At last South Korea win nuclear contract

A South Korean consortium has been awarded a contract worth some $40 bn (£25 bn) to build four nuclear power plants in the United Arab Emirates. The group, led by the Korea Electric Power Corp ( Kepco), beat bids from a US-Japanese group and a French firm. South Korean officials said the deal was the biggest single contract the country had ever won abroad. Though the world's third largest oil exporter, the UAE says only nuclear power can meet its energy demands. The nuclear reactors should all be in operation by 2020 , by which time demand for electricity in the UAE is expected to have more than doubled. The first is scheduled to begin supplying power in 2017. As well as Kepco, the winning consortium includes Samsung, Hyundai and Doosan Heavy Industries, as well as US firm Westinghouse and Japan's Toshiba. The South Korean president's office described the deal as "the largest mega-project in Korean history". It also represents that first time the country has exported a nuclear power plant, according to the Associated Press news agency. South Korea first introduced atomic power in 1978 and now has 20 nuclear reactors in operation.

Philips Electronics will close year net profit

Dutch Philips Electronics expects to close the year with a net profit, while revenue is expected to be down compared with last year, its chief executive told a Belgian newspaper on Saturday. 'This year revenue will probably drop to a lesser degree, but we will end the year with a net profit,' chief executive Gerard Kleisterlee was quoted as saying in Belgian newspaper De Tijd. Philips said earlier this month it expected sales at its consumer lifestyle unit to continue to improve quarter-on-quarter, expecting fourth- quarter sales at the unit of about 2.8 billion euros. The unit, which makes products ranging from MP3 players and digital photo frames to water kettles, toasters and shavers, is weathering the recession better than other units, Kleisterlee said. As a result the consumer electronics unit will remain the biggest contributor to the group's sales. 'With the acquisition of Italian espresso machine manufacturer Saeco, a significant portion of sales will be added. This year the balance will be slightly in the advantage of consumer lifestyle, we expect,' Kleisterlee said. Previously Philips had said its healthcare unit, which makes brain scan equipments for hospitals and provides services to help doctors to monitor patients remotely, would be the biggest unit in terms of sales.

Yen fall against dollar

The yen fell against the dollar over the past week, depressed by mounting expectations that the Japanese central bank will be slower than its US counterpart to raise interest rates, dealers said. The Japanese unit declined to 91.30 to the dollar in Tokyo on Friday from 89.84 to the dollar a week ago. There was no trading in New York on Friday for the Christmas holiday. The dollar benefited from growing speculation that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next year earlier than predicted, dealers said. Investors generally prefer currencies offering the prospect of higher yields. In contrast, Japan's central bank has raised expectations that it will keep its key lending rate at the current level of 0.1 per cent for some time yet, declaring last week that it 'does not tolerate' deflation. The unemployment rate rose to 5.2 per cent in November from 5.1 per cent in October, worsening for the first time in four months, the government said. But the report was in line with market expectations. Asian currencies were mostly lower against the greenback this week, with the US unit rising amid speculation the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates earlier next year than predicted.

China govt will support to produce renewable energy

China's national assembly Saturday signalled the country's commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by adopting a law supporting its renewable energy industry. The new law, an amendment to one on renewable energy adopted by the National People's Congress standing committee, obliges electricity grid companies to buy all the power produced by renewable sources. It also empowers the State Council's energy department, the electricity regulatory agency and its finance departments to determine the amount of renewable energy available in the country's overall power generating capacity. Power companies will be obliged to take up all of that capacity, and those refusing to do so will be fined an amount up to double that of the economic loss of the renewable energy company, Ni Yuefeng, vice-president of the assembly's environmental affairs commission, told reporters. The law was adopted after China was criticised for obstructing the adoption of a treaty on climate change during last week's international summit in Copenhagen.

Badshah Abdullah satisfied with oil price

Saudi king Abdullah described oil prices as satisfactory in an interview published on Saturday, at a time when the largest OPEC producer is seeking price stability. "We predicted an oil price of 75 to 80 dollars per barrel at the beginning of the year, what we considered acceptable, and now it has reached this level," the king told the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Siyassah. "(We expect) the price will stabilise or increase marginally," he added. King Abdullah also expressed confidence in the state of the Saudi economy, which he said had successfully managed to withstand the global financial crisis.

Asian currencies lower

Asian currencies were mostly lower against the greenback this week, with the US unit rising amid speculation the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates earlier next year than predicted. JAPANESE YEN: The Japanese unit declined to 91. 30 to the dollar in Tokyo on Friday from 89.84 to the dollar a week ago. There was no trading in New York on Friday for the Christmas holiday. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR: The Aussie closed Thursday at 88.25 US cents, down slightly from 88.87 a week earlier, ahead of the Christmas holiday. CHINESE YUAN: The yuan closed at 6.8272 to the dollar Friday on the over-the counter market, compared with 6.8280 the week before. HONG KONG DOLLAR: The US-pegged Hong Kong unit ended the week flat at 7.756 from 7.757 the week before. INDONESIAN RUPIAH: The rupiah closed flat at 9 , 500 to the dollar. PHILIPPINE PESO: The Philippine peso traded higher at 46.510 to the dollar on December 23 , the last trading day for the week, compared to 46.650 on December 18. SINGAPORE DOLLAR: The Singapore dollar was at 1.4064 to the US dollar from 1.4004 the previous week. SOUTH KOREAN WON: The won closed at 1 , 175.00 won to the dollar on Thursday, its highest in more than a week, compared with 1 ,176.2 won on Friday the week before. TAIWAN DOLLAR: The Taiwan dollar rose 0.33 percent in the week to close at 32.274 against the US dollar from 32.380 a week earlier. THAI BAHT: The unit closed Friday at 33.33-35 baht to the dollar compared to last week's close of 33.20-21.