China Energy Engineering Signs Solar Deal with Saudi Partners

 The Sudair solar power project. Photo: PIF
The Sudair solar power project. Photo: PIF
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China Energy Engineering Signs Solar Deal with Saudi Partners

 The Sudair solar power project. Photo: PIF
The Sudair solar power project. Photo: PIF

China Energy Engineering signed a 6.98 billion yuan ($972 million) contract to build a solar power plant in Saudi Arabia, a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange showed.

The 2 gigawatt (GW) photovoltaic plant will be built by a joint venture between a China Energy Engineering consortium and Saudi partners sovereign fund PIF, ACWA Power and Saudi Aramco Power Company, Reuters reported.

Construction is expected to take 31 months, according to Monday's filing.

Last month, China's TCL Zhonghuan Renewable Energy Technology tied up with Saudi partners including PIF in a $2.08 billion silicon crystal and wafer manufacturing project.



Dollar Hobbled by Economic Worries; Euro Remains in Favor

US dollar drifted within a tight range on Monday, pressured by lower Treasury yields - Reuters
US dollar drifted within a tight range on Monday, pressured by lower Treasury yields - Reuters
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Dollar Hobbled by Economic Worries; Euro Remains in Favor

US dollar drifted within a tight range on Monday, pressured by lower Treasury yields - Reuters
US dollar drifted within a tight range on Monday, pressured by lower Treasury yields - Reuters

The dollar hovered near a five-month low against major peers on Monday, bruised by President Donald Trump's erratic trade policies and soft economic data, at a time when other currencies, including the euro, benefit from domestic drivers.

The euro was last at $1.0905, up 0.2% on the day, and heading back towards the $1.0947 it hit last week, its highest since October 11.

The Japanese yen was also marginally stronger on the day at 148.48 per dollar, again after hitting its strongest in five months last week at 146.5 to the dollar.

That left the dollar index, which measures the US currency against its six major counterparts, at 103.5, just off its five-month trough of 103.21 reached last Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Currency markets have undergone a shift in recent months, as traders re-evaluate their initial expectations that Trump's economic policies would both support the dollar and cause other currencies to weaken.

In fact the reverse has happened, and analysts at Societe Generale said on Monday that they had changed their currency forecasts "to reflect Germany's planned fiscal changes, the US economy's self-inflicted (relative) fragility, and Japan’s escape from deflation".

They see the euro at $1.13 by year-end and the yen at 139 per dollar.