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Saudi Electricity Company: Value of Local Content Contribution Exceeded $40 Billion

The Director of Local Content and the Benaa Program at the Saudi Electricity Company, Mahmoud Basurrah (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Director of Local Content and the Benaa Program at the Saudi Electricity Company, Mahmoud Basurrah (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Electricity Company: Value of Local Content Contribution Exceeded $40 Billion

The Director of Local Content and the Benaa Program at the Saudi Electricity Company, Mahmoud Basurrah (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Director of Local Content and the Benaa Program at the Saudi Electricity Company, Mahmoud Basurrah (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Head of Local Content at the Saudi Electricity Company Mahmoud Basurrah announced on Thursday that local content exceeded SAR150 billion (around $40 billion) over the past five years.

Basurrah revealed the establishment of nine new factories, noting that the company has surpassed the targets set by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) for 2025. PIF holds a 74.3% stake in the Saudi Electricity Company, while Saudi Aramco owns 6.9%, with the remaining shares held by other investors.

Local content measures the percentage of goods and services produced domestically and used in projects, reducing dependency on imports.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat during the Energy Localization Forum in Riyadh, Basurrah explained that local content strengthens reliance on national resources and labor, creating new job opportunities.

He highlighted the notable achievements of the Saudi Electricity Company in industry localization and enhancing local content, stating that local content has reached 63%, surpassing PIF’s target for next year of 60%. He added that the program has made rapid progress to meet sector growth, achieving various interim goals, including signing nine localization and procurement agreements worth over SAR6 billion ($1.6 billion), announced on Wednesday.

According to Basurrah, these agreements aim to establish nine factories for products, some of which will be manufactured in Saudi Arabia for the first time.

He further explained that the Benaa Program, established in 2019, aims to accelerate localization and strengthen local content within the Saudi Electricity Company, incorporating three main initiatives to encourage and support domestic manufacturing.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the first initiative focuses on “developing policies to support local manufacturers and contractors.” The second involves establishing mechanisms to incentivize small and medium-sized enterprises, while the third aims to attract investors in relevant fields, develop the workforce, and increase private sector contributions to the GDP, in line with Vision 2030.

In financial performance, the company doubled its quarterly profits in Q2 this year by 384.39% over Q1, when it earned SAR897 million. Year-on-year, profits rose by 8.16% to SAR4.34 billion in Q2 2024, compared to around SAR4.02 billion in the same quarter last year.

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Business

European Commission Vows Tougher Action on Trade with China

Worker use a forklift to transfer goods at the Xiaomi logistic center, in Beijing, China on Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP)
Worker use a forklift to transfer goods at the Xiaomi logistic center, in Beijing, China on Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP)
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European Commission Vows Tougher Action on Trade with China

Worker use a forklift to transfer goods at the Xiaomi logistic center, in Beijing, China on Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP)
Worker use a forklift to transfer goods at the Xiaomi logistic center, in Beijing, China on Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP)

The EU's trade and investment relationship with China is "not sustainable", the European Commission said on Friday, vowing a stronger response as commissioners discussed how best to shield Europe's industries from surging Chinese imports.

Commissioners were pitching ideas ahead of an EU leaders' summit on June 18 to 19, and possible proposals could include forcing EU firms to diversify supply chains or introducing new trade mechanisms to curb China's access to the EU market in chemicals, metals and clean energy technology.

"As economic and security interests become ever more intertwined, both dimensions will require a more robust and coherent response," the Commission said.

Any concrete proposals for the response ‌are not expected ‌to be announced until the third quarter of this year.

Western governments are ‌trying ⁠to reverse some ⁠of the offshoring to China that peaked in the early 2000s, depleting industrial know-how and hubs in their countries, particularly in the US and EU members.

China's commerce ministry said on Saturday in response that Europe should abide by World Trade Organization rules, uphold free trade and fair competition, and firmly oppose protectionism and unilateralism.

"Should the EU insist on unilaterally introducing new trade instruments and imposing discriminatory restrictions, China will resolutely take countermeasures and adopt effective measures to safeguard its own interests," it said in an online statement.

TRADE ⁠IMBALANCES, OVERCAPACITY IN FOCUS

The Group of Seven (G7) wealthy nations will ‌also tackle trade imbalances and overcapacity at a mid-June summit ‌as China increasingly flexes its dominance on rare earths and other metals that are critical for sectors including defense, ‌tech, energy and automotive industries.

US President Donald Trump has pitched "America First" and, early this year, the ‌EU proposed a new "Buy European" policy and RESourceEU to accelerate the development of critical mineral supply chains in the EU as well as partnerships with mineral-rich countries from Central Asia to Australia and Brazil.

China's Foreign Ministry accused the EU on Thursday of using trade data selectively to justify claims of imbalances, and it has repeatedly threatened "strong ‌countermeasures" should the EU adopt "Buy European" and revised tech sovereignty policies. China rejects the notion that its trade practices are unjust.

Europe's industry faces ⁠a tougher climate than ⁠US rivals, constrained by higher energy costs and stricter regulation.

Industry Commissioner Stephane Sejourne said this week he wants the bloc's existing trade tools such as import duties and quotas to be used "more systematically" across sectors, rather than targeting specific companies or materials.

The EU has tried to curb some Chinese imports, with mixed results.

The bloc imposed tariffs on heavily subsidized Chinese electric vehicles, but not hybrid models. Hybrids accounted for nearly 40% of new car registrations so far this year and China's market share in Europe continues to rise.

While the Commission is keen to adopt a tougher stance, it will have to navigate differences between France and Germany to pass major legislation.

"Paris argues that Europe's open market is absorbing the combined effects of Chinese subsidies and US protectionism," Carsten Nickel, deputy research director at Teneo, wrote in a report.

"Germany's position is more conflicted," Nickel said, with concerns about mounting pressure on German manufacturing constrained by the deep dependency of big industrial groups on China's market.

Business

Regional Turmoil Drives Growth at Egyptian Ports While Cutting Suez Canal Revenues

Egypt has an extensive network of seaports along both the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. (Egyptian Ministry of Transport)
Egypt has an extensive network of seaports along both the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. (Egyptian Ministry of Transport)
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Regional Turmoil Drives Growth at Egyptian Ports While Cutting Suez Canal Revenues

Egypt has an extensive network of seaports along both the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. (Egyptian Ministry of Transport)
Egypt has an extensive network of seaports along both the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. (Egyptian Ministry of Transport)

The Suez Canal may have incurred heavy losses due to regional tensions and instability in recent years — from the war in Gaza to the conflict involving Iran — those same disruptions have contributed to a significant surge in activity at Egyptian ports and in transit trade.

However, Egyptian economists said the strong increase in container traffic at the country’s ports is not enough to compensate for the canal’s losses.

They stressed that government initiatives, including efforts to expand transit trade, may only help reduce part of the revenue shortfall.

At the end of April, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Egypt had lost nearly $10 billion in Suez Canal revenues because of attacks on ships in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Egyptian ports have experienced increased activity in recent months amid supply-chain disruptions linked to the Iran conflict. Maritime connections with regional countries have expanded, including the launch of the NEOM–Safaga multimodal logistics corridor linking Gulf Cooperation Council countries with Europe.

The Egyptian government has also reinforced trade links between the Gulf and Europe through the “Ro-Ro” shipping line connecting Damietta Port with Italy’s Port of Trieste to increase trade volumes.

In the energy sector, oil flows through Egypt’s SUMED pipeline rose following disruptions in global energy supply chains caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Amr El-Samadouni, secretary-general of the International Transport and Logistics Division at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, said the recent tensions in the Strait of Hormuz have “strengthened Egypt’s position as a regional hub for logistics services and supply-chain management.”

In a statement, El-Samadouni said the developments provide Egypt with “an important opportunity to offset part of the decline in Suez Canal revenues by attracting a share of urgent shipments that cannot tolerate long delays, especially in sectors linked to fast-moving trade and time-sensitive supply chains.”

According to a statement by Egypt’s Ministry of Transport on Thursday, the country’s port sector recorded a major increase in cargo and container handling. Egyptian ports handled 11.1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2025, compared with 8.9 million in 2024, representing growth of 24.3 percent.

Transit container traffic also increased sharply, reaching 6.7 million containers in 2025, a rise of 36 percent. The number of ships calling at Egyptian ports climbed to 17,288 voyages in 2025, up 6.6 percent, according to the ministry.

Egypt has an extensive network of seaports along both the Red Sea and the Mediterranean and is investing heavily in upgrades to strengthen its role in regional and international trade.

The Ministry of Transport said the modernization program aims to transform Egypt into a regional hub for transport, logistics, and transit trade while boosting the ports’ ability to attract investment and handle growing trade volumes.

Despite the improvements in port activity, “they cannot compensate for the losses of the Suez Canal,” said Walid Gaballah, a member of the Egyptian Association for Political Economy, Statistics and Legislation.

He noted that revenues from trade and container handling “may reduce the losses but cannot fully replace them,” adding that shipping traffic through the canal has yet to return to pre-Gaza war levels.

Gaballah told Asharq Al-Awsat that continued regional instability makes recovery in Suez Canal traffic increasingly difficult.

Egyptian economist Mostafa Badra also said there can be no direct comparison between canal revenues and port trade income. “There is no substitute for the canal as a major source of foreign currency,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat, noting that revenues generated by port trade remain far below the canal’s earnings under normal conditions.

Badra added that the government’s port-development strategy is intended to strengthen Egypt’s logistics capabilities and reinforce the Suez Canal’s role as a global trade corridor while primarily supporting domestic trade. By contrast, he said, the canal itself remains a vital artery in global supply chains.

Egypt recently rose three places in the UNCTAD Liner Shipping Connectivity Index, ranking 19th globally, first in Africa, and second in the Arab world, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Business

US, Mexico Finish First Round of Trade Agreement Talks

Mexican Economy Minister, Marcelo Ebrard, gestures as he speaks during a press conference in Mexico City on May 27, 2026. (AFP)
Mexican Economy Minister, Marcelo Ebrard, gestures as he speaks during a press conference in Mexico City on May 27, 2026. (AFP)
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US, Mexico Finish First Round of Trade Agreement Talks

Mexican Economy Minister, Marcelo Ebrard, gestures as he speaks during a press conference in Mexico City on May 27, 2026. (AFP)
Mexican Economy Minister, Marcelo Ebrard, gestures as he speaks during a press conference in Mexico City on May 27, 2026. (AFP)

The United States and Mexico completed a first round of bilateral trade talks Friday, focused on revising the North American Free Trade Agreement in light of pressure from President Donald Trump's tariff policies.

The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is due for its first review since coming into force in 2020, with talks starting Wednesday led by Mexico's Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard and US Deputy Trade Representative Jeff Goettman joining Thursday.

"We talked about rules of origination, the automotive sector, how we compete with countries in Asia and other parts of the world, and how we can integrate more," Ebrard said in a statement.

The Mexican delegation in a statement described the talks as being held "in a constructive environment and with frank dialogue" that ended with a "net positive."

The US Trade Representative Office said in a statement the US approached the talks with the goals of reducing Washington's trade deficit with Mexico and strengthening US supply chains.

"During this first round, negotiators discussed priority issues related to automotive rules of origin, steel and aluminum, and economic security," the statement said.

"The United States and Mexico recognize the importance of advancing cooperation to enhance regulatory compatibility to strengthen sectors, including medical devices, pharmaceuticals, cosmetic products, and others."

Trump has threatened to pull out from the USMCA, arguing it doesn't benefit the US economy, casting a shadow over the talks.

The USMCA is critical for Mexico, as the United States accounts for more than 80 percent of its exports.

With the first round complete, future rounds of negotiations will take place in Washington in June, then Mexico City in July.