DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ China starts up crude oil pipeline linked to mega private refiner
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Rongsheng Petrochemical Co Ltd FollowSINGAPORE, Dec 29 (Reuters) - A major crude oil pipeline connecting a storage farm in east China's Zhoushan of Zhejiang province to mega private refiner Zhejiang Petrochemical Corp (ZPC) started pumping oil for the first time on Wednesday, local state media reported. The 46.5-kilometer (28.89 miles) pipeline is designed to carry 20 million tonnes a year of crude oil and is expandable to 30 million tonnes, as reported by Zhejiang Daily. The pipeline has a diameter of 0.8 meter, spanning 800 meters over land and 45.7 kilometers under the sea. It starts at the Huangzeshan crude oil storage base and ends at the ZPC refinery, which is China's single-largest refiner with daily processing capacity of 800,000 barrels. The Huangzeshan storage base started operating in October with crude oil and refined fuel tanks, with total capacity of 1.51 million cubic meters, or about 9.5 million barrels, Zhoushan government has said.

☆ As China abandons zero-Covid, what will the economy look like in 2023?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

And with the global economy now facing significant challenges, including energy shortages, slowing growth and high inflation, China’s reopening could provide a much-needed and timely boost. China’s historic property downturn and a potential global recession could also cause more headaches in the new year, they added. They expect China’s economy to contract by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2023, before rebounding in the second quarter. Trade had powered much of China’s economic growth earlier this year, as exports were boosted by rising prices of the country’s goods and a weaker currency. “But a looming global recession means they probably have further to fall over the next few quarters.”

☆ Russia and China hold naval drills, practise submarine capture
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Russia and China have completed naval drills in the East China Sea, after a week of joint exercises which included practising how to capture an enemy submarine with depth charges and firing artillery at a warship, Russia's defence ministry said. "Detachments of warships of the Pacific Fleet and the Naval Forces of the People's Liberation Army of China have completed practical tasks within the framework of the bilateral naval exercise," Russia's defence ministry said. The ministry published video showing a group of Russian and Chinese warships in the East China Sea, with Russian sailors speaking in Mandarin to their Chinese counterparts and Russian ships firing missiles. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is due to speak to President Vladimir Putin before the end of the year, TASS news agency said. Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, +79856400243 Editing by Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. Bars Imports From Three Companies, Citing Possible Use of Forced Labor
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has barred imports from three companies, including a supplier to Western apparel companies, that the agency says could be using North Korean forced labor. China and Russia are home to the majority of North Korean people working abroad, according to the U.S. The U.S. is leading a growing movement by Western governments to preventing goods made with forced labor from reaching store shelves. U.S. lawmakers in both parties are putting pressure on Customs to tackle forced labor, Mr. Conklin said. North Korean workers labor in dozens of countries, with Pyongyang taking between 70% and 90% of their earnings in many instances, the U.S. said in a 2018 publication.

☆ Covid-19: China's surge in cases hits factories and consumer market
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —China’s economy is under severe strain as a wave of Covid cases sweeps across the country. Factories and companies are also forced to shut down or cut production because of more workers getting sick. Nationwide, truck cargo volumes and delivery orders both shrank in the past week, according to statistics from the transportation ministry and the postal service regulator. Many factories have been forced to shut down for weeks because of sick workers and lack of orders, according to Chinese media. The next few weeks may be “the most dangerous” for China’s battle with Covid, said Capital Economics analysts.

[1/3] An empty road is pictured at Shanghai Central Business District (CBD) as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreaks continue in Shanghai, China, December 23, 2022. Subway trains in Beijing and Shanghai were packed, while some major traffic arteries in the two cities jammed with slow-moving cars on Monday as residents commuted to work. An annual Christmas market held at the Bund, a commercial area in Shanghai, was also crowded over the weekend. Crowds thronged the winter festive season at Shanghai Disneyland and Beijing's Universal Studios on Sunday, queuing up for rides in Christmas-themed outfits. The city of Qingdao, in the eastern Shandong province, has estimated that up to 530,000 residents were being infected each day.

Now, as the country rapidly relaxes restrictions, millions of people have been told to keep going to work — even if they’re infected. For three years, its stringent approach has kept Covid cases and deaths relatively low in the country. Covid control workers walk by a closed shop near a community with residents under health monitoring for Covid on December 4 in Beijing. Top leaders at the Central Economic Work Conference, a key annual meeting that ended Friday, said in a statement that stabilizing economic growth was the top priority for 2023. Officials nationwide had worked frantically to contain Covid cases ahead of the highly sensitive twice-a-decade leadership reshuffle, which saw Chinese leader Xi Jinping emerge more powerful than ever into his third term.

☆ Zimbabwe bans raw lithium exports to curb artisanal mining
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The southern African country holds some of the world's largest reserves of hard rock lithium, a vital mineral in the production of clean energy technologies. London-listed Premier African Minerals (PREM.L) says it will start shipping spodumene concentrate from its Zimbabwe lithium mine to China from March 2023, after signing an offtake deal with Suzhou TA&A Ultra Clean Technology Co (300390.SZ). "No lithium bearing ores, or unbeneficiated lithium whatsoever, shall be exported from Zimbabwe to another country," read the regulation published in a government notice issued by Mines Minister Winston Chitando. The notice said the ban does not apply to the export of lithium concentrates, which all the major lithium miners in the country plan to produce. Mnangagwa said the raw lithium was being exported through neighbouring countries.

[1/4] People wait in line at a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test centre in Xinyang, China, this still image obtained from social media video released December 15, 2022. China reported 2,157 new symptomatic COVID-19 infections for Dec. 15 compared with 2,000 a day. There is particular concern about China's hinterland in the run up to China's Lunar New Year holiday starting on Jan. 22. The COVID scare in China also led people in Hong Kong, Macau and in some neighbourhoods in Australia to go in search for fever medicines and test kits for family and friends on the mainland. JP Morgan on Friday revised down its expectations for China's 2022 growth to 2.8%, which is well below China's official target of 5.5% and would mark one of China's worst performances in almost half a century.

☆ China's economy picking up but "arduous efforts" needed to sustain momentum - state planner
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Dec 16 (Reuters) - China's economy is expected to pick up, but "arduous efforts" are needed to sustain the recovery in growth due to an adverse external environment and the global economy's loss of momentum, the country's top state planner said on Friday. "At the same time, we are aware that the economy is facing a more complex and severe external environment, and weakened growth momentum for the global economy," the spokesperson said. As investment in the property sector slumped significantly, the NDRC said the infrastructure and manufacturing sectors shored up fixed asset investment growth with their capital formation accounting for 26.7% of China's economic growth in the first three quarters. As the Lunar New Year holiday season approaches, the state planner vowed to release state pork reserves in a timely manner in order to keep prices stable. To spur a COVID-hit economy, China has set out plans to expand domestic consumption and investment, state media reported on Wednesday.

☆ U.S. ready to help China on COVID-19 surge if Beijing asks - White House
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - The United States is prepared to help China deal with a surge of COVID-19 infections if Beijing requests assistance, the White House said on Wednesday. John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, told reporters that China has not requested help at this stage. "We have made that point that we are prepared to help in any way they might find acceptable. China began shifting away from the "zero COVID" policy just this month, after protests against the economically-damaging curbs that had been championed by President Xi Jinping. The change has spurred concerns about a surge in COVID cases.

☆ China Meheco to distribute Pfizer's COVID treatment in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Alessandro DiviggianoHONG KONG, Dec 14 (Reuters) - China Meheco Group Co Ltd (600056.SS) said on Wednesday it signed an agreement with Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) to import and distribute the U.S. drugmaker's oral COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid in mainland China, as the country braces for a surge in COVID patients after scaling back its "zero COVID" policy. The agreement is valid between Dec. 14 and Nov. 30, 2023, China Meheco said in a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange. Pfizer last year said it could produce up to 120 million courses of Paxlovid this year. As of Nov. 30, Pfizer had shipped almost 37 million courses of Paxlovid to 52 countries around the world, it said in a statement. The U.S. government announced a deal on Tuesday to buy an additional 3.7 million Paxlovid courses for nearly $2 billion, supplementing the 20 million courses already purchased by the United States.

That compares with a valuation of about $9 billion in its maiden external fundraising last year. In doing so, it joins a growing list of Chinese automakers looking to launch or expand sales of EVs in the region. The automotive group led by founder Li Shufu now houses seven brands manufacturing electric vehicles, of which three are high-end brands. According to two of the sources, Zeekr also considered Hong Kong as its listing venue but picked New York in the hope of achieving a higher valuation. Zeekr was established by Geely, formally known as Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (GEELY.UL), in April 2021 to tap into increasing Chinese demand for premium EVs.

HONG KONG, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Zeekr, Chinese automaker Geely's upmarket electric car brand, has confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering, aiming to raise more than $1 billion, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. That compares with a valuation of about $9 billion in its maiden external fundraising last year. In doing so, it joins a growing list of Chinese automakers looking to launch or expand sales of EVs in the region. According to two of the sources, Zeekr also considered Hong Kong as its listing venue but picked New York in the hope of achieving a higher valuation. It said in October it would spin Zeekr off but did not identify a listing venue or the likely value of an offering.

☆ She’s one of the WNBA’s biggest stars. This is Brittney Griner’s stellar career so far
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Brittney Griner’s release from detention in Russia ends a nine-month ordeal and allows her the chance to restart her stellar basketball career. In total, Griner is an seven-time WNBA All-Star – only seven players in WNBA history have made more All-Star appearances. For many years, WNBA players have regularly gone overseas during the WNBA’s offseason to make the most of the higher salaries they can earn in international leagues. According to the New York Times, nearly half of the WNBA’s 144 players traveled to play abroad during the last offseason. “But negatively, there is a factor that you will be tired for the new WNBA season and this can cause injuries and, maybe, you’ll be out of the season.

☆ Factbox: Saudi-China energy, trade and investment ties
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Below are some details about oil, trade and security relations between China and Saudi Arabia. OIL TRADEChina is Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade worth $87.3 billion in 2021. Chinese exports to Saudi Arabia reached $30.3 billion, while China's imports from the kingdom totalled $57 billion. REFINERIESAramco in early 2022 made a final investment decision to build a $10 billion refinery, petrochemical complex in northeast China, marking its single largest investment in China. Named Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Company, the joint venture groups Aramco, Huajin Chemical Industries Group Corporation (000059.SZ) -- a unit of defence conglomerate Norinco-- and Panjin Xincheng Industrial Group.

[1/5] Pandemic prevention workers in protective suits walk in a street as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreaks continue in Beijing, December 4, 2022. Daily tallies of new COVID infections have also dropped in some regions as authorities row back on testing. CHANGING MESSAGEAlongside the easing of local curbs, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, who oversees COVID efforts, said last week the ability of the virus to cause disease was weakening. That change in messaging aligns with the position adopted by many health authorities around the world for more than a year. The eastern province of Zhejiang said it planned to largely end mass testing, while the metropolis of Nanjing dropped COVID tests for use of public transport.

☆ Former NBA star Jeremy Lin fined for comments about Covid quarantine while playing in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Police fanned out across Shanghai, Beijing and other cities to try to prevent additional protests. A representative of Vision China Entertainment, which says on its website it represents Lin, didn’t respond to a request for comment. Jinzhou in the northeast lifted curbs on movement and allowed businesses to reopen. On Thursday, the metropolis of Guangzhou in the south, the biggest hotspot in the latest infection spike, allowed supermarkets and restaurants to reopen. Other major cities including Shijiazhuang in the north and Chengdu in the southwest restarted bus and subway service and allowed businesses to reopen.

☆ Bidding on a Brooklyn Brownstone, With a Baby on the Way. Which One Did They Buy?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Debra Kamin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Clever was living in a tiny apartment in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, with no furniture aside from a rented Steinway grand. At one of them, Ms. Chen — a native of Zhejiang, China, who had recently arrived to study creative writing — played the piano alongside him. The time had come for a new space — and with Ms. Chen expecting their first child, they would need more of it. “We visited a lot of homes that had been cut up and felt so cramped inside,” Ms. Chen said. All the while, Ms. Chen had an eye on formal living rooms that could accommodate a grand piano.

☆ China police out in numbers to prevent more COVID protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Eduardo Baptista | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Epidemic-prevention workers in protective suits stand guard at a residential compound as outbreaks of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continue in Beijing, China November 28, 2022. Simmering discontent with COVID prevention policies three years into the pandemic ignited into broader protests in cities thousands of miles apart throughout the weekend. COVID in China keeps spreading despite significant sacrifices made by most of the country's 1.4 billion people to prevent its transmission, adhering to a zero-COVID policy of eradicating all outbreaks that has isolated China from the rest of the world. The lockdowns have exacerbated one of the steepest growth slowdowns China has faced in decades, disrupting global supply chains and roiling financial markets. In Hangzhou, the capital of the eastern Zhejiang province, videos on social media which Reuters could not independently verify showed hundreds of police occupying a large public square on Monday night, preventing people from congregating.

Two protesters told Reuters that callers identifying themselves as Beijing police officers asked them to report to a police station on Tuesday with written accounts of their activities on Sunday night. "We are all desperately deleting our chat history," said another person who witnessed the Beijing protest and declined to be identified. Simmering discontent with stringent COVID prevention policies three years into the pandemic ignited into protests in cities thousands of miles apart over the weekend. Officials say the COVID policy has kept the death toll in the thousands, avoiding the millions of deaths elsewhere. In an editorial that did not mention the protests, People's Daily, the Party's official newspaper, urged citizens to "unswervingly implement" COVID policies.

☆ U.S. Expands Bans of Chinese Security Cameras, Network Equipment
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Drew Fitzgerald | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Hikvision is the top worldwide seller of professional security equipment and ranks No. 5 in the U.S. The Federal Communications Commission voted 4-0 to ban sales of new telecom and surveillance equipment made by several Chinese companies, arguing that their ownership and practices threaten U.S. national security. The rule change affects 10 companies already subject to other restrictions and prohibits them from marketing or importing new products. They include security-camera makers Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Hytera Communications Corp. and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co. and telecom equipment makers Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp.

HONG KONG, Nov 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A Hong Kong stock market debut puts Jakarta at the centre of China’s electric-car boom. Lygend Resources & Technology (2245.HK), a Chinese nickel trader, is looking to raise up to $594 million in an initial public offering to expand in Indonesia. Lygend both trades and produces nickel products, essential for stainless steel and batteries. Around a fifth of the world’s nickel resources are located in the country, which accounted for nearly 40% of ore unearthed last year, according to the company’s prospectus. Hong Kong CATL is the largest cornerstone investor, according to the prospectus.

☆ Zimbabwe's new mineral royalty policy comes into force
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A worker attends to machinery at a smelter plant at Anglo American Platinum's Unki mine in Shurugwi, Zimbabwe, May 16, 2019. The southern African country has struggled to capitalise on its significant mineral reserves and a resource boom due to policy uncertainty, a lack of ancillary industries to support mining, currency volatility and electricity shortages. The cash component of the royalties would be made up of 40% Zimbabwean dollars and 10% in foreign currency, according to the notice. Zimbabwe's royalty rates range between 5% for gold and platinum group metals and 10% for diamonds. The Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines, which represents major mining companies, has said it is not worried about the new royalty policy because it does not amount to an increase in existing royalty rates.

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Nov 8 (Reuters) - China's imports of crude oil rebounded in October, but the details aren't as strong as the headline number suggests. PetroChina started trial operations at a 200,000 bpd crude unit at its new refinery in Guangdong, while Shendong Petrochemical is also starting operations at its new 320,000 bpd plant in Jiangsu province. This appears to have resulted in China boosting imports from the kingdom, with Refinitiv Oil Research estimating that October arrivals were 1.91 million bpd, up from 1.84 million bpd in September. Rising exports of refined products are also acting as a spur to crude imports, with 4.46 million tonnes of fuel being shipped out in October. This was down from September's 1.5 million bpd and August's 1.23 million bpd, but it's worth noting that the past three months have been strongest since July last year.

Search resuls for: "ZheJiang"

25 mentions found