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Draft document: EU and Vietnam agree to increase work on minerals, chips, and "trusted" (5G), draft document says
According to a draft of a joint statement that will be adopted by the two sides on Thursday, they want to increase trade and investments in critical minerals, semiconductors, and infrastructure. The document is eight pages long and subject to changes. It states that the EU will explore a possible transfer of defence tech to Hanoi as both sides strive for closer cooperation in "trusted" networks, at a moment when Chinese companies are winning contracts to develop 5G technology in Vietnam. The statement will be signed by the European Council's President Antonio Costa when he meets Vietnam's leaders on Thursday in Hanoi, just days after To Lam was reappointed as Vietnam's top leader by the ruling Communist Party. Both countries will raise their diplomatic relations to the highest level in Vietnam, comparable to that of the United States, China, and Russia. In 2020, an EU-Vietnam?free trade agreement came into effect. The document is not legally binding but it has political significance and contains indirect criticisms of the United States', China's and Russia's international strategies. The European Council refused to comment on this draft document, and the Vietnamese government didn't respond to an inquiry for comments. CRITICAL MINERALS and SEMICONDUCTORS Vietnam is home to significant, but mostly untapped, reserves of rare earths and gallium. Hanoi has expressed interest in developing the processing capacity of rare earths. The global supply and refinement is dominated by China. The progress of Vietnam has been slow, partly because it lacks the necessary technology to fully exploit its natural resources. Document: The EU and Vietnam are looking to increase their cooperation in this sector by promoting "trade and investments in goods, technologies, and services that support sustainable mining, processing, and production" of critical minerals. Vietnam is a leading supplier of tungsten (a hard metal that's used in electronics and defence), and Western diplomats warned against the possibility of Chinese involvement in a large mine in Vietnam. China's Foreign Ministry did not reply to a comment request. The draft statement also identifies supply chains as a priority area to deepen cooperation. Vietnam is a key player in the chip packaging, testing, and assembly industry, and hosts operations from Intel, Amkor Technology, and others. Vietnam started building its first semiconductor manufacturing facility earlier this month. The Vietnamese government announced earlier this month that ASML, a Dutch company and global leader in chipmaking machines has moved some of its production to Vietnam. It is also exploring ways to expand its supply chain there and provide potential customers with goods, according the Vietnamese government. This was after a meeting at a high level held in Hanoi. ASML did not respond to a request for comment. 5G, DEFENCE, INFRASTURCTURE The document cites 5G connectivity and expanding cooperation on "trusted communication infrastructure" as priorities. The 5G network in Vietnam is being developed by European companies Ericsson, Nokia, and Nokia. Last year, Hanoi awarded smaller contracts to Chinese firms, including Huawei. The document stated that both sides will increase security cooperation while the EU would consider transferring "non sensitive technology and know-how". According to the document, EU nations are interested in investing in Vietnamese railways and infrastructure. Vietnam is building its largest project to date, a nationwide high-speed rail network. U.S.A., CHINA and RUSSIA In an opinion piece published on Wednesday by Vietnam's official news agency, EU President Costa warned against "coercive trading practices" and "challenges of sovereignty and international laws". The draft statement reaffirmed its support for an "international order based on rules" and for the strengthening of the World Trade Organization at a moment when the U.S. is imposing tariffs and undermining multilateral organizations. Vietnam called for respect of "territorial integrity" and a "just peace in Ukraine", a country that is being attacked by Russia, which has been a close partner for many years. The report said that the two countries had agreed to explore a deeper level of maritime security co-operation, in order to achieve stability in the South China Sea where China's claims and Vietnam's conflict. (Reporting and editing by Francesco Guarascio)
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SpaceX's June 2026 IPO is valued at $1.5 trillion, according to FT
The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that Elon Musk is considering a mid-June IPO, with a goal of raising as much as $50 Billion at a valuation around $1.5 Trillion. Could not verify the report immediately. SpaceX has not responded to our request for comment. The rocket and satellite company is now the biggest deal in history, after Saudi Aramco, which raised $29 billion in its IPO in 2019. The IPO valued Aramco at $1.7 trillion, making it the only completed 'deal' to achieve a valuation exceeding $1 trillion. The newspaper reported that SpaceX's Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnson has been in contact with private investors to discuss a possible IPO for mid-2026. Musk has always expressed his preference to keep SpaceX private. However, those familiar with Musk's thinking have indicated that the growing value of the company and its Starlink satellite internet service have led him to change strategy. Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that SpaceX has lined up four Wall Street banks to play leading roles in the company's market debut. The report cited a source. The global financial markets are preparing for a potential year of mega U.S. listing, led by SpaceX. Artificial intelligence firms Anthropic, and OpenAI have also begun laying the groundwork for possible IPOs. After three years of low activity on the U.S. equity market, a resurgence began in 2025 partly due to the ongoing volatility and geopolitical tensions. Analysts have stated that space technology is a highly regulated sector, but investors are interested in it because of its rapid growth prospects. (Reporting by Ananya Palyekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Harikrishnan Nair)
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Sources say that India is considering tightening mining auction rules in order to discourage laggards.
Two sources familiar with the issue said that India was considering tightening the rules for mining auctions to eliminate developers who delay obtaining clearances?to mine the blocks they won at auctions. The country is aiming to speed up its minerals production. According to official data, since 2015, the government auctioned off 594 mineral blocks. Of these, less than 14%, or 82 blocks, were operational. Sources said that India, as part of its internal assessment, has identified 50 companies who have not started mining, and in some cases, have not sought approval to do so, on the blocks they were awarded over the past five years. They may be blacklisted from participating in future auctions. The two sources refused to identify themselves as they weren't authorised to speak to media. The Federal Ministry of Mines?did not respond to an email seeking comment. One source said that India will assess the financials and past experience of a mining company before allowing them to bid. We will tighten the criteria for selection so that only well-known companies are allowed to participate. The source said that the matter is still at the discussion stage. She added that any finalised changes could take several months. The Mines Ministry announced publicly in October that?penalties would be imposed on those miners who delayed obtaining clearances for the operationalisation of blocks purchased at auctions. The government expressed concern about the slow development of iron ore greenfield mines last year. India is lagging behind major economies like Australia when it comes to mining's contribution to the gross domestic product. It hovers around 2%. A joint report by the government and industry released last year stated that "this is due to?a combination of factors such as regulatory and environment challenges in obtaining clearances and approvals, inadequate infrastructure and investment, and technological constraints." (Reporting and editing by Jamie Freed; Reporting by NehaArora)
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Andy Home: The Zinc Market continues to defy expectations
Zinc did not perform according to script in 2018 and the galvanising material continues to surprise 2026. The London Metal Exchange (LME) is trading at its highest levels in three years this week. A market that was expected to move to an oversupply by 2025, was instead rocked?by a fierce squeeze in October. The global mine production is growing at a rapid pace, but it is taking longer than expected to get the metals refined in the supply chain. This is because the excess is all stuck in China. LME zinc inventories have increased from the depleted levels of October thanks to an influx of Chinese exports. The inventory rebuilding has slowed in recent weeks. This suggests that the Western market requires more consistent Chinese supply. Mine Supply on Track Zinc's bear story is based on increasing mine production, and things are going according to plan. According to the International Lead and Zinc Study Group, the global mine production grew by 6.5% in the first ten months of 2025. Boliden’s Tara mine, located in Ireland, has reopened after being closed in mid-2023 because of low prices. Ivanhoe Mines’ Kipushi operation is also ramping up in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Russian mine Ozernoye has also begun full production following a year-long delay due to a combination between a fire in November 2023 and a shortage of spare parts because of Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine. China's dramatic increase in raw material imports is a clear indication of the impact. The volume of zinc concentrates imported into China increased by 30% on an annual basis, reaching a record 5.33 million metric tonnes in 2025. According to ILZSG, the turnaround in the market for zinc concentrates allowed?China's production of refined zinc to increase by 8.4% in first 10 months 2025. CHINA TRADE SHIFTS The global refined?zinc output, however, increased by only 2.9% over the same period, because smelter production outside of China decreased by 2.2% compared to 2024. The closure of Toho Zinc Annaka and the temporary suspension at the Seokpo Smelter in South Korea have contributed to the lower metal production in Brazil, Kazakhstan and South Korea. The Western markets are now dependent on Chinese exports in order to fill the gaps in their supply chain. China's refined zinc trade began to shift in the fourth quarter last year when it became a net importer for the country for the first since 2022. Exports rose to 42,800 tonnes in November, the largest monthly total in nearly 20 years. Chinese smelters sent metal to LME storage facilities in Hong Kong Singapore and Taiwan in order to benefit from the historic increase in the cash premium, which reached over $300 per tonne. Exports fell to 27,000 tonnes in December as the LME tightness subsided. REBUILD OF PARTIAL STOCKS China's late year export surge helped LME warehouse stock recover from less than 50,000 tons in November to 131,000 tonnes at the end December. The upward trend has slowed down since then. Exchange inventory, both registered and non-warranted, is currently at 138,000 tonnes. The amount of metals that are earmarked to be physically loaded out, as indicated by the number of cancelled warrants, has steadily increased to 12,100 tonnes, or almost 11%, of the registered tonnage. This suggests that the Western market is still short of zinc, and requires more Chinese supply in order to meet the demand. On paper, the global zinc supply is growing. However, with the excess metal in China it will require higher LME prices in order to get it out. Last year, the disconnect between east and west in zinc caught bears off guard. The LME's three-month zinc is trading at over $3,300 per tonne for the first since January 2023. Bears may have to wait before the market conforms to their expectations. Andy Home is an author and columnist. These opinions are Andy Home's. Open Interest (ROI) is your new essential source of global financial commentary. Follow ROI on LinkedIn 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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MORNING BID EUROPE - Trump's comments on the dollar
Tom Westbrook gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. Donald Trump can sometimes influence the markets. The currency market is?lit up by a wave?of dollar selling after a long, grinding decline in foreign exchange volatility. Trump's 'nonchalant' comment to a reporter about the dollar "doing well" triggered a sell-off that pushed the euro above $1.20, the first time it had done so in over 4-1/2 years. The Swiss franc also reached a record high. The risk of exposure to the?dollar in the Trump era has become more evident. The dollar index dropped more than 9% last year due to geopolitics, Trump’s policies, Washington’s desire for a lower exchange rate, and concerns over Fed independence. Investors are looking to hedge their positions, especially with the recent jitters about President Obama's unsettling Greenland diplomatic efforts and hints that the U.S. may be willing to sell dollars in order to boost Japan's yen. Imagine, as TD Securities analyst Prashant 'Newnaha said -- holding Treasuries for 4% but losing 10% of the dollar as a non-resident. Last week, it was reported that Australia's second largest pension fund, Australian Retirement Trust is reducing its dollar exposure by hedging while holding on to their U.S. investments. This view helps to explain why stocks have continued to rise despite FX swings. The dollar's decline has helped lift the Australian dollar by over 70 cents. The Australian dollar is getting a boost from rates. After data showed higher-than-expected inflation in December on Wednesday, the markets have put the chances of a rate increase next week at more than 70%. All four of Australia's "Big Four banks" now predict a rate increase. The central banks of the U.S., Canada and the world are expected to keep rates at the same level on Wednesday. After the close of U.S. stock markets, Meta and Tesla will report their earnings. The following are key developments that may influence the markets on Wednesday. - U.S. Federal Reserve meeting Bank of Canada Meeting - Earnings after-market at Meta and Tesla
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ASML's $250 million 'printer,' the secret behind Nvidia chips
ASML is the most valuable company in Europe thanks to its dominance of lithography systems. These are huge "chip-printing" machines, which cost $250 million per machine and are essential to companies driving the AI boom. Take a look at how the Dutch company has grown. What is driving the demand for ASML's printers? ASML has a monopoly over the machines that use extreme ultraviolet light (EUV), which are used to manufacture the most advanced semiconductors. However, rivals from China and the U.S. have been working on alternatives. ASML is ASML because of the rapid advances in AI, and the global expansion of data centres. The technology: HUGE MACHINES WORKING ON NANOSCALE The machines, which are the size of school buses and weigh 150 tons, use an intricate system of mirrors, lasers, and magnets to create microscopic circuitry on silicon wafers for chip production. The pattern of light is projected onto silicon wafers containing up to 100 AI chips. This allows them to map circuitry layers with unprecedented precision. The EUV wavelength measures?13 nanometers. A?human hair measures between 80,000 to 100,000 nanometers in thickness. According to Luc Van den Hove of the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre, a Belgian company that developed the technology in collaboration with ASML, the machines provided "patterning accuracy, scalability, and energy efficiency", which were essential for advanced chip manufacturing, and AI chips, in particular. LENSES AND MIRRORS The German industrial company Trumpf uses some of the strongest lasers to blast tin droplets 50,000 times a second. The light is guided into the heart by a system of mirrors manufactured?by German optical equipment maker Zeiss. They have surfaces that are smoother than the ones used in space telescopes. The table that holds the wafers levitates on magnets, and accelerates and slows down at a rate between 70 and 80 meters per second. How are ASML Systems?Delivered? The EUV machines will be assembled in the Netherlands and then transported on 747 cargo aircraft to the plants of TSMC in Taiwan (which manufactures Nvidia chips), Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron, Intel, and Rapidus, in the U.S. Analysts predict that ASML will need to increase the number of such systems in 2026 or 2027.
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After Trump's trigger, the dollar is steadied
The dollar took a breather on Wednesday, after a sell-off became a rout. U.S. president?Donald Trump appeared to dismiss recent weakness in the global reserve currency. Meanwhile,?stocks? scaled record highs due to optimism over earnings. The dollar's plunge lifted the euro above $1.20, the highest level since 2021. It also sent the Australian dollar to a 3-year high of 70 cents, lifted gold prices to new heights, and increased commodity prices, which are measured in dollars. The dollar clawed back to 152.76 yen in the Asia session, after which trade settled. Dollar selloffs are the most severe since Trump's tariff war rocked markets in April last year. The dollar's decline has been fueled by concerns about Trump's erratic policymaking, his attacks on the Federal Reserve and the outlook for interest rates. Trump responded, "Dollar is doing great," when asked by a reporter if it was falling too much recently. Steve Englander is the head of Standard Chartered's global G10 currency analysis in New York. He said that "often officials will push back on sudden currency moves, but when the president expresses his indifference to the move or even endorses it, this encourages USD sellers" to continue pushing. The dollar fell by more than 9% in the first year after Trump's second presidential term, 2025. No policy changes are expected when the Federal Reserve meets on Wednesday to set rates. Focus will be on if the tone matches the two rate reductions that markets have priced in for this year, and how Jerome Powell handles questions about Fed Independence. GOLD'S REPORT RUN LEAVES BTC BEHIND The weaker dollar has filtered down to other assets, helping gold to reach a new record of $5,241 per ounce. Brent crude futures have also reached a new four-month high at $67.98 per barrel. In Asia, Treasury yields are essentially unchanged at?4.233%. Bitcoin has been left behind and is still pinned below $90,000. Wall Street's S&P 500 closed at a record high overnight, ahead of the big?tech earnings starting with Meta and Tesla following the close of Wednesday. S&P futures in Asia were 0.2% higher and European futures 0.2% lower. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 2%, reaching a four-and-a half year high. The release of the December inflation data in Australia has led to expectations that a rate increase could be announced as early as next week. ANZ, Westpac and all four "Big Four" Australian banks have now predicted a rate rise. Indonesia's stock market fell 7% as index provider MSCI expressed concern about the opaqueness of ownership and trading. It also halted updating Indonesian entries to its products which are monitored by global investors. (Reporting and editing by Shri Navaratnam, Jacqueline Wong and Tom Westbrook)
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Demand for iron ore falls as construction stops weigh down on demand
The price of iron ore continued to fall on Wednesday as the Chinese Lunar New Year approaches, and construction projects slow down. This is affecting the demand for steel, feedstocks, and other metals. As of 0311 GMT, the most-traded contract for May?iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was trading 0.44% lower. It was 785 yuan (US$113.02) per metric ton. The benchmark March ore at the Singapore Exchange fell 0.5% to $103.3 per ton. According to Chinese broker Everbright Futures, the?demand for downstream steel has decreased as construction projects have ceased in the run-up to Chinese Lunar New Year. The company Vale announced a record-breaking 336.1 million tons of iron ore in 2025. This is the first time in 2018 that Vale's production has exceeded that of Rio Tinto in Australia's Pilbara operation. According to a late-Monday filing, the company had halted its operations in units that analysts estimate account for 2% of the iron ore production forecast for this year. The sites were affected by water flooding. Iron ore prices in China will be impacted by an increase in Brazilian iron ore exports. As Brazil enters the rainy season, it is expected that Brazilian shipments will experience a seasonal drop. According to a report from the Shanghai Metals Market, port inventories will offset any potential benefits of reduced shipments. Coking coal and?coke, which are used to make steel, also fell, by 0.8% and 1.04 percent, respectively. The benchmarks for steel on the Shanghai Futures Exchange have lost ground. Rebar fell 0.41%, while hot-rolled coil dropped 0.39%. Wire rod also cooled by 0.06%, and stainless steel declined 1.5%. ($1 = 6.9454 Yuan) (Reporting and editing by Rashmi aich; Ruth Chai)
Ampol, Australia's largest fuel retailer, sees its earnings increase thanks to the domestic arm
Ampol, Australia's largest fuel retailer, forecast higher full-year earnings?Wednesday. This was supported by solid gains at its convenience retail arm and New Zealand operations. It also reported higher quarterly output.
New South Wales based firm, whose EBIT is expected to reach around A$945 ($662.35 millions) in fiscal year 2025. This is up from A$715.2 (A$715.2) million the previous year. The full-year EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation) is expected to be around A$1,435million.
Retail convenience volumes fell to 889 million (ML) litres in the fourth quarter, from 864 ML one quarter earlier. New Zealand volumes also dropped to 984 from 901ML.
The margins for its Lytton Refinery increased to $15.14 per barrel from $10.64 in the previous quarter. This was due to higher?diesel fuel margins, as refinery outages and new Russian sanctions tightened up supply.
After Washington announced tough sanctions against Russia's oil industry, global diesel prices and refinery margins jumped. This fueled expectations that fuel supplies would be tighter.
The refinery's output in the quarter ended December 31, up from the September quarter of 1,252 ML, grew to 1,558 ML as a result of favourable margins.
The group's total sales volume was 6,699 ML. This is down 11% compared to a year earlier.
As of 0112 GMT the stock fell 4.09% to A$29.09 while the benchmark index was mostly flat.
The global demand for oil is under pressure as the supply exceeds demand, and the shift?towards renewables accelerates. Markets are expecting revenue contraction in this sector, according to Jessica Amir, an online trading platform Moomoo's market strategist.
Amir said that investors are moving?out of energy shares facing structural headwinds into sectors with stronger tailwinds such as metals which benefit from artificial intelligence driven infrastructure demand.
(source: Reuters)