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The trick for the Saudis and the Russians is whether the global economy can withstand an oil price closer to $100 a barrel than the $70 level that prevailed in the middle of 2023. Asia's crude oil imports dropped to 25.05 million bpd in September, the weakest outcome this year and down from 25.22 million bpd in August and 27.92 million bpd in July, according to data compiled by LSEG. China's retail gasoline price has risen from 8.06 yuan ($1.15) a litre at the end of June to 9.04 yuan currently, an increase of 12%. The outlier is India, where retail prices have been kept steady despite being market-linked, at least in theory. The retail price of gasoline in the capital New Delhi is currently 96.76 rupees ($1.16) a litre, a level that has persisted since April last year.

Persons: It's, JP Morgan, LSEG, Sonali Paul Organizations: Brent, U.S . Energy, Administration, JP, Retail, Australian Institute of Petroleum, Reuters, Thomson Locations: LAUNCESTON, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Russia, OPEC, United States, ASIA, Asia, China, India, New Delhi

☆ South African rand slightly firms as US dollar dips
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

South African Rand coins are seen in this illustration picture taken October 28, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsJOHANNESBURG, Oct 4 (Reuters) - The South African rand traded slightly higher on Wednesday following several days of weakness as the softening of the U.S. dollar supported risk sentiment. At 1619 GMT, the rand traded at 19.2800 against the dollar , about 0.3% stronger than its previous close. South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker in afternoon deals, with the yield up 6.5 basis points to 11.085%. Reporting by Tannur Anders and Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Alexander Winning and Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Mike Hutchings, Tannur Anders, Anait, Alexander Winning, Chris Reese Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S ., P, Africa PMI, Local, Woolworths, Africa's, Thomson Locations: Rights JOHANNESBURG, Africa, Stillwater, Johannesburg

☆ China and India are so far into frenemy zone that they may never join forces to topple the dollar
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The economist who coined the "BRIC" acronym said the currency idea seemed "crazy." The bloc is helmed by the major emerging nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It also appears that it's just Russia and Brazil that have really pushed for a BRICS common currency. But even if a BRICS currency comes to pass, its use could be limited. AdvertisementAdvertisementPrakash said a BRICS currency would be used in "very narrow and vertical settings, or for BRICS projects."

Persons: —, Washington, Joseph Sullivan —, There's, Jim O'Neill, Goldman Sachs, O'Neill, Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi, Xi, didn't, Li Qiang, Liu Pengyu, Modi, Liu, there's, Abishur Prakash, it's, China hasn't, Palit, Prakash Organizations: Service, White House, Indian, Monetary Fund, China's, UN, China, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, Affairs Ministry Locations: China, India, Russia, Ukraine, Brazil, South Africa, Europe, Africa, Beijing, New Delhi, Johannesburg, China's Washington, DC, BRICS

VATICAN CITY (AP) — A few years ago, Pope Francis told the head of the main Vatican-backed Catholic women's organization to be “brave” in pushing for change for women in the Catholic Church. “Not only because of these events in October in Rome, but because the church has found a different way of being church,” Zervino said in a recent interview in her Vatican offices. It's the culmination of an unprecedented two-year canvasing of rank-and-file Catholics about their hopes for the future of the institution. But the voting reform is nevertheless significant, tangible evidence of Francis’ vision of the Catholic Church as being more about its flock than its shepherds. Zervino’s group, the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations, a Vatican-based umbrella organization of 100 Catholic associations, conducted a survey earlier this year of Catholics who participated in the synod consultations.

Persons: Pope Francis, Maria Lia Zervino, Francis, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, “, ” Zervino, Cardinal Raymond Burke, Francis ’, ”, Sheila Pires, ” Pires, ” Francis, Nathalie Becquart, Becquart, ” Becquart, Kate McElwee, Zervino, they'll, Sebabatso Mosamo Organizations: VATICAN CITY, Catholic, Catholic Church, World Union of Catholic, Bishops, Associated Press Locations: Argentine, Rome, Africa, Johannesburg, Vatican, North America, Europe, “

The world's top importing region saw arrivals of 24.95 million barrels per day (bpd) in September, down from August's 25.22 million bpd, according to data complied by LSEG. September's imports were also almost 3 million bpd weaker than the 27.92 million bpd seen in July, which was the highest monthly total so far in 2023. China imported 11.53 million bpd in September, down from August's 12.49 million bpd, according to LSEG data. Russia was China's top supplier in September, providing 1.81 million bpd, eclipsing the 1.44 million bpd from Saudi Arabia. The main question for Asia's oil demand in the fourth quarter is just how hard the recent price rally will bite demand.

Persons: Vietnam's, China doesn't, Asia's, Jamie Freed Organizations: LSEG, Imports, Reliance Industries, SK Energy's Ulsan, Taiwan's CPC, Brent, U.S, world's, Reuters, Thomson Locations: LAUNCESTON, Australia, August's, Jamnagar, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Asia, CHINA, China, Russia, Iran

☆ Under the radar South Africa looking to surprise
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Nick Said | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

South Africa have genuine match-winners in their ranks, players who can light up the big stage, but whether they have a team from one-to-11 that can perform consistently in Indian conditions is the big question. South Africa’s shock exit at last year’s Twenty20 World Cup following a loss to the Netherlands with much the same group of players still weighs heavy on captain Temba Bavuma. "We’ve been challenging each other to make sure that awareness is there and we’re not taking things for granted," he told reporters. On the face of it, South Africa do have a team capable of success, as they showed in a recent 3-2 home series win over Australia in which they rallied from 2-0 down. But if South Africa can get on a run and find collective form they could prove hard to stop.

Persons: Temba Bavuma, we’re, we’ve, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, isn't, Bavuma, Gerald, Coetzee, Marco Jansen, Andile Phehlukwayo, Nick Said, Peter Rutherford Organizations: Australia, Thomson Locations: JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, India, Africa, Netherlands

☆ South Africa's MTN fintech arm pushes into remittances, business payments
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An MTN logo is seen outside the company's headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa, March 13, 2023. With about 9 million registered mobile money subscribers in South Africa, MTN South Africa's Chief Financial Services Officer Bradwin Roper told reporters on Thursday the group is largely focusing on the roughly 15% of South Africans that are still unbanked. South Africa-based mobile money users will now be able to send money to recipients across over 10 African countries in real time if they are also registered users of the MTN service, Roper said. To make payments easier for such business owners, MTN also launched what it says are cheaper-to-rent point-of-sale devices that merge payments and other added services like airtime purchases into one device. MTN relaunched its South African mobile money business early in 2020, more than three years after closing it.

Persons: Siphiwe, Bradwin Roper, Roper, Nqobile Dludla, Jan Harvey Organizations: MTN, REUTERS, Rights, MTN South Africa's, Financial, Thomson Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa, Rights JOHANNESBURG, Africa, South

☆ South African utility Eskom expects lower power cuts in summer - CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In May, Eskom had projected an unprecedented level of power cuts during the winter months. Although its most dire predictions did not materialise, the country still experienced 10 hours of power cuts for 39 days in winter and not a single day with uninterrupted supply. The country's central bank said in June that regular power cuts would shave off almost 2% from the country's growth rate. In the base case scenario, the country would see "Stage 4" loadshedding at worst, which translates into up to six hours of power cuts in a 32-hour cycle, he said. Bheki Nxumalo, Eskom's head of generation, said he expected lower daily rolling blackouts as the Kusile power plant would progressively come online from October.

Persons: Siphiwe, Eskom, Calib Cassim, Bheki, Cassim, Promit Mukherjee, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Sasolburg, Free State, South Africa, JOHANNESBURG

☆ Zoleka Mandela dies of cancer aged 43, family says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Sarah Dean | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Johannesburg, South Africa CNN —Nelson Mandela’s granddaughter Zoleka Mandela has died of cancer at the age of 43, a family spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday. “Zoleka passed away on the evening of Monday, September 25th, surrounded by friends and family,” the statement, shared on her official Instagram account, said. She documented her battle with cancer on the account. How do I tell them that this time around, I may not get to live my life as a survivor? Her activism also included road safety campaigns after her 13-year-old daughter, Zenani, was killed in a car crash in 2010.

Persons: South Africa CNN — Nelson, Zoleka Mandela, “ Zoleka, Nelson Mandela, Mandela, ”, Mum Winnie, Madiba Organizations: South Africa CNN, Nelson, Nelson Mandela Foundation, Foundation, Healthcare Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa

☆ After Xi's G20 absence, China says willing to play role in APEC's success
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

China is willing to play a "constructive" role in the success of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco, its top diplomat said on Tuesday, after President Xi Jinping's absence at the annual Group of 20 summit in India. "As the world's largest developing country and an important member of APEC, China is willing to comply with the expectations of the international community and play a constructive role in the success of APEC this year," said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Xi, with no official explanation, did not go to the G20 summit in New Delhi this month, with the Chinese premier, Li Qiang, attending in his place. That prompted the United States to say China was "giving up" on the G20 and was building an alternative world order. "Of course, we and all parties hope that the United States will recognize its responsibility as the host, demonstrate openness, fairness, inclusiveness, and responsibility, and create better conditions for the smooth holding of the meeting," Wang said at a news conference, when asked whether Xi would attend APEC.

Persons: Cyril Ramaphosa, Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, China Xi Jinping, India Narendra Modi, Sergei Lavrov, Xi, Wang Yi, Li Qiang, Wang Organizations: Russia's, United Arab, Economic Cooperation, APEC Locations: China, India, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, Asia, San Francisco, New Delhi, United States

☆ China's Xi seriously considering South Korea visit, Yonhap reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING/SEOUL, Sept 23 (Reuters) - China's President Xi Jinping on Saturday said he will seriously consider visiting South Korea, Yonhap news agency reported, as part of efforts to support peace and security on the Korean Peninsula. Xi, who has not visited South Korea since 2014, held talks with Han in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou before the opening ceremony of the Asian Games on Saturday. Xi told Han he would welcome such a summit at an opportune time and would seriously consider visiting South Korea, Yonhap reported. China attaches great importance to the positive willingness of South Korea to commit to cooperation, Xi said, according to CCTV, and asked South Korea to meet it half way to maintain the direction of friendly cooperation. Tensions between the two countries rose after North Korea's Kim Jong Un made a week-long visit to Russia earlier this month, which angered the United States, Japan and South Korea.

Persons: Xi Jinping, GIANLUIGI, Xi, Han Duck, Han, Yonhap, Korea's Kim Jong Un, Albee Zhang, Ryan Woo, Joyce Lee, Mike Harrison, David Holmes Organizations: Rights, China Central Television, South Korean, Asian Games, South, Thomson Locations: Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, Rights BEIJING, SEOUL, South Korea, China, Hangzhou, Seoul, Japan, North Korea, Russia, United States, Beijing

☆ China willing to work with South Korea ahead of summit with Japan, Xi Jinping says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the plenary session of the 2023 BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa on August 23, 2023. GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Sept 23 (Reuters) - China is willing to work with South Korea to promote a strategic partnership to develop with the times, President Xi Jinping told South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Saturday, amid rising tensions surrounding Russia, the United States and North Korea. The commitment to cooperation came ahead of scheduled trilateral talks between China, Japan and South Korea in Seoul on Sept. 26, the first summit led by their senior officials in four years. Xi told Han that he welcomes the summit at an opportune time and he will seriously consider the matter of visiting South Korea, Yonhap reported on Saturday. China attaches great importance to the positive willingness of South Korea to commit to cooperation, Xi said, and asked South Korea to meet it half way to maintain the direction of friendly cooperation.

Persons: Xi Jinping, GIANLUIGI, Han Duck, Xi, Han, Yonhap, Korea's Kim Jong, Albee Zhang, Ryan Woo, William Mallard, Mike Harrison Organizations: Rights, South Korean, Asian Games, China Central Television, South, Thomson Locations: Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, Rights BEIJING, China, South Korea, Russia, United States, North Korea, Hangzhou, Japan, Seoul

A few compounds picked by AI are now in development, but those bets will take years to play out. Reuters interviews with more than a dozen pharmaceutical company executives, drug regulators, public health experts and AI firms show, however, that the technology is playing a sizeable and growing role in human drug trials. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it had received about 300 applications that incorporate AI or machine learning in drug development from 2016 through 2022. Without AI, Bayer said it would have spent millions more, and taken up to nine months longer to recruit volunteers. Finding real-world patients by mining electronic patient data can be done manually, but using AI speeds up the process dramatically.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Jeffrey Morgan, Amgen, Badhri Srinivasan, Sameer Pujari, drugmaker Bayer, Bayer, Blythe Adamson, Roche, Richard Pazdur, Gen Li, John Concato, Natalie Grover, Martin Coulter, Julie Steenhuysen, Josephine Mason, David Clarke Organizations: Pharmaceutical Research, REUTERS, Pharmaceutical, Bayer, Novartis, Deloitte, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Reuters, World Health, Flatiron Health, FDA, European Medicines Agency, FDA's Oncology, Excellence, Medical, FDA's Center, Drug, Research, Thomson Locations: U.S, Johannesburg, Texas, Finland, United States, London, Chicago

☆ Nancy Keates — Reporter at The Wall Street Journal
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Nancy Keates | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Nancy KeatesNancy Keates is a reporter covering real estate, architecture and design for The Wall Street Journal. She has also covered travel, art, education and family issues. Before joining the Journal, she was Johannesburg correspondent and bureau chief for AP–Dow Jones, the international arm of the Dow Jones newswires. She then moved to Washington and subsequently covered international trade and finance. Nancy graduated from Cornell University and has an M.B.A degree from George Washington University.

Persons: Nancy Keates Nancy Keates, AP – Dow Jones, Dow Jones, Nancy Organizations: Wall Street, AP –, Cornell University, George Washington University Locations: Johannesburg, Washington

South Africa has also been criticized for not publicly opposing Russia's war against Ukraine. Political Cartoons View All 1171 ImagesThe U.S. and South Africa announced in a joint statement that the forum will be held in Johannesburg, indicating a mending of relations following months of diplomatic tensions. South Africa is one of the biggest beneficiaries of AGOA, with exports to the U.S. through the act estimated at $3 billion in 2022. It also found that South Africa was not aware that the ship transporting military equipment ordered by the South African National Defense Force from the United Arab Emirates was a sanctioned Russian vessel. Leaders from various countries in sub-Saharan Africa and organizations are expected to attend the forum on Nov. 2-4.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Katherine Tai, Clayson Monyela, we’d, ” Monyela, Cyril Ramaphosa, R, Reuben Brigety Organizations: U.S ., Republican, Democratic, AGOA, Ukraine, South Africa, U.S . Trade, South Africa’s Foreign, Forum, SA, Twitter, South, U.S, South African National Defense Force, United Arab Locations: JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, U.S, U.S . Africa, Russia, Russian, Cape Town, AGOA, Africa, Ukraine, United States, China, Johannesburg, United Arab Emirates, Saharan Africa

☆ South African insurer Discovery resumes dividend on strong balance sheet
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Nqobile Dludla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of South Africa's Discovery group in seen on its headquarters in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, February 20, 2020. Discovery, which has a market share of 57.8% in the health insurance space, declared a final dividend of 110 South Africa cents per share. The company said organic cash generation was strong during the year after increased cash generation in its life insurance Discovery Life following high COVID-19 related claims in the prior period and the reduction in the cost of new initiatives. Discovery's headline earnings per share (HEPS) were 834.3 South African cents, up 5% from 792.4 cents a year earlier. Normalised HEPS, which Discovery considers a more accurate measure of its profit and which also excludes exceptional items, rose by 32%.

Persons: Mike Hutchings, Adrian Gore, Gore, Nqobile, Mark Potter, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Bank, Discovery Ltd, Thomson Locations: Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, JOHANNESBURG, Africa, Britain

☆ South Africa to host US-Africa trade summit despite Russia spat
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

South Africa's economic hub, Johannesburg, will host the U.S.-sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum from Nov. 2 to 4, U.S. and South African officials said in a joint statement on Wednesday. "As President Biden has said, the future is Africa," United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in the statement. Despite Pretoria's declared neutrality, perceived close ties between Russia and South Africa, an important U.S. trading partner in Africa, have ruffled feathers Washington. Pointing to South Africa's joint naval operations with China and Russia in February, and plans to host Russian President Vladimir Putin at a BRICS bloc summit, they also suggested South Africa's trade benefits under AGOA could be revoked. The lawmakers appeared to back up an explosive accusation by the U.S. ambassador to South Africa that a Russian vessel under sanctions collected weapons at a South African naval base last year.

Persons: Katherine Tai, Biden's, Jonathan Ernst, Biden, Tai, Pretoria's, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Ebrahim Patel, Joe Bavier, Grant McCool Organizations: Trade, REUTERS, Saharan, Saharan Africa Trade, Economic Cooperation, United States Trade, U.S . House, U.S . Senate, U.S, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Russia, Washington JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, U.S, Africa, South, Johannesburg, Saharan Africa, Ukraine, Washington, China, Russian, AGOA, United States

☆ Portraits of Fire Victims: Two Toddlers Named ‘Memory,’ and a Teacher About to Wed
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Lynsey Chutel | More About Lynsey Chutel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As many as 600 people called the squalid five-story building at 80 Albert Street in downtown Johannesburg home. They were South Africans who had made their way to Johannesburg from rural provinces, and migrants from countries like Malawi and Tanzania, all trying to eke out a living in the big city. They labored to pay rent to the illegal building’s slum landlords. Jamila James, 3: She almost escapedImageThree-year-old Jamila James rarely set foot outside the building because the streets were not safe, said her uncle, Moris Anamwala. She spent her days in a makeshift day care center on the fourth floor while her mother, Phatuma Anamwala, a migrant from Malawi, sold fruit and vegetables on a Johannesburg sidewalk.

Persons: Jamila James, James, Moris, Phatuma Organizations: Albert Locations: Johannesburg, Malawi, Tanzania

☆ Xi says China, US 'should and must' achieve peaceful co-existence
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the plenary session of the 2023 BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa on August 23, 2023. GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping told two US Flying Tigers veterans who fought for China during World War II that China and the US "should and must" achieve peaceful co-existence, offering further cues for both sides to lower persistent tensions. "Looking to the future, China and the United States, as two major countries, bear more important responsibilities for world peace, stability and development," Xi said. "They should and must achieve mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation." Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Xi Jinping, GIANLUIGI, Harry Moyer, Mel McMullen, Xi, Chiang Kai, Han Zheng, Antony Blinken, Han, Ryan Woo, Michael Perry Organizations: Rights, US Flying Tigers, Japan, American Volunteer Group, Flying Tigers, US, shek's Kuomintang, United Nations General Assembly, Thomson Locations: Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, Rights BEIJING, China, United States, Republic of China

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Sept 19 (Reuters) - China is building two-thirds of the coal-fired electricity generation capacity currently under construction globally, and this may not be as disastrous for the climate as it sounds. The world's largest producer and importer of coal has 136.24 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired generation under construction, according to data released in July by the Global Energy Monitor. China's under-construction coal generation is about 12% of its existing capacity, and adding more coal-fired power would seem incompatible with the stated goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2060. It makes sense from an economic and geopolitical perspective to power China's vehicle fleet using domestic electricity rather than imported crude oil. While it would obviously be better for the environment for China to stop building coal-fired power plants and instead accelerate the deployment of renewables, there is some logic to the current policy.

Persons: it's, Christian Schmollinger Organizations: Global Energy Monitor, China Passenger Car Association, Reuters Graphics, ICE, U.S . Department of Energy's, U.S . Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, Reuters, Thomson Locations: LAUNCESTON, Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Russia, U.S . Department of Energy's Argonne

☆ Planet warming pollution made Libya flooding up to 50 times more likely, scientists find
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The World Weather Attribution initiative – a team of scientists that analyze the role of climate change in the aftermath of extreme weather events – found planet-warming pollution made the deadly rainfall in Libya up to 50 times more likely to occur and 50% worse. They also found the extreme rainfall that hit Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria was made up to 10 times more likely. Extreme rainfall has swept across large parts of the Mediterranean region since the start of the month. They found in Libya, not only did climate change make the extreme rainfall up to 50 times more likely, it also made it up to 50% more intense. The kind of extreme rainfall this region experienced is likely to happen around once every 10 years, according to the report.

Persons: Storm Daniel, Palamas, Angelos Tzortzinis, Konstantinos Tsakalidis, Zohra Bensemra, Maja Vahlberg, ” Friederike Otto, Karsten Haustein, ”, Jasper Knight Organizations: CNN, Getty, WWA, Reuters, Climate, Grantham Institute, Imperial College London, Leipzig University, University of Locations: Libya, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Spain, Karditsa, AFP, Larissa, Derna, Germany, Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

This was reversed in August as strong crude imports and steady domestic output outweighed the record refinery processing rates. This was up 19.6% from the same month in 2022 and also stronger than July's 14.87 million bpd. Crude imports were 12.43 million bpd in August, the third-highest daily rate on record and up 20.9% from July and 30.9% from August last year. Subtracting processing of 15.23 million bpd leaves a surplus of 1.32 million bpd that flowed into storage tanks. The question is how will China's refiners respond to the higher crude oil prices?

Persons: shouldn't, China doesn't, China's, refiners, Sam Holmes Organizations: National Bureau of Statistics, Brent, Saudi, Reuters, Thomson Locations: LAUNCESTON, Australia, China, OPEC, pare, Iran, Russia, Venezuela

☆ Tencent investors Naspers and Prosus announce abrupt departure of CEO Bob van Dijk
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Arabile Gumede | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bob van Dijk Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThe immediate and mutually agreed departure of Naspers and Prosus CEO Bob van Dijk underscores a complicated few years for a firm seen riding on the coattails of its holdings in Chinese tech giant, Tencent . The South African Reserve Bank gave Naspers the greenlight to begin buying back more of its shares from Prosus. 'Getting rid' of the cross holdingPrior to the current structure, Naspers (headquartered in South Africa) owned a third of Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings. Van Dijk oversaw the decision to split off its holding of Tencent and other tech holdings into Prosus in 2019. But that crossholding offered little value to investors with van Dijk telling Reuters at the time: "They [shareholders] said we don't like this cross holding, it creates complexity.

Persons: Bob van Dijk, Naspers, Koos, Van Dijk, Prosus, crossholding, van Dijk, We've, we're, Erwin Tu, Tu, Goldman Sachs Organizations: Bob van Dijk Bloomberg, Bloomberg, Getty, South, Naspers, South African Reserve Bank, Tencent Holdings, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Euronext, Reuters, Citi, SoftBank Group Locations: Dutch, Prosus, South Africa, Johannesburg, Naspers

☆ Prosus CEO exit leaves Tencent elephant in room
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Karen Kwok | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Bob van Dijk is passing an unsolved problem to his successor. The Tencent stake that it owns made up about 75% of the group’s $130 billion portfolio value as of Sept. 15. His workaround was to instead sell little chunks of Tencent shares, and use the proceeds to buy back Prosus stock. Still, the gap reflects shareholders’ ongoing struggles to value Prosus. Neither Prosus nor the 50-year-old van Dijk gave a reason for his exit, but the persistence of the discount won’t have helped.

Persons: Bob van Dijk, Siphiwe, Ervin Tu, Africa’s, Van, van Dijk, It’s, Goldman Sachs, Prosus, Naspers, van Dijk’s, George Hay, Streisand Neto, Oliver Taslic Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Prosus, HK, Interim, Vision, Thomson Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa, Amsterdam, India, Brazil, Tencent

☆ Naspers/Prosus CEO steps down, M&A chief Tu takes the helm
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Tosterling Tannur Anders | Tannur Anders | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But it coincides with a restructuring in Naspers/Prosus relations, with Prosus no longer holding shares in Naspers. Analysts said he was the most likely candidate to succeed Van Dijk permanently. At 0910 GMT, Prosus shares were trading down 0.9% in Amsterdam, while Naspers' shares were 1.5% lower in Johannesburg. Tencent shares closed down 1.6% in China. Van Dijk oversaw Prosus's 2019 IPO and the company's stock boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Persons: Bob van Dijk, Siphiwe, Ervin Tu, Naspers, Prosus, Van Dijk's, Van Dijk, Koos Bekker, Tannur Anders, Promit Mukherjee, Toby Sterling, Radhika Anilkumar, Louise Heavens, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, HK, Vision, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa, Tencent, JOHANNESBURG, AMSTERDAM, Naspers, Naspers ., Amsterdam, China, Prosus, Bengaluru

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