Asia

GMS, a leading ship recycling company in Dubai, has told its CEO that it has applied for a U.S. licence to purchase and scrap vessels seized by the U.S. Government linked to Venezuelan oil trading. In recent weeks, the U.S. Coast Guard and military have seized seven vessels that either carried Venezuelan oil in their cargo or had done so previously. The seizure was part of Washington’s campaign to force Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro from power, which culminated with U.S. forces capture him on January 3. Oil spills are possible while the vessels remain in the water. They are part...

Hong Kong and the Shanghai Gold Exchange struck a deal Monday to establish a central clearing system for gold, as well as to expand the warehousing capacity to support the city's market. The precious metal has reached a record price of $5,100 per ounce. The agreement signed between Hong Kong's Financial Services, the Treasury Bureau, and the Shanghai Gold Exchange at the Asian Financial Forum formalised the governance for the new Hong Kong Precious Metals Central Clearing Company. This system will begin its trial operation this year. The government announced that Hong Kong's airport authority - which runs the city’s...

The majority of Gulf stock markets fell in early trading on Monday, due to a mixture of 'geopolitical concerns and policy worries. These range from U.S. and NATO tensions over Greenland as well as uncertainty surrounding tariffs and 'growing questions about the independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, warned that he would impose a tariff of 100% on Canada if Canada went ahead with its trade agreement with China. He 'has also threatened to impose a 200% tariff on French wines & champagnes, presumably to pressure French President Emmanuel Macron into signing on?to the Board...

Ship tracking data revealed that the first naphtha shipment for Venezuela, as part of an oil deal reached between Caracas & Washington in this'month', arrived Friday on Venezuelan waters aboard a tanker chartered a trading house Vitol. Caracas, Washington and Venezuela agreed on a $2 billion oil deal this month after the U.S. captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. The agreement covers up to 50,000,000?barrels Venezuelan oil that is in storage. The agreement gives traders Vitol &?Trafigura first access to Venezuelan oil to resell to refineries worldwide. It also includes a?supply? of heavy naphtha, needed to dilute Venezuela's extra-heavy output. According...

India's Adani Group firms lost $12.5 billion on Friday after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked a court to?help? in serving summonses against founder Gautam Adani, and group executive Sagar Adani for an alleged $265 million bribery and fraud scheme. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission requested procedural information in its civil case against Adanis on Thursday, after Indian markets had closed. Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of the Adani Group, fell the most on Friday against India's Nifty 50 benchmark. The Nifty fell 0.95% as the shares of the company dropped 10.65% to 1,864.2 Rupees. The group shares...

The U.S. has warned Tehran to stop killing protesters and not restart its nuclear program in the face of Iran's most violent unrest for years. Analysts warn of a further escalation that could lead?Tehran, or any other country involved in oil exports, to try to close the Strait of Hormuz. Here are some details on the?strait What is the Strait of Hormuz? The Strait is located between Oman, Iran and the Gulf of Oman. It connects the Gulf of Oman in the north with the Arabian Sea to the south. The shipping lane is only 2 miles (3km) wide either...

India's Adani group firms lost $12.5 billion on Friday after the U.S. market regulator requested permission to email personal summonses to group executive Sagar Adani and founder Gautam Adani regarding alleged fraud and $265 million in bribery. The SEC filed the filing Thursday, after the Indian markets had closed. Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of the Adani Group, was the biggest loser in India's benchmark Nifty 50 on?Friday. The Nifty fell 0.95% at close, while the shares of the company dropped 10.65% to 1,864.2 rupies. The group shares dropped between 3.4% to 14.54%. The U.S. Indictment, unsealed on November 20,...

Adani Green Energy, a company in India, reported a 99% decline in its third-quarter profits on Friday. Higher finance costs increased?its expenses while offsetting gains from?strong power sales and improved capacity utilization. Adani Group’s green arm shares were down 13.8%. Stocks of the Adani Group fell between 2% and 11%, after the U.S. SEC requested court approval to email summons to Gautam and Sagar in a $265 million fraud and bribery case. Adani Green's profit consolidated fell to 50 million rupees (544,051.88) in the quarter ending December 31 from 4.74 billion rupees one year earlier. The company's earnings were largely...

Bloomberg News, citing sources familiar with the situation, reported that CK Hutchison was considering a restructured'sale' of dozens ports to a global consortium. This would involve breaking 'the transaction up into smaller parcels, each with a different ownership structure. CK Hutchison - based in the 'Chinese controlled territory' of Hong Kong - has been heavily criticized by Beijing after it announced plans last year to'sell 43 ports across the 23 countries including two near the Panama Canal, to a consortium headed by BlackRock - and Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte’s family-controlled MSC shipping group. The report stated that under the proposed...

According to three industry sources, and LSEG data, Russia's Black Sea Port of Tuapse resumed exports of oil?products last week following a?two -week suspension due to a Ukrainian??drone??? attack. The strike on December 31 damaged equipment at Rosneft and one berth in the port. According to the Krasnodar regional operational headquarters, there is a nearby export-oriented Tuapse refining plant. Since the beginning of the conflict, drones from Ukraine have repeatedly attacked the port and refinery. According to "market sources", at least five tankers have loaded diesel and fuel at Tuapse Port since last week. Cargoes from Rosneft refineries were delivered...

Ukraine's wheat imports were relatively low in the first half January, despite Russian attacks on Ukrainian seaports. The Ukraine is one of the largest European wheat producers and exporters. Since the end last year, Russia's attacks on Ukrainian ports have accelerated, not only targeting port terminals, warehouses, and civilian vessels, but also increasing their intensity. UGA reported that Ukraine exported 292,000 metric tons of grain in the first six months of the year, compared to 293,000 tons during the same period in December. This compares with 610,000 tons between November 1-15. The?economy minister said that wheat exports have totaled 8.2...

The largest airline in Japan announced on Tuesday that strong winds and heavy snowfall caused the cancellation of dozens of flights to and from the northwestern coast. This includes popular ski regions. As of 1 p.m. local (0400 GMT), ANA Holdings cancelled 56 flights, affecting approximately 3,900 passengers. Meanwhile, as?of 11:00 a.m. (0200 GMT), Japan Airlines cancelled 37?flights affecting 2,213?passengers. ANA has said that there will be a delay at some airports because of the continued adverse weather conditions. The New?Chitose Airport in Japan's northernmost Prefecture, Hokkaido, was the most affected. 49 of ANA’s 56 flights were cancelled. Airport is...

Saudi Aramco is the world's biggest oil company. It has issued a bond worth $4 billion in four tranches, attracting a lot of interest from investors. This was its first venture into global debt markets. IFR, the fixed-income news service, reported on Monday that the state-owned oil giant issued $500,000,000, $1.5 Billion, $1.25 Billion, and $750 MILLION in?bonds, with maturities of 3, 5, 10, and 30 years, respectively. IFR reported that the order books for the offering were over $21 billion. This showed strong investor interest, which allowed Aramco, from its initial guidance of $100 bps, to reduce the spread...

Researchers said that efforts to decarbonise Indonesia’s power sector are at risk due to a faster-than-expected increase in the number?of off-grid coal plants?and a lack transparency when it comes to reducing their emissions. Indonesia's captive power plants are built by industries for their own use. They have grown rapidly in recent years due to the growth of the nickel industry in the country. According to a report from the Global Energy Monitor and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, it is difficult to monitor and implement plans to reduce emissions. Lucy Hummer, a GEM researcher, said that...

Two sources reported that Russian crude oil cargoes dated February Urals traded in Indian ports at discounts close to the largest since 2022 compared with dated Brent, amid increased pressure from Western sanctions. The two sources claimed that the 'cargoes' of Urals oil to be supplied in February will trade at a discount of $10 per barrel compared to Brent for delivery to Indian ports. This is a rise from the estimated cargoes loaded in the fall months last year by $3-5 per barrel and close to the largest discount ever recorded. The U.S. targeted oil majors Lukoil & Rosneft...

The energy ministry announced on Monday that Kazakhstan was poised to restart production at its largest oil field. However, industry sources reported that volumes were still very low, and there was still a force majeure in place for CPC Blend exports. Tengiz is Kazakhstan's biggest oilfield. It was recently affected by a number of incidents including drone attacks and power outages. Tengizchevroil led by Chevron temporarily halted the production of oil at Tengiz and Korolev fields on January 18. Chevron announced on Monday that it has resumed oil production without naming the specific field. OIL FIELD POWER RESTORED A Chevron...

The European Union gave its final approval to ban Russian gas imports until late 2027. This is nearly four years after Moscow invaded Ukraine in full force. At a meeting held in Brussels, Monday, ministers of EU countries voted to approve the law. Slovakia and Hungary did not vote for it and Bulgaria abstained. Hungary announced that it would be challenging the law before?the European Court of Justice. The ban was intended to be approved with a broader majority, which would allow it to overcome the opposition of Hungary and Slovakia who are heavily dependent on Russian energy imports, and...

Saudi Aramco offered indicative pricing on four-tranche, dollar-denominated bond, according to a term sheet viewed by. The deal is likely to raise billions for the world's largest oil exporter. The 'indicative' price for the three year debt sale was set at 100 basis points above U.S. Treasuries. For the five-year, it was 115 basis points higher. And the 10-year and 30-year bonds, 125 and 165 basis point over Treasuries. Aramco's last foray into the debt market was in September when it raised $3 billion through a?sale of sukuk or Islamic bonds. This followed a bond issue in May that raised...

MTT Shipping and Logistics Bhd announced on 'Monday that it received approval from the Securities Commission Malaysia to proceed with its proposed listing on Bursa Malaysia main board. The Malaysian maritime logistic group that provides container liners, vessel chartering and container storage services said their initial public offering would consist of 633.5 new shares. Existing shares will not be sold, so all proceeds 'would go to the company. The statement did not disclose any financial or timing details. MTT Shipping plans to use proceeds from the IPO 'to fund growth including the acquisition and development of integrated freight systems, especially?to...

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Kazakhstan's main oil export pipeline, returned to full capacity on Sunday at its terminalon the Russian Black Sea Coast after maintenance was completed at its three moorings points and a crude tanker was loaded, according to the pipeline. Kazakhstan, the 12th largest oil producer in the world, has been facing a number of challenges in recent months. These include an attack by a Ukrainian drone on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) in late November, which caused the pipeline to pump at below capacity, and a shutdown in production earlier this month at the vast Tengiz field....

Kyiv’s grid operator said that Ukraine’s energy situation “significantly” worsened Friday following recent Russian air attacks. This triggered emergency power outages across most regions. This grim assessment came after a statement made by Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal, who said on Thursday that Ukraine’s energy system has experienced its worst day since the November 2022 blackout when Russia started bombing Ukraine’s power grid. Moscow has intensified airstrikes over the past few weeks, further damaging infrastructure that was already badly damaged and leaving many people without heat and power during this subzero cold spell. Ukrenergo announced on Telegram that several power plants...

The staff at Kyiv Zoo work around the clock in freezing temperatures to keep Tony, the 'gorilla' and other animals warm. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reiterated his call to citizens on Friday, urging them to find temporary shelter outside of the city due to fears about further strikes. Tony, 51, and the other residents of the zoo who have suffered for so long are not able to leave. Kyrylo Trantin, the zoo's chief, said that he could not tell Tony to go to rural Ukraine. "He does not have a grandmother in the country... where he can stay." Five times...

The company reported that a senior executive of Ukraine's state-owned grid operator Ukrenergo was killed?while overseeing repairs to a damaged power facility,? caused by a Russian strike. The company didn't say how Oleksiy died. They only called it "tragic". Evropeiska Pravyda, an unnamed local media outlet, reported that Brekht died after receiving a shock from one of the substations. The company posted a statement on social media saying that "Death... caught up with him" where he felt it necessary to be in order to "restore light as quickly as possible to the people." Ukrenergo didn't immediately reply to a question...

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, said on Wednesday that more than half of Kyiv was still without electricity a day after Russian strikes against energy facilities. Ukrainians are enduring a bitter cold snap. Kyiv residents are a diverse group. Cold apartments Since a recent Russian attack on a grid that has been battered for nearly four years by missile and drone attacks, the grid is only getting a few hours or no electricity at all. Zelenskiy reported on X that "as of this morning about 4,000 buildings in Kyiv still lack heat and almost 60% of the capital is...