Commodities

A crude oil tanker near the port city of Nakhodka, Russia. India imported more than 6 million tonnes of Russian oil in March.
Commodities

India's dependence on Russian oil soars to 30%

Shift spurred by discounted prices stemming from Western sanctions

23 April 2023
Merdeka Battery Materials is the latest Indonesian company in the resources sector to list on the stock market. (Source photos by Reuters and logo from Merdeka Battery Materials website)
IPO

Indonesia's Merdeka Battery Materials gains 11% in stock debut

Nickel producer's IPO, latest in the country's resource sector, raised $620m

18 April 2023
A nickel processing facility operated by Harita Nickel on Obi Island in Indonesia. The company recorded the country's largest IPO so far this year.
IPO

Indonesia's Harita Nickel shares gain 4.4% in market debut

Battery materials producer raised $670m in country's largest IPO so far in 2023

12 April 2023
Direct reduced iron can be used in blast furnaces, reducing their coal consumption.
Commodities

Kobe Steel, Mitsui partner on low-CO2 iron processing in Oman

Plant would be among world's largest for greener feedstock amid decarbonization push

11 April 2023
Lithium can be extracted from brine in salt flats.
Materials

Sumitomo Metal to produce lithium with rapid-extraction tech

Joint investments eyed in Argentina and Chile for crucial battery material

11 April 2023
Indonesia is emerging as a major supplier of coal as Japanese companies move to reduce or end purchasing from Russia.
Energy

Japan takes chunk out of dependence on Russian coal

Indonesia emerges as beneficiary as utilities, paper makers find new sources

8 April 2023
A Volkswagen dealership in Shanghai. Prices for rare metals used in EVs have fallen dramatically. (Photo by Tomoko Wakasugi)
Materials

Global key metal prices sink on sluggish Chinese auto demand

Magnesium down 75% from 2021 high on supply glut and slow EV sales

6 April 2023
China dominates the global market for rare-earth materials.
Supply Chain

China weighs export ban for rare-earth magnet tech

Beijing looks to strike back after Washington's chip restrictions

6 April 2023
Iraq plans to lower oil output by 211,000 barrels per day alongside coordinated cuts by other producers.
Energy

OPEC+ to cut oil output, signaling clear break with U.S.

Move meant to lift prices and shore up oil producing nations' finances

4 April 2023
A Nippon Steel plant in India. The company aims to boost capacity at its Hazira site to 15 million tonnes. (Photo courtesy of Nippon Steel)
Commodities

Nippon Steel India JV to receive $5bn in Japanese loans for expansion

JBIC joins financing, aims to bolster Japan in No. 2 steel market

31 March 2023
Indonesia's Merdeka Battery Materials plans to use IPO proceeds to partially fund a new nickel smelter amid increasing demand for the metal in electric vehicle batteries. (Photo by Ismi Damayanti)
IPO

Merdeka Battery Materials puts $1.28bn price on nickel smelter plan

Investment comes as Indonesian company aims to raise up to $580m in IPO

30 March 2023
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof: "Palm oil is a stable commodity which will contribute immensely to Malaysia's GDP." (Photo by Norman Goh)
Interview

Malaysia wants palm oil hubs in Egypt, Saudi Arabia: deputy PM

World's second-largest exporter eager to diversify markets amid row with EU

30 March 2023
The new gold, silver and platinum futures are the first assets to launch on the Osaka Dojima Exchange in roughly two years. (Photo by Kosaku Mimura)
Markets

Japan's historical futures market reborn as precious metals exchange

Osaka exchange targets individual investors with small 10-gram trading units

28 March 2023
A car is filled with diesel fuel at a Shell petrol station in Berlin, Germany. Diesel accounts for half of the demand for refined petroleum products in the European Union.
Commodities

European diesel futures down 55% as Asian imports ease supply pinch

Concerns rise that Russian oil may be refined in Asia and exported to EU

28 March 2023
JFE Engineering built this LNG terminal in western Japan. (Photo courtesy of the company)
Engineering & Construction

Japan's JFE Engineering wins $230m order for Taiwan LNG terminal

Island's demand for cleaner fuel set to rise amid semiconductor production push

28 March 2023
A laboratory technician works on biodiesel 40% (B40) in Jakarta in August 2020: Biofuels are getting a renewed push.
Opinion

Asia needs to face up to the downsides of biofuels

Blending mandates distort food markets and can have environmental side effects

22 March 2023
Gold is known as a low-risk safe haven asset, popular in times of economic and geopolitical turbulence. (Photo by Kosuke Imamura)
Commodities

Gold nears record price as U.S. bank failures fuel flight to safety

Banking crisis adds to investor woes over Ukraine invasion, inflation

21 March 2023
The Baihetan hydropower plant in China's Yunnan province.
Materials

Aluminum smelters in China's Yunnan hit by hydroelectric power pinch

Successive production cuts stem from rainfall shortage last year

19 March 2023
Potash for sale in Kolkata: The price of this key ingredient for fertilizer has shot up globally since the start of the Ukraine war.
Commodities

Thailand to revive potash mining project to cut fertilizer prices

Government to lead investment in hopes of raising domestic supplies

18 March 2023
Indonesian nickel miner and processor Trimegah Bangun Persada aims to raise nearly $1bn in an IPO amid demand for the metal in EV batteries. Roy Arman Arfandy, the company's president director, stands second from left. (Photo by Ismi Damayant)
IPO

Indonesia nickel miner TBP aims for nearly $1bn in local IPO

Unit of resources conglomerate Harita Group plans April stock exchange listing

17 March 2023
Private equity firm CVC has around $146 billion in assets under management.
DealStreetAsia

CVC Capital buys $155m stake in Indonesia's Samator Indo Gas

Investment will support Indonesian gas producer's push to expand

17 March 2023
Young people drink coffee at a local coffee shop in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Business Spotlight

Vietnam's coffee culture survives 10 years of Starbucks

Deep history, popularity of local brews make country hard for global brands to crack

17 March 2023
A worker holds palm oil fruit at a plantation in Slim River, Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur says new EU rules aimed at preventing deforestation discriminate against small producers of palm oil.
International relations

Malaysia says EU deforestation rule hurts its small farmers

Producer group presents petition demanding rollback of regulation

16 March 2023
Port workers check a copper shipment bound for Asia, at Valparaiso port in Chile.
Commodities

Nickel, copper prices sink on worries about China's economy

Speculators spurn nonferrous metals, seeing little stimulus from Beijing

16 March 2023
India has big ambitions to expand its EV industry, and the "inferred" lithium deposits found in Jammu and Kashmir could help reduce its reliance on imported battery materials.
Commodities

India's big lithium find fuels hopes and fears in Jammu and Kashmir

Deposits could power EV boom but also affect environment, Pakistan tensions

14 March 2023