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Aramco, Rongsheng Explore New Opportunities in Saudi Arabia and China

Pictured, from left, at the cooperation framework agreement signing ceremony are Xiang Jiongjiong, Zhejiang Rongsheng Holding Group Vice Chairman and Rongsheng Petrochemical CEO; Li Shuirong, Zhejiang Rongsheng Holding Group Chairman; Wang Hao, Zhejiang Provincial Government Governor; Amin H. Nasser, Aramco President & CEO; Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani, Aramco Downstream President; and Faisal M. Al Faqeer, Aramco Senior Vice President of In Kingdom Liquids to Chemicals Development. Photo: Aramco
Pictured, from left, at the cooperation framework agreement signing ceremony are Xiang Jiongjiong, Zhejiang Rongsheng Holding Group Vice Chairman and Rongsheng Petrochemical CEO; Li Shuirong, Zhejiang Rongsheng Holding Group Chairman; Wang Hao, Zhejiang Provincial Government Governor; Amin H. Nasser, Aramco President & CEO; Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani, Aramco Downstream President; and Faisal M. Al Faqeer, Aramco Senior Vice President of In Kingdom Liquids to Chemicals Development. Photo: Aramco
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Aramco, Rongsheng Explore New Opportunities in Saudi Arabia and China

Pictured, from left, at the cooperation framework agreement signing ceremony are Xiang Jiongjiong, Zhejiang Rongsheng Holding Group Vice Chairman and Rongsheng Petrochemical CEO; Li Shuirong, Zhejiang Rongsheng Holding Group Chairman; Wang Hao, Zhejiang Provincial Government Governor; Amin H. Nasser, Aramco President & CEO; Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani, Aramco Downstream President; and Faisal M. Al Faqeer, Aramco Senior Vice President of In Kingdom Liquids to Chemicals Development. Photo: Aramco
Pictured, from left, at the cooperation framework agreement signing ceremony are Xiang Jiongjiong, Zhejiang Rongsheng Holding Group Vice Chairman and Rongsheng Petrochemical CEO; Li Shuirong, Zhejiang Rongsheng Holding Group Chairman; Wang Hao, Zhejiang Provincial Government Governor; Amin H. Nasser, Aramco President & CEO; Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani, Aramco Downstream President; and Faisal M. Al Faqeer, Aramco Senior Vice President of In Kingdom Liquids to Chemicals Development. Photo: Aramco

Aramco is exploring the formation of a joint venture in the Saudi Aramco Jubail Refinery Company (“SASREF”) with Chinese partner Rongsheng Petrochemical Co. Ltd. (“Rongsheng”) and significant investments in the Saudi and Chinese petrochemical sectors, in partnership with Rongsheng, the Saudi oil firm said in a statement on Saturday.

The Saudi oil company recently signed a cooperation framework agreement that envisions Rongsheng’s potential acquisition of a 50% stake in SASREF. The agreement also lays the groundwork for the development of a liquids-to-chemicals expansion project at SASREF, in addition to Aramco’s potential acquisition of a 50% stake in Rongsheng affiliate Ningbo Zhongjin Petrochemical Co. Ltd. (ZJPC) and participation in ZJPC’s expansion project, said the statement.

“These discussions highlight our ambition to advance our liquids-to-chemicals strategy with strategic partner Rongsheng, both in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and China. In building on our existing relationship, we aim to advance our expansion in a key geography and attract new investment to the Saudi downstream sector,” said Aramco Downstream President Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani.

In July 2023, Aramco acquired a 10% interest in Rongsheng through its subsidiary Aramco Overseas Company BV, based in the Netherlands. Rongsheng in turn owns a 100% equity interest in ZJPC, which operates an aromatics production complex and has an interest in a joint venture that produces purified terephthalic acid.

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Russia's Central Bank Holds Off on Interest Rate Hike

People skate at an ice rink installed at the Red Square decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities, with the St. Basil's Cathedral, left, and the Kremlin, right, in the background in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
People skate at an ice rink installed at the Red Square decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities, with the St. Basil's Cathedral, left, and the Kremlin, right, in the background in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
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Russia's Central Bank Holds Off on Interest Rate Hike

People skate at an ice rink installed at the Red Square decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities, with the St. Basil's Cathedral, left, and the Kremlin, right, in the background in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
People skate at an ice rink installed at the Red Square decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities, with the St. Basil's Cathedral, left, and the Kremlin, right, in the background in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russia's central bank has left its benchmark interest rate at 21%, holding off on further increases as it struggles to snuff out inflation fueled by the government's spending on the war against Ukraine.
The decision comes amid criticism from influential business figures, including tycoons close to the Kremlin, that high rates are putting the brakes on business activity and the economy.
According to The Associated Press, the central bank said in a statement that credit conditions had tightened “more than envisaged” by the October rate hike that brought the benchmark to its current record level.
The bank said it would assess the need for any future increases at its next meeting and that inflation was expected to fall to an annual 4% next year from its current 9.5%
Factories are running three shifts making everything from vehicles to clothing for the military, while a labor shortage is driving up wages and fat enlistment bonuses are putting more rubles in people's bank accounts to spend. All that is driving up prices.
On top of that, the weakening Russian ruble raises the prices of imported goods like cars and consumer electronics from China, which has become Russia's biggest trade partner since Western sanctions disrupted economic relations with Europe and the US.
High rates can dampen inflation but also make it more expensive for businesses to get the credit they need to operate and invest.
Critics of the central bank rates and its Governor Elvira Nabiullina have included Sergei Chemezov, the head of state-controlled defense and technology conglomerate Rostec, and steel magnate Alexei Mordashov.
Russian President Vladimir Putin opened his annual news conference on Thursday by saying the economy is on track to grow by nearly 4% this year and that while inflation is “an alarming sign," wages have risen at the same rate and that "on the whole, this situation is stable and secure.”
He acknowledged there had been criticism of the central bank, saying that “some experts believe that the Central Bank could have been more effective and could have started using certain instruments earlier.”
Nabiullina said in November that while the economy is growing, “the rise in prices for the vast majority of goods and services shows that demand is outrunning the expansion of economic capacity and the economy’s potential.”
Russia's military spending is enabled by oil exports, which have shifted from Europe to new customers in India and China who aren't observing sanctions such as a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian oil sales.