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AFC partners with regional and international lenders, including Citi, for Lobito Corridor
A senior official revealed that the Africa Finance Corporation, the lead developer of the U.S.-backed Lobito mineral transport corridor, is in discussions with at least 10 African and foreign financiers including Citigroup to raise $3-5 billion for this project. The AFC has begun preparing for the construction of a key transport project, which will combine existing and new railway lines to link copper and cobalt mining areas with?Angola’s Atlantic port of Lobito. The project is a part of Washington’s effort to curb Chinese influence and secure access to strategic metals, minerals, and coal in Africa. AFC is currently in discussions with commercial lenders, including South Africa's Standard Bank and Absa as well as pan-African lender Ecobank and Wall Street bank Citi. This was confirmed by Osaruyi Orobosa, the deputy director of the Lagos-based lender and head of project development and investments. The Export-Import Bank of the United States, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and the Export-Import Bank of the United States are all bilateral institutions. He said that "the banks want to come... everyone wants to be here." Discussions are aimed at familiarising potential financiers in advance of a fundraising push later this year. He said that commercial banks will likely participate in the financing as arrangers and funders. Some of them could play a coordination role for export credit agencies involved. He said that development lenders might take on both equity and debt positions. AFC had previously disclosed that it was in discussions with governments and development banks about the Lobito Corridor. However, commercial lenders who were involved in these talks have never been publicly identified. (Reporting and editing by Karin Strohecker, with Duncan Miriri)
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Airline cancels flights due to Middle East conflict
Middle Eastern carriers increased capacity after the U.S. - Israel war against Iran caused severe disruption. Airlines outside the Gulf are continuing to reroute routes between Europe and Asia away from major hubs. The latest flight information is listed below alphabetically: AEGEAN AIRLINES On April 28, Greece's biggest carrier resumed flights from Athens to?Tel Aviv. Flights to Tel Aviv will also resume from Heraklion and Rhodes from May 21. Thessaloniki-Tel Aviv flights are cancelled until June 26. Flights to Beirut will resume on May 12, and flights to Riyadh, Amman and Amman are scheduled to resume on May 21. Dubai flights are cancelled until June 29. Erbil, Baghdad and Erbil flights will be suspended until July 2. AIRBALTIC Latvian airline airBaltic has announced that flights to Tel Aviv are cancelled until 28 June. Dubai flights are cancelled until 24 October. AIR CANADA The Canadian carrier has canceled flights to Tel Aviv, Dubai and Abu Dhabi until September 7. AIR EUROPA Spanish Airlines has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv till May 31. Air France-KLM Air France suspends its flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut and Dubai until May 10. KLM suspends flights to Riyadh, Dammam and Dubai until the 22nd of June. CATHAY PACIFIC Hong Kong Airlines has suspended its flights to Dubai, Riyadh and cargo freighter service to Dubai and Riyadh through June 30, and until May 31, respectively. In April, the airline will increase passenger flights from Hong Kong to London, Paris, and Zurich to meet the increased demand for travel to Europe. It intends to continue all scheduled flights past June. The U.S. carrier extended the suspension of service for Atlanta-Tel Aviv until November 30 and plans to resume New York JFK to Tel Aviv from September 6. The launch of the Boston-Tel Aviv service, originally planned for October, was delayed. EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES Israel's airline said that it will continue to expand its operations gradually, and from April 27, will be operating flights to around 40 active gateways. All flights to Dubai have been cancelled until May 31, EMIRATES The UAE airline announced that it will be operating a reduced schedule and flying to over 100 destinations. ETIHAD AERWAYS The United Arab Emirates carrier has announced that it operates a commercial flight schedule between Abu Dhabi, and about 80 destinations. FINNAIR The Finnish airline has cancelled all Doha flights up to July 2 and continues to avoid the airspaces of Iraq, Iran Syria, and Israel. The airline will only resume its?Dubai flight in October. British Airways, owned by IAG, will reduce flights to the Middle East once services resume. Jeddah, as a destination for all time, will be permanently dropped. Plans to reduce service to Dubai, Doha, and Tel Aviv from two daily flights to one daily flight by July? Riyadh service will be reduced from two to one daily flight from mid-May. The changes will apply until the end of the summer season on October 24. One Dubai service will restart on October 16. Iberia Express, the Spanish low-cost carrier of IAG, has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv until May 31. JAPAN AIRLINES Japan Airlines has suspended its scheduled Tokyo-Doha and Doha-Tokyo flight until May 31, and Doha-Tokyo until June 1. The Polish airline has suspended flights to Tel Aviv till May 31. The airline also cancelled flights from March 31 until May 30 to Beirut and Riyadh. The airline will operate its winter route from?Dubai to?Riyadh in October. LUFTHANSA GROUP Lufthansa and other airlines, including Swiss, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines, have suspended flights from Dubai and Tel Aviv to Dubai until May 31. Flights to Abu Dhabi and Amman, Beirut Dammam, Riyadh Erbil Muscat Tehran, Riyadh Erbil, Brussels Airlines, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Edelweiss have been suspended until May 31. Eurowings, a low-cost carrier, has suspended flights from Tel Aviv to Beirut until May 11 and Erbil to Erbil until may 14. It also suspends flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi until October 24, and Amman to Dubai and Abu Dhabi until November 24. ITA Airways has extended the suspension of flights from Tel Aviv, Riyadh, and Dubai to May 31. MALAYSIA AIRLINES Malaysian Airlines has suspended all flights to Doha through June 14. NORWEGIAN AIR Low-cost carrier has delayed the planned launch of Tel Aviv and Beirut flights until June 15. PEGASUS Pegasus Airlines, Turkey's national airline, has cancelled all flights to Iran, Iraq, Amman Beirut, Kuwait Bahrain Doha Dammam Riyadh Dubai Abu Dhabi Sharjah and Abu Dhabi until June 1. QANTAS Australia's national carrier has added flights to Rome, Paris and other European destinations to meet the increased demand. The number of flights to Paris will rise from three to five weekly return flights, and the Perth to Singapore service will go from daily to ten flights per week. A new schedule will be implemented gradually for flights starting in mid-April, and running until late July. QATAR AIRWAYS Qatar Airways has announced that it will resume daily flights from May 1 to Damascus and Bahrain, as well as Kozhikode. From June 16, the airline will expand its international flight network by over 150 destinations. ROYAL MAROC The Moroccan carrier announced that flights to Doha and Dubai were cancelled until 30 June. SINGAPORE Airlines In response to increased demand, the carrier has extended its Singapore-Dubai suspension flight until May 31 and added?services along the Singapore-London Gatwick route from late March until 24 October. TURKISH AIRLINES SunExpress - Turkish Airlines' joint venture Lufthansa has cancelled flights from Dubai to May 21. WIZZ AIR Low-cost carrier suspends flights from Europe to Amman, Dubai and Abu Dhabi until mid-September. All flights to Medina are suspended indefinitely. (Compiled by Josephine Mason and Jamie Freed. Elviira luoma, Tiago brandao, Agnieszka olenska, Bernadette hogg, Boleslaw lasocki, Romolo tosiani. Rod Nickel, Lisa Shumaker Jonathan Ananda, Matt Scuffham and Rod Nickel edited the book.
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Vale, a Brazilian miner, will more than double its fleet of iron ore carriers equipped with sails
Vale intends to more than double its fleet of iron ore carriers equipped with a'sail'. The technology will be expanded to at least twenty vessels in the next three-year period, which will reduce the Brazilian miner’s exposure to the volatility of marine fuel prices. According to Vale's General Manager for Shipping, Rafael Fischer, the spinning cylindrical sails can save up to 10% on fuel depending on the vessel. The mining industry has seen a significant increase in freight costs during the war with Iran. Fischer said aboard one of the vessels equipped with sails, docked at the Tubarao Port in Espirito Santo. Vale has eight vessels equipped with sails. This is the result of Vale's decade-long focus on reducing emissions and improving efficiency, which has helped the company to be somewhat protected as the Middle East conflict has driven up the price of oil products. Vale is concerned about fuel costs, since it ships iron ore primarily to China where Australian suppliers compete with it. Fischer explained that "we have a geographical disadvantage in comparison to our competitors. We are using innovation as a tool to mitigate this effect." ETHANOL-POWERED SHIPS Fischer said that Vale is not only adding sails to its vessels, but also allowing them to be fuel flexible. It announced earlier this month a 25-year contract with China's?Shandong Shipping Corporation for the construction and operation of two of the first transoceanic vessels powered by ethanol. The ships can also run on conventional bunker fuel or methanol, with future conversion options including liquefied?gas and ahmonia. Fischer said, "In the future we will be able to choose from at least five different fuels. This gives us flexibility to adapt to changing situations and market conditions." (Reporting and writing by Fabio Teixeira, Editing by Joe Bavier.)
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Netomi, a startup that provides AI-based customer service, raises $110 Million
The chief executive of technology startup Netomi revealed this week that the company has raised $110 million through a Series C funding round led by Accenture. Netomi, founded a decade or so ago, uses artificial intelligence for customer service at companies such as United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and DraftKings. CEO Puneet mehta spoke on the sidelines on Tuesday of the Momentum AI Summit in New York. Recent improvements in large language models, such as those that run?ChatGPT, have raised expectations about how well bots can resolve customer issues without the need for a human representative. Mehta stated that Netomi, a California-based company, uses AI models from OpenAI's Anthropic, Alphabet Google and OpenAI. Netomi was able to answer questions more precisely via the United Airlines mobile app, for example, "Can I?sit with my dog on the exit row?" he explained. Mehta stated that customers "don't go there for items of low complexity," Mehta. "We are focusing on items of at least medium complexity," Mehta said. Netomi’s valuation was not determined after the funding round. Justin Wexler, general partner of WndrCo, stated that the company had raised over $160 million in funding since its foundation. Jeffrey Katzenberg, WndrCo managing partner and media entrepreneur, has joined the startup's board as part of its Series C round. Accenture also has a partnership in place with Netomi. Wexler stated that hundreds of 'Accenture' employees will be trained to use Netomi's technology in order to help customers implement improved AI service agents. Wexler said that Adobe Ventures has also invested in the Series C. Adobe and Netomi are working together to add AI to the websites running on Netomi's platform. Mehta stated that Netomi employs about 170 employees and will use the extra capital to invest both in research and in deployments for customers. He said the company hopes to deploy AI-based agents that take proactive actions and preemptively resolve customer issues. (Reporting and editing by Thomas Derpinghaus, Juby Babu, Jeffrey Dastin)
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Royal Caribbean reduces its annual profit forecast and sees higher fuel prices
Royal Caribbean cut its annual profit forecast for the year on Thursday, citing soaring fuel costs linked to the ongoing Middle East tensions as a factor affecting the cruise operator's margins. As a result of the stalled U.S. - Iran negotiations, cruise operators are now facing a more difficult?environment. This is because they are heavily reliant on fuel oil...and marine gas oil. Royal Caribbean stated that fuel?costs based on the current pump rates, net of hedging, will be approximately $1.3 billion or $0.62 per share higher than their previous forecast. However, the company's shares still rose by about 5% in premarket trading after exceeding quarterly profit expectations. The company's?profit forecast for fiscal 2026 is expected to be in a range of $17.10 to 17.5 per share. This compares to its previous forecast?of $17.70 - $18.10. According to data compiled and analyzed by LSEG, it posted an 'adjusted profits of $3.60 per shares for the first quarter compared with analysts average?estimate? of $3.19. Reporting by Anuja Mistry, Bengaluru. Editing by Shilpa Majumdar
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MARA buys Ohio gas plant operator Long Ridge at $1.5 billion to expand beyond bitcoin
MARA Holdings announced on Thursday that it would 'buy Long Ridge Energy & Power for $1.5 billion, including debt. This is a major step in the bitcoin mining company's efforts to reposition itself as a digital energy and infrastructure company. It is one of the biggest companies in the world that mines and holds bitcoins. Now, as AI advances and demand increases, it has shifted its focus to digital infrastructure. MARA's previous focus on cryptocurrency is complementary to its revised strategy. However, it is looking more to energy assets in order to have enough power to develop data centers. IDEAL ASSETS FOR NEW STRATEGIES This evolution has been accelerated by the acquisition of Long Ridge Energy. The company said that Long 'Ridge owned a 505 megawatt natural gas combined cycle power plant in Hannibal Ohio as well as 1,600 acres of contiguous land on which MARA planned to build a data centre powered by the plant. Fred Thiel, MARA's Chief executive officer, said that the campus "has all the components we need for an ideal data center campus". He noted that the data center was a highly efficient facility due to the fact that it was built in 2021. The land had already been approved for industrial use. Thiel stated that MARA has already received interest from several?potential tenants. These include hyperscalers, firms which provide massive cloud computing capacity. He said that the company anticipates having a tenant lined up around the time of the closing. The closing of the acquisition is anticipated to be later in 2026 depending on regulatory approvals, including those from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Assets that provide instant cash The $1.5 billion transaction includes an assumption of existing debt of $785 million and the Long Ridge assets generate annualized earnings of $144 million. MARA will have cash in hand before the project's contributions. Thiel stated that MARA's ownership of Long Ridge would not affect the amount of power Long Ridge provides to retail customers. There are growing concerns in the United States over the impact of data centers on the grid. The PJM transmission area, where the plant is situated, is considered to be the most vulnerable.
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India's Adani Enterprises reports a fourth-quarter loss, hurt by the depreciation on some assets
India's Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of Gautam Adani, a billionaire who leads the conglomerate, announced a?fourth-quarter loss? on Thursday. The depreciation in some of its newly commissioned assets was the main cause. The company reported a net loss of $23.27 million in the quarter ended March 31. This compares to a profit last year of 38.45 billion rupees. The company stated in its filing that the fourth-quarter results had been impacted by depreciation of recently commissioned assets at the copper and 'Navi Mumbai' plant. Adani Enterprises fourth-quarter EBITDA (a measure of operating profit) rose by?3% year-on-year, to 43.46 trillion rupees. Revenue from operations increased by?20.3%, to 324.39 trillion rupees. The firm's earnings were boosted by a one-time influx of 39.46 billion rupees in the previous quarter? from the sale of a stake it held in a consumer goods venture with Singapore's Wilmar.
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Low industry activity in India has led to a fall in truck rentals
The Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training said that truck rentals in India fell by 4% to 5% in April, after a 9% - 10% decline in March due to the Iran war and a lack of supplies in the main manufacturing hub. * The IFTRT reported a drop of between?15 to 20% of the cargoes that are sent from manufacturing hubs. This is especially true for?small and mid-sized enterprises, which?accounts for?70% or more of intra and interstate cargoes It said that increased arrivals of summer fruits, vegetables, and pulses boosted the agri-logistics market by 20 % - 25 %, leading to capacity shifting to wholesale markets to offset industrial freight losses. * IFTRT stated that although local diesel prices?have not been raised, truck?tyres have increased by 4%-5%?in the past 4 to 6 weeks?,?increasing the operational expenses of fleet owners? (Reporting and Editing by Louise Heavens, Nidhi verma)
Fuel costs are increasing, so airlines are reducing their prices and cutting back on their outlook.
The U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, which has pushed up jet fuel prices, has shook the aviation industry around the world. Airlines have been forced to increase fares and change their financial forecasts.
In recent weeks, jet fuel prices have increased from $85-$90 per barrel up to $150-$200 per barrel. This is a major financial blow to an industry where fuel can account for as much as a quarter or more of its operating costs.
Here is an alphabetical list of the ways airlines are responding to this issue:
AEGEAN AIRLINES
The Greek airline anticipates that the suspension of Middle East flights, as well as a spike in fuel prices will have "notable impacts" on their first-quarter results.
AIRASIA X
Malaysian Airlines executives announced that the company has cut 10% of its flights in the group and imposed a fuel surcharge of around 20%.
AIR FRANCE-KLM
The airline group?said that it planned to raise long-haul ticket fares to deal with surging fuel prices, and cabin?fares are set to increase by 50 euros ($58).
AIR INDIA
The Indian flag carrier announced that it would change its fuel surcharge from a flat domestic surcharge to one based on distance. The airline said that surcharges for international routes do not compensate the steep rise in jet fuel costs.
AIR NEW ZEALAND On April 7, the airline announced that it would cut flights in May and June, and raise fares. It was one of the first airlines to announce a large increase in ticket prices after the conflict began. The airline also suspended its earnings forecast for the full year due to volatility in the fuel markets.
AKASA AIR
Akasa Airlines, based in India, announced that it would be imposing a fuel surcharge on both domestic and international flights ranging from 199 to 1,300 Indian Rupees ($2 - $14).
ALASKA AIR
The U.S. carrier said that it would raise fees by $5 for the first bag and $10 for the second for flights in North America, as well for Hawaiian Airlines. The third checked bag was raised from $50 to 200 dollars.
AMERICAN AIRLINES
The U.S. carrier announced that it will increase the fees for checked baggage by $50 for the third bag and $10 for the second on short-haul flights and domestic flights. The airline has also reduced?certain benefits to economy passengers.
The fuel price increase was expected to cause a $400-million increase in the first quarter expenses.
CATHAY PACIFIC
Hong Kong Airlines announced that it will increase its fuel surcharges by 34% on all routes starting April 1, and to review them every 2 weeks. The CEO of the carrier said that it will maintain flight capacity, despite high fuel costs. However, its 10% passenger growth plan may change if there is a decline in demand due to high prices.
CEBU AIR
The Philippines-based carrier said that the sharp increase in fuel prices is a major concern. It will continue to review pricing and network strategies and try to minimize the impact.
CHINA EASTERN EXPRESS AIRLINES
Air China said that it would increase fuel surcharges on domestic flights starting April 5. Flights under 800km will be charged a surcharge of 60 yuan, and flights above 800km will be charged a surcharge of 120 yuan.
DELTA AIR LINES
Delta announced that it would reduce capacity by 3.5 percent from its original plan, and increase fees for checked baggage in order to offset the rising costs of jet fuel. The price increase will be $10 for the first and second bags and $50 on the third bag.
The U.S. carrier pulled all planned growth in capacity for the current quarter, and forecast profits below Wall Street expectations. Delta CEO said that it would not update its full-year forecast due to uncertainty about how long fuel prices would rise.
EASYJET
EasyJet CEO Kentonjarvis warned that European consumers can expect to pay more for tickets at the end of the summer when fuel hedges end.
FRONTIER AÉRIENS
The airline is reviewing its full-year forecast as fuel prices have increased significantly since it issued the outlook. The airline has revised its forecast for the full year as fuel prices have increased dramatically since it released the outlook.
GREATER BAY Airlines
The Hong Kong-based firm said that it will increase fuel surcharges for most routes starting April 1, but keep them the same on routes to mainland China and Japan.
The carrier has announced that the surcharge on flights between Hong Kong, Philippines and other destinations will be more than doubled.
HONG KONG Airlines
The airline announced that it would increase fuel surcharges up to 35% starting March 12. The biggest increases would be on flights between Hong Kong, Bangladesh, and Nepal where the charges would go from HK$284 to HK$384 (US$49).
British Airways' owner IAG stated on March 10, that it does not intend to increase ticket price immediately as it has hedged a large amount of fuel in the short to medium term.
INDIGO
India's largest airline announced that it will begin charging fuel fees on both domestic and international flights as of March 14. The charges include 900 rupees per flight to the Middle East, and 2,300 rupees per flight to Europe. Sources say that the company is lobbying for fuel tax reductions by the Indian government.
JETBLUE AERWAYS
As a result of "rising operating expenses", the low-cost carrier in the United States has increased fees for optional services, such as checked baggage. The airline said that baggage prices would rise either by $4 or $9.
Sources with knowledge on the subject have confirmed that KOREAN will be in emergency mode as of April due to rising oil costs. The airline will implement a phased response based on the oil price level and increase company-wide efficiency to offset rising fuel costs.
PAKISTAN INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS
The carrier announced that it would increase domestic flight fares up to $20, and international fares up to $100. It cited higher fuel surcharges.
Scandinavian Airlines announced that it would cancel 1,00 flights in April due to high jet fuel and oil prices. In March, the airline had cancelled "couples of hundred" flights.
SAS, which has already raised flight prices, stated that even if they tried to absorb rising fuel costs, the price increase would still be a major blow to the aviation industry.
SPRING AIRLINES
Budget Chinese airline announced that it will increase fuel surcharges for domestic flights starting April 5. Details to be announced in due course.
SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHWAST AIRLINES
The American carrier announced that it would increase the fees for checked bags by $10 each for the first two bags. This will bring the cost to $45 and $55 respectively for the first bag.
The Portuguese airline claimed that its price increases would partially offset the impact of fuel prices changes on its revenues.
THAI AIRWAYS
The airline based in Thailand said that it would increase fares between 10% and 15% due to rising fuel prices.
TURKISH AIRLINES LUFTHANSA
SunExpress, the joint venture between Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa and Lufthansa announced that it would be imposing a temporary fuel charge of 10 euros per person from May 1, on routes between Turkey and Europe. The fuel surcharge will be applied to all bookings made after April 1, for departures after May 1.
UNITED AIRLINES
Scott Kirby, CEO of the U.S. carrier, said that the airline will cut unprofitable flights in the next two quarters to prepare for the oil price remaining above $100 by the end 2027.
Andrew Nocella, United's Chief Commercial Officer, said that the company was able to increase fares in response to a rapid rise in jet fuel and oil prices.
In a statement sent via email, the carrier said that it would also be increasing the first and second checked bags fees by $10 to customers traveling in North America, Mexico, Canada, and Latin America.
VIETJET
A potential fuel shortage has led to the Vietnamese budget airline reducing flight frequencies on certain routes.
VIETNAM Airlines
Vietnam's Aviation Authority announced that the carrier will cancel 23 flights per day on domestic routes starting in April after it requested assistance from the government to remove an environment tax on jet fuel.
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA
Virgin Australia announced that it would be adjusting its fares in order to reflect the rising costs across the aviation industry, which were being exacerbated significantly by the Middle East situation.
WESTJET
Canadian Press reported that the airline would add a fuel surcharge of C$60 ($43), and will combine some flights to reduce costs.
(source: Reuters)