SYDNEY: Chinese energy giant PetroChina Co. Ltd. has pulled out of a $40 billion deal to buy natural gas from a project off Australia, leaving Woodside Petroleum Ltd. looking for new customers. Reasons for letting the preliminary agreement lapse were not given, but analysts said Tuesday it was probably because PetroChinahad become dissatisfied with the cost in the two years since the deal was signed. Woodside informed Australia”s stock exchange on Monday that an early stage agreement for the Browse Basin liquefied natural gas project off Western Australia state had not been settled by a Dec.31 deadline and had now lapsed.
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SINGAPORE: Oil prices edged up in Asian trade Tuesday, supported by higher consumption of heating fuel due to a cold snap in the northern hemisphere, analysts said. Data showing that the US manufacturing sector posted its strongest pace of activity since April 2006 also bolstered prices, with analysts saying that a firmer recovery in the world”s biggest economy is good for energy demand. New York”s main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, was up 32 cents to 81.83 dollars a barrel in morning trade. Brent North Sea crude for February delivery gained 11 cents to 80.23 dollars. “It”s an encouraging sign to see quite reasonable declines in the stockpiles of distillates… so you”ve got a bit of momentum in the market,” said Mark Pervan, senior commodities analyst at ANZ bank in Melbourne. Prices were also lifted by news of robust activity in the US manufacturing sector, in a further sign that the US economy, a key engine for global growth, is well on its way to recovering from a deep recession. The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index, also known as the purchasing managers index, climbed to 55.9 percent in December from 53.6 percent in November, for a fifth consecutive month of expansion. The figure was stronger than the consensus estimate of a modest rise to 54.3 percent. Any number above 50 percent indicates growth. “Most analysts are brushing over their 2010 outlook and I think most of the market is taking a more favourable outlook on demand than last year,” Pervan said. London-based consultancy Capital Economics said the rebound in the US manufacturing index “should restore some faith in the sustainability of the industrial recovery.” However, its said “the continued decline in construction spending illustrates that the recovery is still far from being an economy-wide phenomenon.”
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KARACHI: Karachi Stock Exchange Monday witnessed positive numbers on the back of fresh buying which contributed 51 points to the benchmark KSE-100 Index, pushing it to 9,437. The share market kicked off with green digits today and the Index kept moving both sides of the fence. However, the major Index finished positive to close at the present level. The market turnover was recorded at 94.5 million shares. DG Khan Cement was today’s star performer in terms of volume with a gain of paisas 34 at Rs33.90. KSE-30 Index advanced by 75 points to peg at 9,924.
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SINGAPORE: The price of crude oil has risen today, the first trading day of the new year, following Russia”s reported decision to halt the flow of crude supplies to Belarusian refineries over a pricing dispute. Crude for February delivery has risen more than 60 U.S. cents in Asian trading, to hit $80 a barrel. On January 3, the Belarusian government accused Russia of exerting what it called “unacceptable” pressure to force Belarus to agree to Moscow”s terms for oil exports to Belarus, and reports said talks between the neighboring countries had made little progress. The dispute involves Russian moves to provide Belarus with tax-free oil for the country”s internal consumption, but to tax Russian oil that Belarus refines and exports to the West. Some Russian supplies to Germany and Poland were cut during a similar row between Moscow and Minsk in January, 2007 — raising concerns in the West about Russia”s reliability as an energy partner.
LONDON: State-rescued lender Royal Bank of Scotland said Monday that a deal to sell its Pakistan unit to MCB Bank for 87 million dollars (62 million euros) has lapsed after failing to obtain regulatory approvals. RBS had agreed in August to sell the operations to MCB in a transaction that was expected to be completed in the final quarter of 2009, the group said in a statement. “The agreement with MCB provided that if the necessary regulatory approvals are not obtained and closing of the transaction has not occurred on or by 31 December 2009 then the agreement and the transaction shall lapse,” RBS said. “The necessary regulatory approvals were not obtained, and closing did not occur, by 31 December 2009 and accordingly the agreement and the transaction have now lapsed,” the bank added.
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SINGAPORE: Oil prices hurdled 80 dollars a barrel on the first trading day of the year Monday after Russia cut crude supplies to Belarus, analysts said. New York”s main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, rose 78 cents to 80.14 dollars a barrel in the afternoon. Brent North Sea crude for February delivery gained 74 cents to 78.67 dollars. Crude prices rose on concerns over the implications of Russia”s move, which has been effective since New Year”s Eve, analysts said. “Oil is up, reacting primarily to… Russia stopping oil supplies to Belarus,” said Victor Shum, senior principal of Purvin and Gertz energy consultants in Singapore. “That is the dominant factor… and has added some momentum to oil.” Media reports said Russia had stopped supplies to Belarus from December 31, 2009, with ongoing negotiations to restart deliveries hampered by tariff disagreements. The incident is the latest in the energy dispute between the two nations over tariff arrangements. Moscow also severed supplies to Belarus in January 2007 following a similar row.
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DALLAS – Raja Zahid Akhtar Khanzada: Pakistan Chamber of Commerce-USA held its annual general body meeting and oath taking ceremony of its board for 2010 Pakistan Chamber of Commerce-USA (PCC-USA) is one of the largest trade bodies to represent the business interests of Pakistani-Americans in USA, organized its annual general body meeting on December 29th, 2009. The agenda of the meeting included election of board for 2010, finalization of accounts for 2009, review of the year and presentation of the plans for 2010. Election commissioner Rashid Khokhar announced the result after the completion of election process as outlined in the chamber constitution and by-laws. Following idividuals were announced for Executive Board (EBD) for 2010: Abdul Quayyum Khan Kundi, President, PJ Khan Swati, President-Elect, Pervaiz Iqbal, Sr, Vice President, Asif Ehsan, General Secretary, Zafar Mansuri, Joint Secretary, Mumtaz Khan, Vice President, Zafar Khan, Vice President, Khalid Qazi, Vice President, Aamir Khan, Vice President and Shahid Munir, Director Finance. An oath taking of the EBD was administered by Chairman Election committee Rashid Khokhar. After taking oath President Kundi briefed the members about their plans for 2010 which include a business plan competition for young entrepreneurs, submission of proposal to City of Houston to develop it as a distribution center for Pakistani imports, submission of a policy document for the signing of bilateral investment treaty (BIT) between USA and Pakistan; and arrangement of chamber presidents summit in Pakistan for improvement of bilateral trade. The focus of the summit in Pakistan will be opportunities for Pakistani companies in government contracts and aid disbursement. President Kundi also said, “I have a strong team for the year 2010 and I have a firm belief that we will achieve most of the objectives outlined in the plan. But we will need continued support from all our members to work as a team”.
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KARACHI: The price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has increased by Rs3 per kilogram across the country, the LPG Distributors Association said Sunday. LPG Distributors Association President Irfan Khokar told Geo that the prices of domestic and commercial cylinders have gone up by Rs25 and Rs100 respectively. He said that the price of liquefied petroleum gas has risen to 100 with the increase of Rs5 in Peshawar, Islamabad, Multan, Lahore and Hyderabad while it has jumped to Rs120 in Murree, Gilgit, Swat, Quetta and Azad Kashmir.
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KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has achieved the targets, prescribed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the Stand-by Agreement. Banking sources told Geo News that in the quarter ending December 31, the Central Bank has achieved the targets of increasing the external assets and lessening the internal assets of banking system. While the Bank has also attained the target of giving loan to the government set under the Stand-by Agreement. Sources said the official statistics would be released in the next few days. The government had gained Rs16 billion from the auction of Treasury Bills (T-Bills) in December while the government has paid off the Central Bank’s loan from the earned money. It may be noted that instead of releasing the aid in January 2010, the IMF has released the fourth tranche of $1.20 billion on December 28 while $400 million were provided to cover the budget deficit. The IMF aid helped the banking system to increase its foreign assets up to Rs34 billion and the SBP has remained successful in achieving the prescribe targets.
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TOKYO: The Japanese government agreed Sunday to double a state-funded credit line for troubled Japan Airlines to 200 billion yen (2.2 billion dollars), local press reported. The extra funding was agreed at a meeting of cabinet ministers including Transport Minister Seiji Maehara and Vice Prime Minister Naoto Kan, the news agency said. The state-run Development Bank of Japan had set a credit line of 100 billion yen for JAL in November and has already paid out just over half of the total to the carrier, Asia”s largest. JAL, battered by the global recession and swine flu pandemic, is scrambling to slash costs and is seeking its fourth government bailout since 2001 to keep flying in the face of mounting losses.
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