2023-11-13 11:47

NAIROBI, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Negotiators working on the world's first treaty to curb plastic pollution need to hurry up and strike a deal, Kenya's President William Ruto said on Monday at the start of talks in Nairobi. The world produces about 400 million metric tonnes of plastic waste a year and less than 10% of it is recycled, according to the UN Environment Programme. At least 14 million metric tonnes ends up in the ocean every year, the International Union for Conservation of Nature says, while more piles up in landfills. International delegates meeting in the Kenyan capital for the third round of talks will consider a list of possible measures to include in the treaty. "I urge all the negotiators to recall that 2024 is only six weeks away and (there) are only two other meetings to go," Ruto said at the opening of the talks. Governments agreed in March 2022 to put together a treaty on controlling plastic pollution by the end of next year. In Nairobi delegates will be haggling over whether to stick to their broad mandate of addressing the entire life cycle of plastics, including production, or to prioritize plastic waste management. Kenya is among those who want a strong, binding agreement on the manufacture and use of plastics. It has enacted several laws banning certain uses of plastics, such as for shopping bags, since 2017. "We must change the way we consume, the way we produce and how we dispose our waste," Ruto said. "Change is inevitable. This instrument that we are working on, is the first domino in that change. Let us bring it home," he said. The plastic industry and oil and petrochemical exporters like Saudi Arabia do not want plastic use curtailed, arguing that the global deal should promote improved recycling and reuse of plastic. "The vast majority of countries are eager to advance the negotiations to get the job done," said Pamela Miller, Co-Chair of the International Pollutants Elimination Network, a global public interest organization. "On the other hand a small group of like-minded countries of mainly major fossil fuel, petrochemical and plastic exporters like Saudi Arabia and Russia, are actively attempting to take us backwards." Saudi and Russian delegates were not immediately available to comment. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/kenyas-president-urges-progress-global-plastics-treaty-2023-11-13/

2023-11-13 11:45

Nov 13 (Reuters) - Gold miner Uzhuralzoloto (UGC) set the price range on Monday for its initial public offering (IPO) on the Moscow Exchange, the latest in a series of small capital raises by Russian companies as they adjust to life without Western capital. Russian share listings have been few and far between since Russia sent armed forces into Ukraine in February 2022, and are generally characterised by small volumes and dependent on retail investors. In 2023, firms have raised a total of around 8.5 billion roubles ($92 million) in IPOs and direct listings, according to Reuters calculations, a far cry from the billion-dollar capital raises achieved by Russian companies in the earlier years of President Vladimir Putin's time in office. The Western banks that formerly acted as underwriters and bookbuilders are now absent, with Russia's largest lenders picking up the slack. Electric scooter company Whoosh (WUSH.MM) staged Russia's only IPO in 2022, raising 2.1 billion roubles ($33 million at the December 2022 exchange rate), less than originally hoped. Here are the companies that have followed in 2023. IPO/DPO - Biotech startup Genetico (GECO.MM) raised 179 million roubles in an IPO in April. - CarMoney, a fintech service owned by SmartTechGroup (STG) raised 978 million roubles in a direct public offering (DPO) in July. - Technology company Astra (ASTR.MM) raised 3.5 billion roubles in an October IPO. - Men's clothing chain Henderson (HNFG.MM) attracted 3.8 billion roubles through its IPO in early November. - IT company Softline's (SOFL.MM) shares have begun trading in Moscow after a direct listing in September. That came after Softline separated from its global partner, now called NOVENTIQ. SPO - State-owned lender VTB Bank (VTBR.MM) raised 94 billion roubles in a secondary public offering (SPO) in June, in a capital top-up that saw an undisclosed investor acquire a chunk of the state's share in the bank - Steel pipe maker TMK (TRMK.MM) raised 4 billion roubles in a September SPO. ($1 = 92.0600 roubles) https://www.reuters.com/business/russian-companies-scaled-down-ipos-2023-2023-11-13/

2023-11-13 11:31

Nov 13 (Reuters) - First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) has reduced ore processing at its Cobre Panama mine as protests against the project block port access, the Canadian miner said on Monday, the first sign that output at one of the world's biggest copper mines could at be risk. The disruption was caused by an "illegal blockade" of small boats at the mine's Punta Rincon port, the company said in a statement. The delivery of supplies for the mine's on-site power generation plant had been affected, it added. The protests began after the Panamanian government and First Quantum signed a new contract on Oct. 20 for Cobre Panama, which contributes 1% to global copper production and 5% to Panama's gross domestic product. The demonstrators say the new terms are too generous to First Quantum and allege corrupt practices in its approval. The company has denied the allegations. The contested contract provides First Quantum a 20-year mining right with an option to extend for another 20 years, in return for $375 million in annual revenue to Panama. The contract has faced numerous legal challenges and Panama's top court will now decide whether to revoke it. A Reuters survey earlier in November found that a majority of lawyers believe that the court would likely revoke the contract. The dispute has wiped out about 43% of First Quantum's market value, or about C$8.4 billion ($6.1 billion). The stock was down 2.8% on Monday afternoon. A company spokesperson said there were about 3,000 workers at the mine on Monday, compared to the usual average of 4,000. A reduction of ore processing could potentially impact about 2% of Panama's national workforce, the company said, adding that two ore processing trains remain operational. The mine would need to reduce the purchase of supplies and services that are equivalent to $20 million in weekly revenues for more than 2,000 Panamanian companies if the stoppages continue, the company added. ($1 = 1.3788 Canadian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/first-quantum-cuts-ore-processing-amid-port-blockades-2023-11-13/

2023-11-13 11:20

Nov 13 (Reuters) - Tullow Oil (TLW.L) said on Monday it signed a $400 million five-year debt deal with Glencore (GLEN.L) to help manage its senior notes maturing through 2026 and will see the trading house take over marketing the crude from its flagship Ghana oilfields. The facility, with Glencore Energy UK Ltd, will be available to draw for 18 months and allow Tullow to address all its outstanding 2025 notes and also refinance its 2026 notes, CEO Rahul Dhir said in a statement. The facility "significantly de-risks" Tullow's ability to refinance its 2026 notes, Peel Hunt analysts wrote in a note. "This uncertainty has been a key drag on the share price and we expect the shares to react well to today's announcement," the brokerage said. Tullow's shares were up 3.6% at 31.5 pence in early trade. They have fallen more than 17% this year. The company also signed an oil marketing and offtake contract with Glencore for Tullow's crude oil entitlements in Ghana and Gabon. Tullow had previously marketed the crude in-house. The deal includes all output from its Jubilee and TEN fields offshore Ghana, a spokesperson said. Tullow expects net volumes from its Ghana fields of around 46,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year in addition to around 10,000 bpd from Gabon. Tullow reiterated its free cashflow guidance of $800 million between this year and 2025. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/tullow-enters-400-mln-debt-facility-deal-with-glencore-2023-11-13/

2023-11-13 11:10

LOS ANGELES, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Los Angeles commuters appeared to largely heed warnings to limit their driving on Monday after a weekend fire heavily damaged an elevated stretch of a downtown freeway, forcing an indefinite closure of the structure and setting the stage for an extended traffic nightmare. Some 300,000 vehicles ply the Santa Monica Freeway daily, with downtown L.A. often congested under normal circumstances, so that detours from the closure were expected to ripple out and compound heavy traffic across the metropolitan area. Two days after the fire, transportation officials said they had yet to determine whether the stricken portion of the freeway can be repaired or will need to be demolished and rebuilt. The flames, which charred support columns and the freeway deck, spread through at least two storage yards filled with stacks of wood pallets and containers beneath the overpass, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. It took 164 firefighters from 26 fire companies several hours early Saturday to put out the blaze, fire officials said. No connection was immediately found between the fire and a nearby homeless encampment, Mayor Karen Bass said, adding that 16 people found there had since been placed into housing. No injuries were reported. The cause of the blaze remained under investigation. Despite traffic concerns, Laura Rubio-Cornejo, general manager of the city Transportation Department, said many motorists seemed to be minding advisories urging them away from downtown streets and to use public transit or work from home when possible. "The congestion was a little better than normal," Rubio-Cornejo said. Even so, roads in and around downtown were jam-packed, according to local media, and even minor traffic accidents could quickly be amplified into gridlock. California Governor Gavin Newsom on Sunday proclaimed a state of emergency in Los Angeles County in order to expedite repairs to the freeway. While touring the damage, the governor vowed to get the highway reopened as quickly as possible. Core samples of concrete and steel rebar were being examined to determine the strength of fire-damaged structures, said Tony Tavares, director of the California Department of Transportation. "Once we analyze the samples, we will get a clearer idea of our repair strategy," he said. "Caltran is working 24/7, literally, to determine the engineering impact to this vital structure on Los Angeles." Meanwhile, crews were shoring up the overpass to ensure it was safe to work beneath it, and contractors were ready to start pouring concrete for new pillars if needed, Tavares said. The damaged section of freeway, also known as the east-west Interstate 10 - or "the 10" in local parlance - was closed in both directions at a point between two other freeways vital to getting around Los Angeles, where traveling by car is the norm. The closure, one of the area's most consequential transportation disruptions since the January 1994 Northridge earthquake flattened two parts of the same freeway, was likely to last several days or longer, Bass said. Following the Northridge quake, the freeway was reopened in about three months, 74 days sooner than planned, after the contractor was offered a $200,000 bonus for every day the work was finished ahead of schedule, the Los Angeles Times reported. It remained to be seen whether the latest shutdown would impact the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Matt Schrap, head of the Harbor Trucking Association representing drivers who haul goods to and from the nation's busiest container shipping complex. "The disruption and spillover to other freeways may have a negative impact as traffic finds other outlets. Time will tell how widespread the impact," he said. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/los-angeles-freeway-closed-by-fire-creating-commuter-headache-2023-11-13/

2023-11-13 11:07

CHICAGO, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Washington's decision to accept beef from Paraguay after 25 years will probably not change the overall volume of U.S. imports, even at a time of tight supplies and high prices, due to a quota on shipments, U.S. meat importers said. U.S. beef prices set records this year after drought drove ranchers to reduce the country's herd to its smallest level in decades, and meat companies are relying more on imports to process into ground beef for hamburgers. Paraguay has not negotiated to sell beef to the U.S. under its own quota agreement, so it must compete with other countries in the same situation to fill a group tariff-rate-quota, said Stephen Sothmann, executive director of the Meat Import Council of America. The quota for these countries, including Brazil, Ireland, Japan and Namibia, is about 65,000 metric tons annually with a tariff of 4.4 cents per kilogram, Sothmann said. Suppliers filled the quota early this year, he said. "There's typically now a pretty big race to get product in under that quota," Sothmann said. "The likelihood of this changing the amount of supply of imported beef is very limited." Suppliers face a steep 26.4% tax on the value of products shipped above the tariff-rate-quota, making those deals economically unviable. The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts total U.S. beef and veal imports at about 1.6 million metric tons this year. Paraguay may eventually ship 3,250 to 6,500 metric tons annually, or 5% to 10% of the tariff-rate-quota for the countries without individual agreements, the USDA said. Analysts expect Paraguay to compete with producers like Brazil to supply lean beef that is blended with fattier U.S. supplies. The U.S. reinstated Brazil's ability to ship raw beef in 2020 after a halt over food-safety concerns. Namibia first sent commercial beef to the U.S. in 2020 after 18 years of trade negotiations, but has not made shipments since, U.S. records show. The U.S. previously blocked beef from Paraguay due to concerns about the livestock disease foot and mouth, but said an extensive review found shipments are now safe under certain conditions. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/paraguays-beef-likely-wont-boost-tight-us-supplies-importers-say-2023-11-13/