2025-10-31 06:51
TOKYO, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Japan's Toyota Tsusho (8015.T) , opens new tab on Friday raised its full fiscal year profit forecast by 20 billion yen to 360 billion yen ($2.4 billion) on stronger growth in its supply chain and Africa divisions, and also promised a higher dividend payout. The company, a member of the Toyota (7203.T) , opens new tab group, raised its full-year dividend forecast to 116 yen per share from the previous guidance of 110 yen and said it was targeting a payout ratio of 40% or more, including buybacks, going forward. Sign up here. ($1 = 150.7800 yen) https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/toyota-tsusho-raises-fy-profit-forecast-supply-chain-africa-units-2025-10-31/
2025-10-31 06:43
CAPE TOWN, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Angola's national oil and gas agency, ANPG, will sign an exclusive negotiation agreement with oil major Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab to explore and develop Blocks 19, 34, 35 as well as ultra-deep water blocks, it said in a statement late on Thursday. The signing ceremony will take place on November 3. Sign up here. "This event marks a historic moment for the Angolan oil sector, consolidating Shell's presence in Angola," Angola's National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency said. Angola is Sub-Saharan Africa's second-largest crude oil producer after Nigeria. It has undertaken major regulatory reforms to attract new investment into its energy sector, aimed at keeping production above 1 million barrels per day. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/angola-sign-exclusive-oil-exploration-agreement-with-shell-government-says-2025-10-31/
2025-10-31 06:38
Oct 31 (Reuters) - India's Adani Power (ADAN.NS) , opens new tab has emerged as the lowest bidder for a 3.2 gigawatt (GW) coal power supply tender floated by the northeastern state of Assam, the company said during a post-earnings call. The bid has received regulatory approval from the state electricity commission, and Adani Power expects formal communication of the award shortly, it said late on Thursday. Sign up here. The tender is part of a broader pipeline of over 22 GW of thermal power bids across states including Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and West Bengal, as they seek to secure long-term baseload capacity amid rising demand and intermittent renewable generation. In August, Adani Power announced investments of about $5 billion in two coal-powered plants. The company aims to expand capacity to 42 GW from 18 GW by fiscal year 2032, with 8.5 GW already tied up under long-term power purchase agreements. Adani Power said it will invest about 2 trillion rupees in the planned expansion over a period of time, with the first 12 GW on track to be commissioned by fiscal year 2030. The power firm has pre-ordered all the boilers, turbines and generators for the expansion, with staggered deliveries scheduled over the next 38-75 months, a company executive said. Separately, Adani Power said its power dues from Bangladesh have narrowed to 15 days of supply, compared to about $900 million in May, and nearly $2 billion early this year. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/adani-power-emerges-lowest-bidder-32-gw-coal-tender-indias-assam-state-2025-10-31/
2025-10-31 06:21
Chinese president warns of changes unseen in a century Xi holds first talks with Japan's new PM Takaichi Canada's Carney meets Xi, seeks to restart engagement Bessent stands in for Trump at APEC summit discussions GYEONGJU, South Korea, Oct 31 (Reuters) - South Korea played host but all eyes were on China's Xi Jinping at an annual gathering of Pacific Rim leaders on Friday, where he met his Canadian, Japanese and Thai counterparts after securing a fragile trade truce with U.S. President Donald Trump. That agreement, struck just before Trump left South Korea, skipping the main two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, cooled spiralling tensions between the world's two largest economies that jolted global commerce. Sign up here. With Trump hosting the White House's annual Halloween party back in Washington, Xi sought to cast China as the predictable champion of free and open trade at the forum, a role the U.S. has dominated for decades. CALLS FOR DEEPER COOPERATION "Changes unseen in a century are accelerating across the world," Xi told leaders of the 21-member economic bloc on Friday in the historic town of Gyeongju. "The rougher the seas, the more we must pull together," Xi added in a speech calling for the protection of global trading rules and deeper economic cooperation. However, many Asian nations are wary of China's rhetoric, given its muscular defence posture in the region, dominance in manufacturing and its own willingness to use export controls and other tools in trade disputes. Deputising for Trump, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the gathered leaders - many of whom have been hammered by Trump's barrage of tariffs - that Washington was "rebalancing its trade relationships to build a stronger foundation for global growth". The IMF initially cut the global growth outlook after Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariff announcement in April, but has edged it back up as shocks and financial conditions have proved more benign than expected. XI MEETS JAPAN'S NEW HAWKISH LEADER Among the most hotly anticipated bilateral meetings, the Chinese leader held his first talks with Japan's new premier Sanae Takaichi. In brief opening remarks, both leaders said they would seek to advance ties. "I conveyed my concerns, but also raised areas where we can cooperate. I would like this meeting to serve as a starting point for Japan and China," Takaichi said after the meeting. Xi called for managing differences by focusing on the bigger picture and "treating each other as partners, not treating each other as threats, learning from history, and looking toward the future". While relations between the historic rivals have been on a sounder footing in recent years, Takaichi's surprise elevation to become Japan's first female leader may strain ties due to her nationalistic views and hawkish security policies. One of her first acts since taking office last week was to accelerate a military build-up aimed at deterring the territorial ambitions of an increasingly assertive China in East Asia. Japan also hosts the biggest concentration of U.S. military abroad. The detention of Japanese nationals in China and Beijing's import restrictions on Japanese beef, seafood and agricultural products were also likely to be on the agenda. CANADA SEEKS TO RESTART CHINA ENGAGEMENT Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also held talks with Xi, aiming to restart broad engagement with China after years of poor relations. Embroiled in a trade dispute with the United States, Canada's biggest trading partner, Carney told a gathering of executives running parallel to the summit on Friday that Ottawa aimed to double its non-U.S. exports over the next decade. After his meeting with Xi, Carney said he had accepted an invitation to visit China, which is Canada's second-biggest trading partner. Under the leadership of Carney's predecessor Justin Trudeau, Canadians were detained and executed by the Chinese government and Canada's security authorities concluded that China interfered in at least two federal elections. China announced preliminary anti-dumping duties on Canadian canola imports in August, a year after Canada said it would levy a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese electric vehicles. Officials from both sides met to discuss those issues this month. Xi also met Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, saying China would share its development experience and calling for expedited progress on a rail line between the nations and intensify efforts to crack down on cross-border crime. "The relations and cooperation between the two countries, which had previously stalled, have now been revived," Anutin said in a statement. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, a U.S. ally who finds himself at the frontlines of China's competition with the United States, will tackle Korean denuclearisation with the Chinese leader at a summit on Saturday, his office said. Elsewhere, Taiwan said it was making progress on a tariff deal with the United States, and South Korea said final details of its deal with Washington were almost ready after a breakthrough agreed on Wednesday. SOUTH KOREA HOPEFUL OF JOINT DECLARATION South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said on Thursday that he was hopeful APEC leaders would issue a joint declaration when the summit concludes on Saturday. APEC, which stretches from Russia to Chile and accounts for 50% of global trade, failed to adopt a joint declaration in 2018 and 2019, during Trump's first presidency. There were also some business deals on the sidelines with U.S. chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab agreeing on a $3 billion AI joint venture with South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Group (005380.KS) , opens new tab. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has had a whirlwind week, with the company becoming the first to surpass a $5 trillion valuation, but the issue of the U.S. chipmaker's sale of advanced AI chips in China was seemingly left out of Thursday's Xi-Trump summit. Huang said on Friday he hoped the chips can be sold in China, although stressed it was a decision for Trump. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/xi-meet-canadian-japanese-leaders-after-trump-trade-truce-2025-10-31/
2025-10-31 06:20
U.S. has called on Japan, others to end Russian energy imports Japan, world's No.2 LNG buyer, has been so far resisting calls citing energy security, electricity cost Sakhalin-2 buyers JERA, Tohoku Elec say can find alternative supplies TOKYO, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Japanese utilities JERA and Tohoku Electric Power Co (9506.T) , opens new tab, buyers of liquefied natural gas from Russia's Sakhalin-2, can secure alternative supplies if flows are interrupted, executives said, amid U.S. pressure to end energy imports from Russia. The U.S. this month urged Japan, along with other Russian energy buyers, to stop imports, as it pushes the Kremlin towards ending the war in Ukraine. Japan's long-term contracts with Sakhalin-2 cover about 9% of its LNG imports. Sign up here. JERA gets about 2 million tons of LNG per year from the project under two contracts ending in 2026 and 2029. JERA is also a major LNG trader, handling a total of 30 million tons to 35 million tons of LNG annually both for domestic use and to re-sell elsewhere. Taking into consideration JERA's imports from Sakhalin and the company's overall LNG handling volumes, including an option to tap the spot market, "there is a good chance that we will be able to do something" in case Sakhalin supplies need to be replaced, Naohiro Maekawa, an executive officer with JERA, told a briefing on Friday. Tohoku Electric Power, which gets around a tenth of its LNG from Sakhalin, is working to diversify supplies to mitigate a risk of a sudden interruption, senior executive Takayoshi Enomoto said on Thursday. Tohoku's contract with the project expires in 2030. The company is considering an eventual halt in Russia purchases, another senior official said in February, and Tohoku may increase U.S. LNG purchases. Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told U.S. President Donald Trump during their meeting in Tokyo this week that banning Russian LNG imports would be difficult, two Japanese government officials said. To guard against unexpected supply shocks, Japan is also buying LNG for emergency needs under a scheme it may expand for greater energy security. SUPPORT FOR ALASKA LNG STILL UNCERTAIN U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent repeated on Thursday he believed Japan would eventually stop receiving Russian LNG supplies and join the Alaska LNG project Trump favours. "I believe over time, they (Japan) will be weaning off of that (Sakhalin-2 LNG), and they will be part of a very large pipeline project that the U.S. is constructing in Alaska," Bessent told the FOX Business TV programme, adding that South Korea and China might also back the U.S. project. While committing to various U.S. LNG sources and upstream projects, Japanese buyers remain wary of hard deals with the maiden $44-billion Alaska LNG project, with JERA and Tokyo Gas (9531.T) , opens new tab announcing only preliminary offtakes. JERA's Maekawa said that his company continued to gather information on Alaska's feasibility and stability of supply. "It is quite unclear what the procurement cost will be ... (but) it is possible that there will be a positive impact in terms of energy security and supply diversification," said Tohoku's Enomoto. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/japanese-utilities-can-find-replacement-sakhalin-2-if-lng-supplies-interrupted-2025-10-31/
2025-10-31 06:19
HOI AN, Oct 31 (Reuters) - The death toll from the heavy floods in central Vietnam has risen to 13, the government said on Friday, as residents of the flooded Hoi An started clean-up operations as the water levels began to subside. Floods triggered by record levels of rainfall have inundated a large swath of central Vietnam over the past days, with the UNESCO-listed former imperial capital Hue and Hoi An the worst hit. Sign up here. Photos circulating on state media showed that much of the two locations remained under flood water, with some houses submerged up to their roofs. Vietnam is prone to often deadly storms and flooding that cause widespread property damage, especially during the storm season from June until October. In Hoi An, a well-preserved ancient town that was once a bustling Southeast Asian trading port from the 15th to 19th centuries, floodwater began to recede Friday. "I have witnessed floods many times, and this is the worst I've ever seen," Hoi An resident Tran Van Tien, 60, told Reuters. Most of the tourists have cancelled their hotel bookings for Hoi An, which last year received more than 4.4 million visitors, including nearly 3.6 million foreign tourists. "Floodwater rose too quickly, causing significant property damage," said Nguyen Thi Thuy, a hotel manager, whose hotel has been closed since Monday. The floods have also left 11 people missing, inundated more than 116,000 houses and 5,000 hectares of crops, and damaged roads and railways, cutting off traffic and power in several areas, the government's disaster agency said in a report. Heavy rain is forecast to continue in central Vietnam, with daily rainfall exceeding 500 millimetres in some areas from early Friday until late Saturday, according to the report. "I hope that floods won't happen again so that we can reopen our hotel... We all rely on tourism here," Thuy said. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/vietnam-flood-death-toll-rises-13-with-11-others-missing-2025-10-31/
