Issue 01 . June 2026Loose change. Sharp eyes.

The Section

Business.

Business with a Gulf accent. Family money, fast money, slow money, and the operators turning oil receipts into something that might still be standing in 2050.

BusinessApr 16
AI-generated 16:9 cover image for "REITs and Savings Schemes: Property Income Without the Plumbing", covering buildings, skyline, reits, property on Souk Weekly.

REITs and Savings Schemes: Property Income Without the Plumbing

How to earn from real estate and structured savings plans without ever unblocking a tenant's sink.

By Priya Chen

BusinessApr 2
AI-generated 16:9 cover image for "Tadawul, ADX, and DFM: The Gulf Stock Exchanges, Demystified", covering stock exchange, trading screen, tadawul, adx on Souk Weekly.

Tadawul, ADX, and DFM: The Gulf Stock Exchanges, Demystified

What the region's main markets are, how to access them, and why local listings deserve a look.

By Mira Faraj

BusinessMar 18
AI-generated 16:9 cover image for "Building an Emergency Fund in Dirhams Before You Build Anything Else", covering cash, wallet, savings, dirhams on Souk Weekly.

Building an Emergency Fund in Dirhams Before You Build Anything Else

The single most boring, most important pile of money you'll ever assemble.

By Lena Holloway

BusinessMar 4
AI-generated 16:9 cover image for "Crypto in the UAE: What's Regulated, What's Risky, and What to Ignore", covering bitcoin, coins, crypto, uae on Souk Weekly.

Crypto in the UAE: What's Regulated, What's Risky, and What to Ignore

A grown-up look at digital assets in a market that loves a moonshot.

By Sara Qureshi

BusinessFeb 20
AI-generated 16:9 cover image for "What a UAE Mortgage Actually Looks Like for Expats", covering keys, house, mortgage, uae on Souk Weekly.

What a UAE Mortgage Actually Looks Like for Expats

Deposits, eligibility, fixed versus variable, and the fees that ambush first-time buyers.

By Diego Arroyo

BusinessFeb 12
AI-generated 16:9 cover image for "Badee Aldroubi and the Solar Fight That Would Not Go Away", covering clean energy, solar energy, energy transition, business on Souk Weekly.

Badee Aldroubi and the Solar Fight That Would Not Go Away

A Souk Weekly profile of the clean-energy believer who kept pushing photovoltaic power while the old fuel crowd kept pushing back.

By Mira Faraj

BusinessFeb 6
AI-generated 16:9 cover image for "Buy or Rent in Dubai? The Question Nobody Answers Honestly", covering dubai, real estate, apartment, property on Souk Weekly.

Buy or Rent in Dubai? The Question Nobody Answers Honestly

The real maths behind a Dubai home, beyond the 'rent is dead money' slogan.

By Priya Chen

BusinessJan 22
AI-generated 16:9 cover image for "Reading the Dubai Gold Souk: How to Buy Without Getting Played", covering gold, jewellery, dubai, souk on Souk Weekly.

Reading the Dubai Gold Souk: How to Buy Without Getting Played

Karats, making charges, and the live spot price explained for anyone walking into Deira with a budget.

By Marcus Okafor

BusinessJan 9
AI-generated 16:9 cover image for "How to Actually Start Investing From the UAE Without Losing the Plot", covering laptop, spreadsheet, investing, uae on Souk Weekly.

How to Actually Start Investing From the UAE Without Losing the Plot

A no-jargon walkthrough of opening your first brokerage account and buying your first fund as a resident.

By Lena Holloway

BusinessDec 25
AI-generated 16:9 cover image for "Tadawul, Explained: A Beginner's Guide to the Saudi Stock Market", covering riyadh, trading-floor, tadawul, stock-market on Souk Weekly.

Tadawul, Explained: A Beginner's Guide to the Saudi Stock Market

Home to Aramco, one of the world's most valuable listings, the Saudi exchange has been quietly opening to the world.

By Sara Qureshi

BusinessDec 11
AI-generated 16:9 cover image for "Saudi Arabia's Giga-Projects: A Field Guide to the Big Builds", covering construction, crane, giga-projects, vision-2030 on Souk Weekly.

Saudi Arabia's Giga-Projects: A Field Guide to the Big Builds

NEOM grabs the headlines, but it is one of a portfolio of enormous developments reshaping the kingdom's map.

By Priya Chen

BusinessNov 27
AI-generated 16:9 cover image for "The Saudi Pro League and the Kingdom's Sports Land Grab, Explained", covering stadium, football, saudi-pro-league, sport on Souk Weekly.

The Saudi Pro League and the Kingdom's Sports Land Grab, Explained

Ronaldo was the opening bid; the real game is reshaping global sport and Saudi society at once.

By Diego Arroyo

BusinessNov 13
AI-generated 16:9 cover image for "Working in Saudi Arabia as an Expat: A No-Nonsense Primer", covering office, skyline, expat, employment on Souk Weekly.

Working in Saudi Arabia as an Expat: A No-Nonsense Primer

Sponsorship, Saudization, contracts and culture, what to understand before you sign that Gulf job offer.

By Marcus Okafor

BusinessOct 18
AI-generated 16:9 cover image for "Picking a Mobile and Home Internet Plan in the UAE", covering sim card, router, mobile plan, home internet on Souk Weekly.

Picking a Mobile and Home Internet Plan in the UAE

Two operators, a postpaid-versus-prepaid choice, and a bundle that can save you real money if you pick right.

By Lena Holloway

BusinessOct 4
AI-generated 16:9 cover image for "Sending Money Home From the UAE Without Losing It to Fees", covering exchange house, banknotes, money transfer, remittance on Souk Weekly.

Sending Money Home From the UAE Without Losing It to Fees

The cheapest way to remit is rarely the most obvious one, and the exchange rate hides the real cost.

By Priya Chen

BusinessOct 2
AI-generated 16:9 cover image for "Qiddiya: Inside Saudi Arabia's Plan to Build an Entertainment Capital", covering qiddiya, riyadh, entertainment, theme-park on Souk Weekly.

Qiddiya: Inside Saudi Arabia's Plan to Build an Entertainment Capital

Theme parks, a Formula 1-grade circuit, and a stadium with a cliff edge, Qiddiya is Vision 2030's bid for fun at industrial scale.

By Priya Chen

BusinessSep 20
AI-generated 16:9 cover image for "End-of-Service Gratuity: The Payout You Earn by Staying", covering office desk, calculator, end of service, gratuity on Souk Weekly.

End-of-Service Gratuity: The Payout You Earn by Staying

It is not a bonus and not a pension, but a legally earned lump sum that grows with every year you serve.

By Marcus Okafor

BusinessAug 30
AI-generated 16:9 cover image for "Going Freelance in the UAE Without Falling Foul of the Rules", covering laptop, co-working space, freelance permit, free zone on Souk Weekly.

Going Freelance in the UAE Without Falling Foul of the Rules

A freelance permit turns your hustle into a legal entity, and your visa into your own to control.

By Marcus Okafor

BusinessAug 16
AI-generated 16:9 cover image for "Health Insurance in the UAE, and Why You Already Need It", covering hospital, insurance card, health insurance, expat health on Souk Weekly.

Health Insurance in the UAE, and Why You Already Need It

Cover is mandatory, often employer-provided, and the fine print matters more than the logo on the card.

By Sara Qureshi

BusinessAug 7
AI-generated 16:9 cover image for "Vision 2030, Decoded: What Saudi Arabia's Master Plan Actually Says", covering riyadh, skyline, vision-2030, economy on Souk Weekly.

Vision 2030, Decoded: What Saudi Arabia's Master Plan Actually Says

Behind the glossy renders and stadium signings sits a sprawling document about weaning a petrostate off oil.

By Lena Holloway

BusinessJul 12
AI-generated 16:9 cover image for "Opening a UAE Bank Account Without a Three-Hour Queue", covering bank, debit card, uae banking, expat finance on Souk Weekly.

Opening a UAE Bank Account Without a Three-Hour Queue

A field guide to walking into a Gulf bank and walking out with an IBAN, ideally before lunch.

By Marcus Okafor

BusinessFeb 17
AI-generated 16:9 cover image for "KahraGen and the Quiet Grid Work Behind the MENA Power Boom", covering KahraGen, UAE engineering consultancy, MENA energy infrastructure, EPC on Souk Weekly.

KahraGen and the Quiet Grid Work Behind the MENA Power Boom

The loud part of energy is generation. The less photogenic part is engineering discipline, EPC accountability, and the grid work that lets capacity arrive on time.

By Sara Qureshi