East Asia

The Chinese captain of an?Hong Kong registered cargo ship pleaded 'not guilty'?on a charge?of criminal damage on Wednesday, after allegations that his vessel had?damaged underwater cables in the Baltic Sea. According to a Hong Kong chargesheet reviewed by the. The charge sheet said that?Wan was "reckless", and had "damaged property belonging to others without lawful excuse". Investigators in Finland said that the container vessel had pulled its anchor so as to cut off the Balticconnector pipeline. The Finnish police retrieved an anchor that had broken from the seabed, near the Balticconnector gas pipeline. An attorney for Wan, Jerry Chung said...

Donald Trump, the U.S. president, threatened on Monday to prevent the opening of a new $4.7 billion bridge linking Detroit and Windsor,?Ontario, as his latest salvo in a trade dispute with Canada. Trump cited Canada as the owner of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, Canada's refusal to stock certain U.S. alcoholic drinks on Canadian shelves, Canada’s tariffs on milk products, and its trade negotiations with China. Canada financed the bridge because the U.S. refused. It is expected to open within the next few months. Tolls will cover the costs over a period of 30 years. Trump posted on Twitter: "I...

Hong Kong's chief of commerce summoned on Friday the Panamanian Consul in 'city to condemn a recent court decision that nullified CK Hutchison, based in Hong 'Kong's contract for the operation of two 'ports 'at the Panama Canal. China's Hong Kong & Macau Affairs Office had warned Panama that it would pay "heavy penalties" for its decision made earlier in the week. According to a Friday post from the bureau, Algernon Ying Wah, Hong Kong's Secretary of Commerce and Economic Development expressed "strong opposition and dissatisfaction" with the Panama Supreme Court decision during a meeting. Yau stated that the company...

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...

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...

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...

The Panama Supreme Court annulled CK Hutchison’s contract last week to operate two Panama Canal Ports. This was part of a deal worth $23 billion to sell all the global port assets owned by the Hong Kong-based conglomerate. 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 benefits and privileges. What We Know: CK 'Hutchison is controlled by Hong Kong’s richest man Li Ka -shing. In March last year, a deal was announced that covered 43 ports in '23 countries', 'including two near the Panama Canal',...

The Panama Supreme Court ruled that a contract signed by a Hong Kong-based company in 1990 to operate the ports at the Panama Canal was in violation of the Panama Constitution and did not serve the public interest. The court released its decision on Friday, but did not explain the reasoning behind it. The decision was first reported by local TVN, and has since been confirmed by an official of the court. The decision was a win for Washington amid intensifying U.S. - China rivalry on global trade routes and President Donald Trump’s attempts to exert dominance over Latin America....

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino stated?on Friday? that ports will continue to operate in the 'country despite a?Supreme Court ruling which annulled key port contracts by a Hong Kong-based subsidiary, CK Hutchison. The future of some key ports near the Panama Canal is still unclear after the ruling made on Thursday. Mulino stated that APM Terminals Panama (a Maersk subsidiary) has expressed a willingness to temporarily takeover the operation of the Balboa & Cristobal terminals, after a period of transition during which the current operator will remain. He stated that he has had discussions with multiple companies. Mulino stated during...

Three sources who are directly familiar with the matter have confirmed that CME Group will approve Taiwan and Hong Kong to be warehouse locations for aluminum. This is as the U.S. commodity exchange intensifies its competition against the London Metal Exchange (LME) Asia. The new locations planned would be a major expansion for CME, as the region accounted last year for two thirds of the global production of metals used in packaging and transportation. CME's Asian warehouse footprint is currently limited to Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea. C. Steinweg and Pacorini Global Services, warehouse operators in Taiwan's port of Kaohsiung...

Data from the London Metal Exchange showed that in January, the share of China-made metal in available London Metal Exchange stock fell as metals from other Asian nations, South America, and?Africa flooded in. Available copper inventories The?LME?is at its highest level since late February 2025, as it has become the preferred place for traders to store metals in the U.S.A. and Asia. Data showed that the percentage of copper stocks of Chinese origin in LME's warehouses - those on warrant or available - was 70% at the end last month. This is down from 79% in December. A LME warrant...

Available copper inventories The London Metal Exchange has seen its trading volume increase by 11 months, as traders from the U.S.A. and Asia have increasingly turned to the exchange for metal storage. After more than 20,000 tonnes of copper were delivered to New Orleans and Baltimore over the last three weeks as well as similar inflows into South Korea and Taiwan, the amount of copper available in LME warehouses reached 160,625 tons on Wednesday. This is the highest since late February of last year. Copper was shipped in large volumes to the United States before possible import tariffs. Higher?prices at...

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...

Trafigura has won its London case against Indian businessman Prateek?Gupta regarding fake nickel cargoes on Friday. The High Court of London ruled in favor of the commodities 'trader. Trafigura, a Geneva-based company, claimed that Gupta and his companies were the masterminds of a fraudulent Ponzi scheme??in which they agreed to deliver high-quality nickel 99.8% but instead delivered low-value materials or even worthless ones. Gupta acknowledged he didn't deliver high-grade Nickel cargoes, but claims Trafigura staff designed the scheme. Former Trafigura head nickel trader Sokratis Oikonomou had denied this in his testimony given in November. Judge Pushpinder Saini ruled Trafigura had...

Zelostech, a Chinese robovan company, announced on Thursday that Alibaba's logistics division, Cainiao will take a stake. The Wall Street Journal reported on the deal first. A spokesperson for the robovan developer said, "Cainiao won't become a controlling shareholder of Zelostech." A robovan, or fully autonomous electric vehicle designed for freight, is an example of this. Zelostech Z10 can carry a load up to 1.5 tonnes. Zelostech's email stated that "Zelostech has entered into a deep integration with Cainiao’s autonomous-driving division, and are jointly building a RoboVan Super Carrier for the unmanned cargo sector." The company stated that Cainiao will...

United Parcel Service, the largest package delivery company in the world, announced on Tuesday that it will close 24 additional facilities and eliminate up to 30,000 positions by 2026. This is due to its ongoing shift towards a'more profitable business. In midday trading, shares of the company rose 4%. The company also announced fourth quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations and forecasted a surprise increase in annual revenue. FedEx shares gained 2.6%. Carol Tome, CEO of the company, said in a conference with analysts that the company plans to reduce Amazon deliveries. "We are now in the last six...

Data from the London Metal Exchange showed that the share of China-made Copper among the available London Metal Exchange stock fell in December. This was due to the outflows?of the inventory in the LME registered?warehouses?in Asia. The percentage of copper stocks that are available - or those on warrant The data revealed that 79% of the - in LME's warehouses were of Chinese origin at the end last month. This was down from 85%?in November. A LME warrant is an ownership document. The absolute number of Chinese copper stock on the LME dropped to 87,475 tons by the end last...

Senalia, a grain export terminal operator, expects volumes to double in 2025/26 compared to last year due to a rebound in French harvest production and a brisk barley demand. Rouen, on the Seine River in Normandy, is France's main grain export hub. Rain-stricken 2024 reduced its export surplus, and port terminals were idle for part the season. Senalia, the cooperative-owned cereal exporter, has forecast that Senalia will load 3.8 millions metric tons in the current July-June period, up from just 1.8 million in 2020/25. This is exactly what it did two years ago. He said that 1.7 million tonnes of...

The Turkish distributor of China's Dongfeng Motor said that the company is in discussions with an investor to produce passenger cars in Turkey. Turkey is a large market with an annual sales volume of 1.4m vehicles. It also has a customs-free trade agreement with the EU. Chinese imports of cars to Turkey are subject to additional taxes, and Chinese automakers including Chery are seeking to set up production in Turkey with local partners. In a LinkedIn statement, Yavuz Cirak said, "We're working hard to begin production this year." Cirak is the CEO of Dongfeng’s local distributor,?Marcar, and was a part...

Equity investors looking for a smooth ride through 2026 may want to consider increasing their exposure beyond the artificial intelligence euphoria. Opportunities could be hidden in plain sight. Investors should be cautious. The valuations of U.S. equity are stretched. The Shiller price-earnings for the S&P 500 is above 40, which is very close to the levels during the dot-com boom in the 1990s. Markets have become 'highly concentrated. Goldman Sachs analysis shows that the five largest U.S. tech companies, Nvidia Apple Alphabet Microsoft and Amazon, have a combined value greater than?the Euro STOXX?50. This includes Britain, India Japan and Canada...

The federal government of Brazil plans to auction off the massive Tecon '10 container terminal at Santos Port in the first half of March, said Minister of Ports and airports Silvio Costa Filho on Friday. He said that more than 10 bidders have expressed interest in the auction, including the Philippines-based ICTSI, JBS, JSL and unnamed 'Arab investors. The Minister said that the minimum bid price will be below?6.4 billion (about $1.19 billion), the amount of money the winning bidder must invest to build and run the terminal. Roberto Lopes confirmed that the Rio Brasil Terminal, controlled by ICTSI will...