Archives for August 2021

Among other banks picked to work on what is set to be India’s largest initial public offering are Kotak Mahindra Capital, JM Financial, Citigroup and Nomura Holdings. They were selected after 16 investment firms applied to the country’s government, which holds a stock of LIC shares, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The information, however, hasn’t been made public yet and no official confirmation from the banks has been provided.

Also on rt.com India ranks 2nd in the world in cryptocurrency adoption – report

According to analysts at Jefferies India, based on LIC’s assets, the company’s IPO could amount to $261 billion, which would top India’s current largest listed company, Reliance Industries Ltd, with a $183 billion market value.
Experts predict strong demand for the new IPO.

“The timeline looks tight given that almost half the year is gone… [still,] with the world awash with liquidity and only a few listed insurance companies in India, unlike banks where there are plenty of choices, we should see good demand for the IPO,” Karthik Srinivasan, senior vice-president at ratings assessor ICRA Ltd, told Bloomberg.

The banks are set to begin the listing preparations in September, expecting to launch the IPO between January and March next year. India’s government is expected to sell as much as 10% of its LIC shares amid a broader divestment target. It may allow foreign direct investment in the firm to draw in investors.

Also on rt.com India to sell $81 billion in state assets over next 4 years to boost economic growth

Meanwhile, major Indian tech company MapmyIndia is also looking to launch an IPO in the coming months. The mapping company, which provides data to Apple Maps and Amazon’s Alexa, will reportedly file its listing application this week, aiming for an IPO valuation of about $825 million. At the height of the pandemic last year, MapmyIndia came up with a Covid-19 panel, which showed real-time maps of containment zones, testing centers and hospitals across the country.

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

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/533388-india-largest-ipo-insurance/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

The estimated cost of the scheme is reportedly hovering around $7.9 billion, with private investments expected to amount to $6.7 billion. Most of the funds will reportedly be spent on developing charging infrastructure, while some of the money is earmarked for developing alternate EV and hydrogen fuel cell technologies.

Meanwhile, consumers would reportedly receive a subsidy of up to 25% on EVs costing $30,000 or less.

Also on rt.com Russia is finally embracing the electric vehicle boom

The number of electric vehicles is projected to total 730,000 units in eight years through 2030, with an initial target of around 25,000 to be reached by the end of 2024. The current number of EVs in the country is estimated at around 11,000, which mostly includes buses used for public transport in Moscow and other cities.

The share of EVs is expected to comprise at least 10% of the country’s light-vehicle market by 2030, according to the blueprint.

The program highlights that sufficient charging infrastructure will require at least one station for every 10 electric cars. Thus, a successful implementation of the plan will involve building nearly 73,000 charging stations by the end of the decade.

Moscow is negotiating agreements with foreign producers that don’t currently manufacture cars in Russia to produce and sell EVs in the country, according to Denis Pak, director of the Department of Automotive Industry and Railway Engineering in the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Also on rt.com Electric vehicle charging station market to reach $100 billion in less than decade – report

The government is also considering low-interest loans for both global and domestic producers of low-carbon-emission transportation, and is planning to allow EVs on toll roads for free.

“The most important area of work is to support the production of electric vehicles and stimulate demand for them. For example, such vehicles will be included in concessional lending and leasing programs, and from next year there are plans to launch an experiment on the free passage of electric vehicles on toll roads,” the statement reads.

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

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/532893-russia-electric-vehicle-market/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

The politically tumultuous region had a near-complete chokehold on the world’s petroleum production, resulting in world leaders who previously couldn’t have pointed out the Arabian peninsula on a map suddenly kowtowing to Saudi heads of state. In the early years of the Cold War, under the influence of energy security anxieties, US president issued a guarantee of alliance and security to the Saudi King Ibn Saud: “No threat to your Kingdom,” the president wrote, “could occur which would not be a matter of immediate concern to the United States.”

Also on rt.com How will rising chip prices impact consumers? RT’s Boom Bust investigates

The energy security fears were well-founded. Over the next couple of decades, political turmoil between and within the Middle Eastern states would leave consumers half a world away in the United States waiting in hours-long gas lines and scrabbling over gas ration coupons. 

The gush of cheap and plentiful oil and gas out of the West Texas Permian Basin in recent decades has completely reshaped the world’s geopolitical map, granting the United States newfound energy independence and lessening the need to tightrope-walk fraught diplomatic lines with members of OPEC. But now the shale revolution is over. Growth in the US shale sector has been slowing for years now after a white-hot decade, and the novel coronavirus may well have delivered a coup de grace to the already floundering industry. While shale has bounced back from the dark days of the pandemic that sent oil prices to historic lows – the West Texas Crude Intermediate reached nearly $40 below zero per barrel in an unthinkable rock bottom on April 20, 2020 – the global green energy transition is now underway in earnest.

Also on rt.com UK car production drops to lowest since 1956 due to Covid ‘pingdemic’ chip shortages

Just this month, the United Nations and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a “code red for humanity” warning that we have reached a point of no return for global warming, and making fossil fuels a thing of the past is a matter of extreme urgency and complete necessity. The move away from oil and toward clean energy tech, however, is facing a serious supply bottleneck: computer chips. Semiconductors around the world are failing to keep up with skyrocketing demand for the tiny little components that are now part of absolutely everything from your kids’ toys to your Tesla. 

Not only did the novel coronavirus pandemic catalyze the green energy transition, it also catapulted demand for consumer goods – especially electronics – into the stratosphere. This has left industries around the globe waiting in line for shipments of these essential ingredients while bigger and more lucrative clients get priority. And once again the geopolitical map is being redrawn; but this time, oil has nothing to do with it.

Also on rt.com Global auto market keeps shrinking as vehicle sales drop due to chip shortage Covid delta variant

“Semiconductors might be the new oil – and that could make the 2020s the new 1970s,” Barron’s reported this week, drawing comparisons between the world’s reliance on the Middle East for oil to today’s reliance on North Asia for chips. Around 80% of the world’s semiconductor production capacity is centered in the region, giving these states a newfound sway over the global economy and presenting the world with major potential risks and vulnerabilities in the supply chain of… well… absolutely everything. 

In response, world leaders including Joe Biden have pushed to diversify the industry and ramp up chip domestic production, but the barriers to entering the market are significant.

“Reshoring any industry, including semiconductors, is a yearslong process that requires billions in capital,” Barron’s writes.

“There will be winners and losers. And if it goes on too long, it will filter into the prices of all kinds of goods.” 

While the chip shortage won’t last forever, the key role that chips play in nearly every supply chain imaginable is here to stay for the foreseeable future, and major structural and geopolitical changes are already long overdue. 

This article was originally published on Oilprice.com

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/533374-semiconductors-demand-new-oil/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

“The markets are slowing. Since Covid-19 has begun its fourth wave in some areas, we must be careful and reconsider this increase. There may be a halt to the 400,000 [barrels per day] increase,” Mohammad Abdulatif al-Fares told Reuters at a state-sponsored event in Kuwait City.

Also on rt.com IEA downgrades global oil demand amid resurgence of Covid-19

Fares noted that the economies of East Asian countries and China still face uncertainty and difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic and urged that caution in taking further steps regarding the global oil output must be exercised.

OPEC+ is scheduled to have talks next week regarding the boost of oil production agreed upon last month. After some disagreements, the group reached an agreement on boosting oil production by 400,000 barrels a day each month starting in August amid increasing global demand. OPEC+ nations were set to boost output gradually through September 2022, by which point oil production is supposed to settle back to pre-Covid-19 levels.

Also on rt.com Saudi Aramco hikes oil prices to Asia for second consecutive month

The group is currently withholding some six million barrels of crude a day out of the 10 million barrels that were cut from the market during the worst of the pandemic, when energy demand fell due to travel restrictions and national lockdowns.

The US administration this month urged OPEC and allies to boost oil output even further to reign in petrol prices and curb shortages, deeming the group’s current production boost plan insufficient. Washington firmly states that rising gasoline prices are a threat to the global economic recovery. Fares, however, says OPEC+ members’ views on the matter are different.

Also on rt.com US wants OPEC to boost oil production to contain rising gasoline prices

“There are meetings with OPEC countries, especially the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and so far there are different views on how to handle this issue,” Fares said, without specifying the details.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, the International Energy Agency (IEA) downgraded its outlook for global oil demand in 2021, citing the rapidly spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus and its impact on the world’s economy.

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

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/533337-opec-may-cancel-oil-output-boost/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

The National Cyberspace Administration of China on Friday launched a “special rectification” action targeting illegal procurement and misinterpretation of financial information. The agency called on social media platforms to carry out checks to cleanse finance-related content that “violates China’s regulations.”

Also on rt.com China’s gaming giant Tencent starts scanning nighttime players’ faces to bust curfew-breaking kids

China’s major regulatory agencies will supervise and guide the moves, focusing on eight types of violations. These include “bad-mouthing” China’s financial markets and “misinterpreting” domestic economic policies, spreading finance-related rumors and “hyping negative information to threaten, intimidate, blackmail relevant stakeholders and seek illegal benefits.” Those who repost foreign media articles or commentaries that are deemed to falsely interpret China’s financial policy “without taking a stance or making a judgment” will also be considered violators under the regulation.

China’s cyberspace regulator claims the outlined violations “disturb the normal market order” in the country, stating that the rectification action will “effectively calm the chaos of financial information on the Internet and create a good online public opinion environment for the healthy development of the economy and society.”

Also on rt.com China considers making US-listed companies hand over data control to 3rd party firms – reports

China’s internet giants – including Tencent and ByteDance, which operate social media platforms such as WeChat, Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok), Weibo, Toutiao, and Kuaishou – responded to the news instantly. They issued statements on Saturday promising to abide by the new regulations and carry out sweeping checks of financial content in accordance with the requirements of the cyberspace administration.

The action is to last through October 26, by which time all media platforms are to provide authorities with the results of their checks. If they fail to remove information deemed in violation of the regulations by that time, the platforms risk being shut down.

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

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/533373-china-cleanse-media-platforsm-economy-bad-mouth/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

“This is an important step towards enhancing the high-level openness of the Chinese [international trade] system, and is essential for the intensive development of the Hainan Free Trade Port,” the Chinese Ministry of Commerce stated with regard to the new regulation.

Also on rt.com RT’s Keiser Report looks at China’s rise amid global disorder

The region’s authorities on Saturday published a list of restrictions that covers 11 areas of international economic cooperation and includes 70 control measures over foreign companies working in Hainan. In all cases of trade in services not specified in the document, foreign enterprises are to operate under the same conditions as Chinese companies.

The previous mechanism of “exceptions from what is prohibited” was stricter and more complex for foreign firms. The move is aimed at increasing the transparency of the province’s business interactions with other countries and raise the level of investor confidence. It is assumed that the modified system will also boost Hainan’s competitiveness in the international market.
Hainan authorities clarified, however, that the new measures “provide for a fairly effective control over regional and systemic risks.”

Also on rt.com Protect your wallets: China urges citizens to ‘stay away’ from cryptocurrencies

On April 13, 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the creation of an experimental free trade zone in Hainan. The goal of the program is to involve Hainan’s port and the entire island in the process of globalization and international distribution of labor.

Hainan’s administration was to create attractive conditions for investors and form a developed research infrastructure. According to the government plan, by 2050, Hainan is to become a unique cluster with an advanced economy, hosting the campuses of leading universities, advanced laboratories, and headquarters of global high-tech corporations.

Also on rt.com Russia unveils plans to create offshore-like zone in the Kuril Islands

In a separate move this week, Hainan’s authorities began setting up pilot international offshore innovation and business zones across the island, local information resource Nanhaiwan reported.

This offshore business model allows both Chinese and foreign firms to be registered on the island. The project aims to accelerate Hainan’s development in the field of science and technology. Authorities intend to establish 8 to 10 offshore innovation and business zones in the Hainan Free Trade Port in order to attract high-quality innovation resources from abroad, as well as promoting international high-tech exchange. In the future, this program is to  be extended up to 11 industrial parks in the province.

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

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/533338-china-regulations-hainan-free-trade/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Paris became the first European capital the Russian company is hoping to break into after launching the same service in Tel Aviv, Israel in November. Yandex is planning to expand the service to London in the third quarter of 2021.

Initially, the Paris service will cover an area with nearly one million residents before expanding into more areas across the city, according to the company.

Also on rt.com Russian internet giant Yandex launches food delivery service in Israel

The objective is to deliver orders within 15 minutes, as the company is using so-called dark stores, dedicated warehouses that cater only to online clients. The technology allows Yandex to provide swift delivery while also enjoying cheaper rental costs.

Yango, the international arm of Yandex Go, the firm’s taxi aggregator and food tech business, was first launched in Russia under the Yandex.Lavka name back in 2019, when the coronavirus pandemic forced people to stay home for months.

Yandex, initially developed as a Russian search engine rivaling Google, is reportedly planning to spend around $650 million on e-commerce initiatives this year. In the first half of 2021, company revenues were up 54% and totaled 154 billion rubles ($2.1 billion).

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

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/533005-russia-yandex-paris-food-delivery/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Russia’s Gazprom subsidiary, Swiss-based Nord Stream 2 AG, involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, lost a court battle over exclusive access to the infrastructure earlier this week. The company was seeking an exemption from the provisions of the EU Gas Directive that bans a single firm from the exclusive use of a pipeline. According to Wednesday’s ruling by Dusseldorf Higher Regional Court, Gazprom might be forced to use only 50% of the pipeline’s capacity and allow an independent supplier to use the rest in order to comply with EU laws.

Also on rt.com EU rules block Nord Stream 2 owner from exclusive access to its own pipeline

However, as per the updated rules of the directive, the gas pipeline entering EU countries must either be partially exploited by an alternative supplier, or a part of it located in the territory of the bloc must belong to a third-party company. According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, EU officials may offer Gazprom the chance to do the latter.

“According to [European] Commission officials involved in the issue, [Nord Stream 2] does not meet EU requirements. There is no getting around selling the pipeline, they say,” the newspaper states. However, it further says that none of the hurdles the European Commission may set ahead of the pipeline’s launch could prevent it from delivering gas to Europe in the future.

“The Commission cannot prevent certification directly… It is entirely justifiable that Nord Stream 2 will feed gas into the pipeline before the [gas] network agency has granted certification.

“Even if the Federal Ministry of Economics refused to allow the operators to do so, they could take legal action against it and continue to deliver. In the worst case, they risk fines – and the last option they still have is to sell the pipeline to another certified operator at some point,” the newspaper states. 

Also on rt.com Germany wants to talk to Russia about using Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline for hydrogen deliveries

However, Russian experts believe the pipeline’s sale is unlikely.

“The [EU] gas directive assumes that the production and transportation of gas cannot be in the same hands. Therefore, the EU offers: we do not touch your gas, but let Gazprom sell us the gas pipeline itself so that this directive is met… This is a fantastic dream of the West, built on a completely incorrect idea that if you divide a certain technological process, it will become more competitive and efficient,” Dmitry Zhuravlev, professor at Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, told Sputnik radio.

“Competition is when two companies are fighting for one customer, not when they separate one part of production from another. Two related production programs do not compete, but complement each other. The idea of ​​competition, on which all these gas directives are built, does not work here,” Zhuravlev stated.

Also on rt.com Putin pledges that Russia will comply with obligations on gas transit through Ukraine, says arrangement may continue past 2024

Nord Stream 2 is a 1,200-kilometer long gas pipeline, which runs between Russia and Germany along the bottom of the Baltic Sea. It is built to deliver natural gas from Russia’s Siberian gas fields to Europe, with a planned capacity of 55 billion cubic meters per year. The pipeline is constructed by Nord Stream 2 AG with the sole shareholder Russia’s state energy giant Gazprom. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said there are only 15 kilometers of the pipeline remaining to be set up. After its completion, two to three months will be required for tests and certification, with experts stating the pipeline will be able to start gas deliveries by year-end.

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

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/533331-gazprom-offered-sell-nord-stream-2-media/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

The NASDAQ index reached an all-time high of 15,129 points in Friday trading. The SP 500 broad market index rose 0.88% to 4,509 points, breaking the 4,500 mark for the first time in history. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) also grew by 0.69% – up to 35,455 points.

Also on rt.com US sees biggest inflation surge in 30 yrs, with consumer prices rising 5.4%

The stock market rally came in response to statements on monetary policy made on Friday by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at an economic policy symposium in Jackson Hole. Powell said the Fed considers the current sharp rise in inflation to be temporary, and therefore does not plan to raise rates.

“For now, I believe that [monetary] policy is well positioned… the baseline outlook is for continued progress toward maximum employment, with inflation returning to levels consistent with our goal of inflation averaging 2% over time,” he stated, noting that the Fed will continue to monitor incoming inflation data before taking any steps regarding monetary policy. Powell also said the Federal Reserve may cut measures to support post-pandemic economic recovery later this year, though he did not specify the exact timeframe for this. The measures include the purchase of state treasury bonds, which allows the cost of borrowing to be kept low and stimulates the growth of expenses of businesses and consumers, while, on the downside, also accelerating inflation.

Also on rt.com Weaker dollar pushes oil higher after seven days of declines

“We would continue our asset purchases at the current pace until we see substantial further progress toward our maximum employment and price stability goals… My view is that the ‘substantial further progress’ test has been met for inflation. [In July] I was of the view that if the economy evolved broadly as anticipated, it could be appropriate to start reducing the pace of asset purchases this year. The intervening month has brought more progress,” Powell stated, adding that even after the asset purchases end, “elevated holdings of longer-term securities will continue to support” the US economy.

Meanwhile, the Russian ruble increased its growth after Powell’s statements. The dollar fell against the Russian currency to 73.63 rubles, dropping 51 kopecks, 2.5 times more than the previous day, while the euro dropped to 86.86 rubles, losing 33 kopecks, three times more than the day before, according to data from the Moscow Exchange.

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

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/533256-us-indices-grow-powell-speech/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS