ENERGY
Bahrain makes largest oil find
Bahrain, the smallest energy producer in the Persian Gulf, discovered its biggest oil field since it started producing crude in 1932, according to the country’s official news agency. The shale oil and natural gas discovered in a deposit off the island state’s west coast “is understood to dwarf Bahrain’s current reserves,” the Bahrain News Agency reported, without giving figures. The country currently pumps about 45,000 barrels of oil a day from its Bahrain Field, and it shares income from a deposit with Saudi Arabia that produces about 300,000 barrels a day, US Energy Information Administration figures showed. Bahrain discovered the offshore Khaleej al-Bahrain Basin as it seeks to expand output capacity at its wholly owned Bahrain Field to 100,000 barrels a day by the end of the decade.
ENERGY
Coal India hits record output
Coal India Ltd’s sales and output last month rose to the highest on record as the world’s biggest coal miner rushed to meet its annual production target, a goal that it missed for at least the sixth consecutive year. Output rose 9 percent from a year earlier to 65.58 million tonnes of coal last month, while shipments rose 5.5 percent to 50.08 million tonnes, according to a stock exchange filing on Sunday. That is the highest in records going back to 2013. Output for the year ended last month stood at 514.7 million tonnes, while sales were at 526.4 million tonnes, both falling short of a 544.3 million tonne goal. Boosting output is crucial for Coal India to meet rising demand from power plants, its biggest customers. An early onset of summer is expected to boost electricity consumption.
REAL ESTATE
Dubai developer to sell debt
Damac Properties Dubai Co hired banks including Barclays PLC and HSBC Bank PLC for a possible sale of US dollar-denominated Islamic bonds, people familiar with the matter said. The second-largest listed real-estate developer in Dubai is expected to hire more banks to arrange the debt sale, which might happen as soon as this month, the people said. The developer, which has two golf-course development deals with US President Donald Trump’s family company, in February reported full-year net income that missed the lowest analyst estimate. Hussein Sajwani, who owns 72 percent of Damac, was open to selling as much as 15 percent of his majority stake in the company, he said in January. Damac is the latest company in the Middle East looking to tap the bond market amid a busy start to a year for debt sales.
ENTERTAINMENT
Billionaire to sell resort
Malaysian billionaire T. Ananda Krishnan is considering selling a tropical-themed holiday resort in Germany as he seeks to focus on his domestic investments, people familiar with the matter said. Krishnan and business partner Colin Au are working with an investment bank to gauge interest in Tropical Islands Resort in Brandenburg, which houses the world’s largest indoor rainforest, the people said. They have held talks with some potential buyers for the project, which could fetch as much as 300 million euros (US$369.92 million), the people said. Tropical Islands Resort, located about 60km south of Berlin, was built in a former airship hangar and opened for business in 2004, according to its Web site. Its indoor and outdoor facilities stretch across 100,000m2, the Web site shows.
KEEPING UP: The acquisition of a cleanroom in Taiwan would enable Micron to increase production in a market where demand continues to outpace supply, a Micron official said Micron Technology Inc has signed a letter of intent to buy a fabrication site in Taiwan from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion to expand its production of memory chips. Micron would take control of the P5 site in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼) and plans to ramp up DRAM production in phases after the transaction closes in the second quarter, the company said in a statement on Saturday. The acquisition includes an existing 12 inch fab cleanroom of 27,871m2 and would further position Micron to address growing global demand for memory solutions, the company said. Micron expects the transaction to
Vincent Wei led fellow Singaporean farmers around an empty Malaysian plot, laying out plans for a greenhouse and rows of leafy vegetables. What he pitched was not just space for crops, but a lifeline for growers struggling to make ends meet in a city-state with high prices and little vacant land. The future agriculture hub is part of a joint special economic zone launched last year by the two neighbors, expected to cost US$123 million and produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually. It is attracting Singaporean farmers with promises of cheaper land, labor and energy just over the border.
US actor Matthew McConaughey has filed recordings of his image and voice with US patent authorities to protect them from unauthorized usage by artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, a representative said earlier this week. Several video clips and audio recordings were registered by the commercial arm of the Just Keep Livin’ Foundation, a non-profit created by the Oscar-winning actor and his wife, Camila, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office database. Many artists are increasingly concerned about the uncontrolled use of their image via generative AI since the rollout of ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools. Several US states have adopted
A proposed billionaires’ tax in California has ignited a political uproar in Silicon Valley, with tech titans threatening to leave the state while California Governor Gavin Newsom of the Democratic Party maneuvers to defeat a levy that he fears would lead to an exodus of wealth. A technology mecca, California has more billionaires than any other US state — a few hundred, by some estimates. About half its personal income tax revenue, a financial backbone in the nearly US$350 billion budget, comes from the top 1 percent of earners. A large healthcare union is attempting to place a proposal before
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