Latest News
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Europe probes Chinese bidder in Lisbon railway project over possible market distortion
The European Commission announced that it had opened an investigation on possible market distortions by China's state owned CRRC, in a bid to build railways in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. According to a preliminary investigation, the Commission found that the Portuguese subsidiary of the Chinese rolling-stock manufacturer may have received foreign subsidies for its participation in a bid in April to build Lisbon's "violet line", a surface section linked to the city underground. According to Metropolitano de Lisboa (the issuer), the tender attracted four bids ranging between 599 million Euros ($698.55 millions) and 716 million Euros. The winner has not yet been selected. The bidders were not listed as Chinese. Portugal CRRC Tangshan Rolling Stock has not responded to a comment request immediately. The Commission announced that it would launch an in-depth investigation into CRRC, under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation system of the EU, following preliminary findings. It will then decide whether it accepts remedies from the firm, bars it from winning or decides not to object. Stephane Sejourne, European Commissioner for Industry, said that protecting the single market (EU) from distortions was essential to ensuring fair competition, supporting companies who competed on merit and safeguarding the Union's security economic.
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Sources claim that Trafigura has flooded LME Malaysia with aluminium.
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 title documents that confer ownership. Metal on LME warrant rent is much higher than metal stored in storage without warrant. The companies that offer metal for rent do not need to own the metal. Instead, they receive a portion of the rent paid by new owners as long as the metal remains in the warehouse. Aluminium rent is 56 cents per ton in Port Klang, or $56,000 a year for 100,000 tons. Sources said Trafigura would also be able to benefit from incentives. If the metal is waiting to leave the warehouse, LME allows operators the option to charge for rent up to 80 days. The incentive is calculated based on the free-on-truck rate (FOT), and the potential rent. Incentives for owners of metals to place it on LME warrant rather than offer it to the market would need to be higher to reflect the supply, demand, and costs, including freight and taxes. Typically, consumers buy metal in contracts that include both the physical market premium and the LME benchmark. If they are short on metal, they can also purchase it from the physical market. (Reporting and editing by Alexander Smith; Pratima Deai)
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After Russian strikes, Ukraine imports gas from Greece via the Balkans to keep its system running
Ukraine has resumed imports of gas from a pipeline which runs from the Balkan Peninsula to Greece to keep its heating systems and electric system running throughout the winter, after extensive damage caused by intensified Russian airstrikes. In October, Russia intensified its strikes against Ukraine's gas industry, causing it to lose at least half of the country's own production and force Ukraine to import 4 billion cubic meters of additional gas to compensate. According to data from Ukrainian gas transit operator, Ukraine is expected to receive 1.1 million cubic meters (mcm), after importing 0.78 mcm Tuesday. The Transbalkan route connects Ukraine with LNG terminals in Greece via Moldova, Romania, and Bulgaria. ExPro, a Ukrainian energy consultancy, said that Greek DEPA Commercial and D.Trading (a subsidiary of Ukraine’s largest private energy company DTEK) had booked the capacity to import gas to Ukraine from Greece with a daily quantity of 0.6 millions cubic metres. Ukraine imports approximately 23 mcm per day, which includes nearly 10 mcm each from Hungary, 8 mcm each from Poland, and 5 mcm each from Slovakia. Transbalkan routes were not operated in September or October and only July and August prior to this. Gas transit costs were high across all four countries, including Ukraine. ExPro stated that tariff reductions by Moldovan operators and Romanian operators helped to boost bookings of capacity in November. Long Recovery Gas pipelines must maintain high pressure, and the Transbalkan route import is one element that will help the Ukrainian system stay operational when the domestic production cannot pump enough gas in the pipes. Oleksandr Kharchenko said that Russian attacks damaged a large number of gas compressions, which complicated the restoration of Ukraine's power system. Kharchenko said in a television briefing that the compressor stations had been destroyed. "We won't be able to restore 30-40% (of the destroyed capacity) for the heating season." He said that gas compressors are very expensive and not available anywhere in the world due to the high demand. "The (Gas) Production has been Affected, and Restoring the Compressors is Not a Matter of Months." Kharchenko said that the restoration of production would take between 15 and 18 months. Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Editing by Peter Graff
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Tesla's German auto sales fell by more than half in October, as EV sales grew across the board
The German road traffic agency KBA reported on Wednesday that Tesla's German sales volume had more than halved from the same period last year. However, sales of battery-electric vehicles were up overall. KBA reported that Tesla sold 750 vehicles in Germany in October. This is a 53.5% decrease from the previous year. Teslas were sold at a 50.4% lower rate in January-October, to 15,595 cars, than the same period a year ago. KBA said that the number of electric vehicles registered in October increased by 47.7% to 52.425 units. Tesla's sales in October fell in several European countries, including Spain and the Netherlands. The latest indication that the U.S. electric car maker continues to struggle on the continent is the drop in sales in October in Spain. The German agency said that sales of electric vehicles manufactured by BYD in China increased ninefold from October 2013 to October 2014, and have reached 15,171 units.
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Pembina Pipeline will supply LNG to Malaysian PETRONAS for 20 Years
The Canadian company Pembina Pipeline announced on Wednesday that it would supply Malaysia's PETRONAS with 1.0 million tonnes of liquefied gas per year. Cedar LNG Project for 20 Years The agreement marks an important milestone in the $4 billion Cedar LNG Project and reinforces Canada's efforts to become a global supplier of LNG to Asia. The company stated that it would give PETRONAS an additional outlet to export natural gas for its Canadian upstream investments, while also providing Pembina a stable and long-term revenue source. Cedar, a joint-venture between Haisla First Nation, an Indigenous community, and Pembina would produce 3.3 millions tons of timber per year after its completion in 2028. Canada, the sixth largest natural gas producer in the world, has not been able to build a strong LNG industry as other gas-producing countries have. (Reporting and editing by Vijay Kishore in Bengaluru. Katha Kalia is based in Bengaluru.
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Source: October's oil production in Kazakhstan is down 10% from September
According to industry sources and calculations, Kazakhstan's crude production excluding condensate gas fell 10% to 1,69 million barrels a day last month, but was still higher than the OPEC+ output quota. Industry sources claim that the Central Asian Republic has exceeded quotas repeatedly, angering some OPEC member countries. OPEC+ is a group of producers, including the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and others led by Russia. Kazakhstan's OPEC+ production quota in October was 1.556 million bpd. The decline in production was largely due to maintenance on its largest oilfield - the Tengiz oilfield operated by U.S. major oil company Chevron Tengizchevroil. Sources said that maintenance was carried out from the beginning of the month until the 24th October, resulting in a reduction in the output to 725.400 bpd from September's 963.830 bpd. Tengizchevroil and the energy ministry did not respond to comments immediately. Source: Kazakhstan's total production of crude oil and condensate of gas, a form of light oil in the country, dropped to 8.016 millions metric tons (from 8.345 in September) in October. (Reporting and Editing by David Goodman).
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Nine injured after driver rams pedestrians in west France
In a Facebook post, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez revealed that a driver rammed pedestrians and bicycles on the French island of Oleron, off its Atlantic Coast, on Wednesday. The driver injured several people, before being arrested. Arnaud Larraine, local prosecutor and Sud Ouest reporter, said that the 35-year old suspect shouted, "Allahu akbar" (Arabic, "God Is Greatest"), when he was arrested by the police. French media reported that the motive of the attack was still unclear, and the office of the prosecutor for anti-terrorism is not responsible for the investigation at this time. The prosecutor’s office was not available for immediate comment. Thibault Brchkoff, mayor of Dolus-d'Oleron told BFM TV that at least nine people had been injured by the suspect's vehicle in different areas of the island. Nunez reported that two of the victims were in intensive-care - later, some French media said it was four. Le Parisien reported that investigators were investigating the possibility of the suspect being mentally disturbed. Local newspaper Charente Libre, and other French media, citing Mayor of Saint-Pierre d'Oleron Christophe Sueur, reported that the man had been known to the police for petty crimes, including driving drunk. Charente Libre newspaper identified the suspect as "Jacques G", and stated that he is French. The newspaper did not give any sources. It did not cite its sources.
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Sources say that Mexico's Asur is the leading bidder for Motiva Latin American Airports.
Two sources familiar with the negotiations said that Mexico's Grupo aeroportuario del sureste (Asur), the largest bidder for Motiva's airports, was the Mexican group. Motiva Infraestrutura de Mobilidade (formerly CCR), a Brazilian company, announced in May that it had started the sale process to shift its focus back on its core business of highway concessions. Sources say that Mexico's Asur outbid Spanish operator Aena as well as Argentina's Corporacion America Airports for Motiva’s 17 Brazilian airports, international hubs, and the capital of Ecuador, Quito, Costa Rica’s San Jose, and Curacao. One source said that Asur valued the assets around 5 billion Reis ($925m), excluding the debt. In its annual report, the group said that its airports will serve around 45 million passengers by 2024. Aena and Motiva refused to comment on the transaction. Asur and CAAP declined to comment on the sale. Last week, during the third quarter earnings call, Motiva CEO Miguel Setas stated that the group expects to announce the sale of assets by the end of 2025. Motiva maintains and manages a network that includes highways, airports, passenger transport services and subways. In the first nine months 2025, adjusted earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), for Motiva's Airports business, rose 15% to reach 912 million reais. ($1 = 5.4039 Reais) (Reporting from Andres González in London and Luciana Madry in Sao Paolo, with additional reporting by Kylie Madry and Alexander Smith).
European Financial investment Bank steps up multi-billion euro defence financial investments
The European Financial Investment Bank ( EIB) intends to ramp up its financial investments in European defence such as drones, satellites and cyber security, intending to inject a further 6 billion euros ($ 6.4 billion) into the sector, its head told .
The strategy highlights an increasing desire in Europe to provide to defence business after Russia's intrusion of Ukraine altered an entrenched view that the area was safe from attack and might rely on the United States for security.
It's clear we need to reinforce Europe ´ s security and defence market, EIB president Nadia Calvino told . We. have allocated 8 billion euros to buy this area, of which. only 2 billion have been invested.
The relocation marks another modest effort by Europe to maintain. with Russia, which has put its entire economy on a war footing.
Calvino stated a special team had actually been established to invest the. cash. We have actually developed a devoted workplace to speed up the. release of the 6 billion euros earmarked, she stated.
We are engaging actively with the European market so it. is to be anticipated that a pipeline of jobs will be established. in the second part of the year, she said, highlighting border. security, military movement, de-mining and military health centers.
The EIB, backed by nations in the area, has big. financial influence, although it is treading carefully in support. defence. It has backed a satellite project in Poland and a. German drone maker however steers clear of ammo, for instance.
The EIB just recently changed the guidelines underpinning its. activity, permitting it to provide to, or indirectly invest in,. defence firms.
Tim Lawrenson of the International Institute for Strategic. Research studies, stated the relocation was symbolically important and would send. a signal to other banks, which often took their lead from the. EIB, that it was appropriate to back defence business.
Any European tank is made up of countless parts built by. numerous small defence suppliers throughout Europe, he said. These business have actually struggled to obtain and stand to benefit. many.
Naturally 8 billion euros is little when compared to 2024. European defence costs of $476 billion, still less the $968. billion U.S. spend, he stated.
The change will do little to attend to how Russian arms. production is overshadowing that of Ukraine.
Ukraine's state budget plan for defence is 10 billion euros,. stated Herman Smetanin, CEO of JSC UDI, Ukraine's state-owned. weapon maker. Russia is investing 10 times as much. It's difficult. to eliminate a war with such an imbalance.
The European Union, which with other Western allies wishes to. consist of Russian advances and push back an increasingly assertive. rival, introduced an initiative in March 2023 to provide one. million weapons shells to Ukraine within 12 months.
But it delivered bit majority that amount by the. deadline.
(source: Reuters)