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Maguire: Southeast Asia is a key driver for China's clean tech exports.
Southeast Asian nations are the key drivers behind China's clean energy export boom. The region has made record purchases this year of grid equipment, clean power generation components, and electric vehicles. According to Ember, the energy think-tank, ASEAN countries have spent over $20 billion in total on clean-tech Chinese products by?2026. This total is 50% higher than the same period last year. It has?solidified Southeast Asia as the largest Asian market for Chinese clean-tech components. Southeast Asian demand is important because while Europe was the main destination for China's exports of clean-tech products in recent years ASEAN represents the next frontier. It could provide Chinese exporters with a demand boom lasting for years. BROAD BASED DEMAND ON CHINA’S DOORSTEP ASEAN is demanding a wide range of clean-tech products from China. The year-to-date purchase of solar panels, batteries, grid components and heating and cooling systems has all reached record levels. This wide-ranging demand is a positive development for Chinese exporters. They have relied heavily on advanced economies over the past few years, but they are now facing increasing trade tensions with Europe and North America which could slow down future growth. As electricity consumption, industrial activity, and energy investment all increase, the demand for Chinese-made products will also continue to grow. The economies of the region continue to urbanize at an increasing rate, industrialize more and digitize. The governments are increasing renewable energy capacity, expanding the power grids, encouraging electric vehicle adoption, and strengthening domestic manufacturing. Solar panels, batteries and EVs are all products that China produces in unprecedented quantities. Southeast Asia has become a major market for?China's clean tech output, at a moment when the access to certain developed markets is uncertain. SOLAR SHINES Export data for solar systems is one of the most obvious examples of Southeast Asia's importance for China's manufacturers. ASEAN countries have collectively spent $4.1 billion on solar panels made in China so far this season, which is a 90% increase from the same period of 2025. ASEAN accounts for 57% (of China's total exports of solar products across Asia), making it a crucial market for the solar industry. Philippines, Malaysia Indonesia and Vietnam are among the top buyers. They have nearly doubled their solar imports in 2026, compared to a year ago. The region spent just over $7 billion on energy storage batteries and about $1.6 billion on grid component imports. The region imported EVs worth $6.3 billion, and spent an additional $1.2 billion on heating and cooling systems. WORSE IMPACT Demand for clean energy components is increasing across Southeast Asia, and this has implications beyond China's manufacturing base. The trajectory of emissions will be increasingly shaped by economies in development with increasing populations, expanding industries and rising electricity needs. Southeast Asia, which has a population of around 700 million people, is the fastest growing economic bloc in the world, with an annual GDP growth rate of about 5%. According to Ember, the economic growth requires a?constantly increasing power consumption. Coal currently makes up a large part of the power mix in this region. But every shipment of solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles (EVs) and grid equipment to Southeast Asia could accelerate the deployment of low-carbon energy systems in one of the fastest-growing regions of the world. Clean-tech is no longer just about the place where products are manufactured. The story is not only about where products are made, but also how they are used. Southeast Asia, by this measure, is one of the key regions in the global transition to energy. Clean-tech imports from China are growing faster than global markets. The share of Asian demand is increasing. Its appetite spans all major segments of the clean energy economy. Southeast Asia is a key region as China looks for markets that can absorb its massive clean-tech production. You like this column? Check out Open Interest, your new essential source for global financial commentary. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, X and X. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast daily on Apple, Spotify or the app. Subscribe to the Morning Bid podcast and hear journalists discussing the latest news in finance and markets seven days a weeks.
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Poste Italiane increases Telecom Italia's offer and waives the threshold condition
Poste Italiane, an Italian financial conglomerate, increased the value of its takeover bid for Telecom Italia by EUR550 million on 'Monday. In a press release, the state-controlled group announced that it would increase its bid per share?by EUR0.30 up to EUR1.97 and, for the first, offer equity, 0.218 newly issued Poste shares, for every share of Italy's ex-phone monopoly. Poste also waived its condition that it must receive 66.67% of all outstanding shares. The offer period expires on Friday and the take-up rate has been low. Calculations based on bourse data show that Poste Italiane has secured Telecom Italia's shares, which accounted for 25% of TIM's capital as of Monday. Poste's bid was launched?in?March, as part of an initiative to create a?national champion in digital infrastructure and services. Poste announced that it would offer an aggregate maximum?cash component? of EUR3,36 billion ($3,90 billion).
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Airbus deliveries at the end of August rose by 9%
Airbus jet deliveries increased 9% in the first eight-months of 2026. The European planemaker is 'broadly on target' to meet its yearly quota, but it still has some catching up to do with the A330 after a production snag. Airbus announced in a monthly bulletin it delivered 475 jets between January and August. This is up from the 434 that were delivered in the same period last year. The total included 57 deliveries during August. The France-based company released data showing that deliveries of the A330 wide body jet resumed in August with one handover, after they had been suspended for two months in June and July due to the discovery of an A330 tail segment containing a lost tool. Airbus has delivered 11 A330s this year, a 31% decrease. Delivery of the A320 family narrowbody, which is considered to be the benchmark for all other aircraft in its class, increased by 11%. The company targets 870 deliveries by 2026, up 10% from last year's 793. In August, the?planemaker shipped 67 aircraft including eight A350F cargo planes to an unnamed customer. So far this year, the company has sold 1,157 aircraft or 1,091 when cancellations are taken into account.
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Bloomberg News reports that Europe's largest mobile operators are in discussions for a satellite-to-mobile venture.
Bloomberg News reported that?Telefonica, Orange, Vodafone Group, and Deutsche Telekom are in early talks to create a consortium for bidding on satellite spectrum, and offering direct-to mobile services. The report said that a group of 'carriers' would bid together for a?share of the 2 gigahertz airwaves the European Union has proposed to reserve for a?local operator. This plan is aimed at increasing the sovereign satellite capability. Bloomberg reported that no final decisions have been made about the consortium's bid or its plans. Vodafone and Orange refused to comment while Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica?did not immediately?respond?to requests for comments. The project would be a European rival to Elon Musk's Starlink on the continent and would align with the European Union's push to develop'sovereign satellite communications capabilities'
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NTSB updates on fatal Amazon Prime Air cargo plane accident in Miami
The US National Transportation Safety Board announced in a X post that it will be holding a press briefing on Monday at 2:00 pm EDT (20:00 GMT) to provide the latest information about the deadly crash of an Amazon Prime Air cargo plane at Miami International Airport on Sunday. Prime Air Flight 7598, which was heading to the east, overran the diagonal runway of the airport shortly before 2 pm EDT. It struck several vehicles and killed 5 people. Five others were injured, three in critical condition. The crash trapped the pilot and copilot in the plane, according to?Miami Fire Chief Ray Jadallah. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said that more than 60 units of rescue and 200 personnel responded. Jadallah said that emergency personnel were still dealing with the fuel leak as late as Sunday afternoon. In a Sunday afternoon post on X, the NTSB announced that they had "launched a Go Team" to investigate this accident. The airport immediately halted flights after the accident, but flights were resumed on Sunday evening. The incident had lingering effects for passengers flying into Miami. FlightAware, a flight tracking website, reported that by noon EDT Monday, the average delay of inbound flights was more than five hours. 232 flights were canceled over the previous 24 hours. Flightradar24, a flight tracking service, reported that the plane was a 32 year old Boeing 767-300 freighter, which had been used as a passenger aircraft by various airlines from 1994 until 2015. Photos taken after the crash show the jet with its nose down and tail up. The right side of the aircraft had what looked like scorch marks. Flightradar24 reported that the plane had been traveling at 112 knots when it left the runway.
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Hapag-Lloyd to improve $4.2 billion bid on Israel's ZIM
Hapag-Lloyd said that it is working with Israel to improve its $4.2 billion cash offer for ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, which the German shipping company announced on Monday. The proposed deal was met with 'heavy' opposition in Israel. This included 'ZIM's employees, Defence Minister Israel Katz 'and other government officials who claim that the transfer of Israel's shipping operations to a foreign firm undermines Israel's national security. Hapag-Lloyd's CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said, "We have developed an improved proposal to strengthen Israel's maritime independence and security." Habben Jansen said in a press release that "the revised proposal" will ensure Israel's access to important shipping routes including those from Asia. Hapag-Lloyd - which aims to be the fifth largest shipping group in the world - said the deal would create ZIM - a container shipping company that is owned by the Israeli private equity fund FIMI. In a similar deal, FIMI intends to?acquire a business that has 16 vessels carved from ZIM which secures 'direct global maritime links for?Israel via a new company named ZIM Israel. Hapag-Lloyd stated that it held several rounds of meetings, including with officials from the Israeli economy, finance and defense ministries to "revise structural elements of this proposed acquisition". The proposal is expected to go before the Israeli cabinet at the end of the month. Israel has a "golden stake", which gives Israel special ownership rights over ZIM. Habben Jensen stated that the agreement would also prevent foreign interference with the transport of Israel's sensitive goods, which is a "significant improvement" over the existing arrangement. Oren Caspi, Chairman of ZIM's Workers Committee, has said that he is against the proposed merger, stating that ZIM shouldn't be given to "hostile" parties. At present, ZIM shares up to 24 percent can be sold to a single investor from abroad without Israel's prior approval. Hapag-Lloyd proposed lowering the threshold to 10% in order to prevent foreign influence. For its part?FIMI has committed not to list ZIM Israel's shares outside Israel's stock exchange. Hapag-Lloyd stated that the parties had agreed to enhance shipping connections between Israel & Asia on the request of Israeli officials.
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India's Shiprocket suffers narrower loss between April and June
Shiprocket, an Indian logistics company backed by Temasek, reported a smaller first-quarter loss on Monday. This was boosted by its core shipping business. The company's earnings are its first quarterly results since August, when it raised $170 million in an initial public offering. Shiprocket is a logistics platform that offers shipping, fulfillment, payment and other services to online merchants. It competes with Delhivery, Blue Dart Express and others. The company reported a consolidated profit of?137.1 millions rupees ($1.45million) for the three months ended June 30. This is down from a loss of 180.3 millions rupees one year ago. The company reported a profit on a standalone basis, excluding subsidiaries, of 201.6 millions rupees. This compares to a loss of 89.9million rupees the previous year. Shiprocket’s core business, which includes domestic shipping, software tools and marketing solutions, saw a 28% increase in pre-tax profit to 526,9 million rupees. Revenues from the company's emerging business, which includes cargo and fulfilment as well as cross-border shipping and marketing solutions, increased by 70%. The company stated that it continues to invest into its emerging businesses which reported a pre-tax profit of 437.5 millions?rupees. Shiprocket’s quarterly revenue increased by about 34%, to?5.92 billion rupees. However, expenses rose by nearly 31%. Costs for freight handling and service have increased across the industry, as inflation and network expansion add to costs. According to a Google and Deloitte study, India's ecommerce market will grow from $90 billion to $250 billion in 2030, as consumers spend more money online.
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North Korea and Russia Open their First Road Bridge, A Symbol of Expanding Ties
North Korea and Russia opened their first bridge on Monday in a well-choreographed show of friendship. The structure spans the Tumen River and was hailed by both sides as a milestone for their growing strategic partnership. First trucks with flags trundled over the bridge's 1 km (0.6 miles) of two-lanes as Russian Premier Mikhail Mishustin, and North Korea's premier Pak Thae Song watched via video link. They addressed workers and officials from both nations. The construction of the new bridge began in April 2018 after it was decided to build the bridge during the visit by Vladimir Putin in North Korea 2024. Although there are direct rail and air links between Moscow, and Pyongyang already exists, until Monday there was no proper road connection. Since 1959, by special arrangement, planks have been placed on the nearby railway bridge, which was the sole border crossing point for decades, to allow vehicles to cross the border. "I'm convinced that the expansion of the cross-border transportation infrastructure will provide a powerful boost for the development of trade and economic, scientific and technological cooperation, and cultural exchange," said Mishustin. He said the ties between Moscow, Pyongyang and the United States were at an "unprecedented high level." The opening of the bridge was hailed as "a truly historic event." He said that the construction of the bridge wasn't just an engineering project but was "a new symbol for friendship". Mishustin stated that up to 300 vehicles could cross the bridge every day. The 'bridge' would also be connected to Russia’s federal road system and would have easy access the the transport corridor, which runs from Vladivostok in the far east to St Petersburg. The Russian government announced that trucks would immediately begin using the bridge to transport cargo. The bridge will be fully operational by the end of the year and can be used to transport passengers as well. The bridge was constructed near an existing "Friendship Bridge", which is a rail bridge that was opened in 1959, after the Korean War. The new bridge was named in honor of Yakov Novichenko. Pyongyang credits him with saving the life Kim Il Sung, North Korea's founding leader, by intercepting the grenade that was thrown towards him and other people. The ties between the two countries have strengthened since the beginning of the Ukraine war in 2022. Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops into Russia's Kursk area to repel an incursion by the Ukrainians in 2024. Mishustin referred to this in his Monday speech, saying that "the Korean Heroes who, just recently, fought side by side with our soldiers to defend Russian soil".
Why Americans are paying for unfinished power projects
Unknowingly, millions of Americans finance electric grid projects without realizing any benefits.
According to an analysis of regulatory disclosures, policymakers are allowing utilities to charge customers for transmission lines and power plants long before they have been built. This increases bills for the near future in exchange for the promised savings decades down the line. Incentives are being offered to boost grid upgrades in a time when artificial intelligence data centers demand a lot of power. However, they also increase power bills for businesses and households.
In the past, utilities that wanted to invest in expensive infrastructure projects had to obtain loans from investors and banks, and were only allowed to pass on those costs to their customers once the projects were completed.
These projects can also be financed ahead of time under the Construction Work In Progress (CWIP), a benefit which boosts cash flow for electric utilities and reduces their borrowing costs. These fees can amount to several dollars per household, multiplied by millions of customers.
According to a review involving several thousand pages of rate disclosures from electric utilities, at least 40 U.S. States now offer some form of CWIP incentive. This is twice as many states as a decade earlier, when a study by the economic consultant Brattle Group revealed fewer than twenty states had CWIP provisions.
Until now, there have been no reports on the extent to which CWIP policies spread over the last five years in tandem with the explosion in construction of data centers. Two dozen analysts, industry officials and consumer watchdogs were also interviewed to understand the impact these policies have on the repair and buildout of the grid, as well as the electricity bills for American households.
CWIP policies were used to fund a variety of large energy - and infrastructure projects. These included the Vogtle reactors in Georgia which had significant cost overruns. Another project in Nevada is raising bills for benefits that will be realized decades from now. And a Virginia offshore farm has collected around $2 billion before it even began operations.
The?U.S. After decades of relatively low demand for electricity, the 'U.S. According to U.S. regulators, the electric grid's buffer reserve has become dangerously thin across several regions. This increases the likelihood of rotating blackouts. Grid operators expect electricity demand to increase by more than 2% annually through 2045 after an average annual growth rate of 0.5% between 2009 and 2024.
Reporting indicates that many of the state CWIP policies were introduced only in the last few years as grid tightness increased.
Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe reversed a ban on CWIP incentives in Missouri that had been in place for 50 years to address the rising demand of power from data centres. Arkansas, Kansas Oklahoma and North Carolina all have CWIP provisions in place since 2024.
In a press release, the Governor's?office stated that "Governor Kehoe is convinced CWIP encourages new energy generation and reduces long-term financing cost passed on to ratepayers." Without CWIP, utility bills would increase dramatically when a new plant is brought online. CWIP allows for these costs to be recouped more slowly, reducing the price shocks that customers experience.
The National Governors Association (NGA), which represents state Governors, has stated that it doesn't take a stance on if CWIP would be appropriate for specific states or projects.
Business and consumer groups have criticized?CWIP, claiming that it has increased power costs to fund projects which may not benefit them.
Paul Cicio is the president of Industrial Energy Consumers of America (a trade group representing large manufacturers). "The average ratepayer doesn't know this is happening."
WHY WAIT DECADES for a payout?
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. electricity prices have already increased by 40% in the last five years in order to pay for massive investments in an aging electric grid. In hotspots such as Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, data center prices have risen double-digits in the past year. Ben Inskeep is the program director of Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana in Indianapolis, a consumer watchdog organization. He said that "huge rate increases have created a massive affordability crisis for electric power." "CWIP incentives add insult to injury for customers."
Utilities, states and other stakeholders say that CWIP incentives can be crucial to kick-starting the types of projects required to shore up the grid and meet the growing demand after decades of underinvestment. They also claim that these provisions will lower the costs for ratepayers in the long run by reducing the financing costs.
According to Berkshire Hathaway's disclosures, NV Energy, a utility owned by Berkshire Hathaway, charges an average customer $4 a monthly to cover financing costs for long-range high-voltage lines that are scheduled to come into service in 2028.
Utility says that using CWIP as a way to finance the project will be cheaper than borrowing money from Wall Street. This will save money for ratepayers.
Mark Garrett, consultant at Nevada's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said that the benefit calculated - as lower rates – could be as low as 0.1%. It would take a half-century to see the benefits. Garrett stated that a ratepayer must stay with the CWIP for at least 52 years to receive any benefit. This means that a 40-year-old average ratepayer will be 92 years old before they see any benefits from the CWIP model.
NV Energy has not responded to messages seeking comment about Garrett's analysis.
According to regulatory disclosures, in Virginia, the state with the largest concentration of data centres, Dominion Energy has already collected about $2 billion from electric customers for a $11.5 billion offshore farm that is still under construction. This amounts to an average monthly charge of around $11.23, which is the peak amount. Dominion executives claim that the CWIP structure is expected to save ratepayers about $2 billion in the 30-year life of the project.
Wall Street analysts have described the capital expenditure by U.S. utilities as a super-cycle of investment that will surpass $1 trillion over the next five year period. According to financial results, utility companies earn a rate of return that ranges between 9% and 12% on their capital expenditures.
Are Georgia's nukes a cautionary tale?
CWIP incentives often come with provisions that protect utilities from delays and cancellations as well as cost overruns. Ratepayers are left to pay the bill, according to Jason Walter, a University of Tulsa economist.
This is a concern because there has been a long history of projects that have failed, were delayed or over budgeted in the U.S.
Walter stated that "if a project - particularly one involving nuclear energy - cannot attract private investment without a government backstop, this is a clear indication that it may not be an economically responsible investment." "Forcing captive ratespayers to serve as a 'bank' for speculative project serves no clear public benefit."
In some cases, the structure has already triggered a public backlash.
Georgia voters ousted two?Republican Public Service Commissioners in November. This was a result of a referendum against CWIP, which was sparked by massive cost overruns on the construction of two Vogtle reactors.
Georgia regulators report that the project was seven years late and cost $35 billion, which is more than twice as much as the initial estimate of $14 billion. Georgia regulatory documents show that households in the state have paid an average of $1,000 in CWIP costs since 2009, as electricity rates rose sharply.
Patty Durand is the director of Georgians For Affordable Energy. She said that Georgia's nuclear quest should be seen as a warning across the nation for the nuclear hype currently underway. "Georgia's ratepayers suffered a severe blow, and any elected officials who support these high-risk projects could suffer the same fate as the two commissioners, who lost their seats, due to consumer anger."
(source: Reuters)