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☆ Qantas overhaul gets stuck on tarmac
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Qantas Airways QF100 flight, which marks the airline's 100th birthday, departs from Sydney Airport to fly over Sydney Harbour in Australia, November 16, 2020. Gregg Porteous/Destination NSW/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsMELBOURNE, Oct 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Qantas Airways (QAN.AX) customers are already used to interminable waits due to postponed or cancelled flights and lost luggage. Now the $5.4 billion airline has shunted its much-needed governance overhaul into an unnecessary holding pattern. On Wednesday Qantas said Richard Goyder is stepping down after five years as chair along with two other directors who have been on the board for a decade. And Goyder intends to remain in the cockpit until just before the company’s annual meeting in over a year’s time.

Persons: Gregg Porteous, –, Richard Goyder, Alan Joyce, Jaqueline Hey, Maxine Brenner, Goyder, Antony Currie, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Qantas Airways QF100, Sydney Airport, Sydney Harbour, Handout, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Reuters, Qantas Airways, Wednesday Qantas, Qantas, X, Alstom, Thomson Locations: Australia, Brussels

☆ Israel highlights fragility of new trade corridors
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Afiq Fitri Alias | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Oct 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A new and deadly chapter of the decades-old Israel-Palestinian conflict is a reality check for an ambitious trade route. IMEC’s chief backers waxed lyrical about the potential of the trade route involving railways, ports and green energy. Demand is there: India's total trade with Saudi Arabia more than doubled in two years, hitting around $53 billion in financial year 2023. In the near-term, the Suez Canal will remain the primary route for goods travelling to Europe from India, while Turkey can press its own rival trade route. The Biden administration is continuing to push for normalisation talks between Saudi Arabia and Israel, the New York Times reported on Oct. 8.

Persons: Joe Biden, Ursula von der Leyen, Narendra Modi, India’s, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Washington, European, Indian, New, Saudi Crown, Israeli, New York Times, Thomson Locations: Israel, India, Middle, Europe, New Delhi, Saudi Arabia, Haifa, Gaza, China, People’s Republic, Suez, Turkey, United States, European Union, France, Germany, Delhi, Arabian, Asia

HONG KONG, Oct 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - It’s getting harder for China Inc to go global, and tougher for global financial advisors to take on the rapidly shrinking pool of related mandates. Belgium’s intelligence service VSSE said on Thursday that it is trying to “detect and fight against possible spying and/or interference activities carried out by Chinese entities including Alibaba”. Fellow courier SF Holding is also preparing a Hong Kong listing to raise as much as $3 billion to support, among other things, ambitious expansion beyond Asia. Alibaba signed an agreement with the Belgium government in 2018 to open an e-commerce trade hub, run by its logistics arm Cainiao Smart Logistics Network. The Chinese e-commerce giant last month filed to list Cainiao on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Persons: VSSE, Cainiao, won’t, Alibaba, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, China Inc, HK, Belgian, Justice, Citigroup, JPMorgan, Hong, European, Liege Airport, Smart Logistics Network, Alibaba’s, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, China, Hong Kong, Liege, Belgian, Asia, Belgium, United States, European, Alibaba’s New York

☆ Asia’s breakup party is happening under duress
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Pranav Kiran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

As with other big breakups in the region however, there are unspoken reasons for him to join the party. Vedanta Resources is in talks with bondholders to extend the maturity by roughly three years on about $3.2 billion of debt due in 2024 and 2025. But even then, Vedanta Resources may still have a funding gap until 2027 under certain conditions, according to JPMorgan. Even if those were sold for as much as $1.5 billion, JPMorgan estimates Vedanta Resources will at most receive only $350 million in net proceeds. For every one share in Vedanta, shareholders will receive one additional share of each of the five new companies.

Persons: Anil Agarwal, Ajay Agarwal, Vedanta, Mukesh Ambani, Una Galani, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Reuters, Vedanta, Vedanta Resources, London Stock Exchange, JPMorgan, Hindustan, HK, Reliance Industries, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Mumbai, Hindustan, People’s Republic, Asia, Vedanta

☆ China has reason not to let Evergrande rejig rot
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Chan Ka Sing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Yet Evergrande creditors are nonetheless in limbo. Up to 44% of Evergrande’s 558 billion yuan of interest-bearing debt is unsecured, of which a large chunk is held by offshore creditors. If the company is forced into liquidation, unsecured offshore creditors will recover less than 10 billion yuan, Evergrande has warned, with some facing a recovery rate as low as 2%. Evergrande was trying to reach an agreement with offshore creditors first before tackling issues onshore. It also cancelled meetings due to be held with creditors on Sept. 25 and Sept. 26.

Persons: Hui Ka Yan, Evergrande, ”, Sunac, Hui’s, Una Galani, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Reuters, HK, Guangdong International Trust and Investment Corporation, Street, China Evergrande, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, China, Guangdong, Republic, Hong Kong

☆ Peak China may pose peak danger
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

For example, last week it installed a floating barrier by a rocky outcrop in the South China Sea claimed by the Philippines - which Manila promptly removed. A war between the United States and China still seems unlikely - because both sides know that the economic and human costs of a clash could be catastrophic. The United States and its Western allies are also worried that China could browbeat Japan and South Korea, two nations economically important to them. Meanwhile, the United States and other allies are imposing controls on the export of technology such as advanced chips to the People’s Republic. What’s more, the United States is finding it hard to maintain an emollient message.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping “, Biden, Victor Sebestyen, Xi, Michael Beckley, Beckley, Hal Brands, Vladimir Putin, ”, Donald Trump, Goldman Sachs, Tufts ’ Beckley, Una Galani, Streisand Neto Organizations: People's Bank of China, REUTERS, Reuters, Austro, South China, Beijing, Tufts University, Washington, San, Economic Cooperation, Tufts, Thomson Locations: Beijing, CHINA, Greece, China, Vietnam, U.S, Taiwan, United States, Germany, France, British, Ottoman Empire, Hungarian Empire, Ukraine, South China, South, Philippines, Manila, China’s, India, People’s Republic, Japan, South Korea, America, Pacific, Washington, Hanoi, San Francisco, Asia, Taiwan Strait

☆ PWC Aussie mess is classic do as I say not as I do
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MELBOURNE, Sept 29 (Reuters Breakingviews) - PWC Australia is likely to need a long time to recover from what is turning out to be a self-inflicted double whammy. Now the independent review sparked by the furore has laid bare another problem: PWC Australia took a do as I say not as I do approach to running its own shop. The report, commissioned by PWCA in May, written by one of the country’s corporate grandees, Ziggy Switkowski, and published on Wednesday, outlines a series of corporate governance failures. What’s worse, and even more ironic, is PWC Australia’s aversion to tapping external advice. Many of the changes will come from applying, “to the extent feasible”, the Australian Securities Exchange’s corporate governance principles and recommendations.

Persons: Tom Seymour, PWCA, Ziggy Switkowski, “, Kevin Burrowes, That’s, Una Galani, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Reuters, Lehman Brothers, Silicon Valley Bank, Australian Securities, Thomson Locations: MELBOURNE, Australia, Silicon

HONG KONG, Sept 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Global banks in Hong Kong are feeding on scraps. Bankers in Hong Kong are working on smaller issuances than they typically took on in the past, Dealogic data shows. Among the bigger ones in the works, courier SF Holding (002352.SZ) has filed for a secondary listing in Hong Kong and may raise up to $3 billion, per IFR. Fees on Indian deals are tiny, for example, and costs in Hong Kong are high. Overall investment banking fees in Hong Kong are set to come in at the lowest level in a decade too, Dealogic data shows, with HBSC top of the table.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Debtwire, Una Galani, Pranav Kiran Organizations: Reuters, UBS, Bank of America, Bankers, HK, SF, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, New York, Swiss, United States, China, brimming, Shenzhen, Asia, India, U.S, Asia Pacific, Japan

☆ Nomura is merely first in line for new China risk
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

After all, Nomura is a minnow in China, ranking 82nd in investment banking in the country by net revenue in 2021, data from Dealogic shows. Like most of its more successful global investment banking peers, Nomura has an eye on deepening its business in China. It acquired a license for a majority-owned securities joint venture, Nomura Orient International Securities, in 2019. Follow @ugalani on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSAuthorities in China have barred Charles Wang Zhonghe, China investment banking chair at Nomura, from leaving the mainland, Reuters reported on Sept. 25 citing two sources with knowledge of the matter. Beijing’s investigation into Cong, former president of China Renaissance Holdings, resulted in the investment bank’s founder Bao being taken away by Chinese authorities in February.

Persons: Charles Wang Zhonghe, Nomura, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Wang, Bao Fan, hasn’t, Xi Jinping, Banks, Cong Lin, Bao, Cong, Nomura’s Wang, Antony Currie, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Financial Times, UBS, HK, China Securities, Nomura, Commercial Bank of China, China, Apple, Nomura Orient International Securities, Authorities, China Renaissance Holdings, ICBC, Commercial Bank of China Ltd, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, China, Hong Kong, It’s, Singapore, People’s Republic

☆ Total’s green bet on Gautam Adani is a win-win
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Pranav Kiran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

On Tuesday, the company said it would invest $300 million to form a joint venture with $19 billion Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) to build solar and wind farms in the country. The latest tie-up ought to help Total to hit its target of having 100 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030. Adani Green Energy and Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS), in which Total owned stakes of about 20% and 37% at the end of June, have lost about 50% and 80% of their market value since January, and are among the worst performing of the group’s nine core listed entities. Total’s green capacity targets may be more pressing than the risk of further Adani problems. Adani Green will contribute assets to the joint venture, it said in a statement, adding that the deal will help it achieve its target of having 45 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030.

Persons: Gautam Adani, Carmichael, Hindenburg, Patrick Pouyanné, Adani, Una Galani, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Reuters, Adani Enterprises, Adani, Green Energy, Australia, GQG, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Energy, Thomson Locations: Indian, Ahmedabad, Queensland, BENGALURU, –, India

The Shenzhen-based company has not explained exactly how seven-nanometer chips ended up in the new Mate 60 Pro smartphone series. Analysts estimate deliveries of the Mate 60 Pro could top 5 million this year. Follow @KatrinaHamlin on XCONTEXT NEWSHuawei started preselling its Mate 60 Pro+ smartphone alongside a new foldable phone in September. The Chinese company started selling its high-end smartphones Mate 60 and Mate 60 Pro at the end of August. The Huawei Mate 60 Pro contained a 7-nanometer processor that was made in China by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, according to analysts at TechInsights.

Persons: TSMC, TechInsights, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, TechInsights, Kirin, Manufacturing International Corp, HK, Washington, SK Hynix, Huawei, TSMC, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, SK, South, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, China, Shenzhen, Beijing

☆ India entry into geopolitical storm will be costly
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MUMBAI, Sept 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - India may pay a price from getting caught in the eye of a geopolitical storm, but it may be a small one. New Delhi has dismissed as “absurd” Canada’s allegation of its involvement in the June murder in British Columbia of a Sikh separatist leader that India had branded a “terrorist”. A trade deal with India, now stalled, may have helped Ottawa pivot away from the People’s Republic a little bit faster. But India accounted for barely $6.5 billion, or less than 1% of Canada’s trade with the world in 2020. Canada also expelled India's top intelligence agent following the row, while India expelled a senior Canadian diplomat.

Persons: Sajjan Jindal’s, Joe Biden, Narendra Modi, Jamal Khashoggi, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, –, Tesla, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Justin Trudeau, Nijjar, “, Trudeau, Lisa Jucca, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Resources, Crown, Canada, Apple, U.S . National Security Council, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, India, New Delhi, British Columbia, China, Ottawa, People’s Republic, American, Vancouver, Australia, Canada, United States, Delhi, Saudi Arabia, Saudi, Istanbul . U.S, Canadian

☆ China's property price caps have two sharp edges
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Chan Ka Sing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsHONG KONG, Sept 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Chinese developers are in trouble. When the mood was bullish, price caps in major cities were far below what people were willing to pay. Scrapping the price caps would be a cleaner fix and officials are weighing up such a move, Reuters reported this month. CONTEXT NEWSChina's Guangzhou city has cancelled price caps on new residential projects, Caixin reported on Sept. 12. Price caps of various kinds were introduced in many Chinese cities from 2016 following the central government’s call for a stable residential market.

Persons: Zhao Youming, Tingshu Wang, Caixin, Price, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Gaotie Wellness, REUTERS, Reuters, HK, Bureau of Statistics, Thomson Locations: Tongchuan, Shaanxi, China, HONG KONG, Guangzhou

☆ Ambani’s retail backers dispel only a little doubt
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Shritama Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Asia’s richest man is raising fresh funds to trim debt and expand the shopping unit of his flagship Reliance Industries (RELI.NS). Ambit Capital, a broking firm, for example ascribes Reliance Retail a $57 billion valuation in a sum of the parts analysis, almost half Bernstein’s estimated $111 billion. Any financial haze around Reliance Retail will naturally clear whenever it publishes a detailed listing prospectus. U.S. private equity giant KKR will invest 20.7 billion rupees ($250 million) into Reliance Retail Ventures, the company’s parent Reliance Industries said on Sept. 11. Reliance Retail is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries.

Persons: Mukesh Ambani, Thakore, Singapore’s GIC, Bernstein, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Reliance Industries, KKR, Abraham, Qatar Investment, U.S, Reliance Retail, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Reliance, HK, India’s Reliance Industries, Reliance Retail Ventures, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, China, Singapore, Saudi Arabia

☆ Samsonite’s baggage is heavy with geopolitics
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Thomas Shum | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Of the restless group, luggage maker Samsonite International (1910.HK) has the least financial reason to mull a move. The $5 billion U.S. and Luxembourg-based company was one of the first Western companies to list in Hong Kong. Sales from Asia - Samsonite’s most profitable region – accounted for almost 40% of the total in the first half of 2023. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsFrom a liquidity point of view too, Samsonite has had a better experience in Hong Kong than other international arrivals. That’s better than other international consumer brands that boast similar levels of prestige.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Tim Parker, Samsonite, Kyle Gendreau, CK Hutchison, It’s, Calvin Klein, Prada, ” Gendreau, Una Galani, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Woodbury, REUTERS, Reuters, Global, Samsonite, HK, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Prada, Swire Pacific, CK, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: Central Valley , New York, U.S, HONG KONG, Hong Kong, mull, Luxembourg, Asia, New York, Washington, Beijing, China

☆ UBS job cuts are tiny strike at Asia wealth fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of UBS Group is seen at an office building in Hong Kong, China March 20, 2023. The headcount reduction is tiny compared to the thousands it slashed in Europe but it hits on two regional wealth worries. Their risk-taking appetite has diminished as the end of cheap money fuels a shakeout in valuations. More significantly, the pruning of jobs in Hong Kong and Singapore hints at a muted outlook for banks that have thrived on handling assets of rich families. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Tyrone Siu, Una Galani, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: UBS Group, REUTERS, Tyrone, Rights, Reuters, UBS, Credit Suisse, X, Warner Bros Discovery, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, China, Rights SINGAPORE, Swiss, Asia, Europe, Indonesia, Singapore

☆ China’s cautious property giants may be rewarded
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Chan Ka Sing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Yu Liang, president of China Vanke Co Ltd, China's top property developer, attends a news conference announcing the company's annual results in Hong Kong March 6, 2014. China Vanke Co Ltd on Thursday posted a 20.5 percent rise in net profit for 2013, in line with estimates, driven by record contracted sales last year. Yu Liang told investors last week that the property market in the world’s second-largest economy was “oversold”. The chair of $22 billion China Vanke (000002.SZ) is worth listening to. On the same day, the company reported a 19% decline in net profit to 9.9 billion yuan ($1.35 billion) for the six months to the end of June.

Persons: Yu Liang, Bobby Yip, ”, Vanke, homebuyers, Xi Jinping, Xi, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: China Vanke Co, REUTERS, Reuters, China, Mainland, HK, Securities Times, Shenzhen Metro Group, Thomson Locations: China, Hong Kong, HONG KONG, Shenzhen, Evergrande’s

☆ Investors’ China aversion is bad for everyone
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

FIERCE RESTRAINTAs a country on the cusp of high-income status, China ought to be a magnet for overseas investors. Companies in the MSCI China Index trade at 10 times their expected earnings for the next twelve months, half the level of the S&P 500 Index. However, assets following these mandates remain insignificant compared to the $1.3 trillion benchmarked to MSCI’s Emerging Markets Index. However, they have played a bigger role in the past decade funding Chinese companies through Hong Kong and U.S. listings. Chinese equities have a combined market value of $15 trillion, greater than Japanese, French, Indian and British stocks combined.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Goldman Sachs, Gavekal Dragonomics, Gavekal, Tesla, John Welling, Dow, Xi, Peter Thal Larsen, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, U.S . Federal, People’s Bank of, Treasury, HK, Companies, Apple, Microsoft, BlackRock, China, WHO, International, U.S, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Dow Jones, Global, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, China, People’s Republic, People’s Bank of China, United States, Hong Kong, U.S, Gulf, Asia, North America, Shanghai, Shenzhen

☆ Singapore’s wealth boom hits most sensitive phase
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Anshuman Daga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Edgar Su Acquire Licensing RightsSINGAPORE, Sept 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Singapore’s wealth boom may be set for a pause. The amount involved has almost doubled and banks, realtors and jewellery dealers have been caught up in the ring. It is the most eye-catching saga since 2015 when Singapore’s banks were involved in the 1MDB Malaysian sovereign fund mess. As Singapore’s success as a financial centre grows, so too does its vulnerability to dirty money. A thornier problem is Singapore’s desire to avoid perceptions it is capitalising on the troubles of China, its top trade partner.

Persons: Edgar Su, Una Galani, Katrina Hamlin, Pranav Kiran Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, realtors, DBS, Deutsche Bank, Bloomberg, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Monetary Authority of, U.S, Police, Thomson Locations: Marina Bay, Singapore, Rights SINGAPORE, China, Malaysian, Hong Kong, Monetary Authority of Singapore

☆ Singapore’s central bank boss faces a tough start
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, Sept 5 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Central banks pride themselves on being predictable. He is a former deputy to Menon, and currently a permanent secretary at the manpower ministry after spending 18 years in various stints at the central bank. He has led MAS’ financial stability assessment of the city state and completed a two-year secondment to the International Monetary Fund. During his 12-year term, he built up Singapore’s reputation as a global fintech hub and boosted its appeal as a leading financial centre. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Ravi Menon, Chia Der, There’s, Chia, Menon, Pernod Ricard, Una Galani, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Reuters, Monetary Authority of, MAS, International Monetary Fund, X, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Singapore, China

☆ Shelved L’Occitane buyout is no win for Hong Kong
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A woman walks past a L'Occitane advertisement in Hong Kong April 19, 2010. Cosmetics retailer L'Occitane International S.A. plans to raise up to $708 million in a Hong Kong initial public offering, a source close to the deal said on Sunday night. Reinold Geiger has given up on his tentative plan to buy out the minority of shares he doesn’t already own of L’Occitane (0973.HK), a move that would have delisted the European skincare group from Hong Kong in the Asian hub’s largest take-private. The Austrian billionaire didn’t explain why he shelved the idea, which was probably a prelude to a relisting in Europe – mostly likely France. The appeal of such a move is unlikely to have diminished as global investors turn cold on both Hong Kong and China stocks, possibly for the long term.

Persons: Reinold Geiger, doesn’t, didn’t, Geiger, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: L'Occitane International S.A, Reuters, HK, Prada, Bloomberg, X, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, MUMBAI, Austrian, Europe, France, China, Una

☆ Qantas CEO’s exit will barely reduce turbulence
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Alan Joyce, Chief Executive Officer of Qantas, speaks in front of a Qantas 747 jumbo jet, before its last departure from the Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia, as Qantas retires its remaining Boeing 747 planes early due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, July 22, 2020. In July Canberra rejected Qatar Airways’ request to add 21 flights a week to key Australian cities. Gina Cass-Gottlieb, the watchdog’s chair, is targeting a fine of at least A$250 million ($162 million), she told ABC’s RN radio programme. Qantas customers can now get a cash refund, while credits issued by the group’s budget airline, Jetstar, now last indefinitely. On Aug. 24 Qantas reported record pre-tax earnings for the year to June 30 of A$2.47 billion.

Persons: Alan Joyce, Loren Elliott, Vanessa Hudson, Gina Cass, Gottlieb, Hudson, Richard Goyder, Buckle, Joyce, “, ABC’s, Una Galani, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Qantas, Sydney Airport, Boeing, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Australian Competition, Consumer Commission, Virgin Australia, Regional Express, Qatar Airways, Jetstar, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia, Canberra

☆ Lithium miners’ $4.3 bln dance is a two-way hedge
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Albemarle's Chile country manager Ignacio Mehech shows an illustration of brines purification process to obtain lithium carbonate at their lithium plant placed on the Atacama salt flat, Chile, May 4, 2023. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado Acquire Licensing RightsMELBOURNE, Sept 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - On the surface, offering a near-100% premium for an as yet unproductive lithium miner may seem over the top. Dig down a bit, though, and U.S.-based Albemarle’s (ALB.N)A$6.6 billion($4.3 billion) sweetened all-cash offer on Monday for Australian rival Liontown Resources (LTR.AX) has financial merit, as well as offering each side a handy hedge. A plan by Chile’s government to nationalise lithium resources adds more reason for the deal. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Ignacio Mehech, Ivan Alvarado, Albemarle, Kathleen, Antony Currie, Pernod Ricard, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Liontown Resources, Alpha, X, Thomson Locations: Chile, U.S, Western Australia, EBITDA, Albemarle

☆ India's twin growth engines face turbulent weather
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Sept 1 (Reuters Breakingviews) - India’s gross domestic product grew 7.8% in the April to June quarter, its fastest pace in a year. The print preserves the South Asian nation’s title for the fastest-growing major economy, yet the eye-popping level may not sustain. A patchy monsoon and high food costs threaten the twin engines behind the latest headline figure. Meanwhile, El Nino weather conditions mean the winter agriculture crop could be as weak as the summer yield, keeping prices high for longer. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Narendra Modi’s, Modi, Shritama Bose, Pernod Ricard, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Tata Consultancy Services, Reserve Bank, India’s, X, Microsoft, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, El Nino

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