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India's BluSmart, a rival to Uber, suspends its operations after a co-founder is investigated
The Indian electric taxi service BluSmart, a competitor to Uber, has suspended its services after an investigation by a market regulator found that a cofounder had misused funds in an affiliated company and purchased a luxury apartment using money meant for electric vehicles. BluSmart was a pioneer in India's clean-energy boom, but its abrupt suspension threatens the livelihoods of thousands of taxi drivers. It set up charging stations in cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, where it had more than 8,000 taxis to compete with Uber and Ola. Both ride-hailing companies rely heavily on gasoline-powered fleets. BluSmart sent an email to its customers on Thursday saying: "We have decided to temporarily shut down bookings for the BluSmart App", but without providing any reason. The email came in response to social media concerns about funds being blocked in BluSmart wallets. It stated that the company would only initiate a refund "if services are not resumed before then." BluSmart didn't respond to any questions. The company was backed by bp Ventures, a British oil giant BP arm, and told 2023 that it had a 9% share of the market in New Delhi. India's stock market regulator banned brothers Anmol Jaggi and Puneet Jagadi from the market this week and ordered a forensic examination of their listed solar company in Mumbai, Gensol. Gensol used to purchase electric vehicles and lease them out for ride-hailing services. Anmol Jaggi, one of the co-founders and managing director of Gensol, is also a co-founder of BluSmart. The market regulator stated in an order issued this week that there was "a complete breakdown in internal controls and corporate Governance norms at Gensol"...the fund diversion occurred primarily in the context electric vehicle (EV), purchases intended to be leased to a related third party. Through layered transactions the funds Gensol received as loans to purchase EVs was partly used to buy a luxury apartment at The Camellias DLF, one of India's priciest apartment complexes. Gensol says it will follow the directives of the market regulator.
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Malaysia Aviation Group to report $12 Million Net Profit in 2024
Malaysia Aviation Group (Malaysia Airlines' parent company) reported on Thursday a net income of 54 million Ringgit ($12.24million) for the 2024 financial period. Malaysia Airlines is still struggling to recover two deadly disasters In 2014, the airline temporarily reduced its capacity by 18% last year after it was You can find out more about it here The Malaysian civil aviation authority found several safety and maintenance problems. Izham Ismail, MAG's managing director, told a press briefing that despite the capacity cuts the passenger traffic remained strong in the premium segment. Both the passengers and the cargo segments had higher load factors. MAG stated that the capacity reductions in the fourth quarter 2024 are due to supply chain disruptions which have extended maintenance times and delayed new aircraft deliveries. Malaysia Airlines was delisted from the stock exchange in 2014. Khazanah Nasional, a sovereign wealth fund, then acquired ownership of MAG. In 2023, MAG reported its net profit after tax and interest since the 2015 restructuring. MAG is constantly growing and upgrading its fleet. Last month, it was said that Would buy Boeing will sell 18 737 MAX 8, 12 737 MAX 10, and an additional 30 jets with the option of purchasing more. Izham stated that MAG is committed to replacing its aging fleet but operational disruptions remain a challenge. He said that "global supply chain disruptions, and delivery delays, have affected the pace." The MAG Group includes Malaysia Airlines, Firefly and Amal, a pilgrimage airline. ($1 = 4.410 ringgit) Reporting by Danial Zahar, Writing by Lisa Barrington, Editing by Kim Coghill & Gerry Doyle
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Vietnam boosts power capacity with $136 billion plan
The government announced late Wednesday that Vietnam plans to increase its installed power generation capacity from 80 GW to between 183 and 236 Gigawatts (GW) by 2030. This is an increase of more than 80 GB at the end 2023. In a press release, the government announced that the plan would focus on the development of renewable energy and include nuclear power for the first. The Southeast Asian nation, an industrial hub in the region, wants to increase its capacity for electricity production to support its rapidly growing economy and achieve its carbon neutrality pledge by 2050. According to the PDP8 plan, solar power will make up 25,3%-31,1% of total installed capacity in 2030. Onshore and nearshore winds will represent 14,2%-16,1%. The report said that coal-fired plants would account for between 13.1%-16.9%, hydropower will be 14.7%-18.2%, and plants using natural gas liquefied will make up 9.5%-12.3%. The government stated that the country aims to have its first nuclear plants in operation between 2030-2035 with a combined capacity of 4.0 GW - 6.4 GW. The goal is to reach 6 GW-17 GW offshore wind power between 2030 and 2035. Investors have been concerned by the authorities' announcement of a retroactive adjustment to preferential pricing for solar and onshore-wind energy producers. According to the statement, Vietnam will need $136.3 billion in total investments for 2026-2030, which includes $118.2 for new power plants, and $18.1 for its grid. (Reporting and editing by John Mair, Alan Barona and Francesco Guarascio)
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Railroad operator CSX misses quarterly estimates as coal revenue falls
CSX, the railroad operator, reported revenue and profit for its first quarter below Wall Street expectations on Wednesday. Gains in intermodal revenue were offset by a drop in coal revenue as well as a fuel surcharge. The demand for coal has been hindered by the switch to natural gas, which is cheaper. However, this trend will change now that President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this month to increase coal production. In a press release, CEO Joe Hinrichs stated that "CSX experienced operational challenges at the beginning of the year which contributed to results in the first quarter not meeting our expectations". The volume of intermodal shipping (which involves more than one means of transporting goods) increased by 2.1% during the third quarter. However, coal dropped 8.5%. LSEG data shows that the company's revenue for the quarter ending March 31 was $3.42 billion, below the $3.47 billion analysts had predicted. It reported a loss of 34 cents, which was also below the 37 cents expected. CSX’s operating margin was down to 30.4% for the third quarter, from 36.3% a year earlier. After-hours trading showed that shares of the Jacksonville-based company had a slight decline. (Reporting and editing by Maju Sam in Bengaluru, Anshuman Shetti and Utkarsh shetti from Bengaluru)
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Cosan's Edge imports Argentinean gas to Brazil via Bolivia
Edge, a Brazilian conglomerate owned by Cosan, announced on Wednesday that it had imported Argentinean natural gas to Brazil via Bolivia for the very first time. The operation was carried out in partnership with Tecpetrol Argentina, which produces 25 millions cubic meters of gas daily in the country. The volumes were not disclosed by either firm. This operation is a follow-up to the first import by Brazil using Bolivian infrastructure. TotalEnergies export gas from Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale to Brazil's Matrix Energia earlier this month. The two operations made use of the existing infrastructure for gas pipelines between the three countries. This has raised hopes that Brazil will start receiving more volumes from Argentina, as it develops Vaca Muerta. Ricardo Markous, CEO of Tecpetrol, said that Vaca Muerta has a lot of potential. "There's a big opportunity. And transport capacity expansions have been planned and are in progress," Markous stated. Edge, which is involved in gas trading as well as infrastructure and logistics projects within the segment, will be supplying gas from Argentina. (Reporting and writing by Leticia fucuchima, Editing by Margueritachoy)
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Pipeline operator Kinder Morgan misses first-quarter profit estimates
Kinder Morgan, the U.S. operator of pipelines and terminals, narrowly missed Wall Street's expectations for its first-quarter profits on Wednesday. This was due to a decline in its pipeline products segment and increased costs. The energy industry is bracing for the impact of U.S. president Donald Trump's tariffs against most Canadian and Mexican imports. These include levies on imports of steel, "reciprocal tariffs" on other nations as well as falling oil prices. Kinder Morgan, however, left its profit forecasts unchanged because it continues to bet on a rise in the demand for natural gas. The terminal operator said that tariffs will not have a major impact on the project's economics. Kim Dang, CEO, said: "We started efforts to mitigate potential impacts early in the third quarter by preordering key project components, negotiating cost caps, and securing local steel and mill capacities for our larger project backlog, which represents two-thirds our project backlog." The first-quarter adjusted earnings at its Products Pipelines segment fell by 5.8%, to $274M, due to the planned 10-year turnaround of a petroleum condensate treatment facility on the Houston Ship Channel, as well as the lower oil price. Kinder Morgan's operating costs increased to $3.1 billion from $2.62 in the first quarter of last year. According to data compiled and analyzed by LSEG, the Houston-based company posted an adjusted profit per share of 34 cents for the three-month period ended March 31. This was lower than analysts' estimates of 35 cents. Reporting by Vallari Shrivastava, Bengaluru. Editing by Alan Barona.
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Siemens Energy increases outlook after exceeding forecasts in second quarter
Siemens Energy raised its outlook on Wednesday for the current financial year. It cited a strong performance across all its business areas, which provide equipment and service to the global energy industry. The group expects to increase sales by 13-15% in 2025 compared to 8-10%. The free cash flow before tax is expected to be around 4 billion euro ($4.55 billion). Siemens Energy cited a "positive development in business" without giving more context. The second-quarter profit of Siemens Energy before special items grew more than five times to 906 millions euros. This is a margin that beat the consensus by 9.1%. The company that manufactures and services wind and gas turbines, power grids and electrolysers, among other equipment, benefits from the surge in global demand for electricity, a trend driven partly by data centres required for AI technology. The news led to a 2.6% increase in the price of the Frankfurt-listed shares, which are scheduled to release the final results for the second quarter on May 8.
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Algeria purchases about 540,000 T of wheat at tender, traders report
Initial assessments by European traders indicate that Algeria's state grain agency OAIC purchased approximately 540,000 metric tonnes of milling wheat at an international auction which closed on Tuesday. Estimates of the volume purchased ranged up to 600,000. They reported that the average purchase price was between $267 and $267.50 per metric ton, including freight. Most traders estimate $267.50 per ton. The reports reflect the opinions of traders, and it is still possible to estimate prices and volume later. Algeria usually buys much more than 50,000 tons. Wheat can be supplied from any approved origin. The traders initially thought that the majority of the wheat they purchased would come from the Black Sea area, namely Ukraine, Romania, and Bulgaria. Initial reports did not include purchases of French wheat. Traders claim that a diplomatic rift in France and Algeria has led the Algerian grains agency OAIC, to exclude French wheat and trading firms from its tenders. Wheat was requested for shipment from two main regions, including Europe: June 1-15 & June 16-30. The shipment date is one month sooner if the wheat comes from South America or Australia. Reporting by Michael Hogan, Hamburg; Sybille De La Hamaide, Gus Trompiz and Kirby Donovan in Paris.
Orlen wants to sell 1 billion cubic meters of gas to Ukraine before September, according to sources
Two sources familiar with the matter said that Orlen, a Polish company, aims to deliver 10 LNG cargoes to Ukraine in 2010, as Kyiv tries to fill its gas storage facilities before winter.
After Russian shelling, Ukraine has been left with nearly empty storage facilities and damaged production equipment. It is now looking to expand its gas transit routes, and purchase large volumes of U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) via Germany, Greece and Poland.
Sources said Orlen includes gas supplied by the United States. The United States has called for Europe to purchase more energy from it and provides important military and financial assistance to Ukraine.
Orlen wants up to 10 cargoes or 1 billion cubic meters (bcm), of gas to be sold to Ukraine before September. This includes two cargoes that have already been sold to the state-controlled Naftogaz.
One of the sources stated that Orlen, in addition to Naftogaz is also discussing the issue of liquefied natural gas supply with Ukraine's biggest private energy company DTEK. Orlen is planning to buy cargoes on the spot market for Ukraine, according to the source.
DTEK Orlen Naftogaz all declined to comment.
Orlen's production of gas grew by 20% in the last year, thanks to increased production in Norway. Orlen, with its LNG import contracts, pipeline capacity and reserved regasification, has more gas available than Poland's own consumption.
The existing interconnector will have a capacity increase by the beginning of 2026, allowing Poland to supply gas to Ukraine up to 7 million cubic meters (mcm).
The Ukraine needs to import LNG at least four billion cubic meters for the heating season 2025/26. (Reporting and editing by David Goodman, Pavel Polityuk, and Marek Strzelecki)
(source: Reuters)