2024-09-20 11:53

Sept 20 (Reuters) - Commodity trader Trafigura plans to name Richard Holtum as its new chief executive as soon as next week, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people briefed about the matter. Holtum, a former British military officer, has seen a rapid rise at Trafigura since he joined from Glencore (GLEN.L) , opens new tab in 2014. He currently runs Trafigura’s gas, power and renewables division. A Trafigura spokesperson declined to comment on the appointment. Reuters exclusively reported in April that CEO Jeremy Weir was priming Richard Holtum to take over when he step back into a chairman role. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/trafigura-announce-richard-holtum-new-ceo-soon-next-week-ft-2024-09-20/

2024-09-20 11:49

KYIV, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Ukraine's "victory plan" in the war against Russia depends on quick decisions being taken by allies this year, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday during a visit by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Zelenskiy told a joint press conference with von der Leyen that Ukraine planned to use a proposed multi-billion dollar European Union loan for air defence, energy and domestic weapons purchases. Zelenskiy singled out the importance of U.S. President Joe Biden to the victory plan, which he said the two leaders will discuss when they meet. The Ukrainian leader is travelling to the United States next week. "Most of the decisions from the plan depend specifically on him (Biden). On other allies too, but there are certain points which depend on the goodwill and support of the United States," Zelenskiy said. Zelenskiy has provided regular updates on the plan's preparation but has given few clues to the contents, indicating only that it aims to create terms acceptable to Ukraine after more than 2-1/2 years of war following Russia's full-scale invasion. "The entire plan is predicated upon quick decisions from our partners. The plan is predicated upon decisions which should take place from October to December, and not delaying these processes," he told the press conference alongside von der Leyen. Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address that he was counting on Biden's support for the plan, intended not only to bring peace but also strengthen his country. "Ukraine is counting very much on this support," he said. "And this is fair. Because when one nation wins the battle for its independence and adherence to international law, the whole world wins." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/zelenskiy-says-ukraine-victory-plan-depends-quick-decisions-by-allies-2024-09-20/

2024-09-20 11:46

BENGALURU, Sept 20 (Reuters) - State-owned Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) on Friday pledged to invest 180 billion rupees ($2.16 bln) in equity for renewable capacity expansion by 2030, and announced plans to go public in the next one to two years. Large power producers in India have been investing heavily in renewables and committing to expand green energy capacities, in tandem with the government's aim to add at least 500 GW of clean energy by 2030 to reduce carbon emissions. SECI, which issues tenders to renewable energy developers for solar, wind, and hybrid projects, said it expects to tender 20 gigawatt of projects this fiscal year. IPO PLANS Chairman and Managing Director R.P. Gupta announced SECI's flotation plans at an industry conference, but said no decision had been made yet on the size of the initial public offering. India's IPO market is booming, with around 235 companies having gone public so far this year and raising more than $8.6 billion, surpassing last year's total, LSEG data showed. The country's benchmark Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) , opens new tab has hit record highs more than 50 times this year. Earlier this week, NTPC Green Energy, an unit of power producer NTPC (NTPC.NS) , opens new tab, filed its draft papers for an IPO worth up to $1.19 billion. ($1 = 83.5200 Indian rupees) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/indias-solar-energy-invest-22-bln-renewables-by-2030-mulls-ipo-2024-09-20/

2024-09-20 11:43

SINGAPORE, Sept 20 (Reuters) - China's Shandong Yulong Petrochemical on Friday began starting up one of two new 200,000 barrel per day (bpd) crude units in eastern China, sources said, marking the refinery's official launch after four years of construction. The 400,000-bpd refinery is the only major refinery to come onstream this year in China and also one of the last greenfield plants being built as Beijing broadly caps crude oil refining capacity amid peaking Chinese fuel demand. Situated on a man-made island in Longkou county of the city of Yantai, Shandong province, Yulong is expected to keep the crude units running through at least the end of this year, said one Shandong-based refinery source briefed on the matter. The launch, in line with an earlier Reuters report, came as Chinese refinery crude throughput in August fell year on year for the fifth month to levels near two-year lows as demand for diesel declines and gasoline consumption is eroded by a switch to electric vehicles. "Yulong started up the refinery at the request of the provincial government, although the company itself was concerned with very weak margins in the current market environment," the source said. A second source familiar with Yulong's operation said the refiner was expected to start up secondary units in the coming days including a reforming unit with a processing capacity of 2.6 million tons per year (tpy) that produces petrochemical feedstocks. Yulong Petrochemical did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It may take several months for the refiner to ramp up output to commercial operation levels, sources said, but the timing of the start-up amid weak processing margins means Yulong may lean on cheaper crude oil supplies such as Russian ESPO blend to manage costs. However, Saudi Arabia could become a potential source of crude oil supply, as state-run Aramco agreed last October under a preliminary deal to acquire a 10% stake in Yulong in exchange for a crude supply deal. This is one of a string of similar strategic deals the top OPEC producer is lining up with privately controlled Chinese refineries. The $20 billion Yulong project, comprising a 400,000-bpd crude refinery, a 3 million tpy ethylene complex and a 3 million tpy paraxylene facility, will help upgrade the fragmented refining sector in Shandong, home to scores of smaller independent refiners, known as teapots. The project is 51% owned by private aluminium smelter Nanshan Group, 46.1% by provincial government-backed Shandong Energy Group and the remainder by two local firms. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chinas-newest-refiner-yulong-starts-up-crude-unit-sources-say-2024-09-20/

2024-09-20 11:08

BENGALURU, Sept 20 (Reuters) - India's Tata Steel (TISC.NS) , opens new tab to invest 270 billion rupees ($3.23 billion) to expand crude steel capacity at its facility in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, the company said on Friday. ($1 = 83.5200 Indian rupees) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/indias-tata-steel-invest-323-bln-expand-crude-steel-capacity-2024-09-20/

2024-09-20 10:57

TSX ends up 1.28 points at 23,867.55 Posts a record closing high Materials group gains 0.6% For the week the index adds 1.3% Sept 20 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index on Friday inched past the record high it hit a day earlier, helped by gains for the shares of gold miners and uranium producers but the move was limited as investors took stock of recent advances for the market. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended up 1.28 points at 23,867.55, moving past the record closing high it posted the previous day. For the week, the index was up 1.3%, its sixth weekly gain in the last seven weeks, after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time in four years, boosting investor sentiment globally. "Today, I think the market (is) just taking a bit of a breather," said Allan Small, senior investment advisor at Allan Small Financial Group with iA Private Wealth. "I haven't really seen anything that would warrant caution." Domestic data was upbeat. It showed retail sales rising 0.9% in July from June, eclipsing expectations for a gain of 0.6%, while a preliminary estimate showed sales increasing 0.5% in August. The materials group, which includes fertilizer companies and metal mining shares, added 0.6% as the price of gold climbed 1.3% to notch a record high. Uranium producers were among the biggest gainers, with shares of Cameco Corp (CCO.TO) , opens new tab adding 8.1%. Utilities and consumer staples both gained 0.5%, while industrials were a drag, falling 0.9%, including declines for railroad shares. Energy also lost 0.9% as the recent rebound in oil prices paused. U.S. crude oil futures settled 3 cents lower at $71.92 a barrel. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/tsx-futures-fall-investors-pause-after-weeks-rally-2024-09-20/