Turkish banks are eyeing Syria — and Stellantis is doubling down on Algeria

#1- Two big Turkish banks are kicking the tires on Syria. State-owned Ziraat Bank and private lender Aktifbank are in advanced talks with Syrian regulators to launch operations in the country in the near future, Asharq Al Awsat reports. Interest in Syria’s banking sector has been building up. Qatar’s privately-owned Estithmar Holding was said in January to be closing in on a a 60% stake in Shahba Bank and a 30% stake in Syrian International Islamic Bank. Jordan’s state news agency quoted the kingdom’s central bank governor last December as sayingthat “several” Jordanian banks were also looking to expand into Syria.

#2- Global automaker Stellantis is making a second move to grow in Algeria this year with plans to expand its Fiat plant in the northwest port city of Oran. Stellantis is looking to boost the plant’s output to 135k vehicles per year by 2028, compared to 53k produced in 2025. It hopes to see 90k vehicles roll out of the plant this year.

Stellantis is expanding fast in Algeria: In January, the company announced it will build Opel’s largest plant outside Europe in Algeria, without providing further details on the ticket size or timeline for the project.

#3- Qatar and Kuwait both saw their non-oil private sector business activity nosedive in March. Each saw its purchasing managers’ index fall into contraction territory. Qatar recorded the most severe deterioration in its PMI reading since the height of the pandemic in May 2020, falling to 38.7 from 50.6 the month prior. Kuwait’s PMI fell into contraction for the first time in 19 months to 46.3.

#4- Morocco is stepping into the capital-market big leagues with the launch of futurestrading. The contract, MASI 20 Future, tracks the 20 largest and most liquid stocks listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange and allows investors to take short and long positions.

#5- Iraq is pushing ahead with its USD 4.6 bnBasra-Haditha pipeline after cabinet gave the oil ministry go-ahead to solicit bids. The pipeline would move crude from Southern Iraq to the north, creating an alternative export route and bypassing Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. The pipeline is designed to carry around 2.3 mn bbl / d while helping feed Turkey’s Silopi-Ceyhan link.

Why it matters: Once the disruption in Hormuz choked Iraqi exports, storage filled up and southern output fell to around 800k bbl / d, exposing how little room Baghdad has when its main Gulf outlet is blocked.

SIGN OF THE TIMES

Kuwait is kinda-sorta going cashless? Cash transactions exceeding KWD 10 are no longerpermitted in a handful of sectors and types of transactions in Kuwait. The push to go cashless applies to private hospitals, medical centers, women’s and men’s salons, pharmacies, and sports clubs, among others. Businesses failing to comply could lose their commercial licenses.