December, 2016

• 20 December

  BP piles up oil assets with over $3 billion deals in three days

  

    Bloomberg BP Plc is piling up assets with more than $3 billion of deals in three days as Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley sees the company emerging from the doldrums after a two-year price slump. Since Saturday, BP has announced a $2.2 billion expansion of output in Abu Dhabi and a $916 million investment in fields in Mauritania and ...

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• 20 December

  Tanker docked at Libya’s Es Sider port to load 1st crude cargo in 2 years

  BENGHAZI / Reuters An oil tanker docked at the east Libyan port of Es Sider to load the first cargo of crude since the terminal reopened following a two-year closure, port officials said. Es Sider, Libya’s biggest export terminal, had been shut due to a blockade by a military faction since 2014. It reopened in mid September, but repairs were ...

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• 20 December

  Egypt raises purchase price of sugarcane from local farmers

    CAIRO / Reuters The Egyptian government has increased the price it pays local farmers for sugar cane by 25 percent, the Ministry of Supplies said on Tuesday. Sugar companies belonging to the Ministry of Supplies will buy local sugar cane from farmers for 500 Egyptian pounds ($26.11) per tonne, up from 400 pounds in the last season, the statement ...

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• 20 December

  Foreign money in energy need of the hour for Iran

  

    Bloomberg Few countries have benefited from the oil market’s 2016 recovery like Iran. Since sanctions on its economy were eased in January, the Persian Gulf producer has doubled exports as prices rallied and won approval from OPEC last month to pump even more while other members cut. The key to continued growth will be attracting foreign investment to the ...

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• 20 December

  Oman’s Electricity Holding Company raises $325 million loan

    Reuters Oman’s Electricity Holding Company (EHC) has signed an agreement for a $325 million working capital loan, the state-owned company’s finance chief said on Tuesday. The company, which holds the Omani government’s stake in nine electricity firms, has raised the funds to support four of its distribution subsidiaries, Hussain Al Balushi said. Bahrain’s Bank ABC coordinated the facility, which ...

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• 20 December

  Islamic finance standards a boost for gold, silver products

  

    Reuters New standards for the use of precious metals in Islamic finance are encouraging the development of financial products based on gold and silver, from futures contracts to a mobile app. The Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), which sets guidelines followed in whole or in part by Islamic financial firms around the world, approved ...

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• 20 December

  Currency crisis cripples Indian informal economy

  

    Bloomberg In Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political base of Varanasi, Hinduism’s holiest city, weaver Zainul Abedin stares at the uneven mud floor of his home. Behind him, more than a dozen handlooms lie idle. Abedin is part of the collateral damage of Modi’s Nov. 8 decision to ban high-value currency notes, effectively canceling 86 percent of cash in circulation. ...

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• 20 December

  Australia inks deal for French submarines

    Bloomberg Australia on Tuesday signed a mega deal to purchase a fleet of next-generation submarines from France, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull hailing the vessels’ “cutting-edge technology”. French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian inked the inter-governmental agreement (IGA) in Adelaide that will see French shipbuilder DCNS design and build the Shortfin Barracudas. The total cost of the 12 submarines, ...

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• 20 December

  Uber quarterly loss exceeds $800mn after China exit

  

    Bloomberg Even as Uber Technologies Inc. exited China, the company’s financial loss has remained eye-popping. In the first nine months of this year, the ride-hailing company lost significantly more than $2.2 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter. In the third quarter, Uber lost more than $800 million, not including its Chinese operation. At the same time, ...

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• 20 December

  Alibaba lawsuit throws spotlight on ‘brushers’ gaming rankings

  

    Bloomberg A lawsuit filed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is shining a light on the fake reviews and purchases on its websites. China’s biggest e-commerce operator sued Shatui.com, which allegedly links merchants with people willing to falsify purchases and write positive comments that can drive sellers up Alibaba’s rankings. The suit in Hangzhou West Lake District People’s Court is ...

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