MANILA / Reuters Australia-listed Energy World Corp expects to start up a gas-fired power plant in the Philippines by end-2018, its chief executive said, fed by the country’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports. The Philippines does not currently import LNG, but its domestic natural gas reserves are depleting, and the country has been developing plans for import terminals for …

TUNIS / Reuters Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) is suffering ongoing delays in receiving budget money from the government and this could reduce production, the head of the state company said. Mustafa Sanalla made the comments after meeting the head of Al Jouf Oil Technology Company, who said the NOC subsidiary was suffering from financial problems that had delayed projects …

Bloomberg Latvia’s banking scandal deepened as its central bank chief and representative to the European Central Bank faced accusations of repeatedly trying to extort money from a local bank, in a blow to the Baltic state’s reputation. The Latvian government has repeatedly demanded that Ilmars Rimsevics step down after the country’s anti-corruption agency arrested him over the weekend on suspicion …

Bloomberg Japan’s biggest banks bought the most government bonds last month since March 2012, signalling confidence in the central bank’s ability to control the yield curve and cap interest rates. The category for large lenders including Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., Mizuho Bank Ltd. and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., collectively bought a net 2.3 trillion yen ($21.5 billion) of government …

Bloomberg Bank of England Governor Mark Carney is already bracing for the UK’s next financial crisis. While no central bank can eliminate the risk of future crises, he said the BOE is creating a more secure environment by planning for bank failures, providing liquidity and ensuring higher levels of capital. “Something will go wrong again even if we do not …

Bloomberg India’s central bank is reviewing its process for allowing companies to raise money overseas due to concern that any increase in rupee volatility may hurt borrowers’ ability to repay debt, a person familiar with the matter said. The Reserve Bank of India is spending more time scrutinising companies’ hedging practices, vetting borrowers more closely to prepare for any financial-market …

Bloomberg Stuart Gulliver’s final set of results at HSBC Holdings Plc weren’t quite the swansong he’d hoped for as he hands the reins over to his long-term lieutenant, John Flint. Europe’s largest bank missed estimates for fourth-quarter revenue and profit as it became the latest firm to take a hit on two high-profile corporate failures and post a sharp decline …

Bloomberg Airline pilots, still resentful over pensions yanked away in a wave of industry bankruptcies, see growing company profits as a chance to reclaim some of those lost benefits. Unions at American Airlines Group Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. are studying ways to reconstitute or replace retirement plans that were scrapped or frozen during the carriers’ past financial struggles. …

Bloomberg Grocer Albertsons Cos. plans to buy drugstore owner Rite Aid Corp. in a deal that would accelerate the remaking of the US retail and health-care industries. Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons plans to acquire the parts of Rite Aid that are left over after a separate sale of nearly 2,000 stores, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing the companies’ chief executive …

Bloomberg Nautica, the apparel line known for its ’90s-era panache, is looking for a new owner to steer the ship. VF Corp., the clothing giant that also owns North Face, Vans and Wrangler, announced that it was scrapping Nautica from its portfolio. The company reclassified the business as “discontinued operations” last quarter, though it hopes to find a buyer for …