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Saudi Aramco CEO: Jafurah Gas Project to Contribute $23 Billion Annually to GDP

Honoring the strategic partners (Aramco)
Honoring the strategic partners (Aramco)
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Saudi Aramco CEO: Jafurah Gas Project to Contribute $23 Billion Annually to GDP

Honoring the strategic partners (Aramco)
Honoring the strategic partners (Aramco)

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said he expects the Jafurah unconventional gas project in eastern Saudi Arabia to contribute approximately $23 billion annually to the country’s GDP.

Speaking at the Al-Ahsa Investment Forum 2025, he highlighted the project’s role in increasing Aramco’s gas production capacity by more than 60% by 2030.

The forum, organized by the Al-Ahsa Chamber and attended by government officials, business leaders, and industry experts, focuses on investment opportunities in Al-Ahsa and Saudi Arabia’s broader economic development. Aramco, as the event’s strategic partner, aims to showcase investment prospects in the energy sector and beyond.

Nasser emphasized Al-Ahsa’s historical significance to Aramco, stating that the company has expanded its projects in the region to create jobs and stimulate economic growth.

He described Jafurah as “the crown jewel of shale gas fields in the Middle East,” with total investments exceeding $100 billion over the next 15 years. The project is projected to reach a production capacity of 2 billion standard cubic feet per day of sales gas by 2030, reinforcing Saudi Arabia’s position as a leading gas producer.

Nasser also highlighted the development of King Salman Energy Park (SPARK), a major industrial hub. The first phase of SPARK has attracted over 60 local and international investors, with investments exceeding SAR 12 billion ($3.2 billion), and is expected to generate more than 40,000 direct and indirect jobs. SPARK now serves as Aramco’s central hub for drilling services and logistics support for Saudi oil and gas fields.

Additionally, a dry port is under development within SPARK, set to become the largest in the Eastern Province, with an annual capacity of 10 million metric tons of cargo. Operations will begin in phases starting in the second quarter of this year.

According to Nasser, Aramco is also focusing on environmental sustainability, partnering with King Faisal University to establish a center for nature-based solutions and conducting research on Saudi Arabia’s mangrove forests. These efforts align with the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative.

On the social front, Aramco is enhancing educational environments and supporting community programs. One key initiative is the construction of the region’s largest center for individuals with disabilities, set for completion in February 2026.

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Business

Cryptocurrencies Slip as US, Israel Attack Iran

FILE PHOTO: Representation of bitcoin cryptocurrency in this illustration created on September 10, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Representation of bitcoin cryptocurrency in this illustration created on September 10, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo
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Cryptocurrencies Slip as US, Israel Attack Iran

FILE PHOTO: Representation of bitcoin cryptocurrency in this illustration created on September 10, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Representation of bitcoin cryptocurrency in this illustration created on September 10, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo

Cryptocurrencies dipped in weekend trading after the US and Israel said they ⁠had attacked Iran⁠.

Bitcoin fell 2% to just below $64,000 and ether slid about ⁠3% ⁠to $1,862.

US President Donald Trump said the operation would end a security ⁠threat to the United States and offer Iranians a chance to topple their rulers.

The Pentagon said that US strikes against Iran were named "OPERATION EPIC FURY."

The US and Israel have said Iran must never be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

Business

Japan Signals Greater Vigilance Over Yen's Weakness

People walk through Shinjuku shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, 27 February 2026. EPA/FRANCK ROBICHON
People walk through Shinjuku shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, 27 February 2026. EPA/FRANCK ROBICHON
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Japan Signals Greater Vigilance Over Yen's Weakness

People walk through Shinjuku shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, 27 February 2026. EPA/FRANCK ROBICHON
People walk through Shinjuku shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, 27 February 2026. EPA/FRANCK ROBICHON

Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama on Friday signaled heightened vigilance over currency moves, telling parliament the government is monitoring the yen's recent slide with a strong sense of urgency.

“We are watching recent movements very closely, with a strong sense of urgency,” Katayama told parliament, when asked if the yen's depreciation may be hampering wage growth by pushing up import costs.

“We are also maintaining extremely close communication with the United States, and will continue engaging in dialogue to ensure that the concerns you raise do not materialize,” she said, according to Reuters.

This came while data showed on Friday that annual core inflation in Tokyo slowed in February, running below the Bank of Japan's 2% target for the first time in 16 months, and potentially heightening friction between the central bank and the government on the future path of rate hikes.

The data is in line with the BOJ's projection that consumer inflation will temporarily slow due to the impact of fuel subsidies and the base effect of last year's spike, before reaccelerating on steady wage gains.

The Tokyo core consumer price index, which excludes volatile costs of fresh food, rose 1.8% in the year to February after a 2.0% gain in January, data showed, falling below the 2% target for the first time since October 2024. It compared with a median market forecast for a 1.7% gain.

The slowdown reflected the effect of fuel subsidies and the abolition of gasoline tax surcharges, while a wave of food price hikes has also run its course.

An index stripping away the effect of fresh food and fuel, which is closely watched by the BOJ as a better gauge of trend inflation, rose 2.5% in February from a year earlier, picking up from a 2.4% gain in January.

“I don't think this result alone would affect the Bank of Japan's stance of keeping to its commitment to raise interest rates,” said Kanako Nakamura, an economist at Daiwa Institute of Research, noting the slowdown in core inflation was expected.

But some analysts say the easing core inflationary impulse could give dovish Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi a reason to push the BOJ to go slow on its rate hikes.

In a potential sign of friction over monetary policy, the Mainichi daily reported this week that Takaichi had expressed reservations about additional interest rate hikes during her meeting with BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda last week.

“If, going forward, the BOJ were to step back from its rate-hike stance, it would be easier to explain that shift not as pressure from the government but as a change in judgment strictly driven by data, namely, weakness in GDP and CPI,” said Masato Koike, a senior economist at Sompo Institute Plus.

Separate government data showed on Friday that Japan's factory output rose 2.2%, the first gain in three months driven by double-digit car output growth.

But the increase undershot even the most bearish economist forecast, with the median forecasting a 5.3% jump. Japanese manufacturers expect their output to fall again in February and March.

The BOJ raised interest rates to a 30-year high of 0.75% in December, taking another landmark step in ending decades of huge monetary support in a sign of its conviction that Japan is progressing toward durably hitting its 2% inflation target.

The central bank has signaled its readiness to continue raising interest rates if its economic and price forecasts materialize.

Business

China Encourages Dollar Buying to Slow Surging Yuan

Headquarters of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, is pictured in Beijing, China September 28, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee
Headquarters of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, is pictured in Beijing, China September 28, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee
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China Encourages Dollar Buying to Slow Surging Yuan

Headquarters of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, is pictured in Beijing, China September 28, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee
Headquarters of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, is pictured in Beijing, China September 28, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee

China's central bank (PBOC) moved to rein in the fast-rising yuan on Friday, scrapping risk reserves requirements for forex forward contracts in a move that would encourage dollar buying as exporters start to feel the pinch from a stronger currency.

The decision came after the yuan hit a near three-year high against the dollar on Thursday. It pulled back in Friday, pausing a sparkling rally largely driven by an unexpected boom in exports, according to Reuters.

China's currency is up more than 7% on the dollar since last April.

The PBOC's move, along with its weaker-than-expected setting of the currency's trading band on Friday, are the strongest pushback yet on the months-long rally.

“It means the PBOC is intervening as the yuan's appreciation is too fast,” said Yuan Tao, an analyst at Orient Futures.

But he said the measure will only slow the yuan's appreciation, expecting the dollar to remain weak.

The People's Bank of China said it would remove the reserve requirement of 20% on forex forward contracts from March 2, vowing to maintain the yuan's exchange rate at a “reasonable and balanced level.”

The move would “make it less punitive for market participants to bet against the yuan,” Maybank said in a note to clients.

“It is clear that PBOC wants the yuan appreciation pace to slow.”

Although a stronger yuan would make Chinese assets more appealing to foreigners and makes imports cheaper, it would hit Chinese exporters whose receipts are mostly settled in dollars.

On Friday, Beijing Ultrapower Software Co blamed yuan strength for contributing to its 28% plunge in 2025 profit, joining a growing list of corporate victims.

“The company's revenues are mainly settled in the dollar, so we swung to forex conversion losses” as the dollar fell, it said in a flash earnings statement.

Rush to Sell Dollar

The PBOC's move comes amid exporters' rush to sell dollars in both the spot and forwards market, while importers delay buying the greenback for payment.

That resulted in net forex inflows totaling $79.9 billion in January, the third biggest in history, according to official forex settlement data. That followed record inflows in December.

Liu Yang, general manager of the financial market business department at Zheshang Development Group, said in the near term the PBOC's latest move will release some pent-up demand for buying dollars through forwards, helping to balance market supply and demand.

But the mild nature of the measures suggests “the PBOC sees little risk of further yuan depreciation and still believes there is significant room for the currency to appreciate.”

Last year, the yuan posted its biggest annual gain against the dollar since 2020, and the upward momentum has continued into the new year as analysts expect another strong year for Chinese exports.

Chinese shippers have been able to find more buyers in markets outside the US after Washington ramped up tariffs, helping to offset weak domestic demand which is weighing on the economy.

Xu Tianchen, a senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said “the renminbi has been strong even as the dollar is largely stable, suggesting strong market conviction that it's undervalued.”

Highlighting the urgency for Chinese companies to embrace forex hedging, a growing number of listed companies say the stronger yuan is hurting their profits.

Suzhou Junchuang Auto Technoloies, whose sales are mostly settled in dollars, said on Wednesday the yuan's strength contributed to its 31% slump in 2025 profit.

Robot maker Ninebot, Shenzhen Hello Tech Energy Co and Shenzhen Hui chuang Da Technology also disclosed negative impacts from yuan appreciation.