BlackRock bans company devices for China trips
BlackRock has asked its staff visiting China for business trips to use temporary loaner phones and avoid using company laptops, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing an internal memo.
The world’s largest asset manager told staff that using company-issued employee devices, including iPhones and iPads, is not permitted, the report said.
BlackRock also barred the use of company laptops or remote access via virtual private networks, the report said, adding that employees will not have access to the BlackRock network during personal travel in China.
The report comes as firms witness China’s growing hold over access during travel to the nation. Reuters
Temasek prepares renminbi multi-tranche bonds
Singapore’s Temasek Holdings has mandated multiple banks for the proposed issuance of 5-, 10- and 30-year offshore renminbi multi-tranche bonds.
Credit Agricole, DBS Bank, HSBC and Standard Chartered, are joint lead managers and joint bookrunners for the proposed notes, to be issued by Temasek Financial (I) and guaranteed by Temasek Holdings, according to the mandate.
The notes are expected to be rated Aaa (stable) by Moody’s and AAA (stable) by S&P, similar with the guarantor. the size of the issuance wasn’t disclosed. Reuters
Court lifts Gazprom seizure order
A court in The Hague has lifted a seizure order on Russian energy giant Gazprom’s assets in the Netherlands, according to ruling published on the court’s website.
Last week’s ruling shows the assets in question are Gazprom’s shares in gas producers Wintershall Noordzee and Gazprom International Projects.
The seizure was introduced under two separate cases lodged by Ukrainian companies, Slavutich-Invest and Zhniva, over losses related to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Gazprom did not reply to a request for comment. Reuters
Norway’s Statkraft falls deeper into red
Norway’s biggest utility, state-owned Statkraft, reported a deeper quarterly net loss on Tuesday as lower expectations for Nordic power prices and an ongoing restructuring prompted the group to write down the value of several assets.
The net loss for the April-June period widened to 6.5-billion krone (about $638.6m) from 992-million krone in the second quarter of 2024.
Statkraft, which has continued to scale back its growth ambitions this year amid rising costs, said on Tuesday it will prioritise investments in near-term profitable opportunities. Reuters
AkzoNobel warns of earnings hit
Dulux paint maker AkzoNobel lowered its core profit outlook for 2025 on Tuesday, citing ongoing market uncertainties and adjusting for exchange rates.
The Dutch paints and coatings maker now forecasts adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) of €1.48bn in 2025, down from more than €1.55bn previously.
AkzoNobel’s quarterly adjusted ebitda dropped 2% to €393m, missing analysts’ average estimate of €403m, according to a company-provided consensus. Reuters
Sanofi pays $1.15bn for Vicebio
French pharmaceuticals company Sanofi said on Tuesday it would acquire British private biotechnology firm Vicebio for $1.15bn, expanding its respiratory vaccine portfolio.
Vicebio’s non-mRNA candidate vaccine for treating respiratory syncytial virus and human metapneumovirus will be added to Sanofi’s range after the transaction.
The Vicebio deal includes a potential payment of up to $450m based on R&D achievements, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year. Reuters
Orange offers €4bn for rest of MasOrange
Madrid — French telecom operator Orange has offered to buy the 50% it does not own in its Spanish unit MasOrange for €4bn, Spanish news website El Confidencial reported on Tuesday, citing unidentified sources.
The offer for the stake that is jointly owned by private equity funds KKR, Cinven and Providence is not binding, El Confidencial said.
Orange’s fully owned Spanish unit last year merged with rival MasMovil, which was owned by the three funds.
Orange, MasOrange, KKR and Providence declined to comment, while a spokesperson for Cinven did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters
Coca-Cola beats revenue and profit estimates
Bengaluru — Coca-Cola beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter revenue and profit on Tuesday, as the beverages giant benefited from resilient demand for zero-sugar drinks and higher prices for its sodas.
The company said it plans to launch an offering made with US cane sugar under its trademark Coca-Cola product range, days after an announcement from President Donald Trump.
Food companies have rolled out plans to make changes in ingredients and include healthier substitutes amid Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Make America Healthy Again campaign.
Prices rose 6% overall in the second quarter, after a 5% rise in the previous quarter, led by increases in some inflationary markets.
Meanwhile, total case volumes fell about 1%, compared with a 2% rise in the preceding three-month period. Reuters
European Commission backs medical devices firms
Brussels — The European Commission approved on Tuesday up to €403m in public funding for 10 mostly small and medium-sized companies in a bid to support innovation in medical devices.
The funding is expected to unlock an additional €826m in private investments to the companies, the commission said in a statement.
The commission said the projects are expected to create about 800 jobs and will include the introduction of new digital and AI features in medical devices. Reuters
Japan launches steel anti-dumping investigation
Tokyo — Japan has launched an anti-dumping investigation into nickel-based stainless cold-rolled steel sheets and strips imported from China and Taiwan, its trade and finance ministries said on Tuesday.
The move follows a petition filed on May 12 by Nippon Steel and other domestic manufacturers, who claim they have been forced to lower prices due to weakening domestic demand, as buyers have shifted to cheaper imports.
The ministry of economy, trade & industry, and ministry of finance plan to complete the investigation within a year and will then decide whether to impose anti-dumping duties.
According to the application submitted by the steelmakers, imported products were being sold in Japan at prices 20%-50% lower than those in China and 3%-20% lower than those in Taiwan. Reuters
Weak North America demand hits Halliburton profit
Bengaluru — Oilfield services firm Halliburton reported a fall in profit for the second quarter on Tuesday, hurt by weak North America demand.
US President Donald Trump’s trade policy heightened uncertainty in the energy industry, with the trade war expected to curb global economic growth and, subsequently, demand for energy.
The company had flagged a second-quarter earnings hit from the tariffs and lower oilfield activity in North America as producers evaluated drilling and completions at weak oil prices.
“Oilfield services market will be softer than I previously expected over the short to medium term,” said Halliburton CEO Jeff Miller said in a statement.
The company posted quarterly revenue from its North America segment at $2.26bn, compared with $2.48bn a year earlier. Reuters
India’s Akasa Air expects Boeing deliveries to pick up
New Delhi — India’s Akasa Air expects a pick up in plane deliveries from Boeing over the coming years and to reach its target for a fleet of 226 aircraft by 2032, up from 30 now, CFO Ankur Goel said on Tuesday.
The airline expects available seat kilometres — a measure of passenger-carrying capacity — to increase by more than 30% this financial year, on top of 50% growth the year before.
Goel did not provide a year-by-year breakdown of deliveries, but said they were expected to increase over the period, in a press briefing in India's capital city.
Earlier this year, Reuters reported that Akasa Air’s top executives were privately criticising Boeing for delayed plane deliveries and were scrambling to assuage hundreds of anxious pilots who were idle without work. Reuters
Mali rejects Barrick Mining appeal to free employees
Bamako — A court in Mali on Tuesday rejected an appeal by Barrick Mining to release four employees arrested last November, judge Samba Sarr said, the latest development in a long-running standoff between the Canadian firm and the Mali government over taxes and ownership of mining operations in the country.
The appeal by the company, which has dismissed the allegations against the four local employees as baseless, was determined by the judge to be “unfounded”, said Alifa Habib Kone, a lawyer for Barrick.
The employees face charges including money laundering and violation of other regulations, Kone said.
Barrick has said it refutes the charges against its employees. Reuters
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