Taiwan

The oil prices rose by about 5% after Washington imposed new sanctions against major Russian companies for the war in Ukraine. Major stock indexes also edged up as gains from U.S. energy stocks and European energy shares offset some disappointing earnings reports. The sanctions were announced late on Wednesday and targeted major Russian suppliers Rosneft, Lukoil. The U.S. announced it was ready to take additional action, as it urged Moscow to immediately agree to a ceasefire. Energy was the leading sector to gain on Wall Street, according to the S&P 500 index. Energy was the last sector to gain 1.2%....

On Thursday, Asian stocks fell a second time as Wall Street was stung by disappointing earnings reports for tech giants. Meanwhile, U.S. sanctions on Russia and China rekindled geopolitical fears. Oil prices surged. The broadest MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan fell 0.3% last week, while Japan’s Nikkei225 dropped 1.5%. Chinese stocks fell 0.4% in Hong Kong following reports that the White House was considering a plan aimed at curbing a range of software-powered products exported to China as retaliation against Beijing's recent round of export restrictions on rare earths. Charu Chanana is the chief investment strategist for Saxo...

Sources with knowledge of this matter stated on Friday that Saudi Arabia's crude exports to China will fall to 40 million barrels in November as refiners switch to cheaper spot supplies from other Middle East producers. This would be a drop from the 51 million barrels expected to be exported by the top oil exporter in October. Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company, left its official November price for its flagship Arab Light crude in Asia unchanged, despite market expectations that it would increase. This was a day after OPEC+ had agreed to a modest rise in oil production. Data...

Three trade sources on Tuesday said that Taiwan's CPC Corp. is looking to export jet fuel in March. This would be the first time in almost three years that it has made such an offer. They added that the state-owned oil company issued a tender for a combined cargo of 150,000 to 150,000 bbls. of jetfuel or 150,000 bbls. of jetfuel and 150,000 bers. of gasoil with 10ppm of sulphur. A document that was reviewed by on Wednesday showed the cargo would be loaded between March 6-22. Sources said Tuesday that the tender will close on February 19, but it...

Trade sources reported on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia's crude supply to China will decline in March compared to the previous month after the kingdom raised its prices to their highest level in over two years. A tally of Saudi Aramco's allocations to Chinese refiners revealed that the company will ship around 41 million barrels in March. This is down from 43.5 million barrels in February. This is the second consecutive month that Aramco has seen its allocation to China drop. The sources stated that Sinopec, a joint venture between Aramco and the Chinese state-owned company, and Aramco’s joint venture Fujian...

Northeast Asian refiners sold Novemberloading ultra lowsulphur diesel at the narrowest discounts considering that the start of the year as supply has tightened due to lower regional output, trade sources said on Friday. Deals for primarily first-half November-loading 10ppm sulphur gasoil have mainly been sealed at discounts of 30-70 cents a. barrel to Singapore quotes, the narrowest given that January,. according to traders and Reuters data. Discounts for October supplies were primarily broader than $1 a. barrel. Area price have improved on the back of several. unexpected blackouts in southeast Asia given that end-September,. following the shutdown of northeast Asia...

Woodside Energy CEO Meg O'Neill said issues about the success of its Driftwood melted gas (LNG) project are misplaced, as the energy company flagged higher expenses at its Scarborough project throughout second quarter results on Tuesday. A day earlier, Australia's biggest independent energy firm signed a $1.2 billion deal to purchase LNG developer Tellurian and its U.S. Gulf Coast Driftwood job in a relocate to become a worldwide LNG powerhouse. Woodside shares fell 2.1% after the news and experts from Citi and UBS questioned whether the infrastructure-like project could create returns above Woodside's 12% financial investment hurdle. O'Neill stated the...

Asian spot melted gas (LNG) prices increased to a sixmonth high this week on the back of cooling demand in India, greater projection temperature levels in northeast Asia and suspended production at an Australian gas center. The typical LNG rate for July shipment into north-east Asia was at $12.60 per million British thermal units ( mmBtu), its highest level because Dec. 15, market sources estimated. The August delivery cost was estimated at $12.70/ mmBtu. The strength of demand in Asia has provided some support to rates and differentials, said Lucas Schmitt, research study director on short-term LNG at Wood Mackenzie....

QatarEnergy signed a deal on Wednesday to provide Taiwan's stateowned oil company CPC with liquefied gas (LNG) for 27 years and giving it a stake in the Gulf state's gas growth project. The state-owned Qatari company said that it will supply CPC with 4 million tons per year (mtpa) of LNG from the North Field East, the eastern growth of the job. CPC will likewise take an equity stake because part of the job, QatarEnergy's declaration stated. The stake is the equivalent of 5% of one LNG train with capability of 8 million metric loads a year. This transfer will...

In the eastern Chinese port of Dongying, the start of 2024 has actually typically seen a number of tankers docked all at once discharging Russian crude oil into a new 31.5 million barrel storage facility finished late last year. It is, traders say, all part of a concerted and intentional Chinese effort to build up strategic stockpiles for a possibly unpredictable future. Estimates of China's total strategic energy reserve differ from 280 to 400 million barrels, the upper quantity exceeding the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve at roughly 364 million. China takes in some 14 million barrels a day of oil...

U.S. lp inventories and costs are progressively figured out by the state of commercial demand in North East Asia and trade relations with China rather than weather condition and usage in your home. In spite of an incredibly moderate winter that depressed domestic intake, exports diminished record stocks at the start of October to something much more detailed to regular by the end of March Lp and propylene inventories ended the winter on March. 31 around 5 million barrels (+10% or +0.48 standard deviations). above the previous 10-year seasonal average. The surplus was down from 13 million barrels (+15% or...

Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical (FPCC) has actually restarted operations at the port at its Mailiao oil refinery after closing it as a. precautionary step following an effective earthquake, a business. representative stated on Wednesday. FPCC has likewise restarted operations at an unrefined distillation. system (CDU) at Mailiao, business representative K.Y. Lin stated. There was no major influence on the refinery. One CDU tripped,. and currently resumed operation this afternoon, said Lin. The port was closed as a preventive step, and it. resumed at twelve noon, Lin added, stating that there will not be any. delivering delay due to the earthquake that...

After his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Donald Trump announced on Thursday that the United States would reduce its tariffs on Chinese products from 20% to 10%. Trump said that Xi would work "very hard" to stop the flow of fentanyl and that the tariffs were reduced "because they really are taking strong actions." Trump described his meeting with Xi Jinping as "an incredible meeting" and said that many decisions were taken. Trump announced that China would purchase "tremendous quantities" of U.S. soya beans and other farm products, "starting immediately". A one-year agreement regarding rare earths was also reached...

Taiwan's Economy Ministry said that the new Chinese restrictions on rare earths will not have a significant impact on the semiconductor industry as these metals are different from those needed in the chip sector. China tightened its control of the rare earths sector in advance of the talks between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. Beijing added five new elements to its export controls and increased scrutiny on chip users. Taiwan's Economy Ministry said in a press release about China's new regulations that the rare earth elements covered by the expanded prohibition differ from those required for Taiwan's semiconductor process, and...

Taiwan's Economy Ministry said that most rare earth materials are imported from Europe, Japan and the United States, but it is still too early to assess the impact of China's new restrictions on the semiconductor industry. China tightened its control of the rare earths sector in advance of talks between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. Beijing added five new elements to the controls and increased scrutiny on chip users. In a statement on China's new regulations, Taiwan's Economy Ministry said that the majority of rare-earth materials required domestically were supplied by Europe and the United States. The impact of the...

Investors are worried that the U.S. Government's new stake is Intel heralds a new era of government interference in private industries, especially since the deal was made after President Donald Trump called for the resignation the CEO of the computer chip manufacturer. The deal announced on Friday converts government grants, including the Chips Act, worth $11.1 billion into a 9.9% stake in Intel. In the press release that announced the deal, the company included statements by the CEOs from Microsoft, Dell and others praising it. Investors noted that this level of transparency is not typically associated with business-Washington relations. Trump...

Kevin Hassett, White House economist and CNBC interviewee on Monday, said that the federal government could invest in other U.S. companies involved in semiconductors or even other industries. Hassett asked if this deal with Intel was part of a bigger effort by the U.S. Government to acquire equity stakes in industries it supports. He also said that there may be other transactions similar. The National Economic Council Director told CNBC, "I believe this is a special circumstance due to the huge amount of CHIPS Act expenditures that Intel was receiving." "But, the president made it very clear from the beginning...

Donald Trump announced on Friday that the U.S. will take 10% of Intel as part of a deal to help the chipmaker, and that he plans more similar moves. This is the White House's latest extraordinary intervention in corporate America. The U.S. has agreed to buy a 9.9% share in Intel at $20.47 per share. This is about $4 less than the closing price of Intel shares on Friday, which was $24.80. The Government will buy the 433.3 millions shares using funds from unpaid CHIPS Act Grants of $5.7 billion and $3.2 billion that Intel was awarded for the Secure...

A White House official said that the Trump administration was considering buying equity in companies receiving funds under the 2022 CHIPS Act, but had no plans to do so for larger firms boosting U.S. investment, such as TSMC or Micron. Officials confirmed a Wall Street Journal article that the administration will not be seeking equity stakes in companies such as Micron or TSMC that are planning to increase investment. The U.S. Department of Commerce's Howard Lutnick stated on Tuesday that the government was still working to determine the feasibility of acquiring a 10% stake at the troubled chipmaker Intel. He...

The Wall Street Journal, citing an official, reported that the Trump administration was considering taking equity stakes into companies receiving funding from the 2022 CHIPS Act, but had no plans to take shares in larger semiconductor firms who are increasing their U.S. investment. This follows remarks made by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday, who said that the government continues to explore the possibility of acquiring a 10% stake at troubled chipmaker Intel. The official informed the Journal that the administration did not plan to acquire equity stakes in firms like TSMC which are increasing their investment. The...

Two sources claim that U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick is investigating the possibility that the federal government could take equity stakes into computer chip companies that receive CHIPS Act funds to build factories within the country. A White House official, as well as a person who is familiar with the situation, said that Lutnick was exploring ways to get equity stakes from companies like Micron, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, and Samsung in exchange for CHIPS Act funds. The funding is still being distributed. Micron, a memory chip manufacturer, is the largest recipient of CHIPS Act funds in the United...

Japanese steel lobby groups have demanded early measures to stop the evasion and avoidance of anti-dumping duties aimed at protecting the domestic industry from unfair imports. This move coincides with record steel exports by China, the largest producer in the world, which have sparked protectionist reactions around the globe. Since January of last year, almost 40 countries have launched anti-dumping investigations. The Japan Iron and Steel Federation and other four industry groups have said that swift action is required as countries like China try to avoid antidumping tariffs by routing their exports through a third country or performing minimal processing...

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan announced on Wednesday that it has opened an anti-dumping probe into hot-dip-galvanized steel imported from China and South Korea. The investigation follows a petition filed on April 28 by Nippon Steel (Kobe Steel) and other domestic manufacturers claiming that weaker demand at home and the shift to cheaper imports forced them to reduce prices. In construction, hot-dip galvanized metal is used for metals that are exposed to the weather. METI stated that Hong Kong and Macau are excluded from the investigation. Japan began its investigation of nickel-based cold-rolled stainless steel sheets...

Donald Trump, the president of the United States, increased tariffs on Indian goods by 25% this week. He cited New Delhi's continued purchases of Russian oil. The new import tax will take effect 21 days after the 7th of August and raise duties on certain Indian goods up to 50%. This is among the highest tariffs imposed on U.S. trading partners. Some sectors, such as smartphones, pharmaceuticals, and energy, are exempted from reciprocal tariffs. However, others, like gems, jewellery, textiles, and auto components that make up the bulk of Indian exports into the U.S. will be hit. Here are the...