2026-01-21 12:44

BAKU, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan's sovereign wealth fund SOFAZ and Brookfield Asset Management (BAM.N) , opens new tab signed a long-term strategic cooperation agreement worth up to $1.4 billion on Wednesday, a spokesperson for SOFAZ told Reuters. Under the agreement, signed at meeting in Davos, SOFAZ will assess opportunities to invest in Brookfield-managed funds and co-investment projects over the next three to four years, the spokesperson said. Sign up here. The partnership will also explore Azerbaijan's investment potential in areas including energy transition, renewable energy and digital infrastructure. Founded in 1999, SOFAZ has expanded its investment portfolio into Europe in recent years, including the purchase last July of a 49% stake in Italian solar plants owned by U.S. renewable energy company Enfinity Global and a $66 million investment in London's Gatwick airport in October 2025. SOFAZ's total assets as of last October, the most recent data, amounted to $70.16 billion, according to official figures. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/azerbaijans-oil-fund-sofaz-brookfield-sign-14-bln-cooperation-agreement-davos-2026-01-21/

2026-01-21 12:36

DAVOS, Jan 21 (Reuters) - U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told oil company executives on Wednesday that Venezuela's output can rise 30% from its current level of 900,000 barrels per day in the short- to medium-term, three executives who attended the meeting said. Raising crude output from Venezuela, which sits on the world's largest oil reserves, is a top objective for U.S. President Donald Trump after U.S. forces seized Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro in a raid earlier this month. Sign up here. Wright's closed-door meeting with the executives took place on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Years of under-investment and sanctions have led Venezuela's oil output to plummet. It pumped 3.5 million bpd in the 1970s when it accounted for 7% of global supply, but today represents just 1% of the world's production. Trump has said the U.S. plans to control Venezuela's oil resources indefinitely as it seeks to rebuild its dilapidated oil industry in a $100 billion plan. So far, his administration has taken 50 million barrels of oil out of Venezuela, and is selling some of it in the open market, Trump said on Tuesday. Trump met with over 15 oil executives earlier this month at the White House, during which Exxon (XOM.N) , opens new tab CEO Darren Woods told Trump that Venezuela would need to change its laws before it could be an attractive investment opportunity. Oil analysts and executives have been skeptical about a quick revival of Venezuela's oil sector, pointing out that its degraded infrastructure would require billions of dollars and years to rebuild. Venezuela's oil reserves are also among the world's costliest to develop, because its crude is so thick and heavy it requires specialised equipment to extract, transport and refine into usable fuels. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/wright-tells-oil-executives-that-venezuelas-output-can-rise-30-sources-say-2026-01-21/

2026-01-21 12:23

Jan 21 (Reuters) - Indian state-run refiner Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) (HPCL.NS) , opens new tab reported a jump in third-quarter profit on Wednesday, supported by higher refining margins as crude prices dropped. The Mumbai-based firm's standalone net profit rose 34.7% to 40.72 billion rupees ($444.5 million) in the three months ended December 31. Sign up here. HPCL's quarterly gross refining margin - the profit from making refined products from one barrel of oil - improved to $8.85 per barrel from $6.01 reported a year ago. For further results highlights, (nFWN3YM0ZJ) KEY CONTEXT Global Brent crude oil prices - used by refiners as a raw material - dropped more than 9% in the October-December quarter, pushing up margins. Additionally, fuel consumption in India, the world's third-largest consumer and importer of oil, also hit a record high in December following a six-month peak in November. Consumption rose 5.5% and 5.3% year-on-year in November and December, respectively, after a 0.4% drop in October, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC). PEER COMPARISON * The mean of analyst ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong Sell ** The ratio of the stock's last close to analysts' mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading above the PT OCTOBER-DECEMBER STOCK PERFORMANCE -- All data from LSEG -- $1 = 91.6150 rupees https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/indian-refiner-hpcls-quarterly-profit-jumps-lower-crude-prices-2026-01-21/

2026-01-21 12:21

Singapore assets include refinery, Penjuru terminal and retail stations Deal may include retail stations in Cambodia and Malaysia Assets valued at $1 billion or more, sources say ENEOS and Glencore in final round of talks, sources say SINGAPORE, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab plans to close a deal to sell its oil refining and distribution assets in Singapore in the first quarter of the year as it engages in a final round of talks with Japanese refiner Eneos and Glencore, four sources with knowledge of the matter said. The assets for sale include Chevron's stake in a refinery, a terminal and retail stations in Singapore, the sources said. Chevron is also looking to include retail stations in Cambodia and Malaysia in the deal, one of the sources said. Sign up here. Together, these assets are valued at $1 billion or more, two of the sources added. The sale is part of the U.S. major's plans to divest refining and storage assets in Asia as it restructures globally to streamline operations and reduce costs. Chevron, Eneos and Glencore declined to comment. Reuters has reported on the sale of the refinery stake previously but details of the other assets being offered are not publicly known. Morgan Stanley, which has been appointed by Chevron to handle the sale of the SRC refinery stake and other assets in Asia, declined to comment. Boston Consulting Group is advising Eneos on this deal, two sources said. BCG declined to comment on the matter. SINGAPORE ASSETS Chevron has a 50% stake in Singapore Refining Co (SRC) with partner PetroChina holding the remaining stake through its Singapore Petroleum Co Ltd unit. SRC runs a 290,000 barrel per day refinery in Singapore. The deal also include Chevron's Penjuru terminal which has more than 400,000 cubic meters of oil storage capacity, according to the company's website. Chevron blends and supplies transportation fuels, base oil, marine and finished lubricants from the terminal. Retail gas stations under Chevron's Caltex brand in the region include some 420 outlets in Malaysia , opens new tab，26 in Singapore and 53 in Cambodia, its website showed. ENEOS, GLENCORE Securing a fuel terminal and storage tanks at major fuel blending and bunkering hub Singapore will allow the buyer to have easy distribution access to southeast Asian import markets, analysts say. Japan's largest refiner Eneos (5020.T) , opens new tab and global commodities trader Glencore (GLEN.L) , opens new tab, are looking to expand and boost their trading portfolio and volumes in this region, the sources said. It will be the first refining asset for Eneos in Asia outside of Japan, if it succeeds in its bid. The refiner operates nine refineries in Japan, including a joint-venture plant with PetroChina in Chiba, and over 12,000 retail stations locally. "For base businesses, we are considering the expansion of our overseas fuel oil business through asset acquisition and are planning to expand jet fuel-related facilities to respond to the demand for inbound travel, which is growing every year," Eneos said in its 2025 report. Glencore (GLEN.L) , opens new tab, which owns a refinery and distribution network in South Africa under its subsidiary Astron Energy, expanded its refining presence after buying Bukom refinery in Singapore through a joint-venture with Indonesia's Chandra Asri. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chevron-plans-finalise-singapore-oil-assets-sale-q1-sources-say-2026-01-21/

2026-01-21 12:11

MEXICO CITY, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Mexico's economy likely expanded 2.3% in December from the same month a year earlier, a preliminary estimate from national statistics agency INEGI showed on Wednesday. Compared with the previous month, activity was likely up 0.2%, the agency added. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexicos-economy-up-23-yy-december-preliminary-estimate-shows-2026-01-21/

2026-01-21 12:09

Central bank independence seen as crucial to control inflation No plans to increase or decrease gold holdings Inflation could turn negative in some months, not a problem DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Central bank independence is crucial to controlling inflation, Swiss National Bank Chairman Martin Schlegel said on Wednesday, as the U.S. Federal Reserve chair faces a criminal probe and an onslaught of attacks from President Donald Trump. The SNB was one of several central banks that lined up in support of Jerome Powell last week after Trump's Justice Department threatened him with a criminal indictment. Sign up here. Powell has called the investigation, which is looking into the renovation of two Fed buildings in Washington, a pretext to put pressure on the central bank to cut rates, as Trump has repeatedly called for it to do. "Central bank independence is very important. A central bank needs to be independent to fulfil its mandate, which is price stability," Schlegel told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "The Fed is a very important central bank. Not only for the U.S., it's very important also for the world ... It's really important that the Fed is independent," he said. "Typically, when a central bank is not independent, inflation is higher." SAFE-HAVEN SWISS FRANC RISES AS GLOBAL TURBULENCE RETURNS Recent global political turbulence has triggered an appreciation in the Swiss franc, traditionally seen by investors as a safe haven, Schlegel said. The franc gained nearly 14.5% against the dollar last year, its strongest annual performance since 2002, as Trump's global tariff offensive disrupted global trade and rattled investors. The U.S. president has revived fears of a trade war with Europe, threatening new tariffs against countries opposing his ambition to take over Greenland. The franc has gained 1.4% this week, having otherwise remained steady for most of January prior to that. This appreciation reduces the value of the SNB's dollar-denominated assets, with dollar holdings making up around 36% of its 765 billion francs ($966 billion) in foreign currency reserves. Schlegel said the SNB considered the liquidity of its assets as well as the stability of their value but did not comment directly on whether the exchange rate shift would lead to the SNB reducing its dollar holdings. "What's important for us is diversification, with currencies, so U.S. dollars, euro, and so on, but also in other instruments, government bonds, corporate bonds, and also equities," he said. "So we are looking at our investment universe constantly, and we are able to make decisions if necessary." NO PLANS TO BUY OR SELL GOLD, SCHLEGEL SAYS Still, Schlegel said there were no plans to change the 1,040 metric tons it holds in gold, which generated a 36.3-billion-franc profit last year, as investors piled into the precious metal to shield against global economic turmoil triggered by Trump's tariffs. "We have no plan to buy or sell gold," Schlegel said. The SNB was also relaxed about recent low readings of inflation. Switzerland's annual inflation rate climbed to 0.1% in December, at the bottom end of the central bank's 0%-2% target range. The SNB expects inflation to rise, but there could also be some months of negative inflation, Schlegel said. "If we have some negative prints this year, for example, this is not a problem with the Swiss National Bank, because we look at the medium-term price stability," he added. ($1 = 0.7917 Swiss francs) https://www.reuters.com/business/davos/snb-chairman-says-fed-independence-important-world-2026-01-21/