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Saudi Arabia Prepares for Nuclear Power Plant License to Produce Electricity

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz speaking at the IAEA 66th General Conference (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz speaking at the IAEA 66th General Conference (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Prepares for Nuclear Power Plant License to Produce Electricity

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz speaking at the IAEA 66th General Conference (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz speaking at the IAEA 66th General Conference (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz announced that the Kingdom is considering requesting a license for a Saudi nuclear power plant for electricity production.

Prince Abdulaziz also stressed to the Kingdom's contribution to supporting the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear and radiological laboratories within the framework of the ReNuAL2 Initiative.

- Saudi support

The Saudi Minister stressed the Kingdom's support for the Agency's initiative in the integrated work of the qualitative development of nuclear technologies.

Saudi Arabia is looking forward to the contributions of developed countries with their expertise and capabilities to support the Agency in implementing its programs.

- Energy resources

Speaking at the 66th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Austria, Prince Abdulaziz discussed the Saudi strategy aimed at diversifying energy sources and its national project to build a nuclear power plant to produce electricity.

He explained that currently, Saudi Arabia wants to request a license for the nuclear plant site after preparing the plant's technical specifications, which were put up in an international competition.

The Minister stressed the Kingdom's commitment, under its national decisions, to use the Agency's standards for nuclear safety and security as a basis for its criteria.

Saudi Arabia stresses the importance of concerted international efforts to implement the treaty and the importance of not politicizing non-proliferation issues while maintaining countries' rights to obtain peaceful nuclear technology.

- Exhibition

Prince Abdulaziz, with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, inaugurated the Saudi exhibition accompanying the conference, highlighting the Kingdom's activities in the nuclear and radiological regulatory commission and the importance of solid regulations.

- Desalinization industry

The Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) has announced the implementation of a project of photovoltaic solar cells systems (PV), including parts on water surfaces with a generation capacity of 110 megawatts.

It aims at enhancing applications of renewable energy in the desalination industry and reducing energy consumption used from the grid to less than 2.16 kilowatts per cubic meter and over 20 percent of the consumption average of design energy, which stands at an average of 2.7 kilowatts per hour for one cubic meter for the desalination system that is being established in the al-Jubail area with a production capacity of more than one million cubic meters per day.

- Standard units

The project is part of several schemes that the corporation works on to provide 300 million Metric Million British Thermal Units (MMBTU) of the consumption of natural gas, in addition to reducing fluid fuel to 10 million tons annually by 2024.

It will contribute to reducing operational costs, realizing the highest environmental standards, and reducing carbon emissions to 34 million tons, in line with the ecological standards and the Saudi Green Initiative.

SWCC has mobile plants that were designed and manufactured by the corporation itself, which rely on solar energy with a consumption rate not exceeding 2.27 kilowatts for one cubic meter, which is a new world record for this category, where the corporation seeks to reduce power consumption in these mobile plants to reach 2 kilowatts.

- New navigation line

The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) introduced a new line connecting Jeddah Islamic Port with ten global ports.

Mawani announced that the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), a global transport and logistics service, will introduce the new shipping line as part of the company's direction towards enhancing its services.

The new addition will link Jeddah Islamic Port with ports of Colombo, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Salalah, King Abdullah Port, Valencia, Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Hamburg, and Antwerp.

At the same time, the service will include 11 mother ships with a capacity of 14,000 TEUs for each vessel, with its first vessel sailing expected to arrive at Jeddah Islamic Port on 23rd October.

- Operational efficiency

The cooperation will enhance Saudi ports' performance on the investment and logistical fronts and fulfill its aim of providing direct services to clients by strengthening connectivity between the Kingdom and the world.

It will reflect positively on the operational efficiency to align with the National Transport and Logistics Strategy (NTLS) objectives of positioning Saudi Arabia as a global logistics hub.

The Jeddah Islamic Port derives its prominence from various attributes, which make it one of the world's major trade gateways.

The port remains the region's leading hub for trade and transshipment, as it was listed 8th on the Container Port Performance Index, issued by the World Bank in its 2021 edition.

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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.

Business

Japan PM Reassures Markets with Fiscal Discipline in Next Year’s Budget

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivers a speech at the 14th Council Meeting of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, in Tokyo on December 25, 2025. (AFP)
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivers a speech at the 14th Council Meeting of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, in Tokyo on December 25, 2025. (AFP)
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Japan PM Reassures Markets with Fiscal Discipline in Next Year’s Budget

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivers a speech at the 14th Council Meeting of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, in Tokyo on December 25, 2025. (AFP)
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivers a speech at the 14th Council Meeting of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, in Tokyo on December 25, 2025. (AFP)

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sought on Thursday to ease market concerns over her expansionary fiscal policy, saying the government's draft budget maintains discipline by limiting reliance on debt.

There has been growing investor unease about fiscal expansion under Takaichi's administration, which has driven super-long government bond yields to record highs and weighed on the yen.

The budget for the year starting in April, to be finalized on Friday and submitted to parliament early in 2026, ‌will total 122.3 trillion ‌yen ($785.4 billion), Takaichi told ruling coalition executives.

The huge ‌spending ⁠will come ‌on top of a 21.3 trillion-yen stimulus package, compiled in November and funded by a supplementary budget for the current fiscal year, that focused on cushioning the blow to households from rising living costs.

Despite the record size, new government bond issuance for the next fiscal year will be capped at 29.6 trillion yen, staying below 30 trillion yen for a second straight year, ⁠she said.

The reliance on debt will fall to 24.2% from 24.9% in the initial fiscal 2025 ‌budget, which dipped below 30% for the ‍first time in 27 years, she said. ‍The 24.2% debt dependence ratio would be the lowest since 1998.

"We ‍believe this draft budget strikes a balance between fiscal discipline and achieving a strong economy while ensuring fiscal sustainability," Takaichi said.

In a separate speech at Japanese business lobby Keidanren, Takaichi said that her "responsible, proactive" fiscal policy means strategic spending with a long-term perspective.

"It does not mean expanding expenditures indiscriminately based solely on scale," she said.

In a report to clients, Yusuke Matsuo, ⁠Mizuho Securities' senior market economist, said Takaichi would still need to promote proactive fiscal spending to avoid alienating her political base. He added that financial markets could be reassured if the government sticks to a less aggressive stance on spending.

Signaling a shift in the government's reflationary policy push, private-sector members of a government panel on Thursday called on the government to clearly show the public how the debt-to-gross domestic product ratio can be steadily reduced under Takaichi's government.

The four private-sector members include former Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Masazumi Wakatabe and economist Toshihiro Nagahama - known as reflationist aides of Takaichi.

Their proposals were discussed at ‌the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy (CEFP), which oversees Japan's fiscal blueprint and long-term economic policies.

Business

Asian Shares are Mixed after US Stocks Drift to More Records

Currency dealers monitor exchange rates as a screen (R) shows South Korea's benchmark stock index in a foreign exchange dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on November 5, 2025. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
Currency dealers monitor exchange rates as a screen (R) shows South Korea's benchmark stock index in a foreign exchange dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on November 5, 2025. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
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Asian Shares are Mixed after US Stocks Drift to More Records

Currency dealers monitor exchange rates as a screen (R) shows South Korea's benchmark stock index in a foreign exchange dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on November 5, 2025. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
Currency dealers monitor exchange rates as a screen (R) shows South Korea's benchmark stock index in a foreign exchange dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on November 5, 2025. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)

Asian shares were mixed Thursday in thin holiday trading, with most markets in the region and elsewhere closed for Christmas.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 edged 0.1% higher to 50,407.79. It has gained nearly 30% this year.

The dollar slipped to 155.85 Japanese yen from 155.94 yen. The euro climbed to $1.1786 from $1.1780.

Markets in mainland China advanced, with the Shanghai Composite index up 0.5% at 3,959.62. Hong Kong's exchange was closed, The Associated Press said.

Investors were encouraged by a statement by the People’s Bank of China, China’s central bank, promising to ensure adequate money supply to support financing, economic growth and inflation targets. Earlier in the week, the PBOC had opted to keep its key short-term lending rates unchanged.

Shares fell in Thailand and Indonesia.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 index rose 0.3% to 6,932.05 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6% to close at 48,731.16. The Nasdaq composite added 0.2% to 23,613.31

Trading was extremely light as markets closed early for Christmas Eve and will be closed for Christmas on Thursday. US markets will reopen for a full day of trading on Friday, though volumes will likely remain light this week with most investors having closed out their positions for the year.

The S&P 500 is up more than 17% this year, as investors have embraced the deregulatory policies of the Trump administration and been optimistic about the future of artificial intelligence in helping boost profits for not only technology companies but also for Corporate America.

Much of the focus for investors for the next few weeks will be on where the US economy is heading and where the Federal Reserve will move interest rates. Investors are betting the Fed will hold steady on interest rates at its January meeting.

The US economy grew at a surprisingly strong 4.3% annual rate in the third quarter, the most rapid expansion in two years, driven by consumers who continue to spend despite strong inflation. There have also been recent reports showing shaky confidence among consumers worried about high prices. The labor market has been slowing and retail sales have weakened.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week and remain at historically healthy levels despite some signs that the labor market is weakening.

US applications for jobless claims for the week ending Dec. 20 fell by 10,000 to 214,000 from the previous week’s 224,000, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. That’s below the 232,000 new applications forecast of analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet.

Dynavax Technologies soared 38.2% after Sanofi said it was acquiring the California-based vaccine maker in a deal worth $2.2 billion. The French drugmaker will add Dynavax’s hepatitis B vaccines to its portfolio, as well as a shingles vaccine that is still in development.

Novo Nordisk's shares rose 1.8% after the weight-loss drug company got approval from US regulators for a pill version of its blockbuster drug Wegovy. However, Novo Nordisk shares are still down almost 40% this year as the company has faced increased competition for weight-loss medications, particularly from Eli Lilly. Shares of Eli Lilly are up 40% this year.

US crude oil closed at $58.35 a barrel and Brent crude finished at $61.80 a barrel.