Bloomberg India’s central government will transfer its stake in state-run refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp. to the country’s biggest oil explorer as part of its plans to create an integrated oil company, The Economic Times newspaper reported, citing people it didn’t identify. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will issue a proposal for approval by the country’s cabinet to ...
Read More »Lukoil’s Mideast head sees oil at $55-$65 a barrel
Bloomberg Oil will stabilize around $55 to $65 a barrel as OPEC fulfills its agreement to cut output, with stockpiles and shale production keeping prices from rising much more, the Middle East head of Lukoil PJSC said. Russia’s second-largest oil producer hasn’t had to reduce production in Iraq as a result of the curbs pledged by OPEC, Gati Al-Jebouri ...
Read More »Saudi seeks ways to boost 4% foreign stock ownership
Bloomberg Saudi Arabia is seeking ways to boost foreign investment in its bourse, almost two years after easing access to the one of the world’s most restricted exchanges. The Tadawul, as the market is known, will hold talks with companies already trading on other Gulf Cooperation Council exchanges for a cross-listing in the kingdom by 2018, Chief Executive Officer ...
Read More »India identities at risk as Modi widens digital reach
Bloomberg Shivam Shankar Singh woke last month to an e-mail from an Indian government department. It had a name, address, mobile phone number and bank account with a code for money transfers and investments made in a dairy farm. None of the details were his. The e-mail contained details submitted to a program that collects personal and biometric data, ...
Read More »Asia economies hold trade pact talks after Trump dumps TPP
Bloomberg Negotiators from 16 Asian countries are meeting in the Japanese port city of Kobe this week for talks on a regional trade pact seen as a rival to the Trans-Pacific Partnership rejected by US President Donald Trump. China is not part of the TPP but is playing a leading role in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, ...
Read More »SoftBank’s Son lays out vision for future of technology
Bloomberg SoftBank Group Corp.’s Masayoshi Son, sporting a black turtleneck similar in style to the late Steve Jobs, laid out his vision for the future of technology and called for partners to help make it happen at the smartphone industry’s biggest annual gathering. Son reiterated his belief that computers will exceed humans in intelligence in three decades, and that ...
Read More »Panasonic eyes storage boost as Japan solar incentives wane
Bloomberg Japan’s scaling back of a program encouraging residential solar has Panasonic Corp. hopeful the market for home energy storage systems is about to receive a boost. In 2019, a program designed to buy back solar power flowing from rooftop panels at above-market rates will start becoming less enticing, potentially leaving homeowners who signed up with excess power on ...
Read More »China shares’ power surge leaves global investors skeptical
Bloomberg The biggest equity rally in Asia this year has yet to captivate global investors. The MSCI China Index, which is dominated by Hong Kong-traded Chinese shares, has surged 11 percent since December 31, its best start to any year since 2012. That’s been fueled by $9 billion of inflows through cross-border trading links as mainland investors seek to ...
Read More »China economy remains stable this month
Bloomberg China’s economy remained generally steady during the Lunar New Year while sentiment readings show uncertainties over the outlook, according to the earliest private data for February. Sales managers perked up and satellite data showed activity hanging in near a five-year high. Meanwhile, the financial world’s outlook for next 12 months remained in negative territory and a gloomier mood ...
Read More »Twin records for Hong Kong property flout bid to tame market
Bloomberg Hong Kong’s property market is setting new records, quashing attempts by the city’s leaders to tame surging home prices. Existing home prices reached an all-time high in the week ended February 19, according to the Centaline Property Centa-City Leading Index, which tracks sales of secondary homes. In another sign of buyer demand, two Chinese companies bid a record ...
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