South-East Asia

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...

The Ivory Coast cocoa grinding fell 31.2% on an annual basis in July, to 39,301 metric tonnes, according to data released by the exporters' association GEPEX. Grinders cited poor bean quality and low quantities of the mid-crop. From the beginning of the season 2024/25 in October to the end of July, the total grind of cocoa beans was 515,055 tonnes, a 4% decrease from the same period the previous season. The director of a San Pedro-based international grinding company said that the "quality of the beans" was the main reason for the dramatic drop in July's grinding this year. They...

Anel Flees, Panama's comptroller-general, announced on Wednesday that he filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of the country against a contract for the operation of ports near the Panama Canal held by a firm owned by Hong Kong's CK Hutchison. Flores stated that the two lawsuits were filed to declare the unconstitutionality of the port contracts for Balboa & Cristobal and nullify them. The Supreme Court must still accept the request for the complaint of the comptroller. The lawsuits are the result of a month-long audit led by Flores who publicly complained about the contract not serving the nation's...

According to traders and LSEG, India and Taiwan were the top destinations for Russian seaborne Naphtha exports during June. Lower volumes and domestic demand attracted buyers. Naphtha, a feedstock used in the petrochemical sector, is a key ingredient for the production of olefins. These are then used as a raw material to make a variety of products such as plastics. The main destination for Russian naphtha has been the Middle East and Asia since the European Union's embargo against Russian oil products came into force in February 2023. In June, the total export of naphtha from Russian ports to India...

Houthis, who are Iran-aligned and live in Yemen, said on Monday that they had rescued ten seafarers off the Greek cargo ship EternityC which they had attacked and sunk earlier this month in the Red Sea. Eternity C, flying the Liberian flag, was the second vessel to sink in Yemen this month following repeated attacks from Houthi militants using sea drones and rocket propelled grenades. The Magic Seas was another Greek-operated ship that had been lost days before. The Houthis have been resuming their attacks on ships, having hit over 100 vessels between November 2023 to December 2024 as a...

MMC Port Holdings is looking to finalise the cornerstone investor list as soon as August. This will be in advance of an October listing on Bursa that could raise more than $1.5 billion. According to LSEG, the IPO would be Malaysia’s biggest since IHH Healthcare’s $2.1 billion debut back in 2012 and Southeast Asia’s largest since Indonesian technology firm Bukalapak raised $1.55 billion in 2021. Sources said that the country's largest port operator, MMC Corp., which is a fully owned subsidiary, has been in discussions with over 20 cornerstone investors. Cornerstone investors tend to be large institutional funds who commit...

According to the Information Sharing Centre, the intergovernmental antipiracy group ReCAAP, there were 95 piracy-related and armed robberies on ships in Asia between January and June of this year. This is an 83% rise compared to last year's same period. The watchdog flagged the Straits of Malacca as a concern area. In these waters, there were 80 incidents over the period compared with 21 in the first six months of 2024. The majority of incidents that occurred in the Straits of Malacca or Singapore were minor, and 90% of the times there was no injury to the crew. ReCAAP's information...

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,...