The US is imposing penalties on a handful of Chinese shipping firms for continuing to carry Iranian oil after sanctions waivers lapsed in May.
China Concord Petroleum Co (中和石油), Kunlun Shipping Co (香港昆侖船務), Pegasus 88 Ltd (飛馬 88 有限公司) and COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Seaman & Ship Management Co (大連中遠海運油運船員船舶管理有限公司) have been charged with knowingly breaching restrictions on handling and transacting Iranian petroleum.
Additional restrictions were also imposed on five executives at the companies, as well as Kunlun Holding Co (崑崙控股有限公司) and COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Co (大連中遠海運油品運輸有限公司), which own or control one or more of the sanctioned entities.
The sanctions bar US citizens and companies from dealing with the shipping companies, effectively blocking them from US banks at the heart of the global financial system.
They also block any property or interests the firms or people have in the US, and forbid any US assets from being paid or transferred to them.
China continues to import relatively small amounts of oil and petroleum products from the Persian Gulf nation in the face of the White House’s sanctions on the OPEC producer. It took 714,862 tonnes of crude from Iran last month, compared with a monthly average of 2.2 million tonnes last year, Chinese customs data showed.
The sanctions could complicate talks to end the US-China trade dispute, which resume in Washington next month.
The penalties do not apply to COSCO’s ultimate parent, COSCO Shipping Corp, or any of its other subsidiaries or affiliates, the US Department of the Treasury said in a statement on its Web site.
COSCO Shipping Energy, the parent of COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian), yesterday halted trading in Hong Kong after the announcement.
“This is one of the largest sanctions actions the United States has taken against entities and individuals identified as transporting Iranian oil since our sanctions were reimposed in November 2018,” US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said in the statement.
These sanctions are over the transport of Iranian crude oil, he said.
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) suffered its biggest stock decline in more than a month after the company unveiled new artificial intelligence (AI) chips, but did not provide hoped-for information on customers or financial performance. The stock slid 4 percent to US$164.18 on Thursday, the biggest single-day drop since Sept. 3. Shares of the company remain up 11 percent this year. AMD has emerged as the biggest contender to Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market of AI processors. The company’s latest chips would exceed some capabilities of its rival, AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) said at an event hosted by
AVIATION: Despite production issues in the US, the Taoyuan-based airline expects to receive 24 passenger planes on schedule, while one freight plane is delayed The ongoing strike at Boeing Co has had only a minor impact on China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空), although the delivery of a new cargo jet might be postponed, CAL chairman Hsieh Su-chien (謝世謙) said on Saturday. The 24 Boeing 787-9 passenger aircraft on order would be delivered on schedule from next year to 2028, while one 777F freight aircraft would be delayed, Hsieh told reporters at a company event. Boeing, which announced a decision on Friday to cut 17,000 jobs — about one-tenth of its workforce — is facing a strike by 33,000 US west coast workers that has halted production
TECH JUGGERNAUT: TSMC shares have more than doubled since ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022, as demand for cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips remains high Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday posted a better-than-expected 39 percent rise in quarterly revenue, assuaging concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) hardware spending is beginning to taper off. The main chipmaker for Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc reported third-quarter sales of NT$759.69 billion (US$23.6 billion), compared with the average analyst projection of NT$748 billion. For last month alone, TSMC reported revenue jumped 39.6 percent year-on-year to NT$251.87 billion. Taiwan’s largest company is to disclose its full third-quarter earnings on Thursday next week and update its outlook. Hsinchu-based TSMC produces the cutting-edge chips needed to train AI. The company now makes more
RSS