South-East Asia

The crew of the tanker gathered courage and navigated carefully along the route designated by Iran. They hugged the coast and manoeuvred their massive vessel between island checkpoints in the Strait of Hormuz. Agios Fanourios 1, a 330 metre long vessel, loaded with Iraqi crude and bound for Vietnam had been bottle-?up near the coast of Dubai, since late April. On May 10, the tanker set out for the Strait of Hormuz after an agreement with Iran, overseen by Iraq’s Prime Minister. The Iranian orders to the tanker are part of the complex multi-tiered system that Iran has used for...

?At least 10 companies, including those from Indonesia, South Korea, and Singapore, have applied for Hong Kong IPOs this year, and others are considering it, according to an executive at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The market's robust IPO growth is attracting global?firms. LSEG data shows that although foreign companies raised a lot less money than domestic firms - 110 Chinese firms and Hong Kong firms raised a total of $36.4 billion in '2025 - the listings by 10 global companies would make this the best year since 2020 for international debuts. According to Johnson Chui, the head of global...

The 'Australian Government' said that it had secured three shipments of jet-fuel from China, and additional urea for agricultural use from Brunei. This is to boost fuel and fertiliser stocks amid the disruptions caused by Iran War. After discussions between Premier Li Qiang and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the government announced that more than 600,000. barrels of jet fuel, or approximately 100 million litres would be arriving in early June. Beijing has been limiting fuel exports to protect the domestic supply since March after the Strait of Hormuz was closed, disrupting crude and fuel flow. The government of Australia said...

Middle Eastern carriers increased capacity following the Iran War, and airlines outside the Gulf have rerouted flights between Europe & Asia away from major hubs within the region. The latest flight information is listed below alphabetically: AEGEAN AIRLINES On May 21, Greece's biggest carrier will resume its flights from Heraklion, Rhodes, and Larnaca to Tel Aviv. Thessaloniki-Tel Aviv flights are canceled until June 26. Flights to Riyadh,?Amman and Erbil will resume on May 21. The airline has cancelled flights to Dubai until June 29 and Erbil and Baghdad till July 2. AEROFLOT The Russian flag carrier has announced that it...

The aviation industry was blindsided by the sudden increase in jet fuel costs from $85 to $100 to $150 to $200 per barrel during the U.S./Israeli war on Iran. Fuel accounts for as much as a quarter or more of the operating costs, which has forced airlines to increase fares and re-evaluate their financial forecasts. 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 costs will have "a significant impact" on its first-quarter results. AIRASIA...

Singapore Airlines executives announced on Friday that they will continue to increase their capacity, despite the fact that some of its largest rivals, such as Cathay Pacific and Qantas, have cut flights because of the soaring 'fuel prices' caused by Middle East conflict. In a briefing on its results, Singapore's national carrier highlighted its strong balance sheet, with S$7.9bn ($6.19bn) in cash, and the continued demand for their flights, especially as passengers continue to seek alternate hubs, to avoid transiting through the Gulf. Singapore Airlines' Chief Commercial Officer Lee Lik Hsin said to analysts and journalists that the airline is...

A Chicago jury awarded $49.5 Million to the family of a woman killed in the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX in March '2019. The jury awarded the family of Samya stumo $21 million on Wednesday for her experience during the fatal flight. They also received $16.5 million to compensate for their loss of companionship, and $12 million as compensation for their grief. This is the second verdict resulting from the fatal crash. A jury in November ordered Boeing to pay over $28 million to a family of an?United Nations environment worker who died in the 2019 crash. Boeing...

According to the annual report of 'Air 'India's' 25% shareholder Singapore Airlines, Air 'India's' record loss was more than $2 billion for its fiscal year '2025-26'. India's second largest airline had been impacted by disruptions caused by the Iran War and Pakistan's ban against Indian carriers flying in its airspace. Singapore Airlines, who owns 25% of 'Air India', revealed in its annual report released on Thursday that the Indian group had suffered losses totaling 3.56 billion Singapore dollars or $2.80billion at current exchange rates for the year ending March. Singapore Airlines didn't specify the exchange rate that it used to...

Singapore Airlines reported a 57.4% drop in its full-year profit on Thursday. The airline warned that the higher fuel costs were still 'filtering through' and would be felt more in the coming year. Jet fuel prices have risen far beyond crude oil prices since the U.S. and Israel war against Iran began in late February. This has compounded cost pressures across the entire aviation industry. Singapore Airlines said that the impact of fuel prices on its group's expenditures was only partially reflected in March 2026. It said that while SIA and Scoot had raised their air fares, they could not...

The aviation industry was blindsided by the sudden increase in jet fuel costs from $85 to $100 to $150 to $200 per barrel during the U.S./Israeli war on Iran. Fuel accounts for as much as a quarter or more of the operating costs, which has forced airlines to increase fares and review their financial forecasts. 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 costs, will have "notable impacts" on its results for the first...

Air India announced a temporary cut in 'flights between June and August on a number of international routes, citing restrictions to airspace in certain regions and record high jet fuel prices. The Iran War has caused airspace closures around the globe, a sharp rise in fuel prices, and a longer rerouting of flights. Air India has been impacted by the conflict and its operational disruptions, which have resulted in a'significant increase of expenses' and exacerbated the effects of Pakistani airspace ban. Last year, Islamabad prohibited Indian carriers from entering its airspace due to tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. Air...

Middle Eastern carriers increased capacity following the disruption caused by the Iran War, while airlines from outside the Gulf region rerouted flights between Europe & Asia away from major hubs. The latest flight information is listed below alphabetically: AEGEAN AIRLINES On May 21, Greece's largest airline will resume flights from Heraklion to Tel Aviv, as well as Rhodes and Larnaca. Thessaloniki-Tel Aviv flights are cancelled up until June 26. Flights to Beirut, Riyadh, and Amman will resume on May 12. The?airline?will cancel flights to Dubai until August 31 and Erbil and Baghdad till July 2. AIRBALTIC AirBaltic, a Latvian airline,...

Rescue officials and the deputy transport minister reported that at least eight people died and 32 others were injured after a train struck a bus in Bangkok and ignited a fire. Officials said that firefighters and rescue crews responded to the incident as fires consumed the bus and vehicles nearby near the Airport Rail Link station in Makkasan. They added that the crash involved motorcycles and cars. According to preliminary reports, the bus was stopped "on the tracks" at a red signal, which prevented the crossing barriers from closing. Deputy Transport Minister,?Siripong, Angkasakulkiat, told reporters that the preliminary reports indicated...

A notice published by the London Metal Exchange on Thursday showed that China's Tsingshan Group has applied to have aluminium produced at its Hua Chin joint venture in Indonesia?available for delivery?on the London Metal Exchange. Hua Chin - where Tsingshan and Huafon Group are partnered by fellow Chinese company Huafon Group - would be the only Indonesian brand of high-grade primary aluminum to be accepted by LME, after state-owned Inalum. * The application is being made as Indonesia ramps up production and exports, potentially compensating shortages caused by war in the Middle East. According to a LME notice, the second...

Australia's?AirTrunk?said Thursday that it would invest $3 billion in?building two hyperscale?data?centers?in Malaysia, doubling its existing business there. The two data centres, which will be located in Johor Bahru have a combined power of over 280 megawatts. They are also close to the existing AirTrunk data center campuses. AirTrunk said that the four data centers would have a capacity of more than 700 Megawatts and the investment value in Malaysia will be $6.8 Billion. AirTrunk CEO Robin Khuda said that the demand for cloud-based AI infrastructure in Asia-Pacific was growing faster than expected. "Our job is not only to be ahead...

The 'London High Court' refused to allow Indian businessman Prateek gupta, who was found guilty of defrauding commodities trader Trafigura by using fake nickel cargoes. The Geneva-based 'Trafigura' alleged that Gupta had been the mastermind behind a fraudulent "Ponzi Scheme" where he and his firms agreed to deliver high-quality nickel 99.8% but delivered low-value materials or even worthless ones instead. Gupta admitted he didn't deliver high-grade Nickel cargoes, but said Trafigura?staff designed the scheme. Former Trafigura head nickel trader Sokratis Oikonomou denies this. Last month, Judge Pushpinder Saini found that Gupta's companies and Gupta had induced Trafigura to sign contracts...

Wall Street's love for artificial intelligence giants is cooling, and some investors are shifting their focus to infrastructure companies, which they believe will benefit from AI spending. This shift has spawned a number of new products. Shares of AI tech giants like Alphabet and Amazon have seen sharp drops after huge gains over the past few years. Investors are worried that returns on their "massive investments" in developing smarter AI system won't justify these lofty valuations. Asset managers say that investors should focus on companies receiving the checks, such as chipmakers, data centers, and utility firms, which provide the nuts...

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...

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...