2025-02-03 07:43
NAIROBI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Kenya's shilling was stable on Monday, but traders said they expected it firm because of dollar inflows from non-governmental organisations, remittances and foreign investors buying government bonds on sale this month. At 0658 GMT, the shilling traded at 129.00/129.40 per dollar, unchanged from Friday's closing rate. The government is selling two infrastructure bonds aimed at raising up to 70 billion shillings ($543 million) this month, with an auction due on Feb. 12. ($1 = 129.0000 Kenyan shillings) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/kenyan-shilling-stable-traders-see-it-gaining-remittance-ngo-flows-2025-02-03/
2025-02-03 07:27
TOKYO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) , opens new tab said on Monday that it was reviewing how to proceed with the development of its offshore wind projects in Japan, citing a "significantly changed" business environment, including inflation and a weaker yen. In late 2021, consortiums led by the Japanese trading house have been selected to operate three offshore wind projects in the Akita prefecture in the north and the Chiba prefecture east of Tokyo with total projected capacity of 1.76 gigawatt and a target start-up date of 2028 to 2030. "We will consider the appropriate next steps after thoroughly examining the results of our review," Mitsubishi said in a statement, without providing other details. Chubu Electric Power Co (9502.T) , opens new tab, whose unit C-Tech partners with Mitsubishi in all three projects won in 2021, said on Monday that it was re-evaluating the feasibility of its offshore wind projects, including exploring measures to improve profitability. In addition to its partnership with Mitsubishi, Chubu Electric is involved in several other offshore wind projects in Japan, including two operational ones with Marubeni (8002.T) , opens new tab and others in the Akita prefecture. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/mitsubishi-says-it-will-rethink-japan-offshore-wind-power-projects-2025-02-03/
2025-02-03 07:19
LME sees Hong Kong as a gateway to top metals consumer China To become active after first warehouse firm approval Warehouse firms concerned about high costs in Hong Kong Jan 20 (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange (LME) on Monday approved Hong Kong as a warehouse delivery point, seeking to boost access to mainland China, the world's biggest metals consumer. Approving warehouses in China to store LME traded metal has been a strategic goal since Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (0388.HK) , opens new tab bought the LME in 2012. The world's largest and oldest industrial metals trading venue, LME said Hong Kong warehouses will be able to store all six of the main metals traded on the exchange. Despite high costs in Hong Kong, there has been significant interest among warehouses, landlords and metals owners, LME CEO Matthew Chamberlain told the Reuters Global Markets Forum on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Some warehouse firms have been concerned about the cost of storage in Hong Kong. "Given the cost of land in Hong Kong, it will likely require additional government support to allow the warehouse to be built," Arthur Fan, head of Asia-Pacific at brokerage Marex, said in a statement. "However, overall we believe that this step will be welcomed by metals buyers in China," Fan added. Chamberlain said rent will be higher at LME warehouses in Hong Kong, but investors will benefit from the proximity to mainland China. "We absolutely recognise that Hong Kong is a higher-cost jurisdiction. But the LME structure already reflects this," he told Reuters. The maximum amount warehouse companies can charge to store metal, is currently 51 cents per metric ton for copper in South Korea and Singapore, but it will be 61 cents in Hong Kong, according to LME documents. In an internal presentation more than a year ago, the LME said that warehouse rents would have to be subsidised by the Hong Kong government to make it commercially viable. However, Chamberlain said on Monday that no financial incentives for international warehouse companies have been agreed with the Hong Kong authorities so far. "We believe strongly that LME warehousing is economically attractive in all of our locations around the world, and it should be the same in Hong Kong." Hong Kong will join the LME's existing network of 32 locations three months after the first warehouse company has been approved. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/lme-approves-warehousing-hong-kong-gateway-metals-china-2025-02-03/
2025-02-03 07:05
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Global investment manager Nuveen is betting tariffs and potential tax cuts under U.S. President Donald Trump will lift U.S. small-cap stocks, which have lagged larger peers, this year, its chief investment officer said on Tuesday. "We like small caps because they're very cheap versus large caps," Nuveen's Saira Malik told the Reuters Global Markets Forum , opens new tab, adding that they were a good portfolio diversification bet as they are focused on domestic markets and consumers. Chicago-based Nuveen has some $1.3 trillion under management and is a unit of TIAA, whose client base includes many university professors. Trump's pledges on tariffs were the catalyst the "chronically undervalued" segment needed to play catch-up in the next phase of the ongoing rally in stock markets, Malik said on the sidelines of World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos. She believes a strong dollar, which is negative for multinational corporations and positive for dealmaking, is another factor favouring small-caps. The Russell 2000 (.RUT) , opens new tab logged a 10% rise in 2024, lagging the S&P 500's (.SPX) , opens new tab 23% surge on the back of mega-cap growth-oriented stocks, after the small-cap index got a boost following November's presidential election. Malik said, however, that the 10-year Treasury yield breaching 5% could be a hurdle for the next leg-up in equities, with higher volatility likely to stay as investors await clarity on Trump's policy plans. Malik expects the U.S. Federal Reserve to deliver two rate cuts this year as inflation continues to moderate, even as tariffs posed an inflation risk. She is also positive on Japan, while India's upbeat growth picture, despite high valuations, made it an attractive bet. Malik said Nuveen would like to see more follow-through to stimulate China's economy and consumer spending in response to potential U.S. tariffs before making a "big bet" on it. (Join GMF, a chat room hosted on LSEG Messenger, for live interviews: https://lseg.group/4ajdDTy , opens new tab) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/nuveen-bets-big-smallcaps-sees-tariffs-yields-key-2025-risks-2025-02-03/
2025-02-03 06:51
Feb 3 (Reuters) - Miner Anglo American's (AAL.L) , opens new tab diamond unit De Beers said on Monday it had finalised negotiations with the Botswana government for a new rough diamond sales agreement and extended mining licences for its joint venture beyond 2029. Debswana, a 50:50 joint venture between top diamond producer Botswana and De Beers, currently sells 75% of its output to De Beers. In 2023, Botswana and De Beers agreed to a fresh 10-year diamond sales deal, under which the government's share of diamonds from the Debswana JV will increase to 30% and gradually rise to 50% over the decade. However, this agreement was never signed under the leadership of former president Mokgweetsi Masisi. On Jan. 23, Botswana's new President Duma Boko said he hoped to clinch a long-delayed sales pact with De Beers soon. In addition, Boko said talks aimed at increasing Botswana's ownership stake in De Beers - currently at 15% - were "going well". Anglo American is seeking to divest De Beers as part of a broader restructuring plan aimed at refocusing its operations on copper and iron ore mining. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/de-beers-agrees-fresh-sales-agreement-with-botswana-2025-02-03/
2025-02-03 06:50
Feb 3 (Reuters) - South Africa's Harmony Gold (HARJ.J) , opens new tab said on Monday it expects to exceed its 1.5 million ounce production target for the full year to June 2025 despite lower output in the first half of the financial year. Harmony, the top gold producer in South Africa by volume, said in a trading update gold production for the six months to December 2024 was expected to be between 790,000 ounces and 805,000 ounces. The decline from the 832,349 ounces Harmony produced during the same period a year earlier was mainly due to planned lower output from its South African underground mines and Hidden Valley in Papua New Guinea, where production was boosted in the previous reporting period by ores with higher gold content. For the second half of the financial year, South African underground recovered grades are expected to be higher than the guided 5.80 grams per ton, driven mainly by a strong performance from Mponeng, the world's deepest mine. Harmony, which produced 1.56 million ounces in the full year to June 2024, set a target in the 1.4 million-1.5 million ounce range for the current financial year. "The Company remains on track to exceed the full-year production guidance," it said in its half-year production report. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/harmony-gold-says-beat-annual-output-target-despite-first-half-dip-2025-02-03/
