RIYADH: Metito, one of the Middle East’s leading water development companies, is building the world’s largest desalination plant in Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

Speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the Future Desalination International Conference held in Riyadh, Metito’s Managing Director Fady Juez said that Al Jubail’s desalination plant is set to produce 1 million cubic meters per day and will be the largest in the world.

The project was rewarded by the Saline Water Conversion Corp., the largest water desalination entity in the world, said Juez.

Founded in 1958, Metito has been a leading provider of intelligent water management solutions in the Middle East and North African region.

The company was one of the first to introduce reverse osmosis technology, which is the treatment of water using pressure, in the region.

According to Juez, Metito was the first Arab-based water treatment company to introduce desalination by RO in 1972, when no one knew about the technology outside the US.

“Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries in the world to start investing into large desalination plants by reverse osmosis for the infrastructure projects,” he added.

The company has a strong presence in the Kingdom through its partnerships with SWCC and NEOM.

“We built a 125,000 cubic meter per day water desalination plant in NEOM that supplies the initial phases of the city. It is the first large desalination plant powered by solar energy, 25 percent of its capacity is solar powered,” Juez stated.

Metito was the project’s engineering, procurement and construction contractor, completing a record-breaking 50,000 cubic meters per day in six months.

The plant has been operating for a year and a half in partial capacity and six months in full capacity.

Moreover, the company is building a large sewage treatment plant wholly owned and funded by Metito in the city of Dammam.

“We’re building the first and largest independent sewage treatment plant in the city of Dammam. It is 200,000 cubic meters per day where we are investing and owning the plant. It will start operation very soon,” Juez said.

In fact, Qatar’s Public Works Authority recently selected a Metito-led consortium for the contract to develop a $1 billion sewage treatment plant in the Wakra and Al-Wukair area. The consortium includes Qatar-based Al-Attiya Motors & Trading Co. and Kuwait’s Gulf Investment Corp.

RIYADH: Financial services company Lazard is set to hire Citigroup’s Saudi Arabia CEO Wassim Al-Khatib to support the boutique firm’s advisory operations across the Middle East and North African region.

Al-Khatib is expected to join Lazard as CEO for its MENA financial advisory business, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.

Citigroup confirmed Al-Khatib's resignation and said that Carmen Haddad, vice chairperson for Citigroup Middle East and country officer in Saudi Arabia, will be taking over as acting CEO, as the bank seeks to replace him.

A representative for Lazard and Al Khatib couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.

Al Khatib joined the New York-based bank as CEO in Saudi Arabia in 2021 and was previously head of investment banking at NCB Capital for about 15 years.

The Saudi national was a leading figure in Saudi Aramco's initial public offering in 2019, the biggest ever share sale that raised almost $30 billion.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia wants the EU to accept long-term contracts in green hydrogen investment opportunities, according to the European Council President.

Speaking on Friday, Charles Michel said the Kingdom offered to have the EU invest in its plans to develop green hydrogen as the bloc seeks to tackle the energy crisis.

He also said the UAE has proposed investment in its renewable projects.

“What they want to know is if we are ready to accept long-term contracts,” Michel said.

His comments came as he called on the EU to go beyond its current plans to tackle the energy crisis to make sure people can afford their energy bills.

“It’s good proposals, but more will be needed,” Michel told reporters, referring to the EU’s plans to bring down energy prices for the bloc’s citizens and businesses.

“On prices, there is a proposal on the table... it is good but is it enough? I don’t think so, I think it’s important to accelerate in terms of the electricity market,” he said, while highlighting the need to rework pricing mechanisms.

The EU executive has proposed raising more than €140 billion ($139.4 billion) to shield consumers from soaring energy prices by skimming off revenues from low-cost electricity generators and making fossil fuel firms share windfall profits.

EU energy ministers will discuss those proposals on Sept. 30 before national leaders of the 27 EU member countries meet a week later on the matter.

Michel, who chairs talks of the 27 national EU leaders, said the bloc needed to cut energy consumption as well as increase supply, a topic he discussed recently with Algeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. 

While he sealed no specific agreements, he said potential enhanced cooperation included increased energy supplies from Algeria to Spain, EU investment in upgrading gas links between Algeria and Italy, as well as a cable to carry electricity.

In Qatar, Michel said he discussed rerouting to Europe in the short term some LNG supplies earmarked for Asia.

BERLIN: Germany took control of a major Russian-owned oil refinery on Friday, risking retaliation from Moscow as Berlin strives to shore up energy supplies and meet its EU commitment to eliminate Russian oil imports by the end of the year, according to Reuters.

The economy ministry said it was putting a unit of Russian oil firm Rosneft under the trusteeship of the industry regulator and taking over the business’ Schwedt refinery, which supplies 90 percent of Berlin’s fuel.

“With the trusteeship, the threat to the security of energy supply is countered and an essential foundation stone is set for the preservation and future of the Schwedt site,” the ministry said in a statement.

Governments across Europe have been racing to prop up their power providers and secure fuel deliveries as they ratchet up sanctions on major supplier Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow has retaliated by reducing gas flows and has threatened to shut off all the taps, sending prices soaring and raising the prospect of energy rationing in Europe this winter.

Rosneft Deutschland, which was majority owned by the Russian oil group and accounts for about 12 percent of German oil processing capacity, is being placed under the trusteeship of the Federal Network Agency regulator.

The regulator said the original owner no longer had authority to issue instructions.

Rosneft Deutschland and Rosneft did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Polish refiner PKN Orlen is interested in taking a controlling stake in the Schwedt refinery, which is Germany’s fourth-largest and also supplies parts of western Poland, sources in Berlin and Warsaw familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Shell, which owns a 37.5 percent stake in Schwedt, has wanted to sell that for some time. Shell said on Friday it was “unaffected” by the German move to take control of the refinery.

The Schwedt refinery has posed a dilemma for Berlin for several weeks, as it has received all of its crude from Russia, but Germany is resolved to eliminate imports of oil from Russia by the end of the year under EU sanctions.

Taking over Schwedt, however, risks retaliatory measures from Moscow.

Poland said earlier this year that ending Russian ownership of the refinery was a condition for potentially supplying it with seaborne oil via a terminal in Gdansk and via Polish pipelines to replace Russian crude.

Germany’s economy ministry said Friday’s move included a package to ensure the refinery could receive oil from alternative routes, without providing details.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Economy Minister Robert Habeck and Brandenburg’s state premier are due to announce more details at 1130 GMT.

Germany’s move on Rosneft Deutschland is its latest attempt to stabilize the energy market.

The government said this week it would step up lending to companies at risk of being crushed by soaring gas prices, and power utility Uniper said the state could take a controlling stake, adding a government rescue package worth 19 billion euros ($19 billion) was no longer enough.

The government has also put SEFE, formerly known as Gazprom Germania, under trusteeship after Russian energy giant Gazprom ditched it in April.

Berlin is grappling with Russia’s move to halt flows of gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which had been the biggest gas supply route powering Europe’s biggest economy.

As a result of Friday’s decision, the Federal Network Agency will take Rosneft Deutschland’s shares in the MiRo refinery in Karlsruhe and Bayernoil refinery in Vohburg.

LONDON: European stocks fell on Friday and Wall Street was set to open lower as investors braced for a US rate hike next week amid more warning signs pointing to a global economic slowdown, according to Reuters.

The World Bank’s chief economist said on Thursday he was worried about a period of low growth and high inflation in the global economy.

The International Monetary Fund said downside risks continue to dominate the economic outlook but it was too early to say if there will be a widespread global recession.

Wall Street sold off on Thursday after US economic data gave the Federal Reserve little reason to ease its aggressive rate-hike stance.

The downbeat tone continued during Asian trading, with data showing that China’s property sector had contracted further last month.

In the UK, retail sales fell more than expected, in another sign that the economy is sliding into recession as the cost-of-living crisis squeezes households’ disposable spending.

At 1032 GMT, the MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 47 countries, was down 0.4 percent on the day and set for its fourth consecutive day of losses.

Europe’s STOXX 600 was down 1 percent, set for a weekly decline of 2.3 percent. London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.2 percent and Germany’s DAX was down 1.5 percent.

Wall Street futures were down, with S&P 500 e-minis trading near two-month lows.

“We’re now seeing data confirm that the economy is indeed slowing down,” said Axel Rudolph, market analyst at IG Group.

“I expect stocks to head back down to below their March lows. If you are in an environment where you have central banks that aggressively raise rates, historically this has always led to bear markets.”

Markets were pricing in a 75 percent chance of a 75-basis-point rate hike and a 25 percent chance of 100 bps when the Fed meets next Wednesday. The Bank of Japan and Bank of England also meet next week.

Joachim Fels, managing director and global economic adviser at PIMCO, said in a note that although he expects a “relatively shallow” recession, “it is unlikely to be followed by a V-shaped recovery because sticky inflation will prevent central banks from easing policy in a meaningful way anytime soon.”

The US dollar index was up 0.1 percent at 109.95, still hovering near a 20-year high, and a touch lower against the yen at 143.23.

The yen could hurtle toward three-decade lows before the year-end, according to market analysts and fund managers.

The dollar’s strength pushed China’s offshore yuan past the 7-per-dollar level for the first time in nearly two years.

The pound weakened to a new 37-year low against the US dollar.

The euro was a touch lower at $0.9976. Germany’s two-year bond yields hit a fresh 11-year high after the European Central Bank vice president said an economic slowdown in the euro zone would not be enough to control inflation and the bank will have to keep raising interest rates.

Germany’s benchmark 10-year bond was up 6 bps on the day at 1.787 percent — having touched its highest since mid-June in early trading.

Oil prices edged higher, but were on track for a weekly drop amid fears of a reduction in demand.

WASHINGTON: The Biden administration is moving one step closer to developing a central bank digital currency, known as the digital dollar, saying it would help reinforce the US role as a leader in the world financial system, according Associated Press.

The White House said on Friday that after President Joe Biden issued an executive order in March calling on a variety of agencies to look at ways to regulate digital assets, the agencies came up with nine reports, covering cryptocurrency impacts on financial markets, the environment, innovation and other elements of the economic system.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said one Treasury recommendation is that the US “advance policy and technical work on a potential central bank digital currency, or CBDC, so that the United States is prepared if CBDC is determined to be in the national interest.”

“Right now, some aspects of our current payment system are too slow or too expensive,” Yellen said on a Thursday call with reporters laying out some of the findings of the reports.

Central bank digital currencies differ from existing digital money available to the general public, such as the balance in a bank account, because they would be a direct liability of the Federal Reserve, not a commercial bank.

According to the Atlantic Council nonpartisan think tank, 105 countries representing more than 95 percent of global gross domestic product already are exploring or have created a central bank digital currency. The council found that the US and the UK are far behind in creating a digital dollar or its equivalent.

Treasury, the Justice Department, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, the Securities and Exchange Commission and other agencies were tasked with contributing to reports that would address various concerns about the risks, development and usage of digital assets.

Several reports will come out in the next weeks and months.

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers have submitted various pieces of legislation to regulate cryptocurrency and other digital assets.

The director of the National Economic Council, Brian Deese, told reporters that “we’ve seen in recent months substantial turmoil in cryptocurrency markets and these events really highlight how, without proper oversight, cryptocurrencies risk harming everyday Americans’ financial stability and our national security.”

“It is why this administration believes that now more than ever,” he said, “prudent regulation of cryptocurrencies is needed.”