Kingdom Holding’s Share Jumps 10% After Revealing Billions Stake in SpaceX
SpaceX logo and Elon Musk photo are seen in this illustration taken, December 19, 2022. (Reuters)
Shares of Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding on Sunday surged by 10% to 13.58 Saudi riyals, hitting their highest closing price in a decade.
The trading volume was driven by the company's disclosure of a combined stake in Elon Musk's rocket and satellite maker SpaceX, which is expected to launch one of the largest IPOs in Wall Street history, listing its shares on the Nasdaq as early as June 12.
Kingdom Holding has revealed that its combined stake, along with that of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's private office, in SpaceX amounts to 0.63%.
At a valuation of $1.25 trillion, this stake is worth approximately $8.32 billion, rising to $10.55 billion if SpaceX reaches a valuation of $1.75 trillion.
A Bachelor’s in Rare Earths? In China, There Are Schools for Thathttps://english.aawsat.com/business/5279171-bachelor%E2%80%99s-rare-earths-china-there-are-schools
A monument featuring a stylized molecular structure stands outside the office building of China Northern Rare Earth Group, with the Chinese characters “Build a world-class” inscribed on its base, in the country’s industry hub city Baotou, China, April 6, 2026. (Reuters)
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A Bachelor’s in Rare Earths? In China, There Are Schools for That
A monument featuring a stylized molecular structure stands outside the office building of China Northern Rare Earth Group, with the Chinese characters “Build a world-class” inscribed on its base, in the country’s industry hub city Baotou, China, April 6, 2026. (Reuters)
Every year, several hundred young adults head to the steppes of northern China to learn about rare earths at schools like the Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology.
After completing undergraduate study, they may venture a few kilometers up the six-lane Rare Earths Street in Baotou, where they can work for state-owned refiners that convert the critical minerals into magnets that power jet engines, electric vehicles and wind turbines. Or, the graduates may pursue further studies at the nearby Baotou Rare Earth Research Institute – roughly 150 km (93 miles) from the world’s largest rare earths mine.
US President Donald Trump and other Western leaders have pledged billions of dollars in investments to break China's chokehold on rare earths refining – a powerful lever Beijing has wielded in its trade war with Washington. But China still holds a significant advantage in the pipeline of talent that it has developed over decades in places like Baotou.
China has created an ecosystem of more than 40 specialist rare-earth laboratories that produce cutting-edge research, supplemented by at least 11 universities and technical colleges that collectively enroll more than 500 students annually in rare earths degree programs, a Reuters examination has found. That accumulated expertise sustains Beijing's grip on global supplies of refined rare earths.
Several US institutions have begun incorporating more of a focus on rare earths in their curriculum, though Reuters could not identify a school outside China that offers a specific undergraduate degree. The Ames National Laboratory in Iowa, whose remit goes beyond the mineral sciences, is also well regarded for its rare earths research.
The mining industry, however, has historically held little appeal for US students, many of whom see it as dirty and dated, executives and professors have said.
US institutions awarded just over 200 generalist undergraduate mining and metallurgical engineering degrees in 2023, the latest year with nationwide figures available, according to data compiled by the Colorado-based Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration.
Reuters for the first time has tallied the scale of China's rare earths research and education system, drawing on research papers, course materials, and interviews with 11 Western mining executives and researchers who have spent extensive time in China. The examination reveals a close relationship between academia and industry that helps Chinese companies produce rare earths quickly and at low cost.
"In China, I used to hire kids right out of university and they’re immediately productive," said Constantine Karayannopoulos, former chief executive of rare earths companies Neo Performance Materials and Molycorp. "Anywhere else I need to train them for three years."
Beijing is now tightly guarding this expertise: It has over the years increased restrictions on exports of rare earths technology and equipment.
China has also limited contact between industry professionals and foreigners, with some technicians having been ordered to surrender their passports, according to three people familiar with the matter.
They did not identify the government entity that confiscated the travel documents but said the crackdown intensified after Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs in April 2025.
The National Development and Reform Commission, which is responsible for macroeconomic planning, and China's industry ministry did not respond to questions about the crackdown and how the country fosters rare earth experts. None of the Chinese research institutes cited in this story responded to comment requests.
US Department of Energy spokesperson Olivia Tinari said in response to questions about Washington's rare earths rivalry with Beijing that the agency was "investing in American workers, scaling innovation, and expanding domestic production of critical materials."
Billions of federal dollars have flowed into US mining schools, research programs and other related areas since 2024 as the country seeks to rebuild mining expertise. The US Congress is also considering legislation that would fund international cooperation with allies for mining education.
Hydrogen‑storage alloy ingots sit on displayed in the rare earth elements production section of the exhibition on China’s manufacturing achievements at the National Museum in Beijing, China, March 24, 2026. (Reuters)
SCHOOLS OF ROCK
Rare earths can be difficult and costly to process. Refineries must contend with the 17 different rare earths that possess nearly identical chemical properties, a complexity which makes them difficult to isolate from each other.
Extracting neodymium and praseodymium to use in electric vehicles, for example, requires first removing the less-desirable lanthanum and cerium that are more abundant in the Earth's crust. That separation process involves an intricate cocktail of acids, bases and other chemicals.
The West dominated rare earths refining until the late 20th century. The process can, however, be environmentally damaging, leaving byproducts that can poison soil and water unless properly stored.
Excessive exposure to some types of rare earths can also harm the respiratory and nervous systems.
Chinese researchers have documented the contamination of groundwater around a major storage site in Baotou, which is located near one of China’s major rivers. The government has also acknowledged that refining had caused “severe damage” to the environment.
China’s rare earth industry benefited in the 1980s and 1990s from generous tax incentives and an abundant supply of cheap labor. The government and affiliated entities continue to fund research institutes, and state lenders have offered financing on preferential terms to firms that mine critical minerals.
By the 1990s, the processing industry was "wiped out" in the West, said Ed Richardson, chief executive of US magnet producer Thomas & Skinner. "Therefore, the schools have not been educating mining students for this task."
In contrast, researchers, universities and industry continue to collaborate closely in China. Scientists at the National Engineering Research Center for Rare Earths in Beijing developed a new technology, which state-owned Gansu Rare Earth New Materials adopted in 2023 at a refining facility that can churn out 50,000 metric tons of highly processed rare earths annually.
That is five times what Australia's Lynas Rare Earths, the largest rare earths company outside China, produced in the 2025 fiscal year.
China produces over 90% of the world's processed rare earths and rare earth magnets.
Gansu Rare Earth New Materials did not return a request for comment.
A spokesperson for Lynas, which has previously used Chinese consultants, said that China has “excellent facilities and research capability.” The company has since developed its own technical expertise, the spokesperson said.
Course materials published by some of the universities and reviewed by Reuters also show a heavy focus on meeting the needs of industry.
Students majoring in rare earths engineering at the Inner Mongolia University receive more than 100 hours of teaching in courses, such as rare earths chemistry and material science. One of the foundational courses is done in partnership with rare-earths labs and companies, and students have the option of attending lectures at corporate facilities.
Vehicles drive along a road with facilities of Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Union, also known as Baogang Group, forming the background, in China’s rare earth industry hub city Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China, April 6, 2026. (Reuters)
The 70 students that the Jiangxi University of Science and Technology (JXUST) told state media are set to enroll in its newly created rare earths degree will study the supply chain from processing and metallurgy to magnets. Before graduating, students will also work on research projects with companies.
David Parker, a rare earths expert at Britain's Durham University who reviewed the Chinese institute's course outline for Reuters, described it as "highly specialized" and reflective of the "pre-eminent position of China in rare earth science and engineering."
The education provided at the school “ensures a supply of knowledgeable and informed young people, who are well placed to find employment," he said.
Chinese rare earths engineering postgraduates are often more narrowly focused in their fields of research than would be the case elsewhere, said Portuguese physicist Luís Carlos, who has visited research institutes in the country for nearly 20 years.
"But if you think about people as small parts of a big machine, then this is good for the machine," he said.
PIPELINE PROBLEM?
Some Chinese universities have explicitly acknowledged that they are training geopolitical assets.
Rare earths are "core bargaining chips" in global politics, Li Chaozhong, dean of JXUST's rare earths program, told state broadcaster CCTV in April.
The university's new program is designed not only for science, he said. It is "also to ensure that China continues to maintain its global leading position in the development of rare earth resources."
There are some examples of groundbreaking work in the West.
Valor Metals, for instance, is using processes developed by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign that the company says are potentially 10 times cheaper and faster than those deployed in China. The technology, however, has not been tested at scale.
The Colorado School of Mines, widely regarded as one of the world's top mining schools, is developing two new critical minerals research facilities with the Energy Department to complement existing programs. It expects the first to open in 2027.
The school's mining-related undergraduate programs have in recent years gained more attention and enrollment.
"The US minerals industry needs to be clear that we need the talent and that this is a great career path," said Kunal Sinha, Valor's CEO.
Oil Rises as US and Iran Trade Strikes, Israel Moves Further into Lebanonhttps://english.aawsat.com/business/5279169-oil-rises-us-and-iran-trade-strikes-israel-moves-further-lebanon
Lights illuminate an oil refinery in Carson, Calif., May 29, 2024. (AP)
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Oil Rises as US and Iran Trade Strikes, Israel Moves Further into Lebanon
Lights illuminate an oil refinery in Carson, Calif., May 29, 2024. (AP)
Oil prices rose more than 2% on Monday after Iran and the US traded strikes and Israel ordered troops to move further into Lebanon in the battle with the Tehran-backed Hezbollah group.
US crude futures rose $2.29 or 2.62% to $89.65 a barrel as of 0436 GMT. Brent futures rose $2.05 or 2.25% to $93.17 a barrel.
The stepped-up fighting, coming just after the US hosted Israel-Lebanon peace talks in Washington on Friday, dimmed expectations that the US and Iran could soon announce an extension to their ceasefire agreement, which had driven Brent and WTI to settle down 1.8% and 1.7%, respectively, on Friday.
The US said on Sunday it conducted "self-defense strikes" on Iranian radar and drone control sites in Iran's Goruk and Qeshm Island over the weekend in what it said was a response to "aggressive" actions from Tehran.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Monday its aerospace force targeted an air base used in what it called a US attack on a telecoms tower on Sirik Island.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would soon decide on a proposed deal to extend a ceasefire with Iran announced in early April, giving negotiators more time to seek a permanent end to the conflict and find a solution to the underlying dispute over Iran's nuclear program.
Israel would be key to any such deal, and Iran has also said repeatedly that Hezbollah must be included. The US has proposed a "gradual de-escalation" plan, under which Hezbollah would first stop attacks on Israel in exchange for Israel refraining from escalation in Beirut, a US official said on Sunday.
Concerns are rising about mines in the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil and gas shipping lane, IG analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note. That could slow the process of reopening the strait and mean that relief comes more slowly for the oil market even after it is reopened.
"Even if an agreement is reached, it won't deliver a flood of supply," Sycamore said.
An Axios reporter said on X on Friday that Iran had dropped more mines in the strait earlier in the week, shortly after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that attempts to lay more mines would be a violation of the ceasefire.
The Strait of Hormuz is a conduit for about a fifth of global oil and gas flows and Iran has effectively closed it since the conflict began with US and Israeli strikes in February.
Concerns over supply outweighed lackluster economic data from China over the weekend, which showed stalling factory activity. This added to concerns the world's second-largest economy is losing momentum, weighed down by a contraction in exports and cost pressures.
Goldman Sachs said late on Sunday that weak oil demand in China and Europe poses a major downside risk to its fourth-quarter Brent crude forecast of $90 a barrel and WTI forecast of $83, although Middle East supply disruptions could still push prices higher.
SoftBank Pledges $81 Billion to Build Biggest AI Facility in Francehttps://english.aawsat.com/business/5279149-softbank-pledges-81-billion-build-biggest-ai-facility-france
SoftBank Pledges $81 Billion to Build Biggest AI Facility in France
The logo of SoftBank is displayed at a company shop in Tokyo, Japan January 28, 2025. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
Japan's SoftBank Group has pledged to invest up to €75 billion ($81 billion) in a vast network of AI computing clusters in France, backing what would be Europe's biggest data center project.
The plan would be SoftBank’s largest AI infrastructure investment in Europe, which is trying to catch up to AI data center spending in the US and China, according to the Financial Times.
The commitment marks the largest AI investment by Masayoshi Son’s group outside the US and delivers a boost to Emmanuel Macron ahead of the French president’s Choose France event this week, an annual gathering of dealmakers and executives.
The deal came together quickly after Macron and Son dined together in Tokyo in early April, according to people familiar with the meeting, where the president pitched France’s combination of plentiful nuclear power and fast-tracked approval for AI facilities.
Five Nuclear Power Stations
SoftBank’s initial commitment will see it lead an investment of €45 billion to build 3.1 gigawatts of capacity in the northern region of Hauts-de-France by 2031, with a further 2 gigawatts planned.
One of the main facilities in Dunkirk will see SoftBank partner with Schneider Electric to create a hub for AI infrastructure and robotics manufacturing, at a site ideally placed to serve customers in London, Brussels and Amsterdam.
If completed, the full 5-gigawatt complex – equivalent to the output of five nuclear power stations, or roughly New York City’s peak electricity demand.
Industry estimates suggest the cost of every 1 gigawatt of AI infrastructure is roughly $50 billion in total – including land, construction, power and IT equipment – meaning SoftBank’s plan will rely on bringing in significantly more financing from as yet unnamed partners.
Decline in Europe Investments and International Competition
The investment seeks to bridge the technological gap as Europe faces economic stagnation compared to the US, China, and the Middle East in building huge data centers technology needed to meet soaring demand for AI computing power.
Investment has tended to flow to regions offering lower energy costs, faster grid connections and lighter-touch regulation on planning, data and emissions.
The French project forms part of SoftBank’s growing AI infrastructure portfolio, including a 10-gigawatt data center project in Ohio announced by Trump administration officials in March.
Alongside projects in the US and France, SoftBank is part of a consortium planning to build 5 gigawatts of AI infrastructure in Abu Dhabi with G42, OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia and Cisco.
The group has committed more than $60 billion of investment into ChatGPT maker OpenAI. It is also planning the public listings of robotics and energy businesses in the US while building up semiconductor capacity around its crown jewel, UK chip designer Arm.
Son’s growing ambitions for data centers have replaced, to an extent, original plans for the $500 billion Stargate joint venture that had been designed to provide compute at a massive scale for OpenAI’s exclusive use.
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