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Vedanta, India's largest company, will split into five companies in the next few months.
The Financial Times, citing an Anil Agarwal interview, reported that India's Vedanta would be split into five listed companies by the end of next month as part of a reorganization program that has been ongoing for years. In December, a tribunal approved the plan of the oil-to metals conglomerate to divide?into 5 listed entities. Vedanta will be operating as Vedanta Ltd, housing the?base metals division. Vedanta Aluminum, Talwandi Sabo Power, Vedanta Iron and Steel,?and Malco Energy are the other?four entities. Agarwal, a FT reporter, said that the combined market capitalisation of five companies would be higher than the current $27 billion conglomerate. Agarwal's private parent company will retain around?half the shares of each new entity, he said. The government, which first proposed the plan in 2023, was opposed to it, as they feared that a breakup would make it more difficult for them to recover debts. In an interview with in January, Chief Financial Officer Ajay Goel said that Vedanta plans to list the four demerged units on Indian exchanges before mid-May. Preetika parashuraman, Bengaluru. Christopher Cushing, editing.
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Bahrain's Alba confirms Iranian attacks on its facilities
Aluminium Bahrain (also known as Alba) confirmed early on Sunday that its facilities had been targeted by an Iranian attack just a day earlier, Bahrain’s state news agency reported. Alba said that two people were slightly injured during the attack and was assessing the damage to the facility. Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed the attack after they said that they targeted Alba, Emirates Global Aluminium and other companies in response to attacks on two Iranian Steel Plants. The IRGC stated, without elaborating on the matter, that both companies were linked to U.S. aeronautics and military firms. Could not independently verify IRGC claims. Alba initiated a?shutdown of three aluminium smelting?lines in March, which accounted for 19% of its?capacity to maintain business continuity amid the ongoing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. The company declared force majeure on March 4, when it could not ship metals to its customers because of the closure. The U.S. and Israeli war against Iran has had a major impact on the Middle East aluminum sector. This sector accounts for around 9 % of global supply. Separately, Bahrain's Foulath Holding, parent company of Bahrain Steel declared a force majeure for its operations on Saturday due to the regional conflict, "associated security disruptions and?logistical interruptions". The company said that the current situation in the Middle East has created circumstances "outside of its?control" which have affected operations and 'logistics' across various parts of the group's business, without giving details about the magnitude of the impact. Reporting by Menna alaa el-din and Nayera abdallah Editing and Chizu nomiyama by Rod Nickel
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Emirates Global Aluminium reports "significant damage" from Iranian attacks
Emirates 'Global Aluminium'said on Sunday that its Al Taweelah manufacturing base in the UAE suffered "significant damage" from Iranian missile and drone strikes. The company released a statement saying that a number of EGA staff were injured during the attack on the Khalifa economic zone?in Abu Dhabi. It added that none of the injuries was life-threatening. EGA CEO Abdulnasser Bin Kalban stated in a statement that "the safety and security of EGA's people are our top priority at all times." "We are deeply saddened by the incident and are assessing damage to our facilities." Since the U.S. and Israel war against Iran, most aluminium producers from the Gulf region, who account for around 9 percent of global production, have not been able to ship metal via their usual channels to world markets due to the closure of the Strait?Hormuz. EGA's Al Taweelah aluminum smelter will produce 1.6 million metric tonnes of cast metal by 2025. The company has an adjacent refinery that produces 2.4 million metric tons of aluminium raw materials. EGA, which operates a smelter in Jebel Ali, in the emirate Dubai, claimed to have substantial metal stocks on the water and some overseas locations. Reports earlier in the month indicated that the company was rerouting aluminium exports to the Omani port Sohar and importing raw materials via this port. (Reporting and editing by Joe Bavier, Louise Heavens, and Tom Daly)
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Prime Minister says Egypt will slow down state projects in Egypt for two months due to the war with Iran
Egypt will'slow down' large state projects that require a high fuel and diesel usage for at least two months, while fuel allocations for government vehicles will be reduced by 30%. Madbouly said that the public sector, as well as the private sector, except for the services and manufacturing industries, would work remotely 'every Sunday in April. This measure can be extended by an additional day per week, or for several months if war continues. This is part of wider measures to deal with the economic fallout caused by the 'Iran War, which has pushed up energy prices and strained the public finances. Egypt, despite not being directly involved, has suffered a great deal, especially in its energy sector. It is heavily dependent on fuel imported from abroad. The disruption in oil and gas trade and production across the Middle East has led to a rise in costs. Fuel prices and public transport costs have already been raised by the government. Madbouly emphasized that these measures were temporary and that the government was 'working to help the citizens. Finance minister Ahmed Kouchouk stated that debt servicing costs, the mainstay of Egypt's budget which is usually consumed by the service of debt, will only rise 5% in the fiscal year beginning July. Ahmed Tolba in Cairo, Mohamed Ezz in Alexandria and Jaidaa T. Taha edited by Jan Harvey and Louise Heavens.
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Baghdad orders probe after drone targets Kurdistan president's home
Security?sources say that a 'drone attack' targeted the home of the President of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region?early Saturday morning. This?incidences comes at a time when tensions are rising in northern Iraq. Sources added that air defences shot down a drone in Duhok near a base of Peshmerga warriors. The strikes come amid an increase in attacks against both Iran-aligned forces and?Kurdish ones as the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran spills?over into Iraq, attracting multiple armed group and straining Baghdad’s efforts to contain?the fallout. His office reported that Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani spoke to him on the phone and condemned the attack on Kurdish President Nechirvan Barzani’s house. Sudani also ordered the formation of a joint federal and Kurdistan technical and security team to investigate and identify the perpetrators. Since the beginning of the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, airstrikes have targeted sites that belong to Iraq's umbrella organization for Iran-backed Shi’ite militias. The Popular Mobilization Forces also target Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in 'Iraqi Kurdistan. Iraqi military claimed that the U.S., Israel and others carried out some of the airstrikes against the PMF. Tehran-backed armed group have also launched attacks on U.S. base?in Iraq as well as?the U.S. Embassy. Reporting by Jaidaa Taka, additional reporting by Muayad Saadi; Writing by Ahmed Tolba from Cairo; Editing and proofreading by Joe Bavier & Louise Heavens
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FinMin: Italian state finances are able to absorb shocks due to the Middle East Crisis
Italian state finances are able to absorb the negative impact of the Middle East crisis, said Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti on Saturday as the government prepared to update its budget targets and growth estimations for 2026 and subsequent years. Giorgetti stated that he still hoped for a downward adjustment of the deficit last year to 3% from 3.1% of national production by the national statistics office ISTAT. This would allow Italy to 'exit' early this year EU's excessive-deficit procedure. Giorgetti, speaking at a financial conference in Cernobbio (northern Italy), said: "We face this crisis from a position of relative strength, because our numbers are not exceptional but they are definitely positive." A source familiar with the matter stated that Prime Minister Giorgia meloni's Government expects Italy's Economy to Grow by 0.5%, 0.6% or even 0.7% this year and 0.7% by 2027 if policy remains unchanged. The two forecasts are both slightly below the 0.7% and 0.8% GDP growth targets that the government set in September. GOVERNMENT SEES SLOWER Growth Ahead These figures are still subject to change before they are published on April 10. They do not include any potential stimuli measures that the government might adopt to help households and businesses cope with rising energy prices. Giorgetti stated that despite the bleak economic outlook, the state finances were in a good position to absorb any shock from the Iran War. Italy did not achieve its goal of bringing the deficit under the 3% key ceiling for the European Union as originally planned, but ISTAT stated that if additional information becomes available, ISTAT could revise these figures by April 21. In September, the Treasury set a goal of 2.8% for this year's ratio of deficit to GDP. Giorgetti called for an EU-wide coordinated approach to adopt measures to deal with the current crisis and stated that Italy is not experiencing any shortages of energy at this time. The government has set aside 417.4 millions euros ($480.34) to cut excise duty on fuels until April 7. However, prices have not changed much and industry lobbyists are calling for more effective measures. Giorgetti stated that "we will listen to the different groups to identify the most urgent issues".
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What is the World Trade Organization E-Commerce Moratorium?
The ecommerce moratorium is an agreement between World Trade Organization members that prohibits the application of customs duties to electronic transmissions, such as "digital downloads" and "streaming". The policy was adopted for the first time in 1998, at the WTO's Second Ministerial Conference held in Geneva. It was part of a statement to encourage early digital trade growth. This includes cross-border transmissions of software, e-books and music, movie and video streaming, and video games. The tariff moratorium was originally intended to be temporary. It has been extended roughly every two-years at each WTO Ministerial Conference, most recently for two years in 2024 at the 13th meeting. The 14th WTO Ministerial Conference in Yaounde (Cameroon) will see the expiration of this agreement. Arguments for Extending the Period WTO members who have large digital economies, such as the U.S. and the EU, Canada, and Japan, want to extend the moratorium indefinitely because it will ensure predictability for global digital trade. The U.S. is concerned that major American tech companies such as Amazon and Apple will have a stable regulatory climate without having to worry about countries imposing duties which could affect cross-border digital commerce. Over 200?business organizations from around the world signed a statement calling for an extension to the moratorium. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) says that a failure to comply with the law would increase costs, fragment internet, and make it difficult for businesses to engage in digital cross-border trade. Arguments against Extending the Moratorium Some developing nations including India, which has opposed the moratorium for a long time, claim that extending it would deny them the tariff revenue they need to fund infrastructure or close the digital gap. Sofia Scasserra, a researcher at the Transnational Institute, said that the moratorium had failed to boost digital economies in developing nations and has instead entrenched the dominance of the U.S. In a research paper published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in 2019, it was estimated that the moratorium could have cost developing countries $10 billion in tariff revenue in 2017. An OECD report found that the revenue loss from digital services imported could be largely offset by goods and services taxes or value added taxes. Positions of the countries at the Cameroon Meeting At the Cameroon Ministerial Conference, four formal proposals for the ecommerce moratorium have been presented. The African,?Caribbean, and Pacific Group proposes extending?the?moratorium to the next ministerial conferences. The United States. The?U.S. A group that includes Switzerland proposes an extension until the next conference, while a plan from Brazil proposes to extend it until then and create a digital-trade committee. Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin, Yaounde, Editing by Keith Weir
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EU Trade Commissioner discusses tariffs and critical minerals with US
The European Union trade commissioner stated that he had a "very constructive" meeting on Saturday with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, on the sidelines of the?World Trade Organization Ministerial Meeting in Cameroon. Maros Sefcovic, the commissioner of Maros Sefcovic, said that they had agreed to continue working on critical minerals with the United States. Tariffs were also discussed. After months of uncertainty about President Donald Trump's tariff threats and new import levy, EU lawmakers passed legislation on Thursday that will 'fulfill the bloc's part of its trade deal with the U.S.' in Turnberry, Scotland last July. Washington was worried that it might not adhere to the deal. The U.S. and the EU reached an agreement to impose a 15% import tariff on most EU products - half of the rate that was threatened - averting a larger trade war between two allies who account for nearly a third the global trade. Sefcovic said that the positive meeting and vote with Greer was important. It demonstrates that both sides are committed to the agreement, despite global turbulence. The U.S. will be the EU's biggest trading partner in 2025, with EU exports to the U.S. expected to reach a record of 555 billion euro ($641 billion). Sefcovic stated that the EU also looks to other trading partners. He said: "Our agenda in the future is to work as much as we can with all partners who want to have a?free?trade agreement with?us... and, of course, to lower tariffs for the partners with whom?we are already trading." (Reporting and editing by Joe Bavier, Dave Graham, and Olivia Le Poidevin)
India's coal sector sees substantial leaps in output and need: Russell
India's coal sector is joined about something. It doesn't matter if you are a miner, energy, trader or steelmaker, you are bullish, incredibly bullish.
The overarching style at today annual Coaltrans India conference in the western state of Goa is that coal production, imports and need are all going to rise in coming years, and by significant volumes.
India might have devoted to eventually beginning to stage down consumption of the polluting fuel on its road to net-zero emissions by a targeted 2070, however for the coming years the coal market sees an increase.
Even the most cautious of projections at the conference saw need for all grades of coal reaching 1.5 billion metric lots by 2030, with some reaching as high as 1.9 billion
To put that in context, India's coal demand was 1.23 billion. lots, made up of domestic production of 964 million lots and imports of around 266 million.
Put another method, even the more downhearted of projections anticipates an increase of almost 300 million lots of coal need in India in the next 6 years, an increase of 25%.
To put the scale of the boost in context, 300 million loads is more than the total annual need of Germany, the fourth-biggest coal-consuming country after China, India and the United States.
The optimism over coal's future in India's energy mix is mostly constructed on a shift in the thinking about the federal government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to prioritise energy security and domestic resources over decreasing carbon emissions to alleviate environment change.
The thinking is that India has massive reserves of coal, which it can mine fairly inexpensively, and if it continues to purchase facilities, it can move the coal from where it is produced to where it will be burnt in power plants and factories.
The more the world's most-populous country can utilize domestic energy, the less it needs to pay for expensive imports in the kind of petroleum and liquefied natural gas.
Although petroleum and its refined items don't compete with coal in power generation, they may increasingly in the future as the shift to electrical lorries collects pace.
India's industrial users of coal, such as cement and ceramics, are likewise being encouraged to look at utilizing gas produced from coal to power their plants, rather than imported coking coal, met coke and LNG.
INADEQUATE RENEWABLES
Another factor worth keeping in mind about the bullish view of India's coal sector is that they believe in the strong growth situation although the South Asian nation is ramping up the release of renewable energies such as wind, solar, battery storage and pumped hydropower.
India is most likely to surpass its target for 500 gigawatts ( GW) of renewable resource capability by 2030, but the need for electricity is most likely to outmatch the capacity additions.
This implies India will continue to increase its nonrenewable fuel source generation, and lion's share of this will be coal, with 85 GW of brand-new plants already under building and most likely to come online by 2030, which would improve coal-fired capacity by simply over one-third from the current 237 GW.
Steelmakers are likewise poised to increase need for coal, the crucial raw material utilized to turn iron ore into unrefined steel.
India produced about 140 million lots of steel in 2023, and the federal government is targeting that to increase to 300 million by 2030.
That figure is most likely positive, however it's possible that the nation can produce more than 200 million tons because time frame, according to a number of steel makers present at the Coaltrans event.
India's steel and sponge iron sectors imported about 93 million lots of coal in 2023, and experts iEnergy Natural Resources approximate this will increase to 135 million by 2030.
If there was any argument on the outlook for India's. coal sector at the conference, it was the likely future mix of. domestic production and imports.
India does not produce considerable volumes of coking coal, so. any increase in steel production is likely to rise in greater. imports of coking coal and satisfied coke, a beneficiated product made. mainly from coking coal, however can include some lesser quality. grades.
The main debate is whether a mix of state-controlled. leviathan Coal India and newly-operating private coal. mines will be able to raise output enough to displace imported. thermal coal for the power sector.
India is investing greatly in enhancing the rail system to. transport coal, however it's still likely that seaside power plants. in the south and west of the sub-continent will count on imported. fuel for several years to come.
The viewpoints revealed here are those of the author, a columnist. .
(source: Reuters)