MINING
Newcrest ups Ecuador stake
Australia’s largest gold producer, Newcrest Mining Ltd, is to invest US$250 million for a stake in Lundin Gold Inc to boost its presence in Ecuador, which is attracting a slate of mining giants hunting for major untapped metals deposits. Newcrest would take 27.1 percent of Vancouver-based Lundin Gold, which expects to bring the Fruta del Norte gold and silver mine in southeastern Ecuador into production by the end of next year. The companies will explore eight other concessions to the north and south of the project under the deal, and Newcrest can earn up to a 50 percent interest in that joint venture by spending US$20 million over five years, the Melbourne-based producer said in a statement yesterday. The world’s biggest miner BHP Billiton Ltd and billionaire Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting Pty are among firms that have raced into Ecuador seeking major copper and gold deposits. Latin America saw the largest rise in exploration spending last year, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
OIL
Inpex wins Abu Dhabi stake
Japan’s Inpex Corp won development rights for a 10 percent stake in Abu Dhabi’s Lower Zakum offshore oil field for US$600 million. The contract is for 40 years and starts on March 9, Inpex said yesterday in a statement. The Japanese producer was also awarded a US$250 million, 25-year extension of the Satah and Umm Al Dalkh concession and through that agreement has been awarded an additional 28 percent interest in the Umm Al Dalkh Oil Field, according to statements from Inpex and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. The deal is the third in as many weeks for the government of the largest sheikhdom in the United Arab Emirates. Spanish refiner Cia Espanola de Petroleos SA paid US$1.5 billion for a 20 percent stake in the Sateh Al Razboot and Umm Lulu fields in a deal announced on Feb. 18, and a group of Indian companies paid US$600 million for rights to 10 percent of the Lower Zakum field on Feb. 10.
SAUDI ARABIA
Inflation up 3 percent
Inflation rates soared last month, after the government introduced a string of price hikes to boost non-oil revenues, authorities said on Sunday. Rates rose 3 percent compared to the same period the previous year, the General Statistics Authority said in a report on its Web site. The jump was even more stark in December last year, having jumped 3.9 percent since the previous year. Inflation rates remained in negative territory for almost all of last year, as the economy contracted due to persistent low oil prices, but Riyadh has been steadily imposing new fees and taxes in a quest for new sources of revenue. Over the past 12 months, transport costs have gone up 10.5 percent, while food and beverages surged 6.7 percent, the report said.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Anarchists protest Novartis
Greek self-proclaimed anarchists on Sunday threw paint and smashed windows at the entrance of the Athens headquarters of Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG, police said. About 30 people were involved in the attack at 5:15am, a police official said. In a statement published online, the Rouvikonas group said the attack was linked to a probe into allegations of bribery by the drugmaker to doctors and public officials. Greek parliament on Thursday last week voted to probe the role of 10 politicians in the case. Prosecutors are already investigating the role of non-politicians. The company was not immediately available for comment on Sunday’s incident.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
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