Erdogan demands Black Sea grain deal extension

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that he was pressing Russia to extend a Black Sea grain deal by at least three months and announced a visit by President Vladimir Putin in August.

Turkey, a NATO member, has managed to retain cordial relations with both Russia and Ukraine over the past 16 months of the war and last year it helped to broker prisoner exchanges. Turkey has not joined its Western allies in imposing economic sanctions on Russia but has also supplied arms to Ukraine and called for its sovereignty to be respected.

He was speaking at a joint news conference with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy after the two parties met to discuss the fate of an arrangement, brokered last year by Turkey and the United Nations, to allow for the safe export of grain from Ukrainian ports via the Black Sea despite the war.

Zelenskiy's visit followed stops in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, part of a tour of some NATO capitals aimed at encouraging them to take concrete steps at a summit next week towards granting Kyiv membership of the alliance, which Erdogan said Ukraine deserved.

Erdogan said work was under way on extending the Black Sea grain deal beyond its expiration date of July 17 and for longer periods beyond that. The deal would be one of the most important issues on the agenda for his meeting with Putin in Turkey next month, he said.

"Our hope is that it will be extended at least once every three months, not every two months. We will make an effort in this regard and try to increase the duration of it to two years," he said at the news conference with Zelenskiy.

Both men said they had also discussed another key question for Erdogan's talks with Putin ‑ the question of prisoner exchanges, which Zelenskiy said had been the first thing on their agenda. "I hope we will get a result from this soon," Erdogan said.

Zelenskiy said he would wait for a result to comment but made clear the discussion had gone into specifics on returning all captives including children deported to Russia and other groups.

"We are working on the return of our captives, political prisoners, Crimean Tatars," he said, referring to members of Ukraine's Muslim community in the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. "Our partners have all the lists. We are really working on this."

Erdogan said the issue could also come up in his contacts with the Russian leader before his visit. "If we make some phone calls before that, we will discuss it on the call as well," he said.

The Kremlin said it would be watching the talks closely, saying Putin has highly appreciated the mediation of Erdogan in attempting to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.

"As for forthcoming contacts between Putin and Erdogan, we do not rule them out in the foreseeable future," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters ahead of the Istanbul talks with Zelenskiy, which began on Friday.

Russia, angry about aspects of the grain deal's implementation, has threatened not to allow its further extension beyond July 17.

 

Pakistan Stock Exchange benchmark index posts 6.65%WoW gain

The week ended on July 07, 2023 started on a very positive note, with the market going up 2,000 points from the opening bell and closed the day at 43,899 points.

The rally was mainly driven by the positive sentiment coming out from the Eid Holidays as the country’s authorities reached Staff Level Agreement with the IMF on June 30, 2023. Overall, market ended gaining 2,754 points or 6.65%WoW during the week, breaking the 44,000 barrier during Thursday's trading session, up 660 points in intraday trade.

The market capitalization rose to PKR6,685 billion, up from PKR6,361 billion. In terms of volume, WTL topped the list with 162.97 million, followed by CNERGY with 103.65 million shares.

Foreign exchange reserves held by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) rose to US$4.5 billion on June 30, from US$4.07 billion on June 23, reflecting an increase of 10%WoW. Total liquid reserves on June 30 were reported at US$9.7 billion, representing an increase of 4%WoW. Moreover, CPI for June 2023 clocked at 29.40%YoY.

Other notable news for the week include: 1) price of petrol was left unchanged at PKR262 per litre, whereas the price of High Speed Diesel was raised to PKR260.5 (effective beginning July); 2) Pakistan’s trade deficit for June 2023 was reported at US$1.81 billion as compared to US$2.13 billion a month ago; 3) the GoP increased advance income tax rate for commercial importers to 6%, from 5.5%; 4) IMF put Pakistan’s external funds requirement at US$91.5 billion over the next three years; 5) the GoP’s total debt skyrocketed to PKR58.96 trillion in May 2023 due to the increased domestic and external borrowing; 6) SBP reserves further increased by US$ 393 million to US$4.463 billion; 7) Saudi Arabia invested US$0.59 billion under SIFC; 8) Pak Eurobond yields witnessed a significant increase on a MoM basis.

Sector wise, Modarabas/Leasing Companies/Synthetic & Rayon have been worst performers, whilst Refinery remained an anomaly.

Top performing scrips of the week were: NRL, AIRLINK, AVN, UNITY, and INIL, while top laggards were: PGLC, IBFL, GADT, EFUG, and PAKT.

Flow-wise, major net selling was recorded by Banks/DFIs with a net sell of US$5.48 million. Insurance Companies absorbed most of the selling with a net buy of US$5.72 million.

After the bullish end to the previous week, market participants await further clarity regarding the IMF bailout package. The market may observe momentum once the lender concludes its board meeting on July 12, 2024. It is believed that the country's impending risk of default diminish before the market can establish its direction.

Analysts reiterate stance to follow a cautious approach while picking up scrips and continue to advocate dollar-denominated revenue stream scrips (Tech and E&P sector) to hedge against currency risk or high dividend-yielding scrips.

  

 

 

 

 

Saudi Arabia prohibits 30 items in baggage

King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah announced that 30 items are prohibited from being carried in baggage of flight passengers. The airport authorities stated that such goods will be confiscated, and passengers will have no right to claim these.

The airport alerted departing Hajj pilgrims not to carry any of these dangerous and prohibited items in their baggage. Out of these, 16 items are prohibited from being carried in the flight cabins. These materials include knives, compressed gases, toxic liquids, blades, baseball bats, skateboards, explosives or crackers.

Prohibited items include firearms, magnetic materials, radioactive or corrosive materials, equipment, nail clippers, shears, meat cleavers, and ammunition.

The list of dangerous materials that are prohibited from being transported in all baggage included 14 items, such as oxidants, organic peroxides, radioactive materials, electric shock devices, disabling devices, automatic skateboards, liquid oxygen devices, in addition to toxic or biological materials that transmit infection, matches, lighters and flammable liquids.

Among the prohibited materials are compressed gases, explosives or crackers, firearms and imitation weapons, magnetic materials, and corrosive materials.

The airport authorities stressed that these 30 prohibited items will be confiscated and passengers will have no right to claim these. The passengers have been advised to contact their respective airlines for more details.

Raisi inaugurates another section of Tehran-Shomal Freeway

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, on Thursday, inaugurated the second section of the Tehran-Shomal Freeway in a ceremony attended by the Minister of Transport and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash.

Over 170 trillion rials (about US$337.8 million) has been invested to complete this 15.5 kilometer freeway section, IRNA reported.

The construction project includes the creation of nine bridges and 17 tunnels with a total length of 19.7 kilometers.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Raisi said the project could save people's time and cost and it plays a significant role in reducing road accidents.

As reported, with the project going operational, 12.5 million liters of gas are going to be saved annually and air pollutants will be reduced by 511 tons per year.

The first section of the long-awaited Tehran-Shomal freeway, which shortens the route between the Iranian capital and Mazandaran province in the north, was officially inaugurated in late February 2020.

The first section of the freeway which was nearly 32 kilometers connected the Azadegan freeway in the capital to Shahrestanak County in Alborz province.

Back in June, Iranian Deputy Transport and Urban Development Minister Kheirollah Khademi said 293 kilometers of freeways are going to be added to the country’s road network by the end of the current Iranian calendar year.

According to Khademi, who is the managing director of Iran's Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company (CDTIC), the figure is three times the average annual freeway construction in the country.

“Completing the first phase of section 2 of the Tehran-Shomal freeway, inaugurating the Shiraz-Isfahan freeway which is the longest freeway in the country, and completing the Manjil-Roudbar freeway as the bottleneck of the Qazvin-Rasht freeway, were some of the projects on the ministry’s agenda for the current year,” Khademi said.

 

China imposes ban on Japanese seafood

Faced with mounting concerns over the safety of edible imports from Japan, China has vowed to take all necessary measures to abate the worries of its consumers.

This includes extending a ban on imports from 10 Japanese prefectures, including Fukushima, while also deciding to fully screen all shipments from other regions, instead of just spot checking, amid concerns of residual nuclear contamination.

The General Administration of Customs said the plan to discharge the water from the 2011 nuclear disaster failed to fully reflect expert opinions and that it will take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of Chinese consumers.

China first placed a ban on food imports from the 10 Japanese prefectures 12 years ago following the nuclear meltdowns and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan in March 2011.

Food from other parts of Japan, especially edible aquatic products, will also receive “strictly 100 per cent” screening of their certification documents and be inspected.

“Chinese customs will continue to strengthen the detection and monitoring of radioactive substances, ensure the safety of Japanese food exported to China, and strictly prevent the import of risky products,” the customs agency said on Friday.

It will also maintain a high level of vigilance and take absolute responsibility to domestic consumers as the principle.

On Tuesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency approved Japan’s plan to release the water, saying it met international standards.

But the China Atomic Energy Authority responded to the report by saying over 70% of nuclear-contaminated water failed to meet discharge limits after going through a filtration system and that it requires further treatment.

“The discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from Japan into the sea has become the focus of global attention,” Chinese customs added.

“It has also caused Chinese consumers to worry about the safety of food imported from Japan.”

 

 

 

Iran seizes tanker with 900 tons smuggled fuel

Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized a tanker holding 900 tons of smuggled fuel and 12 crew members based on a court order, a report by the semi-official Fars news agency said on Friday.

"A vessel carrying 900 tons of smuggled fuel with 12 crew members was seized by the Revolutionary Guards' Navy patrol vessels in the Persian Gulf with a court order," Fars news reported from Iran's southern port of Bandar Abbas.

Iran, which has some of the world's cheapest fuel prices due to heavy subsidies and the plunge in the value of its national currency, has been fighting rampant fuel smuggling by land to neighbouring countries and by sea to Gulf Arab states.

British maritime security company Ambrey said on Thursday it was aware of an attempted seizure by Iranian forces of a small Tanzanian flagged tanker, around 59 nautical miles northeast of the Saudi Arabian port city of Dammam.

 

Venezuela oil export surpasses 700,000 barrels

Venezuela's oil exports in June rose 8% from the previous month to above 700,000 barrels per day (bpd), fueled by the restart of a key crude processing unit and faster approvals for cargoes departing its shores, according to shipping data and documents from state oil company PDVSA.

Exports by PDVSA and its joint ventures declined earlier this year as an extensive audit of oil sales temporarily froze most supply contracts and led to delays authorizing vessel departures.

Second quarter shipments flowed with less hiccups with US oil major Chevron consistently increasing Venezuelan crude exports to the US under a license extended by Washington, and with PDVSA renewing other contracts and signing new supply deals.

A total of 37 cargoes departed Venezuelan ports in June carrying 715,933 bpd of crude and refined products, and 294,000 metric tons of oil byproducts, according to the data and documents.

The main destination of Venezuelan exports, directly and through trans-shipments hubs like Malaysia, was China. Chevron's exports fell slightly to some 134,000 bpd from 150,000 bpd in May, while deliveries to ally Cuba rose to some 75,000 bpd last month, compared with 58,000 bpd in May.

Iranian companies received about 131,000 bpd of crude and fuel oil last month as part of a swap agreement that also allowed PDVSA to discharge 2.1 million barrels of Iranian condensate in recent weeks. Separately, Chevron supplied its joint ventures with a 450,000 barrel cargo of US heavy naphtha, the shipping data showed.

Venezuela's oil exports averaged 670,000 bpd in the first half of the year, almost 15% above the 585,000 bpd of the same period of 2022.

A 150,000-bpd crude upgrader operated by PDVSA and Russian state firm Roszarubezhneft restarted operations in mid-June following a December fire that caused extensive damages, one of the documents showed. The unit turns extra heavy oil into exportable grades.

The Petromonagas upgrader, which was producing some 73,000 bpd of diluted crude at the end of June, is the fourth oil processing facility now in service in the Orinoco Belt, Venezuela's main oil-producing region. It joined Petrolera Sinovensa, Petropiar and Petrocedeno in processing extra heavy crude. One upgrader remains offline.

PDVSA's inventories of upgraded and diluted crudes from the Orinoco jumped to some 6.1 million barrels at the end of June from 5.8 million barrels in May. But they stood below April's 7.5 million barrels, the documents showed.