South-East Asia

Tel Aviv's share indexes reached all-time peaks - and the Israeli shekel rose - to a 30-year high - against the dollar on Friday, on the apparent hope that the U.S.-Iran talks scheduled for Saturday would maintain a ceasefire. The blue-chip Tel Aviv index and the broader TA-125 closed higher by 1.9%, extending to over 6% gains since the U.S. and Israel led air war began in February '28. The?shekel rose 0.7% against the dollar, reaching a rate 3.031 - its highest level since October 1995. Israel and Hezbollah traded fire in Lebanon, and the Strait of Hormuz was closed....

Swisscom's Italian subsidiary Fastweb terminated a long-term contract on Wednesday with INWIT. This escalated a dispute with the top telecom towers provider in the country. Fastweb, who inherited the INWIT contract through its acquisition last year of Vodafone Italy, was pushing for a renegotiation, something that the tower company had refused to do. Fastweb announced last week that it would form a joint venture to build up 6,000 telecoms masts in Italy with Telecom Italia, INWIT's 'other main customer. Sources said that TIM will follow Fastweb in terminating its deal with INWIT. The decision is expected to be made at...

Estun Automation, a Chinese industrial 'robot'maker, said that it would set its price for its Hong Kong listing at the lower end of its range. It aims to raise HK$1,49 billion ($190.54 millions) through the sale of shares. Estun's decision is a result of global markets remaining skittish following the Iran War that erupted in February 28. This triggered a rush for cash which has boosted volatility and squeezed the risk appetite. Estun has offered 96.8 millions H shares at HK$15.36 each, below the maximum HK$17 per share announced last week. Estun is one of a number of companies that...

Sea Ltd, a Singapore-based company, reported a'sharp increase' in?quarterly operating expenses on Tuesday. This was due to heavy spending by the company to combat competition in Southeast Asian ecommerce. The shares of its U.S. listed stock fell 16% before market. The company is attempting to attract consumers through a variety of incentives, including?discounts and offers, as well as loyalty perks. Rivals, such as TikTok Shop, are also expanding. Sea invests in its logistic and delivery services in order to increase market share in important markets like Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. Total operating expenses increased by over?28% in the fourth quarter...

According to Kpler's and LSEG's ship tracking data, two liquefied gas tankers are heading eastwards towards Asia with cargoes from Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 Project. They picked up fuel for the project sanctioned in the last week. The LNG tankers Voskhod and Christophe De Margerie are traveling north from Russia to Asia via the Northern Sea Route. According to data, they had previously berthed respectively at Arctic LNG 2 between September 23 and 26, according to the data. According to Kpler, both tankers were empty when they arrived. Christophe De Margerie left loaded on 25 September while Voskhod also left...

Shiptracking data from LSEG & Kpler revealed that a liquefied gas (LNG), tanker, targeted by U.S. Sanctions, berthed to Russia's Arctic LNG 2 project on Thursday. This was the fifth LNG tanker in this project so far. Late in June, loadings at the Arctic LNG 2 Project resumed, sanctioned due to the war that Moscow waged in Ukraine. Four cargoes are also heading east towards Asia on sanctioned oil tankers. Buran was formerly known as North Air. Its name was changed to Buran in April, after the U.S. imposed sanctions on it last August. The shipping database Equasis revealed that...

Shiptracking data from LSEG/Kpler revealed that a liquefied gas (LNG), vessel subject to U.S. sanction, docked this week at Russia's Arctic LNG 2 facility, marking the second vessel sanctioned in this year to visit the plant. It could be a sign that Arctic LNG 2 has resumed loading, which is also under the same Western sanctions due to Russia's conflict in Ukraine. Kpler data shows that the tanker Voskhod unloaded itself as it approached the Arctic LNG 2 facility on Wednesday. Arctic LNG 2's first vessel of the year was the Iris. It loaded a cargo on the 26th of...

The Iran war has caused the aluminum market to focus on what's not coming through the Strait of Hormuz. There is a?equally important problem: What is not coming in. Gulf Aluminium smelters depend heavily on alumina imports, an intermediate product between bauxite and metal, for their operations. Six smelters are located in the region, but only two refineries produce alumina. Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) Al?Taweelah, a plant of Emirates Global Aluminium, was damaged by Iranian missiles. The same reason is causing the smelter to be out of service at the site, and other smelters have reduced their capacity. As shipments...

The Iran War has caused the aluminum market to focus on what isn't?coming out of Strait of Hormuz. There is a second, equally important problem: What is not coming?in. Gulf Aluminium Smelters depend heavily on alumina imports, the intermediate between bauxite (bauxite) and metal to maintain their operations. Six smelters are located in the region, but there are only two alumina refining plants. Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) Al Taweelah, one of them, was damaged by iranian missiles. The same reason is causing the smelter to be out of service at the site, and other smelters have reduced their capacity. As...

Authorities?said?that all eight people aboard a helicopter died?when it crashed?in Indonesia's West Kalimantan province?as they tried to recover the bodies and wreckage. Mohammad Syafii said that the Airbus H130 helicopter had lost contact five minutes after it took off from a plantation in Melawi. The location of the crash, or the loss of contact, is in an area of dense?forested terrain with steep hills," Syafii stated. He added that'rescuers found debris believed to be the tail from the helicopter about 3 km (2 miles), west of the point where contact was lost. The cause of the crash is still unknown....

Even if Iran were to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, it would still take months before jet fuel supplies could'recover' due to disruptions in Middle East refining capacities. Oil dropped below $100 per barrel after U.S. president Donald Trump announced he had agreed on a ceasefire for two weeks with Iran, subject to an immediate and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz normally transports about a fifth of world oil trade. Willie Walsh (director general of IATA, the International Air Transport Association) told reporters in Singapore, that although he expects crude oil prices will fall,...

According to the Coffee Trading Academy, green coffee stocks in Japan, Europe, and the United States, the two largest coffee-consuming regions in the world, were near historic lows in February, despite the recent weakness of coffee prices. Japan's stock was 2.21 million 60 kg bags. This is a little different from January, and also from last year. It is still far below the 5-year average of 2.75 millions bags for this time of the year. CTA cited data from the European Coffee Federation to say that green coffee stocks in Europe were 6.8 million bags at the end of February....

Industry sources claim that some ships struggle to refuel in Asia's key ports as bunker prices soar. In anticipation of a tightening supply triggered by the conflict in the Middle East, bunker prices have reached record levels. The longer waits for fuel could cause congestion in Asian ports like Singapore, Shanghai, and Ningbo/Zhoushan, China. This is because the Iran War will reduce traffic through the Strait of Hormuz causing delays or diversions. Prices for marine fuel are up sharply, despite the fact that there are still daily offers on the market. This is because the Middle East conflict has curtailed...

LSEG data and traders' reports indicate that Russia is diverting its naphtha from Oman to Singapore as it searches for new buyers. At least one tanker has now headed for Singapore. Iran's retaliatory?attacks on Gulf countries have caused disruptions in energy production, shipping and naphtha discharges. Since the European Union embargo against Russian oil products came into effect in February 2023 most Russian naphtha is being shipped to the Middle East and Asia. Middle Eastern countries also are the largest suppliers to Asia. The recent disruption has pushed Asia's naphtha price to four-year heights. According to LSEG, the Liberia flagged?tanker...

Market sources report that ship refuelling in Fujairah has slowed down after a fire broke out at the port on Tuesday. However, demand for fuel at other hubs, including Singapore, is expected to increase. Traders, suppliers and shippers are waiting for more clarity about the situation. Others say that bunkering can still be done. In a statement released on Tuesday, oil storage companies VTTI and Vopak stated that they 'have temporarily suspended their operations at the Fujairah Terminal following a fire. Fuel shipments were disrupted by the U.S./Iran conflict, causing a?surge in Fujairah prices on Monday and possibly shifting demand...

The refuelling of ships at Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates has slowed down after the U.S. Iran conflict disrupted fuel shipments. This led to a spike in prices, and could have shifted demand from Fujairah to other ports, including Singapore. After some vessels were struck, transit through the Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and Oman has come to a halt. This area carries one-fifth of the world's oil consumption, as well as a large quantity of liquefied gas. Dubai-based sources said that while bunkering is continuing at the port, sales have largely stopped after marine fuel prices soared on...

Annand Jagesar, the managing director at Suriname’s Staatsolie state-run company, stated that a pipeline connecting the two neighbors Guyana and Suriname would be of 'high interest,' to increase the?availability?of fuel. The two countries have developed their offshore oil and gas industries separately. An Exxon Mobil consortium is 'rapidly increasing crude output' and aims to begin non-associated gas production in Guyana within the next few years. A consortium led by TotalEnergies in Suriname is expected to "begin oil production" through the $12 billion Gran Morgu Project, while another natural gas project nears a final investment decision. Since years, Guyana and Suriname...

Authorities reported that three?people died and several were injured in shootings 'in two areas of Indonesian's easternmost region, Papua. This included?near operations of Freeport - Indonesia, a gold & copper miner. Police spokesman Cahyo Sukanrito?said that the pilot and copilot of a Smart Air small commercial plane were killed when assailants fired on it as it landed on Korowai Airport in Boven Digoel province, South Papua, on Wednesday. In addition to the pilots, there were 13 other passengers on board. He said that when the shooting began, both the pilots as well as the passengers fled the plane into a...

Indonesian police confirmed on Wednesday that a pilot and a co-pilot a small plane were killed 'after unknown assailants opened fire 'on the aircraft landed in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua. Local police spokesman Cahyo Sukarinto said that the Smart Air plane carrying 13 passengers and two?pilots landed on Korowai Airport in Boven Digoel (South Papua) at 11.17 local time (0.21 GMT) on Wednesday. He said that when the shooting began, both the pilots as well as the passengers left the plane. They then headed to a forest area near the airport. All passengers were unharmed, except for the pilot...