)], which controls the network of OXXO convenience stores and the world’s largest Coca-Cola bottler. Mexico has been a beneficiary of some of these deglobalisation trends, given its proximity to the U.S., and FEMSA is a business with demonstrable competitive advantages.
What is the outlook for Europe?
Chang: There is more concern about a mild recession. The uncertainty about inflation remains high, as wage pressures could rise. More broadly, there are structural growth problems, with Germany, the “sick man of Europe,” at Europe’s core. The existing growth strategy—sourcing cheap natural gas to service insatiable demand from China—has been upended. Plus, the U.S. is aggressively pursuing industrial policy, and tariffs remain. But the core issue for Europe is consumer “malaise,” with the savings rate above pre pandemic levels.
Jain: European energy prices have skyrocketed after the Russian war. The math doesn’t work anymore for German industrials that relied on cheap Russian gas as an input. European policy makers are also hurting the automobile sector, one of their largest and most competitive industries, by banning internal combustion engines in six or seven years. The industry can’t compete with the Chinese on electric vehicles, so it is trying to start a trade war. The problem is that the entire supply chain for electric vehicles comes from China.
Gave: Europe has a lot of problems but two silver linings: Nobody is expecting anything good out of Europe, and European bank shares are up a lot. Big meltdowns in markets tend to come from bank troubles. The only place you find that today is in the U.S. Bank shares are getting taken to the cleaners—and that’s while the economy is growing at 4.9%. If there is going to be a crisis, it is more likely in the U.S.
U.S. bank stocks are struggling for many reasons.
Gave: Inverted yield curves, etc. But [U.S. banks] are on the other side of the $15 trillion capital wipeout in U.S. Treasuries.
McLennan: Retail banks in the U.S. have often been the canary in the coal mine. In the mid-2000s, retail banks had problems in their residential lending portfolios, and then we had the subprime crisis in 2008. The problem in the regional banks this time has been in sovereign securities, so maybe the dynamic of the next crisis is going to involve some sort of sovereign issue in the U.S.
Given the risks you’re discussing, where do you find protection in the markets?
Jain: Taking a five-year view, oil is probably the most defensive asset. Profitability has improved across the sector, and capital spending is down by more than half. In China, Brazil, and India, we have a newfound love for state-owned enterprises because governments are acting aggressively to invest.
For example, we own Petrobras[PBR] in Brazil, which is selling for 4.5 times earnings, and has a 10% to 15% dividend yield and some of the best production growth prospects over the next six or seven years. In Europe, we own TotalEnergies [TTE]; Patrick Pouyanné is one of the best CEOs in the industry. The stock trades for six times earnings, yields 5%, and the dividend is growing.
Gave: For the past 30 years, you would build your [stock] portfolio and add a U.S. 10-Year Treasury bond on the premise that if something bad happened, bonds would save the day. This has failed to work for the past three years because of fiscal trends, de-dollarisation, and a changing world.
The only asset negatively correlated to stocks and bonds is energy. Higher energy prices would dish out more pain, triggering further selling of bonds, while the consequent higher interest rates would trip up equity markets. Today, not running a heavily overweight energy position is setting yourself up for a potentially disastrous outcome.
McLennan: With so much focus on the energy transition and the cumulative level of underinvestment, the average age of producing resources has been cut in half over the past 15 years. Among our top holdings are Exxon Mobil [XOM] and SLB[SLB]. They are generating great cash flow and have balance sheets better than many sovereigns. Pricing for oilfield services can rise a lot further, and energy often becomes an important vector in an unanticipated geopolitical development.
Chang: We are also overweight commodities and energy and looking at more bond proxies, like utilities and staples. Although it isn’t our base case, if oil prices rise to $120 a barrel and stay there for two quarters, that will kill the global expansion. If oil goes to $100, you can take half a percent off global growth.
What does a slower China mean for commodities and other companies tied to its growth?
McLennan: When Japan underwent its adjustment in the 1990s, demand for certain categories, such as the cognac business, never fully rebounded. Our largest luxury investment is Richemont [CFR.Switzerland], the holding company for Cartier. If the consumption rebound in China is weak, that is going to weigh on that business. One source of comfort: Pricing has been far less aggressive in watches and jewellery than in handbags, so perhaps there could be some spillover [demand] into hard luxury such as jewellery. The company has gradually outperformed precious-metal pricing, given its measured expansion of square footage and product categories.
Jain: The Chinese are increasing their savings rates again. It has been a tough environment, with the [Covid] lockdowns and meaningful white-collar job losses. The psyche has changed. That is why we don’t like the luxury sector in Europe. I don’t think LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton [MC.FRANCE] is returning to double-digit revenue growth anytime soon, especially now that it is a $400 billion behemoth.
McLennan: We have a barbell mind-set when faced with these types of uncertainties. For example, you can own Richemont but might also want to own companies that have already been depressed [by China’s slowdown], such as specialists in factory automation. You look for companies with strong incumbency, likeIPG Photonics[IPGP], which has a 65% market share in fiber lasers and will benefit if China recovers, but also as new factories are built elsewhere. It trades at a single-digit multiple of cash flow. It has net cash and is buying back stock.
We also want potential hedges against sovereign or geopolitical risks, such as gold bullion. We own Wheaton Precious Metals[WPM], the leading gold and silver streaming company, which has produced great returns relative to gold or silver. [Gold streamers agree to purchase a percentage of a mine’s production at a predetermined price.]
Speaking of geopolitical risks, how is slower growth likely to impact China’s approach to Taiwan?
Chang: Military conflict with Taiwan shouldn’t be a focus in the near term. The resumption of bilateral communication between the U.S. and China has reduced the risk of miscalculation and accidental conflicts, which had been a concern since former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last summer. Notably, at the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, the U.S. and China agreed to resume military dialogue.
China is the No. 1 trading partner to 120 countries in the world. Even if it is slowing, it is going to have the largest middle class in the world. But there is a huge difference between doing business in China right now and being a portfolio investor.
If you are in China to gain exposure to the domestic market or Asia, you really haven’t changed your strategy that much. If you are in China [producing or sourcing] for the U.S. market, you might feel like you’re under more scrutiny and have had to rethink your strategy.
Gave: The view that China is doing so badly that it is going to invade Taiwan to distract people is a very Western one. China isn’t invading Taiwan. This is way beyond the capabilities of the People’s Liberation Army.
The political situation [in China] is the real issue. Following the crackdown on real estate, education, and technology, the perception among Chinese entrepreneurs and local officials is that the central government is no longer a friend but a foe. At the local level, what used to be done quickly now takes forever; that is a huge brake on growth.
What are investors missing about China?
Gave: There is a positive story: China’s trade surplus pre-Covid was roughly $25 billion. Today, it is triple that, or roughly $75 billion. China has moved up the export value chain in the past five years. It is now the biggest car exporter in the world and a world-class competitor in a number of industries that nobody associated it with five years ago, from power plants and turbines to railroads and telecom equipment. As China moves up the value chain, so do salaries, jobs, and China’s technology innovation. Making cars, nuclear-power plants, or railways is a complicated business, and China has achieved this in a way that very few other economies have.
What should investors own to be exposed to China’s maturation?
Gave: Think about the beneficiaries as China takes over industries. Tesla [TSLA] is priced as though it will be the world’s biggest car company forever, but there is no doubt that BYD [1211.Hong Kong] will be the biggest. Then, why shouldn’t Fuyao Glass Industry Group[3606.Hong Kong] be the biggest glass company in the world? I own both and think it is going to be extremely hard to compete with them.
McLennan: You have to be selective. We have tepid medium-term expectations for China’s growth. When everyone thought Japan was a mess with bad demographics, deflation, and debt, a lot of interesting companies came out of that. In China, although there are questions about the assurance of property rights long term, some of that is being discounted more than several years ago. That is why we’re starting to become more open-minded to opportunities.
We ownProsus[PRX.Netherlands], which owns about 30% of [Chinese Internet and gaming company] Tencent Holdings [700.Hong Kong]. Tencent has shifted from near-reckless expansion to a more measured approach focused on efficiency gains. Prosus trades at a meaningful discount to the value of its stakes in Tencent and other holdings [including Indonesian e-commerce company Ula, European food-delivery companies Oda and Delivery Hero [DHER.Germany], and Indian fintech PaySense among others], and is buying back stock.
Which other global themes aren’t getting enough attention?
Jain: A lot of countries are going to run tight on power. Most emerging markets can’t afford liquefied natural gas at $12 or $13 per million British thermal units. Unless we are OK with blackouts, coal will have to make a comeback. Thermal-power plants are being set up in Japan and Korea. And for all the clean energy you hear about in Europe, guess who is the biggest buyer of Colombian coal from Glencore [GLNCY]? It’s Germany! We own Glencore, which gets almost 40% of its earnings from coal.
Chang: But there are still questions about China’s economic model and whether the Chinese economy can rebalance toward domestic consumption. There are also geopolitical questions, such as whether the U.S. will take more steps to restrict China’s access to technology, incentivise companies to source domestically, or increase scrutiny of investors’ China holdings.
There is still U.S. and China exceptionalism because of the two countries’ roles in the global economy and international monetary system. The U.S. is the reserve currency, and China has a closed capital account. As a result, many of the trends we have discussed that look unsustainable, including debt burdens and high fiscal deficits, could be sustained for a while in these countries.
Thanks, all.
Copyright 2020, Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. LEARN MORE
Copyright 2020, Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. LEARN MORE
The World Bank’s latest Gulf Economic Update forecasts UAE economic growth at 4.8% in 2025, driven by strong diversification and rapid digital transformation. With the UAE and Saudi Arabia emerging as regional AI leaders, the GCC is strengthening its position for innovation, competitiveness, and long-term economic stability.
A business led by two of the president’s sons will invest in American Bitcoin, a new mining company controlled by Hut 8.
Binance launches Binance Junior, a parent-controlled crypto savings app for ages 6–17, helping families build long-term wealth and teach financial literacy in a safe, monitored environment.
From AI-scaled malware to NFC fraud and massive supply-chain breaches, Kaspersky’s 2025 Security Bulletin shows how the financial sector fought through one of its most complex cyber threat years yet. With ransomware up 35% and over 1.3 million banking trojan attacks detected, 2026 is expected to bring deepfake scams, WhatsApp trojans, regional stealers, and adaptive “agentic” AI malware.
4 min
2025 Kaspersky Security Bulletin provides a review of the major cybersecurity trends of the year and offers a look towards the future of cybersecurity, focusing on the financial sector in its first part. According to the report, in 2025, the financial sector navigated a rapidly evolving cyber landscape, with malware spreading through messaging apps, AI-assisted attacks, supply chain compromises, and NFC-based fraud.
Based on Kaspersky Security Network statistics for the year (from November 2024 to October 2025), 8.15% of users in the finance sector faced online threats and 15.81% faced local (on-device) threats. 1,338,357 banking trojan attacks were detected by the company’s solutions. 12.8% of B2B finance sector companies faced ransomware this year – that marks a 35.7% increase in unique users in 2025 compared to the same period of 2024.
The company’s experts highlight the following cybersecurity trends and cases shaping the financial sector in 2025:
Large-scale supply chain attacks: the financial sector faced a series of unprecedented supply chain attacks, which are incidents that exploit vulnerabilities in third-party providers to reach their primary targets. The breaches demonstrated how vulnerabilities in third-party providers can cascade through national payment networks, affecting even central systems.
Organized crime converging with cybercrime: organized crime is increasingly combining physical and digital methods, creating more sophisticated and coordinated attacks. Financial institutions faced threats that blend social engineering, insider manipulation, and technical exploitation.
Old malware, new channels: cybercriminals increasingly exploit popular messaging apps to spread malware, shifting from email phishing to social channels. Banking trojans are being rewritten to use messaging platforms as a new distribution vector, enabling large-scale infections.
AI scales malware to new heights: this year, AI-enabled malware has increasingly incorporated automated propagation and evasion techniques, allowing attacks to spread faster and reach a larger number of targets. This automation also shortens the time between malware creation and deployment.
Mobile banking attacks and NFC fraud: Android malware using ATS (Automated Transfer System) techniques automate fraudulent transactions, altering transfer amounts and recipients in real time without the user noticing. NFC-based attacks have also emerged as a key trend, enabling both physical fraud in crowded places and remote fraud via social engineering and fake apps mimicking trusted banks.
Blockchain-Based C2 Infrastructure is on the rise: crimeware attackers increasingly embed malware commands in blockchain smart contracts, targeting Web3 to steal cryptocurrencies. This method ensures persistence and makes the infrastructure extremely difficult to remove. Using blockchain for C2 operations allows attackers to maintain control even if conventional servers are shut down, highlighting a new level of resilience in cyberattacks.
Ransomware presence: these types of attacks remained a persistent threat for the financial sector with 12.8% of B2B finance organizations affected in November 2024 through October 2025.
Disappearance of certain malware families: some malware families are likely to disappear, as their activity depends directly on the operations of specific criminal groups.
“In 2025, financial cyber threats evolved into a complex landscape, with attacks hitting businesses and end users alike. Criminal groups increasingly combined digital tools, insider access, AI and blockchain to scale operations, forcing organizations to secure not only their systems but also the human networks that support them,” said Fabio Assolini, Head of the Americas & Europe units at Kaspersky GReAT.
Kaspersky predictions for what finance cybersecurity might face in 2026 include:
Banking Trojans will be rewritten for WhatsApp distribution: criminal groups will increasingly rewrite and scale banking trojans distribution and abuse messaging apps like WhatsApp to target corporate and government organizations that still rely on desktop-based online banking. These environments are where Windows-based banking trojans thrive.
Growth of deepfake/AI services for social engineering: the trade in realistic deepfakes and AI-powered campaigns is expected to expand even more, fueling scams around job interviews and offers, driving underground demand for tools that fully bypass Know Your Customer (KYC) verification.
Appearance of regional info stealers: as Lumma, Redline and other stealers are still active, we expect to see the appearance of regional info stealers, targeting specific countries or regions, expanding the use of malware-as-a-service model.
More attacks on NFC payments: as a key technology used in payments, we’ll see more tools, more malware and attacks directed against NFC payments, in all types.
The advent of Agentic AI malware: agentic AI malware is characterized by its ability to dynamically alter behavior mid-execution. Unlike conventional malware that relies on pre-defined instructions, agentic variants are designed to assess their environment, analyze their impact, and adapt their tactics on the fly. This means that a single piece of malware could exhibit a range of behaviors, from initial infiltration to data exfiltration or system disruption, all in response to the specific defenses and vulnerabilities it encounters.
Classic fraud will obtain new delivery: fraud will remain a major threat to end users, but its delivery methods will keep evolving. As new services and messaging platforms emerge, attackers will continue to adapt their tactics to the channels where their target audience is most active.
The persistence of ‘out of box’, pre-infected devices: the threat of counterfeit smart devices sold already infected with trojans (such as Triada) will continue to evolve. These trojans often come with extensive capabilities, including the ability to steal banking credentials, and affect not only “gray” Android smartphones but also other smart devices such as TVs.
Kaspersky experts recommend the following to keep safe:
- Monitor accounts and transactions regularly for suspicious activity.
- Download apps only from official stores and verify developer authenticity.
- Disable NFC when not in use, and utilize wallets that block unauthorized communication.
- Protect your financial transactions by adopting Kaspersky Premium with the Safe Money feature, which verifies the authenticity of known online payment systems and banking websites.
Financial organizations can embrace an ecosystem-based cybersecurity strategy that unites people, processes, and technology:
- Assess the entire infrastructure, fix vulnerabilities, and consider external specialists for fresh perspectives that reveal concealed risks.
- Deploy integrated platforms to monitor and control all attack vectors with rapid detection and swift response across the organization. Solutions from the Kaspersky Next product line can help with this goal, as they provide real-time protection, threat visibility, investigation, and EDR/XDR capabilities scalable to organizations of any size and in any industry.
- Stay current with the threat landscape using Kaspersky threat intelligence and analytics, run regular awareness training to build a human firewall that recognizes threats and enforces security policies.
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Qadi, the Middle East’s first sovereign regulatory compliance platform, has emerged from stealth with a pre-seed round led by Incubayt. By transforming local laws and policies into AI agents, Qadi aims to automate legal and compliance workflows across MENAT, delivering faster decisions, deeper regulatory alignment, and trusted data sovereignty for law firms and financial institutions.
2 min
Qadi, the Middle East’s first sovereign regulatory compliance platform, today emerged from stealth and announced its pre-seed funding round, led by Incubayt. Qadi’s platform turns local laws, regulations and policies into AI agents that can make compliance determinations, with the goal of transforming how the region’s law firms and institutions manage legal and compliance workflows enabling them to move faster and unlock growth.
Built for the legal and regulatory systems of MENAT, Qadi combines regional legal expertise, regulatory insight and data sovereignty in a single platform. Qadi deconstructs local laws, regulations and internal policies and encodes their rules into AI agents that take actions, and integrates compliance checks proactively into business workflows.
Qadi’s mission is to give the region a regulatory platform that legal and compliance teams can trust. It protects the confidentiality of institutional data and policies while unlocking the speed and intelligence of next-generation AI agents.
Within Qadi, AI agents convert fragmented legal and compliance tasks into end-to-end workflows. One set of agents can take first-pass responsibility for contracts, reviewing Non-disclosure Agreements (NDAs) and Master Service Agreement (MSAs), checking them against local requirements and internal playbooks, routing them to the right approvers, and notifying sales and go-to-market teams when deals are ready to move. Another set of agents can focus on scanning media assets against regional financial promotions and advertising rules.
Mohamad El Charif, Founder at Qadi, said: “Qadi is doing something distinct. We aren’t just building a copilot; we’re building the engine for compliance automation. By bridging the gap between strategic legal advisory and AI, Qadi is positioning itself as the backbone of the next generation of legal services in the region.”
The funding will drive the expansion of Qadi’s team of AI and Legal Engineers and support the rollout of its platform to select law firms and financial institutions across the GCC.
Sami Khoreibi, Investor and Founder of Incubayt, commented: “Around the world, regulatory AI is moving from experiments to core infrastructure but in this region, it has to be sovereign and deeply tuned to local rules. Qadi is taking the right approach of starting with local laws, regulations and policies, encoding them as agents, and deploying them inside the institution’s own environment. That combination of agentic automation, regulatory depth and data sovereignty is exactly what our most sophisticated clients are asking for.”
As the Middle East continues to modernize its legal and regulatory regimes and attract global capital, Qadi aims to provide the regulatory operating layer for the region’s law firms and institutions, embedding regulatory intelligence directly into operational workflows for instant, scalable decision-making.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Interior designer Thomas Hamel on where it goes wrong in so many homes.
MENA equity markets saw sharp contrasts in 2025: Dubai and Abu Dhabi outperformed as safe havens, Saudi Arabia’s TASI lagged with a 12% drop, and Egypt’s EGX 30 surged over 30% amid economic stabilization. With oil prices down and diversification accelerating, the region is shifting toward non-oil growth, AI investment, and stronger structural reforms.
2 min
2025 proved a year of contrasts for MENA equity markets. In the UAE, the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) steadily outperformed many regional peers, as investors gravitated toward more diversified economies less sensitive to oil-price swings. DFMMI (Dubai’s main index) registered a strong run mid-year. By contrast, the Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) in Saudi Arabia struggled, the region’s worst-performing major index in 2025, with a ~12% drop. At the same time, EGX 30 in Egypt delivered impressive gains: the index rose over 30% year-on-year, reflecting renewed investor confidence.
Underlying this among markets was a challenging global environment: oil prices dropped roughly 15 % year-to-date, exerting pressure on oil-dependent economies across the Gulf. That decline weighed on fiscal revenues and investor sentiment, particularly for energy-heavy markets.
Against that backdrop, Dubai (and to some extent Abu Dhabi) emerged as financial safe havens. With a diversified economic base, lower oil breakeven point, robust real estate and services sectors, and strong earnings across non-oil corporates, the UAE began to cement its status as a global financial hub. Analysts have highlighted growing flows into UAE equities as investors rotate away from oil-centric listings toward more stable, diversified equities.
Meanwhile in Saudi Arabia, 2025 saw a strategic turn: under renewed Western engagement, Riyadh via some of its sovereign-backed entities, accelerated investments in artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and high-tech. The shift away from pure oil and real estate based growth reflects a longer-term push to diversify and future-proof the economy.
In Egypt, the story was of gradual stabilization. After years of economic strain, real GDP grew about an average of 5% QoQ in the first 3 quarters of the year 2025, thanks to structural reforms, manufacturing expansion, and supportive investments. Inflation, which had surged to historic highs, has moderated significantly. Urban consumer inflation eased to manageable levels, bringing some relief to households, while non-oil private-sector activity reached a five-year high in late 2025.
Together, these developments reflect a broader rebalancing across MENA: markets increasingly favor diversified growth, non-oil investments, and structural reform. As 2025 closes, it seems the region is recalibrating — with Dubai and Abu Dhabi rising as financial safe-havens, Riyadh betting on AI for the next era, and Cairo cautiously emerging from economic turbulence.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Following the devastation of recent flooding, experts are urging government intervention to drive the cessation of building in areas at risk.
The World Bank’s latest Gulf Economic Update forecasts UAE economic growth at 4.8% in 2025, driven by strong diversification and rapid digital transformation. With the UAE and Saudi Arabia emerging as regional AI leaders, the GCC is strengthening its position for innovation, competitiveness, and long-term economic stability.
2 minThe latest edition of the Gulf Economic Update (GEU)- Fall 2025, issued today by the World Bank, forecasts that the UAE economy will grow by 4.8 percent.
The report, titled “The Gulf’s Digital Transformation: A Powerful Engine for Economic Diversification,” confirmed that the UAE continues to achieve strong and broad-based growth, with balance across oil and non-oil sectors.
Real GDP is expected to grow by 4.8 percent in 2025, and the country is a leader in diversifying its export base.
The report also projected economic growth of 3.8 percent for Saudi Arabia, 3.5 percent for Bahrain, 3.1 percent for Oman, 2.8 percent for Qatar, and 2.7 percent for Kuwait.
The report highlights three main pillars: the evolution of economic diversification indicators over the past decade, tracking macroeconomic developments, and focusing on digital transformation.
The report examined the results of economic diversification efforts in GCC countries over the past decade, indicating moderate progress, with some promising indicators emerging in recent years.
It also highlighted the rapid digital transformation in the Gulf and the acceleration of artificial intelligence adoption, noting that all GCC countries boast advanced telecommunications networks, with more than 90 percent 5G coverage and affordable high-speed internet.
Large investments in data centers and high-performance computing are strengthening AI readiness, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia emerging as leaders regionally and internationally.
This progress is supported by enabling ecosystems, including facilities and financing for projects and innovation, as well as government adoption of generative AI applications.
Safaa El Tayeb El Kogali, World Bank Division Director for the Gulf Cooperation Council, said that diversification and digital transformation are no longer a luxury, but a necessity for achieving long-term economic stability and prosperity.
She added that the digital leap achieved by GCC countries is remarkable, noting that strong infrastructure, growing computing power, and increasing AI-related skills and competencies enhance the region’s position for leadership and innovation, provided environmental and labor-market challenges are addressed proactively.
The report also indicated that women’s participation in STEM fields in the Gulf exceeds the global average, enhancing the region’s digital competitiveness.
It recommended supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in adopting AI to enhance innovation, and implementing training programs to upskill the workforce and mitigate labor-market gaps, in order to maximize the benefits of diversification and digital transformation.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
A business led by two of the president’s sons will invest in American Bitcoin, a new mining company controlled by Hut 8.
3 minThe president’s two oldest sons are investing in a bitcoin-mining company, adding to the Trump family’s expanding portfolio of cryptocurrency businesses.
Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.’s American Data Centers will merge with and take a 20% stake in American Bitcoin, a mining operation majority-owned by Hut 8 , the publicly traded crypto-infrastructure company. Together, they aim to create the world’s largest miner of the digital currency, with designs on building its own “bitcoin reserve.”
In a matter of months, the Trumps started a decentralized-finance, or DeFi, project called World Liberty Financial , said their social-media company would invest in bitcoin and other digital assets, launched meme coins to capitalize on the popularity of the president and his wife and announced plans to issue a World Liberty dollar-backed stablecoin . And in his return to the White House, President Trump has said he aims to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world.”
The digital networks that comprise the cryptocurrency markets have offered the Trumps an ideal complement to their other family business: real estate, Eric Trump told The Wall Street Journal.
“We are a hard-asset family. I’m a hard-asset guy,” said Eric Trump, who will serve as American Bitcoin’s chief strategy officer. “My entire life has been spent building things, and I don’t think there is ever a better hedge against all of that than the true digital assets.”
American Data Centers was launched in February by Eric Trump, his brother Donald Jr. and Dominari , a small investment firm that recently appointed the Trump brothers as advisers.
As part of the deal, Hut 8 will shift nearly 61,000 of its specialized bitcoin-mining machines to American Bitcoin in exchange for an 80% ownership in the new entity. The companies said no cash changed hands in the deal.
Eric Trump said American Bitcoin, which aims to go public, will remain a separate venture from the Trump Organization, the family real-estate empire he runs. But World Liberty, the DeFi platform Eric Trump called his “whole heart and soul” might collaborate with the bitcoin-mining operation in the future, he said.
American Bitcoin’s executives said their plans to mine and stockpile bitcoin for their own reserve are unrelated to the U.S. strategic crypto reserve that President Trump established earlier this month with an executive order.
Bitcoin, the world’s most-popular digital asset, is created by computer servers that solve complex equations, unlocking, or “mining” new tokens.
The business of mining new bitcoin has grown more challenging as new companies have sprung up to capitalize on rising prices and the number of unmined tokens has dwindled. Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto , capped the digital currency’s supply at 21 million, and more than 90% of those tokens have already been released. Critics also raised concerns about the environmental impact of bitcoin mining , pointing to the massive amounts of energy required to run mining operations.
Some critics also said they were concerned that the Trumps’ recent investments in crypto pose conflicts of interest, given Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
“At least in the last term, it was all golf courses and hotels, whereas now he’s getting into crypto, which could have a systemic effect on the economy,” said Richard Painter , a former ethics attorney for President George W. Bush . “This is an area where conflicts of interest, whether the Trump family or anybody else, could have devastating consequences.”
Hut 8, based in Miami, will host American Bitcoin’s mining machines at its data centers and include the new company’s results in its financial statements.
Asher Genoot , Hut 8’s chief executive, said the company’s ability to secure cheap energy, build low-cost data centers and mine bitcoin at a low cost will help differentiate American Bitcoin from competitors. Hut 8 owns 11 data centers.
“There is still 100-plus years of bitcoin mining left, and bitcoin continues to appreciate,” Genoot said. “Being the lowest-cost bitcoin miner is how you will continue to manage through that volatility and being able to be at scale.”
Eric Trump said American Bitcoin and other U.S.-based miners will benefit from the recent decline in energy prices.
“That is what puts bitcoiners in this country,” he said. “It is going to put them ahead of everybody because we actually have a government that wants to see low-cost energy.”
Mike Ho, chief strategy officer of Hut 8, will serve as executive chairman of American Bitcoin. Matt Prusak, former chief commercial officer of Hut 8, will become the company’s CEO.
Venture-capital investors Justin Mateen , co-founder of Tinder, and Michael Broukhim , co-founder of FabFitFun, an e-commerce startup, will join Hut 8’s Ho and Genoot as the board of directors for American Bitcoin.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Binance launches Binance Junior, a parent-controlled crypto savings app for ages 6–17, helping families build long-term wealth and teach financial literacy in a safe, monitored environment.
2 minBinance today announced the launch of Binance Junior, a new parent-controlled app and sub-account for kids and teens, ages 6-17, that offers parents a family-centric platform to build crypto wealth and savings, helping prepare their children for a digital financial future. Binance Junior allows parents to open and manage crypto savings accounts on behalf of their children, enabling young users to save and earn crypto in the account through Binance Flexible Simple Earn, while restricting trading activities to ensure safety.
Parents can fund the Binance Junior account via their master account or through on-chain transfers. By offering controlled early exposure to savings and digital assets, Binance Junior empowers parents to invest in their children’s financial future and nurture positive saving habits. As crypto becomes increasingly integrated with mainstream finance, this new product aims to provide young users with a strong foundation in personal finance and digital asset education, promoting long-term financial literacy and readiness for the evolving economic landscape.
“As parents who love our children, we not only nurture them in their early development but long-term growth with responsibility and wisdom—helping their ability to face real life challenges independently where financial health and literacy are key to preparing them for the future, especially as money is evolving,” said Binance co-CEO Yi He. “Today, parents can take the first steps to prepare for their children’s financial future and equip them for the future financial landscape. Binance Junior is a family finance initiative that helps parents build crypto wealth and savings for their children and encourages them to teach and practice healthy financial habits for the next generation into adulthood.”
Designed for both crypto-native parents and those new to digital assets, Binance Junior helps them begin their digital finance journey as a family in a secure environment with parental control and monitoring via a simplified interface, with safety measures in place. Binance Junior users aged 13 and above can initiate transfers on their app, with a higher age criteria where required by local regulations, and with daily limits applied. Trading is not permitted and transfers to non-parental adult users are also restricted. Parents will be notified of every transaction from their Junior account and have the ability to disable their child’s Junior account at any time, immediately halting all transfers.
As part of Binance’s continued mission to educate people about the world of digital assets, while preparing the next generation for financial health and wealth under its broader family finance initiative, it has released a self-published book, “ABC’s of Crypto.”
The “ABC’s of Crypto” is an educational book designed as a children’s book for anyone who is interested in learning about crypto and illustrating how crypto can be “as easy as ABC.” The book breaks down fundamental terms in crypto, from security and blockchain technology to types of coins, in a fun and easy-to-understand way—encouraging families to learn together in their digital finance journey.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
A historic Bitcoin supply squeeze is unfolding as institutions, long-term holders, and lost coins shrink the liquid supply to record lows — fueling unprecedented scarcity in the market.
2 min
The amount of Bitcoin available to be bought or sold today is far smaller than most people realize, and an industry expert says this is creating a historic supply squeeze that is fundamentally reshaping the market.
This shift is being driven by a combination of institutional adoption, long-term holding strategies, and a significant portion of the asset being permanently lost, creating unprecedented scarcity for the world’s leading digital asset.
Abdumalik Mirakhmedov, Founder and Executive President of GDA, one of the world’s leading bitcoin mining companies, says: “There can only ever be 21 million coins, and almost 20 million have already been created.
“Big investors are taking millions of Bitcoins out of circulation, while millions more are sitting unused or have been lost over time. This growing shortage could turn out to be one of the most important supply squeezes in Bitcoin’s history, shaping the future of the network.”
Dubai-based Mirakhmedov, who will be among the speakers at Bitcoin MENA in Abu Dhabi next week, points to analysis suggesting that, allowing for coins held by long-term investors and an estimated 18% lost forever in inaccessible wallets, the liquid supply may be as low as six million coins.
“Producing more Bitcoin, or manipulating it, to meet growing demand is not possible,” he declares. “Unlike fiat currencies and physical commodities, there is no central authority, and after the cap is reached, no new supply will ever enter the market.
“This fixed supply structure gives Bitcoin its appeal as ‘digital gold’. It also paves the way for extreme scarcity, especially when most of the remaining Bitcoin is being secured up by long-term holders and institutional investors.”
Mirakhmedov says the structural shift in the Bitcoin market, once dominated by retail traders, is being accelerated by several key developments:
- The rise of spot Bitcoin ETFs: In the U.S. and other regions, these funds must hold physical Bitcoin in secure custody, locking vast quantities away from the active market.
- Institutional and government adoption: Corporate treasuries, major banks offering custody, and even national governments like El Salvador are accumulating Bitcoin as a reserve asset, further reducing liquid supply.
- Lost coins: Millions of Bitcoin, often from the network’s early days, are considered permanently lost due to lost private keys or discarded hardware.
“Banks, pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, and other asset managers are taking a bigger role in Bitcoin,” says Mirakhmedov. “They often plan to hold it for decades, and once Bitcoin is in their hands, it almost never comes back onto the market.
“With dormant coins, institutional holdings, ETFs, government reserves, and long-term retail owners, the amount of Bitcoin you can actually buy is shrinking quickly. This isn’t just market cycles or sentiment – it’s a real, structural change in how Bitcoin is used, held, and valued.
“Bitcoin is shifting from a speculative investment to a store of value. Each coin that gets locked away makes this trend stronger. The supply squeeze isn’t coming, it’s already happening.”
Mirakhmedov will take part in a panel discussion on the role of Bitcoin mining in the global energy transition at Bitcoin MENA on 8th December at ADNEC Center Abu Dhabi. He will be joined on the Proof of Work Stage (12:00 pm-12:30 pm) by Daniel Jonsson COE of mgmt Digital Infrastructure Fund, and Ali Alnuaimi, Founder of Shafra.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
As the UAE celebrates its National Day, its financial markets shine just as bright. From soaring real estate leaders to standout performers in banking and AI, local champions continue to attract strong investor confidence and drive the nation’s economic momentum forward. With companies like Union Properties, Amlak Finance, ADIB, and Presight AI leading the way, 2025 has highlighted the UAE’s strength, resilience, and ambition — proving once again why investors see it as a core global market.
3 min
As the UAE celebrates its National Day, it is an opportune moment to recognize the companies that have played a pivotal role in driving the country’s financial markets forward throughout the year. Emirati and UAE-listed stocks have continued to attract rising levels of foreign investment, underpinned by the nation’s rapid economic growth, ambitious long-term innovation strategy, and its reputation as a safe haven amid global market volatility.
“One of the defining features of the UAE market this year has been the strength and resilience of local champions across key sectors such as real estate, banking and technology,” commented Farhan Badami, Business Development Manager at eToro. “As the country continues to invest in innovation, infrastructure and business-friendly reforms, we are seeing both local and international investors increasingly view the UAE as a core market in their portfolios, rather than a satellite exposure.”
Union Properties Leads the DFM with a Standout 91% Return
While names such as Emaar and Aldar have dominated the UAE property narrative in recent years, Union Properties — one of Dubai’s oldest developers — has emerged as one of the Dubai Financial Market’s top performers. Delivering an impressive 91% return for investors this year, the company has been buoyed by renewed optimism in Dubai’s real estate sector, strong demand for residential projects, and progress in strengthening its balance sheet. Investor confidence has improved significantly as Dubai’s real estate cycle continues to benefit from population growth, new long-term visa pathways and strong interest from overseas buyers.
Amlak Finance Capitalizes on Dubai’s Real Estate Boom
Amlak Finance has also been among the strongest performers on the DFM, posting gains of over 80% this year. As a leading Sharia-compliant mortgage finance provider, Amlak sits at the core of Dubai’s dynamic real estate and financing ecosystem. The surge in property transactions has naturally driven a rise in mortgage activity, reflected in the company’s strong third-quarter earnings. For investors seeking exposure to the UAE’s property boom without directly investing in real estate, Amlak has become a standout name and is expected to remain a key player heading into 2026.
ADIB Outperforms on the ADX as Banking Sector Shows Strength
In the finance sector, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has been the best-performing stock on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange this year, with shares rising more than 44% in 2025. Strong demand across both retail and corporate banking has fueled solid earnings growth. Notably, four of the top ten performers on the ADX this year are from the banking sector, underscoring the industry’s role as a key pillar of Abu Dhabi’s economy. As one of the UAE’s most prominent Sharia-compliant institutions, ADIB remains widely regarded as a dependable performer during periods of regional uncertainty.
Presight AI Highlights the UAE’s Push into Advanced Technology
The UAE’s commitment to global technological leadership has been reinforced by the performance of Presight AI, which brought a modern and innovative element to the local market this year. Shares have climbed 42%, driven by the company’s role in Abu Dhabi’s strategic expansion into artificial intelligence, data analytics and advanced digital infrastructure. With governments and businesses across the region increasing their investment in AI and data solutions, Presight is seen as a key proxy for the UAE’s broader ambitions in the fast-growing technology sector.
UAE Investors Remain Strongly Focused on Local Opportunities
The strength and diversity of these top-performing stocks align with insights from the latest Retail Investor Beat survey, which shows that UAE investors continue to demonstrate one of the strongest preferences globally for backing local companies. This year’s market leadership — spanning real estate, banking and technology — reflects the sectors UAE investors favour most.
As the nation marks its National Day, the performance of these standout companies highlights the confidence, ambition, and economic momentum defining the UAE’s continued growth story.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Mastercard Gateway earns SAMA certification to power secure, locally routed ecommerce payments—boosting Saudi Arabia’s rapidly growing digital economy.
2 min
Mastercard Gateway is now certified to facilitate online transactions through SAMA’s New E-commerce Payments Interface.
This certification will enable Mastercard Gateway to process ecommerce transactions through the New E-commerce Payments Interface locally and securely, providing local routing, tokenization, fraud prevention, and direct integration with the national payment scheme (mada).
At a time when global ecommerce is experiencing considerable growth, the Mastercard Gateway will deliver low-latency, ecommerce processing for merchants and acquirers operating within the Kingdom. The new E-commerce Payments Interface is geared towards bolstering the Kingdom’s payment infrastructure and advancing the rapidly evolving ecommerce sector.
Crucially, this certification will contribute to the digital transformation and economic diversification in Saudi Arabia, consolidating Mastercard Gateway in the Kingdom and wider region as one of the essential tools for digital commerce innovation.
“Mastercard is committed to powering economies and empowering people, and we understand the importance of robust infrastructure, secure technology, smart integration and collaboration, in the quest for a thriving digital economy. With this certification, we are pleased to play our part in realizing the immense potential of ecommerce in the Kingdom,” said Saud Swar, Country Manager, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan and other Levant, Mastercard.
Mastercard Gateway’s integration with the new E-commerce Payment Interface will accelerate digital payments growth and support merchants in fulfilling their potential by lowering barriers to entry, thereby supporting achievement of Vision 2030.
Mastercard Gateway is a single touchpoint that powers payment and digital acceptance solutions across new and existing markets and channels locally and globally. Merchants benefit from support for more than 35 payment methods, while customers enjoy advanced protection from cybercrime through tokenization, biometric recognition and 3D Secure authentication.
Building on the momentum of Mastercard Gateway’s on-soil launch in October 2024, this latest announcement underscores the company’s deepening commitment to Saudi Arabia’s digital economy. Backed by a global network exceeding 250 acquirers, it provides over half a million merchants with access to ongoing innovation and more than 150 million acceptance locations. In 2024, Mastercard Gateway processed more than 1 billion transactions in Saudi Arabia, across all payment methods, supporting the growth of digital commerce in the market.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Egypt’s economy strengthens as Q1 GDP growth accelerates to 5.3%, driven by renewed reforms and major investment inflows—setting the stage for a more resilient 2025/26 outlook.
< 1 min
Egypt’s GDP grew by 5.3% in the first quarter of its 2025/26 fiscal year compared with 3.5% in the same period a year earlier, the planning ministry said, boosted by the government’s economic and structural reforms.
Planning Minister Rania Al-Mashat said Egypt was targeting economic growth of around 5% for the fiscal year to the end of June 2026, up from a previous target of 4.5%.
The Arab world’s most populous country has been struggling with the aftermath of a sharp currency devaluation, soaring inflation and the economic fallout from the war in Gaza.
Growth slowed to 2.4% in 2023/24 but the government has since accelerated economic reforms under an $8 billion program with the International Monetary Fund and secured $24 billion in investment from the United Arab Emirates’ sovereign wealth fund, including a major land deal on the Mediterranean coast.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
eToro enables crypto deposits in the UAE, allowing users to transfer digital assets from external wallets and convert them to USD—earning 1% back in UAE-listed stocks on every eligible conversion.
2 min
eToro, the trading and investing platform, announced today that it has enabled crypto deposits in the UAE. This milestone makes eToro one of the few trading and investing platforms in the UAE to allow users to transfer in cryptoassets from other exchanges, brokers, or blockchain wallets. Alongside this new feature, eToro unveiled a new benefit giving UAE-based users 1% back in UAE-listed stocks when they convert their crypto deposits to USD.
Doron Rosenlum, EVP, Business Solutions at eToro said: “Launching crypto-to-USD conversions alongside our new eToro Wallet gives investors in the UAE greater flexibility in how they manage their digital assets. Many younger users began investing through crypto, and are now looking for simple, seamless ways to diversify into other asset classes. As a multi-asset platform, we are well-equipped to support them in building a diversified investment portfolio.”
Eligible eToro users can now transfer bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), XRP, USDC, Chainlink (LINK), Aave (AAVE), Uniswap (UNI), Polygon (POL), and Fetch.ai (FET) from external wallets or exchanges to their eToro Crypto Wallet. They can then convert their holdings to USD, and use the funds to invest it in any instruments on eToro’s investment platform.
When transferring eligible cryptoassets to their eToro Crypto Wallet and converting them to USD, users will be rewarded with 1% back on the conversion in their chosen stock from a selection of leading ADX- and DFM-listed equities, which will be added to their trading portfolio.
George Naddaf, Managing Director of eToro MENA said: “We are proud to be one of the few platforms in the UAE and globally to enable crypto deposits. Together with the stock-back reward, this will give UAE investors more ways to connect their crypto investments to opportunities in the local market – especially as our retail investor survey shows that over 90% of UAE-based investors are confident in the long-term performance of local companies – as well as global markets.”
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
GCC foreign investment surges as inbound FDI hits $523.4B in 2023, non-oil exports rise, and market capitalization reaches $4.2T in 2024, reflecting strong diversification, fiscal stability, and growing global confidence in the region.
2 min
The data issued by the Statistical Center for the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC- Stat) indicates that the GCC countries have witnessed a steady rise in foreign investment.
In 2023, inbound foreign direct investment (excluding intra-GCC investments) reached about US$523.4 billion, representing roughly 80 percent of the total foreign direct investment stock, confirming the growing international confidence in the Gulf business environment.
Foreign direct investment inflows accounted for about 5 percent of total global flows in 2023.
The volume of intra-GCC investments also increased from US$88.2 billion in 2015 to US$130.3 billion in 2023, which is equivalent to 20 percent of the total foreign investment stock in the region. This is attributed to the development of infrastructure and technology, as well as the adoption of modern legislation that has enhanced the region’s attractiveness as a global investment hub.
The GCC’s external merchandise trade recorded slight growth of 1.1 percent in 2024, despite the decline in average oil prices from 82.5 dollars per barrel in 2023 to 80.5 dollars in 2024.
Non-oil exports recorded a significant increase, which reflects progress in diversifying the export base. Re-export activities also witnessed continued growth, thanks to the region’s advanced logistical hubs.
The GCC’s public revenues amounted to around US$670.2 billion in 2024, marking an annual increase of 2 percent. Public spending reached 659.3 billion dollars, reflecting the Gulf governments’ commitment to advancing fiscal consolidation and directing expenditures toward development, infrastructure, and social protection.
The data indicate an increase in the contribution of non-oil revenues to total public income, due to the implementation of indirect taxes such as value-added tax (VAT) and excise taxes, alongside improved efficiency in revenue collection through digital transformation in public financial management.
These measures contributed to containing public debt and reducing its servicing burden on government budgets. On the other hand, Gulf capital market indicators showed positive performance in 2024, with market capitalis`ation rising to around US$4.2 trillion, despite global market uncertainty due to tighter monetary policies in the United States.
The positive performance was supported by improved corporate profits, lower inflation levels, and the continued flow of institutional investments into key sectors.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Alexandre de Betak and his wife are focusing on their most personal project yet.
Bitcoin sinks toward $80K, wiping out 2025 gains as crypto markets face renewed volatility, forced sell-offs, and mounting pressure on treasury firms.
2 min
Bitcoin dropped to a seven-month low, closing in on the $80,000 level below which some analysts say much heavier losses are likely for the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin fell to $80,553, and ether hit a four-month low, as cryptocurrencies led a broad flight from riskier assets, spurred by investor worries over lofty tech valuations and uncertainty over near-term U.S. interest rate cuts.
Cryptocurrencies are often viewed as a barometer of risk appetite and their slide highlights how fragile the mood in markets has turned in recent days, with high-flying artificial intelligence stocks tumbling and volatility spiking.
Bitcoin is down 12% for the week. Its slide follows a stellar run this year that propelled it to a record high above $120,000 in October, buoyed by favorable regulatory changes towards crypto assets globally.
But analysts say the market remains scarred by a record single-day slump last month that saw more than $19 billion of positions liquidated.
As it plunged through $100,000 last week and headed for $80,000 on Friday, some analysts said bitcoin was reaching levels that corporate and institutional investors on average paid for their tokens, and where they might have to sell to prevent losses.
Bitcoin has erased all its year-to-date gains and is now down 12% for the year, while ether has lost close to 19%.
“If it’s telling a story about risk sentiment as a whole, then things could start to get really, really ugly, and that’s the concern now,” Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG, said of the fall in bitcoin.
CRYPTO TREASURIES
The plunge on Friday will compound problems for so-called crypto treasury companies, which have been big buyers of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies this year.
These companies hold the crypto on their balance sheets in the hope the price rises. Standard Chartered has estimated that a drop below $90,000 for bitcoin could leave half of these companies’ holdings “underwater” – a term which typically refers to holding assets worth less than what was paid for them.
Analysts say the companies could be forced to raise new funds or sell down their crypto holdings, putting further downward pressure on prices.
Listed companies collectively hold 4% of all the bitcoin in circulation, and 3.1% of ether, Standard Chartered estimates.
“The procyclical nature of bitcoin treasury companies is fully obvious now, if it wasn’t obvious six months ago,” Brent Donnelly, president at analytics firm Spectra Markets, said in a note.
“They buy high and now some of them are selling low.”
Citi analyst Alex Saunders said $80,000 would be an important level as it is around the average level of bitcoin holdings in exchange-traded funds.
About $1.2 trillion has been wiped off the market value of all cryptocurrencies in the past six weeks, according to market tracker CoinGecko.
Shares in the bitcoin buyers soared earlier this year but have fallen sharply in recent months. Strategy, the biggest of the treasury firms, has seen its shares tank 61% since a July peak, leaving them down nearly 40% year-to-date.
JP Morgan said in a note this week that Strategy could be excluded from some MSCI equity indexes, which could spark forced selling by funds that track them.
Japanese peer Metaplanet has tumbled about 80% from a June peak.
Donnelly notes that bitcoin selloffs in 2018 and 2022 saw prices drop around 75% to 80%, which if repeated could see a plunge to as low as $25,000.
“I am not saying we are in crypto winter. Just offering a reminder that 75%/80% drawdowns have been part of the game in bitcoin,” he wrote.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Sydney’s prestige market is looking up, here’s three of the best on the market right now.
Markets remained largely stable despite a tech selloff, with G10 currencies trading in narrow ranges and some emerging markets seeing modest gains. The British pound held firm after the Bank of England’s dovish stance, while the New Zealand dollar weakened on soft labor data. Investors now await a U.S. government shutdown resolution that could restore key economic data releases.
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While tech stocks had their worst week since April’s “liberation day” crash, currency markets largely took the AI mini-crash in stride. G10 currencies remained in tight ranges, while some emerging market currencies posted modest gains. Amid this calmness, it is worth noting that Sterling weathered the Bank of England’s dovish turn in November well, posting modest gains against the dollar. The week’s loser was the New Zealand dollar on disappointing labor market data there. As this is written, hopes are rising for a resolution to the US Federal shutdown impasse. This would restart the release of economic data and shed much-needed light on the state of the US economy.
Enrique Díaz-Álvarez, Chief Economist at Ebury said: “Next week will be busy for Sterling, as labor market data released Wednesday is followed by third-quarter GDP and September industrial production on Thursday. Little is expected to happen in the Eurozone. Whether we receive any market-moving news about the US economy will of course depend on an agreement to end the shutdown. We will also be following developments in the stock market, as wealth effects and the impact of AI investment have probably been a net support for the US dollar.”
GBP
The Bank of England maintained rates unchanged last week, but barely, as four of the nine MPC members dissented—more than had been expected. Sterling bore this surprisingly well, rebounding after a short post-meeting downdraft. While we wait for the key November 26th budget release, this week’s economic data will be key, given the apparent data dependence of the MPC. The employment report on Tuesday and the flash GDP release on Wednesday are key. Any positive surprise on either will force markets to reprice the chances of a December cut, currently seen at 70%.
EUR
The only notable news from the Eurozone this week will be the release of the first revision to third-quarter GDP numbers. We look to it to confirm the modest improvement in the tone of economic news lately. With the ECB on hold for the foreseeable future, we continue to wait for evidence of the massive German fiscal stimulus package, announced earlier this year, to start showing up in the leading economic indicators, which may be the catalyst needed for another leg up in the euro versus the dollar.
USD
The limited privately or state-sourced data that we are still getting from the US suggests that job creation remains anemic, but layoffs remain at very low levels. Last week’s Challenger layoff report seemed to show a spike in firings, but we would heavily discount this particular data point, as it has not been a reliable indicator in the past. While the U.S. economy appears relatively undamaged by the shutdown, this could quickly begin to change if it lasts much longer. Air travel cancellations and chaos this week may be the first sign of lasting damage. We do expect the additional political pressure from this and other impacts to bring about an agreement that will restore the normal flow of data and economic reports.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Aramco posts $28B Q3 profit, proving resilience amid oil market volatility. Despite an 11% drop in prices, strong production and cost control boosted performance — reinforcing Aramco’s global energy leadership and commitment to innovation and sustainability.
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Saudi Aramco has once again demonstrated its resilience amid global energy market volatility, reporting robust third-quarter 2025 results that highlight the company’s operational strength and strategic focus on the future of energy.
The company posted an adjusted net income of USD $28.0 billion for the quarter, slightly up from USD $27.7 billion a year earlier, despite oil prices being down around 11% over the past 12 months. This performance underscores Aramco’s ability to offset softer prices through strong production levels and disciplined cost control.
Operational cash flow remained solid at USD $36.1 billion, enabling the company to maintain its hefty dividend yield of around 5%. Even as global energy markets experience turbulence, Aramco continues to generate formidable cash flows and deliver consistent returns to shareholders.
Commenting on the results, Josh Gilbert, Market Analyst at eToro, said: “Aramco’s third-quarter performance once again highlights its strength and ability to navigate challenging market conditions. Despite an 11% decline in oil prices over the past year, the company has managed to deliver steady profits through production growth and strong cost discipline. Its robust dividend yield and consistent cash flow reinforce Aramco’s position as one of the most resilient players in the global energy sector.”
Aramco also continued advancing its long-term strategy of sustainable growth and diversification. The company raised its 2030 gas output target by 80% compared to 2021 levels, with several major upstream projects progressing as planned. These initiatives reinforce Aramco’s commitment to its core hydrocarbon business while supporting global energy stability.
Beyond oil and gas, Aramco is investing in innovation and emerging technologies. In October, the company announced plans to acquire a minority stake in the artificial intelligence firm HUMAIN, positioning itself at the forefront of industrial AI applications. Additionally, Aramco expanded its downstream portfolio through a refining and petrochemical joint venture in China’s Fujian province, strengthening its international footprint.
These strategic moves reflect Aramco’s commitment to shaping a technology-driven, lower-carbon future, aligned with its goal of achieving net-zero operational emissions by 2050. Through innovation, partnerships, and investment in new technologies, the company aims to balance today’s energy needs with tomorrow’s sustainability ambitions.
While Aramco’s share price has lagged in recent years, the company’s operational performance, strategic diversification, and continued shareholder returns underscore its capacity to adapt and lead amid an evolving energy landscape.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Self-tracking has moved beyond professional athletes and data geeks.
