Latest news with #BLOOMBERG
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Strait of Hormuz tracker: Fewer ships seen entering oil chokepoint
An oil tanker passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Such ships make up the bulk of traffic through the Strait. PHOTO: REUTERS Fewer commercial vessels appear to be entering the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for energy exports from the Persian Gulf to the world, as Israel's attack on Iran – and signs the US may join it – bring unease to the shipping industry. Importantly, oil tanker arrivals appear more normal. A five-day rolling average of vessels above 10,000 deadweight tons reveals a decline in ships sailing through the Strait into the Gulf since Israel and Iran started exchanging missile strikes a week ago, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The drop was led by container ships and bulk carriers. Departures from the sea are just above usual norms. It is too early to draw definitive conclusions from the data, which are volatile at the best of times, but they offer a tentative idea that vessel owners might be steering clear of the conflict-ridden region. Of the ships entering, oil tankers are showing little impact so far, with about 40 to 44 of the vessels still sailing through the space in both directions. The ships account for bulk of the traffic through the Strait, with more than a quarter of the world's oil shipped through the waterway between Iran and Oman. Movements by liquefied petroleum gas and liquefied natural gas tankers also remain close to the usual combined total of seven to nine ships a day. While Iran has threatened repeatedly to close the Strait in times of heightened geopolitical tensions, the government in Tehran relies heavily on the route for its own oil and gas exports and revenues. Still, traders will be watching closely for any impact on traffic should US President Donald Trump decide to get his country's forces into the conflict. Overall, daily transits through the waterway remain within typical ranges, with most loading and discharge activities proceeding as planned. To be clear, it takes time to parse trends from data on shipping traffic. Cargo-loading schedules, the weather and other things can influence vessel movements and the snapshot covers a relatively short timespan. In addition, electronic interference affecting navigational signals in the region may be impacting the results. While physical traffic isn't blocked, high freight rates for vessels transiting the region reflects the wariness of shipowners amid the sharply increased perceived risk. BLOOMBERG Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Business Times
6 hours ago
- Business
- Business Times
UK retail sales plunge 2.7% in worrying sign for economic growth
[LONDON] UK retail sales plummeted in May, the first time they have fallen this year, in a sharp reversal that suggests the economy could be struggling in the second quarter. The volume of goods sold online and in stores dropped 2.7 per cent after four consecutive monthly increases, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday (Jun 20). It was far worse than the 0.5 per cent fall expected by economists and the biggest drop since December 2023. While the first quarter saw the retail sector's best performance since 2021, a sales surge fuelled by good weather and rising real wages has come to a sudden halt. A weaker retail sector will add to headwinds facing the UK economy in the second quarter after bumper growth at the start of 2025. While gross domestic product growth hit 0.7 per cent in the first quarter, the economy contracted in April and forecasters expect a sharp slowdown over the second quarter. There was a 5 per cent plunge in food sales with weakness across the board in the retail sector. Household good stores suffered a 2.5 per cent tumble and clothing and footwear saw a 1.8 per cent slump. The pound pared gains after data showed retail sales fell more than expected, to trade 0.1 per cent higher at US$1.3484 on the day. Traders priced in 48 basis points of interest-rate cuts from the Bank of England by the end of the year as of Thursday. BLOOMBERG
Straits Times
12 hours ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Evergrande tycoon's ex-wife spent millions on luxury homes after property giant defaulted on loans
Evergrande, once China's largest property developer, was forced into liquidation in 2024 with US$300 billion in debt. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG HONG KONG – The ex-wife of China Evergrande Group's chairman spent millions on luxury apartments in London, nine months after the country's once largest property developer defaulted on its loans. While a court document in January unveiled her ownership of 33 units at the high-end residential development Thames City, it didn't include the timing of the purchase. The properties worth £49.8 million (S$86.3 million) were acquired in September 2022, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News based on UK land registry filings. That's almost a year after Chinese authorities asked Evergrande chairman Hui Ka Yan to pay debt with his personal wealth. Ding Yumei holds the homes through five British Virgin Islands companies. She has hired Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) as a letting and management agent, according to a UK court filing in January. The 68-year-old is living in one of the most expensive homes she purchased, worth £5.4 million, with two of her children and two grandchildren, according to court filings. She was no longer listed as a spouse of Mr Hui in Evergrande's filing in August 2023, while it's unclear when the two divorced. The properties add to a list of more than US$350 million global assets that Ms Ding amassed, including a record-breaking mansion at the heart of London in 2020 and other ones in Vancouver. It underscores the challenges liquidators face in gaining full view of the assets held by Mr Hui and his confidantes, and the obstacles to asserting control across multiple jurisdictions. Once Asia's second richest, Mr Hui and Evergrande exemplify China's real estate boom and bust. His sprawling empire was forced into liquidation in 2024 with US$300 billion in debt, as China's property meltdown continued into a fourth year. In 2024, JLL sought permission from the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales to continue managing Ms Ding's properties, following an injunction issued against her – a request that was granted by a UK judge. The move came after courts in both Hong Kong and London imposed worldwide asset-freeze injunctions on Ms Ding in July, part of a broader effort to recover US$6 billion from her, Mr Hui, and former Evergrande executives. Ms Ding has been told to provide detailed asset disclosure to liquidators in Hong Kong, yet she has delayed the process by applying for confidentiality summons and asking for other technical clarifications. Ms Ding's representatives have argued that she didn't hold a management role in the company and wasn't involved in operations. Ms Ding's representatives didn't respond to requests for comment. Mr Hui couldn't be located, as he was taken away by Chinese police in 2023 and put under control. The monthly rental for the Thames City apartments go from about £3,800 for a one-bedroom flat to more than £34,000 for a five-bedroom penthouse, according to listings from property platform Zoopla. The Thames City project was co-developed by Guangzhou R&F Properties and C C Land Holdings, run by Cheung Chung Kiu, a poker-playing friend of Mr Hui. In April 2022, R&F sold a 50 per cent stake in the project to a private vehicle wholly owned by Mr Cheung at a loss of HK$1.84 billion (S$302 million). Later in 2022, R&F's co-founder Zhang Li chose to stay confined in one of the project's penthouses when he was on bail after facing bribery charges from the US. BLOOMBERG Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Business Times
a day ago
- Business
- Business Times
Indonesia's Prabowo pledges to strengthen ties with Russia
[MOSCOW] Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto pledged to strengthen relations with Russia at a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Ties between the two nations are developing 'extremely actively,' he said in St Petersburg at the start of their talks on Thursday (Jun 19). Putin highlighted 'large and growing cooperation' in space, energy, agriculture and defence. 'We have an opportunity to talk in depth about the whole range of ties,' the Russian president said. Prabowo's visit, coming as he passed up an invitation to attend the Group of Seven summit in Canada, is his first state trip to Russia since taking office last year. He will also speak on Friday at Putin's flagship St Petersburg International Economic Forum, where he's expected to court investment and signal the country's continued engagement with non-Western partners. Prabowo has been seeking to deepen ties with Russia. As defence minister and president-elect last year, he met Putin in Moscow and called for stronger cooperation. Since his presidency began, the two countries held their first joint naval exercises, and the head of Russia's Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, visited Jakarta to discuss military cooperation, marking one of the most senior Russian visits to South-east Asia since Moscow began its war in Ukraine in 2022. Prabowo's visit also follows Indonesia's entry into the Brics group of economies earlier this year, highlighting his push to diversify Indonesia's partnerships. BLOOMBERG
Straits Times
a day ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Putin says grandchild speaks fluent Chinese, has Beijing nanny
Mr Putin's remark offers a rare insight into the Russian president's personal life and illustrates the two nations' close relationship. PHOTO: EPA-EFE MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his grandchild speaks fluent Chinese because her nanny is a Beijinger, underscoring tight Moscow-Beijing relations. 'I mentioned that some of my close relatives are studying Chinese; I was referring to my granddaughter, whose nanny is from Beijing. She speaks Chinese fluently with her,' Mr Putin said during the meeting with foreign journalists in St. Petersburg that ended early on June 19. Russians are showing greater interest in learning Chinese as economic ties between the two nations deepen and annual trade hits US$240 billion (S$309 billion), Mr Putin said. Mr Putin's remark offers a rare insight into the Russian president's personal life and illustrates the two nations' close relationship. China hasn't joined in the international sanctions that Russia was hit with after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, instead emerging as a key trading partner. Mr Putin, 72, is extremely private. Officially, he is known only to have two adult daughters from his first marriage. He hasn't publicly disclosed his children's names. But both of them – Ms Maria Vorontsova, 40, and Ms Katerina Tikhonova, 38 – have been sanctioned by the US, the European Union and the UK over the war in Ukraine. Mr Putin is not the only isolated leader whose focus has shifted to China, including at the family level. Mr Nikolay Lukashenko, 20, the youngest son of the Kremlin's closest ally, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, has apparently been studying at a university in Beijing. BLOOMBERG Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
