International News

Bloomberg Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his second term by expanding an income support program for India’s small farmers, increasing the initiative’s annual cost to $12.5 billion for the new government that’s facing an economic slowdown. The newly-appointed cabinet approved extending the cash distribution plan to 20 million more farmers, taking the total beneficiaries to 145 million people who would ...

Bloomberg Beleaguered Indian businessman Anil Ambani is on an asset sale spree to raise funds to meet mounting debt obligations. New fundraising via such sales will help Reliance Capital Ltd, the last stronghold of the former billionaire’s wider conglomerate, to pay 11 billion rupees ($158 million) that comes due over the next month. The company is in talks to sell ...

Bloomberg Vedanta Resources Ltd, owned by Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal, said it’s seeking international arbitration to resolve a dispute with the Zambian government about its copper assets in the country. Zambia’s government this month began liquidation proceedings against Vedanta’s Konkola Copper Mines, after accusing Vedanta of lying about expansion plans and paying too little tax. The company says it is ...

Bloomberg India’s southwest monsoon, which waters more than half of the country’s farmland and is crucial for economic growth, is expected to be normal this year as El Nino weather conditions are seen staying weak. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) maintained its April forecast, reiterating that rains during the June-September monsoon season will be 96 percent of the long-term average. ...

Bloomberg Malaysia is all geared to satisfy China’s craving for a pungent, football-sized thorny fruit. That’s because China’s General Administration of Customs has approved imports of frozen whole durian fruit following an agreement signed in August, according to Sim Tze Tzin, Malaysia’s deputy minister for agriculture and agro-based industry. “The durian market in China is so big but we’ve only ...

Bloomberg State-run NTPC Ltd, India’s largest coal-fired power producer, is appointing a new head of its renewables team to speed up its expansion into clean energy, according to a company official with knowledge of the plan. Mohit Bhargava, currently a chief general manager for corporate planning, will start in the new role next week, said the official, asking not to ...

Bloomberg The automotive industry is bearing the brunt of trade-war crossfire again as US President Donald Trump threatens to slap tariffs of as much as 25 percent on goods from Mexico, a key production hub for carmakers from Mazda Motor Corp. to General Motors Co. Mexico is the largest source of US vehicle and auto-parts imports, meaning tariffs would increase ...

Bloomberg KKR & Co and Axel Springer SE are in talks about a strategic investment by the private equity firm that could take the German publisher private. KKR may launch a tender offer to buy out the minority shareholders in Axel Springer, which owns the mass-circulation daily Bild, according to a statement. Friede Springer — the widow of founder Axel ...

Bloomberg Even though President Donald Trump held fire earlier this month on auto tariffs that have the potential to further roil Europe’s struggling economy, a succession of domestic dilemmas on both sides of the Atlantic threaten to frustrate efforts at a trade pact before they’ve even begun. Ten months after Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker struck a Rose ...

Bloomberg WeWork Cos is in talks with banks about arranging a $2.75 billion credit line ahead of a planned initial public offering, according to people with knowledge of the matter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is leading the potential financing, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public. Representatives for the bank and WeWork declined ...