ASEAN Countries

Apptronik announced on Thursday that it had raised $350m in a funding session led by B Capital, Capital Factory and Alphabet's Google, for the production of AI powered humanoid robotics. Austin-based company, Apollo Robotics, is developing a humanoid or human-like robot that will be able to perform tasks in manufacturing plants and warehouses, such as moving packages. Apptronik is joining the ranks of competitors like Tesla and Nvidia's Figure AI, in the race to create human-like robots. Artificial intelligence advances have led to major breakthroughs in robotics. Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated in October of last year that "a great...

An adviser for the South Asian nation’s energy ministry told the India Energy Week Conference on Tuesday that Bangladesh is interested in long-term LNG deals with nations like Brunei. Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan said that the government is close to finalising a list of nations from which it will buy LNG on a spot basis. He also stated that two LNG import facilities are planned. The first will be an on-land terminal with a 1,000 million cubic foot per day capacity. The second will be a floating storage and regassification facility with a 600 million cubic foot per day capacity....

Analyst Green Pool stated on Wednesday that the global sugar balance will shift to a modest surplus during the 2025/26 crop year, with the production expected to increase. The Australia-based analyst for sugar and biofuels said that the surplus was expected to be 2.7 million tons in 2025/26 compared with the deficit of 3.7 millions in the previous season. Analyst: "Global stock levels remain tight but will receive some relief from projected surplus," he said. The global production is expected to grow 4.5% in 2025/26 to 202.0 millions tons, which will be the second highest total ever recorded. Brazil, India,...

In a Wednesday post on X, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum stated that the United Arab Emirates non-oil goods trade will reach a record of 3 trillion dirhams (816.86 million dollars) by 2024. Post on X reported that the non-oil exports of the Gulf State increased by 14.6% from the year before. The UAE is considered the tourism and business center of the Gulf Region. It has made significant investments in infrastructure and policy to support long-term growth. Since 2021 it has initiated a number of bilateral trade agreements, investments and cooperation deals, called Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements. It...

A draft document from the industry ministry showed that Vietnam's power production targets have been lowered for offshore wind and gas in this decade. Coal and other renewables will fill the gaps until nuclear reactors become part of the energy mix, which is expected to happen by 2035. The document was released late Tuesday night and is still subject to change. It aims to replace 2023's power generation plan. The Southeast Asian export hub is trying to meet the increasing electricity demand of domestic manufacturers as well as multinationals in the country. According to the revised plan Vietnam will not...

Fuel oil margins rose after U.S. president Donald Trump reimposed tougher policies on Iran. However, trade sources expect the rally to be short-lived due to an unclear disruption in supply, and weaker China demand, as well as broader tariff worries, weighed on sentiment. As traders have considered various factors and pondered the uncertainty of supply, there has been a volatile movement in the market this year, especially for high-sulfur fuel. A fuel oil trader stated that the recent increase in crack spread or traded margin was more of an emotional reaction. He added that Chinese demand remains a negative factor....

Reliance Retail launched an app to sell fashionwear in India from China's Shein, under a license deal. This comes almost five years after Shein's App was banned in India following a diplomatic dispute. Reliance is owned by Mukesh Ambani. A person who has direct knowledge of Reliance’s launch plans said that the app was launched on Saturday morning. The launch was not announced by the firm. Shein nor its parent company Reliance Industries did not respond to any requests for comments made outside of normal business hours. Shein India Fast Fashion is a departure from Reliance’s strategy to add brands...

China's leading electric vehicle maker BYD intends to finish its $1 billion plant in Indonesia at the end of 2025, the head of its local unit said on Monday, highlighting the firm's ambition to dominate in the market where Japanese car manufacturers are popular. The long-lasting plan for the plant is for the export market, stated Eagle Zhao, BYD's president director in Indonesia. Every development of our regional production is rather smooth and likewise on the track. We will keep our commitment, which is by end-2025, we will complete the construction works, Zhao stated in a joint interview with Reuters...

China imported a record amount of coal in 2024, driving world imports of the fuel to an alltime high. So why are coal exporters beginning 2025 in a deep blue funk? For coal exporters, China is both their saviour and tormentor, as the record import volumes are only possible due to the fact that seaborne prices have dropped to multi-year lows. Rates for export coal have declined in order to stay competitive with China's domestic prices, with the world's. biggest producer and importer of coal driving what takes place in. international coal markets. China's coal imports increased to an all-time...

Vietnam and Russia signed on Tuesday a contract on nuclear energy and numerous cooperation offers throughout a check out to Hanoi by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, highlighting close ties between the 2 nations. Russia's nuclear energy company Rosatom and Vietnam's. state-owned power utility EVN consented to increase cooperation in the. nuclear sector, according to a joint file. Vietnam prepares to restart its nuclear energy programme having. suspended it for years, as it needs to increase power generation to. feed its growing industrial sector, a crucial motorist of its economy. Russia also accepted transfer a maritime research study vessel,. under...

India's Adani group is leaving its durable goods joint endeavor with Singapore's Wilmar International in a $2. billion offer as it aims to bolster its facilities service. The divestment marks the Indian conglomerate's very first. significant deal considering that the U.S. indictment of its billionaire. creator in November and will see Wilmar acquire the group's 31%. stake in Adani Wilmar at a per-share price not. surpassing 305 rupees. The cost is a 7.2% discount to Adani Wilmar since. Monday's close and values the part being sold to Wilmar at. $ 1.44 billion. Adani will sell its remaining 13% stake in...

Shell has closed down an oil processing unit at its Pulau Bukom facility to investigate a. presumed leak, Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA). and National Environment Company (NEA) said on Friday. The oil business approximates that a few tonnes of refined oil. items, along with cooling water discharge used in the. refining procedure, have dripped. Pulau Bukom, site of Singapore's first refinery, now. houses Shell's only energy and chemicals park in Asia, according. to the business's site. Shell confirmed in an emailed statement to Reuters that. oil sheens were spotted along with a wharf on Dec. 26, 2024 at....

The parliament approved the creation of a state-owned investment vehicle that will oversee government investments in some the largest companies. It is similar to Singapore's Temasek investment arm. Soon after Prabowo Subito assumed office in October, the creation of Daya Anagata Nusantara Investment Management Agency (Danantara) was announced with the goal of improving performance and returns on state investments. Danantara will have an initial capital of at least 1,000 trillion Rupiah (61 billion dollars). Sufmi dasco Ahmad, deputy speaker to parliament, told reporters that it would take over the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry's holdings in all state-owned companies. State companies play...

Indonesia's parliament proposed on Thursday to revise the nation's mining law to help the government accelerate development of its mineral processing market and to manage mining permits for religious groups and for universities. President Prabowo Subianto has pledged to speed up advancement of Indonesia's mineral processing market and energy transition and formed a special task force to come up with comprehensive plan for the sector. A parliamentary plenary conference on Thursday consented to release a formal consideration procedure for the law revision. Amongst the proposed revisions to the mining law was a plan to provide specific business top priority access...

Nickel ended 2024 trading at fouryear lows, a spectacular turnaround of fortune for a metal that soared so high in 2022 it practically broke the London Metal Exchange (LME). There is no mystery to this remarkable tale of boom and bust. Indonesia has flooded the world with more metal than it can take in, squashing the cost and leaving a trail of casualties among the remainder of the world's producers. The market's fortunes this year depend on whether Jakarta can tame the excesses of its nickel sector and line up supply more carefully with need. There are positive indications. Indonesia's...

China, the world's. most significant coal consumer, extended its lead in imports over No. 2. buyer India in 2015 to the largest because at least 2013, customizeds. information shows, cementing its hold on worldwide coal markets and. assisting to suppress a slide in rates. International thermal coal costs have pulled away from record highs. hit after Russia's 2022 intrusion of Ukraine, however are 50% greater. than the average during the 2017-19 duration, according to the. International Energy Firm (IEA). China's hunger is triggering prices to remain in the existing. variety. If not, costs will really decrease, Ramli Ahmad,. president director...

U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday met essentially with his equivalents from Japan and the Philippines to advance cooperation amongst the three countries, the White Home stated. The 3 leaders discussed trilateral maritime security and economic cooperation, and China's unsafe and unlawful habits in the South China Sea, it said in a statement. The three leaders agreed on the significance of continued coordination to advance a complimentary and open Indo-Pacific. Biden spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. late on Sunday, a week before Biden leaves office and hands power to President-elect Donald Trump...

Indonesia has set a quota of around 200 million metric tons for nickel ore mining this year, a senior mining ministry official said on Friday, including this might be cut if miners stopped working to comply with ecological and other guidelines. We have actually released around 200 million tons. However if based on their efficiency evaluation, particularly post-mining improvement and environmental management (not fulfilling federal government requirements), we will cut, said Tri Winarno, director general of mineral and coal at the ministry. Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said recently that the Southeast Asian country, among the world's. biggest...

Sugarcane yields in India are decreasing due to in 2015's dry spell and this year's extreme rains, which could decrease the country's sugar production below usage levels for the first time in eight years, farmers and market officials said on Monday. Lower-than-expected output by the world's second-largest sugar producer might eliminate the possibility of India permitting exports in the existing season ending in September 2025, supporting worldwide sugar prices. Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh account for more than 80% of the nation's total sugar production, with lower walking cane yields in these states prompting trade homes to decrease their output...

Chile's staterun copper miner, Codelco, will begin using explosives with a substantially lower carbon footprint at its Radomiro Tomic mine, the business revealed on Thursday. Dynamites are utilized in mines to break up rocks to more quickly process them and extract important metals. WHY IT is essential Codelco is the world's largest copper manufacturer and its choice to use alternative explosives underscores the increasing pressure on mining companies to boost their ecological standards and decrease greenhouse gas emissions. The pressure is especially high for copper mining which has traditionally been more carbon-intensive. BY THE NUMBERS The new dynamites are anticipated...

Rio Tinto will invest $2.5. billion to increase production capability at its Argentina lithium. project, it said on Thursday, as it seeks to cement its position. as one of the world's most significant miners of the battery metal. The investment follow's Rio's takeover of Arcadium Lithium. in a $6.7 billion deal announced in October, and as. prices of the metal utilized in electrical cars (EVs) are damaged. by Chinese oversupply and slowdown in EV sales. Following the purchase of Arcadium, Rio is on track to. become the world's 3rd largest lithium miner, behind leader. Albemarle and Chile's SQM. As part...

Electric automobile tech company Ideanomics Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware on Wednesday to discover a buyer for its wireless charging business and other innovation investments. Ideanomics got in insolvency with over $30 million in debt and simply $189,000 in cash on hand, according to files filed in Wilmington, Delaware personal bankruptcy court. Ideanomics said it has lost over $800 million in the previous five years. The company spent $320 million on electric automobile innovation investments in between 2021 and 2023, but the majority of those investments were unprofitable. It has actually closed down all of its obtained...

Indonesian miner PT Delta Dunia Makmur has increased its stake in Australia's copperfocused base and precious metals miner 29Metals to 19.9% by registering for the latter's newly released shares worth A$ 62 million ($ 40.19 million). The Jakarta-listed business has been diversifying beyond its home of Indonesia, where it runs its BUMA coal mining services company. Last month, Delta obtained a 51% stake in Dawson Complex, Australia, a part of Anglo American's steelmaking coal portfolio, for $455 million. Delta's investment in 29Metals becomes part of the Australian company's A$ 180 million equity raising, carried out at a discounted offer rate...

The Indonesian arm of Malaysiabased home enhancement retailer Mr DIY Group is looking for to raise approximately 4.71 trillion rupiah ($ 297 million) in a going public, according to a prospectus released on Monday. At $297 million, the listing by Daya Intiguna Yasa will be Indonesia's largest IPO in more than a year, following Amman Mineral Internasional's listing in July 2023, according to information compiled by LSEG. IPO continues raised in Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy, dropped to $298.4 million in the first nine months of the year, from $3.26 billion in 2023, LSEG information revealed. The drop came versus...