Renergen, an emerging gas and helium producer, has signed a $500 million debt retainer letter with the US International Development Finance Corporation for phase 2 of its Virginia gas project in the Free State.
Futures in Singapore crept higher on Monday morning after surging more than 7% last week on optimism over China’s plans to get the economy moving again after sweeping lockdowns.Asian markets were mixed on Monday following a steep drop on Wall Street in response to a forecast-topping US jobs report that gave the Federal Reserve room to continue hiking interest rates as it struggles to contain surging inflation.
The jump in inflation has forced finance chiefs around the world to tighten monetary policy, with the European Central Bank indicating it will raise rates in July for the first time in more than a decade. Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai and Taipei all rose, but there were losses in Sydney, Singapore, Manila and Jakarta.
The company is struggling under a R6.8-billion debt burden, and hoped that a rights issue of up to R5 billion would provide a reprieve.Mauritius-based company Magister Investments – which has close ties to the Zimbabwean Rudland family, which owns the controversial cigarette group Gold Leaf Tobacco Corporation - has committed some R2 billion to underwrite the rights issue, which will see it potentially take control of the sugar and property group.
The JSE's All-Share Index was flat, with Implats and Northdam down more than 4%. The rand strengthened to R15.53/$. "This employment report was still too good overall to convince the market that the Federal Reserve is going to pause its rate hikes" after increasing them by 50 basis points at its policy meetings in June and July, said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.
Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard warned on Thursday that she did not yet see any reason to take a breather in the third quarter. "The most anticipated OPEC+ meeting of the year turned out to be a damp squib in the end," said Jeffrey Halley, analyst at online trading platform OANDA. "The meeting highlighted the importance of stable and balanced markets for both crude oil and refined products," the group said of the move.
He who warned that oil prices could spike"well above" $120 a barrel in the peak summer period amid tight inventories, geopolitical risk and uncertainty over OPEC. European shares also closed higher, with Paris leading the way at 1.3 percent and Frankfurt rising 1.0 percent. London's FTSE 100 was shut for a holiday.
Boeing was another standout, jumping 7.5 percent after the head of Delta Air Lines said the carrier was hoping for a deal to buy planes from the aviation giant.Major oil producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia on Thursday decided to open taps wider than expected amid soaring prices and hard on the heels of an EU ban on Russian oil imports.
Ahead of the meeting speculation had swirled about a break in the agreement between the 13 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, chaired by Saudi Arabia, and their 10 partners, led by Russia. They have increased output modestly to the tune of around 400,000 barrels per day each month since last year, resisting pressure by top consumers, including the United States, to open the taps wider, until now.
European Union leaders agreed on Monday to ban more than two-thirds of Russian oil imports as part of a sixth package of sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine war. "Apparent elevated US-Saudi shuttle diplomacy lately may indicate that change in OPEC+ may be near," he predicted. Members of the G7 club of industrialised nations last week underlined OPEC+'s"key role" in the face of the tightening of international markets.
Derivative markets pointed to a positive start later in the United States following losses on Wednesday when economic data failed to ease angst over rate hikes to fight inflation. A new survey of South Korean factory activity showed slowing growth in May as import and export orders shrank, the latest indicator of global manufacturing woes.
Carlos Casanova, senior Asian economist at Union Bancaire Privee in Hong Kong, said that an increase in Saudi production could see oil prices stabilise around $100-$110 per barrel.