May, 2018

• 8 May

  Saudi non-oil income rises 63% on new taxes

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s non-oil revenue climbed 63 percent in the first quarter of 2018, propelled by improved tax collection as part of a drive to reduce the economy’s reliance on income from oil exports. Revenue rose to 52.3 billion riyals ($14 billion), partly due to the introduction of value-added taxation and measures taken over the past two years, including a ...

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• 8 May

  OPEC isn’t targeting 5-year oil inventory average: Saudi

  

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said bringing global oil inventories back to their five-year average isn’t the target of OPEC’s output cuts, and the group is yet to accomplish its goal of stabilising markets. The rolling five-year average of stockpiles is inflated by the glut that’s been around since 2014, Khalid Al-Falih said in Tokyo. The objective of production curbs ...

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• 8 May

  British sun beats natural gas to provide most electricity

  

  Bloomberg Britain got a glimpse of its green future as the sun provided more power to households than any other energy source over a rare, sunny holiday weekend. Solar generation rose to 8,728 megawatts, just shy of the record of 8,910 megawatts on May 26 last year. The sun provided 26.9 percent of electricity supply, just beating natural gas, while ...

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• 8 May

  Sasol CEO expects oil volatility with long-term price around $60

  Bloomberg Sasol Ltd. expects a “volatile environment” for crude oil as geopolitics help sway the market. “It’s going to move back and forth depending on what’s happening in the world — political tensions, supply disruptions,” said Steve Cornell, co-chief executive officer of the South African energy and chemicals company. Market drivers include the much-anticipated US decision on the global nuclear ...

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• 8 May

  Takeda clinches $62 billion deal to buy drugmaker Shire

  

  Bloomberg Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. reached an agreement to buy larger rival Shire Plc for about 46 billion pounds ($62 billion) in a deal that transforms it into a top drugmaker in the lucrative business of rare diseases and boosts its heft in the US. The Japanese company capped a drawn-out pursuit by agreeing to pay Shire 49.01 pounds a share ...

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• 8 May

  Xiaomi poised to become a billionaire factory with Hong Kong IPO

  

  Bloomberg When Xiaomi Corp.’s founders were eating millet congee at an office in Beijing’s Zhongguancun neighbourhood in 2010, they decided to create a smartphone brand selling handsets at “honest” prices. Eight years later, Lei Jun and the seven other Xiaomi co-founders have created a company that wants to challenge the global industry dominance of Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. ...

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• 8 May

  China’s exports climb, imports jump on solid global demand

  

  Bloomberg China’s overseas shipments exceeded estimates while imports surged, as the global economy continued to support demand. Exports rose 12.9 percent in April in dollar terms, the customs administration said on Tuesday. Imports surged 21.5 percent, leaving a $28.8 billion trade surplus. “The data show continued strong growth of domestic demand and a rebound, albeit not too vigorous, of external ...

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• 8 May

  Grab rivals rush into Philippine post Uber deal

  

  Bloomberg A slew of ride-hailing ventures are taking to the gridlocked streets of Manila, undeterred by the market dominance of Grab now that it controls Uber in the Philippines. Hype Transport Systems Inc. and Ipara Technologies and Solutions Inc. are just two of the five new entrants approved by the regulator since Grab agreed to take over the operations of ...

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• 8 May

  Modi orders team to do math on new jobs to showcase success

  

  Bloomberg India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked his team to crunch numbers and figure out how many jobs were created in the four years of his rule — a key factor watched by the nation headed for elections in 2019. Ministries have been instructed to come up with a detailed note on the projects and programmes undertaken by them ...

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• 8 May

  Snap Italy election raises risk of populists taking control

  

  Bloomberg Italy is heading for a snap election that may boost the chances of a populist government taking power. Luigi Di Maio, head of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, and Matteo Salvini, who leads a center-right alliance and the anti-immigrant League, are pressing for an election in July after efforts to form a government broke down. The populist rivals met ...

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