Bloomberg Beijing is accelerating its bid for global leadership in key technologies, planning to pump more than a trillion dollars into the economy through the rollout of everything from wireless networks to artificial intelligence. In the masterplan backed by President Xi Jinping himself, China will invest an estimated $1.4 trillion over six years to 2025, calling on urban governments and …

LONDON / WAM Biopharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca, said on Thursday it had received the first agreements to supply at least 400 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine it is developing with the University of Oxford, reported Reuters. The British drugmaker said it has a total capacity sourced for one billion doses through 2020 and into 2021, and continues to increase capacity …

Bloomberg Oil was headed for its longest run of daily gains since February 2019 after a drop in US crude stockpiles added to signs that the market is starting to balance. West Texas Intermediate futures rose for a sixth day in New York to near $34 a barrel. American inventories fell for a second week, and there was a record …

Bloomberg A Total SA-led liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique will receive commitments for about $15 billion of financing at a signing scheduled in June, marking rare progress for such a project as companies scrutinise costs. The first and most significant phase of the financing commitment for the LNG project — which will be Africa’s biggest private investment yet — …

Bloomberg The UK transmission network is under pressure as it grapples with a flood of green power and lower demand, according to new research published on Thursday. Intermittent renewables supplied more than 40% of electricity during first quarter of 2020, overtaking fossil fuels for the first time, according to the Electric Insights report, commissioned by Drax Group Plc and researched …

Bloomberg It’s going to take months for oil demand in the world’s third biggest market to get back to pre-virus levels as India faces its deepest recession ever in the wake of its near two-month lockdown. Once the engine of global oil demand growth, India’s fuel consumption collapsed by as much as 70% at one stage last month as it …

Bloomberg Texas has started seeing a slight increase in power use this week in one of the first signs that electricity demand is bouncing back in the US as lockdowns ease. While power use in the Lone Star state is still depressed, the state’s main grid operator noticed a slight improvement in electricity use during early morning hours, according to …

Bloomberg Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co is considering a sale of its majority stake in PT Paiton Energy, one of Indonesia’s biggest independent power producers, people with knowledge of the matter said. Mitsui is working with an adviser on a potential divestment of its 45.5% stake in the power producer, said the people, who asked not to be identified …

Bloomberg Cape Town, South Africa’s second-biggest city, said it could buy its own renewable energy within five to six years if it wins a court case against the government. The city of 4 million people has sued the Energy Ministry and the national power regulator to obtain the right to procure its energy in a case that could pave the …

Bloomberg India’s decision to resume domestic flights from May 25 was a bolt out of the blue for most of the country’s aviation companies. Top executives at three Indian airlines said they learned about the move when the aviation minister tweeted it. The executives asked not to be identified citing rules on speaking to the media. Airline shares surged. Most …