South-East Asia

Airbus is close to a deal with AirAsia to sell 100?A220 narrowbody jets, marking AirAsia's first venture into regional aircraft. Sources, who asked not to be identified, said that if confirmed, a deal, including options, for about 50 additional aircraft could be announced in the next few days, as Asia's biggest low-cost airline pursues a turnaround. Both companies declined comment. AirAsia's spokesperson stated that they had no news to announce at the moment. The first discussions to become the exclusive buyer of a high-density 160-seater version?of Airbus' A220 appeared ahead of the Paris Airshow last year. Brazil's Embraer was also...

The Indonesian search and rescue agency said that rescuers found 10 bodies on Friday from a fishery supevision plane?that had gone missing at the weekend in South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. On Saturday, around 1:30 pm local time (0530 GMT), the?ATR42-500 turboprop belonging to aviation group Indonesia Air Transport lost contact with airtraffic control in South Sulawesi's Maros area. The plane was chartered for air surveillance by Indonesia's Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry. The passengers were staff from the ministry. Andi Sultan, a South Sulawesi rescue agency official, revealed through?tears in a video that authorities had found the ninth and tenth...

Singapore Airlines Ltd., the 'national carrier of Singapore,' has priced S$500,000,000 ($390,000,000) in 10-year Singapore Dollar senior notes at 2.70%. This is a reduction from its initial price guidance of around 2.95%. According to the sheet, the?notes will be issued as part of its multi-currency, medium-term, multi-currency?note program, which is a programme worth?S$10 Billion. The sheet stated that proceeds will be used to finance aircraft purchases, related payments and general corporate or working-capital purposes, as well as refinancing existing borrowings. The bonds are semi-annually repaid, with the first coupon due on July 30, 2026. They mature January 30, 2036. DBS,...

The regional governor reported that a train derailed on Wednesday in northeastern Thailand after a crane fell onto two of its wagons. At least 32 people were killed and 66 injured. The accident happened in the 'Sikhio' district of Nakhon Ratchasima Province, 230 km northeast of Bangkok. It was on a train bound for Ubon Ratchathani. In a press release, Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn stated that there were 195 passengers aboard the train. He also said he ordered an investigation. The crane, which was working on high-speed rail construction project collapsed when it hit a passing train. This caused the...

Air India and Singapore Airlines have agreed on a framework of cooperation that could allow them to expand their routes, reduce the overlap, and enhance collaboration more generally, they announced on Friday. The two airlines have described the agreement as "commercial cooperation framework". It follows a Pakistani airspace ban announced in April, which forced Air India from India to discontinue certain routes?towards the U.S. The airlines stated that the agreement may include 'expanding corporate travel programmes for both carriers, a source of high-yield revenues for the airlines. The airlines said that the agreement is subject to regulatory approvals as well...

Air India and Singapore Airlines announced on Friday an agreement to "improve cooperation" between the two 'flag carriers. This is a step toward offering more routes, aligning schedules, and expanding the scope of the collaboration outside their home markets. The agreement, described as a "commercial framework agreement" by the two airlines, comes as Air India is facing a financial blow from an airspace ban imposed by Pakistan. This has forced the airline to stop some routes from India to the U.S. According to the airlines, this agreement could expand 'both carriers' corporate travel programs. This is a major source of...

According to flight tracking websites such as Flight Tracker, Wizz Air, Lufthansa and British Airways avoided the airspace of Iraq and Iran on Thursday in order to reduce the risks associated with geopolitical unrest in Iran and the Middle East. Iran closed its airspace for nearly five hours, and then reopened it after that, amid fears of a possible military conflict between the U.S. FlightRadar24 reports that despite the airspace reopening many airlines continued to use alternate routes. This included Singapore Airlines, TUI, and others. Many Western airlines changed their routes in the Middle East in the past two years....

According to flight tracking sites, European airlines such as Wizz Air, Lufthansa and British Airways avoided the airspace of Iraq and Iran on Thursday. Instead, they chose routes through Afghanistan and Central Asia to reduce the risks associated with ongoing geopolitical instability in the Middle East and?Iran. Iran closed its airspace for nearly five hours, and then reopened it after that, on Wednesday, amid fears of a possible military conflict between the U.S.A. and 'Iran, which forced airlines to cancel or reroute flights. FlightRadar24 reports that despite the airspace being reopened, many airlines continued to use alternate routes, including Singapore...

On Thursday, a crane fell onto a road in Thailand's capital, crushing two cars and killing?two?people. A day earlier, a similar incident in the northeast had led to the derailment of a train and the death of 32 passengers. Thailand's Transport Minister said that the Italian-Thai Development PCL was also involved in a crane accident near Bangkok. The company, whose crane had fallen onto a train in the northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima Province a day before, is also responsible for the crane incident. According to the local police, two people were also injured in the incident that occurred in Samut Sakhon...

Police said that a crane in Thailand collapsed on Thursday crushing two vehicles and killing 2 people. This happened a day after a 'crane accident' in the northeast killed 32 passengers. According to Police Colonel Sitthiporn Kasi of the local district police station, the latest incident occurred in Samut Sakhon Province, near the capital Bangkok. A crane used?in construction of an elevated road fell onto the road below. Five other people were also injured, according to a second police officer from the station. The accident was the latest of many?fatal accidents in Thailand caused by construction projects. On Wednesday, a...

Air India's Board is?looking for a new Chief Executive to replace Campbell Wilson. Two people with direct knowledge said this. The airline continues to be under scrutiny due its safety lapses following a June crash that killed 260 people. After the worst aviation accident in the last decade, regulators pointed out a number of problems, ranging from not performing emergency equipment checks on aircraft to replacing engine parts late, falsifying maintenance records and failings in crew fatigue management. Wilson will take over as Air India's CEO and managing Director in July 2022, after a career of 26 years at Singapore...

A person with knowledge of the situation said that Canada's Transport regulator had 'asked Air India to conduct an investigation into the incident where a pilot was removed from the plane before takeoff and was found to be drunk, according to a source familiar with the case. The person who spoke on Friday said that two breathalyzer tests performed by Canadian police officers at Vancouver International Airport proved the pilot to be unfit for duty. Transport Canada referred to the incident as "a serious matter" in a letter sent to Air India. Authorities are likely to take enforcement action, according...

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...

Indian businessman Prateek gupta was accused of orchestrating a $600m metals fraud by commodity group Trafigura. He told a court in India on Friday that he didn't know who within his companies had allegedly made fake documents for selling the same cargo to multiple customers. The long-running trial concluded on Friday with the testimony. It will resume again on December 10, for closing arguments. Trafigura, a Geneva-based company, sued Gupta in more than two years. It claimed that he had orchestrated a ruse where he and his firms agreed to deliver pure nickel instead of steel or scrap. Trafigura's lawyers...

Lawyers at Trafigura said that Prateek Gupta’s claims that the group devised a secret plan to exchange expensive nickel for low value metals are full of contradictions. The Indian businessman was giving evidence in an ongoing fraud case. Trafigura, a Swiss commodity trader, sued Gupta two years ago. It claimed that he was behind a scam where he and his firms agreed to deliver pure nickel but instead delivered scrap steel or other metals. Gupta countered by claiming that Trafigura staff themselves designed the scheme at the heart of the case. Trafigura, however, has denied this claim repeatedly. Gupta, who...

Lawyers for Trafigura accused Prateek gupta, an Indian businessman who gave his first testimony on Wednesday, of a long history of fraud. Gupta admitted that he was under investigation for fraud in India but denied these allegations when he appeared in the High Court of London. Trafigura, a Swiss company, sued Gupta two years ago. It claimed that he was behind a scam where he and his firms agreed to deliver pure nickel but instead delivered scrap steel or other metals. Nathan Pillow, a Trafigura lawyer, cited two more fraud cases in which low-value metals were substituted with nickel. Gupta...

China Gas Holdings, a privately-controlled city gas distributor, has hired an ex-senior trader of the Chinese utility GCL Group as its head of global natural gas sales. Xiong Xin was the head of gas trading for GCL New Energy Holdings (a unit of GCL Holdings), a solar power company, until early 2024. He joined China Gas in Oct. Xiong has nearly a decade's worth of experience in trading at the state oil giant CNOOC, and privately owned Chinese gas company ENN, before he joined GCL. He now heads China Gas’ growing liquefied gas trading business, as well as liquefied petrol...

Three sources with knowledge of the matter said that Trafigura had delivered large quantities to London Metal Exchange-approved warehouses in Malaysia to take advantage of a financial agreement. Sources said that they did not know the details of the deal, which could have been incentives or rent deals. Trafigura has declined to comment. On October 30, the LME-registered warehouses at Port Klang in Malaysia saw an increase of nearly 100,000 metric tonnes in their stock of aluminium. The total now stands at 366,850 tonnes. Sources said that Trafigura had put the majority of this aluminum on LME warrants, which are...

Aquilius Investment Partners, a Singapore-based company, announced on Monday that it had raised $1.1 billion to fund its second Asia Pacific Real Estate Secondaries Fund, making it the largest in the region. According to Preqin, secondaries, where investors purchase existing stakes in funds, are the fastest-growing alternative strategy globally. Data provider predicts that global alternative assets will reach $29.2 trillion in 2029. Secondaries are projected to grow at the fastest rate of 13.1% per year through 2029. This is due to slow exits and increasing private wealth demand. Aquilius announced in a press release that the fundraising included over $750...

ANE (Cayman), a Chinese-based transport and delivery services company, said Tuesday that a consortium including its largest shareholder Centurium Capital and Temasek, had offered to buy it out. The deal valued the group at HK$14.33bn ($1.84bn). Shareholders can choose between a cash payment of HK$12.18 for each ANE share, an alternative share, or a mix of both. The cash consideration represents a premium to the last closing price of the company on October 24, which was 29.6%. Centurium Capital owns around 24.32% ANE shares. Temasek, True Light and other investors do not hold any ANE shares. ANE had earlier this...

ANE (Cayman), said that it received on Friday a conditional offer from a consortium, including Centurium and Temasek, for a potential take-private transaction which could lead to the delisting of ANE from Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In a filing to the stock exchange, the Chinese transport and delivery company stated that an indicative proposal had been submitted on 17 September. It involved Centurium Capital which owns approximately 24,422% of ANE shares and entities related to Temasek, True Light Capital and other companies. After trading was resumed after the announcement on September 18, shares in ANE fell 12%. According to the...

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. ....