In this TV interview with Al Arabiya aired on 19th February 2026, Dr. Nasser Saidi discussed the weaponization of the US dollar, sanctions, and “economic statecraft” leading to a gradual shift away from dollar assets, including treasuries and the potential competition from the euro and the renminbi. 

Watch the interview here. The Arabic comments and English translation are copied below.

Dr. Nasser Saidi, Chairman of Nasser Saidi & Partners, confirmed that the shifts in global currency markets indicate the beginning of a long race between the euro and the yuan to reduce the dominance of the US dollar in international trade. He pointed out that this race will not be achieved quickly, but may extend over decades.

In an interview with Al Arabiya Business, Saidi stated that approximately 57% of global reserves are held in dollars, while the euro represents only about 20.3%. Furthermore, 80% of global trade financing is conducted in dollars, compared to 6.7% in euros, and international payments represent about 50% in dollars, making its replacement with another currency a lengthy and complex process.

He added that the euro, despite its current role, is not widely traded globally, with the European bond market limited to approximately one trillion euros compared to over 30 trillion dollars in the US markets. This necessitates the establishment of a large, unified market for euro-denominated treasury bonds to enhance its usability in international trade.

Al-Saidi pointed to China’s growing role, emphasizing that the country is striving to transform the yuan (renminbi) into a global currency by allowing capital inflows into the Chinese market and expanding the size of its domestic financial market. He considered the first step to be the use of the yuan in trade finance, particularly with oil-producing economies, before the euro gradually follows.

He explained that this shift reflects China’s increasing dominance in global trade, as it has become illogical to price payments in dollars when China is the largest importer of oil and gas from the Gulf states. This solidifies the position of the “petro-yuan” as a first step towards transforming global trade finance.

Dr. Nasser Saidi’s comments on the PetroYuan appeared in an article  titled “Oil Dollar Pricing Seen Staying, But New Payment Modes Emerging” in Energy Intelligence, published on 8th November 2024. The comments are posted below.

Nasser Saidi, president of Nasser Saidi & Associates, an economic advisory and business consultancy and founder of the Clean Energy Business Council Mena, believes alternatives are no longer pipedreams.

“As geo-eco-political tensions increase and global economic and trade fragmentation increases as a result of Cold War II, we will witness the growth of the PetroYuan for financing China’s O&G with its major oil exporters, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other GCC countries,” he told Energy Intelligence.

He cited reports of Indian oil refiners making payments in rupees for purchase of crude oil from the UAE under the ‘local currency settlement’ system agreed upon by the two countries. More importantly than India, which is the world’s third-largest oil importer, are oil exporters, including Russia, Iraq and Indonesia that have accepted the yuan as payment for crude oil shipments, Saidi said. In 2023, there were 12 major commodity contracts that were settled in non-US dollar currencies.

Saidi doesn’t believe pricing oil in other currencies will be an immediate move and he foresees the emergence of an Asian yuan zone as China increasingly integrates Asian countries into its supply chain. However, as trade and investment sanctions are ratcheted up and the dollar is increasingly weaponized, for example by freezing of Russian US dollar and euro dominated assets, “countries will be encouraged to develop new payment mechanisms that could challenge the dominance of the dollar,” he said.

This could be in the form of adopting the yuan for trade, with the PetroYuan being used both for energy and non-oil trade payments, and settlement, he added. Other options include the extension of the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (Cips), an alternative to Swift, and arranging central bank digital currency (Cbdc) transfers that facilitate cross-border flows such as the successful collaborative effort mBridge. While the Brics bloc announced plans for Brics Bridge, a digital currency cross-border payment solution, as an alternative to the dollar, Saidi said “there is a long while before it becomes operational and/or widely used.”

In a separate article titled “Decarbonization Still in Focus Despite Mideast Geopolitics“, dated 13th Nov 2024, comments on GCC’s energy transition efforts were mentioned. Comments are posted below.

To date, Mideast countries don’t appear to have wavered from their commitments towards the energy transition, said Nasser Saidi, president of Nasser Saidi & Associates, an economic advisory and business consultancy, and founder of the Clean Energy Business Council Mena. “For now, regional geopolitics has had a limited impact on various commitments to energy transition,” Saidi told Energy Intelligence. “However, should funds need to be diverted to increased security and military spending, there would be a delaying impact.”

 The implementation of decarbonization and energy transition strategies are inevitable for countries of the region and will buttress their diversification efforts, Saidi said. It will also help them create new export industries and products like hydrogen, attract foreign investment, and create jobs associated with the green economy and climate risk mitigation and adaptation technologies, he added.

In this interview with Al Arabiya aired on 18th July 2023, Dr. Nasser Saidi discusses the future prospects of the US dollar, central banks’ appetitite for gold, potential for the renminbi and the petroyuan in the context of UAE’s agreement with India to settle trade in rupees instead of the dollar.

Watch the TV interview at this link as part of the related news article: