Asia

Mohd Edrees The stock markets of the United Arab Emirates ended slightly higher on February 6, as investors awaited the latest news from Iran, and the high-stakes talks between the United States and Iran regarding Tehran's nuclear program. Dubai's main market has now gained for the fifth consecutive session, with a 0.2% increase to its highest level in early 2006. Oman, as the mediator between Iran and America, began negotiations on Friday. Both sides have shown willingness to negotiate. revive diplomacy Washington wants to extend the talks with Iran to cover its?nuclear dispute?with the West. Ballistic missiles U.S. Secretary Of...

Aerospace Times: Chinese civil drone manufacturer?Feipeng? is accelerating their global expansion with a focus in?Southeast Asia and the Middle East as they seek to navigate fierce domestic competition. The domestic Chinese market has become too competitive. Harry Kang said that Feipeng must go overseas. He made the statement on the sidelines at the Singapore Airshow where the company, which is not listed, is exhibiting. China's manufacturers, which are the top drone makers in the world, are testing heavier payloads, while transport companies plan air taxi services with and without crews. This is because the country has loosened airspace restrictions, and...

Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison announced on Wednesday that its 'Panama Ports Company' unit had initiated international arbitration proceedings against Panama, after the country’s top court annulled their licences to run two Panama Canal port. The Supreme Court of Panama ruled last week that the contracts were in violation of the constitution because they gave the company "exclusive privileges" and tax exemptions. Analysts said that it is not clear how long arbitration proceedings will last, but given the political sensitivities between the U.S., China, and the complexity, they could go on for several years. This is a good example of how...

After an incident that occurred?on?Tuesday, in which Iranian gunboats approached U.S. flagged tankers in the strategic waterway to the north of Oman, it has been brought back into focus. The U.S. Military also announced on Tuesday that it had shot down a?drone? from Iran which "aggressively approached" its Abraham Lincoln aircraft carriers in the Arabian Sea. This is the most visible part in a U.S. buildup of military forces in the Middle East. Analysts have said for years that an escalation of tension in the region may lead Tehran to try to close the strait, or target the tankers. Here...

Estonia's Tax and Customs Board announced late Tuesday that it had detained in Estonian internal waters a container vessel sailing under the Bahamian Flag. The ship may have been involved in smuggling from Ecuador. The authority stated that there was "reason to believe" the vessel could have been used as a smuggling vessel. "The special police unit K-Commando boarded a ship. After?which?the vessel?was detained?under national supervision to carry out a Customs Inspection". They added that the ship, Baltic Spirit, is not a part of the Russian shadow fleet and it is also not subject to sanctions imposed by the European...

The Malaysian shipper announced on Wednesday that it and its Japanese partner had secured a 10-year charter agreement with Norway's Northern Lights joint venture to operate a new liquefied carbon dioxide carrier. The carrier will run on both LNG and conventional marine diesel. MISC announced this in a press release. The company said that it will transport liquefied carbon dioxide from industrial capture sites to permanent offshore storage in Norway. MISC announced that a second time-charter for a new-build CO2 liquefied carrier will be awarded by April. The new 'carriers' are expected to arrive between the second and first halves...

Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison announced on Wednesday that its Panama Ports Company division has initiated international arbitration proceedings against Panama, after a Panamanian court annulled the company's licences to run two?Panama Canal port. Panama's Supreme Court canceled last week CK Hutchison’s contract to run two Panama Canal Ports at the core of a $23 billion deal?to sale the Hong Kong conglomerate’s global port assets. Court said that the contract of Panama Ports Company, a subsidiary of CK Hutchison, violated 'Panama’s 'constitution because it gave the company exclusive tax exemptions and privileges. Analysts said that it is difficult to predict how...

China warned Panama that it would pay "heavy" prices if a court decision in Panama annulled the contract of Hong Kong's CK Hutchison to operate?two port at the Panama Canal. China's Hong Kong & Macau?Affairs Office branded the ruling of Panama's Supreme Court as "absurd", "shameful, and pathetic" and vowed that it would defend the interests Chinese firms. The Panamanian authorities didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. The court's ruling last week invalidated a contract held by Panama Ports Company (a CK Hutchison subordinate) since the 1990s to operate container terminals on the Pacific and Atlantic entrances of...

India's Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone raised its ?annual core earnings forecast on Tuesday, driven by a higher-than-anticipated growth ?and the acquisition of an export terminal in Australia. This and?U.S. The stock of the company soared by up to 9.54% after President Donald Trump announced a reduction in tariffs on Indian products, boosting the markets. The company, which is part of the billionaire Gautam adani-led group has raised its upper limit of core?earnings for the fiscal year that ends March 2026 to 228 billion Indian rupees (US$2.53 billion). Ankita Shah said that the revenue growth was in line with...

Shipping data shows that Venezuelan oil exports increased to 800,000 barrels a day (bpd), from 498,000 in December. This was after the U.S. captured Nicolas Maduro, and the end of a blockade on oil, which allowed traders to carry the majority of exports. Washington imposed a crude oil embargo against the U.S. sanctioned country to put pressure on Maduro in December and seized 7 tankers. The blockade caused the accumulation of 40 million barrels crude oil and fuel in tanks and vessels onshore that couldn't be exported, forcing Venezuela's state energy company PDVSA (the Venezuelan government-owned energy company) to reduce...

Due to a limited global supply of liquefied petroleum gas, Saudi Arabia's Aramco and Algeria's Sonatrach raised their official'selling prices' for the product in February between 1% and 5,3%. Saudi Aramco’s February OSP?increased $20 per metric ton, to $545?per ton For propane, the price has increased by $20 per ton. Butane LPG comes in two types: butane and propane. They have different boiling points. LPG is used primarily as a fuel for cars and heating, as well as a feedstock to make other petrochemicals. Sonatrach has increased its February OSP for propane from $500 to $25 per ton. For?butane, the...

Analysts said that the near 9% decline in copper prices over the past two days is a return to "reality" for a market, whose recent surge of record highs was 'ahead of?the fundamentals. More losses are likely. They say that weak demand, increasing stockpiles and the possibility of increased supplies made it clear that copper's record-breaking rally last Thursday to $14,527.50 per metric ton was not sustainable. Alice Fox, Macquarie's analyst, said that prices had risen far beyond the fundamentals. "Investors were rushing into the market and pushing up prices", she added. "We believe the market was in a global...

Traders and LSEG data show that Russia has increased its naphtha exports to STS and port storage hubs, as key buyers reduce imports due to?Western sanction pressure. Since the European Union's full embargo against Russian oil products went into effect in February 2023?,?most? of?Russian naphtha is being directed towards the Middle East and Asia. India and Taiwan were among the largest Asian buyers. However, recent U.S. sanction have caused both countries to withdraw. According to LSEG, Taiwan hasn't imported Russian naphtha from the beginning of 2026. This compares with 2.7?million tonnes in 2025. Shipping data showed that traders were avoiding...

Urals crude differentials are under pressure after Thursday's'sellers' faced weak demand from India following a?trade?deal? that New Delhi made with Washington, which will result in India cutting purchases of Russian oil. The Russian oil market is increasingly exposed to China, so traders were forced to offer greater discounts to China as the largest buyer of Russian crude oil. The discounts on Russian oil exported to China have reached a new record this week, as sellers reduced prices to attract demand from the world's largest crude importer. They also cut their prices to offset the loss of India sales. PLATTS WINDOW...

The captain of the 'container ship' that collided with a U.S. oil tanker off Britain's east cost last year, was?jailed?for 6 years for gross negligence in causing death to a crewmember. Vladimir Motin was the captain of the Portuguese flagged Solong, when the tanker?Stena Immaculate,' was anchored with just over 220,000 gallons?of aviation fuel. This happened on March 10, 2025. The collision caused a fire on both vessels and the death of Mark Pernia (38), a Filipino national and member of the 'Solong crew. His body has never been located. James Leonard, Motin’s lawyer, said that Motin tried unsuccessfully to...

In a Wednesday interview, Aleksandar Vucic stated that Serbia was diversifying its energy sources away from Russia. The country is already in discussions to purchase natural gas through a European Union buying mechanism. Over 80% of the country's natural gas comes from Russia. The EU is trying to cut down on cash flowing to the Ukraine war chest of President Vladimir Putin. Last year, Serbia was unable to sign a long-term agreement with Russia's Gazprom. A short-term agreement reached in December will expire on March 31. Vucic stated that he understood EU policies towards Russian energy. He said, "We have...

On Monday, U.S. president Donald Trump announced that he had reached a deal with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. The agreement included a stop to the purchase of Russian oil by India. The U.S. is trying to limit Russia's oil revenues to make it more difficult for Moscow to finance the?war? in Ukraine. Here are some important facts about the oil trade between Russia and India. OIL PURCHASES After the outbreak of the Ukraine war in February 2022, India became the largest buyer of Russian oil by sea. After some Indian refiners halted imports in November under pressure from sanctions,...

Kuwaiti Prime Minister Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad al-Sabah announced on Tuesday that Kuwait Petroleum Corporation plans to invite international oil companies to help Kuwait Oil Company develop recently announced offshore oil discoveries. Al-Sabah said in his opening remarks to the Kuwait Oil and Gas Show, that KPC was in discussions with global financial institutions about a?lease and a?lease-back arrangement for a Kuwaiti crude oil pipeline system. Kuwaiti sources said in January that the country was planning to sell a stake in its oil pipeline network as early as February, a deal which could raise up to $7 billion. Kuwait's Oil Minister?Tariq...

Data from LSEG and market sources showed that Russia's seaborne gasoil and diesel exports increased 19% over the previous month. This was due to a seasonal decline in domestic demand, which prompted traders to ship out more. The data shows that exports were 4,6% lower than in January 2025, as drone attacks, maintenance and other factors affected the output. Sources said that the shipment of ultra-low sulphur diesel through the Baltic port Primorsk - Russia's largest port for?diesel imports - jumped 32.4% in one month, to a new record of 2.256 million tonnes, supported by an increase in production. The...

EIG Global Energy Partners hired PJT Partners as an advisor on how to structure a 'new fund' for its stake in Saudi Aramco oil pipeline assets, as the vehicle that holds it is nearing expiry. Sources said that the so-called continuation funds would allow U.S. infrastructure investors to keep the Aramco stake they bought in 2021 for a longer period of time and bring in new investors. EIG, PJT Partner?and Aramco didn't immediately respond to a comment request. A continuation fund allows a company to continue ownership of an asset after the fund's initial?lifecycle. Firms can sell assets when funds...

The Russian captain of the container ship that collided with a 'U.S. The London court found the Russian captain of the container ship that crashed into a?U.S. Vladimir Motin was the captain of the Solong tanker when it struck the Stena Immaculate, which had been anchored with just over 220,000 gallons of aviation fuel. The crash on March 10 started a fire that spread to both ships. Mark Pernia was a crew member of the Solong, a Filipino national whose remains have never been located and are presumed to be dead. Tom Little, the prosecutor at Motin's first trial last...

Calculations on Monday showed that the average daily supply of natural gas to Europe via the TurkStream pipeline by Russian energy giant Gazprom rose 10.3% year-on-year in 'January. After Ukraine decided not to renew a five-year deal for transit with Moscow, which expired in January 2025, the only remaining transit route is through Turkey. Calculations show that the total Russian gas supplied to Europe through TurkStream was 1.73 billion cubic meters (bcm) during January, compared with 1.57 bcm in the same period last year. According to calculations based on data from the European Gas Transmission Group Entsog, Russian?gas exported via...

Officials said that Saturday, parts of Ukraine and Moldova - including the capitals of both countries - were plunged into a blackout due to a "malfunction" of high voltage power lines. Later in the day, power was restored. The accident was not linked directly to war damages, but Ukraine's electricity grid suffered as a result of the cumulative impact of Russian airstrikes. This led to severe restrictions in the supply of electricity over the past few weeks. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, blamed ice accumulation on power lines for a cyberattack and dismissed it. In his video nightly address,...

The U.S. 'National Highway Traffic Safety Administration' announced on Friday that a ninth driver has died since 2023 because of a dangerous Chinese airbag inflator. Auto safety agency reported that it had been made aware of 11 U.S. crashes involving death or serious injuries caused by ruptured replacement inflators manufactured in China by Jilin Province Dtiannuo Automotive Safety?System Co. Ltd., also known as DTN. These inflators were likely illegally imported to the United States since May 2023. The latest death occurred in Ohio, in a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu in December. The?NHTSA announced earlier this month that two other drivers died...