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China wants to know your opinion about the rules for imports, including battery waste and recycled steel
The Environment Ministry announced on Tuesday that China is seeking public opinion regarding rules for the importation of leftovers from the recycling spent lithium-ion batterys, as well recycled steel materials. The deadline for comments was set at March 20, in accordance with China's desire to speed up recycling efforts. This is reflected in the establishment of the China Resources Recycling Group, a group that focuses on recycling in the city of Tianjin, located in the north of the country. According to the proposal of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, black mass, which is a mixture of nickel and cobalt containing a combined content greater than 25%, does not qualify as solid waste. It can therefore be freely imported into China. The black mass is the residue left after lithium-ion battery waste has been recycled. It usually contains metals like lithium, nickel, cobalt and cobalt. China allows imports of black mass produced by lithium-iron-phosphate batteries. Imports of recycled steel with a content greater than 92% iron are also allowed. Reporting by Violet Li, Mei Mei Chu and Clarence Fernandez; editing by Christian Schmollinger & Clarence Fernandez
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Indonesia plans to use the sovereign wealth fund to boost coal-gasification projects
Energy Minister Danantara Indonesia said that Indonesia is looking to increase coal gasification through its newly established sovereign wealth fund Danantara Indonesia. Indonesia, which is the world's largest thermal coal producer has been trying to process low-ranking coal into dimethyl ether in order to reduce LPG imports. However, previous projects have failed due to investors pulling out. Energy Minister Bahlil stated late Tuesday that the government will provide the capital investment, and the local investors will cover the rest. "Danantara will be one of them." Bahlil stated that four coal gasification project will be implemented in South Sumatra, East Kalimantan and both in parallel. He didn't provide any details about the project size. The government is accelerating 21 natural resources processing projects, worth $40 billion. Bahlil also said that Indonesia plans to build a refinery capable of processing 500,000 barrels of oil per day and increase its fuel storage to ensure energy security. The energy ministry estimated that the investment for the new refinery will be $12.5 billion. Danantara was launched in Feburary and is expected to manage assets worth more than $900 Billion, including stakes by the government in state-owned firms. Prabowo Sulaiman, the president of Danantara, has announced a $20 billion investment for Danantara, which will be used to fund projects in energy, food security, and natural resource processing. (Reporting and editing by Christian Schmollinger, Mrigank Dahiwala, and Mrigank Christina; Reporting by Bernadette Cristina, Stefanno Sulaiman, Stanley Widianto)
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Sources say that China's CNOOC will expand its refinery after a $2.7 billion upgrade.
Industry sources say that China National Offshore Oil Company is planning to launch a joint venture refinery complex in June. This will mark the company's expansion into refining, petrochemicals and other areas. CNOOC plans to begin operating the Daxie Island complex in Ningbo, which includes over a dozen newly-installed facilities as part of a 20 billion Yuan ($2.74billion) expansion program. This could increase the demand for imported crude oil by the company. A recent CNOOC tender document stated that the key additions included a 120,000 barrels per day (bpd), a 3.2-million-metric-ton-per-year (tpy), a 2-million tpy hydrocracker and a continuous reformer of 2.4-million tpy. According to three sources familiar with the subject, the upgrade will increase the capacity of the Daxie plant to process crude by 50%, to 240,000 bpd, as the smaller crude unit is being mothballed. It will also expand its capacity to produce raw materials for synthetic fibres and plastics. One source said that the expansion of Daxie will increase CNOOC's total crude oil processing capacity in China to approximately one million bpd, including plants which the state firm controls or invests. CNOOC’s largest subsidiary, based in Huizhou, is located in south China’s Guangdong Province. A CNOOC-controlled refinery with a 440,000-bpd capacity is integrated into a Shell-invested petrochemical facility. Sources declined to name themselves as they were not authorized to speak with the media. CNOOC, the parent company of offshore oil and natural gas specialist CNOOC Ltd, is responsible for managing the group's refining, petrochemical and petrochemical businesses. CNOOC's Refining and Chemical Division said on its official WeChat Platform on Tuesday that Daxie was heating its crude oil unit as part of preparation works before the launch of the plant. CNOOC's representative has not yet commented. CNOOC won an unusual batch of crude import quotas of 3 million tons (60,000 bpd) earlier this year. According to traders, the quotas were allotted to Union King Holdings' expanded Daxie Refinery. CNOOC, on the other hand, is building a commercial underground oil storage base in Daxie that has a total capacity of 31.5 million barrels and 5 million cubic meters. This was revealed by a document published last September regarding the company's procurement. According to the document, construction of the site will be done in two phases and should be finished by 2027. CNOOC has a similar-sized base of oil reserves in the Shandong Province refining hub. $1 = 7.2924 Chinese Yuan Renminbi (Reporting and editing by David Evans; Additional reporting by Trixie YAP; Editing by David Evans).
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Stellantis applauds EU decision to relax car emission standards
Stellantis, an automaker, said that it was pleased with the announcement by the European Commission on Tuesday. The Commission announced it would soften the carbon emission standards for cars in the EU. The Commission of the European Union, which is the executive body of the Union, has yielded to European automakers' pressure by announcing that it will give them three years instead only one to reach new CO2 emissions targets for their cars. After meeting with auto industry executives, unions, and campaign groups, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that she would instead propose compliance based upon the average emissions of each automaker over the period from 2025 to 2027 rather than just in 2025. In a press release, Europe's second-largest automaker stated that "Stellantis is pleased with the announcements made by Commission President von der Leyen yesterday." Stellantis chairman John Elkann was present at the talks held in Brussels on January 19, the company reported. Stellantis stated that the extended compliance period for carbon emission targets is a "meaningful move in the right directions" to preserve the competitiveness of the auto industry, while remaining committed towards targets and electrification. This initiative, along with additional support for targeted purchases and fiscal incentives as well as cheaper green energy, and investment in charging infrastructure can be a true accelerator in the march towards electrification, it stated. (Reporting and editing by Alvise Armellini and Susan Fenton.)
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Aramco's weight on Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries is a major factor in the red coloration of most Gulf markets due to global trade war concerns.
The Gulf's stock markets fell on Tuesday morning as U.S. trade tariffs threatened an increase in global trade tensions. Saudi Aramco also disappointed investors with its disappointing earnings. The new tariffs of 25% on imports to the United States from Mexico and Canada, as well as a 20% increase on Chinese goods, went into effect on Tuesday. This sparked new trade disputes with three of the U.S.'s top trading partners. Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index fell 1.1%. Saudi Aramco fell 2.2% after a decline in profit. The oil giant reported Tuesday a net loss of $106.2 billion for 2024. This is down from $121.3 in 2023. Aramco expects to pay out $85.4 billion total dividends in 2025. This is a drop of nearly 30% from 2024, when it paid out almost the same amount. The reason for this was lower sales and increased costs. The company also announced $200 million in performance linked dividends that will be paid out in the first quarter 2025. This is a sharp decline from the $10.8 billion in each quarter 2024. Dubai's main stock index dropped 0.2%. This was due to a 2.2% drop in Tecom Group, and a decrease of 0.4% in Emaar Properties. Qatar National Bank, the Gulf's largest lender, and Industries Qatar, the petrochemical manufacturer, both dropped 0.8%. The index in Abu Dhabi rose 0.3% thanks to a 3.1% increase at the petrochemical company Borouge. The companies announced that Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Austrian OMV would merge their polyolefin business to create a $60-billion chemicals powerhouse. Borouge Group International will be a merged entity consisting of two joint ventures, Borealis (75% owned by OMV, 25% by ADNOC) and Borouge (54% owned by ADNOC, 36% owned by Borealis). (Reporting and editing by Andrew Heavens in Bengaluru, Ateeq Sharif in Bengaluru)
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Iron ore continues to lose in Sino-US trade tensions
Dalian iron-ore futures fell for the seventh session in a row on Tuesday, as new U.S. duties on China's top consumer kicked in and increased trade tensions. The May contract for the most traded iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange closed at 781 Yuan ($107.26), a decrease of 1.14%. As of 0705 GMT the benchmark April iron ore price on the Singapore Exchange was up by 0.37%, to $100.25 per ton, although prices had fallen to $99.35 during the previous session, their lowest level since January 15. Analysts at ING said that prices fell after reports that Chinese steelmills were reducing production in order to reduce pollution levels before the annual National People's Congress meeting. ING also said that trade tensions with America are affecting export prospects. Donald Trump's decision to double the duties on Chinese products from 10% to 20% triggered a new trading conflict. Beijing responded with a 10%-15% increase in import duties on a variety of American agricultural products and food, and placed 25 U.S. companies under export and investment limitations. At the NPC on March 5, policymakers are under increased pressure as China prepares for higher U.S. Tariffs. They must unveil policies that will benefit consumers in the long-term. The tensions over tariffs have also caused the shares of Australian mining companies to fall, dampening sentiment. China is Australia's main trading partner. According to Chinese consultancy Mysteel, the Chinese steel market will still gain momentum this month due to the consumption recovery of steel end users. Mysteel said that the market sentiment could be influenced by expectations for more policy stimuli. Coking coal and coke, which are used to make steel, also declined in price, by 1.71% each. The Shanghai Futures Exchange has seen a decline in most steel benchmarks. Rebar dropped 1.11%. Hot-rolled coil fell nearly 0.8%. Wire rod was down 0.9%. Stainless steel rose 0.04%. $1 = 7.2816 Chinese Yuan (Reporting and editing by Sumana Nandy, Rashmi aich and Michele Pek)
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The Cyclone has disrupted several Australian sporting events
A cyclone that is expected to hit Australia's east coast this week has forced the cancellation of a golf tournament and the postponement of season-opening games by the Australian Football League. The Ladies European Tour and WPGA Championship, both sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour, were cancelled on the Gold Coast due to extreme winds and flooding forecast. The decision was made to ensure safety for players, staff, supporters and all other stakeholders. This remains a priority, said organisers in a Tuesday statement. The landfall of Cyclone Alfred should occur late Thursday night or early Friday morning. The Bureau of Meteorology's latest update warned that it could bring heavy rains and potentially life-threatening floods to the southeast of Queensland and northeast of New South Wales. The AFL (Australian Rules Football) has postponed the season opener in Brisbane, between the reigning champion Brisbane Lions, and Geelong Cats, on Thursday. The AFL stated that it made this decision out of a sense of caution to make sure the health and well-being of the clubs, players, officials, and, most importantly, the broader southeastern Queensland community and northern NSW remain the top priority. After coaches asked the AFL for an early decision on the games, the AFL made the call. Geelong coach Chris Scott said to Australian media that the situation "sort of reminds me" of COVID. It's not very pleasant to talk about it when you would rather play footy than watch people sandbag their homes. Officials said that the cyclone had also affected the National Rugby League. The match on Friday between the Dolphins vs South Sydney Rabbitohs was moved from Brisbane to Sydney. Football Queensland, the state's soccer governing body, suspended all games and training in the southeast of Queensland on Wednesday. Other sporting events, such as the national championships of Touch Football in New South Wales, were also cancelled.
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Aramco anticipates a sharp fall in dividends for 2025 as profit drops from 2024
Aramco, the Saudi oil giant, said it expected to declare dividends totaling $85.4 billion by 2025. This is a drop of nearly 30% from 2024 payouts due to lower sales and increased costs. Aramco will pay out about $124.25 Billion in dividends by 2024, and $97.78 Billion in 2023. Aramco’s dividends in 2024 included approximately $43,1 billion in performance-linked bonuses, a mechanism that was introduced in 2023 and is paid on top of the base dividends which are paid regardless. The company announced $200 million in performance linked dividends that will be paid out in the first quarter 2025. This is a sharp decline from the $10.8 billion in each quarter 2024. Aramco reported that its net profit in 2024 was $106.2 billion, down from 121.3 billion dollars in 2023. The decrease was due to a combination of lower sales revenue, higher costs and lower income from finance and other sources. Aramco reported in a stock market filing that this was partly offset by lower income tax and zakat. ($1 = 3.7503 Riyals) (Reporting and editing by Christopher Cushing, Muralikumar Aantharaman).
PMI data shows that Saudi Arabia's private non-oil sector grew strongly in February.
A survey released on Tuesday showed that the Saudi Arabian non-oil sector's growth continued to be robust in February. This was due to strong sales by customers and higher activity levels. However, the rate of growth has slowed since the previous month.
The Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers' Index fell from a decade high reading of 60.5 to 58.4 at the end of February, but remained above 50. This indicates strong growth.
The small drop in the headline PMI can be attributed to the slowing of new business growth that had soared at the beginning of the year. The subindex for new orders fell to 65.4 from 71.1 in the previous month.
Tourism and marketing efforts increased, which led to new sales growth. Although slightly slowed, the output expansion remained one of the most rapid since mid-2023.
Naif Al Ghaith, Riyad Bank's Chief Economist, said that despite the slowdown in growth of new orders in February, businesses remain confident about demand in future.
He said that this was reflected by higher staffing levels as companies increased their workforce in order to meet the demands of business and increase workloads.
As firms prepare for growth, employment levels have risen at the fastest rate in 16 months. Manufacturing and service sectors saw the highest growth.
The pace of inflation slowed down, and the firms only reported a modest increase in sales prices because of competitive pressures.
The business confidence index reached its highest level in 15 months, as firms were optimistic about the economic growth and government initiatives that would support it. (Reporting and Editing by Hugh Lawson).
(source: Reuters)