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Saudi Arabia Plans to Recycle, Export PET Flakes

SIRC announced earlier this week that it has exported its first recycled and heat-washed PET flakes to a major UK recycled PET bottle manufacturer. (The company’s website)
SIRC announced earlier this week that it has exported its first recycled and heat-washed PET flakes to a major UK recycled PET bottle manufacturer. (The company’s website)
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Saudi Arabia Plans to Recycle, Export PET Flakes

SIRC announced earlier this week that it has exported its first recycled and heat-washed PET flakes to a major UK recycled PET bottle manufacturer. (The company’s website)
SIRC announced earlier this week that it has exported its first recycled and heat-washed PET flakes to a major UK recycled PET bottle manufacturer. (The company’s website)

Saudi Arabia is accelerating its efforts to enhance the recycling and export of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) chips, with the aim to achieve environmental value, attract the European market, empower local industries, and promote a more sustainable future.

The Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC), wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, announced earlier this week that it has exported its first recycled and heat-washed PET flakes to a major UK recycled PET bottle manufacturer, following its successful entry into the European market with shipments to Spain, raising exports to over 1,650 tons.

The PET flakes are produced through SIRC’s joint venture project under YADOUM, MASAB.

In a statement, SIRC said that its export of recycled PET flakes to the UK marks a significant step for YADOUM to enter the British market, a region with tremendous potential for importing recyclable materials.

Member of the Saudi Shura Council Fadel bin Saad Al-Buainain told Asharq Al-Awsat that waste recycling is one of the promising sectors that will contribute to achieving economic diversification and the sustainability of the circular economy.

“Exporting waste brings multiple gains to the Kingdom, including eliminating hazardous waste, strengthening the circular economy system, linking the local recycling system to global markets, and engaging into important and diverse partnerships... within qualitative global trade,” he stated.

According to Al-Buainain, YADOUM’S entry into the British market, which has enormous potential for importing recyclable materials, opens the door wide to broader and more comprehensive export operations, which in turn contribute to the disposal of waste and making use of it economically.

He added that Germany, Austria, South Korea, Wales and Switzerland are among the most advanced countries in the waste recycling industry, underlining the need to benefit from global experiences in legislation, regulations, investment and waste management.

For his part, Professor of Economics at Qassim University Dr. Ibrahim Al-Omar stressed that the recycling industry is considered one of the promising sectors, whether in terms of logistical support, or with regards to direct financial support and concessional financing from government funds.

Waste recycling achieves several benefits, including enhancing environmental sustainability, mitigating the effects of pollution resulting from the disposal of industrial and biological waste, preserving natural resources, protecting biodiversity, and improving the quality of life through environmental awareness and a suitable environment.

Al-Omar continued that investing in this sector stimulates innovation and technology, encourages research and development, and promotes green industries, which are an essential part of sustainable development.

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IEA, IMF and World Bank to Coordinate Response to Middle East War's Impact

A displaced man prepares his shisha, at a temporary encampment for displaced people, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, in Beirut, Lebanon, April 1, 2026. REUTERS/Raghed Waked
A displaced man prepares his shisha, at a temporary encampment for displaced people, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, in Beirut, Lebanon, April 1, 2026. REUTERS/Raghed Waked
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IEA, IMF and World Bank to Coordinate Response to Middle East War's Impact

A displaced man prepares his shisha, at a temporary encampment for displaced people, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, in Beirut, Lebanon, April 1, 2026. REUTERS/Raghed Waked
A displaced man prepares his shisha, at a temporary encampment for displaced people, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, in Beirut, Lebanon, April 1, 2026. REUTERS/Raghed Waked

The heads of the International Energy Agency, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank on Wednesday said they will form a coordination group to maximize their response to the significant economic and energy impacts of the war in the Middle East.

In a joint statement, the three global bodies noted that the war had caused major disruptions in the region and triggered one of the largest supply shortages in global energy market history.

"At these times of high uncertainty, it is paramount that our institutions join forces to monitor developments, ⁠align analysis, and coordinate ⁠support to policymakers to navigate this crisis," the heads of the IMF, IEA and World Bank said.

The new coordination group will assess the severity of impacts across countries, coordinate a response mechanism, and mobilize stakeholders to deliver support to countries in need, the international bodies said.

The response mechanism could include targeted policy advice, assessment of potential financing needs ⁠and related provision of financial support, including through low or zero-percent financing, as well as unspecified risk mitigation tools, they said.

Thousands of people have been killed across the Middle East in the war, which began when the US and Israel struck Iran on February 28, triggering Iranian attacks on Israel, US bases and the Gulf states, while opening a new front in Lebanon.

Now in its second month, the conflict has spread across the region, disrupting energy supplies and threatening to send the global economy into a tailspin.

"The impact is substantial, global, and highly asymmetric, disproportionately ⁠affecting energy ⁠importers, in particular low-income countries," Reuters quoted the IMF, IEA and World Bank as saying.

They noted that the war was already resulting in higher oil, gas and fertilizer prices, while triggering concerns about food prices and affecting global supply chains of helium, phosphate, aluminum, and other commodities. Tourism had also been hit.

"The resulting market volatility, weakening of currencies in emerging economies, and concerns about inflation expectations raise the prospect of tighter monetary stances and weaker growth," the organizations said.

"We are committed to working together to safeguard global economic and financial stability, strengthen energy security, and support affected countries and people on their path to sustained recovery, growth, and job creation through reforms," they said.

Business

Saudi Arabia: Mawani Announces Commencement of Container Terminal Operations at Jubail Port

Jubail Commercial Port. SPA
Jubail Commercial Port. SPA
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Saudi Arabia: Mawani Announces Commencement of Container Terminal Operations at Jubail Port

Jubail Commercial Port. SPA
Jubail Commercial Port. SPA

The Saudi Ports Authority “Mawani” has announced the commencement of container terminal operations at Jubail Commercial Port under a privatization contract with Saudi Global Ports (SGP), backed by private sector investments exceeding SAR2 billion ($533 million).

The new move is in line with the objectives of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy under Saudi Vision 2030, Mawani said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The commencement of operations comes as part of the implementation of the privatization contract signed between the two parties, which includes the development of infrastructure and the modernization of operational equipment,” it said.

“This includes increasing berth length from 1,000 m to 1,400 m, deepening berths from 14 m to 18 m, increasing the number of STS cranes from 6 to 10, and raising the number of RTG cranes from 13 to 29 automated, environmentally friendly cranes,” the statement added.

According to Mawani, the launch will increase the container terminal’s handling capacity from 1.5 million TEUs to 2.4 million TEUs annually, across an area of 460,000 square meters.

This will enable the terminal to accommodate large next-generation vessels, enhance operational efficiency, and reinforce Jubail Commercial Port’s position as a key logistics gateway supporting the Kingdom’s sustainable growth.

It will also strengthen operational integration with the Group’s terminals across the Eastern Coast ports.

Business

Germany Growth Forecasts Slashed as Mideast War Hits Economy

Germany's economy is struggling with fierce Chinese competition in sectors from cars to chemicals © Ronny HARTMANN / AFP/File
Germany's economy is struggling with fierce Chinese competition in sectors from cars to chemicals © Ronny HARTMANN / AFP/File
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Germany Growth Forecasts Slashed as Mideast War Hits Economy

Germany's economy is struggling with fierce Chinese competition in sectors from cars to chemicals © Ronny HARTMANN / AFP/File
Germany's economy is struggling with fierce Chinese competition in sectors from cars to chemicals © Ronny HARTMANN / AFP/File

Leading economic institutes more than halved their growth forecast for Germany on Wednesday, warning that the energy shock caused by the Middle East war would hit Europe's top economy hard.

A group of leading institutes slashed their joint GDP growth forecast for 2026 to 0.6 percent, down from a September prediction of 1.3 percent.

Inflation is now forecast to rise to 2.8 percent, up from 2.0 percent, "weighing on household purchasing power".

"The energy price shock triggered by the Iran war is hitting the recovery hard," said economist Timo Wollmershaeuser of the Ifo institute, adding that increased government spending was nevertheless "preventing a stronger slide", AFP reported.

Oil and natural gas prices have surged since the end of February, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran, killed its supreme leader and plunged the Middle East into war.

Iran has since closed the Strait of Hormuz to ships of countries it considers allied with the US and Israel, effectively blocking a sea lane that normally transports about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas.

Higher inflation in Germany would hit consumer spending, the institutes said, weighing on an already weak economy that has barely grown since a burst of pent-up demand after the Covid pandemic in 2022.

The government on Wednesday introduced rules allowing petrol stations to only raise prices once a day, at noon.

But motorist Sebastian, a 49-year-old estate agent who did not want to give his surname, told AFP at a Frankfurt petrol station that this was not enough to protect his spending power.

"Whether the price of petrol changes once a day or 10 times a day doesn't really matter," he said, adding it was "certainly not enough" to lower his costs.

Germany's economy, struggling with fierce Chinese competition in sectors from cars to chemicals, was in the doldrums even before US President Donald Trump last year imposed sweeping new tariffs before starting the Mideast war in late February.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who took office last May, vowed to borrow and spend hundreds of billions through a special infrastructure fund over coming years in what was dubbed a spending "bazooka" aimed at getting the economy back on its feet.

But the economists said that much of the money was simply paying for day-to-day spending.

"Government expenditure on consumption is rising much more sharply than investment," economist Oliver Holtemoeller of the Halle Institute for Economic Research said. "That was not the idea behind changing the financing rules."

The outlook for the longer term was also dire.

Citing low productivity, industrial decline and an ageing population, the institutes warned that Germany's economy would soon be unable to grow sustainably.

"We have also reassessed the structural changes in the German economy and, in particular, revised our forecast for industrial growth downwards," Wollmershaeuser said.

In an era when "demographic change is hitting with full force", he said, "potential growth will come to a standstill by the end of the decade, and we will have to get used to average GDP growth rates of zero percent".

Speaking to broadcaster Welt TV, Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said the government was working on reducing labour taxes and energy costs but that Germans would have to get used to working more over the course of their lives.

"We need to make this country vigorous again," she said. "Germany needs to get its will to win back."