Archives for September 2019

“India is an attractive investment destination for Saudi Arabia and it is eyeing long-term partnerships with New Delhi in key sectors,” Saudi Ambassador Dr Saud bin Mohammed Al Sati said in an interview with India’s PTI news agency on Sunday.

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Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter and a key energy supplier providing India with some 17 percent of its crude oil and 32 percent of its LPG, said it is looking at making investments in India “potentially worth $100 billion.” Saudi money will be poured into India’s energy, refining, petrochemicals, infrastructure, agriculture, minerals and mining sectors, Al Sati said.

According to the envoy, Saudi Arabia’s state-run oil giant Aramco will partner up with India’s Reliance Industries Ltd, a step he said reflected the strategic nature of the energy ties between the two states.

“Saudi Aramco’s proposed investments in India’s energy sector, such as the $44 billion West Coast refinery and petrochemical project in Maharashtra, and long-term partnership with Reliance, represent strategic milestones in our bilateral relationship,” the ambassador said.

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Al Sati also spoke of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s “Saudi Arabia vision 2030” initiative, aimed at reducing the country’s economic dependence on oil and diversifying its economy. He said that a significant expansion of trade and business between India and Saudi Arabia in various sectors is being discussed as part of this initiative. According to the envoy, apart from the oil and energy sectors, over 40 opportunities for joint collaboration and investment between the two countries have been identified in 2019, which raises high hopes that the current bilateral trade volume worth $34 billion will continue to increase in the coming years.

“There is huge untapped potential available in merchandise trade, particularly in non-oil trade and we are enhancing cooperation in economic, commercial, investment, cultural and technological fields,” Al Sati said.

Earlier this week, the kingdom announced that it will launch a new visa program for 49 countries, opening its doors to foreign tourists. That move was the first on the list of social reforms under the “Vision 2030” initiative.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/469887-saudi-arabia-india-investing/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

In an interview with Ukraine’s Radio Svoboda the country’s Minister of Infrastructure Vladislav Krikliy said that official passenger traffic between Ukraine and Crimea is “undoubtedly” envisaged. Competitions for carrier selection will be held in the nearest future.

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“We are constructing entry-exit checkpoints. I think that everything will be finished on time, as ordered by the president [of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky],” Krikliy said. His words follow President Zelensky’s order in July to complete setting up checkpoints at the border with Crimea by December 20 of this year.

Crimean authorities called Kiev’s plans “rational,” as restoration of passenger traffic would benefit Ukrainians and the citizens of the Crimean peninsula equally.

“Rational statements are coming from the power structures of Ukraine, who realize the stupidity of the previous government’s actions in shutting off transport links,” Yefim Fiks, First Deputy Chairman of the State Council of Crimea, said on Sunday. “The ball is in Ukraine’s court” as to whether the Kiev authorities will follow through with the plan, he added.

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Fiks pointed out the infrastructure woes that still exist on the Ukrainian side, – like the fact that, after Crimea resumed being part of Russia in 2014, a part of the railway leading to the peninsula was dismantled.
Currently, both Crimeans and Ukrainians who cross the border daily to visit relatives on the other side “are forced to walk some three kilometers with suitcases” Fiks said. He also stated that about one million Ukrainians came to Crimea on vacation this past summer.

“The [restoration of transportation] is beneficial to both peoples, to both states,” he concluded.
Air traffic between the airports of Ukraine and Crimea’s Simferopol was blocked immediately after the referendum in Crimea in March 2014, which saw the peninsula break ties with Kiev and reunite with Russia with a majority of votes. In December of that year, the National Security Council of Ukraine imposed a ban on all regular passenger traffic with Crimea by both air and rail.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/469886-crimea-ukraine-passenger-traffic/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

“The [US] administration is not contemplating blocking Chinese companies from listing shares on US stock exchanges at this time,” the US Treasury said in a statement, posted by spokeswoman Monica Crowley on her Twitter on Sunday. The statement added that the Treasury “welcome[s] investment in the United States.”

According to media reports on Friday, the White House had been considering the possibility of restricting capital flows into China by limiting Chinese companies from trading on US stock exchanges. Reuters, for instance, reported this, citing a source within the government. The move, if taken, would have led to a radical escalation of already tense trade relations between the US and China.

The report, first posted by Bloomberg, also rattled financial markets on Friday, sending the US benchmark SP 500 index SPX down 0.53 percent and the Dow DJIA 0.26 percent lower, in midday trading. Chinese internet giants listed in the US were hit harder, though, with Alibaba BABA falling a whole 5 percent and Baidu BIDU nearly 4 percent.

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China’s currency the yuan fell by 0.4 percent against the US dollar, to its weakest against the greenback in nearly three weeks.

The news comes at a sensitive time for US-China relations, as the two countries get ready for a possible resolution of their months-long trade dispute in talks set to be held in Washington on October 10, with the Chinese delegation to be led by Vice Premier Liu He.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/469872-us-china-trading-delisting/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

“The management of Georgian Airways welcomes the statement made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in connection with the restoration of flights between Georgia and Russia,” the airline said in a statement on Saturday. The statement also noted the need to restore flights between the two countries “in accordance with international agreements.”

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Earlier in the week Sergei Lavrov had said that resuming direct air traffic between Russia and Georgia would be the right decision, as most Georgian citizens “realized the counterproductive, provocative nature” of the anti-Russian demonstrations that had taken place last summer. From July 8 the Russian government temporarily banned Russian airlines from transporting Russian citizens to Georgia and suspended Georgian carriers’ flights to Russia.

The sanctions were imposed after several thousand people staged an anti-Russian rally near the parliament building in the capital, Tbilisi, on June 20. The rally followed an incident at the Georgian parliament, when Georgian opposition MPs disrupted the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO) attended by representatives from Russia, bringing it to a halt and insulting the IAO President – and head of the Russian delegation – Sergey Gavrilov. A series of anti-Russia and anti-government protests followed and, a day before the flights ban came into force, aTV host aligned with Georgia’s opposition harshly insulted President Vladimir Putin on air. In its statement, however, Georgian Airways called the flight ban “unilateral and without foundation,” expressing hope that the Russian government will lift the suspension of regular communication between the two countries.

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Lavrov said on Friday he had discussed resuming flights to the former Soviet Republic with his Georgian counterpart, David Zalkaliani, during their meeting on the sideline of the UN General Assembly in New York. Lavrov stated that, in order to resume air transportation links with Russia, Tbilisi should stop “following Russophobes” and begin to mend relations with Russia.

“I explained to him that we never sought artificial reasons for a quarrel with Georgia, and if the Georgian leadership can responsibly advance towards normal relations with Russia and will not follow Russophobes, then we, I personally, would have the air transportation resumed,” the Russian minister said, at a press conference on Friday. He emphasized that the decision to suspend flights with Georgia was a temporary measure, and that it would be revoked “when the situation normalizes.”

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/469865-georgian-airways-russia-flights/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

The EU’s Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) ruled this week that Chinese motorcycle maker Zhejiang Zhongheng had not violated any intellectual property rights of Piaggio’s Vespa LX with its “Znen Ves” scooter.

“Due to numerous and significant differences, there is no risk of confusion among informed users,” the judges ruled. They stated that the Chinese scooter had “its own individual traits” when compared to the Vespa LX, as the Chinese model has more angular features, compared to Vespa’s rounded outline.

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Piaggio first filed the complaint over alleged intellectual property infringement to the EU court in 2014. The manufacturer accused the Chinese company of copying the design and form features of its best-selling scooter, which has been on the market since 1946. Piaggio also demanded the revocation of the Chinese scooter’s product registration within the European Union, deeming it unlawful in view of the copycat claims.

The first model of the Vespa LX series was released in 2006. It is an upgrade of the old-school design of the first Vespas with more modern features. Its name stands for the Roman numerals for 60 as its release marked the sixtieth anniversary of the first Vespa scooter.

Despite repeated attempts at beating Vespa’s popularity, it retains its top-positions in scooter ratings worldwide, which explains why the Italians are so protective of its iconic look. In March this year, the Vespa (GTX model) was voted “Scooter of the Year” by Germany’s prestigious monthly motorcycle magazine Motorrad. Since 2008, more than 1.6 million new Vespas have been produced and sold worldwide. Last year, sales grew by 16% compared to the previous record numbers obtained in 2017, with more than 210,000 units produced.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/469840-vespa-china-court-ruling/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Apple’s management arrived at the decision in an attempt to attract top directors and producers, as well as to strike a blow in the competition with the established streaming giant, Netflix.

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Citing anonymous sources within the company, the report states that Apple representatives have already made proposals to the management of several large American cinema chains. They have also held consultations on the matter with leading experts in the entertainment industry.

The company’s board, headquartered in Cupertino, California, is planning to run films produced by Apple for several weeks in theaters before they appear on its streaming service, Apple TV+, which was announced earlier this month.

The WSJ states that Netflix, Apple’s main rival in the field, often faces difficulties in negotiating with cinema networks because it insists that its movie premieres are held simultaneously in cinemas and on the online platform – an approach with which large US film distributors fundamentally disagree. Apple, on the other hand, is unlikely to face any such problems if it agrees to give cinemas an exclusive run of its productions.

During its presentation on September 10, the company management announced that the Apple TV+ streaming video service would be available from November 1. Apple expects to broadcast films, shows and series of its own production on this platform.

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Excerpts from some of these productions were shown at the TV+ presentation. Among Apple’s first major theatrical releases will be Sofia Coppola’s ‘On the Rocks,’ starring Rashida Jones and Bill Murray. The company expects a mid-2020 release after a potential premiere at a high-profile event like the Cannes Film Festival.

The tech giant has also been in talks with distributors about a documentary called ‘The Elephant Queen,’ which it plans to release later this year. Apple wants it to air in cinemas so that it is eligible for awards consideration.

Although Apple TV+ will reportedly initially offer a rather small number of original shows, unlike rivals Netflix, Amazon and Walt Disney Co., it plans to compete with the established players by charging lower prices.

TV+ is the latest addition to Apple’s extensive line of products and services, ranging from iPhone smartphones and iPad tablets to iMac computers, MacBook laptops, iPod music players and other high-tech equipment. The digital corporation is one of the largest in the world. Its market capitalization in the fall of 2018 exceeded $1 trillion, before slightly decreasing since to some $990 billion amid market instability.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/469836-apple-cinema-directors-movies/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

“Foreign exchange reserve accumulation, strengthening growth, and narrowing fiscal deficits underpin our upgrade of Ukraine,” the agency stated on Friday, justifying the move with assertions that Ukraine’s new government “appears to be committed to preserving macrofiscal stability” and “liberalizing the economy.”

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SP raised Ukraine’s global scale long-term foreign and local currency sovereign ratings from “B-” to “B,” and its national scale ratings to “uaA” from “uaBBB.” Short-term ratings have been affirmed at B. The outlook on the ratings has been deemed stable.

“A stable forecast reflects our expectations that the new government of Ukraine will consolidate macroeconomic reforms in recent years, while the economy is recovering, and total public debt is reduced in relation to GDP,” the agency said.

It also noted that Ukraine should “maintain access to both internal and external capital markets,” which, according to SP estimations, would allow it to “ensure repayment of commercial debt until 2020.”

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While noting that Ukraine’s economy is continuing to recover, the ratings agency praised the recent victory of Ukraine’s National Bank (NBU) in restraining inflation below 10 percent. Also, SP raised hopes of the country’s new government’s intentions to improve the business environment within the state, especially its plan to lift the moratorium on the sale of agricultural land.

“In our opinion, these measures could pave the way for higher foreign investment inflows into Ukraine, boding well for the economy’s growth and external leverage,” it stated.

However, according to SP, Ukraine’s ratings may soon come under pressure from potential problems with preferential financing or access to capital markets. These could pose a strain on the ability of the Ukrainian government to cover large external payments, especially given its current account deficits and large external repayment obligations. The agency emphasized, however, that these problems may be evaded if the government sticks to reforms. Among these, SP mentioned the plan to secure the independence of the NBU, which would “aid the government’s ability to access commercial debt markets and receive concessional funding from international financial institutions.”

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The ratings agency also noted that the positive outlook is partly due to the prospect of a thaw in Ukraine’s relations with Russia, which have been strained since 2014 and further deteriorated late last year following the Sea of Azov incident.

“More recently, there has been a slight thaw between the two neighbors. While we do not anticipate the implementation of the Minsk protocol in the near term, there could be some de-escalation in the Donbas,” SP stated.

Ukraine received its previous “B-” rating with a negative outlook back in 2013, when Petro Poroshenko was at the country’s helm. At the time, SP justified the low rating by reference to the Ukrainian government’s lack of strategy, political uncertainty, financial sector stress, as well as weak external liquidity and a hefty government debt burden.