Health Mubadala-backed Recursion secures new $50m funding Chip designer Nvidia will invest $50 million to speed up training of biotech firm Recursion’s artificial intelligence models for drug discovery, the companies announced, sending Recursion’s shares surging about 83 percent. Recursion, whose advisers include AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio, will use its biological and chemical datasets exceeding 23,000 terabytes to train AI models on Nvidia’s […] July 13, 2023
Manufacturing Saudi-backed Lucid shares down as deliveries take hit Lucid Group said its second-quarter production dropped from the previous three months while deliveries stayed flat, sending the shares of the luxury electric-vehicle maker down about 12 percent on Wednesday. The Saudi Arabia-backed startup has been struggling to ramp up production in the face of supply chain issues, while a price war started by market […] July 13, 2023
Energy Saudi output cuts drive up sour crude oil prices Prices for sour crude oil have climbed globally this month after top exporter Saudi Arabia hiked prices and expanded production cuts of higher sulphur oil. It was the first sign that its efforts to prop up global prices is having an impact. The de facto leader of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) […] July 12, 2023
Logistics Israel to privatise postal service company Israel has put its postal service on the block after completing a recovery and financial stabilisation process and formulating a strategic plan for the coming years. The state’s privatisation agency said it would sell 100 percent of Israel Post Co. to an investor or group of investors. Bids are due by September and the winning […] July 12, 2023
Banking and Finance Two Abu Dhabi banks tap debt markets for $1.25bn Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) have raised $1.25 billion in total from the sale of conventional and Islamic bonds, seizing a window of opportunity to raise debt amid a lull in regional issues. ADCB launched $500 million five-year senior unsecured bonds at 120 basis points (bps) over US treasuries, […] July 12, 2023
Energy Russian petrol exports to Asia and Africa increase Russia’s petrol exports rose in January to June despite the introduction of the European Union’s (EU) embargo, thanks to healthy supplies of the fuel to Africa and Asia, data from market sources showed and traders said. Petrol production at Russian refineries rose by about 4 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2023 to about […] July 12, 2023
Economy S&P Global sees positive signs in Nigeria and Kenya Nigeria and Kenya have both had positive economic policy developments in the last couple of months, one of S&P Global’s top sovereign rating analysts said, adding that South Africa was a slow-moving story of steadily rising debt to GDP. Nigeria is a country that S&P is now “watching closely”, Frank Gill, one of the ratings […] July 12, 2023
Energy Iraq to trade crude oil for Iranian gas to settle debt Iraq will begin trading crude oil for Iranian gas to end the recurring issue of payment delays to Tehran due to the need for US approval, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Sudani said. Sudani said Iran had cut gas exports to Iraq by more than 50 percent as of July 1 after Baghdad failed to […] July 12, 2023
Energy Qatar expects record volume of LNG deals in 2023 Qatar this year will sign record volumes of long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) offtake contracts, the country’s energy minister said at a conference in Vancouver. About 40 percent of new global LNG output will come from Qatar by 2029, said minister of energy Saad Al Kaabi at the LNG 2023 conference. The country last year […] July 12, 2023
Energy Saudi Arabia to supply full oil volumes to Asia in August Saudi Aramco has informed some clients in northern Asia they will receive full nominated volumes of crude oil in August, several sources said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, top buyer China once again requested less supply. The world’s biggest oil exporter last week said it would extend its one million barrels-per-day (bpd) output cut by another month […] July 11, 2023
Banking and Finance Bank of Israel pauses rate hikes for first time since 2022 The Bank of Israel left short-term borrowing rates unchanged on Monday for the first time since early 2022, as expected, but warned that rates could be hiked further if inflation picked up again. Governor Amir Yaron said that rates would remain high for some time. He also cautioned that legislation on a highly-disputed bill that […] July 11, 2023
Real Estate Dubai’s Sobha Realty plans $300m debut sukuk Real estate developer Sobha Realty is set to raise $300 million through a debut sale of Islamic bonds, a bank document showed. The five-year sukuk, non-callable for three years, launched at a yield of 8.75 percent, the lower end of initial guidance earlier on Monday of 8.75-8.875 percent, after drawing final orders of more than […] July 11, 2023
Banking and Finance Lebanon rules out extension of central bank governor’s term Lebanon’s caretaker premier, Najib Mikati, will not extend the term of central bank governor Riad Salameh when it ends later this month, the prime minister’s office said. The July 31 expiration of Salameh’s term will bring to an end a 30-year tenure stained by recent charges at home and abroad of embezzlement of Lebanese public […] July 11, 2023
Tech Taiwan’s Foxconn dumps $19.5bn chip venture in India Taiwan’s Foxconn has withdrawn from a $19.5 billion semiconductor joint venture with Indian metals-to-oil conglomerate Vedanta in a setback to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s chipmaking plans for India. The world’s largest contract electronics maker signed a pact with Vedanta last year to set up semiconductor and display production plants in Modi’s home state of Gujarat. […] July 11, 2023
Energy Japan gas lobby wants stable supply from Middle East Japan Gas Association (JGA) chairman Takahiro Honjo hopes that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s planned Middle East trip this month will help Japan ensure stable supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other fuels. Resource-poor Japan is trying to beef up its energy security as it remains highly dependent on oil and LNG imports. Kishida is […] July 11, 2023
Economy Egypt’s inflation rises to all-time high of 35.7% in June Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation in June rose to a record 35.7 percent year-on-year from 32.7 percent in May, data from the country’s statistics agency Capmas showed. Analysts had expected the country’s headline inflation rate to jump to an all-time high, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday, as an unfavourable base effect and increased […] July 10, 2023
Economy Countries repatriating gold as Russian sanctions bite An increasing number of countries are repatriating gold reserves as protection against the sort of sanctions imposed by the West on Russia, according to an Invesco survey of central bank and sovereign wealth funds published on Monday. The financial market rout last year caused widespread losses for sovereign money managers who are “fundamentally” rethinking their […] July 10, 2023
Banking and Finance Japan logs current account surplus for fourth month Japan’s current account surplus more than doubled year-on-year in May, in a fourth straight month of gains, as the country’s trade deficit narrowed and income gains from its overseas investment expanded, ministry of finance data showed. The current account surplus reached 1.86 trillion yen ($13.08 billion) in May, compared with 773 billion yen in the […] July 10, 2023
Banking and Finance Turkey takes measures to control rising budget deficit Turkey is taking measures to re-establish fiscal discipline and control the level of the budget deficit, finance minister Mehmet Simsek said. The budget deficit for the first five months of the year was 263.6 billion lira ($10.12 billion), compared with 124.6 billion lira a year ago, due to increased spending ahead of May’s elections and […] July 10, 2023
Energy Thailand’s PTT in talks with Qatar for LNG deal Thailand’s largest energy company, state-controlled PTT, is in advanced talks with Qatar for a 15-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply deal, four trading sources told Reuters. The oil and gas conglomerate is negotiating a supply of one or two million tonnes per annum (mtpa), according to different figures cited by the sources, in what would […] July 9, 2023
Banking and Finance UK to steer pensions into high-growth sectors British finance minister Jeremy Hunt will spell out on Monday long-awaited plans to encourage pension funds and other asset managers to invest in high-growth sectors, the treasury said on Sunday. In Monday’s speech at the City of London’s Mansion House, Hunt will explain how the reforms could increase returns for pensioners and unlock capital for […] July 9, 2023
Manufacturing ‘Chinese storm’ risks Europe’s EV sector says Renault chief A “Chinese storm” is looming over Europe’s growing electric vehicle (EV) sector, Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard told Reuters, as Asia’s superpower dominates key raw materials to make batteries for zero emission cars. China’s recent decision to restrict exports of two metals – gallium and germanium – used in semiconductors and EVs should raise red flags […] July 9, 2023
