South Korea's Ministry of Industry said that Seoul seeks to reduce its dependence on crude oil coming from the Middle East to 50 percent by 2035, as part of efforts by Asia's fourth-largest economy to diversify energy sources after the turmoil caused by the Iran war.
In its ten-year plan for natural resources security, the ministry added that South Korea needs a “radical transformation” in supply chains, citing lessons learned from the Iranian war that disrupted global energy flows.
South Korea relies heavily on oil imports, and the ministry said it obtained 70 percent of its supplies from the Middle East in 2025, most of which arrived through the Strait of Hormuz.
The ministry stated that South Korea is also seeking to secure additional quantities of condensate, which is a very light oil that is often used in the production of naphtha.
South Korea has been suffering from a shortage of naphtha, the basic raw material for the petrochemical industry, since the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East.
As for natural gas, the government aims to reduce its dependence on imports from the Middle East to less than 30 percent by 2035.
Japanese group SoftBank has begun receiving investor requests to issue $10 billion in dollar-denominated bonds. With the aim of helping to finance its investments in “Open AI”, in a move that reflects the huge financing needs of the group’s increasing bet on artificial intelligence.
According to a terms sheet, seen by Reuters, the group aims to raise $1 billion through bonds with a maturity of three and a half years, and $4.5 billion in bonds with a maturity of five and a half years, in addition to $4.5 billion in bonds that mature after seven and a half years.
The price guidance for shorter-term bonds ranges between 8.75 and 8.875 percent, rising to between 9.375 and 9.5 percent for the medium segment, while reaching a range between 9.75 and 9.875 percent for longer-term bonds.
If the $10 billion issuance is completed, it will become the largest sale of high-yield bonds ever by an issuer in Asia Pacific and Japan, surpassing SoftBank's previous record of $7.35 billion set in 2021, according to LSEG data.
The issuance will also become the third largest high-yield bond deal in the world, highlighting the amount of financing that the Japanese group is mobilizing to support its investment strategy.
The bonds are expected to receive a “BB+” rating from Standard & Poor’s and Fitch. The subscription books are scheduled to close at noon, New York time, on Wednesday, with settlement taking place on September 29.
The high return levels reveal the cost that SoftBank bears in obtaining financing, at a time when it is intensifying its investments related to artificial intelligence. The group places “Open AI” at the heart of its strategy for this sector, which makes the success of the bond issuance an important test of investors’ appetite to finance its ambitious expansion.
Fatih Karahan, Governor of the Turkish Central Bank, said that the data indicate a continued decline in inflation despite the difficult conditions in terms of supply, stressing that inflation expectations call for continued caution.
In a presentation in New York, Karahan explained that supply-side shocks materially affect the overall inflation rate, and that inflation in the services sector continues but its underlying trend has slowed recently.
He added that economic growth slowed with weak domestic demand, as indicators indicate a further slowdown in demand during the third quarter.
He pointed out that external shocks and domestic transmission channels will determine the path of future inflation, while foreign exchange reserves remain strong.
