Latest news with #stateowned
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Trump Targets Fertilizer Plant to Tighten Screws on Maduro
One of Venezuela's most valuable overseas assets is set to lose a license that allows it to operate in Colombia, amid a US attack on the finances of the Nicolas Maduro regime. As a Venezuelan state-owned asset, fertilizer plant Monómeros Colombo Venezolanos was subject to US sanctions after 2019. Shortly after, the US Treasury issued a license allowing it to sell its products, and engage in financial transactions, including subsidiaries engaged in port services.
Reuters
10-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Price wars grip China as deflation deepens, $30 for a luxury Coach bag?
BEIJING/SHANGHAI, June 10 (Reuters) - Chinese energy sector worker Mandy Li likes to treat herself to a luxury brand handbag once in a while. But since her state-owned employer cut her wage by 10% and the properties her family owns lost half their value, she only buys second-hand ones. "I'm cutting down on large expenditures," said 28-year-old Li, while browsing for items in Beijing's Super Zhuanzhuan second-hand luxury items store that opened in May. "The economy is definitely in a downturn," she said, adding: "My family's wealth has shrunk by a lot" due to the property crisis China has been grappling with since 2021. As deflationary pressures mount in the world's second-largest economy, consumer behaviour is changing in ways that could lead to further downward pressure on prices, raising concerns that deflation could become entrenched, posing more headaches for China's policymakers. Data showed on Monday that consumer prices fell 0.1% in May from a year earlier, with price wars raging in a number of sectors, from autos to e-commerce to coffee amid concerns about oversupply and sluggish household demand. "We still think persistent overcapacity will keep China in deflation both this year and next," Capital Economics said in a research note. New businesses are seeking success by targeting penny-pinchers, from restaurants selling 3 yuan ($0.40) breakfast menus to supermarkets offering flash sales four times a day. But this trend is worrying economists who see price wars as ultimately unsustainable as losing firms may have to close and people may lose their jobs, fuelling further deflation. Consumer price sensitivities' have accelerated growth in the Chinese second-hand luxury market since the pandemic, with annual growth rates surpassing 20% in 2023, according to an industry report by Zhiyan Consulting from last year. But that growth has also led to a spike in the volumes of such items available for sale - which is noticeable in the level of discounts on offer. Some new stores, including Super Zhuanzhuan, are offering items at discounts of up to 90% of their original price, compared with industry standards of 30-40% in recent years. Discounts of 70% or more are also now common on large second-hand platforms, such as Xianyu, Feiyu, Ponhu and Plum. "In the current economic environment we are seeing more existing luxury consumers shifting to the second-hand market," said Lisa Zhang, an expert with Daxue Consulting, a market research and strategy firm focusing on China. But sellers "have more discounts and it's due to more competition." At Super Zhuanzhuan, a green, carryall Christie handbag model by Coach, which its first owner bought for 3,260 yuan ($454) can be re-purchased for 219 yuan ($30). A 2,200 yuan Givenchy G Cube necklace can be found for 187 yuan. "Year-to-year, it's like 20% growth in the number of sellers, but the buyers' numbers are pretty much stable," said the founder of another second-hand luxury business in China, asking for anonymity to speak candidly about the state of the industry. "The middle class - their salary has really decreased. The economy is the number one reason we're seeing these trends." He said big cities such as Shanghai and Beijing have enough buyers to accommodate new market entrants, but elsewhere in China there isn't any room for more. "I would expect the majority of the stores which have recently opened up will actually close," he said. University professor Riley Chang was browsing through Super Zhuanzhuan not because she wanted to buy anything new - she hasn't spent money on big brands since the pandemic - but because she wanted to see what the market was if she sold any of her own possessions. She wasn't happy with what she saw. "I've been to several major second-hand luxury stores in Beijing and Shanghai and they all try to push your price as low as possible," said Chang. ($1 = 7.1833 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Wall Street Journal
04-06-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Mexico's Pemex to Trim Costs With Restructuring-Related Job Cuts
MEXICO CITY–Mexican state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos said it expects to save around $185 million in administrative costs this year with layoffs of non-union staff as part of the company's restructuring into a vertically integrated company following changes in Mexican laws. The restructuring aims to eliminate duplicate functions and positions in areas such as marketing, planning, and contracting services, while channeling more resources to operating activities, Pemex said Wednesday.
Bloomberg
04-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
China's Debt Market Beckons Debut Borrower in Kazakh Oil Giant
Kazakhstan's state-owned oil producer KazMunayGas National Co. is exploring options including yuan-denominated bonds as a cheaper way to raise funds from abroad, according to its chief executive officer. 'Depending on the market conditions, we may borrow,' Askhat Khassenov said in an interview. 'We looked at all options. Currently there is a possibility to sell dim sum, panda bonds' or debt in Arab countries, he said.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
India's top miner tests local iron ore pricing; shift from global index, source says
By Neha Arora NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India's key iron ore producer NMDC is testing a new pricing formula for its output to shield its profits from the volatilities reflected in global benchmarks, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. State-run NMDC, which sells its output locally, currently releases monthly iron ore prices linked to inventories, international prices and domestic market dynamics. The company plans to launch the new formula after initial trials, the source said, declining to be identified as the plan is not public yet. "We are taking baby steps," the source added. The new formula will not link prices to any international index or exchange, the source said. With the launch of the new mechanism, NMDC will gradually move to a more frequent disclosure of iron ore prices, the source said, adding the intervals had not been finalised yet. "Going forward, we will try to do it more frequently so that there is no lag in whatever is happening in the market and our prices," the source said. The miner will also collect pricing information from different stockyards across cities, compared to the existing mechanism of gathering information from mines, the source said. NMDC did not respond to a Reuters email seeking comments. India's JSW Steel, the country's biggest steelmaker by capacity, primarily sources its iron ore from NMDC. NMDC reported a fall in fourth-quarter profit, hurt by lower product prices. India is also in the process of overhauling the average sale price of iron ore to garner higher revenues for the government, as the mines ministry believes some miners try to depress prices artificially in order to pay lower royalties to the government.
