Friday, 16 July 2010
Industrial production in the U.S. unexpectedly rose in June as higher temperatures across the nation led to increased utility use. Factory output, which makes up 75 percent of the total, declined the most in a year Production at factories, mines and utilities increased 0.1 percent after a 1.3 percent gain in May, figures from the Federal Reserve showed today. Economists had forecast a 0.1 percent drop in June, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. Utility output rose 2.7 percent, while production at manufacturers declined 0.4 percent.Factories, which led the economy out of the worst recession since the 1930s, are facing less pressure to boost production to rebuild inventories as consumer spending cools. Manufacturers will instead be able to count on gains in business investment that have spurred sales and earnings at companies such as Intel Corp.“The manufacturing recovery is looking a bit more mixed than it was a few months ago when it was hard to find any signs of weakness in the data,” said Zach Pandl, an economist at Nomura Securities International Inc. in New York. “Ultimately, businesses aren’t going to be investing at a rapid pace if consumers are going to be more moderate.”Estimates of the 76 economists surveyed by Bloomberg for June production ranged from a drop of 0.8 percent to an increase of 0.8 percent.Stocks fell on the manufacturing data and after a report showing China’s economic growth is moderating. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.7 percent to 1,087.23 at 10:05 a.m. in New York. The 10-year Treasury note was yielding 3 percent, down from 3.04 percent late yesterday.Empire ManufacturingManufacturing in the New York and Philadelphia regions grew at slower paces this month, an earlier report showed. The New York Fed’s Empire State Index that covers manufacturing in New York, northern New Jersey and southern Connecticut fell to 5.1 in July, the lowest level this year. The Philadelphia Fed’s general economic index dropped to 5.1 in July, the lowest since August 2009, from 8 the prior month. Readings above zero indicate expansion.Other reports showed initial jobless claims declined, reflecting a smaller number of factory closings for this time of year, and producer prices dropped more than forecast.The Fed’s report showed U.S. capacity utilization, which measures the amount of a plant that is in use, held at 74.1 percent last month. The gauge averaged 80 over the past 20 years and suggests inflation remains low.Utility OutputUtility output increased after a 5.6 percent jump in May. Helping to boost utility demand, last month was the eighth- warmest June in 116 years, according to the National Climatic Data Center. Mining production, which includes oil drilling, rose 0.4 percent.Manufacturing was restrained by a decline in automobile production. Output of motor vehicles and parts dropped 1.9 percent in June after a 5.6 percent jump a month earlier. Excluding autos and parts, manufacturing was down 0.3 percent.Consumer goods production fell 0.6 percent. The output of appliances, furniture and carpeting dropped 1.7 percent after a 1.2 percent decrease.Production of business equipment increased 0.9 percent after a 1.4 percent rise in May. Output of computers and semiconductors led the gain last month.Business SpendingWhile limited job creation has restrained consumer spending, manufacturers are enjoying a pickup in business investment in new equipment. Manufacturing shares have also outperformed the market. The Standard & Poor’s Supercomposite Industrial Machinery Index of 52 companies has increased 8.2 percent this year through yesterday compared with a 1.8 percent decline in the broader S&P 500.“Capacity still needs to be increased in order to meet demand,” Richard Hill, chief executive officer of Novellus Systems Inc., said in an interview July 13. “There’s a major overhaul of pc’s throughout the corporate world.”Novellus, which makes semiconductor equipment, said July 12 bookings rose 20 in the second quarter compared with a year earlier and shipments increased 17 percent. “Challenges” in North America “are not as bad as people might report” and consumers are “reasonably confident that the economy is going to rebound,” Hill said in the interview.Intel, the world’s biggest chipmaker, said on July 13 that sales will be $11.6 billion this quarter, plus or minus $400 million. Analysts estimated $10.9 billion on average, according to a Bloomberg survey.Companies have resumed spending on PCs and servers, fueling demand for chips, said Chief Financial Officer Stacy Smith. “We saw a resurgence of the enterprise market” Smith said in an interview. “We see inventory levels that are healthy.”
Source: Bloomberg
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Soybean-Oil Imports by China May Be 200,000 Tons Monthly Through September
Friday, 16 July 2010
China, the world’s biggest consumer of vegetable oils, may import about 200,000 metric tons of soybean oil each month from July to September, the portal Grain.gov.cn said in an e-mailed report. The prediction compares with about 40,000 tons of incoming shipments in June, it said. Brazil is the largest supplier, with about 80 percent, while the U.S. ships the rest, it said. No shipments are likely from Argentina as China began to toughen quality requirements on its soybean oil exports in April, it said. Buyers in China have stopped signing purchase agreements with Argentina, it said. Argentina was the largest soybean oil supplier prior to that, customs data show.
Source: Bloomberg
Palm, Soybean Oil Imports by India to Rise on Demand
Thursday, 15 July 2010
India, the world’s second-biggest vegetable oil consumer after China, may boost imports of palm and soybean oils to meet rising demand during festivals amid a drop in domestic inventories. Purchases in the three months ending Oct. 31 may jump as much as 24 percent to 2.6 million metric tons from a year ago, Govindlal G. Patel, director of Dipak Enterprise, said in a phone interview today.Increased demand from India may push up palm oil prices in Malaysia by 20 percent to 2,800 ringgit a ton by November, said Patel, a vegetable oils trader for more than four decades. The country overtook China as the biggest buyer of the commodity in 2009, helping the edible oil to a 57 percent annual gain.“India will need incremental supplies to meet demand as there’s little available in terms of local supplies,” said Amol Tilak, analyst at Kotak Commodity Services Ltd. “Crushers are not processing oilseeds because of high domestic seed prices.”September-delivery palm oil advanced as much as 0.6 percent to 2,353 ringgit ($734) a ton, reversing an earlier loss.China, India, Pakistan and Indonesia, Asia’s most-populous countries, mark their important festivals in the quarter ending September, with communal meals stoking edible oils consumption. Malaysia’s palm oil inventories fell to a 10-month low in June.Palm oil purchases by India may top 500,000 tons on average each month through October, with soybean oil imports at 200,000 tons to 250,000 tons, Patel said. Sunflower oil shipments may be 50,000 tons each month, he said. China may import about 200,000 tons of soybean oil each month from July to September, the portal Grain.gov.cn said in a report today.Ramadan Demand“Palm oil demand will pick up from now on as soybean’s premium is increasing and buying for Ramadan demand begins,” Patel said. “That will be supportive for prices.”Soybean oil’s premium over palm oil was $112.8 a ton today, higher than the average $89.86 so far this year, according to Bloomberg data. The edible oils are direct substitutes.India’s vegetable oil imports dropped 26 percent to 558,765 tons in May from 751,097 tons a year earlier, the fifth monthly decline, as buyers pared inventories, the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India said June 15.Palm oil makes up almost 80 percent of the nation’s edible oil purchases.Inventories of edible oils at Indian ports have fallen 35 percent to about 550,000 tons at the end of June from about 845,000 tons in February, Patel said. Stocks of soybeans total 3.1 million tons and rapeseed 3.7 million tons, he said.Cooking oil imports in June probably dropped 11 percent to 660,000 tons from 742,000 tons a year earlier, he said.The area sown with soybean may drop to 7.3 percent to 8.9 million hectares this year, as farmers in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, the biggest growers, switch to more profitable crops such as cotton and lentils, Patel said.
Source: Bloomberg
India, the world’s second-biggest vegetable oil consumer after China, may boost imports of palm and soybean oils to meet rising demand during festivals amid a drop in domestic inventories. Purchases in the three months ending Oct. 31 may jump as much as 24 percent to 2.6 million metric tons from a year ago, Govindlal G. Patel, director of Dipak Enterprise, said in a phone interview today.Increased demand from India may push up palm oil prices in Malaysia by 20 percent to 2,800 ringgit a ton by November, said Patel, a vegetable oils trader for more than four decades. The country overtook China as the biggest buyer of the commodity in 2009, helping the edible oil to a 57 percent annual gain.“India will need incremental supplies to meet demand as there’s little available in terms of local supplies,” said Amol Tilak, analyst at Kotak Commodity Services Ltd. “Crushers are not processing oilseeds because of high domestic seed prices.”September-delivery palm oil advanced as much as 0.6 percent to 2,353 ringgit ($734) a ton, reversing an earlier loss.China, India, Pakistan and Indonesia, Asia’s most-populous countries, mark their important festivals in the quarter ending September, with communal meals stoking edible oils consumption. Malaysia’s palm oil inventories fell to a 10-month low in June.Palm oil purchases by India may top 500,000 tons on average each month through October, with soybean oil imports at 200,000 tons to 250,000 tons, Patel said. Sunflower oil shipments may be 50,000 tons each month, he said. China may import about 200,000 tons of soybean oil each month from July to September, the portal Grain.gov.cn said in a report today.Ramadan Demand“Palm oil demand will pick up from now on as soybean’s premium is increasing and buying for Ramadan demand begins,” Patel said. “That will be supportive for prices.”Soybean oil’s premium over palm oil was $112.8 a ton today, higher than the average $89.86 so far this year, according to Bloomberg data. The edible oils are direct substitutes.India’s vegetable oil imports dropped 26 percent to 558,765 tons in May from 751,097 tons a year earlier, the fifth monthly decline, as buyers pared inventories, the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India said June 15.Palm oil makes up almost 80 percent of the nation’s edible oil purchases.Inventories of edible oils at Indian ports have fallen 35 percent to about 550,000 tons at the end of June from about 845,000 tons in February, Patel said. Stocks of soybeans total 3.1 million tons and rapeseed 3.7 million tons, he said.Cooking oil imports in June probably dropped 11 percent to 660,000 tons from 742,000 tons a year earlier, he said.The area sown with soybean may drop to 7.3 percent to 8.9 million hectares this year, as farmers in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, the biggest growers, switch to more profitable crops such as cotton and lentils, Patel said.
Source: Bloomberg
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
Odfjell sells ship for recycling
Another sign of scrapping gaining more momentum whereby some chemical players start to scrap their chemical tankers early. Last week we have Stolt scrapped its 22 year old chemical tanker and not one but two, there is additional news today that Odfjell has sold another coated parcel tanker to Chinese recyclers.
The latest vessel to leave the fleet was the 45,655 dwt 'Bow Prima', dating from 1987.
As with the other recent sales, the vessel has a Green Passport and the buyers undertook that the recycling yard will submit a working plan corresponding to IMO guidelines for ship recycling.
The vessel was sold at a loss of $3.3 mill, Odfjell said.
The latest vessel to leave the fleet was the 45,655 dwt 'Bow Prima', dating from 1987.
As with the other recent sales, the vessel has a Green Passport and the buyers undertook that the recycling yard will submit a working plan corresponding to IMO guidelines for ship recycling.
The vessel was sold at a loss of $3.3 mill, Odfjell said.
IMF chief sees little risk of double-dip recession
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
The International Monetary Fund's chief reiterated on Tuesday that strong growth in Asia and Latin America made it unlikely that the global economy would suffer a double-dip recession. Last week, the IMF upgraded its 2010 global economic growth forecast to 4.6 percent from 4.2 percent due to robust expansion in Asia and renewed U.S. private demand, but kept its 2011 outlook unchanged at 4.3 percent."We expect 2011 to be a little lower than the level of 2010. But all this is too far from any kind of double-dip," Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn told a news conference in the central South Korean city of Daejeon."Certainly our forecast is not the forecast of a double-dip," Strauss-Kahn said.South Korea's Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun, who also attended the conference, also voiced confidence in the global economy, saying a recent slowdown in the United States and China was temporary.The world economy has been recovering this year from its worst downturn in decades, but signs of cooling growth in the world's largest and third-biggest economies sparked worries that the global upswing could prove short-lived."The recent weak economic data in the U.S. and China is transitory with ends of governments' stimulus packages. They will be normalized soon," Yoon said.Yoon also sounded optimistic about Europe's ability to solve its fiscal problems, though he said it would take time and for now Asia was leading the global recovery."During the recent economic crisis, the Asian economy has spearheaded the global economic recovery with appropriate stimulus packages and sound macroeconomic conditions. This trend is expected to continue for a while," he said.Source: Reuters
The International Monetary Fund's chief reiterated on Tuesday that strong growth in Asia and Latin America made it unlikely that the global economy would suffer a double-dip recession. Last week, the IMF upgraded its 2010 global economic growth forecast to 4.6 percent from 4.2 percent due to robust expansion in Asia and renewed U.S. private demand, but kept its 2011 outlook unchanged at 4.3 percent."We expect 2011 to be a little lower than the level of 2010. But all this is too far from any kind of double-dip," Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn told a news conference in the central South Korean city of Daejeon."Certainly our forecast is not the forecast of a double-dip," Strauss-Kahn said.South Korea's Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun, who also attended the conference, also voiced confidence in the global economy, saying a recent slowdown in the United States and China was temporary.The world economy has been recovering this year from its worst downturn in decades, but signs of cooling growth in the world's largest and third-biggest economies sparked worries that the global upswing could prove short-lived."The recent weak economic data in the U.S. and China is transitory with ends of governments' stimulus packages. They will be normalized soon," Yoon said.Yoon also sounded optimistic about Europe's ability to solve its fiscal problems, though he said it would take time and for now Asia was leading the global recovery."During the recent economic crisis, the Asian economy has spearheaded the global economic recovery with appropriate stimulus packages and sound macroeconomic conditions. This trend is expected to continue for a while," he said.Source: Reuters
Stolt-Nielsen S.A. Proposes Plan to Migrate Parent Company to Bermuda
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
Stolt-Nielsen S.A. announced a proposed plan to migrate the location of the parent company to Bermuda from Luxembourg, where SNSA is currently registered. Luxembourg's special holding company regime will end as of December 31, 2010, as part of ongoing initiatives to harmonise laws and regulations among the member states of the European Union. The proposed move is intended to enable the Company and its shareholders to continue to benefit from a legal structure similar to that which the Company has experienced as a holding company in Luxembourg since 1974. The proposal is subject to the approval of SNSA shareholders and will be voted upon at an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders to be held in Luxembourg at a date to be determined. If approved, the migration of SNSA to Bermuda is expected to be completed by the close of SNSA's fiscal year on November 30, 2010. The migration is not expected to result in any significant practical changes, from either a shareholder perspective or in terms of the Company's functional structure, locations or operations. Shares would continue to be traded on the Oslo Bors. Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Niels G. Stolt-Nielsen, Chief Executive Officer of SNSA, said: "The Board of Directors of SNSA and the Company's management are confident that this proposal, if approved, will enable the Company to continue to optimise the benefits of its current structure." Source: Stolt-Nielsen S.A.
Sunday, 20 June 2010
Indonesia: Opportunities Abound
19 June 2010
Indonesia's huge infrastructure investment programme and rapid economic growth are powering up the construction sector, with opportunities aplenty for both foreign and domestic contractors. The Indonesian government has said that it is seeking upwards of $110bn from investors to finance infrastructure projects up to 2014. Overall, it expects some $150bn to be invested in infrastructure over the next four years, as the country aims to support 7% annual growth. Indonesian officials are keen to bring in foreign partners to drive infrastructure expansion.
In early June, representatives of Indonesian government officials met Chinese construction and electrical firms in Shanghai, hoping to lay the foundations for deals that could see Chinese contractors take on projects in Indonesia. A wide range of construction schemes were on the table. Ahmad Heryawan, the governor of West Java, spoke on behalf of the province's investment body, Jasa Sarana, which is looking for a partner to develop a $1bn, 240-km toll road between Bandung and Tasikmalaya, as well as a $1bn port at Cilamaya designed to relieve pressure on Tanjung Priok. According to Heryawan, Toyota Astra Motor, the Indonesian wing of the Japanese automaker, has already expressed an interest in the port project. Meanwhile, Riau and East Kalimantan provinces are looking to build many hundreds of kilometres of rail tracks, and East Kalimantan, a growing energy centre, is looking for an investor to take on the construction of a 930-MW power plant.
A number of projects are already under way, including the Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) network, which will help alleviate the capital's chronic traffic problems. The first phase of construction for the 14.5-km line between Lebak Bulus and Dukuh Atas is expected to be complete by 2016, and the second by 2020. The project is part-funded by the international wing of the Japanese government-owned Japan Finance Corporation (JFC), the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), which has invested substantial amounts in Indonesia. Foreign investors already present are well aware of the importance of Indonesia's investments in infrastructure and are upbeat about ongoing reforms that will encourage greater foreign and private sector participation. "The imperative for the government to address the many infrastructure-related issues the country faces has never been higher," Roy Olsen, the president director of Thiess, an Australian mining and construction company active in Indonesia, told OBG.
"There are indications that the government will review the law addressing the issue of land acquisition, which has been a major stumbling block in terms of encouraging foreign investment in the infrastructure sector under the public-private partnership model." Gita Wirawan, the chairman of Indonesia's Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), has pointed out that the country has already made significant progress in easing investment. She cited the example of obtaining a business permit, which now takes between four hours and seven days, while it took six months in the past. Government projects have been a vital driving force for the construction industry during the global economic downturn, in Indonesia as elsewhere, though the country still managed impressive 4.5% growth in 2009 at a time when many other countries slipped into recession. State-led programmes will continue to remain important, but the private sector will also be increasingly vital as the economy expands. Bank Indonesia (BI), the country's central bank, has forecast economic growth of 6% in 2010 and 6.5% in 2011. According to the IMF and analyst surveys, growth is expected to come in around 6% this year, which is likely feed through into rising demand for construction services, residential, commercial, industrial and tourist property, as well as logistics following the enhancement of the transport network.
Sector players will be keeping a keen eye on BI's interest rate movements. They are hoping for a "Goldilocks" outcome in which rates are kept low enough to keep credit moving, after a spell in which liquidity was rather light, but ensuring that inflation, which had a serious impact on the industry in 2008, is kept in check. The bank expects to keep rates in the 6.5-7% bracket in 2010 and 2011, supporting Indonesia's rapid growth, with inflation at 4-6%, somewhat high by international standards but eminently manageable for a rising economy. The BI governor, Hartadi Sarwono, believes that "inflation pressure is still benign", allowing the BI to keep rates at the record low of 6.5% for the duration of this year. He expects loan growth of 20-24% in 2010, which should prove healthy for project finance in the private sector.
From: Oxford Business Group
Indonesia's huge infrastructure investment programme and rapid economic growth are powering up the construction sector, with opportunities aplenty for both foreign and domestic contractors. The Indonesian government has said that it is seeking upwards of $110bn from investors to finance infrastructure projects up to 2014. Overall, it expects some $150bn to be invested in infrastructure over the next four years, as the country aims to support 7% annual growth. Indonesian officials are keen to bring in foreign partners to drive infrastructure expansion.
In early June, representatives of Indonesian government officials met Chinese construction and electrical firms in Shanghai, hoping to lay the foundations for deals that could see Chinese contractors take on projects in Indonesia. A wide range of construction schemes were on the table. Ahmad Heryawan, the governor of West Java, spoke on behalf of the province's investment body, Jasa Sarana, which is looking for a partner to develop a $1bn, 240-km toll road between Bandung and Tasikmalaya, as well as a $1bn port at Cilamaya designed to relieve pressure on Tanjung Priok. According to Heryawan, Toyota Astra Motor, the Indonesian wing of the Japanese automaker, has already expressed an interest in the port project. Meanwhile, Riau and East Kalimantan provinces are looking to build many hundreds of kilometres of rail tracks, and East Kalimantan, a growing energy centre, is looking for an investor to take on the construction of a 930-MW power plant.
A number of projects are already under way, including the Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) network, which will help alleviate the capital's chronic traffic problems. The first phase of construction for the 14.5-km line between Lebak Bulus and Dukuh Atas is expected to be complete by 2016, and the second by 2020. The project is part-funded by the international wing of the Japanese government-owned Japan Finance Corporation (JFC), the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), which has invested substantial amounts in Indonesia. Foreign investors already present are well aware of the importance of Indonesia's investments in infrastructure and are upbeat about ongoing reforms that will encourage greater foreign and private sector participation. "The imperative for the government to address the many infrastructure-related issues the country faces has never been higher," Roy Olsen, the president director of Thiess, an Australian mining and construction company active in Indonesia, told OBG.
"There are indications that the government will review the law addressing the issue of land acquisition, which has been a major stumbling block in terms of encouraging foreign investment in the infrastructure sector under the public-private partnership model." Gita Wirawan, the chairman of Indonesia's Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), has pointed out that the country has already made significant progress in easing investment. She cited the example of obtaining a business permit, which now takes between four hours and seven days, while it took six months in the past. Government projects have been a vital driving force for the construction industry during the global economic downturn, in Indonesia as elsewhere, though the country still managed impressive 4.5% growth in 2009 at a time when many other countries slipped into recession. State-led programmes will continue to remain important, but the private sector will also be increasingly vital as the economy expands. Bank Indonesia (BI), the country's central bank, has forecast economic growth of 6% in 2010 and 6.5% in 2011. According to the IMF and analyst surveys, growth is expected to come in around 6% this year, which is likely feed through into rising demand for construction services, residential, commercial, industrial and tourist property, as well as logistics following the enhancement of the transport network.
Sector players will be keeping a keen eye on BI's interest rate movements. They are hoping for a "Goldilocks" outcome in which rates are kept low enough to keep credit moving, after a spell in which liquidity was rather light, but ensuring that inflation, which had a serious impact on the industry in 2008, is kept in check. The bank expects to keep rates in the 6.5-7% bracket in 2010 and 2011, supporting Indonesia's rapid growth, with inflation at 4-6%, somewhat high by international standards but eminently manageable for a rising economy. The BI governor, Hartadi Sarwono, believes that "inflation pressure is still benign", allowing the BI to keep rates at the record low of 6.5% for the duration of this year. He expects loan growth of 20-24% in 2010, which should prove healthy for project finance in the private sector.
From: Oxford Business Group
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