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Daily Update — Decemeber 10, 2025

Japan's Energy Ambitions; AI in Asian Commodities; and Saudi Arabia's Private Capital Potential

Today is Wednesday, December 10, 2025, and here’s your curated selection of Essential Intelligence on global markets from S&P Global. Subscribe to be notified of each new Daily Update.

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Energy Transition & Sustainability

Sustainability Insights: Japan's Latest Energy Plan: High Targets, Uncertain Drivers for Execution

Japan relies more on fossil fuels than comparable economies, especially those in Europe, but the country's Seventh Strategic Energy Plan is set to change this by requiring local utilities to accelerate the construction of low-carbon capacity. Japan aims to double its renewable energy generation and have renewables become 40%-50% of its power mix by 2040. The country is also striving to revive nuclear power generation, increase the use of LNG as a transition fuel and upgrade existing coal plants to capture emissions.

 

While these objectives are ambitious, the Japanese government’s priorities and the financial viability of the investments needed to decarbonize remain uncertain. Operational challenges include public sentiment on nuclear and building new renewables capacity at an unprecedented rate. 

Artificial Intelligence

Asian commodity firms accelerate AI adoption amid challenges


Asian commodity firms are accelerating the adoption of AI to enhance decision-making, anticipate market movements and augment supply chain performance. Early returns from AI investments in the energy sector could lower costs by 10%-25%, improve productivity by 3%-8% and increase energy efficiency by 5%-8%, all while facilitating clean energy investments, according to S&P Global.

 

However, navigating regulatory complexities, building effective partnerships and fostering workforce trust are essential for enabling widespread adoption of the technology. With appropriate training and regulation, Asia's commodities sector could play a pivotal role in driving AI-powered innovation, according to speakers at the Financial Times Commodities Asia Summit on Dec. 4.

Private Markets

Saudi Arabia Brief: Private Capital Financing's Untapped Potential


The substantial funding needs of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 program and growth in the small and medium-sized enterprise sector present key opportunities for private capital financing. Financing needs in Saudi Arabia have been high for the past couple of years. This has stimulated strong lending growth that is expected to continue, according to S&P Global Ratings.

 

Saudi Arabia's total public and private sector debt increased by a compound annual growth rate of 12% from 2021 to 2024. This includes bond and sukuk issuances, incremental increases in bank lending and private capital financing. At the same time, private credit financing is relatively new in Saudi Arabia, making it challenging to quantify the market size. Limited transparency and liquidity in the private credit market represent significant hurdles to growth.

In case you missed it

  • M&A activity in the US banking sector cooled in November, with $6.41 billion in total target assets sold across 11 bank deals, after reaching a six-year high in October. There were 165 US bank and thrift deals announced in the year through Nov. 30, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
  • The value of funding rounds backed by private equity and venture capital declined to $25.22 billion in November from $36.19 billion in October, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
  • Russian fuel oil and residue discharges in Singapore increased over 40% year over year to a record of about 5.5 million metric tons in the year through Dec. 3, according to Commodities at Sea, a product of S&P Global Energy.

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