<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LYW554QLQNJ4RACN24N6DUUM3E-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-430732" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LYW554QLQNJ4RACN24N6DUUM3E-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LYW554QLQNJ4RACN24N6DUUM3E-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LYW554QLQNJ4RACN24N6DUUM3E-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LYW554QLQNJ4RACN24N6DUUM3E-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LYW554QLQNJ4RACN24N6DUUM3E-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LYW554QLQNJ4RACN24N6DUUM3E-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A general view of Shaft 11 at Impala Platinum Mine, in Rustenburg, South Africa, November 28, 2023. REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Nov 28 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Impala Platinum&nbsp;IMPJ.J&nbsp;on Tuesday temporarily halted operations at its Rustenburg mining complex in South Africa after 11 workers died and 75 were injured in what the CEO said was &#8220;the darkest day&#8221; in the company&#8217;s history.



The Johannesburg-based platinum miner said in a statement that 86 workers were involved in the incident at its No. 11 shaft. All the injured had been admitted to four hospitals in the area. The company spokesperson said medical physicians classified 14 workers in the hospital as&nbsp;&#8220;high priority&#8221;.



&#8220;Today is the darkest day in the history of Impala and our hearts are heavy for the lives lost and the individuals affected by this devastating incident,&#8221; CEO Nico Muller said in a statement.



Impala said workers were being brought to the surface at the end of their shift on Monday, when the conveyance system, which carries workers up and down an underground shaft 1,000 meters (3,280.84 ft) deep, started a rapid descent.



All mining operations at the Rustenburg complex in South Africa&#8217;s North West province were suspended on Tuesday. The halt could be extended to Wednesday to allow the company to &#8220;mourn and heal emotionally&#8221;, Johan Theron, Impala&#8217;s spokesperson said.



He also said investigations into the cause of the accident had begun.



Impala&#8217;s shares in Johannesburg declined 6.74% at 0847 GMT.



South Africa has some of the world&#8217;s deepest, oldest and most costly platinum and gold mining shafts.



The deaths at Rustenberg add to the 41 fatalities that had been recorded in South Africa&#8217;s mining industry this year so far. Last year, 49 workers died in South Africa&#8217;s mines, which was the lowest number of fatalities to date, Minerals Council South Africa, the industry lobby group, said.



Spokesman Theron said he could not be precise about the impact of the stoppage on Impala&#8217;s metals output.



&#8220;It&#8217;s impossible to quantify the impact on production save to say (the) shaft on its own is a very large complex and contributes roughly 15% of Impala Rustenburg&#8217;s production,&#8221; Theron said.



&#8220;To the extent that it&#8217;s stopped for any length of time, it will have a corresponding impact on the entire company.&#8221;



(Reporting by Felix Njini and Nelson Banya; Editing by Kim Coghill, Jamie Freed, Louise Heavens and Barbara Lewis)

A general view of Shaft 11 at Impala Platinum Mine, in Rustenburg

Impala Platinum halts some South African mines after 11 workers died

Geneva, Switzerland, 28 November 2023&nbsp;– Transitioning to a more sustainable and carbon-neutral future, $13.5 trillion in investments will be needed by 2050, particularly in the production, energy and transport sectors, according to a new World Economic Forum report.



The&nbsp;Net-Zero Industry Tracker 2023, published in collaboration with Accenture, takes stock of progress towards net-zero emissions for eight industries – steel, cement, aluminum, ammonia, excluding other chemicals, oil and gas, aviation, shipping and trucking – which depend on fossil fuels for 90% of their energy demand and pose some of the most technological and capital-intensive decarbonization challenges.



The report, published the same week as the United Nations called at COP28 for “dramatic climate action” to close an “emissions canyon”, outlines pathways to accelerate the decarbonization of emission-intensive production, energy and transport industries.&nbsp;While the pathway to net zero in these sectors will differ based on unique sectoral and regional factors, investments in clean power, clean hydrogen and infrastructure for carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) will be needed to accelerate industrial decarbonization across most sectors.



“Decarbonizing these industrial and transport sectors, which emit 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions today, is essential to achieving net zero, especially as demand for industrial products and transport services will continue to be strong,” said Roberto Bocca, Head of Centre for Energy and Materials, World Economic Forum. “Significant infrastructure investments are required, complemented by policies and stronger incentives so industries can switch to low-emission technologies while ensuring access to affordable and reliable resources critical for economic growth.”



According to the report, the $13.5 trillion in investments is derived from average clean power generation costs of solar, off-shore and on-shore wind, nuclear and geothermal, electrolyzer costs for clean hydrogen and carbon transport, as well as storage costs.



The Net-Zero Industry Tracker proposes a comprehensive framework of emissions drivers and enablers to measure progress and identify gaps, scorecards for each industry, and opportunities for cross-sector collaboration. Building on the 2022 edition, the updated report includes transportation sectors and applies the framework to identify strategies for net-zero industrial transformation.



The report’s findings underscore the urgency for creating a robust enabling environment, including low-emissions technologies, infrastructure, demand for green products, policies and investments. In addition to increasing capital expenditures to decarbonize existing industrial and transport asset bases, further investment is needed to build a clean-energy infrastructure.



Share of global GHG emissions for heavy industrial and transport sectors



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="956" height="856" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/WEF_Image_Graph.jpg" alt="W" class="wp-image-430686" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/WEF_Image_Graph.jpg 956w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/WEF_Image_Graph-300x269.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/WEF_Image_Graph-820x734.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/WEF_Image_Graph-101x90.jpg 101w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/WEF_Image_Graph-768x688.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 956px) 100vw, 956px" /></figure>



The majority of the technologies needed to deliver net-zero emissions are expected to reach commercial maturity after 2030, highlighting the need for collaborative approaches to research, develop and scale them. This includes substituting legacy technologies with low-emission alternatives, increasing efficiency of processes and machinery, electrification and driving circularity.



“It is imperative that action is taken soon to both decarbonize and improve energy efficiency; otherwise, unabated fossil-fuel demand in the key industry sectors, which have grown 8% on average the past three years, will increase very significantly by 2050,” said Bocca. “But industrial leaders can&nbsp; respond through new collaborative ways of working and innovating, for example within&nbsp;<a href="https://weforum.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6308fe51b420dc9ff3834abc8&amp;id=5e48b8e30b&amp;e=d66be97e93">industrial clusters</a>&nbsp;and by fostering best practices, sharing infrastructure in important areas like clean hydrogen and CCUS and building &nbsp;demand for lower-emissions products.”



According to the report, carbon pricing, tax subsidies, public procurement and development of strong business cases can support in mobilizing necessary investments. However, raising capital for high-risk projects with unproven technologies could be challenging in the current macroeconomic environment. Institutional investors and multilateral banks, therefore, can play an important role by providing access to low-cost capital linked to emissions targets; equally vital is adapting financial models to the needs of various industries and regions.



“Collaboration between the public and private sectors is critical to a successful energy transition, and technology can be a key enabler in both managing affordable and reliable access to clean energy and addressing the incremental cost of decarbonization,” said Muqsit Ashraf, who leads&nbsp;<a href="https://weforum.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6308fe51b420dc9ff3834abc8&amp;id=095135a5bd&amp;e=d66be97e93">Accenture Strategy</a>. “Widespread scaling and adoption of clean power, carbon capture and storage, and energy efficiency technologies across sectors are vital for progress. Additionally, business model innovations can also help stimulate demand and accelerate industrial decarbonization — achieving&nbsp;<a href="https://weforum.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6308fe51b420dc9ff3834abc8&amp;id=08ae963912&amp;e=d66be97e93">net-zero objectives</a>&nbsp;and a resilient energy transition.”



The report acknowledges that recent policy developments can push the industrial net-zero transformation in the right direction. While some advanced economies are enacting large-scale policy measures, emerging economies – which will account for a larger share of future demand for industrial products and transport services – will need help accessing low-emission technologies and solutions.



The report also calls for industrial sectors to focus on the following five areas, and details specific actions for each of the sectors as part of its individual scorecard:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Technology&nbsp;– Prioritize clean power technology across most sectors, commercially scale CCUS in cement, and improve technology to reduce costs for clean hydrogen development.</li>



<li>Infrastructure&nbsp;– Promote shared infrastructure, such as industrial hubs and clusters.</li>



<li>Demand&nbsp;– Create a standardized framework for low-emissions products, a simple emissions-intensity calculator and an auditable carbon-footprint assessment process, improving consumer transparency.</li>



<li>Policy&nbsp;– Align on emissions reduction requirements globally, with policies customized to suit individual country needs and enhance market transparency to increase emission intensity visibility.</li>



<li>Capital&nbsp;– Improve transparency for low-emissions and low-carbon alternatives, strengthen demand signals and reduce capital expenditures through shared infrastructure development.</li>
</ul>



“The Net-Zero Tracker 2023 explores in detail how low-carbon solutions and infrastructure will contribute to increasing the pace of decarbonization in hard-to-abate industries,” said Stephanie Jamison, Accenture’s global Resources industry practice lead and global sustainability services lead. “This depth is essential to help companies create sustainable value and impact as they strive to achieve net-zero carbon emissions.”

power-station-pollution-energy-electricity

Net-Zero Industry Tracker: $13.5 Trillion Investment Needed to Fast-Track Decarbonization of Key Hard-to-Abate Industry Sectors 

By Julia Payne



LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria has failed to capitalise on an oil price boom that has helped cushion other exporters from the impact of inflation, with millions more Nigerians now facing poverty.



Data from Nigeria&#8217;s state oil company NNPC shows that it did not contribute anything to state coffers in the first eight months of 2022, despite crude prices averaging $94 a barrel so far this year, a rise of 42% from last year.



At the heart of Nigeria&#8217;s problem is that despite being Africa&#8217;s biggest oil and gas producer, the country depends almost entirely on imports to cover its gasoline needs.



It then subsidises the cost to consumers, which has created a disparity between the price at the pump and what people pay to fill their tanks in neighbouring countries, such as Benin.



This has led to widespread smuggling, which has in turn driven up the amount of costly gasoline Nigeria imports and wiped out the gains that it should have made from crude exports because it ends up buying far more than it needs.



&#8220;Hundreds of thousands of people (in Benin) organize their survival around this traffic,&#8221; Boris Houenou, a Beninois economist said of the smuggling of Nigerian gasoline.



&#8220;A litre of Nigerian petrol worth $0.45 (per litre) can be passed to Benin for $0.70,&#8221; he added.



Estimates of the amount of gasoline smuggled abroad vary, with some independent researchers putting it at around 15 million litres a day, while NNPC&#8217;s own assessment is 42 million.



Nigerian National Petroleum Co (NNPC) said this month that gasoline smuggling was distorting supplies, adding that it was working to crack down on it.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N30633R&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



The NNPC&#8217;s federal account allocation (FAAC) shows it remitted just over $3 billion from oil and gas sales to Nigeria&#8217;s federal account in 2020, falling to about $1.4 billion in 2021 and dropping to zero in 2022.



Nigerian oil production has fallen to 1-1.2 million bpd from pre-pandemic levels of 1.8 million bpd after decades of under-investment in upstream assets, while pipeline theft is at its highest level in years, at an estimated at 200,000 barrels per day (bpd).&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2WW3WT&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a><a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N30G0SQ&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Gasoline imports, meanwhile, have ballooned to more than double Nigeria&#8217;s estimated needs this year, Reuters calculations based on the FAAC data indicate.



&#8220;We&#8217;ve moved from 30 million litres a day to 90 million during this administration without anything to show that consumption has actually increased,&#8221; said Cheta Nwanze, lead partner at Lagos-based risk consultancy SBM Intelligence.



NNPC recorded gasoline deliveries of 90 million litres a day in March and 83 million in April, Reuters calculations showed. In the same months last year, imports were 64 and 63 million litres respectively, well above national demand.



Nigeria&#8217;s reliance on imported oil products looks set to continue, two industry sources with knowledge of the matter said, with a new refinery near Lagos unlikely to come online until the end of 2023 and a revamp of the 210,000 barrel-per-day Port Harcourt facility expected to take several years.



NNPC and Nigeria&#8217;s finance ministry did not respond to multiple Reuters requests for comment.



&#8216;CURIOUS CASE&#8217;



Although the Nigerian government announced plans to remove the gasoline subsidy last year, it then backtracked in July, citing concerns over potential social unrest.



The World Bank estimates inflationary pressures will tip 7 million more Nigerians into poverty this year, bringing the total to 45% of the population of 200 million.



&#8220;Despite the better-than-expected performance of the services and agriculture sectors and higher oil prices &#8230; Nigeria is experiencing a curious case of lower fiscal revenues,&#8221; Marco Hernandez, World Bank Lead Economist for Nigeria, said in a June development Report.



&#8220;This is limiting the government&#8217;s ability to expand basic services, support the economic recovery, and protect the poor during this difficult time,&#8221; Hernandez added in the report.



Nigeria&#8217;s Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed has repeatedly warned about the high cost of gasoline subsidies, saying the bill could reach $16.2 billion in 2023.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2UI5G7&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a><a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2Z223X&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



And the World Bank estimated that foregone oil revenues would total 5 trillion naira ($12.04 billion) this year due to the subsidy, equivalent to 30% of Nigeria&#8217;s entire budget.



In 2020, NNPC retained 4% of oil and gas sales to cover gasoline subsidies. This rose to 45% last year and in 2022 it has reached 83% of sales.



The increasing fuel subsidy is taking away money from capital expenditure and is a &#8220;major drainer to overall government revenues and fiscal position,&#8221; Nigeria&#8217;s finance ministry said in its latest budget projection in August.



&#8220;The subsidy on Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) supply has had significant adverse impact on government revenues,&#8221; it added.



Nwanze of SBM Intelligence said: &#8220;The subsidy is a complete waste at this point, but it&#8217;s politically explosive.&#8221;



Nigeria holds presidential elections in February against a backdrop of price rises as a result of the Ukraine crisis and post-pandemic supply chain bottlenecks.



As well as the higher cost of gasoline purchases, a more costly swap contract has also come at a bad time.



Until the end of last year, NNPC covered domestic gasoline needs via Direct Sale Direct Purchase (DSDP) contracts.



Now NNPC is also buying ad hoc cargoes and through a Crude Oil Refining and Direct Partnership Agreement (CORDPA), which involves paying higher premiums and a trader waiting longer to receive its crude delivery as payment.



In May, for example, the DSDP premium was around $10 per tonne of gasoline, while the premium paid under a CORDPA was $22, according to NNPC&#8217;s spreadsheets. Rates vary seasonally and for most of the year these levels had been $35 to about $50 a tonne. NNPC paid up $80 and $100 for some ad hoc cargoes.



And although gasoline is subsidised, the amount ordinary Nigerians pay at the pump remains higher than the set price.



In its FAAC reports for 2021 and 2022, NNPC set its subsidised price at 124 naira ($0.30) per litre, but the average pump price is closer to 200 naira per litre across many states.



&#8220;We should be reaping a bumper harvest but alas we are not,&#8221; lamented one Nigerian official.

Africas Richest Man Builds Nigerias $15 Billion Oil Refinery

ANALYSIS- Nigeria squanders oil price bonanza as gasoline subsidies soar￼

By Victoria Waldersee and Emma-Victoria Farr







FRANKFURT, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Porsche AG made its debut on the stock market on Thursday, with a price tag of about 75 billion euros ($72.45 billion) after Volkswagen priced shares at the top end of the range, braving turbulent market conditions.







<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="536" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Porsche-Emblem_Max-Pixel-820x536.jpg" alt="Porsche Logo" class="wp-image-420162" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Porsche-Emblem_Max-Pixel-820x536.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Porsche-Emblem_Max-Pixel-300x196.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Porsche-Emblem_Max-Pixel-138x90.jpg 138w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Porsche-Emblem_Max-Pixel-768x502.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Porsche-Emblem_Max-Pixel.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Porsche </figcaption></figure>



The bumper flotation, expected to generate around 19.5 billion euros ($19.0 billion), comes as instability in European markets has deterred other share sales by carmakers, including in luxury brands.



The sale values Porsche AG close to the market capitalisation of its parent Volkswagen, which is worth around 84 billion euros, and puts it ahead of rivals like Ferrari .



Books closed on Wednesday on what is one of Europe’s biggest IPOs and the second largest in Germany since Deutsche Telekom made its debut in 1996, at the top end of the 76.50-82.50 euro range it announced earlier this month.



Shares opened at 84.00 euros apiece and traded at 82.88 euros by 0733 GMT.



Shares in Porsche SE fell 5.7% in early Frankfurt trade. Shares in Volkswagen were down 4.9% in early Frankfurt trade.



Companies in continental Europe have raised the smallest amount this year since the 2009 global financial crisis at $44 billion, of which only $4.5 billion comes from IPOs, based on Refinitiv data.



Volkswagen has said the market’s volatility was precisely why fund managers with money to invest were sorely in need of a stable and attractive stock like Porsche AG.



“Porsche was and is the pearl in the Volkswagen Group,” Chris-Oliver Schickentanz, chief investment officer at fund manager Capitell, said.



“The IPO has now made it very, very transparent what value the market brings to Porsche. That, of course, also has a positive effect on Volkswagen shareholders.”



Faced with tens of billions of costs for a radical shift towards electric mobility and software, Volkswagen executives had long mulled listing Porsche, a move executives hoped would both raise much-needed funds and lift Volkswagen’s own value.



The Porsche and Piech families, in turn, will solidify their control over the carmaker with 25%, plus one ordinary share – carrying voting rights – in Porsche AG, effectively giving them a blocking minority in the namesake brand.



Up to 113,875,000 preferred shares, carrying no voting rights, will be sold to investors over the course of the initial public offering. ($1 = 1.0352 euros)



(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee and Emma-Victoria Farr; writing by Victoria Waldersee and Matthias Williams; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Richard Pullin and Jane Merriman)

Porsche Emblem Luxury Logo Design Vehicle Auto

PORSCHE DEBUTS WITH $72 BLN PRICE TAG IN BUMPER IPO

KEY POINTS



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Oil prices jumped after EU leaders reached an agreement late Monday to ban 90% of Russian crude by the end of the year.</li><li>The embargo is part of the European Union’s sixth sanctions package on Russia since it invaded Ukraine.</li></ul>



Oil prices jumped after EU leaders reached an agreement late Monday to ban 90% of Russian crude by the end of the year.



During Asia hours on Tuesday,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/@CL.1">U.S. crude futures</a>&nbsp;for July were up 3.53% to $119.12, while&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/@LCO.2">Brent crude futures</a>&nbsp;rose 1.87% to $123.95. At one point, U.S. crude rose to $119.42 per barrel — a 12-week high, according to Refinitiv data.



Contracts for August also traded higher: WTI crude jumped 3.66% to $116.34, and Brent was up nearly 2% to $119.96 per barrel.



The agreement resolves a deadlock after Hungary initially&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/30/eu-to-discuss-watered-down-oil-embargo-on-russia-as-hungary-holds-firm.html">held up talks</a>. Hungary is a major user of Russian oil and its leader, Viktor Orban, has been on friendly terms with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/vladimir-putin/">Russia’s Vladimir Putin</a>.



Charles Michel, president of the European Council, said the move would immediately hit 75% of Russian oil imports.



The embargo is part of the European Union’s sixth sanctions package on&nbsp;Russia&nbsp;since it invaded Ukraine. Talks to impose an oil embargo have been underway since the start of the month.



“The European Council agrees that the sixth package of sanctions against Russia will cover crude oil, as well as petroleum products, delivered from Russia into Member States, with a temporary exception for crude oil delivered by pipeline,” according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2022/05/31/european-council-conclusions-on-ukraine-30-may-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">May 31 statement from</a>&nbsp;the European Council.



The European Council added that in case of “sudden interruptions” of supply, “emergency measures” will be introduced to ensure security of supply.



That temporary exception covers the remaining Russian oil not yet banned, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a press conference.



“We have agreed that the Council will revert to the topic as soon as possible in one way or the other. So this is a topic where we will come back to and where we will still have to work on, but this is a big step forward, what we did today,” she said, referring to the temporary exemption.



Von der Leyen explained that the temporary exemption was granted so that Hungary, along with Slovakia and the Czech Republic — all connected to the southern leg of the pipeline — have access which they cannot easily replace.



Roughly 36% of the EU’s oil imports come from Russia, a country that plays an outsized role in global oil markets.



The ban could exacerbate worries over an already-tight energy market. Energy prices have soared over the past year, contributing to a heated inflationary environment in many countries.



“While pipeline imports were not included in this agreement, an embargo on seaborne oil imports is still significant, accounting for around two thirds of the EU’s oil imports from Russia,” Vivek Dhar, director of mining and energy commodities research at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, wrote in a note following the news.



“A further ban on Russian Crude delivered by shipments will tighten already strained supply amid rising demand due to onset of driving season in [the] United States,” wrote Avtar Sandu, senior manager of commodities at trading platform Philip Nova.



Meanwhile, OPEC+ is expected to stick to its original plan of a modest increase of 432,000 barrels a day for July, Sandu added.

107006470-1643191219978-gettyimages-1237968413-UKRAINE_ODESSA-1

Oil prices jump after EU leaders agree to ban most Russian crude imports

KEY POINTS



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>“China and India are expected to become the world’s largest and third largest economies respectively in the next decade while their consumers will increasingly dictate global tastes and trends,” Bird said.</li><li>Abrdn – which has around $586.35 billion in assets under management as of most recent results – has observed that interest in sustainable investment among local investors is also on the rise.</li><li>Bird urged Asian governments to strengthen the credibility of their net zero commitments, offering investors greater surety in allocating capital to the region.</li></ul>



Indian and Chinese stock market capitalization may grow fourfold by 2050 as Asia turns from “laggard to leader” in the climate transition, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/ABDN-GB" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Abrdn</a>&nbsp;CEO Stephen Bird.



In a letter seen by CNBC marking the 30-year anniversary of the British investment company’s first Asian office opening in Singapore, Bird lauded the economic transformation over the last three decades that has seen more than a billion people lifted out of poverty.



He also noted that the region’s share of the global economy has become eight times larger than it was during the Asia Financial Crisis of 1997.



“Capital markets have also evolved and the region has switched from being mostly a destination for foreign investors to one where local investors dominate its markets,” Bird said.



He added that “the next 30 years looks to be every bit as exciting as the last,” and recommended investors remain calm during periods of volatility, keeping their “eye on the long game.”



Chinese stocks have endured a bruising year as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/26/china-holds-an-unprecedented-massive-videoconference-on-the-economy.html">President Xi Jinping’s “zero-Covid” strategy has stifled economic activity</a>&nbsp;and caused supply chain bottlenecks that have rippled through global markets.



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/GS" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Goldman Sachs</a> analysts recently said they were <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/20/goldman-sachs-picks-chinese-stocks-set-to-benefit-from-covid-reopening.html">“seeing light at the end of the tunnel,”</a> and Bird supported the long-term view that Asian equities can transition from “laggards to leaders,” in terms of both performance and their role in tackling the climate crisis.



“China and India are expected to become the world’s largest and third largest economies respectively in the next decade while their consumers will increasingly dictate global tastes and trends. Capitalization of their equity markets could also increase by a factor of four or more by 2050,” Bird predicted.



“Other countries in the region present exciting opportunities too. Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam have some of the highest potential growth rates in the world, while Japan and South Korea’s aging populations have built up significant savings that need to be put to better work. And, as the region’s most open global financial center, Singapore will be at the heart of all of it.”



However, Bird acknowledged that progress is unlikely to be linear, with the globalization that has driven Asia’s economic growth in danger of fizzling out and climate change posing an “acute challenge” for the region.



“A by-product of Asia’s growth is that it has accounted for the lion’s share of the increase in global carbon emissions over the past three decades. This increased human footprint is also evident in rising air pollution and biodiversity loss,” he said.



While Asia alone cannot solve the climate crisis, its major economies must find ways to decouple their economic growth from fossil fuels, Bird suggested. Most major economies in the region have now adopted net-zero targets, while Asia is also playing a role in developing technological solutions to climate change.



“Whether in the form of solar panels, batteries for electric vehicles or green hydrogen, decarbonisation is dependent on Asian innovation,” Bird said.



Abrdn – which has around £464 billion ($586.35 billion) in assets under management as of most recent results – has observed that interest in sustainable investment among local investors is also on the rise, along with active engagement between asset managers and companies, creating potential opportunities for new forms of “sustainability-linked loans and bonds.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-taking-action">Taking action</h3>



Bird – who took the reins of Abrdn in September 2020 after a 21-year career with Citigroup’s Asian and Latin American operations – urged Asian governments to strengthen the credibility of their net zero commitments, offering investors greater surety in allocating capital to the region.



“More countries should follow China’s lead and establish carbon pricing which would bring certainty and encourage investment in low-carbon technologies and infrastructure. The revenue generated could be recycled into ensuring that the zero-carbon transition is a just one,” he said.



“We would also encourage the greater use of dedicated climate-related instruments such as green bonds; this would help align the interests of capital markets participants while the increased issuance would also encourage portfolio diversification.”



The continent’s political, trade and economic forums should be an opportunity to harmonize climate and sustainability standards, Bird said, suggesting a continent-wide common framework could strengthen financial flows into Asia.



“This century is Asia’s century. It must also be the century in which economic objectives are reconciled with sustainability goals,” Bird concluded. “The financial industry can and must play a pivotal role in converging these two priorities, guiding investment to support both outcomes.”

Stock market exchange graph price drop with red numbers investment lose of business financial digital background – Candle stick charts stock crash crisis fall risk decreasing arrow down trend sell

Indian and Chinese stock markets could grow fourfold by 2050, Abrdn CEO says

May 31 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South African miner Gold Fields Ltd&nbsp;GFIJ.J&nbsp;on Tuesday agreed to buy Canada-based precious metals miner Yamana Gold Inc&nbsp;YRI.TO&nbsp;in an all-share deal, valuing the Toronto-listed company at $6.7 billion.



Gold Fields said its shareholders will own about 61% of the combined group, while Yamana Gold shareholders will own around 39% after the deal completes.



The South African miner said Yamana&#8217;s board has unanimously approved the deal and also recommended its shareholders to vote in favour of the offer.



The offer consists of new shares or newly issued American Depositary Shares in Gold Fields at a fixed exchange ratio of 0.6 of a Gold Fields share for each Yamana share outstanding.



Shares of Yamana will be delisted from the stock markets, while Gold Fields will continue trading in Johannesburg, where the combined group will have their headquarters.



(Reporting by Amna Karimi and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Uttaresh.V and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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S.Africa’s Gold Fields to buy Yamana Gold in $6.7 bln deal

By MacDonald Dzirutwe and Abraham Achirga



ABUJA, May 28 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria&#8217;s former vice president, veteran politician Atiku Abubakar, will run for president again next year after the main opposition party picked him as its candidate to stand in elections to succeed incumbent Muhammadu Buhari.



Abubakar, 75, lost to Buhari during the last election in 2019, which he claimed was rigged. But Buhari will not be on the ballot next year when the second of his two four-year terms comes to an end.



The People&#8217;s Democratic Party (PDP) party, which ruled Nigeria after military rule ended in 1999, was ousted from power by Buhari&#8217;s All Progressives Congress (APC) party in 2015. The PDP is vying for a return to governing Africa&#8217;s biggest economy.



Vote counting started late on Saturday and Abubakar garnered 371 votes, defeating his nearest rival, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, governor of oil-producing Rivers state, who received 237 votes.



In his acceptance speech, Abubakar reiterated his campaign promise to end insecurity in the country and revive its fragile economy, among other pledges, and promised to work with his opponents.



&#8220;I therefore pledge that I will restore unity. I also committed that I was going to deal decisively with the security situation in this country,&#8221; said Abubakar.



Abubakar has stood in six primaries, and next year&#8217;s vote will be his third presidential bid.



From 1999 to 2007, he was vice president to Olusegun Obasanjo, the first Nigerian leader after the end of decades of military rule.



Abubakar&#8217;s main opponent will be from the ruling APC party, which will choose its candidate at a special convention to be held from June 6-8. The APC postponed its presidential primary from Sunday after the electoral commission extended the deadline for political parties to choose their candidates.



Twenty-five candidates from the APC have registered to take part in the primaries. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and former Lagos state Governor and party heavyweight Bola Tinubu are seen as the ruling party&#8217;s front-runners.



Buhari&#8217;s successor faces several challenges, from insecurity marked by kidnappings for ransom in the northwest, an Islamist insurgency in the northeast, secessionist violence in the southeast, and a struggling economy and high inflation.



(Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Sandra Maler and Jonathan Oatis)

Nigeria’s opposition picks Abubakar to run for president again￼

<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Prices of fuel, transport and drugs on the increase</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Aid groups forced to cancel or review projects</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Cost of peanut paste for malnourished kids also rises</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Some countries diverting aid money to Ukraine crisis</li></ul>



By Edward McAllister



DAKAR, May 30 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;A small charity broke ground this year on a clinic in northern Burkina Faso to care for thousands of women and children who have fled Islamist insurgents wreaking havoc along the fringes of the Sahara.



But when Russia invaded Ukraine in February, global supply chains buckled and the cost of building materials, fuel and food spiked in West Africa. The charity&#8217;s founder, Boukary Ouedraogo, was forced to make a tough decision: he halted construction of the clinic with only the foundations laid.



Similar calls are being made across sub-Saharan Africa, where aid projects are threatened by the fallout from the war in Ukraine, potentially putting millions of lives at risk.



Humanitarian agencies already struggling with widespread price increases under the pandemic say the crisis in Europe has made things worse. Even the cost of life-saving therapeutic foods for malnourished children has spiked.



Compounding the problem, some donors have diverted state aid from Africa&#8217;s worst-hit countries to help support more than six million refugees who have fled the fighting in Ukraine.



Denmark said in March it was halving its aid to Burkina Faso this year to accommodate Ukrainian refugees. Its budget for Burkina&#8217;s neighbour Mali, also in the grips of an Islamist insurgency, has dropped 40%.



Sweden has also said it plans to divert $1 billion from its aid budget to help cover the cost of hosting Ukrainian refugees.



Ouedraogo&#8217;s clinic was desperately needed in Kaya, a town of dirt streets and squat brick buildings surrounded by arid scrubland. Its population has swelled in recent years as thousands of people from surrounding villages flee militant attacks, straining the already basic health care system.



&#8220;What happened in Ukraine happened at the same time as the crisis in this country got worse,&#8221; said Ouedraogo, who runs the BO Foundation in Burkina Faso.



&#8220;We hope all the donors can keep their attention,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We felt what we were doing was going to reduce the number of deaths and infant mortality.&#8221;



EMERGENCY LEVELS



It&#8217;s a similar story in Sudan. In a southern area faced with conflict and food shortages, a paediatric clinic run by Senegal-based medical charity Alima faces a $300,000 funding gap due to an increase in costs, including fuel for the clinic&#8217;s generator.



At this rate, Alima will have to shut the programme down, said its director of operations, Kader Issaley.



Action Against Hunger, a charity with operations across Africa, has seen the cost of foodstuffs such as rice, oil and sugar rise 20% to 30% over the past year.



This will reduce its coverage by the same amount, said Mamadou Diop, a representative from its West Africa office.



&#8220;We have to totally rethink our approach,&#8221; said Diop. &#8220;We must decide, do we reduce supply or reduce the number of beneficiaries?&#8221;



The problem is not limited to Africa. The U.N.&#8217;s World Food Programme (WFP) feeds 13 million people a month in Yemen, where the economy has been wrecked by years of war, but it has reduced rations for 8 million of them since January.



It may have to make further cuts, after raising only a quarter of the $2 billion it needs for Yemen this year from international donors.



&#8220;We&#8217;re taking food from the poor and feeding the hungry,&#8221; said WFP representative to Yemen, Richard Ragan.



&#8220;In June we will have to make some tough decisions about possibly even going down to just feeding five million, those who are really most at risk,&#8221; he said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2XE07I&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



UNIQUE IN SCOPE



Still, Africa&#8217;s problems are unique in scope.



Conflict in Ethiopia, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo and the Sahel region have forced millions to flee their homes. Nearly half a billion people live in extreme poverty, according to the World Bank.



West Africa alone faces an unprecedented food shortage that threatens nearly 40 million people, driven in part by drought and the impact of the war in Ukraine on food prices and supply.



The impact of higher costs on aid organisations varies, health specialists say.



Smaller non-profits reliant on institutional donors such as governments for yearly budgets may struggle more than a larger charity such as Medecins Sans Frontieres, which raises money through public campaigns.



MSF said it did not foresee cutting back its operations due to the war in Ukraine.



But few are immune. A drop in funding that preceded the Ukraine war has forced WFP to cut rations in seven countries in West and Central Africa.



In Nigeria, the continent&#8217;s most populous country, the number of people receiving emergency assistance from WFP has dropped from 1.9 million in September to 650,000.



Like Burkina Faso and Mali, northern Nigeria is also wracked by a prolonged Islamist insurgency.



Health specialists and aid workers said it was too early to assess exactly what the impact on communities will be and it could take months to see how much damage the cutbacks cause.



&#8220;Further funding shortfalls will contribute to worsening food security and nutrition in locations where food insecurity is already at emergency levels,&#8221; said WFP spokesman for Western Africa, Djaounsede Madjiangar.



PLUMPY&#8217;NUT SPIKE



In Somalia, one-year-old Hassan howled in a blue plastic bucket suspended from a scale as a medical technician noted his weight: 5.6 kg.



It was an improvement. Hassan weighed only 5.2 kg when he first began receiving treatment for severe acute malnutrition at a clinic run by aid workers in the south of the country three months ago &#8211; about half what a boy his age should weigh.



His partial recovery is thanks to a sweet peanut paste called Plumpy&#8217;Nut developed by French scientists in the 1990s that has become a crucial weapon in the fight against child malnutrition.



Three small sachets a day for six weeks can be enough to bring a starving child back to full health, according to U.N. children&#8217;s charity UNICEF.



&#8220;He used to be much worse,&#8221; said the boy&#8217;s mother, Hasan Habiba Mohammed Nur, patting his bony legs under an oversized T-shirt. &#8220;The Plumpy&#8217;Nut has really helped him.&#8221;



UNICEF says it spends $137 million a year on therapeutic food and the overall market is estimated to be worth up to $400 million.



But aid agencies say it is becoming too expensive.



Over the past year, the cost of Plumpy&#8217;Nut has risen 23%, including a 9% increase imposed since the Ukraine crisis began, Plumpy&#8217;Nut&#8217;s main producer Nutriset, told Reuters.



In a letter to customers in March warning of impending price increases, it said the cost of ingredients such as palm oil, milk powder and whey, and packaging including laminate for the sachets, had risen sharply. Shipping expenses have also rocketed. In all, costs are up 39%, Nutriset said.



&#8220;The war in Ukraine is indirectly impacting the price of raw materials, and prices will continue to increase even more in the weeks and months to come,&#8221; Nutriset said.



The increases worry UNICEF. It predicts that prices of therapeutic foods will rise 16% in the next six months because of Ukraine and pandemic disruptions. Without further funding, 600,000 more children may miss out on treatment, it said in May.



The effects are already being felt, aid workers say.



Alima&#8217;s budget to buy and ship a batch of Plumpy&#8217;Nut to a project in an impoverished area in the southeast of Democratic Republic of Congo is about 175,000 euros ($188,000).



But with a rise in fuel costs and the price of Plumpy&#8217;Nut, the shipment now costs 230,000 euros, said Hassan Bouziane, who runs logistics at Alima.



He now has to go to donors to get more cash, taking up valuable time.



&#8220;The impact on the beneficiaries will be huge,&#8221; said Bouziane. &#8220;The treatment for a child of five years old is six weeks. When you lose two weeks, that is a third of their treatment.&#8221;



($1 = 0.9333 euros)



(Reporting by Edward McAllister in Dakar and Katharine Houreld in Dollow, Somalia; Editing by Mike Collett-White and David Clarke)

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Ukraine war hits Africa’s most vulnerable as aid costs spike

KINSHASA, May 28 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Democratic Republic of Congo has summoned Rwanda&#8217;s ambassador and suspended RwandAir flights to Congo in response to what it says is Kigali&#8217;s support for M23 rebels carrying out a military offensive in its eastern borderlands.



Rwanda denies supporting the rebels, who advanced as close as 20 km (12 miles) this week to eastern Congo&#8217;s main city of Goma and briefly captured the army&#8217;s largest base in the area.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2XJ0HI&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Congo and U.N. investigators had also accused Kigali of supporting the M23 during a 2012-2013 insurrection that took Goma before being forced back and chased into Uganda and Rwanda. Kigali denied doing so.



Congo&#8217;s government spokesman Patrick Muyaya announced the suspension of flights from Rwanda&#8217;s national carrier and the summoning of the ambassador late Friday night following a meeting of the national defence council.



He said the government had designated the M23 a terrorist group and would exclude it from negotiations being held in Kenya with militia groups active in eastern Congo.



&#8220;A warning was made to the Rwandans, whose attitude is likely to disrupt the peace process &#8230; where all the armed groups, except for the M23, are committed to the path to peace,&#8221; Muyaya said.



Rwanda&#8217;s government was not immediately available for comment on Saturday.



On its website, Rwanda&#8217;s army requested the release of two Rwandan soldiers it said were &#8220;kidnapped&#8221; along its border with Congo.



An image circulating on social media of two men in Rwandan military uniforms surrounded by Congolese soldiers has been cited by Congolese users as evidence of the Rwandan army&#8217;s presence inside Congo.



Congo&#8217;s government has not commented on the photo, but Muyaya presented video footage during his remarks showing munitions and a military uniform that he said belonged to Rwandan forces and were recovered by the Congolese army.



The M23 and Rwanda&#8217;s government have, in turn, accused Congo&#8217;s army of collaborating with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a militia founded by ethnic Hutus who fled Rwanda after participating in the 1994 genocide. Congo denies this.



Rwanda invaded Congo in 1996 to pursue the militiamen. Eastern Congo has experienced near constant conflict since then due to foreign invasions and insurgencies by rebel groups.



(Reporting by Stanis Bujakera and Fiston Mahamba; Additional reporting by Clement Uwiringiyimana in Kigali; Writing by Aaron Ross, Editing by Ros Russell)

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Congo suspends flights from Rwanda over Kigali’s alleged support for rebels

ISTANBUL/BRUSSELS, May 27 (Reuters) &#8211; Russian businessman Andrey Melnichenko ceded control of two of the world&#8217;s largest coal and fertilizers companies to his wife the day before he was sanctioned by the European Union, according to three people familiar with the matter.



Melnichenko, who made his fortune in Russia&#8217;s energy industry in the years following the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, gave up his stakes in the coal producer SUEK AO and fertilizer group EuroChem Group AG on March 8, the day of his 50th birthday, leaving his wife, Aleksandra Melnichenko, in control of the companies, the people said.



Until March 8, Melnichenko controlled the two companies through a chain of trusts and corporations stretching from Moscow and the Swiss town of Zug to Cyprus and Bermuda, according to legal filings reviewed by Reuters.



Since 2006, Melnichenko&#8217;s wife was second in line behind her husband on the list of beneficial owners of the two companies in trust documents, according to the three people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren&#8217;t allowed to speak publicly about the couple&#8217;s assets. That meant that she stood to inherit ownership of the companies in the event her husband died, the people said.



When the war in Ukraine began in February, however, Melnichenko grew concerned that he would be designated under the European Union&#8217;s Russia sanctions regime, the people familiar with the matter said. On March 8, Melnichenko notified trustees of his retirement as the beneficiary, the people said. That triggered the same chain of changes in trust records that would have happened if the businessman had passed away, and made his wife the beneficiary.



Reuters was unable to reach Melnichenko and his wife for comment.



A spokesman for Russia-based SUEK didn&#8217;t respond to messages seeking comment. Switzerland-based EuroChem confirmed that Aleksandra Melnichenko had replaced her husband as beneficial owner.



&#8220;Following the departure of its founder, the primary beneficial ownership of a trust holding a 90% stake in the global fertilizer company has automatically passed to his wife,&#8221; the company said in a statement to Reuters on Wednesday.



The role of Melnichenko&#8217;s wife at EuroChem was first reported by Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger. Her role at SUEK as well as the timing of ownership changes and other details are reported here for the first time.



Melnichenko, who founded SUEK and EuroChem two decades ago, was ranked as Russia&#8217;s eighth richest man last year by Forbes, with an estimated fortune of $18 billion.



The European Union sanctioned Melnichenko, citing his alleged proximity to the Kremlin, on March 9 as part of a Western attempt to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions &#8211; which include freezing his assets, banning him from entering the European Union and prohibiting EU entities from providing funds to him &#8211; do not apply to his wife nor the couple’s daughter and son.



Britain also put Melnichenko, who is Russian but was born in Belarus and has a Ukrainian mother, on its sanction list on March 15. Switzerland imposed sanctions against him the following day.



The businessman said in a statement to Reuters in March, after the EU sanctions were imposed, that the war in Ukraine was &#8220;truly tragic&#8221; and he appealed for peace. A spokesman for Melnichenko said at that time he had &#8220;no political affiliations&#8221;.



Western governments have imposed sweeping sanctions against Russian companies and individuals in an effort to force Moscow to withdraw.



But some sanctioned Russian businessmen, including Roman Abramovich and Vladimir Yevtushenkov, have transferred assets to friends and family members, fuelling doubts over the effectiveness of these attempts to pressure Moscow.



Melnichenko, whose residence was registered in the Swiss alpine resort town of St. Moritz until he was hit by sanctions, gave his instructions to change the ownership of his companies from a retreat near Mount Kilimanjaro where he was celebrating his birthday, according to a person familiar with the matter. A Boeing 737 emblazoned with the billionaire’s signature &#8220;A&#8221; on the fuselage had landed in Tanzania on March 5, arriving from Dubai, according to flight-tracking service Flightradar24.



A lawyer for Melnichenko didn&#8217;t respond to questions about the Kilimanjaro trip.



Melnichenko&#8217;s transfer of ownership at SUEK and EuroChem had far-reaching implications.



After reviews lasting several weeks, Swiss financial authorities concluded that the two companies could continue operating normally on the grounds that Melnichenko was no longer involved with them. SUEK and EuroChem said that British and German financial regulators have reached similar conclusions.



The British and German regulators didn&#8217;t respond to requests seeking comment.



Upon completion of the reviews in late April, SUEK and EuroChem &#8211; which had revenues last year of $9.7 billion and $10.2 billion respectively &#8211; were able to resume distribution of millions of dollars in interest payments to bondholders.



In recent weeks, SUEK and EuroChem have also approached Western clients, showing them documents with the new ownership structure in a bid to reassure them that they can continue doing business with Mr. Melnichenko&#8217;s former companies, two people familiar with the matter said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-no-more-payments">NO MORE PAYMENTS</h2>



In Switzerland, the Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said neither SUEK nor EuroChem were under sanctions in the country.



SECO said that, as far as it was aware, Melnichenko was no longer a beneficiary of the trust to which EuroChem belonged at the time of his sanction by the EU and Switzerland.



SECO also said it sought confirmation from Eurochem that it would no longer provide funds to Melnichenko.



&#8220;The company and its management have guaranteed in writing to SECO that the Swiss sanction measures will be fully complied with and in particular that no funds or economic resources will be made available to sanctioned persons,&#8221; SECO said in response to a query.



Swiss authorities have defended their decision not to extend sanctions to Melnichenko&#8217;s wife or to his former companies, pointing to the fact that EU authorities had not sanctioned them either.



&#8220;In this case, we have done exactly what the EU has done,&#8221; Switzerland’s Economy Minister Guy Parmelin told Swiss television on Wednesday.



Parmelin added that Switzerland was also wary that sanctioning EuroChem at a time when fertilizer prices have soared in most parts of the world could have dire consequences on agriculture markets. EuroChem said it produced more than 19 million metric tons of fertilizer last year &#8211; roughly equivalent to 10% of the world&#8217;s output, according to U.N. data.



The European Commission, the EU&#8217;s executive arm, said it had no information about the transfer of Melnichenko&#8217;s assets to his wife. The commission has said it is willing to close loopholes allowing individuals and companies to elude its sanctions. Earlier this week, it unveiled proposals aimed at criminalising moves to bypass sanctions, including by transferring assets to family members, across the 27-nation bloc.



A mathematician who once dreamt of becoming a physicist, Melnichenko dropped out of university to dive into the chaotic &#8211; and sometimes deadly &#8211; world of post-Soviet business.



He founded MDM Bank but in the 1990s was still too minor to take part in the privatizations under President Boris Yeltsin that handed the choicest assets of a former superpower to a group of businessmen who would become known as the oligarchs due to their political and economic clout.



Melnichenko then began buying up often distressed coal and fertilizer assets, making him one of Europe&#8217;s richest men.



The EU said, when it announced its sanctions, that Melnichenko &#8220;belongs to the most influential circle of Russian business people with close connections to the Russian government&#8221;.



Melnichenko was among dozens of business leaders who met with Putin on the day Russia invaded Ukraine to discuss the impact of sanctions, showing his close ties to the Kremlin, the EU said in its March 9 sanction order.



At the time, a spokesman for Melnichenko denied that the businessman belonged to Putin&#8217;s inner circle and said he would dispute the sanctions in court. On May 17, Melnichenko challenged the sanctions by lodging an appeal with the EU’s General Court, which handles complaints against European institutions, court records show.



Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a &#8220;special operation&#8221; to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists. Ukraine and the West say the fascist allegation is baseless and that the war is an unprovoked act of aggression.



Italy seized Melnichenko&#8217;s superyacht &#8211; the 470-foot Sailing Yacht A, which has a price tag of 530 million euros &#8211; on March 12, three days after he was placed on an EU sanctions list.



SUEK and EuroChem said on March 10, a day after the EU announced sanctions against Melnichenko and 159 other individuals tied to Russia, that their founder had resigned from his board positions at the companies.



Reporting by David Gauthier-Villars and Gabriela Baczynska; Additional reporting by Chris Kirkham in Los Angeles, Andrew MacAskill in London, Michael Shields and Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi in Zurich Editing by Daniel Flynn

Melnichenko

Russian billionaire Melnichenko shielded assets from European sanctions

WASHINGTON (Reuters) &#8211; World Bank President David Malpass on Wednesday suggested that Russia’s war in Ukraine and its impact on food and energy prices, as well as the availability of fertilizer, could trigger a global&nbsp;recession.



Malpass told an event hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that Germany‘s economy, the world’s fourth-largest, has already slowed substantially&nbsp;due to higher energy prices, and said&nbsp;reduced production of&nbsp;fertilizer could worsen conditions elsewhere. 



“As we look at the global GDP … it’s hard right now to see how we avoid a&nbsp;recession,” Malpass said.&nbsp;He gave no specific forecast.



He said the economies of Ukraine and Russia were both expected to see a significant contraction, while Europe, China and the United States were seeing slower growth.



Developing countries were being hit even harder given shortfalls of fertilizer and food stocks and energy supplies, he said.



“The idea of energy prices doubling is enough to trigger a&nbsp;recession&nbsp;by itself,” he said.



In China, he said the relatively sharp slowdown in growth was based on the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and the pre-existing real estate crisis the country had been facing.



The World Bank last month had already cut its global growth forecast for 2022 by nearly a full percentage point, to 3.2% from 4.1%, due to the impacts from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.



Malpass gave no details on when a global&nbsp;recession&nbsp;could begin.

istockphoto-1250489640-640×640

World Bank’s Malpass says war in Ukraine may trigger global recession￼

JOHANNESBURG, May 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Africa risks sliding into stagflation &#8211; a cycle of slow growth and high inflation &#8211; as it battles the lingering effects of the pandemic and rising fuel and food prices caused by the Ukraine conflict, the African Development Bank (AfDB) said on Wednesday.



Despite experiencing relatively low death rates compared to more developed regions, Africa was dealt a heavy economic blow by the COVID-19 pandemic.



While 2021 saw a continent-wide rebound, with gross domestic product (GDP) growth estimated at 6.9% after a pandemic-induced contraction of 1.6% the previous year, the Bank projects real GDP growth to slow to 4.1% this year.



&#8220;The deceleration in growth highlights the severity of the impact of the Russia–Ukraine conflict on Africa&#8217;s economy,&#8221; the AfDB wrote in its 2022 African Economic Outlook.



&#8220;If the conflict persists, Africa&#8217;s growth is likely to stagnate at around 4 percent in 2023.&#8221;



Inflation is meanwhile expected to accelerate to 13.5% this year, from 13% in 2021, due to a sharp rise in energy and food prices linked to the war in Ukraine.



The AfDB estimates around 30 million Africans were pushed into extreme poverty and 22 million lost their jobs last year alone as a result of the pandemic.



Vulnerable populations, particularly in urban areas, will bear the brunt of rising prices, the report said, adding that economic disruptions stemming from the war could tip nearly 4 million more into extreme poverty this year and next.



&#8220;In the absence of measures to cushion the impact, this could stoke social tension across the continent,&#8221; the report stated. &#8220;But in many African countries, fiscal space remains constrained by the effects of the pandemic.&#8221;



The AfDB forecasts Africa&#8217;s debt-to-GDP ratio to stabilise at around 70%, down slightly from 71.4% in 2020, due to last year&#8217;s growth recovery and debt relief measures, but will remain above pre-pandemic levels.



(Reporting by Joe Bavier, Editing by Louise Heavens)

AFDB_Logo

Africa risks stagflation due to pandemic, Ukraine war – AfDB￼

ABUJA, May 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The bid-ask spreads on Nigerian bond yields widened up to 15 basis points on average on Wednesday from 5 basis points before a surprise central bank rate hike a day earlier.



The benchmark 2042 bond bid-ask spread widened as much as 35 basis points, as yields also rose, traders said.



The central bank raised benchmark interest rate by 150 basis points to 13% on Tuesday, its first hike in more than two years, to combat rising inflation, sending markets tumbling.<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2XG3P9&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Traders said the central bank sold the one-year Treasury bill at 6.49% after investors demanded the debt at a rate as high as 10.25%. This compares with a yield of 4.75% the one-year maturity fetched at a previous auction.



The main share index&nbsp;.NGSEINDEX&nbsp;gained 1.24% on Wednesday, recovering from a two-week low triggered by the rate decision. The index has been rising this year as local investors pile into equities in the wake of double-digit inflation.



(Reporting by Chijioke OhuochaEditing by James Macharia Chege and Sam Holmes)

Nigerian bond spreads widen after surprise rate hike

DAKAR, May 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Senegal&#8217;s president and African Union chairman Macky Sall said on Wednesday that when he visits Russia and Ukraine in the coming weeks he will push them to unblock exports of grains and fertilizer to avoid widespread famine.



Africa is suffering from disruptions in food supply and soaring prices of basic goods and risks &#8220;disastrous consequences&#8221; if the situation endures, Sall said during a conversation with philanthropist Mo Ibrahim at the Ibrahim Governance Forum.



Nearly half of Africa&#8217;s 54 countries rely on Russia and Ukraine for wheat imports, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Russia is also a major supplier of fertilizer to at least 11 countries.<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2WV5UH&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



&#8220;We have pleaded for a ceasefire, for an end to the war and for the release of all food products &#8230; so that the world doesn&#8217;t know a famine after two years of COVID and almost three months of war,&#8221; said Sall. Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.



&#8220;There are multiple initiatives to call on countries that have (grain) stocks to liberate them &#8230; and to ensure that Russia can authorize the export of cereals from Ukraine and can also export itself. This is the African position,&#8221; he said.



Parts of Africa are already facing record hunger levels, driven by insecurity, climate shocks and the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.L5N2W23Z3



If food supply blockages were to continue and there was a famine, Sall said: &#8220;The world would not be able to contain the consequences because it would be massive on immigration. It would be dramatic for African countries.&#8221;



Sall said on Sunday he would visit Moscow and Kyiv in his capacity as chairman of the African Union, which wants peace in Ukraine through dialogue between the two sides.<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2XE0BP&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Reporting by Bate Felix; Writing by Nellie Peyton; editing by Grant McCool)

grains

African Union head to push Russia, Ukraine to unblock grain exports￼

Glencore agrees settlements in U.S., Brazil



Glencore Energy (UK) charged with bribery over oil operations



U.S. prosecutor calls bribery scheme &#8220;staggering&#8221;



Updates with details from U.S. settlement with Glencore, adds comments from prosecutors in Brazil



By Clara Denina, Kirstin Ridley and Sarah N. Lynch



LONDON/WASHINGTON May 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Glencore Plc&nbsp;GLEN.L&nbsp;said on Tuesday it anticipates paying up to $1.5 billion to settle accusations of bribery and market manipulation, as authorities in the United States, Britain and Brazil announced that three of the company&#8217;s subsidiaries were pleading guilty to crimes.



The miner and commodity trading giant agreed to pay more than $1 billion in the United States and Brazil, with Glencore representatives also appearing in courts in the United States and Britain on Tuesday.



U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said a $1.1 billion accord with the U.S. will resolve both a decade-long scheme to bribe foreign officials across seven countries and separate criminal and civil charges alleging one of the company&#8217;s trading arms manipulated fuel oil prices at two of the largest U.S. shipping ports.



&#8220;This represents the Justice Department&#8217;s largest criminal enforcement action to date for a commodity price manipulation conspiracy in oil markets,&#8221; Garland said at a press conference.



&#8220;We will continue to investigate, disrupt and hold accountable corporations that break our laws.&#8221;



The company said it expects a final global settlement, including a future fine in Britain, not to exceed the $1.5 billion it set aside in its reserves in February to resolve the probes relating to operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Venezuela.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N2UQ1V7&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



&#8220;Glencore has resolved the previously disclosed investigations by authorities in the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil into past activities in certain Group businesses related to bribery,&#8221; it said in a statement.



Any final resolution would wrap up a multi-year U.S. and British investigation that has dogged the Swiss-based multinational, which still faces corruption and bribery investigations by other countries including Swiss and Dutch authorities.



In Brazil on Tuesday, prosecutors said Glencore will pay $29.6 million directly to state-run oil company Petrobras&nbsp;PETR4.SA&nbsp;in compensation for defrauding the company and roughly $10 million to authorities in civil penalties.



The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which opened a corruption investigation in 2019 code-named Operation Azoth, said on Tuesday it had exposed &#8220;profit-driven bribery and corruption&#8221; across oil operations in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and South Sudan.



Glencore Energy (UK) Ltd, which said Tuesday it would plead guilty to all the charges at a hearing at London&#8217;s Westminster Magistrates&#8217; Court, will be sentenced on June 21.



The SFO alleged that Glencore agents and employees paid bribes worth over $25 million for preferential access to oil, with approval by the company.



Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, called the bribery scheme &#8220;staggering.&#8221;



&#8220;Glencore paid bribes to secure oil contracts. Glencore paid bribes to avoid government audits. Glencore paid bribes to judges to make lawsuits disappear,&#8221; he said.



As part of the resolution with the United States, Glencore is also required to hire two separate independent compliance monitors.



In March 2021, former Glencore oil trader Emilio Jose Heredia Collado pleaded guilty in San Francisco, California, to manipulating a key oil price benchmark, while former Glencore trader Anthony Stimler pleaded guilty in New York in July 2021 over his role in a scheme to bribe Nigerian officials.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2LN22R&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a><a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2P22GL&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



However, none of the company&#8217;s top executives have faced charges to date. U.S. Justice Department officials told reporters on Tuesday their investigations remain ongoing.



Spotlight on Corruption, a public interest group, welcomed the charges on Tuesday, but said it was &#8220;essential that those responsible for the wrongdoing, including senior executives and the parent company, are held to account.&#8221;



(Reporting by Kirstin Ridley and Clara Denina in London and Sarah N. Lynch in Washington. Additional reporting by Tyler Clifford in Washington, Jonathan Stempel in New York, Gram Slattery in Rio de Janeiro and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel, Paul Simao, David Gregorio and Richard Pullin)



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File: Glencore Plunges After U.S. Subpoena Regarding Money Laundering

Glencore prepares to pay up to $1.5 bln to settle U.S., UK, Brazil probes

GENEVA, May 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The World Health Organization&#8217;s (WHO) members re-elected Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as Director General by a strong majority for another five years, the president of the World Health Assembly said on Tuesday.



The vote by secret ballot, announced by Ahmed Robleh Abdilleh from Djibouti at a major annual meeting, was seen as a formality since Tedros was the only candidate running.



Ministers and delegates took turns to shake hands and hug Tedros, a former health minister from Ethiopia, who has steered the UN agency through a turbulent period dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The president had to use a gavel several times to interrupt the applause.



Addressing the assembly soon after his re-election, Tedros said the WHO&#8217;s focus will be on emergency preparedness and improvement of the agency.



&#8220;This pandemic has been very unprecedented and many lessons that we should learn and we are learning. But, at the same time we cannot just pause, learn and implement&#8230;instead of pausing to learn, we&#8217;re saying while learning let&#8217;s implement.&#8221;



The newly re-elected WHO head teared up while talking about the current Ukraine crisis and the death of his younger brother from a childhood disease amidst war and poverty decades ago.



&#8220;When I visited Ukraine when I saw especially the kids..It was the image from more than 50 years ago that came to my mind, so visible, so hounding. The smell, sound and image of war. That is what I don&#8217;t want to happen to anyone.&#8221;



Several countries including Germany and the United States were quick to offer their congratulations.



German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach tweeted that Tedros got 155 of 160 votes, calling it a spectacular result. &#8220;Congratulations, fully deserved.&#8221;



Germany recently overtook the United States as the UN health agency&#8217;s top donor.



However, Tedros’ second-term candidacy did not receive the support of his native Ethiopia due to friction over the Tigray conflict. Ethiopia&#8217;s envoy to the assembly made it clear that Botswana&#8217;s statement congratulating Tedros did not represent all 47 countries of the African group.



&#8220;The established working method of the African group is to work by consensus. I would like to point out that there was no consensus. Hence, the distinguished representative of Botswana cannot deliver the statement on behalf of the African group.&#8221;



(Reporting by Jennifer Rigby, Emma Farge and Mrinalika Roy; Additional reporting by Paul Carrel; Editing by Catherine Evans)VIEW LESS

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