South-East Asia

Sources in the industry said that tanker freight rates to ship Urals crude oil from Russia's western port to India increased further at the end of September and in early October. This was in response to a dramatic increase in loadings in August. Indian refiners are continuing to import Russian oil, despite the punitive U.S. duties on Indian goods after India refused to stop importing Russian oil. The increase in crude exports to Russia's west ports of Primorsk (Ust-Luga), Novorossiisk and Ust-Luga from August was 500,000 barrels a day, a record. This is due to unplanned refinery repairs. The sources...

Two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday that MMC Port Holdings, a Malaysian company, has decided to delay its planned IPO until next year in order to include its financial results for 2025. The listing is initially scheduled for the fourth quarter 2025. It could raise over $1.5 billion. This would be the largest IPO since IHH Healthcare debuted in 2012 with $2.1 billion. It could also provide a boost to the domestic capital markets. According to sources, the company is reevaluating the timing of its listing in order to provide more detailed financial disclosures including results for...

Vietnam evacuated thousands from areas that could be affected by Typhoon Bualoi on Sunday, as the storm intensified. Days earlier, the Philippines had been hit with widespread flooding and at least 10 fatalities. According to Vietnam's National Weather Forecast Agency, the typhoon is expected to land in central Vietnam on Sunday evening, sooner than forecasts because it is moving fast. This is a storm that moves at nearly twice the speed of average, with a strong intensity and wide area of impact. The storm is capable of triggering several natural disasters at once, including strong winds, heavy rain, flooding, flash-floods,...

Three market sources have confirmed that the Russian energy company Novatek resumed processing gas condensate at its second unit in Ust-Luga, which had been damaged by an August 24 drone attack. The fire caused a complete shutdown, including fuel loading, and is one of many disruptions in Russia's energy sector as Ukraine intensifies drone attacks during the ongoing conflict between neighbours. The company had to cut back on naphtha and restart shipments of stable condensate for international markets after two of the three units were damaged in varying degrees. Sources claim that Novatek re-started processing in the second unit, which...

Officials said that Thai authorities were rushing to stop a sinkhole in central Bangkok, which was disrupting traffic and utilities. The sinkhole was about 900 square meters in size and extended 50 metres deep (164 feet). It stopped traffic. Social media footage showed the road sinking slowly as water poured from a drain pipe and dragged down electrical poles. The hospital said it would not accept any patients during this incident. Anutin Charnvirakul, Prime Minister of Thailand, told reporters that dirt from an underground construction project was slipping in. "Fortunately, there have been no fatalities or injuries." Bangkok Governor Chadchart...

MMC Port, Malaysia’s largest port operator, announced on Monday that it had received approval from the Securities Commission. This cleared a major hurdle in its plans to list on Bursa Malaysia this October, which would be the biggest IPO for the country in the last 13 years. MMC Port announced that it would offer up to 4.3 Billion Shares, which represents around 30% of its capital. The majority of the shares will be allocated to Malaysian institutional investors and select third parties. The initial public offering will allow retail investors to purchase 284.8 million shares. Reports in July indicated that...

The Global Times reported that Chinese-controlled Sea Legend would launch its first direct China-Europe via the Arctic route this week. This move is expected to reduce express shipping time between the two locations by almost half. The state-run paper reported that Sea Legend would send its first vessel via the North Sea Route on September 24. It cited a statement by the Ningbo Zhoushan Port. It said the journey would take 18 days. The NSR is now more accessible to goods from China, which have traditionally taken at least 40 days to travel around the Cape of Good Hope. In...

Bloomberg News reported Monday that Hong Kong International Airport plans to suspend all flights for 36-hours as it prepares for the strongest super typhoon in recent years. The report said that airport and aviation officials will stop all flights as early as 6 pm (1000 GMT) Tuesday until 6 am on Thursday due to the Super Typhoon Ragasa's advance. Airport Authority Hong Kong spokesperson said that it was closely monitoring Ragasa's progress and had begun preparing for the super typhoon. According to the report, an official announcement will be made on Monday. The Hong Kong Observatory also plans to issue...

The manager of a chemical tanker with Liberian flag said that the vessel was undamaged, and its captain is still in command, despite reports of an attack on the coast of Saudi Arabia by the Houthi militia of Yemen. Eastern Pacific Shipping, based in Singapore, said that it was aware of reports claiming that the vessel Scarlet Ray had been targeted by a suspected Houthi-inspired attack. We confirm that the vessel is not damaged and that it continues to be operated under the master's command. All crew members are safe and well. Yemen's Houthis claimed on Monday that they fired...

Four market sources reported on Monday that the Russian energy company Novatek would reduce its naphtha exports, and may resume shipments to international markets of stable gas condensate due to an inferno at their complex located in Ust-Luga port. The regional governor stated on his Telegram account that debris from a destroyed Ukrainian UAV caused an early morning fire at Novatek’s Ust-Luga Terminal on 24 August. According to market sources, the complex was closed on Sunday. Two sources say that while the full impact of the fire is not yet known, at least one unit of processing was damaged. According...

Lobito Atlantic Railway's (LAR) CEO said that the company aims to complete by the end this year a loan agreement worth $533 million with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. This deal is crucial for upgrading its Angolan concession. The U.S. Development lender pledged a $533 million loan by 2024 for the upgrade of 1,300 km (800 miles) in railways, and to provide a fast route to haul minerals which are crucial to the global switch to cleaner energy. Angola granted LAR, a consortium of Trafigura Mota-Engil Vecturis SA a 30-year contract in 2022 to operate the rail line and...

A London court heard that lawyers representing Indian businessman Prateek gupta failed to attend a hearing Monday due to funding problems in a longstanding fraud case brought by commodity traders Trafigura regarding nickel cargoes. Trafigura of Geneva, a major industrial metals trader and oil company, sued Gupta for $60 million in fraud in February 2023. It claimed that it was the victim in a $600-million nickel cargo scam masterminded by Gupta. Gupta said that Trafigura employees designed the scheme in the middle of the case, which substituted low-grade materials like scrap with high-grade Nickel. Trafigura, its employees and the company...

Two sources familiar with the matter said that JD.Com's property investment arm and two other firms are planning to launch a Singapore based real estate trust (REIT), with assets valued at potentially more than $1 billion. Sources said that JD Property (the unlisted infrastructure investment platform and asset management platform for JD.Com) is creating the REIT in partnership with Partners Group, a Swiss investment firm, and EZA Hill Property which is backed up by Asian investment firm Hillhouse. Sources who refused to name themselves because the matter was private said that the REIT plan could be listed at the Singapore...

Australian data centre operator AirTrunk on Tuesday said it secured an A$16 billion ($10.40 billion) sustainability-linked refinancing for its Asia-Pacific operations. AirTrunk, in a website statement, said that this refinancing includes a S$2,25 billion green loan to build a data center in Singapore. This makes AirTrunk APAC's largest sustainable financier. AirTrunk, a hyperscale data center firm, announced that it had secured the support of 60 banks and financial institutions. This brings its total financing including operations in Japan to more than A$18 billion. The company, which was acquired by a Blackstone-led group for A$24 billion late last year, introduced a...

Five sources with knowledge of the matter claim that Trafigura, a commodity trader, is shipping large quantities of zinc from Singapore to the United States. The zinc was stored in London Metal Exchange-approved warehouses. Trafigura is yet to reveal how much zinc it has taken or will take from the LME warehouses located in Singapore or why they are taking the metal to the United States. Concerns about the LME market's supply have helped to push benchmark zinc prices up 5% this month, to $2,850 per metric ton, while the discount to the cash contract is now near zero. ....

Gupta claimed in a court filing that a letter from Trafigura sent to Prateek Gupta’s company, warning them not to raise suspicions with Citi regarding nickel cargoes, provided evidence that the commodity traders were aware of fraud. In February 2023, Geneva-based Trafigura sued Indian businessman Gupta claiming it was the victim of $600-million nickel cargo fraud. Gupta had previously claimed in his defense that Trafigura employees were responsible for the scheme at the heart of the case. Gupta’s lawyers added the new letter to an amended defence document filed last week, which was released by court. Trafigura is a major...

LME data on Thursday showed that the proportion of aluminium stock of Russian origin registered in warehouses at the London Metal Exchange fell to 66% from 69% in may, but the proportion of Indian origin rose to 34%. The LME has prohibited metal produced in Russia from its warehouse system after April 13, 2024 to comply with U.S., British and European sanctions imposed due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine 2022. Metal made before this date can still trade. Stocks of aluminium with Russian origin, or those on warrant The end of June saw little change, with 221,875 tons. A LME...

Data from the London Metal Exchange showed that the proportion of aluminium with Russian origin registered in the warehouses of the London Metal Exchange fell to 69% from 89% in the month of April. The percentage of Indian origin increased to 30% from 10%. To comply with U.S., British and European sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the LME has banned all metals produced in Russia from its warehouse system after April 13, 2024. Metal made before April 13, 2024 can still be traded. Stocks of aluminium with Russian origin, or those on warrant The number of metric...

Two people with knowledge of the deal said that Shein, an online retailer specialising in fast fashion, is leasing its first warehouse in Vietnam. This could help reduce the company's exposure to the unpredictable trade tensions between the U.S. and China. Shein, a company founded in China that sells items such as $5 bike shorts or $18 sundresses has agreed to lease 15 hectares for an industrial warehouse near Ho Chi Minh City. This is the commercial and trading center of Vietnam, according to the two sources, who declined to identify themselves because the information wasn't public. A tit-fortat China-U.S....

LME data released on Monday showed that the proportion of aluminium with Russian origin registered in warehouses at the London Metal Exchange increased to 89% from 88%, and the proportion of Indian origin decreased to 10% from 11 %. To comply with U.S., British and European sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the LME has banned all metals produced in Russia from its warehouse system after April 13, 2024. Metal made before April 13, 2024 can still be traded. Stocks of aluminium with Russian origin, or those on warrant The end-of-April figure was 223,900 tons, up from 200...

LME data on Thursday showed that the proportion of aluminium with Russian origin registered in warehouses at the London Metal Exchange increased to 88% from 75%, and the percentage of Indian origin decreased to 11%. To comply with U.S., British and European sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the LME has banned all metals produced in Russia from its warehouse system after April 13, 2024. Metal made before April 13, 2024 can still be traded. Stocks of aluminium with Russian origin, or those on warrant The end-of-March figure was 200,700 tons, up from 155125 tons in February. The...

LME data released on Monday showed that the proportion of aluminium with Russian origin registered in warehouses at the London Metal Exchange increased to 75% from 67%, and the share of Indian origin decreased to 24%. According to traders, the majority of the aluminium in LME registered warehouses at Port Klang in Malaysia is of Indian origin. This is what Western consumers are looking for, as many have refused to purchase metal made in Russia ever since Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago. Stocks of aluminium with Russian origin, or those on warrant At the end February, the total metric...

LME data on Monday showed that the number of Russian-made aluminium in London Metal Exchange storage warehouses was up in January compared to December. The amount of Indian metal, however, fell. According to traders, the majority of the aluminium in LME registered warehouses at Port Klang in Malaysia is of Indian origin. This is what Western consumers are looking for, as many have refused to purchase metal made in Russia after it invaded Ukraine almost three years ago. Stocks of aluminium with Russian origin, or those on warrant At the end January, the total reached 164 475 metric tonnes, or...

According to a survey published on Tuesday, the stricter traffic regulations in place since the beginning of the year have caused disruptions and increased costs in the transport and logistics industry in Vietnam. New road safety regulations have increased the fines for serious traffic offences such as disregarding traffic lights. The new regulations are also more significant for the logistics industry in Southeast Asia's industrial and export hub because they require truck drivers to take a 15-minute break after every four hours driving. In a survey of more than 460 employees and executives, mainly from the logistics sector and distribution,...