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ACWA Power to Develop Three Power Projects in Uzbekistan

Saudi ACWA Power-generating windmills are pictured in Jbel Sendouq, on the outskirts of Tangier, Morocco, on June 29, 2018. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/File Photo
Saudi ACWA Power-generating windmills are pictured in Jbel Sendouq, on the outskirts of Tangier, Morocco, on June 29, 2018. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/File Photo
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ACWA Power to Develop Three Power Projects in Uzbekistan

Saudi ACWA Power-generating windmills are pictured in Jbel Sendouq, on the outskirts of Tangier, Morocco, on June 29, 2018. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/File Photo
Saudi ACWA Power-generating windmills are pictured in Jbel Sendouq, on the outskirts of Tangier, Morocco, on June 29, 2018. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/File Photo

Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia have planned three major power projects that will promote the use of clean and renewable energy in the Central Asian country.

Following the agreements signed in March 2020, cooperation between the Uzbekistan Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade, and the Saudi company ACWA Power have led to three major milestones in the development of power projects, which are Uzbekistan’s ambitious energy Capacity by 2500MW to enable the transformation plan and increase energy, the Uzbek Ministry said in a press release.

The ground-breaking ceremony of the 1500MW Shirdia CCGT plant, followed by the signing of two Power Purchase Agreement and Investment Agreement for two wind power plants located in Bukhara and Navoi, was held in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade Sardor Umurzakov, Energy Minister Alisher Sultanov, as well as a Saudi Arabian delegation led by Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid al-Falih, and Saudi Ambassador to Uzbekistan Hisham Mishal Al- Suwailem.

ACWA Power will deliver these three projects using its technical knowledge, expertise, and experience, contributing directly to meeting Uzbekistan’s growing annual electricity demand that is expected to reach 110 billion kWh by 2030.

Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid al-Falih said the projects, which have an estimated total investment value of USD2.5 billion, will contribute directly to the growth of power generation capacity in Uzbekistan to keep pace with an increasing demand that is expected to reach 18 gigawatts/h by 2030.

Falih said that Saudi Arabia has a long history and a leading global position in the field of energy, pointing out that renewable energy in the Kingdom today has ambitious programs and a promising future, especially in light of rich resources in solar energy, wind energy, and competing expertise to develop these programs.

This is embodied in enabling the renewable energy sector, within its national energy mix, as it aims to raise the level of electricity production using renewable energy by 50 percent in 2030, while the remaining percentage will depend on gas production, according to the minister.

Falih pointed out that Saudi Arabia has ambitious plans in many other fields of renewable energy, as it launched, during the past year, several projects and initiatives in this context, including The Green Hydrogen Production Project in NEOM.

The Kingdom, as part of its interest in sustainable development, also initiated the circular carbon economy approach, which was endorsed by the leaders of the G20 countries, and represents a comprehensive, integrated and realistic approach to managing emissions that contribute to global warming, as well as its possible application in line with each country's priorities and circumstances.

For his part, Sultanov said that increasing Uzbekistan’s clean energy capacity includes a number of development and investment targets.

“By executing our plans efficiently, we will only attract more investment to Uzbekistan, and improve the energy situation of our country. The ministry extends its deepest thanks to ACWA Power and the extensive Saudi delegation to make this victory. We look forward to a long and fruitful work, "he said.

ACWA Power is also committed to training and upskilling 1000 local employees in Uzbekistan during the project’s construction and operation phases, generating long-term socio-economic value through knowledge sharing and job creation.

Mohammad Abunayyan, chairman of ACWA Power, said: “As a proud Saudi company, we are privileged to play a vital role in supporting Uzbekistan’s decarbonization efforts and energy transformation, stemming from the international cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan under their progressive and visionary leadership."

"Through the addition of new renewable energy capacity, exploration of innovative technologies and the advancement of cleaner, more efficient and cost-competitive gas power, ACWA Power is expanding its presence in Uzbekistan, a high growth market, leveraging our global expertise and technical know-how to create long-term and sustainable value for the country’s local communities,” Abunayyan added.

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Business

Japan Proposes Record Budget Spending While Curbing Fresh Debt

Year-end shoppers walk along at the Ameyoko shopping street ahead of the New Year in Tokyo, Japan, 26 December 2025. (EPA)
Year-end shoppers walk along at the Ameyoko shopping street ahead of the New Year in Tokyo, Japan, 26 December 2025. (EPA)
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Japan Proposes Record Budget Spending While Curbing Fresh Debt

Year-end shoppers walk along at the Ameyoko shopping street ahead of the New Year in Tokyo, Japan, 26 December 2025. (EPA)
Year-end shoppers walk along at the Ameyoko shopping street ahead of the New Year in Tokyo, Japan, 26 December 2025. (EPA)

Japan's government on Friday proposed record spending for next fiscal year while curbing debt issuance, underscoring Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's challenge in boosting the ​economy while inflation remains above the central bank's target.

Her cabinet approved a draft budget of $783 billion that addresses market jitters by capping bond issuance and reducing the proportion of the budget financed by fresh debt to the lowest in almost three decades.

Also complicating Takaichi's policy challenge, core inflation in Tokyo stayed above the Bank of Japan's 2% target this month while the yen remains weak, bolstering the central bank's case to keep raising interest rates.

The record 122.3-trillion-yen budget for the year starting in April, a core part of Takaichi's "proactive" fiscal policy, will likely underpin consumption but could also accelerate inflation and further strain Japan's tattered finances.

DELICATE BALANCE OF BUDGET SUPPORT, DEBT RESTRAINT

Investor unease about fiscal expansion in an economy with the heaviest debt burden in the industrialized world has driven super-long government bond yields to record highs and weighed on the ‌yen.

"We believe we have ‌been able to draft a budget that not only increases allocations for key policy ‌measures ⁠but also takes ​fiscal discipline ‌into account, achieving both a strong economy and fiscal sustainability," said Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama.

She told a press conference the draft budget keeps new bond issuance below 30 trillion yen ($190 billion) for a second consecutive year, with the debt dependence ratio falling to 24.2%, the lowest since 1998.

The Takaichi government's efforts to reassure Japanese government bond investors were showing some success.

The 30-year JGB yield fell on Thursday from a record high 3.45% after Reuters reported the government will likely reduce new issuance of super-long JGBs next fiscal year to the lowest in 17 years. Yields slipped further on Friday on the administration's efforts at fiscal restraint.

The budget was not as large as initially feared, said Saisuke Sakai, senior economist at Mizuho Research & Technologies. "But political fragmentation raises ⁠the risk that Takaichi may resort to a large supplementary budget next year to secure opposition support, keeping alive market concerns that fiscal expansion could push the yen down and accelerate inflation," he ‌said.

"It's too optimistic to assume that the current environment will persist."

The proposed spending is ‍inflated by a jump in debt-servicing costs for interest payments and ‍debt redemption.

It also reflects a 3.8% rise in military spending to 9 trillion yen ($60 billion) as part of the assertive defense ‍policy of Takaichi, a conservative nationalist, and in line with a U.S. push for its allies to pay more for their own defense.

TOKYO INFLATION SLOWS BUT STILL POINTS TO RATE HIKES

The Tokyo core consumer price index, which excludes volatile costs of fresh food, rose 2.3% in December from a year earlier, less than market forecasts for a 2.5% gain and slowing from a 2.8% increase in November.

The data backs up the central bank's view that core inflation will ​slide below its 2% target in coming months on easing cost pressure, before resuming a more demand-led increase that justifies additional rate increases.

But some analysts warn of the risk renewed yen declines may prod firms to keep raising ⁠prices, leading to sticky, cost-led inflation that could quicken the pace of BOJ rate hikes.

"Today's data suggests food inflation may be peaking. But the weak yen may give firms an excuse to resume price hikes for food, which may keep inflation elevated," said Yoshiki Shinke, senior executive economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.

An inflation index for the capital that strips away both fresh food and fuel costs - closely watched by the BOJ as a measure of demand-driven prices - rose 2.6% in December after a 2.8% increase in November.

Data on Friday also showed Japan's factory output fell 2.6% in November from the previous month, deeper than market forecasts for a 2.0% drop, due to cuts in automobile and lithium-ion battery production.

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

With core inflation exceeding the BOJ's target for nearly four years, Governor Kazuo Ueda has signaled the BOJ's readiness to keep raising rates if the economy continues to improve, backed by solid wage gains.

Yen bears, however, have dumped ‌the Japanese currency in the belief that Ueda's rate hikes are too gradual, prompting Katayama last week to threaten yen-buying intervention, saying the government was "alarmed as we are clearly seeing one-sided, sharp moves" in the yen.

Business

China to Rein in Copper, Alumina Capacity Expansion Under Next Five-Year Plan

People walk next to shopping centers in Beijing on December 19, 2025. (AFP)
People walk next to shopping centers in Beijing on December 19, 2025. (AFP)
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China to Rein in Copper, Alumina Capacity Expansion Under Next Five-Year Plan

People walk next to shopping centers in Beijing on December 19, 2025. (AFP)
People walk next to shopping centers in Beijing on December 19, 2025. (AFP)

China will tighten oversight of new copper and alumina projects to curb irrational investment and disorderly expansion from 2026 ​to 2030, the country’s top economic planner said on Friday.

In an article on its website, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said local governments must strengthen feasibility studies for major projects and align their approvals with national industrial policy.

The guidance targets copper and alumina, industries the commission said are key to economic ‌and military development ‌but whose development must take ‌into ⁠account "differences ​in regional industrial ‌bases, resource endowments and environmental capacity."

China will also encourage mergers and restructuring led by large firms to increase industry concentration and competitiveness, the NDRC said. In addition, Beijing will continue to support overseas mining investment in its next five-year plan.

China is the world’s largest producer and consumer ⁠of copper and alumina and has repeatedly warned of the risks of overcapacity ‌and unchecked investments in the ‍industry.

China suspended plans for ‍around 2 million metric tons of planned copper smelting ‍capacity, the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association said last month.

From January to November of 2025, China produced 13.3 million metric tons of refined copper, up 9.8% from a year earlier, ​on track for record refined copper output in 2025.

Alumina output in China reached 84.7 million ⁠tons in the same period and was also likely to set a record in 2025.

The most traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed daytime trading up after hitting a record high of 99,730 yuan earlier in the session.

Shanghai aluminium closed the session higher after hitting a near-four-year high of 22,640 yuan.

Major copper firm Jiangxi Copper rose 10%. Yunnan Copper rose as much as 8.68% and Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group gained as ‌much as 8.33%.

Business

Riyadh Air Launches ‘Employment First’ Overseas Aviation Training Scholarship Program

Riyadh Air Launches ‘Employment First’ Overseas Aviation Training Scholarship Program
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Riyadh Air Launches ‘Employment First’ Overseas Aviation Training Scholarship Program

Riyadh Air Launches ‘Employment First’ Overseas Aviation Training Scholarship Program

Riyadh Air has announced its ‘Employment-First’ Overseas Scholarship Program, which aims to launch several scholarship tracks, starting with two specialized paths for engineers in Australia, followed by a pilot training program in the United States.

The initiative falls under ‘Promising Path’, one of the tracks within the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship Program, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Transport and Logistic Services, and the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).

This strategic step aims to build national competencies and train a new generation of specialists in the aviation sector, SPA reported.

According to a recent press release from Riyadh Air, the program will introduce several global training pathways, with the initial phase focusing on sending scholarship students to Australia to study towards Bachelor’s degrees in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering, covering both Mechanical Engineering and Avionics (Electronics). Next month, Riyadh Air will launch a Commercial Aviation training program in the United States.

In line with Riyadh Air’s commitment to supporting students' career progression, participants will be employed before commencing their scholarships. This ensures that their years of experience are registered with the General Organization for Social Insurance, enhancing their professional readiness from day one.

The program's launch is part of Riyadh Air’s continuous efforts to empower national talent and provide the Kingdom’s young and vibrant workforce with essential skills and knowledge, representing an even greater long-term investment in the future of the Kingdom's aviation industry.

Vice President of Talent Acquisition and Business Partners at Riyadh Air Nahar Aljahani stated: "The 'Employment-First' Scholarship Program is a part of our commitment to developing national human capital and enabling Saudi youth - both men and women - to access world-class education.

Its impact will reflect positively on the development of the aviation sector in the Kingdom, contributing to the company's goal of creating over 200,000 direct and indirect jobs."

With these programs, Riyadh Air continues to play a part in building a promising future for Saudi citizens and enhancing the competitiveness of our graduates in the global aviation industry.