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☆ Canada guarantees up to $2.2 billion in fresh loans to Trans Mountain expansion project
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Kinder Morgan Inc FollowAug 5 (Reuters) - A Canadian government agency has guaranteed fresh commercial loans of up to C$3 billion ($2.2 billion) to the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project that has suffered repeated cost overruns. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government bought the Trans Mountain pipeline in 2018 from Kinder Morgan Inc (KMI.N) to ensure the expansion project got built and provided a C$10 billion loan guarantee to TMC. It is meant to unlock Asian markets for Canadian oil, which is mostly exported to the United States now. TMC had received a up to C$3 billion loan guarantee between late March and early May this year and had received a C$10 billion loan guarantee in 2022 from the federal government. Canada's finance ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the fresh loan guarantee.

Persons: Justin Trudeau's, Chrystia Freeland, Anirudh, Alistair Bell Organizations: Kinder Morgan, Canadian, Export Development Canada, Justin Trudeau's Liberal, Kinder Morgan Inc, TMC, Finance, Liberal, Thomson Locations: United States, Burnaby , British Columbia, Bengaluru

A general view shows parts of the structure of flight terminal at an abandoned construction site of a Mexico City airport that was scrapped at Texcoco on the outskirts of Mexico City, Mexico September 3, 2020. "The finance ministry asked for everything to stay the same, so that's what's going to happen," Deputy Transportation Minister Rogelio Jimenez Pons told reporters. Jimenez had previously said that the finance ministry was considering an earlier payback schedule, as the funds used to pay off the bonds for the canceled airport currently come from a usage tax generated by the existing Mexico City International Airport (AICM). Once the Navy runs the AICM, which Jimenez said he expects to happen later this year, it may decide to renegotiate a buyback with the finance ministry, he added. Lopez Obrador opened the farther-away Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA) last year as an alternative to the Texcoco airport on an active military base.

Persons: Henry Romero, Andres Manuel Lopez, Rogelio Jimenez Pons, Jimenez, Lopez Obrador, Felipe, Kylie Madry, David Alire Garcia, Diane Craft Organizations: REUTERS, Mexico City International, Navy, Felipe Angeles International Airport, Thomson Locations: Mexico City, Texcoco, Mexico, MEXICO

☆ Canada govt body guarantees up to $2.2 bln fresh loan to Trans Mountain expansion project
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It is meant to unlock Asian markets for Canadian oil, which is mostly exported to the United States now. Critics have also slammed the ownership of a pipeline project by the Liberal government, which they argue runs counter to Trudeau's ambitious climate goals. TMC had received a up to C$3 billion loan guarantee between late March and early May this year and had received a C$10 billion loan guarantee in 2022 from the federal government. Canada's finance ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the fresh loan guarantee. In June, a finance ministry spokesperson said the loan guarantee was "common practice" and did not reflect any new public spending.

☆ Exclusive: Russia doubles 2023 defence spending plan as war costs soar
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

They show that in the first half of 2023 alone, Russia spent 12%, or 600 billion roubles, more on defence than the 4.98 trillion roubles ($54 billion) it had originally targeted for 2023. Defence spending in the first six months of 2023 amounted to 5.59 trillion roubles, 37.3% of a total 14.97 trillion roubles spent in the period, the document showed. Between 2011 and 2022, Russia spent a minimum of 13.9% and a maximum 23% of its budget on defence. Russia has already spent 57.4% of its new annual defence budget, the document showed. Funding for schools, hospitals and roads was already being squeezed this year in favour of defence and security, but as the share of defence spending grows, other areas could face cuts.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Ilya Pitalyov, Denis Manturov, Dmitry Polevoy, Yevgeny Suvorov, Suvorov, Mike Collett, White, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Sputnik, Reuters, Defence, MMI Telegram, Bank of Russia, Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: Russian, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Locko

☆ French lawmakers raise strategic concerns over Atos sale to Kretinsky
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of Atos is seen on a company building in Nantes, France, March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File PhotoPARIS, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Talks to sell parts of French company Atos (ATOS.PA) to Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky are raising concerns among some French lawmakers, who say the deal risks undermining the independence of France's nuclear deterrence. Lawmakers cannot block a sale of a French company, only the government can if it considers there is a strategic reason for doing so. The lawmakers questioned why an alternative French buyer, a consortium of French companies Astek and ChapsVision, who were reported in French media to have been interested, were not given more consideration. A source close to Astek said Atos's cybersecurity business also hosted other sensitive assets crucial to French intelligence interests.

Persons: Stephane Mahe, Daniel Kretinsky, Atos, Thursday's, Figaro, Cedric Perrin, Kretinsky, Perrin, Astek, Atos's, Michel Rose, Mathieu Rosemain, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Les, Kretinsky, Casino, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Nantes, France, Czech, Europe

☆ US sees price cap on Russian oil working despite upturn in prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Aug 3 (Reuters) - The United States remains confident that the Group of Seven's price cap on Russian oil is working to squeeze Moscow's revenues and stabilize energy markets despite a recent upturn in prices, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Thursday. Van Nostrand said Russian data showed federal government oil revenues were nearly 50% lower in the first half of 2023 than a year earlier, and Russian oil was trading at "a significant discount" to Brent oil. Van Nostrand said the average reported price for Russian Urals had hovered around $60, the level of the price cap, despite widespread expectations that the price would rise in the second half of 2023, and despite recent price increases. Van Nostrand said the cap was continuing to limit Russian revenues, while giving "non-coalition buyers additional leverage to negotiate prices down." Still, Van Nostrand said Washington understood that markets could change rapidly, and Russia would keep trying to evade the price cap.

Persons: Eric Van Nostrand, Van Nostrand, Washington, Andrea Shalal, Timothy Gardner, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Treasury, Economic, European Union, Russian, Russia's Finance Ministry, Thomson Locations: United States, U.S, Russia, Ukraine, Washington, Australia, Brent, Russian Urals, Saudi Arabia, OPEC, China

☆ Britain to create new regime to deal with insurance company failures
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File PhotoLONDON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Britain said on Wednesday it would start work on setting up new rules specially designed to prevent a big insurance company collapse from crashing the financial system. But no such specifically tailored regime currently exists in Britain to deal with failures in the country's insurance industry, which is the fourth largest in the world. The European Union is in the process of approving its own set of rules for handling insurance company failures. In Britain, insurance company collapses currently come under modified UK company insolvency arrangements, which the finance ministry said may be less effective for an industry with 2.7 trillion pounds ($3.45 trillion) in assets. The timing of the new regime is unclear given that legislation is needed and Britain is likely to face national elections next year.

Persons: Hollie Adams, Huw Jones, Jane Merriman Organizations: Bank of England, City of, REUTERS, Regulators, Bank of, European, Shareholders, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain, Silicon, Gibraltar, London

FILE PHOTO-People use their phones in front of the BYD Seagull that is displayed at the Auto Shanghai show, in Shanghai, China April 19, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File PhotoNEW DELHI, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Chinese automaker BYD (002594.SZ) faces an ongoing Indian investigation over allegations that it paid too little tax on imported parts for cars it assembles and sells in the country, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. Although BYD has deposited this sum after the DRI's preliminary findings, the source added, the investigation is ongoing and could lead to additional tax charges and penalties. BYD in India and China did not reply to several requests seeking comment. One of the sources said BYD had not met these conditions, making it liable to pay either 70% or 100% depending on the value of the car.

Persons: Aly, BYD, Nikunj Ohri, Aditi Shah, Zoey Zhang, Alexander Smith Organizations: Auto, REUTERS, India's, of Revenue Intelligence, Companies, Xiaomi Corp, HK, Thomson Locations: Auto Shanghai, Shanghai, China, New Delhi, Beijing, India

☆ Pound's mini-budget dip made UK's Brexit bill dearer
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Andy Bruce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In previous years, the Treasury's "reportable losses" have ranged between zero and a few million pounds. This 855 million-euro payment cost Britain 764 million pounds on a day when 1 pound would buy only 1.12 euros. Back in April 2022, when the EU updated Britain's payment schedule for June through September, it assumed an exchange rate of around 1.18 euros per pound - equating to monthly payments of 719 million pounds rather than 764 million pounds. Still, that small net gain represents a sharp drop from March 2022 when it stood at 91.2 million pounds - with the payment on Sept. 30 a conspicuous loss-maker. Economists put the broader costs of the mini-budget episode - stemming from loss of investor confidence and higher market interest rates - in the billions of pounds.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Liz Truss's, James Murray, Kwasi Kwarteng, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, European Union, Britain, Treasury, Labour Party, Reuters, Thomson

☆ Colombia proposes 502.6 trillion pesos 2024 budget
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BOGOTA, July 29 (Reuters) - Colombia's government on Saturday presented a budget proposal worth 502.6 trillion pesos ($127.8 billion) for 2024 to Congress, 19% greater than this year, the Finance Ministry said, an amount that would be the country's highest if approved. The proposal includes spending 94.52 trillion pesos for servicing debt, and 97.75 trillion pesos for investment. "The 2024 budget is realistic," the finance ministry said in a statement. Government ministers worked through Thursday night to finish the proposal, President Gustavo Petro said on Friday in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The proposed budget earmarks 70.5 trillion pesos for education, health, drinking water and other general purposes, and some 57.4 trillion pesos would fund the state pension system.

Persons: Gustavo Petro, Colombia's, Nelson Bocanegra, Julia Cobb Symmes, Oliver Griffin, Sandra Maler Organizations: Finance Ministry, Twitter, Congress, Thomson Locations: BOGOTA

☆ Crisis-hit Sri Lanka invites Japan to resume investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

COLOMBO, July 29 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka on Saturday invited Japan to resume investment in projects including power, roads and ports, after the Japanese foreign minister wrapped up the first high-level visit to the crisis-hit country in nearly four years. Sri Lanka Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said his country was seeking Japanese investment in sectors such as power, infrastructure, dedicated investment zones as well as in the green and digital economies. Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi is in Colombo as part of a multi-country diplomatic tour including India, South Africa, Uganda and Ethiopia. Sri Lanka, which lies along key shipping routes in the Indian Ocean, has become a hot spot for influence between India and Japan on the one side and China on the other. Japan is Sri Lanka's second biggest bilateral lender, after China, with about $2.7 billion in outstanding loans, according to latest finance ministry data.

Persons: Ali Sabry, Sabry, Yoshimasa Hayashi, Uditha Jayasinghe, Lincoln Organizations: Saturday, Sri Lanka Foreign, Japan's, Thomson Locations: COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Japan, Colombo, India, South Africa, Uganda, Ethiopia, Maldives, China, Sri

"The culture wars are coming to UK businesses, including the financial sector," said Andre Spicer, dean of City University's Bayes Business School. It also cited "risk factors including... controversial public statements which were felt to conflict with the bank's purpose". However, data from watchdog the Financial Ombudsman Service showed complaints about account closures represented a tiny fraction of a bank's overall customer base. Experts say other banks will now be scrambling to ensure their own policies and committees are behaving appropriately, to avoid further scandals. The CEO of Britain's biggest domestic bank Lloyds said on Wednesday the bank's own policies did not include looking at customers' political or personal beliefs.

Persons: Nigel Farage, Coutts, Andre Spicer, Howard Davies, Alison Rose, Rose, Peter Flavel, Charles Dickens, Queen Elizabeth II, Spicer, Harriet Baldwin, Bill Winters, Samuel Gregg, Banks, Gregg, University's Spicer, Rupert Younger, ", Sinead Cruise, Iain Withers, Lawrence White, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Brexit Party, NatWest, Bayes Business School, Coutts, Treasury, Bank of England, BBC, Standard Chartered, Farage, American Institute for Economic Research, Facebook, Financial, Service, Barclays, Lloyds, Centre, Oxford University's Said Business School, Thomson Locations: America

Davies said he intended to stay on at the bank for now - after also facing calls to resign - and confirmed for the first time that political pressure forced the board's hand in Rose's exit. "The political reaction to that was such... that her position was then untenable," he told reporters. Britain's finance ministry said the decision for Rose to depart was made by her and the bank's board. "The NatWest board is responsible for the bank's strategic and operational management," a Treasury spokesperson said. ($1 = 0.7820 pounds)Reporting by Iain Withers and Lawrence White, editing by Sinead Cruise and Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Davies, Nigel Farage's, Rose, Howard Davies, Alison Rose, Nigel Farage, Coutts, Peter Flavel, We've, Alison, Travers Smith, Paul Thwaite, Iain Withers, Lawrence White, Sinead Cruise, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: NatWest, Rose NatWest, BBC, Treasury, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Britain's, Rose's, Britain

☆ NatWest reports profit rise amid fallout from Farage fiasco
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A sign outside a NatWest Group Plc bank branch in the City of London, UK, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. Natwest is due to report first-half results on Friday, July 28. NatWest reported pre-tax profit of £3.6 billion ($4.6 billion) for the period, compared to £2.6 billion the prior year and above the £3.3 billion average of analyst forecasts compiled by the bank. NatWest remains under pressure over the Farage scandal. NatWest is nearly 40% taxpayer-owned following its bailout during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, adding more weight to the government's position.

Persons: Hollie Adams, Nigel Farage, Alison Rose, Coutts, Rose, Peter Flavel, Paul Thwaite, Howard Davies, Thwaite Organizations: NatWest Group, City of, Natwest, Bloomberg, Getty, NatWest, BBC, Reuters, Rivals Barclays, Lloyds, Barclays Locations: City, City of London, Britain

[1/2] A man walks past ATM machines at branch of the NatWest bank in Manchester, Britain September 21, 2017. Davies said he intended to stay at the bank for now and confirmed for the first time on Friday that political pressure had played a part in Rose's exit. "The political reaction to retaining Alison as CEO was such that her position was untenable," he told reporters. NatWest reported pre-tax profit of 3.6 billion pounds ($4.6 billion) for the period, compared to 2.6 billion pounds the prior year and above the 3.3 billion pound average of analyst forecasts compiled by the bank. NatWest booked a 233 million pounds charge for potential loan defaults - compared to the release of 54 million pounds last year - and lowered its net interest margin forecast for the year to below 3.2%, with an expectation of it hitting 3.15%.

Persons: Phil Noble, Davies, Nigel Farage's, Rose, Howard Davies, Alison Rose, Nigel Farage, Coutts, Peter Flavel, Alison, We've, NatWest's, Paul Thwaite, Thwaite, Iain Withers, Lawrence White, Sinead Cruise, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: NatWest, REUTERS, Rose NatWest, BBC, Reuters, Rivals Barclays, Lloyds, Barclays, Thomson Locations: Manchester, Britain, Britain's, Rose's

☆ Japan will gain from ultra-cautious ratesetters
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

If monetary authorities declare victory too soon and tighten policy, they risk derailing a growth revival and triggering a debt crisis. But the longer the Land of the Rising Sun waits for the perfect moment to raise interest rates, the more market ructions it will face. That belief is a key reason to maintain short term interest rates at minus 0.1% and stick with a seven-year-old policy of yield curve control. Japan’s interest payments would balloon; gross government debt accelerated during the pandemic and stood at 261% of GDP at the end of last year, more than twice the United States’ ratio. Follow @ugalani on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSThe Bank of Japan’s two-day policy meeting concludes on July 28.

Persons: What’s, Kazuo Ueda, That’s, Francesco Guerrera, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Bank of Japan’s, United, P, of Japan’s, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Japan, United States

But it was the repeated use of the word holistic - or "bütüncül" - by the former Goldman Sachs banker and Turkey's first female central bank chief that caught most of the attention. "We are making the gradual and steady rate hikes more holistic and stronger through quantitative tightening and selective credit tightening," Erkan told the news conference. "Unless the credit and monetary tightening really kick in, investors would expect the central bank to hike more aggressively," he said. "She clearly wants to be the face of Turkish monetary policy making," said Neuberger Berman's Nazli. "We saw a person who seems to be capable of being a central bank governor, compared to previous governors, but cautious."

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Erkan, Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's, Kaan Nazli, Neuberger Berman, policymaker Mehmet Simsek, Tim Ash, Erdogan, Ash, Marek Drimal, Neuberger Berman's Nazli, swerved, Emre Akcakmak, Karin Strohecker, Libby George, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Turkey's, Ministry, BlueBay Asset Management, Societe Generale, East Capital, Thomson Locations: Rosario, London

"Chinese Exim bank rolled over principal amounts totalling $2.4 bln which are due in next 2 fiscal years," he said in a post on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter. "Pakistan will make interest payments only over the next two years," Dar said, meaning the wavier is only for the principal loan amount. "In principle, China and Pakistan have close cooperation in economic and financial sectors, and we will continue to advance cooperation with Pakistan to support the country in achieving stability and development," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said. The IMF team this month met the leadership of all political parties, including former Prime Minister Imran Khan, to seek a continuation of its bailout objectives irrespective of who comes to power. Reporting by Asif Shahzad; Additional Reporting by Andrew Hayley in Beijing; Editing by Tom Hogue and Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ishaq Dar, Dar, Mao Ning, Shehbaz Sharif, Imran Khan, Asif Shahzad, Andrew Hayley, Tom Hogue, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Pakistan Finance, Reuters, Foreign Ministry, Longtime, Beijing, Initiative, International Monetary Fund, United, United Arab Emirates, IMF, Thomson Locations: Islamabad, Pakistan, ISLAMABAD, China, Saudi Arabia, United Arab, Beijing

☆ India tax council to meet on Aug 2 to finalise online gaming tax - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, July 26 (Reuters) - India's Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council will meet on Aug. 2 to decide on a 28% tax on funds that online gaming companies and casinos collect from customers, and finalise other rules, a government official said on Wednesday. The official asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media. The Finance Ministry and GST Council Secretariat did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Since the government first announced its plan for the tax on July 11, the gaming industry and its investors have asked it to review the decision, which will increase the tax burden on both companies and consumers. This would be taken into account when a final decision is taken by the GST Council, Malhotra told NDTV.

Persons: Nirmala Sitharaman, Narendra Modi, Sanjay Malhotra, Malhotra, Nikunj Ohri, Savio D'Souza Organizations: Goods, Services Tax, India's, Finance Ministry, Tiger, Steadview, NDTV, Thomson Locations: DELHI

☆ The Kremlin could pass a new rule making it the first in line to acquire the shares of certain companies trying to leave the country: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Kremlin could pass a new rule allowing it priority rights to acquire shares from exiting foreign firms. This would make it harder for foreign companies to leave the Russian market. Companies in the Kremlin's list of 200 strategic enterprises include food giant Danone and Finnish energy firm Fortum, per the Moscow Times. President Vladimir Putin's regime has also been imposing an increasing number of punitive measures on companies exiting the Russian market. Moscow also charges exiting companies an exit fee of at least 10% of the sale value.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, it's, Vladimir Putin's Organizations: Service, Kremlin, . Companies, Danone, Moscow Times, Financial Times, Interfax, Yale University, Novaya Gazeta Locations: Russian, Moscow, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Bank of England forecasts 150 billion pound loss from QE gilt programme
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, July 25 (Reuters) - The Bank of England forecast on Tuesday that it would make a net loss of just over 150 billion pounds ($193 billion) over the next 10 years as it unwinds its quantitative easing (QE) gilt purchases, up from 100 billion pounds projected in April. In the short term, the BoE expects the government to pay around 40 billion pounds a year in 2023, 2024 and 2025, roughly 10 billion pounds a year more than its last estimate in April. Markets currently expect BoE rates to peak at 5.75% later this year, up from around 5% at the time of April's report. The BoE projections assume holdings continue to fall at their current target rate of 80 billion pounds a year. That is still more than 50 billion pounds greater than forecast in April.

Persons: Rishi, BoE, BoE Governor Andrew Bailey, David Milliken, Paul Sandle, Kylie MacLellan, Andy Bruce Organizations: Bank of England, Conservative Party, Thomson

BoJ policymakers prefer to scrutinize more data to ensure wages and inflation keep rising before changing the policy, five sources familiar with the matter said. The report added there was no consensus within the central bank and the decision could still be a close call. The dollar gained 1.24% to 141.81 yen , after earlier reaching 141.95, the highest since July 10. The greenback is on track for its best weekly percentage gain against the Japanese currency since October at 2.22%. The pound is on track for a 1.75% weekly fall, its largest since early February.

Persons: Edward Moya, Moya, Kenneth Broux, Broux, Masato Kanda, Jerome Powell, Powell, Scherrmann, Karen Brettell, Iain Withers, Angus MacSwan, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Bank of Japan, FX, Societe Generale, Ministry of Finance, Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: Europe, New York, United States, U.S, London

☆ Yen slides after sources say Bank of Japan leaning to holding key policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Iain Withers | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BoJ policymakers prefer to scrutinise more data to ensure wages and inflation keep rising before changing the policy, five sources familiar with the matter said. The report added there was no consensus within the central bank and the decision could still be a close call. The dollar was heading for its biggest one-day gain versus the yen since April, rising as much as 1.3% to a nearly two-week high of 141.95. Prior to the report, the dollar had been up around 0.3% versus the yen. The dollar index - which tracks the greenback against six major peers including the yen - was last up 0.3% at 101.040.

Persons: Kenneth Broux, Broux, Kazuo Ueda, Masato Kanda, Scherrmann, Iain Withers, Ankur Banerjee, Angus MacSwan, David Holmes Organizations: Reuters, Bank of Japan, Trade, FX, Societe Generale, Ministry of Finance, Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: Europe, United States, U.S, Singapore

NEW DELHI, July 21 (Reuters) - Tiger Global, Peak XV and Steadview Capital are among 30 foreign and domestic investors asking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review a 28% gaming tax, saying the levy would adversely impact $4 billion in prospective investments, a letter showed. India last week announced the tax on the funds that online gaming companies collect from their customers. Games such as fantasy cricket have become increasingly popular in recent years, but have also raised concerns about addiction among players. Tiger Global and Peak XV, previously known as Sequoia Capital India, have invested in Indian gaming companies such as Dream11 and Mobile Premier League. Over 100 gaming firms wrote a letter recently to the finance ministry with a similar request, saying the tax will stifle foreign investment and put $2.5 billion already invested in the sector at risk.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Aditya Kalra, Chris Thomas, Tanvi Mehta, Savio D'Souza, Kim Coghill, Muralikumar Organizations: Tiger, Steadview, Indian, Reuters, Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, Mobile Premier League, Thomson Locations: DELHI, India, Sequoia Capital India, New Delhi

☆ What’s Reasonable? A Debate Over a High Court’s Reach Divides Israel.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Patrick Kingsley | More About Patrick Kingsley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When judges struck down Mr. Netanyahu’s appointment in 2015 of a new deputy health minister, they used the same legal argument. Unreasonable. And the decision by an earlier Netanyahu government, in 2012, to reject a particular candidate for the directorship of the tax authority? It is these kinds of judicial interventions — using the subjective legal concept of “reasonableness” — that are at the center of what is widely seen as the gravest domestic crisis in the history of Israel. Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition is close to passing a new law that would prevent the Supreme Court from using the concept of reasonableness to overturn government decisions.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, ”, Netanyahu’s, Netanyahu Organizations: Finance Ministry Locations: Israel

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