2023-11-29 11:51
NEW DELHI, Nov 29 (Reuters) - India will spend 11.8 trillion rupees ($141.63 billion) to fund the extension of its free food grains program for the next five years, the country's information minister said on Wednesday. The scheme is aimed at ensuring food and nutrition security for 813.5 million people, Anurag Thakur told the media after a federal cabinet meeting. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Nov.4 announced that his government would extend the welfare scheme, which was due to end in December, by five years. The announcement comes ahead of general elections early next year and was approved by the cabinet on Wednesday. "Free food grains will strengthen food security and mitigate any financial hardship of the poor and vulnerable sections of the population," the government said in a statement. ($1 = 83.3185 Indian rupees) https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-spend-over-141-bln-extend-its-free-food-grains-program-by-5-yrs-minister-2023-11-29/
2023-11-29 11:49
Coal miner scouring for clean energy minerals Exxaro missed out on Botswana's Khoemacau copper mine To sell ferroalloys unit by end-June 2024 Nov 29 (Reuters) - South Africa's Exxaro Resources (EXXJ.J) is expanding its search for critical mineral assets to greenfield projects, the miner said on Wednesday, as it pursues its strategy to diversify away from coal. Exxaro, one of South Africa's top coal producers, also has interests in iron ore and renewable energy. The company plans to acquire manganese and copper assets, both minerals considered vital for the global transition from polluting fossil fuels to cleaner energy. The miner was among several firms that were interested in buying Botswana's Khoemacau copper mine, which holds one of Africa's largest copper deposits. The $1.88 billion mine was eventually sold to Chinese miner MMG Ltd (1208.HK). Exxaro's Chief Growth Officer Richard Lilleike, who is leading the miner's mergers and acquisitions drive, told analysts that while the company was still interested in producing assets, it would also consider development projects in light of current elevated asset prices. "In the wake of Koemacau ... we certainly are seeing a lot of investment opportunities mostly on the earlier stage capital raising. I think capital markets are quite tough right now and therefore our balance sheet stands out as a partner to new assets or assets under development," Lilleike said during a call. Exxaro said it had a net cash balance of 13.5 billion rand ($728.3 million) at the end of October, as it builds a war chest of up to 15 billion rand to fund acquisitions. The company is selling off its ferroalloys unit, which it says does not fit into its long-term strategy. The unit produces ferrosilicon, mostly used in steelmaking. It plans to complete the sale by June 2024. Exxaro expects its coal production to be flat at 43 million metric tons in the year to Dec. 31, in line with previous guidance. Export sales are also seen flat this year at just over 5 million tons, amid persistent freight rail logistics challenges. ($1 = 18.5377 rand) https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/safricas-exxaro-sell-ferroalloys-unit-by-end-june-2024-2023-11-29/
2023-11-29 11:49
LONDON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange (LME) on Wednesday won a legal battle against U.S. financial firms demanding $472 million in compensation after the exchange cancelled billions of dollars in nickel trades last year after a surge in prices. The London lawsuit was brought by hedge fund Elliott Associates and market maker Jane Street Global Trading after the world's largest metals marketplace cancelled $12 billion in trades when prices shot to records above $100,000 a metric ton in a few hours of chaotic trade in March 2022. In its written ruling, the High Court said the LME did have the power to cancel trades in exceptional circumstances and that the exchange was not under a duty to consult Elliott and Jane Street prior to its decision. Judge Jonathan Swift and Judge Robert Bright said in the ruling that they accepted LME Chief Executive Matthew Chamberlain's evidence that consulting participants would not have revealed anything the exchange did not already know. "It seems obvious to us that everyone involved was aware both that the suspension and cancellation decisions were momentous, and of the likely effects on all market participants – including those in the position of the claimants." Elliott and Jane Street were argued the exchange acted unlawfully. The LME countered that it had both the power and the duty to unwind the trades because a record $20 billion in margin calls could have led to at least seven clearing members defaulting, systemic risk and a potential "death spiral". The judges said that Elliott and Jane Street had been critical of Chamberlain for taking account of the possible adverse consequences for some members. "It is difficult to think of anything more likely to make the nickel market disorderly. Further, it would not only have affected the nickel market; the failure of an LME member, let alone a clearing member, would have had a serious impact on the global commodities market more broadly." Other exchanges were closely watching this case as a decision against the LME could have had an impact their ability to react in crisis situations. "The judgment raises fundamental questions for UK market participants who trade not only on the LME but more broadly on other exchanges, about an absence of trade certainty prior to settlement," Elliott Associates said in a statement. "We therefore intend to appeal the judgment." https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/lme-wins-lawsuit-brought-by-financial-firms-over-cancelled-nickel-trades-2023-11-29/
2023-11-29 11:39
NEW DELHI, Nov 29 (Reuters) - India aims to add 17 gigawatts of coal-based power generation capacity in the next 16 months, its fastest pace in recent years, to avert outages due to a record rise in power demand, according to government officials and documents. The expansion drive comes ahead of this week's U.N. climate summit COP28, where France and the United States are expected to clamp down on financing for coal plants, a move that India, dependent on coal for 73% of power generation, plans to oppose. The world's fastest growing major economy has added an annual average of 5 gigawatts of coal-based electricity generation capacity over the last five years, but it is also ramping up renewable energy. Yet it will fall short of satisfying power demand if it does not expand the number of its coal plants, said two government officials, who did not want to be named as they are not authorised to speak to media. In the next four months, India plans to add nearly 3 gigawatts of coal-fired generation, while the following fiscal year, starting from April 1, 2025, will see it add 14 gigawatts, or its highest level in eight years, according to internal government documents seen by Reuters. The power ministry did not immediately respond to queries from Reuters. To ensure completion of projects, New Delhi has begun a review of 38 coal generation plants whose construction has been held up for years, moving to resolve issues over equipment and land acquisition delays, the two officials said. The government expects 28 of these projects to become operational in the next 18 months, it told power producers in a presentation at a meeting on Nov. 21. Such projects include state-run power company NTPC's (NTPC.NS) 660-megawatt unit in the eastern state of Bihar which has been delayed for 13 years, and two in the neighbouring state of Jharkhand held up for five years. At the meeting, Power Minister R. K. Singh told public and private power generators that India would "have to add coal-based thermal capacity," to meet requirements growing at an unprecedented rate, said the two officials, who also attended. He also urged private companies to set up fresh coal-based power generation capacity to meet night-time demand and assured them of financial assistance. Industry officials said such a call was being made for the first time in a decade since most private investments in the coal-fired power sector had stopped around the year 2012, partly because of India's green energy push. While the coal expansion drive aims to meet an expected rise of 10% in demand during peak hours in fiscal year 2024-25, India will still meet a national commitment of half of fuel generation capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030, the two officials said. Since adding 22 gigawatts of capacity in the fiscal year 2015/16, India cut back on plans to expanding coal-fired plants as the government opted for alternate energy capacity, officials have said. Now India wants coal-fired plants sufficient to meet power demand of 384 gigawatts by the fiscal year 2031/32, revised up 5% from an earlier projection of 366 gigawatts, the government documents showed. The government consequently revised up its estimate of coal-based power requirement by 9%, to 283 gigawatts. "We have now modelled a stressed scenario factoring in a below-normal monsoon and a corresponding demand spike, such as we experienced in Aug-Oct this year," one of the government officials said. That stress accounts for delays in the commissioning of 86 gigawatts of non-fossil capacity by fiscal 2031/32. In the lead-up to Thursday's climate summit in Dubai, the European Union, U.S. and UAE have rallied support for a deal to triple global renewable energy installed by 2030. More than 100 countries have backed this deal, officials told Reuters, but countries including China and India are not yet fully on board. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-scrambles-add-coal-fired-power-capacity-avoid-outages-sources-2023-11-29/
2023-11-29 11:39
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Malaysia's state energy firm Petroliam Nasional Berhad, also known as Petronas, reported lower third-quarter profit on Wednesday, and said it expects profitability to be squeezed by volatile oil and gas prices. Volatility in prices were expected to be higher due to economic uncertainties and heightened concerns over global energy security amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, Petronas president and chief executive Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz said in a statement. "Against this backdrop, Petronas anticipates lower profits compared to last year," he said, adding that the company will continue to focus on its core business and sustainability agenda. The company reported a lower profit after tax of 23.9 billion ringgit ($5.14 billion) for the July-September period, compared with a profit of 30.8 billion ringgit in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue in the quarter fell to 82.9 billion ringgit primarily due to lower average realised prices, compared with 98.9 billion ringgit last year, Petronas said. Capital investments amounted to 34.3 billion ringgit, mainly attributed to upstream and gas projects, it said. Domestic capital expenditure rose by 37% against the same period last year, mainly for its floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Sabah state and the Kasawari gas field development in Sarawak state, Petronas said. ($1 = 4.6495 ringgit) (This story has been refiled to add dropped words 'gas' and 'be' in the headline and paragraph 1) https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/malaysias-petronas-reports-q3-profit-flags-volatility-oil-gas-prices-2023-11-29/
2023-11-29 11:38
CEO says about 700 mln rand worth of stock stuck at sea Doesn't expect a big impact on Christmas sales Pepkor reports 8.7% decline in full-year HEPS JOHANNESBURG, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Disruption at South Africa's ports has left discount retailer Pepkor Holdings (PPHJ.J) struggling to import goods, with an estimated 700 million rand ($37.85 million) worth of stock stuck at sea, its CEO said on Wednesday. Although local retailers have been moving production closer to home, they still rely on overseas markets for some products such as fabrics. South African state-owned logistics company Transnet has said backlogs at the Port of Durban and congestion at Richards Bay were due to factors including adverse weather conditions and underinvestment in equipment and maintenance. Pepkor CEO Pieter Erasmus told Reuters that he was not too concerned about the group's back-to-school stock as it is mostly produced locally and the raw materials landed months ago. However, some items like shoes might not arrive as quickly. Pepkor commands a higher share of the back-to-school market than its rivals. "We've got significant value items stuck on the sea at the moment, between 1 and 2 weeks late. We don't think the impact will be that big on our Christmas trade, bearing in mind we're a more basics business, with a higher component of replenishment," he said. The owner of the budget PEP and Ackermans clothing brands carries more items that tend to be replenished regularly making the business less seasonal compared to others, which could shield it better than rivals who depend on fast fashion, Erasmus added. "We will have to adjust our planning process going forward, we don't know how long this will take to sort out. The feedback we're getting is 8-12 weeks but there is no certainty," he told investors. Pepkor echoed the frustrations shared last week by its more fashionable rival Mr Price (MRPJ.J), which said the backlog was becoming an "increasing risk to business" but was satisfied that it has adequate stock levels for the upcoming holiday season. ($1 = 18.4942 rand) https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-africas-pepkor-full-year-profit-falls-elevated-debtors-costs-2023-11-29/
