2025-02-13 10:54
NEW DELHI, Feb 13 (Reuters) - India's Adani Total has yet to conduct feasibility studies to double the capacity of its LNG terminal in Dhamra, Chief Executive Surjeet Singh Lamba told Reuters on Thursday, a year after the joint venture announced it was in the early stages of planning a possible expansion. Lamba said the 5 million tons per annum (mtpa) LNG terminal on India's east coast, in which French energy giant TotalEnergies SE (TTEF.PA) , opens new tab has a 50% stake alongside the Adani Group, operated at an average utilisation rate of 25% in 2024. Utilisation has since risen to about 50%, the CEO said. Usage has been low because the terminal has been unable to attract new customers after locking state-run firms Indian Oil Corp (IOC.NS) , opens new tab, and GAIL (India) Ltd (GAIL.NS) , opens new tab into 20-year take-or-pay contracts in 2023. Lamba said the expansion was contingent on demand, and when asked about the potential for growth in LNG demand, he pointed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's target to more than double the share of natural gas to 15% of India's energy mix by 2030. "It depends upon the requirement of the users, as in, when we get some business potential," he said. "Once feasibilty (study) is done, only then we will be able to comment on that (expansion)," Lamba told Reuters on the sidelines of the India Energy Week. He did not comment on any financing plans. TotalEnergies said last year it would pause investing in the Adani Group after U.S. prosecutors accused officials from the conglomerate, including its billionaire Chairman Gautam Adani, of corruption. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/adani-total-dhamra-lng-terminal-expansion-not-imminent-ceo-says-2025-02-13/
2025-02-13 10:53
DUBAI, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates, known for its opulent cities Dubai and Abu Dhabi, has begun mapping air corridors for air taxis and cargo drones, its civil aviation authority said in a statement on Thursday. The oil and gas-rich country has sought to distinguish itself in the Middle East as a high-tech, forward-looking society, with Dubai starting to test two-seater, propeller-topped flying taxis made by Germany's Volocopter in 2017. In September, U.S.-based air-taxi maker Joby Aviation (JOBY.N) , opens new tab said it had applied for a certificate that will allow it to operate commercial air transport in the UAE. "Air corridor mapping for piloted and autonomous air taxis and drones is a crucial milestone that will enable the seamless implementation of advanced air mobility into the UAE's infrastructure," said civil aviation authority director Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi. The UAE's civil aviation authority said the aerial corridors and regulations were set to be defined within the next 20 months. UAE official news agency WAM has reported that air taxis are expected to start flying in 2026. The civil aviation authority is developing the mapping in partnership with the Technology Innovation Institute (TII), a global advanced technology research center based in Abu Dhabi, and ASPIRE, a UAE research and development funding organisation, according to the authority. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/uae-begins-mapping-corridors-air-taxis-cargo-drones-2025-02-13/
2025-02-13 10:29
COPENHAGEN, Feb 13 (Reuters) - French energy regulator CRE has fined Norway's Equinor (EQNR.OL) , opens new tab and its trading arm Danske Commodities a total of 12 million euros ($12.5 million) for violation of wholesale gas market rules. Equinor and Danske, which were fined 4 million euros and 8 million euros respectively, will appeal against the ruling, the Norwegian group said. The CRE's announcement on Thursday said it had imposed the fines for two regulatory breaches in connection with the booking of annual gas transmission capacity related to the interconnection point between the French and Spanish gas networks in 2019 and 2020. The CRE said Equinor and Danske had cooperated in the first round of an annual gas capacity auction in a way that resulted in a lower price for the trading business, a claim the company denied. "We have no evidence of collusion and therefore disagree with the CRE's decision," the company said. "Equinor maintains that Equinor and Danske Commodities acted independently of each other, and that Equinor booked capacity solely to retain access to the Spanish capacity booking platform and thereby secure access to the Spanish gas market," it added. ($1 = 0.9599 euros) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/equinor-appeal-4-mln-fine-french-energy-regulator-2025-02-13/
2025-02-13 10:20
MUMBAI, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee ended little changed on Thursday, wedged between gains in regional peers and importers' dollar demand, in a week when volatility has risen due to the central bank's heavy interventions in the foreign exchange market. The rupee ended at 86.8975 to the U.S. dollar, compared with its close of 86.8925 in the previous session. The currency has traded in a wide 1.50-rupee band between 86.50 and nearly 88 so far this week. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is believed to have intervened heavily on Monday to prevent the rupee from breaching 88 per dollar and then again on Tuesday for further support. These unexpected and aggressive interventions have led to a spike in volatility and pick-up in options volumes. "The RBI's interventions have supported the sentiment around the rupee, where the domestic unit remains underpinned by the 87.20 mark in the near term even as volatility has surged," said Sugandha Sachdeva, founder of SS WealthStreet, a New Delhi-based research firm. "A large-scale appreciation beyond 86 could be challenging in the near term." India's sluggish economic growth, the recent RBI interest rate cut, foreign outflows from local stocks and uncertainty around U.S. President Donald Trump's stance on tariffs have spurred bearish bets on the rupee. "Since the rupee has already gained quite a bit this week, it is unable to build on the rally that other Asian currencies are seeing," a trader with a private bank said. The Thai baht and South Korean won were up 0.9% and 0.6%, respectively, amid a rise in Asian currencies on bets that the war in Ukraine was nearing an end after Trump held separate talks with the presidents of Russian and Ukraine. The dollar index slipped 0.2% to 107.68, after climbing to 108.50 on Wednesday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/rupees-two-day-rbi-driven-surge-peters-out-despite-rally-regional-peers-2025-02-13/
2025-02-13 10:20
BEIJING, Feb 13 (Reuters) - China's central bank said on Thursday it would adjust its monetary policy at the appropriate time to support the economy, amid rising external headwinds. "Currently, the adverse effects caused by changes in the external environment have deepened, and challenges such as insufficient domestic demand and numerous potential risks still exist," the People's Bank of China said in its fourth-quarter monetary policy implementation report. The central bank added it would make comprehensive use of its monetary policy toolkit, including interest rates and its bank reserve requirement ratio, and "adjust the intensity and pace of policy measures based on domestic and international economic and financial conditions." It said it would keep liquidity ample, promote a reasonable rebound in prices and keep the yuan exchange rate basically stable at a "reasonable and balanced" level. Chinese policymakers have rolled out a blitz of stimulus measures since September, including interest rate cuts, cash injections and steps to tackle hidden debt of local governments. They have promised to unveil more steps this year to support the economy. Faced with deflationary pressures and mounting headwinds to already stuttering growth, Chinese leaders in December ditched their 14-year-old "prudent" monetary policy stance for a "moderately loose" posture. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-central-bank-pledges-adjust-policy-support-growth-2025-02-13/
2025-02-13 10:17
Analysts see competition with Coinbase intensifying Shares surge after record Q4 results Trump’s win fuels crypto sector rally Feb 13 (Reuters) - Robinhood (HOOD.O) , opens new tab has cemented its foothold in the crypto trading market as its commission-free model attracts price-conscious customers, analysts said, strengthening its position as a rival to digital asset-focused exchanges such as Coinbase (COIN.O) , opens new tab. Robinhood reported an eight-fold jump in transaction-based revenue from crypto trading for the fourth quarter. The company's stock rose nearly 14% in early trading on Thursday, hitting its highest since 2021, and added about $6 billion to the company's market value. The competition for crypto traders is heating up at a time when animal spirits sweep over the sector, fueled by President Donald Trump's return to the White House. His pledge to make the U.S. the "crypto capital of the planet" propelled bitcoin past $100,000 for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2024. "Robinhood is our best idea for 2025. We expect continued momentum in crypto prices, leading to record trading volumes," analysts at Bernstein said. While the company currently offers trading in fewer tokens than Coinbase, it has been steadily gaining market share and could be boosted further under a crypto-friendly Securities and Exchange Commission, they wrote last month. Robinhood blew past Wall Street expectations for quarterly earnings on Wednesday. "Trading volumes in equities, options and crypto surged in the fourth quarter, which is a sign that retail traders have confidence in all risk markets across the board," said Paul Marino, Chief Revenue Officer at Themes ETFs. "Its hard to predict when the transaction revenue growth will end, but perhaps the long historical investment norm of buy and hold has retired with the baby boomers," Marino added. STEEP CLIMB While growth at Robinhood has been strong, outmaneuvering crypto native exchanges such as Coinbase could be an uphill task. "Coinbase, Kraken and Binance serve a more crypto-focused consumer. (They) also appear in far more jurisdictions," said Kadan Stadelmann, Chief Technology Officer at decentralized crypto exchange Komodo Platform. Coinbase currently lists over 200 tokens, while Robinhood has around 22 on its platform, according to Bernstein. Trevor Koverko, co-founder of data management platform Sapien.io, also said it might be difficult to compete head-on with native exchanges that are "purpose-built for crypto". However, Robinhood is no stranger to disrupting markets, having pioneered a commission-free trading model in 2013 that shook up an industry long dominated by the likes of Vanguard, Charles Schwab (SCHW.N) , opens new tab and Fidelity Investments. A decade on, it is also expanding to cater to more seasoned investors and capture market share from incumbents. "The fact that Robinhood had such a surge in revenues across its entire platform is more than just an appetite for risk in the marketplace - its also a testament to the adoption of its platform and the fact that the next generation of traders prefer what Robinhood is offering versus competitors," Marino said. Coinbase is scheduled to report its results later on Thursday. A spokesperson for the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/robinhood-shares-surge-crypto-market-frenzy-fuels-record-results-2025-02-13/
