2024-02-21 05:07

BANGKOK, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Thailand has approved incentives for companies to transition their commercial fleets of large trucks and buses to battery electric vehicles, the government said on Wednesday. Also on offer are cash grants for EV battery cell manufacturers, the government said, adding the policies would reinforce Thailand's status as an EV manufacturing hub. "This will significantly increase the adoption of electric trucks and buses, reduce pollution from the transportation and manufacturing sectors, and support companies' moves to reach their net-zero targets," the government said. The support for companies will come in the form of special tax deduction granted to eligible companies, effective until December 2025, it said. Companies buying vehicles manufactured domestically will be able to deduct expenses of two times the actual price of the vehicles, without a price ceiling being set. For the purchases of imported vehicles, the deduction will be equal to 1.5 times the actual price of the vehicles. Last year, Thailand approved a drawn down subsidy package for its booming electric vehicle industry, as the top regional auto hub looks to continue its strong EV sales momentum while balancing budgetary support. By 2030, Thailand aims to convert 30% of its annual production of 2.5 million vehicles into EVs, according to a government plan. Tax cuts and subsidies rolled out by Thailand have already drawn a raft of Chinese carmakers, including BYD (002594.SZ) , opens new tab and Great Wall Motor (601633.SS) , opens new tab have committed to invest $1.44 billion in new production facilities in Southeast Asia's second largest economy. For decades, the world's 10th largest auto manufacturing economy has been dominated by Japanese firms such as Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) , opens new tab and Honda Motor Co (7267.T) , opens new tab, which use Thailand as a major export base. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/thailand-approves-incentives-companies-transitioning-evs-2024-02-21/

2024-02-21 02:57

MUMBAI, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee is poised to advance at open on Wednesday helped by the dollar selling in the offshore non-deliverable forwards. Non-deliverable forwards indicate rupee will open at 82.88-82.90 to the U.S. dollar compared with 82.9625 in the previous session. The one-month USD/INR NDF made a low of 82.92 in the New York session, implying a spot of 82.84. The dollar index had dipped to near 103.80. Following the "reasonable" dollar selling, USD/INR will "have a follow through" to yesterday's price action, an FX trader at a bank said. "Now the question will be whether the support of 82.80 is at risk." The rupee on Tuesday had its best day in two weeks despite a mostly difficult day for Asian peers. The dollar index's fall to below 104 came amid a slight dip in U.S. Treasury yields. The U.S. Treasuries tracked the UK and Canada on a day when there was not much economic data out from the world's largest economy. Investors await the minutes of the Federal Reserve's January meeting, due to release during U.S. trading hours. The Fed minutes "will be of particular interest to help gauge the central bank’s thinking around the inflation path and incremental progress required for a policy pivot", ANZ said in a note. Following the January Fed meeting outcome and on the back of an upbeat U.S. job report and the higher-than-expected inflation, investors have significantly scaled back expectations on how many rate cuts the central bank will deliver this year. Investors are currently pricing in 90 basis points of rate cuts this year, down from more than 150 bps one-and-a-half months back. KEY INDICATORS: ** One-month non-deliverable rupee forward at 82.98; onshore one-month forward premium at 8 paisa ** Dollar index at 103.98 ** Brent crude futures at $82.54 ** Ten-year U.S. note yield at 4.2750% ** As per NSDL data, foreign investors net bought $21 million of Indian shares on Feb. 19 ** NSDL data shows foreign investors net bought $23 million of Indian debt on Feb. 16 https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/rupee-rise-offshore-dollar-selling-interest-2024-02-21/

2024-02-21 01:05

LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Major U.S. crypto firm Circle will end support for its USDC token on the Tron blockchain network, a decision the company said on Wednesday "aligned with its efforts to ensure that USDC remained trusted, transparent and safe". Boston-based Circle said in a blog that, effective immediately, it would no longer mint USDC tokens on Tron, a fast-growing platform widely used for transferring stablecoins whose founder is facing regulatory problems in the United States. Stablecoins are digital tokens that are designed to keep a constant value and are backed by traditional currencies. Circle did not give a reason for its decision but said that under its risk management framework it "continually assesses the suitability" of blockchains that support USDC, the second-biggest stablecoin after Tether. It said institutional clients can transfer USDC held on Tron to other blockchains, or redeem the tokens with it for traditional currency, until February 2025. Retail customers can transfer USDC to other blockchains and redeem USDC at crypto exchanges and brokerages, it added. Tron's vision is to become the world's "largest and most prosperous decentralized financial protocol," a Tron spokesperson said, adding: "We continue to move forward." Circle, which in January said it had filed for a U.S. initial public offering, last year terminated accounts held with it by Tron founder Justin Sun and his affiliated companies. Sun, a prominent crypto entrepreneur, was sued last year by the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly artificially inflating trading volumes and selling Tron tokens as an unregistered security. Sun said the SEC charges "lack merit". Circle's latest announcement affects USDC on the Tron blockchain, "as opposed to an individual user or related business entities", a spokesperson said. With some $28 billion in circulation, USDC is the eighth-biggest crypto token, according to data firm CoinGecko. USDC worth $335 million are hosted on Tron, Circle's website , opens new tab says. In November, Reuters reported, citing interviews with financial crime experts and blockchain investigation specialists, that Tron had overtaken Bitcoin as a platform for crypto transfers associated with groups designated as terror organizations by Israel, the United States and other countries. In response to that article, a Tron spokesperson said it did not have control over those using its technology, and that it was not linked to the groups identified by Israel. https://www.reuters.com/technology/crypto-firm-circle-end-support-usdc-stablecoin-tron-blockchain-2024-02-21/

2024-02-21 00:58

Feb 20 (Reuters) - Amazon (AMZN.O) , opens new tab is set to join the Dow Jones Industrial Average, replacing Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA.O) , opens new tab effective next week, S&P Dow Jones Indices said on Tuesday. Shares of Amazon rose 1.3% in extended trade after the announcement, while Walgreens dipped 3%. Adding Amazon will increase consumer retail exposure as well as other areas in the Dow, and the move was prompted by Walmart's (WMT.N) , opens new tab decision to split its stock, S&P Dow Jones Indices said in a news release. The Dow, which debuted in 1896, is widely followed by retail investors, making it an important reflection of the U.S. stock market. Institutional investors more frequently benchmark their performance against the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab. As well as dominating online retail, the Seattle company is a major player in cloud computing, entertainment and other industries. "Amazon is almost a hybrid name. It's one of the names that falls into different categories. It in many ways exemplifies what the Dow stands for in terms of representing commerce across the United States," said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina. The change takes effect at the open of trading on Monday. Walmart will remain part of the Dow, although its upcoming three-for-one stock split, effective after market close on Friday, will reduce that retailer's weight in the index. The Dow is weighted based on the share prices of its components, not on each company's overall market value. Additionally, Uber Technologies (UBER.N) , opens new tab will join the Dow Jones Transportation Average (.DJT) , opens new tab, replacing JetBlue Airways Corp (JBLU.O) , opens new tab, giving that index exposure to the ride-hailing industry, S&P Dow Jones Indices said. Amazon's addition to the Dow is the first since 2020, when Salesforce (CRM.N) , opens new tab, Amgen (AMGN.O) , opens new tab and Honeywell International (HON.O) , opens new tab replaced Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab, Pfizer (PFE.N) , opens new tab and Raytheon Technologies. Walgreens joined the Dow in 2018, replacing General Electric (GE.N) , opens new tab. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/amazon-set-join-dow-jones-index-2024-02-20/

2024-02-21 00:00

LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Indonesia's exports of refined tin all but evaporated in January with just 400 metric tons shipped abroad by the world's largest exporter, all in the form of solder. That represented the lowest monthly volume since August 2015, when Indonesia imposed an export regime to exclude illegally mined metal. This time too, the drop is down to a change in permitting. Tin exports will resume, but the uncertainty has unsettled both paper and physical markets. The London Metal Exchange (LME) three-month tin price , currently trading at around $26,500 per ton, is up by 5.3% on the start of the year. Tin is the only base metal showing any year-to-date gains. The rest of the LME pack are struggling in the face of weak demand and reduced manufacturing activity. But tin supply is highly concentrated and the sudden drop in Indonesian refined metal shipments coincides with the ongoing suspension of operations at the world's biggest mine in Myanmar. INTERRUPTION Indonesian exports fell by 12% to 75,000 tons last year, but that was still equivalent to around a fifth of global demand. Ironically, the change in mine permitting process from annual to every three years is meant to cut red tape and smooth the flow of exports over the start of every year. But there are now a lot of miners in Indonesia thanks to the country's nickel boom and the country's mining ministry is still processing hundreds , opens new tab of mine approval requests. Without an approved mining plan, operators cannot export. Pt Timah (TINS.JK) , opens new tab, the country's largest tin producer, got its official stamp of approval this month but many independent producers are still in the bureaucratic queue. The annual export approval process has in the past caused tin export volumes to drop in January. But this year there were no shipments of ingot at all last month and it appears it will be some time before flows return to normal. There is also the longer-term threat to Indonesian supply posed by its stated ambition to limit exports of refined metal to encourage a shift into value-add processing. The policy has worked well with nickel and the nascent electric vehicle battery chain but replicating it in tin is trickier. Around half of all tin is used to solder circuit-boards, a sector with geographically dispersed and well established players. Nevertheless, Indonesia's ambition to move downstream is undiminished and some form of future export restriction seems likely. CHINESE IMPORTS That may be why China has been buying so much Indonesian tin. It imported 3,500 tons of Indonesian tin in 2021 but lifted purchases to 24,000 tons in 2022. Last year's 24,475 tons helped drive total Chinese imports to an all-time high of 33,470 tons. Net imports of 21,400 tons represented the strongest draw on overseas units since 2012. China's tin sector is facing both the potential future threat of lower Indonesian exports and the immediate problem of reduced volumes of mined concentrate from the Man Maw tin mine in neighbouring Myanmar. The mine has been suspended since the start of August while the Wa State, a semi-autonomous part of the country, audits reserves. There is still no confirmed restart date. The flow of raw material over the border to feed China's smelters has continued but at a reduced pace as above-ground stocks are drawn down. Those stocks are now thought to be largely exhausted , opens new tab, according to the International Tin Association. It's not hard to see why Chinese players have been busy stocking up with metal given the twin threats to mined and metal supply just as the electronics sector starts recovering from a post-COVID hangover. Tin stocks registered with the Shanghai Futures Exchange stand at 9,033 tons, their highest since August last year. FALLING LME STOCKS China's buying, however, has reduced the Western surplus and left the supply chain more vulnerable to Indonesian disruption. LME inventory has fallen by 23% since the start of January and at 5,945 tons is its lowest since August. Excluding metal earmarked for physical load-out, open tonnage is now 5,055 tons, the lowest since July. Physical premiums in Asia have started rising. Price reporting agency Fastmarkets has lifted its assessment of the Taiwan premium from $400-500 per ton over the LME cash price to $500-700. LME time-spreads remain relatively relaxed, suggesting there is no panic just yet. The most recent off-warrant stocks report showed 1,321 tons of tin sitting in the ready-to-warrant warehouse shadows at the end of December. But there is a sense that availability is gradually tightening, a process that will accelerate with the drop in Indonesian exports. The price reaction suggests that the double question-mark hanging over global supply is starting to worry the tin market. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/indonesian-export-slump-ripples-through-tin-market-2024-02-20/

2024-02-20 23:50

Feb 20 (Reuters) - Copper miner First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) , opens new tab reported a net loss for the fourth quarter on Tuesday, as production was hit by the closure of its Cobre Panama mine and it took a charge related to its nickel mining operations. The Cobre Panama project, one of the world's largest open-pit copper mines, was forced to shut down after Panama's top court ruled its contract unconstitutional following nationwide protests against its operation. The company has lost over half its value since the protests began. Total copper production for the fourth quarter was 160,200 tonnes, compared with 206,007 tonnes in the year-ago quarter. Production at Cobre Panama dropped 30.2%, to 62,616 tonnes in the reported quarter. The company said it also recorded an impairment charge of $900 million, which includes $854 million at its Ravensthorpe nickel mine as a result of significant margin pressure due to weak nickel prices and high operating costs. First Quantum said it has signed a $500 million three-year prepay arrangement with Jiangxi Copper to provide copper anode material from the Kansanshi mine in Zambia. The miner said it is evaluating the possibility of a minority investment by strategic investors in its Zambian business. The company reported a net loss of $1.45 billion or $2.09 per share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a profit of $117 million, or 17 cents per share a year earlier. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/miner-first-quantums-fourth-quarter-profit-dips-2024-02-20/