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Saudi Arabia Ranks 2nd in AI Awareness

The report indicated that the Kingdom ranked second in the world regarding feeling positive about AI products (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The report indicated that the Kingdom ranked second in the world regarding feeling positive about AI products (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Ranks 2nd in AI Awareness

The report indicated that the Kingdom ranked second in the world regarding feeling positive about AI products (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The report indicated that the Kingdom ranked second in the world regarding feeling positive about AI products (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia ranked second globally for societal awareness of artificial intelligence, according to the 2023 Artificial Intelligence Index Report by Stanford University.

The report is a comprehensive resource for policymakers, researchers, and industry professionals to understand better the current situation regarding artificial intelligence and possible future trends.

The report indicated that the Kingdom ranked second in the world, after China, regarding feeling positive about AI products and services during the current and future phases.

The survey included several criteria, notably the societal knowledge of the benefits and value of artificial intelligence products and services.

Saudi Arabia came in second place in the world, ahead of South Korea and Brazil, when talking about whether AI products and services will make the lives of the participants in the survey easier.

The Kingdom was also ahead of India, France, and Russia when participants were asked about their knowledge of the benefits and value of artificial intelligence products and services.

The Saudi leadership's interest in AI is prominent, as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman indicated in his speech during the G20 Summit 2019 in Osaka.

"We live in a time of scientific innovations, unprecedented technologies, and unlimited growth prospects. If used optimally, new technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things can avoid many harms and bring the world many huge benefits," said the Crown Prince.

The government established the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) in 2019 to officially manage the sector in the Kingdom.

The Authority is the national reference in everything related to organization, development, and dealing with AI, driving the national agenda for Data and AI to elevate the Kingdom as a global leader in the elite league of data-driven economies.

With this support, the Kingdom ranked first in the Arab world in 2020 and 22nd globally in the Global Index of Artificial Intelligence, compared to 29th in 2019.

Furthermore, the Kingdom established the AI Ethics Principles for public consultation as a practical guide to incorporating AI ethics throughout the AI system development life cycle.

After analyzing global and domestic standards and guidelines for AI use, AI Ethics principles recognize the importance of developing artificial intelligence and technological innovation in the Kingdom's services for its citizens and visitors.

Last year, the Kingdom joined the World Bank Group's Digital Development Partnership, a public-private collaboration to help developing countries use digital innovations to solve some of their most challenging issues.

SDAIA intensified the awareness aspect of this sector and its uses, including its organization of the two global AI summits in 2020 and 2022.

The Authority complied with the most extensive glossary of data and artificial intelligence, collecting the most important technical terms related to data and artificial intelligence with short, accessible definitions in Arabic and English.

The Kingdom presented the world with the best image of AI applications through "The Line" city and its adaptation to AI solutions to build sustainable societies.

Saudi Aramco has the largest industrial use of AI data, using "methane sensors" and the "Internet of Things" to provide the world with the cleanest activities in the refining, chemicals, and marketing sector.

Academically, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) collaborated with SDAIA to establish the Center of Excellence in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.

The center enhances AI research, development, and innovation by funding applied data science and AI projects in areas of interest to SDAIA and its in-kingdom partners.

It also aims to develop a practical training program in data science and AI tools and methods and deliver that program to as broad an audience as possible throughout the Kingdom.

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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.

Business

Saudi PIF Backs Multibillion-Dollar Projects to Boost Sustainability

A solar power project in Saudi Arabia (SPA)
A solar power project in Saudi Arabia (SPA)
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Saudi PIF Backs Multibillion-Dollar Projects to Boost Sustainability

A solar power project in Saudi Arabia (SPA)
A solar power project in Saudi Arabia (SPA)

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has fully allocated the proceeds of its green bond issuance, directing $9 billion to eligible projects, in a move that highlights the sovereign wealth fund’s growing role in shaping a more sustainable future and delivering lasting positive impact worldwide.

According to a recent report issued by the Public Investment Fund, reviewed by Asharq Al-Awsat, the expected impact of the fund’s eligible green projects includes generating 427 megawatts of renewable energy, avoiding emissions equivalent to 5.1 million tons of carbon dioxide, and treating 4 million cubic meters of wastewater.

The Public Investment Fund aims to establish itself as an active participant in global debt markets, while also fostering the development of a dynamic domestic market. This would enable the fund to access short- or long-term liquidity through a diverse range of financing instruments.

Financing strategy

The fund’s capital markets program aims to further strengthen its financing strategy and execution capabilities, both at the level of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund and across its portfolio companies, while enabling deeper engagement with global and local debt markets.

The program will also support expanding the fund’s capacity to raise debt and deploy it as a source of investment financing, in line with its overall funding strategy. This approach is designed to instill greater discipline in cash flow management and enhance returns on equity for the fund and its portfolio companies.

The green bond issuance will provide the fund with access to a broader pool of investors who prioritize environmental, social, and governance considerations in their investment decisions. It will also allow investors to diversify their portfolios through green assets, a step expected to help accelerate the pace of green investment globally.

Climate change

The fund has taken concrete steps to advance governance and policy, focusing on sustainability, and is a founding member of the One Planet Sovereign Wealth Funds initiative. This international platform aims to accelerate the integration of climate change considerations into asset management decisions and investment opportunities.

As an investment vehicle, the Public Investment Fund operates through acquiring stakes in companies aligned with its mandate, including ACWA Power and Lucid.

It has also established the Saudi Investment Recycling Company, a leader in waste management and recycling, manages the National Energy Services Company, Tarshid, and supports the creation of a voluntary carbon market in the Middle East and North Africa.

These efforts aim to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s position as one of the world’s most energy-efficient countries.

The green bond issuance will finance tangible projects on the ground, helping to accelerate the green transition and advance the Kingdom’s core targets of achieving net zero emissions by 2060 and generating 50 percent of electricity consumption from renewable energy sources by 2030.

This forms a key pillar of the renewable energy program implemented by the fund, which involves developing 70 percent of renewable power generation capacity.