2025-07-26 15:56
July 26 (Reuters) - Chinese autonomous driving technology company WeRide (WRD.O) , opens new tab said on Saturday it has been granted a permit from the Shanghai municipal government to operate autonomous robotaxi ride-hailing services. WeRide, in partnership with Chery Group and Jinjiang Taxi, will deploy fully driverless ride-hailing robotaxis on public roads in the Pudong New Area, the company said in a statement. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/weride-receives-permit-robotaxis-shanghai-2025-07-26/
2025-07-26 10:34
BEIJING, July 26 (Reuters) - Beijing issued on Saturday a warning for geological disasters including landslides and mudslides after intense rainfall the day before, with storms circulating China's north unleashing for a second time a year's rain on nearby Baoding. The Beijing meteorological agency's alert for 10 of the city's 16 districts came as local authorities also warned of flash floods in mountainous areas. Sign up here. In neighbouring Hebei, extreme overnight rains in Fuping, a part of the industrial city of Baoding, saw records broken at a local weather station with 145 mm (5.7 inches) per hour of precipitation, state broadcaster CCTV said. The Xizhuang station recorded a maximum rainfall of 540 mm over an eight-hour period, superseding Baoding's average annual rainfall of about 500 mm. Just a day ago, storms dumped similar amounts of precipitation on Yi, another part of Baoding. The rain held destructive power, CCTV said, affecting more than 46,000 people and forcing 4,655 of them to evacuate. Northern China has witnessed record-breaking precipitation in recent years, exposing densely populated cities including Beijing to flood risks. Some scientists link the higher rainfall in China's usually arid north to global warming. China's Water Resources Ministry has issued targeted warnings to 11 provinces and regions, including Beijing and Hebei, for floods arising from small and medium-sized rivers and gushing torrents from mountains. The alert also sought to ensure that reservoirs and silt dams are safe during floods. Across the country, heavy rainfall has caused 13 rivers scattered through seven provinces to swell past their flood warning levels by as much as 1.4 m (4.6 feet), CCTV reported, citing the ministry's findings on Saturday morning. Among them, one tributary of Inner Mongolia's Dahei River and another of Shaanxi's Yanhe River recorded their biggest floods since records began. The storms are part of the broader pattern of extreme weather across China due to the East Asian monsoon, which has caused disruptions in the world's second-largest economy. In a separate bulletin, CCTV also said two small reservoirs in northeastern Jilin province were operating above the flood limit, as rivers continue to swell. Local authorities have begun activating five large reservoirs to help with flood water discharge. Extreme rainfall and severe flooding are highly monitored by Chinese authorities as they challenge the country's ageing flood defences, threaten to displace millions, and wreak havoc on a $2.8 trillion agricultural sector. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/beijing-warns-geological-disasters-storms-lash-baoding-again-2025-07-26/
2025-07-26 05:38
SINGAPORE, July 26 (Reuters) - Thai oil and gas giant PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) (PTTEP.BK) , opens new tab has acquired full ownership of Block A-18 in the Malaysia–Thailand Joint Development Area (MTJDA) in a $450 million transaction with Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab units. PTTEP said in a statement late on Friday it signed the deal with Hess (Bahamas) and Hess Asia Holdings, both now owned by Chevron following a recent merger with Hess Corp (HES.MX) , opens new tab. Sign up here. The acquisition gives PTTEP 100% of the outstanding shares in Hess International Oil Corp, which holds a 50% participating interest in Block A-18, PTTEP said. The deal comes as Chevron restructures globally to streamline operations and reduce costs, a process that could see it lay off up to 20% of its workforce by the end of next year. Chevron is also seeking buyers for its 50% stake in its Singapore refinery, Reuters reported in June. PTTEP said natural gas from Block A-18 is fundamental to power generation for southern Thailand. The block produces about 600 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, which is equally distributed to Thailand and Malaysia. "PTTEP is pleased to further expand our operations in the MTJDA, which is recognized for its petroleum potential and strategic significance to Thailand's energy security," Chief Executive Officer Montri Rawanchaikul said in the statement. The MTJDA covers 7,250 sq km (2,800 sq miles) in the southern part of the Gulf of Thailand and is a key source of natural gas and condensate for Thailand and Malaysia, according to the statement. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/thailands-pttep-buys-full-control-offshore-gas-block-chevron-450-million-2025-07-26/
2025-07-26 05:34
BRUSSELS, July 26 (Reuters) - Qatar has threatened to cut gas supplies to the European Union in response to the bloc's due diligence law on forced labour and environmental damage, a letter from Qatar to the Belgian government, seen by Reuters, showed. Qatar is the world's third-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), after the United States and Australia. It has provided between 12% and 14% of Europe's LNG since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Sign up here. In a letter to the Belgian government dated May 21, Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said the country was reacting to the EU's corporate sustainability due diligence directive (CSDDD), which requires larger companies operating in the EU to find and fix human rights and environmental issues in their supply chains. "Put simply, if further changes are not made to CSDDD, the State of Qatar and QatarEnergy will have no choice but to seriously consider alternative markets outside of the EU for our LNG and other products, which offer a more stable and welcoming business environment," said the letter. A spokesperson for Belgium's representation to the EU declined to comment on the letter, which was first reported by German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. The European Commission also received a letter from Qatar, dated May 13, a Commission spokesperson told Reuters, noting that EU lawmakers and countries are currently negotiating changes to the CSDDDD. "It is now for them to negotiate and adopt the substantive simplification changes proposed by the Commission," the spokesperson said. Brussels proposed changes to the CSDDD earlier this year to reduce its requirements - including by delaying its launch by a year, to mid-2028, and limiting the checks companies will have to make down their supply chains. Companies that fail to comply could face fines of up to 5% of global turnover. Qatar said the EU's changes had not gone far enough. In the letter, Kaabi said Qatar was particularly concerned about the CSDDD's requirement for companies have a climate change transition plan aligned with preventing global warming exceeding 1.5 celsius - the goal of the Paris Agreement. "Neither the State of Qatar nor QatarEnergy have any plans to achieve net zero in the near future," said the letter, which said the CSDDD undermined countries' right to set their own national contributions towards the Paris Agreement goals. In an annex to the letter, also seen by Reuters, Qatar proposed removing the section of CSDDD which includes the requirement for climate transition plans. Kaabi is also chief executive of QatarEnergy (QATPE.UL). Qatar Energy gas has long-term supply contracts with major European companies, including Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab, TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) , opens new tab and ENI (ENI.MI) , opens new tab. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/qatar-threatened-cut-eu-lng-supplies-over-sustainability-law-letter-shows-2025-07-26/
2025-07-26 03:57
BEIJING, July 26 (Reuters) - Beijing has issued a warning for potential geological disasters, including landslides and mudslides, across 10 of the city's 16 districts, the capital's meteorological agency said on Saturday. The alert comes after intense rainfall on Friday, with city authorities also warning of flash floods in mountainous areas on Saturday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/beijing-issues-warning-geological-disasters-after-intense-rainfall-2025-07-26/
2025-07-26 02:27
Deadline looms for exclusive talks to sell 43 CK Hutchison ports Ports deal talks include two along Panama Canal Sunday deadline likely to be extended, sources say Deal has become increasingly politicised amid US-China trade war HONG KONG, July 25 (Reuters) - CK Hutchison's (0001.HK) , opens new tab plan to sell most of its $22.8 billion ports business is unlikely to be finalised anytime soon, with political brinkmanship set to continue, and sources saying that a Sunday deadline for exclusive talks was likely to be extended. The Hong Kong conglomerate's plan to sell the business, which would include two ports along the strategically important Panama Canal, to a consortium led by BlackRock (BLK.N) , opens new tab and Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte's family-run shipping company MSC, has become politicised amid an escalating China-U.S. trade war. Sign up here. Negotiations for the deal, which covers 43 ports in 23 countries, are on an exclusive basis between CK Hutchison, controlled by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, and the consortium for 145 days until Sunday, according to the terms announced in March. The deal talks, however, are unlikely to collapse if the two parties do not ink a pact by Sunday, with three people close to the ports-to-telecoms conglomerate saying the parties could extend the deadline to continue exclusive negotiations. The first part of the deal - definitive documentation to sell two port operations near the Panama Canal - was also not signed by an April 2 deadline set in the sales announcement. The people declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. BlackRock declined to comment. CK Hutchison and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, which CK Hutchison said in May was the main investor in the consortium, did not respond to requests for comment. U.S. President Donald Trump hailed the deal as "reclaiming" the Panama Canal, after his administration previously called for the removal of what it said was Chinese ownership of the ports near the canal. But in April, China's top market regulator said that it was paying close attention to CK Hutchison's planned sale and that parties to the deal should not try to avoid an antitrust review. Beijing's stance on the planned deal was made public after pro-China media launched a stinging criticism, saying China had significant national interests in the transaction and it would be a betrayal of the country. "I think at this moment it's not very optimistic that they can directly sell the ports to the consortium," said Jackson Chan, global fixed income senior manager at FSMOne Hong Kong, which has clients holding CK Hutchison bonds. "The market has already digested the news, even if it announces next week that it won't sell anymore, I don't think it'll be a shock because the market understands it wouldn't have a large impact on its operations." DEAL RISKS CK Hutchison shares, which jumped 33% the following two days after the deal was announced in early March, erased all of the gains by mid-April. But since then it regained lost ground along with the rise in the broader Hong Kong market index (.HSI) , opens new tab. The outlook for the deal has been clouded further in recent days, with a separate source telling Reuters that Chinese ports operator China Cosco Shipping Corp (COSCO) was also looking to join the consortium to buy the ports business. COSCO is requesting veto rights or equivalent power in the entity that will take over 43 ports from CK Hutchison, Bloomberg News reported this week, citing people familiar with the matter. COSCO did not respond to a request for comment. Responding to Reuters' emailed queries on the deal prospects and possible involvement of COSCO in the consortium, a White House official said: "As the president said, we didn't give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we're taking it back." The official did not elaborate. The existing consortium would likely allow COSCO into the deal, said Cathy Seifert, an analyst at CFRA Research. "The bigger risk to the deal being consummated, in my opinion, is likely the Trump administration, which is likely to block a deal that would include China," said the New Jersey-based analyst who tracks BlackRock. Ballingal Investment Advisors strategist David Blennerhassett, who publishes on the independent online research platform Smartkarma, said the addition of COSCO in the consortium was likely to enrage Trump. "Trump, who has a handful of issues already on his plate, would be incandescent," he said. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/ck-hutchison-ports-deal-deadline-likely-be-extended-geopolitics-weigh-sources-2025-07-25/
