2025-09-17 12:27
LONDON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Crypto firms in Britain could be exempted from rules that ensure financial services companies act with integrity and in the interests of customers, under new proposals outlined by the Financial Conduct Authority on Wednesday. The move comes after Britain signalled in April it would cooperate on the best approach towards digital assets with the United States, which has embraced the crypto industry and vowed to roll back regulatory curbs under President Donald Trump. Sign up here. Publishing a consultation on minimum standards designed to allow fast-growing crypto firms to compete internationally, Britain's financial regulator is suggesting waiving four of its principles for crypto asset trading platforms. These include that firms must conduct their business with integrity, with skill, care and diligence, that they pay due regard to customer interests and take reasonable care to ensure advice and discretionary decisions for customers are suitable. "We want to develop a sustainable and competitive crypto sector – balancing innovation, market integrity and trust," said David Geale, the FCA's executive director of payments and digital finance. "Our proposals won't remove the risks of investing in crypto, but they will help firms meet common standards so consumers have a better idea of what to expect." Although crypto assets are generally high-risk and volatile, customers should still be protected from poor business practices, the regulator said. The FCA is also proposing tougher rules in areas such as operational risk. A $1.5 billion hack on Dubai-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange Bybit in February underlined the need for "strong operational resilience controls", it said. The regulator is seeking feedback on whether the consumer duty, which requires firms to put their customers first, and customer access to the Financial Ombudsman Service for compensation should apply for crypto asset firms. Charles Kerrigan, a partner and AI specialist at law firm CMS, said it was inevitable that the consumer duty would apply once crypto assets are brought within the regulatory framework. Around 12% of British adults own or have owned cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin or ethereum, up from 4% in 2021, the government has said. The deadline for feedback on the consultation is November 12. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/uk-regulator-proposes-exempting-crypto-firms-integrity-other-rules-2025-09-17/
2025-09-17 12:20
ADNOC-led consortium walks away after months of talks Third failed takeover attempt for Australian gas firm Deal would have been Australia's biggest all-cash buyout DUBAI/SYDNEY, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has withdrawn the $18.7 billion offer it led to buy Australian gas producer Santos (STO.AX) , opens new tab after months of wrangling over valuation and terms. The move on Wednesday may slow down ADNOC's aggressive overseas expansion as the firm looks to invest its booming domestic oil income. It also highlights the difficulties foreign firms face when trying to buy assets in Australia. Sign up here. ADNOC's overseas unit XRG's bid with Abu Dhabi sovereign fund ADQ and private equity firm Carlyle for Santos became a third failed bid to buy Santos. Santos previously rejected a $10.8 billion offer from private equity-backed Harbour Energy in 2018 and walked away from talks with its bigger Australian rival Woodside Energy (WDS.AX) , opens new tab last year to create a possible A$80 billion oil and gas giant. "The market will ask questions about Santos' valuation after this ... XRG was a less price sensitive buyer than most yet still couldn't make it work," said MST Marquee senior energy analyst Saul Kavonic. Santos in a statement said it had expected to enter a deal at the agreed price on or before September 19 and had expressed concerns over delays in reaching a formal agreement. The company said the consortium refused to agree to a fair sharing of risk, including taking responsibility for securing regulatory approvals and committing to domestic gas development and supply. XRG in its statement said the decision was taken after taking into account all commercial factors. The consortium was ready to undertake new long-term commitments to Australian energy production and enhance regional energy security, it added. The Australian government did not respond to requests for comment outside of business hours. XRG, PARTNERS FOCUSED ON SHAREHOLDER VALUE "While disappointed not to move forward, XRG, and its consortium partners, are responsible, disciplined investors with a clear focus on creating value for our shareholders and driving long-term growth," XRG said in a statement released after Australian financial market hours. Santos' shares closed on Wednesday at A$7.65, well below the consortium's indicative $5.76 per share offer, which had equated to A$8.89 per share when the bid arrived in June. The shares have consistently traded below the offer price, which analysts interpreted as a sign from investors that the deal was at risk of not proceeding. Santos in June said the offer came after it had rejected two previous proposals made by the consortium in March, at $5.04 and $5.42 per share, that were not made public. Taking into account net debt, the deal would have given Santos an enterprise value of A$36.4 billion ($24.30 billion), which would have made it the largest all-cash corporate buyout in Australian history, according to FactSet data. The consortium had extended its due diligence on Santos and had up until Friday to finalise a formal offer. OPPORTUNITIES TO SELL DOWN SOME ASSETS "Despite this outcome, we believe Santos' APAC-facing LNG assets continue to hold geostrategic value in this turbulent time," Kaushal Ramesh, vice president, gas and LNG research at Rystad Energy, told Reuters. MST Marquee's Kavonic echoed that. "There should still be an opportunity for Santos to sell down some assets to realise value and fund more growth to deliver for shareholders, but its unclear of this can happen under the current leadership," Kavonic said. He added there would still be scope for ADNOC to pursue simpler and less controversial asset-level deals. "ADNOC ambitions haven't changed. Santos just won't be their big LNG debut." ($1 = 1.4981 Australian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/adnoc-led-consortium-pulls-187-billion-bid-australias-santos-2025-09-17/
2025-09-17 12:11
Ex-BoE deputy warns US might use banking system against allies Many Western countries rely on US banks, Visa and Mastercard Trump in Britain for unprecedented second state visit LONDON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Countries that see themselves as U.S. allies are now considering whether President Donald Trump's administration could one day disrupt their payments systems to exert diplomatic pressure, a former top Bank of England official has said. Jon Cunliffe, the BoE's deputy governor for financial stability from 2014 to 2024, said Western countries relied heavily on U.S.-headquartered Visa (V.N) , opens new tab and Mastercard (MA.N) , opens new tab for day-to-day domestic transactions and found it hard to avoid U.S. banks when making foreign payments. Sign up here. "What you've seen now with Greenland and Canada and other areas is that this particular administration appears to be as likely to use all the levers it has against jurisdictions that you would traditionally think of as its allies as its opponents," he told an event hosted by Britain's National Institute of Economic and Social Research late on Tuesday. "I've heard it from people in the payments network: 'Do I want to use the U.S. system because it might now be weaponised against me?'" Cunliffe added. COMMENTS COME AS TRUMP BEGINS STATE VISIT TO BRITAIN His comments came as Trump began an unprecedented second state visit to Britain after forging a cordial relationship with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Cunliffe drew a parallel with some Western countries' new-found reluctance to buy U.S. fighter jets, possibly due to fears that they could be remotely disabled. "The question of the 'kill switch' which people worry about for F-35s... the issue of the 'kill switch' exists in terms of payments." Visa and Mastercard suspended operations in Russia in March 2022 after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. BoE Governor Andrew Bailey told parliament this month he was "very concerned" about Trump's pressure on the Federal Reserve's independence. And at a European Central Bank event on September 3, another former BoE official, Adam Posen, who is now president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said it should not be taken for granted that a politicised Fed would lend dollars to foreign central banks in a crisis, as it has done a few times since the 2007-2008 financial meltdown. Both the BoE and the ECB have already asked lenders to assess their need for U.S. dollars in times of stress, as they game out scenarios in which they cannot rely on tapping the Fed, according to people with knowledge of the discussions. Asked about this specific risk, Cunliffe said he believed U.S. policymakers would realise it was in their national interest to preserve dollar swap lines to prevent financial turmoil spilling over into U.S. markets. But he said he would be more concerned if there were an abrupt loss of global confidence in the U.S. dollar at the same time. "If people don't want dollars, how do you put the fire out? That looks much more like an emerging market currency crisis." https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/ex-boe-deputy-governor-warns-trump-could-flick-financial-payments-kill-switch-2025-09-17/
2025-09-17 12:08
CHISINAU, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. has approved a $130 million project to construct a high voltage transmission line to ensure a reliable electricity supply to Moldova from European markets, the U.S. embassy in Moldova said on Wednesday. For years, Moldova depended on electricity produced in the separatist region of Transdniestria, which used Russian gas to generate it. Sign up here. However, Chisinau stopped imports after Kyiv's refusal to extend the contract for the transit of Russian gas to Europe and Russian gas stopped flowing to Transdniestria. The embassy said the project would create significant opportunities for U.S. firms by enabling Moldova to adopt and utilize U.S. technologies. "It will unlock potential across multiple sectors, including transmission infrastructure, grid optimization technologies, information and communication technologies, nuclear power, and battery storage," it said on Facebook. (This story has been corrected to say that Moldova depended, not depends, on power supplies from Transdniestria, having refused them since January 2025, in paragraph 2) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-approves-130-million-project-build-power-line-moldova-2025-09-17/
2025-09-17 12:02
Kazakhstan resumes BTC oil exports after contamination halted flows 8,800 tons of Kashagan oil sent; next cargo due Sept. 20 BTC used to reduce reliance on Russian routes; 80% still via CPC MOSCOW, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan resumed oil supplies via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline on September 13, state energy company Kazmunaygaz (KMGZ.KZ) , opens new tab said on Wednesday. Supplies via the route were suspended last month amid contamination issues. Sign up here. The BTC pipeline, which runs through Georgia to Turkey, is used mainly to export oil from the Azeri, Chirag and Guneshli oilfields, which are operated by BP (BP.L) , opens new tab. The pipeline is also used by Kazakhstan as a way to lessen its dependence on Russia as a main exporting route. More than 80% of Kazakhstan's oil exports are shipped by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium via Russia's Black Sea Yuzhnaya Ozereevka terminal. Organic chloride contamination in Azeri BTC crude cargoes was discovered in July, causing several days' delay in loadings from Turkey's BTC Ceyhan terminal. Kazmunaygaz said Kazakhstan had sent 8,800 metric tons of oil from the Kashagan oilfield to BTC. The next cargo is planned for September 20. Industry sources said that no supplies from the Chevron-led (CVX.N) , opens new tab Tengiz oilfield are scheduled for this month via the route. One of the sources said two cargos totalling 18,000 tons of oil are expected to be dispatched from Kashagan via BTC in September. Azeri BTC crude oil exports from Ceyhan have been set at 15.4 million barrels for October, down from 16.5 million barrels in September, a schedule showed last week. Plans for the year call for Kazakhstan to ship 1.7 million tons, or 34,000 barrels per day, of oil via BTC. In the first eight months of the year, Kazakhstan sent 0.9 million tons to the BTC, according to Kazmunaygaz. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/kazakhstan-resumes-oil-exports-via-baku-tbilisi-ceyhan-pipeline-2025-09-17/
2025-09-17 11:43
Sept 17 (Reuters) - Canadian mining company Ivanhoe Mines (IVN.TO) , opens new tab said on Wednesday it will raise $500 million from Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) in a private placement, giving the sovereign wealth fund a 4% stake. QIA will buy 57.5 million Ivanhoe shares at C$12 apiece, below the stock's closing price of C$13.19 on Tuesday. Sign up here. The proceeds will support growth opportunities in critical minerals exploration and development as well as general corporate purposes, the miner said. Ivanhoe operates three principal projects in southern Africa, including its flagship Kamoa-Kakula copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the world's largest high-grade copper deposits. The deal gives QIA customary rights including the option for board representation if its stake exceeds 10%. Ivanhoe's major shareholders Zijin Mining (601899.SS) , opens new tab and CITIC Metal Africa can maintain their equity through matching investments, the company said. QIA had also invested in miners such as Glencore (GLEN.L) , opens new tab in 2018 and TechMet in 2024. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/canadas-ivanhoe-mines-secures-500-million-investment-qatar-wealth-fund-2025-09-17/
