Regions
Business climates and growth poles from Asia to the Americas
The Gulf’s War Economy: How the Hormuz Closure Rewrote Growth Forecasts Across the GCC
The US–Iran war did not bring the Gulf an oil windfall — it brought an export shock. The World Bank cut 2026 regional growth from 4.4% to 1.3%, Kuwait and Qatar face 8.1% contractions, yet bypass pipelines, ports outside the Strait of Hormuz and the UAE’s non-oil engine keep a sharp 2027 rebound alive.
Tatneft Starts Serial Tyre Production at Its New Plant in Saran, Kazakhstan
Tatneft's KamaTyresKZ plant in Saran, Kazakhstan reached serial Attar tyre output; first loads went to dealers in Kazakhstan and Russia in July 2024
PT HLI Green Power Opens Southeast Asia's First and Largest EV Battery Cell Factory in Karawang, West Java
On July 3, 2024, PT HLI Green Power — the Indonesian joint venture led by Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution — inaugurated its electric vehicle battery cell factory in Karawang, West Java, described as the first and largest of its kind in Southeast Asia and a Rp160 trillion (around US$9.77 billion) step in Indonesia's drive to join the global EV supply chain.
Turkish Airlines Announces Q3 2024 Results: $1.5 Billion Net Profit, 24.5 Million Passengers and a 47% Surge in Cargo Revenue
On November 5, 2024, Türkiye's national flag carrier Turkish Airlines reported third-quarter net profit of $1.5 billion on revenues of $6.6 billion, carried 24.5 million passengers, grew cargo revenues 47% year on year and expanded its fleet to 467 aircraft despite industry-wide production bottlenecks and engine problems.
Russia's Industrial Land Rush: How SEZs and Industrial Parks Redrew the Regional Investment Map
The Expert Analytical Center's eighth annual ranking of industrial parks and special economic zones maps 144 investment sites across 54 Russian regions: growth of new sites slowed to 7% a year, yet occupancy, resident demand and deal flow keep rising, the top grades cluster in five capital-ring SEZs and Tatarstan's brownfield parks, and the frontier shifts east to Khabarovsk and abroad to Uzbekistan, where Russia's park operators now export their management model.
Tourists' QR Payments Bring Indonesia $345.7 Million as the Cross-Border QRIS Network Expands
Indonesia logged 17.8 mln inbound QRIS payments worth $345.7 mln through August 2026 - over triple the $103.1 mln Indonesians spent abroad
QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil's Golden Pass LNG Achieves First LNG Production in Texas
Golden Pass LNG, the QatarEnergy (70%) and ExxonMobil (30%) joint venture, has achieved first LNG production from the first of three trains of its 18 million tonnes per annum export project at Sabine Pass, Texas, clearing the way for a first cargo and global exports expected in the second quarter of 2026.
The 700-Million-Consumer Gamble: Inside the EU–Mercosur Deal's Provisional Start — and Its Unfinished Ratification
On 1 May 2026 the trade pillar of the EU–Mercosur agreement began provisional application after 25 years of negotiations, a January signing in Asunción and a European Parliament vote that suspended ratification and sent the deal to the CJEU. Based on Euronews' 11 May 2026 analysis and companion reporting, this deep dive unpacks the €111 billion trade relationship the deal formalises, the quota-and-safeguard architecture protecting European farmers, the €77.6 billion GDP promise for 2040, and Uruguay's warning that Mercosur — which ratified in two months — will not wait forever for Europe: 'the consequences will be much greater for Europe than for us.'
Türkiye's Tourism Revenue Hits Record $61.1 Billion in 2024 as Visitors Reach 62.2 Million
Türkiye's tourism revenue rose 8.3% to a record $61.1B in 2024; 62.2M visitors spent $972 each on average, TurkStat data show.
Indonesia Opens World's Largest Single-Line Copper Smelter as Freeport's Rp56 Trillion Gresik Plant Starts Up
Indonesia opened PT Freeport's Rp56T (~$3.7B) copper smelter in Gresik — the largest single-line design worldwide — plus an Amman Mineral plant, in one day.
TechnoNicol to Build Third Stone-Wool Insulation Plant in Rostov Region With 7.5 Billion Ruble Investment
On January 22, 2024, building materials manufacturer TechnoNicol announced plans to start building its third plant in Rostov Region in 2024 to produce thermal and acoustic stone-wool insulation, with investment of 7.5 billion rubles (over 1.8 billion in 2024) and an opening scheduled for 2026.
Hainan's Separate Customs Regime: Inside China's Largest Free-Trade Port Gamble
On December 18, 2025, Hainan switched on a separate customs regime that places the entire island province outside China's tariff wall for overseas goods. A deep dive into the two-line customs design, the 30 per cent value-added rule, electronic-fence banking and what the free-trade port means for regional business.
The 4.5%–5.5% Decade: Inside Saudi Arabia's Non-Oil Growth Machine — and the SR8 Trillion Bill Behind It
Moody's sees Saudi non-oil growth of 4.5%–5.5% a year through the next decade, but its October 2025 reports price the transition: about SR8 trillion of private investment by 2030, bank loan-to-deposit ratios above 100%, public debt rising from 26% to over 36% of GDP, and renewables at 9 GW against a 130 GW ambition.
Russia's Regions Spent Ahead of Their Income: Anatomy of the First Interim Budget Deficit Since 2013
Seven months into 2025, Russia's regional budgets closed with an aggregate 0.2 trillion rouble deficit — the first interim shortfall since 2013. A deep dive on ACRA's Treasury-data analysis: personal income tax growing at half of last year's pace (+14% after +27%), corporate profit tax falling for a second year (−9% after −15%), spending up 13% led by social policy, and what the gap means for fiscal federalism, donors and recipients.
India's Growth Gears Shift Down: Inside the 2024 Consumption Squeeze and the RBI's December Dilemma
India's GDP grew just 5.4% in July–September 2024, a seven-quarter low below the Reserve Bank of India's own projection. This deep dive traces the slowdown to contracting real urban wages, the weakest corporate quarter in four years and inflation above the 2–6% band — and weighs the second-half case built on rural demand, staples and resumed government spending.
Mawarid Turbine Launches First Phase of $200 Million Wind Turbine Factory in Oman's Duqm Zone
Mawarid Turbine Company launched the first phase of its wind turbine factory in the Special Economic Zone at Duqm in Oman on 13 April 2025. Investment is expected to exceed $200 million, annual capacity is up to 1,000 MW, commercial operations are scheduled for 2026, and agreements were signed with Shanghai Electric Wind Power Group, CID (Gulf) and OQ Group.
Uralkali Accelerates Investment Programme as Annual Capex Tops $550 Million on New Perm Krai Mines
Potash producer Uralkali accelerated its investment programme after 2022, with annual capex exceeding $550 million — $563 million in 2023 and $568 million in 2022, a historical maximum against no more than $380 million a year in 2014–2020 — as it commissioned new mine facilities and expanded capacity in Perm Krai, according to the company's annual report cited by Interfax on May 23, 2024.
Russia's Average Hotel Night Falls 9% This Summer as Tourist Flows Shift From the South to Growing Regions
Russia's average hotel night fell 9% in summer 2025, to 10,949 rubles, as Krasnodar Krai demand cooled while Crimea (+42%) and 12 more regions grew, RST says
Miratorg Opens Seed Potato Center and 81,000-Tonne Storage Complex in Oryol Region to Supply Its GrandFries French-Fries Plant for Vkusno — i tochka
On September 22, 2025, agricultural holding Miratorg opened a breeding and seed center with potato storage in the village of Beldyazhki, Oryol Region, the key element of a vertically integrated project to supply its GrandFries french-fries plant (350,000 tonnes of raw material a year) being built in Mtsensky district. Investment exceeded 3 billion rubles, total storage capacity reached 81,000 tonnes, 160 new jobs will be created, and from autumn 2026 the Vkusno — i tochka chain is set to receive 120,000 tonnes of Russian-made fries a year.
Türkiye's 2025 Turnaround: Disinflation, Record Exports and the Defense Boom
GDP nears $1.48 trillion as inflation falls to a four-year low of 31.07%, exports hit an all-time $390 billion, and defense partnerships from Italy to Indonesia rebuild Türkiye's growth model around technology.