2025-04-23 07:41
Argentex, IFX in talks for possible offer, emergency funding Shares suspended as liquidity worsened amid dollar decline Lumon keen to make firm offer for Argentex LONDON, April 23 (Reuters) - British currency risk management company Argentex (AGFX.L) , opens new tab is in advanced talks with forex and payment solutions provider IFX Payments about a possible offer and emergency funding, as it battles to defend its business from whipsawing currency markets. Argentex shares were suspended from trading on Tuesday after the company said liquidity had worsened due to sharp falls in the U.S. dollar, as trade tensions and President Donald Trump's criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell spooked investors into dumping U.S. assets. Sign up here. The company said on Wednesday liquidity on its FX Forward and options book had deteriorated even further following margin calls, forcing it to step up talks with liquidity providers to prevent it from becoming one of the first known casualties of an extended bout of financial market turbulence. "This further reduction in liquidity necessitates an immediate cash injection to ensure the company's continued solvency, without which the board would have to take immediate steps to secure the company's future," Argentex said. The dollar had traded near multi-year lows versus the euro and Swiss franc on Tuesday, while the yen hit a seven-month high. Although discussions with IFX were advanced, Argentex said there was no certainty a firm offer would be made. Argentex also said it was in talks with IFX Payments on the terms of an initial bridging loan to bolster near-term liquidity. The loan would provide immediate working capital flexibility but remained subject to agreement, it said. If the bridging loan was not agreed, Argentex said its board would take "immediate steps" to protect value in the business for the company's creditors and other stakeholders. The company said it had received and rejected two additional non-binding proposals, including from payment services provider Lumon Acquisitions and from Argentex's former CEO Harry Adams. Separately on Wednesday, Lumon said it was prepared to make a firm offer for Argentex and urged it to resume talks. Lumon is backed by alternative asset manager Pollen Street, which invests in financial and business services, and technology. Trading in Argentex's ordinary shares on London's AIM will remain suspended pending a further announcement regarding the offer and loan, the company said. Sky News reported on Tuesday that Argentex was in talks about an emergency sale. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/uks-argentex-talks-with-ifx-payments-sale-2025-04-23/
2025-04-23 07:40
JAKARTA, April 23 (Reuters) - China's Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt (603799.SS) , opens new tab is replacing South Korea's LG Energy Solution as a strategic investor in one of Indonesia's major EV battery projects, the country's Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said on Wednesday. LGES (373220.KS) , opens new tab on Monday announced its withdrawal from the 142 trillion rupiah ($8.42 billion) project. Sign up here. Indonesia is keen to develop domestic processing industries to produce batteries and EVs to take advantage of its rich mineral resources. "Change of investors is a common dynamic in large-scale projects," Bahlil said in a statement, adding that there will be no change to the underlying plans for the project. Huayou would be collaborating with Indonesian state-controlled companies on the project. Bahlil said Indonesia remains committed to using its mineral resources domestically, and the government will ensure a smooth transition for the project. A ground breaking ceremony for a part of the project is planned for later this year, he added, without sharing more details. Huayou's Indonesian unit did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. ($1 = 16,870.0000 rupiah) https://www.reuters.com/technology/chinas-huayou-replace-lges-indonesian-ev-battery-project-minister-says-2025-04-23/
2025-04-23 07:34
MUMBAI, April 23 (Reuters) - India has started raising palm oil purchases after a lull of five months as a correction in prices has made the tropical oil cheaper than rival soyoil, encouraging refiners to place orders to replenish inventories, four dealers told Reuters. Higher purchases by India, the world's biggest buyer of palm oil, will support benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures , which have fallen nearly 10% so far in 2025. Sign up here. "Indians had pulled back on buying palm oil because it was too pricey. But now that it's cheaper than soyoil, refiners are placing orders," said Sandeep Bajoria, CEO of Sunvin Group, a vegetable oil brokerage. Crude palm oil (CPO) is currently being offered at about $1,050 a ton, including cost, insurance and freight (CIF), in India for May delivery, compared to around $1,100 for crude soyoil, dealers said. Indian buyers started trimming purchases from December as palm oil's premium over soyoil jumped above $100. India imported 1.57 million tons of palm oil from December to March. Shipments for April are expected to be around 350,000 tons, bringing the average monthly imports for the five-month period to 384,712 tons. India imported an average of more than 750,000 tons of palm oil each month during the marketing year that ended in October 2024, said the Solvent Extractors' Association of India, which is set to publish its April import data by mid-May. The country's palm oil imports are likely to rise above 500,000 tons in May and exceed 600,000 tons in June. From July to September, the monthly average could be more than 700,000 tons, dealers said. Stocks in India have depleted due to lower-than-normal imports over the past five months, and now refiners need to increase imports to replenish them, said Rajesh Patel, managing partner at GGN Research, an edible oil trader. India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, while it imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/india-starts-raising-palm-oil-buying-prices-fall-below-soyoil-2025-04-23/
2025-04-23 07:25
DUBAI, April 23 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and India agreed to boost cooperation in supplies of crude and liquefied petroleum gas, according to a joint statement reported by the Saudi state news agency on Wednesday following a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Saudi Arabia is one of the top exporters of petroleum to India. Modi met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before cutting short his visit and returning to New Delhi after an attack on India's Jammu and Kashmir territory which killed 26 people, the worst attack in India since the 2008 Mumbai shootings. Sign up here. The two countries also agreed to deepen their defence ties and improve their cooperation in defence manufacturing, along with agreements in agriculture and food security. "The two countries welcomed the excellent cooperation between the two sides in counter-terrorism and terror financing," the joint statement said. (This story has been refiled to remove a repeated word in paragraph 2) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/saudi-arabia-india-agree-boost-cooperation-energy-including-crude-lpg-2025-04-23/
2025-04-23 07:02
Kazakhstan signals no cut to overproduction U.S. President Trump softens tone on China and Powell Official U.S. crude stocks data at 1430 GMT LONDON, April 23 (Reuters) - Oil prices lost about 1% on Wednesday after Kazakhstan struck a defiant tone about its rising oil output, erasing earlier gains on the back of U.S. sanctions against Iran, falling U.S. crude stocks and President Donald Trump softening his tone on China. Brent crude futures hit their highest since April 4 at $68.65 a barrel but were down 68 cents, or 1%, at $66.76 by 1237 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude lost 70 cents, or 1.1%, to $62.97. Sign up here. Sending bearish signals, Kazakhstan's new Energy Minister told Reuters that his country will prioritise national interests over those of the OPEC+ producer group when deciding its oil output levels. Kazakhstan has angered other OPEC+ members by producing more than its alloted quota. Providing a floor to prices, the U.S. issued new sanctions targeting an Iranian shipping magnate whose network handles Iranian liquefied petroleum gas and crude oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Further price support came from U.S. crude oil inventories that fell by about 4.6 million barrels last week while gasoline stocks declined by 2.2 million barrels and distillate inventories dropped by 1.6 million barrels, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute data. U.S. government data on oil stockpiles is due at 10:30 a.m. ET (1430 GMT) on Wednesday. U.S. crude oil stocks are expected to have declined by 800,000 barrels last week, a Reuters poll showed. Stoking hopes of higher energy demand, Trump on Tuesday signalled the possibility of lower tariffs on Chinese imports. The Chinese foreign ministry said on Wednesday that the United States should stop making threats if it wants to make a deal. Trump also backed away from the threat of firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell after days of criticising the Fed for not cutting interest rates. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-rises-1-iran-sanctions-drop-us-crude-stocks-2025-04-23/
2025-04-23 06:56
MUMBAI, April 23 (Reuters) - Foreign investors are piling into offshore dollar/rupee non-deliverable swaps (NDS) as that is a more attractive trade than overnight index swaps to bet on the Indian central bank lowering interest rates further, traders said. The spread between the 1-year NDS and the rupee non-deliverable overnight index swaps (NDOIS) -- the two instruments foreign investors have access to punt on Indian rates -- widened to a two-year high last week. Sign up here. That was accompanied by volumes more than doubling over the past two weeks and a notable pickup in enquiries for NDS, an analyst at a Singapore-based bank said. The 1-year NDS is currently at 6.20%, 50 basis points higher than the same-tenor NDOIS. The spread, said Goldman Sachs, now gives better value in NDS for investors positioning for further rate cuts. The Reserve Bank of India has lowered rates twice so far this year and economists expect that with inflation easing to an over-five-year-low in March, there is room for at least two more cuts in 2025. "NDOIS is pricing in two additional rate cuts and we expect NDS rates to go down to that level," Goldman said in a note. A trader at a Mumbai-based bank concurred, noting that with NDOIS having little room for further dovish repricing, NDS offered a more compelling relative value play. Mitul Kotecha, head of Asia FX and emerging markets macro strategy at Barclays, said investors prefer the NDOIS market to position for rate moves — a trend that may explain the more aggressive NDOIS pricing than NDS, according to local bankers. RESURGENT RUPEE While both NDS and NDOIS are sensitive to rate expectations, currency dynamics play a much bigger role in the NDS market. A sizeable depreciation in the rupee, for instance, would push up hedging costs and, in turn, lift NDS rates — an effect that would be far more muted in the NDOIS market. Since plummeting to an all-time low of near-88 per dollar in the middle of February, the rupee has enjoyed a good run, appreciating by over 3% as the greenback weakened due to worries about a U.S. tariff-led trade war. This flip in the rupee's fortunes means that Indian importer activity is likely to reduce, which in turn would help narrow the NDS-NDOIS spread, according to traders. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/foreigners-betting-india-rate-cuts-lap-up-offshore-dollar-rupee-swaps-2025-04-23/
