KATHMANDU: German Embassy in Kathmandu is organizing a 16-day exhibition on “The German Energiewende: Transforming Germany’s energy system” in Lalitpur from 12-26 April.

The exhibition illustrates the German economy’s transformation towards reusable energy sources, it was shared at a press conference organized by the German Embassy in Kathmandu.

Ambassador Ronald Schafer informed that since Germany is leading the movement with an objective of achieving carbon neutrality in 2050, Nepal too has huge potential in generation of renewable energy through tapping in to various sources such as hydro-power and solar energy, but also working towards energy efficiency, among others.

The exhibition, according to Ambassador Schafer, will be an occasion to discuss challenges, and show appreciation for the efforts of the Government of Nepal to create a conducive environment towards climate-friendly energy in the country.

A statement issued on the occasion said the interactive exhibition has already toured more than 80 locations in more than 30 countries and has been seen overwhelmingly across the world.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a photo story about 60 years of friendship between Nepali and German citizens.

Germany, through GIZ, is supporting Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC) in promotion and development of renewable energy technologies in various municipalities and rural municipalities, the statement said.

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Oli has reiterated the government’s priority on good governance and development.

PM Oli said there is no option to speedy and multi-dimensional development to realize the goal of ‘Prosperous Nepal and Happy Nepalis’.

Inaugurating the 8th International Trade Fair 2019 organized by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) in Kathmandu today, the Prime Minister dubbed Nepal as a country with abundant possibilities for development.

He expressed the commitment to give more priority to domestic investment. He, however, emphasized on giving equal priority to foreign investment and technology since domestic resources were not enough for the country’s development.

Prime Minister Oli also assured the private sector that the government was willing to work in tandem with them.

Around 85 domestic stalls, and 90 stalls from China, 40 from Bangladesh, 10 from India, and two from Pakistan are kept in the exhibition that will run until April 1.

Chinese state-owned firms bought at least 1 million tonnes of U.S. soybeans on Friday, a day after high-level bilateral talks yielded progress toward a trade deal and a Chinese commitment to buy more U.S. soybeans.

The purchases are slated for shipment between April and July, with a large share expected from U.S. Gulf Coast export terminals, three traders with knowledge of the deals said.

One trader with direct knowledge of the deals said total purchases were around 2.2 million tonnes. The other two traders said the sales were similar to three recent waves of buying in which state-owned firms booked 1 million to 1.5 million tonnes of soybeans.

But the market’s gains were restrained by worries that Chinese purchases will hardly dent massive soybean stockpiles in the United States and around the world. The looming harvest of a large soy crop in Brazil, the world’s top supplier, further capped prices.

“It certainly is good to see some concessions and more buying interest from China, but this is a concession in terms of a larger trade agreement. Brazilian offers are cheaper than we are so it’s just part of the negotiation,” said Terry Linn, analyst with Chicago-based brokerage Linn & Associates.

Friday’s purchases by state-owned firms were believed to be destined for China’s state reserves, and thus immune from high import tariffs on U.S. beans. The 25 percent tariffs, imposed last summer in retaliation for U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, remain in place for U.S. soy imports by commercial crushers in China.

Exports to China have plummeted this season during a bitter trade dispute, with swelling supplies sending prices to near decade lows last autumn and U.S. farmers struggling to turn a profit.

China has been buying most of its soybeans from Brazil, which is in pace to harvest a bumper crop in the coming months.

Friday’s sales bring China’s total purchases of the 2018 U.S. soybean harvest to at least 6.5 million tonnes, a fraction of its traditional annual haul from the United States of more than 30 million tonnes.

Trump hails progress in trade talks with China
Through January of 2017, more than 29.4 million tonnes of that season’s harvest had already been shipped to China, with another 4 million tonnes sold and awaiting shipment, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

Benchmark Chicago Board of Trade March futures climbed to $9.31-1/4 a bushel on Friday, the highest point for a most actively traded soy contract Sv1 since mid-June. Beijing slapped steep tariffs on U.S. soybeans on July 6, effectively halting all U.S. shipments to their top customer.

Before Friday’s sales, China had previously booked an estimated 5 million tonnes of U.S. soybeans in three waves of purchases since U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to a trade war detente on Dec. 1.

After high-level trade talks in Washington this week, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He announced on Thursday China would buy an additional 5 million tonnes.

(REUTERS)

NEW YORK: Oil prices rose about 3 percent on Friday on upbeat U.S. jobs data and signs that U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan exports have helped tighten supply, then extending gains after weekly data showed U.S. drillers cut the number of oil rigs.

Brent crude oil futures rose $1.91 a barrel, or 3.14 percent, to settle at $62.75 a barrel. The international benchmark notched a weekly gain of about 1.9 percent. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures ended the session at $55.26, up $1.47 a barrel or 2.73 percent and gained about 3 percent on the week.

Prices climbed to session highs after General Electric Co’s Baker Hughes energy services firm reported that U.S. energy firms cut the number of operating oil rigs for a fourth week in the past five, bringing the count to the lowest in eight months. Last week’s data showed the rig count in January fell the most in a month since April 2016.

Oil prices got a boost from Wall Street after surprisingly strong U.S. job growth data fed demand for equities.  Washington imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s Petróleos de Venezuela SA this week, keeping tankers stuck at ports. On Friday, the U.S. Treasury Department provided details.

“We are beginning to see the impact to crude supplies from the sanctions on Venezuela. It has driven up domestic crude prices, cutting into refiner margins,” Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston, said.

“That, combined with Saudi cuts and Libyan production declines has changed market sentiment as we appear to be moving toward a better balanced supply situation.”

Some U.S. refiners have begun reducing crude processing as sanctions have boosted oil costs and as gasoline margins crashed to their lowest in nearly a decade, market sources told Reuters on Thursday. In January, Saudi Arabia pumped 350,000 bpd less than in December, a Reuters survey showed.

Financial markets also gained support from comments on Twitter by U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday, saying he would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping soon to try to resolve a trade standoff. But Trump later warned he could postpone talks if a deal remains elusive.

China’s trade delegation said the latest round of talks with the United States made “important progress”, state news agency Xinhua reported. “Many traders recognize that sense is likely to prevail and a deal will be struck after the summit – although the shape of any deal will continue to drive a jittery market,” Cantor Fitzgerald Europe said in a note.

Disappointing factory activity threatens global growth
But a survey showed China’s factory activity shrank by the most in almost three years in January, reinforcing fears about fuel demand in the world’s second-largest economy. Analysts believe the oil market will be more balanced in 2019 after supply cuts from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Iraq’s oil exports averaged 3.649 million barrels per day (bpd) in January, down slightly from the previous month, the oil ministry said on Friday.

(REUTERS)

WASHINGTON, Jan 29: The Trump administration on Monday sanctioned Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, ratcheting up pressure on socialist President Nicolas Maduro to cede power to the U.S.-backed opposition in the oil-rich nation in South America.

The action means Maduro’s embattled government would lose access to one of its most important sources of income and foreign currency along with around $7 billion in assets of the state-owned company, Petroleos De Venezuela S.A.

Hours after the White House announced the sanctions, Maduro went on state TV and called the U.S. action “immoral, criminal.” In words directed at President Donald Trump, he said, “Hands off Venezuela!”

The sanctions follow the unusual decision by more than 20 countries, including the U.S., to recognize the opposition leader of the National Assembly, Juan Guaido, as the interim president of Venezuela. Maduro was re-elected last year in an election widely seen as fraudulent. The once prosperous nation has been in an economic collapse, with several million citizens fleeing to neighboring countries.

“We have continued to expose the corruption of Maduro and his cronies, and today’s action ensures they can no longer loot the assets of the Venezuelan people,” national security adviser John Bolton said at a White House news conference to announce the sanctions with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Bolton said he expects Monday’s actions against PDVSA — the acronym for the state-owned oil company — will result in more than $11 billion in lost export proceeds during the next year.

Oil production — the lifeblood of Venezuela’s economy — has been collapsing for years. Despite sitting atop the world’s largest reserves, Venezuela currently pumps just a third of the 3.5 million barrels a day it did when the late Hugo Chavez took power in 1999.

The nation’s refining capacity has also declined because of poor maintenance and lack of skilled personnel. That has left it reliant on Citgo, the Houston-based refining arm of PDVSA, to refine the oil and send gasoline back to Venezuela to meet domestic needs.

“They have just lost that source,” said Russ Dallen, managing partner of Caracas Capital, a brokerage company.

Venezuela is very reliant on the U.S. for its oil revenue, sending 41 percent of its oil exports to the U.S. Maduro can divert the roughly 500,000 barrels per day of oil currently being sold to Gulf Coast refineries to markets in Russia, China, India, Malaysia and Thailand.

But processing international financial transactions is hard without going through the U.S. or European banks. Transport costs would also jump because Venezuela’s ports aren’t well-equipped to load supertankers for transporting oil to distant markets.

That means the country, which depends almost entirely on oil exports for hard currency, will be able to purchase even less food and other imports, potentially worsening shortages and deepening its economic collapse.

Outside the PDVSA headquarters in Caracas, office workers lining up to board red company buses were seeking information about the immediate impact of the U.S. sanctions. As he hurried home with his two children, one employee told The Associated Press that the sanctions signaled tough times ahead.

“Things are going to get difficult,” said the man, who refused to identify himself by name because he feared reprisals from the company. “The United States is one of the few buyers who pays for the oil up front, and it’s probably where most of our income comes from.”

Mnuchin said any money that U.S. entities use to buy Venezuelan oil will go into a blocked account in the United States, not the Maduro government.

He said if PDVSA wants to see the sanctions lifted, there would have to be a speedy transfer of control to the interim, U.S.-backed president and a democratically elected government that is “committed to taking concrete and meaningful actions to combat corruption.”

He said the Treasury Department has taken steps to allow refineries to continue importing oil from Venezuela temporarily. Also, he said Citgo will be able to continue importing oil as long as the revenue is sent to the blocked account in the United States.

“This is a country that is very rich in oil resources,” Mnuchin said. “There is no reason why these resources shouldn’t be used for the economic benefit of the people there.”

Mnuchin said he did not expect the sanctions would cause U.S. consumers to see higher prices at gas pumps.

The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, which represents 95 percent of the refining sector, has lobbied hard during the past two years against any sanctions that would disrupt imports of Venezuelan oil. The association issued a statement saying it supported the Trump administration’s goal to bring change to Venezuela.

“To that end, we will work with the administration to minimize any unnecessary disruptions or negative impacts to the market and American consumers,” the association said.

Mnuchin insisted the sanctions would have only a “modest” impact on U.S. refineries because Venezuelan oil exports to the U.S. have declined steadily over the years, falling particularly sharply over the past decade as its production plummeted amid its long economic and political crisis.

The U.S. imported less than 500,000 barrels a day of Venezuelan crude and petroleum products in 2017, down from more than 1.2 million barrels a day in 2008, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Still, Venezuela has consistently been the third- or fourth-largest supplier of crude oil to the United States, and any disruption of imports could be costly for refiners. In 2017, the most recent year that data were available, Venezuela accounted for about 6 percent of U.S. crude imports. Valero and Citgo are among the largest importers of Venezuelan crude. (AP)

HONG KONG, Jan. 28: Hong Kong saw the value of total exports of goods rose by 7.3 percent in 2018 over 2017, statistics showed on Monday.

The value of imports of goods increased by 8.4 percent in 2018, according to the Census and Statistics Department of the government of China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

This resulted in a trade deficit of 563.3 billion HK dollars (72.22 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018, equivalent to 11.9 percent of the value of imports of goods.

A government spokesman said thanks to the strong performance in the earlier part of the year, the value of merchandise exports and imports both rose notably in 2018 as a whole.

But in December 2018, the values of Hong Kong’s total exports and imports of goods both recorded year-on-year decreases, at 5.8 percent and 7 percent respectively.

A visible trade deficit of 51.2 billion HK dollars, equivalent to 13.1 percent of the value of imports of goods, was recorded in December 2018.

Comparing the fourth quarter of 2018 with the preceding quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis, the value of total exports of goods decreased by 3.2 percent, and the value of imports of goods decreased by 5.1 percent.

(Xinhua/RSS)