2023-12-01 12:10
BERN, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Switzerland has frozen an estimated 7.7 billion Swiss francs ($8.81 billion) in financial assets belonging to Russians, the government said on Friday, under sanctions designed to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. The figure, a provisional estimate, represented a slight increase from the 7.5 billion francs the Swiss government said it had blocked last year after the neutral country adopted European Union sanctions. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the agency overseeing sanctions, said the 7.7 billion francs figure was only its latest estimate and was subject to change. It was difficult to give a precise figure due to new people being added or removed from the sanctions list, as well as legal cases to freeze or unlock further assets. A more accurate figure is expected by the end of the second quarter 2024 when the Swiss banks report to the government. The increase in the frozen assets is due to an increase of 300 people and 100 companies and organisations who have been added to the sanctions list over the past 12 months. It also includes the estimated profits from cash deposits, bonds, shares, as well as properties and luxury cars. Bern has also blocked the movement of 7.4 billion francs in foreign currency assets belonging to the Russian central bank. SECO declined to comment on which individuals have had their assets frozen. Still, the frozen assets are only a fraction of the total wealth held by Russians in Switzerland, with the country's banks holding 150 billion francs, according to estimates by the Swiss Bankers Association. President Alain Berset pledged more support for Ukraine during a visit to the country last month and discussed using the profits of frozen Russian assets to help rebuild the country. The European Commission is working on a proposal to pool some of the profits derived from frozen Russian state assets to help Ukraine and its post-war reconstruction. Switzerland is taking part in the discussions but has not decided whether to support the proposal. But there have been limits to the Swiss support, with the country rejecting pleas from other countries to be allowed to send Swiss-made weaponry and ammunition to Ukraine, citing the country's neutrality laws. ($1 = 0.8742 Swiss francs) https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/swiss-have-frozen-88-bilion-russian-assets-2023-12-01/
2023-12-01 12:06
KYIV, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Ukraine's central bank will remove limits on banks' sale of foreign cash currency and soften several other restrictions from Friday, Governor Andriy Pyshnyi said. In a Facebook post, Pyshnyi wrote that the current limits on foreign currency sales had been one of the causes of the current spread between the official and unofficial exchange rates for the hryvnia, Ukraine's currency. He said the change would narrow the difference between those exchange rates. "In summary, this will strengthen the resilience of the currency market," he wrote late on Thursday. Pyshnyi said Ukraine's Export Credit Agency would be allowed to send payments abroad to fulfil insurance agreements with foreign companies. "In this way, we will provide the possibility of risk insurance to guarantee the safety of shipping and thus promote the stability of maritime transport even in the face of full-scale war," he said. The central bank chief also announced the loosening of restrictions for Ukrainians to send money abroad for healthcare and education purposes. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/ukraines-central-bank-remove-foreign-currency-cash-sale-limits-governor-2023-12-01/
2023-12-01 12:00
LITTLETON, Colorado, Dec 1 (Reuters) - A boom in clean power electricity generation has helped push Europe's forward power prices to their lowest levels since before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 severed natural gas pipeline flows and sent the region's power prices surging. Base wholesale fair value power prices in Germany and France, the region's two largest economies, currently average around 102 and 105 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) respectively for the first quarter of 2024, according to LSEG. Those forward value estimates are less than half the average wholesale power price seen in both countries in 2022, and forward markets indicate that prices look set to average below 105 Euros/MWH in both countries through the end of 2025. While subject to change as market conditions evolve, those relatively low forward price curves should provide a boost to energy-intensive consumers who had been forced to cut back on power use due to high prices in recent years. CLEAN POWER CONVICTION A major driver behind the subdued power price outlook has been the sharp rise in clean power capacity development across Europe in recent years, and widespread confidence that much further clean power development will emerge in the years ahead. Clean power sources have generated a record 59.3% of Europe's electricity through the first 10 months of 2023, and could surpass the 60% mark by year-end if wind generation picks up as usual in December, data from Ember shows. Clean power accounted for an average of around 53% of total electricity generation during the January to October periods from 2015 to 2019, and the increase in clean share has been chiefly driven by steep climbs in solar and wind generation which have expanded by 85% and 32% respectively since 2019. Over the same period, electricity generation from coal and natural gas have declined by 18.2% and 9.3% respectively, further tilting the electricity mix in clean power's favour. EXTENDED LEAD Europe's clean power share ranks second behind Latin America (65%) among major regions, and sharply exceeds the clean power share in North America (47%), Asia (33%) and Africa (25%). Clean power supply expansions are planned throughout every region, but strong government and societal support for an accelerated energy transition means Europe will likely be the largest clean power developer outside China for the remainder of this decade, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Between 2022 and 2027, the European Union alone may add between 340 gigawatts and 450 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, easily surpassing planned capacity expansions in the United States, the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia, IEA data shows. If those expected clean power expansions materialise, Europe's power prices may decline further and could help the region fulfil its ambitions of becoming a major clean energy hub to rival China. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/europes-clean-energy-boom-cuts-forward-prices-pre-ukraine-invasion-levels-2023-12-01/
2023-12-01 11:55
Dec 1 (Reuters) - Slovak road hauliers were set to start blocking the country's border with Ukraine on Friday, pledging an almost total shutdown of the crossing for trucks until the European Union (EU) meets their demands for tougher rules for Ukrainian competitors. Slovak trucking union UNAS chief Stanislav Skala said his team were ready to block the Vysne Nemecke/Uzhhorod crossing, the sole border point for trucks, from 3 p.m. (1400 GMT). The Slovak hauliers are joining Polish truckers who have been blocking several crossings to Ukraine since Nov. 6. That blockade has redirected some traffic through Slovakia, causing hundreds of trucks to pile up for kilometres on the approach to the border. Polish and Slovak truckers complain that Ukrainian truckers offer cheaper prices for their services and also transport goods within the EU, rather than just between the bloc and Ukraine. Truckers in both countries demand that the EU reinstate a system of granting a limited number of permits to Ukrainian companies to operate in the bloc and for European truckers to enter Ukraine. The permits were abolished after Russia's invasion. "We will block the border and let four trucks through every hour," Skala told Reuters by telephone while driving toward Vysne Nemecke on Friday. Military supplies, humanitarian shipments, and perishable goods and animal deliveries will also be able to pass, he said. He said the blockade would be done in both directions by a few passenger cars, and in coordination with police. Truckers will have a team of several people guarding the blockade in shifts, he said. The next decision would come after Monday's EU transport ministers meeting in Brussels, where Polish, Slovak and Hungarian delegations were expected to raise the topic. "The only demand is reinstating the permits," Skala said. "We are not interested in politics, we just have to protect our market." Operators also wanted enforcement of rules allowing Ukrainian companies to ship to and from the EU but not local carriage within the EU. The Slovak Transport Ministry said after meeting the hauliers on Wednesday it would relay their demands in Brussels. Kyiv has said it will not compromise on the question of permits for Ukrainian drivers. European transport commissioner Adina Valean said on Nov. 29 that Ukraine and the EU cannot be "taken hostage" by the Polish truckers blockading the border. The situation is "unacceptable" and Brussels reserves the right to intervene in ensuring rules are respected and the law applied, she said. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/slovak-truckers-start-ukraine-border-crossing-blockade-joining-polish-protests-2023-12-01/
2023-12-01 11:51
Logistics utility has $7 bln debt Transnet's woes hurting economy Requested govt funding for its recovery plan JOHANNESBURG, Dec 1 (Reuters) - South Africa's National Treasury said on Friday it has issued state-owned rail and ports firm Transnet a support package of 47 billion rand ($2.5 billion) to help with a recovery plan, which includes meeting its immediate debt obligations. "The financial support package provided for the entity is a 47 billion rand guarantee facility against which Transnet will drawdown an initial amount of 22.8 billion rand to deal with immediate liquidity matters such as settling maturity debt," the National Treasury and the Department of Public Enterprises said in a joint statement. Transnet has been struggling to provide adequate freight rail and port services due to equipment shortages and maintenance backlogs after years of under-investment. The logistics utility's underperformance has impacted commodity exports and other sectors such as manufacturing and retail, weakening Africa's most advanced economy. The company, which has a 130 billion rand debt and recorded a loss of 5.7 billion rand in the financial year to March, has seen freight volumes decline to 150 million metric tons in financial year 2022/23 from 226 million tons in the 2017/18. Transnet's new board is pursuing a recovery plan which seeks to restore freight volumes and return the company to profitability over the next 18 months. The turnaround plan includes splitting the freight rail subsidiary into two - an infrastructure management company and an operating unit. The company is also targeting reduced port backlogs and will make another attempt to open up parts of its rail network to private operators after last year's false start. Transnet on Oct. 26 said it had requested funding from government, reported to be around 100 billion rand, including an equity injection, to help fund the recovery efforts. But the government on Friday said it had not considered an equity injection, saying the budget for the 2023/24 financial year was closed. Transnet's single $1 billion international bond, which matures in 2028, rose on the news, with its price up as much as 1.8 cents to 98.9 cents, its highest price since Aug. 1 according to Tradeweb data . ($1 = 18.8111 rand) https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/safricas-transnet-gets-25-bln-govt-support-package-2023-12-01/
2023-12-01 11:43
BOGOTA, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Colombia's state-run oil company Ecopetrol (ECO.CN) will invest between $5.7 billion and $6.7 billion and produce up to 730,000 barrels per day equivalent (boepd) in 2024, it said in a statement. A majority of that spending, about $4.8 billion, will go toward keeping production between 725,000 and 730,000 boepd, the company's refineries at between 420,000 and 430,000 barrels per day (bpd) and transporting more than a million bpd, the company said late on Thursday. The plan includes 360 development wells and 15 exploratory ones, operations vice-president Alberto Consuegra said in a video. About 42% of the spending plan will be focused on the energy transition, including low emissions, decarbonization, electrical transmission and natural gas supplies, the statement added. Ecopetrol, Colombia's largest company, plans to generate some 7 trillion pesos in efficiencies during the next three years, it said. The top union for Ecopetrol workers, USO, warned in October the company was considering cutting back some $2 billion in investment next year, but the 2024 figures are broadly in line with 2023 investment of between $6.3 billion to $7.4 billion. The company would have competitive returns if prices for Brent were $75 a barrel next year, Ecopetrol said. Investments between 2024 and 2026 would reach some 80 trillion pesos, about $20 billion, chief executive Ricardo Roa said in a video. ($1 = 4.045.22 Colombian pesos) https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/colombias-ecopetrol-invest-up-67-bln-2024-2023-12-01/
