Sri Lanka signs landmark $3.7 bn deal with Chinese state oil giant

Sri Lanka has secured its biggest-ever foreign investment after signing a deal with Chinese state-run oil giant Sinopec, officials said on Thursday.Sinopec has agreed to invest $3.7 billion to construct a “state-of-the-art oil refinery” with a capacity of 200,000 barrels in the southern Hambantota region, according to the Sri Lanka president’s media division.”During President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s four-day state visit to China, Sri Lanka marked a significant milestone by securing the largest foreign direct investment to date,” it said.A “substantial portion” of the refinery’s output would be earmarked for export as part of efforts to shore up Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange earnings, a statement said.”This major investment from China is expected to bolster Sri Lanka’s economic growth while uplifting the livelihoods of low-income communities in the Hambantota area,” it added.The port of Hambantota was handed to a Beijing company on a 99-year lease for $1.12 billion in 2017 after Sri Lanka was unable to repay a huge Chinese loan, a controversial decision which raised questions about Chinese investments in the country.Sri Lanka also defaulted on its foreign borrowings in 2022 during a crisis that caused months of food, fuel and medicine shortages.China accounted for more than half the country’s bilateral debt at the time of the economic crash.Leftist Dissanayake came to power in September and consolidated his position after his party won by a landslide in snap parliamentary polls last November.His four-day visit to China comes after he was given a red-carpet welcome to India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his first overseas trip as premier in December.In a meeting with Dissanayake on Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the two countries “face a historical opportunity to build on the past and forge ahead”.The two sides should see ties from “a strategic perspective and build a China-Sri Lanka community with a shared future”, Xi said, according to state media.Sri Lanka had originally awarded the refinery project in 2019 to an Indian family-owned company based in Singapore, but terminated the agreement after the firm failed to start construction.Officials signalled in 2023 that they would award the contract to Sinopec after another bidder pulled out.Sri Lanka sits astride the world’s busiest shipping route, which links the Middle East and East Asia, giving its maritime assets strategic importance.

Corée du Sud: le président arrêté refuse un nouvel interrogatoire

Le président sud-coréen suspendu Yoon Suk Yeol fait valoir son droit au silence et a refusé d’assister à un nouvel interrogatoire jeudi, au lendemain de sa spectaculaire arrestation pour sa tentative manquée d’imposition de la loi martiale début décembre, a annoncé son avocat.Le dirigeant, devenu le premier chef d’Etat sud-coréen en exercice à être arrêté, s’est également abstenu de comparaître dans la journée à une audience devant la Cour constitutionnelle dans le cadre de son procès en destitution.Après une première descente qui avait tourné au fiasco début janvier, des enquêteurs et des agents de la police ont réussi à investir tôt mercredi la résidence où l’ancien procureur star était retranché depuis des semaines, dans un quartier huppé de Séoul.Suspendu par les députés et visé par une enquête pour “rébellion”, un crime passible de la peine de mort, Yoon Suk Yeol a été interrogé pendant des heures mercredi mais il a exercé son droit de garder le silence, avant d’être transféré dans un centre de détention.- “Souffrant” -Les enquêteurs du Bureau d’enquête sur la corruption (CIO) devaient reprendre l’interrogatoire du dirigeant jeudi mais son avocat a indiqué qu’il était “souffrant” et ne pourrait pas être présent, a rapporté l’agence Yonhap.”Les représentants du président Yoon Suk Yeol ont informé le CIO (…) qu’il n’y avait pas de changement dans sa position, indiquant ainsi son intention de ne pas se présenter”, a confirmé le CIO dans un communiqué.Les enquêteurs tentent d’obtenir une prolongation de 20 jours de la détention du dirigeant, à l’expiration des 48 heures prévues par le mandat d’arrêt, le temps de pouvoir formaliser un acte d’accusation envers M. Yoon.Ses avocats ont en revanche demandé une révision du mandat d’arrêt qui a permis de l’arrêter. Yoon Suk Yeol estime avoir agi conformément à la loi et que la procédure intentée à son encontre est “illégale”. Une audience visant à examiner la légalité du mandat était fixée à 17H00 (08H00 GMT) jeudi au tribunal du district central de Séoul.”Il semble que toutes les tactiques juridiques soient employées par l’équipe de M. Yoon pour faire perdurer la situation” à son avantage, estime auprès de l’AFP Lee Jong-soo, professeur de droit à l’université Yonsei.L’arrestation du dirigeant conservateur, qui avait été élu en 2022, a été saluée par l’opposition. C’est “le premier pas vers le retour à l’ordre”, a estimé Park Chan-dae, chef des députés du Parti démocrate, la principale force de l’opposition.- Retranché -Le 3 décembre, Yoon Seok Yeol avait créé la surprise en déclarant la loi martiale, pour protéger le pays des “forces communistes nord-coréennes” et d'”éliminer les éléments hostiles à l’Etat”.Au sein d’un Parlement cerné par des soldats, les députés avaient déjoué ses plans en votant un texte exigeant la levée de cet état d’exception. M. Yoon avait obtempéré au bout de quelques heures.Le dirigeant suspendu, âgé de 64 ans, a ensuite tenté d’échapper à son arrestation pendant des semaines en se retranchant dans son complexe résidentiel, protégé par des membres du Service de sécurité présidentiel (PSS) qui lui étaient restés fidèles.Face aux enquêteurs, Yoon Seok Yul garde le silence depuis son arrestation. Il a publié sur Facebook un message dans lequel il répète ses accusations de fraudes électorales et invective de nouveau les forces “hostiles” attaquant la Corée du Sud, faisant allusion à Pyongyang.- Demande de report -Ses partisans ont également refusé d’accepter l’arrestation, scandant “mandat illégal” pendant les heures qu’a duré le face-à-face entre la police et les gardes du président suspendu. Jeudi, une centaine de ses soutiens se sont rassemblés devant des locaux du CIO à Séoul, munis de drapeaux américains et sud-coréens, et scandant: “Faites exploser le CIO!”, “Nous protégerons notre président”.Dans le cadre d’une enquête parallèle, la Cour constitutionnelle doit décider de valider ou non la motion de destitution contre M. Yoon votée par le Parlement. S’il perd son titre de président, de nouvelles élections devront être organisées dans les 60 jours.Yoon Suk Yeol avait déjà refusé de comparaître à une première audience mardi et ses avocats ont demandé le report de celle prévue jeudi, selon Yonhap. Mais la Cour constitutionnelle a “décidé de ne pas accepter la demande de changement de date”, a déclaré à la presse son porte-parole Cheon Jae-hyun.Le procès peut se poursuivre en l’absence de M. Yoon, même si la procédure peut durer des mois.Cependant, l’équipe juridique de l’Assemblée nationale a déclaré aux journalistes avant le début de l’audience que l’arrestation de M. Yoon avait “créé les conditions nécessaires pour résoudre rapidement la crise constitutionnelle par le biais des procédures prévues par la Constitution et la loi”.

Stocks follow Wall St higher on welcome US inflation data

Markets extended a global rally Thursday after below-forecast US inflation provided a much-needed shot of relief to investors and revived hopes for interest rate cuts this year.Strong earnings from Wall Street banking titans and a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas added to the optimistic mood on trading floors.Still, there remains a certain amount of caution ahead of Donald Trump returning to the White House next week, having promised to ramp up tariffs on imports, and slash taxes and regulations that many fear could reignite inflation.Data on Wednesday showing core consumer prices rose less than expected in December helped spur a surge in New York-listed stocks led by tech giants including Nvidia, Amazon and Google-parent Alphabet.The S&P 500 and the Dow piled on more than one percent and the Nasdaq more than two percent, putting them back in the green for 2025, with healthy earnings reports from Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, BlackRock and Bank of New York Mellon also lifting sentiment.The inflation figures tempered worries that the Federal Reserve might not cut rates this year — or possibly even hike them — following a blockbuster jobs report on Friday.Swap traders are now eyeing a reduction in July, having been looking at September or October at best.New York president John Williams also provided some soothing comments, saying “the process of disinflation remains in train”.Preston Caldwell, chief US economist at Morningstar, said: “Data on economic growth has continued to roll in stronger than expected, contributing to the upward revision in our 2024 expectation.”However, strong growth has helped generate a large rise in bond yields. If it persists, higher borrowing costs will seriously degrade (gross domestic product) growth in 2025 and 2026.”Still, we expect the Fed to respond adroitly to decelerating growth in 2025 and 2026 with hefty rate cuts, ultimately triggering a growth rebound in 2027 and 2028.”Asian markets enjoyed a broadly healthy day.Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei, Mumbai, Wellington, Bangkok and Jakarta all advanced, though Manila edged down.Tokyo also edged up but was limited by a pick-up in the yen against the dollar after the inflation data and as investors assess the chances of a rate hike by the Bank of Japan at its meeting next week.London rose even as data showed the UK economy expanded at a slower pace than expected in November. Paris and Frankurt also rose.Oil prices also extended a surge this week fuelled by fresh US-UK sanctions on Russia’s energy sector and amid fears Trump will ramp up measures against key producer Iran when he takes the Oval Office.Meanwhile, data Wednesday showed US inventories fell for an eighth week to their lowest since April 2022, with the International Energy Agency saying a colder winter has pushed global demand higher.- Key figures around 0815 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 38,572.60 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.2 percent at 19,522.89 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,236.03 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 8,351.02 Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0299 from $1.0293 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2219 from $1.2239Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.22 yen from 156.52 yenEuro/pound: UP at 84.28 pence from 84.08 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $80.24 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $82.18 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 1.7 percent at 43,221.55 (close)

Israeli cabinet to vote on Gaza ceasefire deal

Israel’s cabinet was expected to meet Thursday to approve a ceasefire and hostage-release deal with Hamas, Israeli media reported, a day after mediators announced an agreement they hope will lead to a permanent end to the Gaza war.The truce would take effect on Sunday and involve the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, after which the terms of a broader peace deal would be finalised, the prime minister of mediator Qatar said Wednesday. Even as thousands across Gaza celebrated the ceasefire announcement, the territory’s civil defence rescue agency said on Thursday that fresh Israeli strikes had killed at least seven people in the Gaza City area.The agreement caps months of fruitless negotiations to end the deadliest war in Gaza’s history. It will pause hostilities one day before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, whose Middle East envoy was involved in the talks.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with both US President Joe Biden and Trump on Wednesday, his office said, thanking them for their help securing the agreement but also cautioning that “final details” were still being worked on. Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who holds a largely ceremonial role, said the deal was the “right move” to bring back hostages seized during the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the war.That attack, the deadliest in Israeli history, resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.Israel’s ensuing campaign has destroyed much of Gaza, killing 46,707 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the UN considers reliable.Demonstrators in Tel Aviv calling for the release of the hostages rejoiced as news of the agreement spread, while thousands across Gaza celebrated the reported deal.”I can’t believe that this nightmare of more than a year is finally coming to an end. We have lost so many people, we’ve lost everything,” said Randa Sameeh, a 45-year-old displaced from her home in Gaza City.Hamas said the ceasefire was the “result of the legendary steadfastness of our great Palestinian people and our valiant resistance in the Gaza Strip”.- ‘Last page of the war’Israeli media reported that the cabinet was set to vote on the ceasefire agreement on Thursday morning. Two of Netanyahu’s ministers have publicly opposed it. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the agreement was a “bad and dangerous deal for the security of the State of Israel” while National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called it “disastrous”.The deal followed intensified effort from mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States.Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani told a press conference on Wednesday that the “two belligerents in the Gaza Strip have reached a deal”.”We hope that this will be the last page of the war, and we hope that all parties will commit to implementing all the terms of this agreement,” he said.The three countries would monitor the implementation of the ceasefire via a body based in Cairo, he said.During the initial 42-day ceasefire, 33 hostages would be released, the prime minister said, “including civilian women and female recruits, as well as children, elderly people, as well as civilian ill people and wounded”.Also in the first phase, Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza’s densely populated areas to allow for the exchanges, as well as “the return of the displaced people to their residences”, he said. Palestinian militants took 251 people hostage during the October 7 attack, 94 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.- Unlikely pairing -Announcing the deal from the White House, Biden said he was “deeply satisfied this day has come”, calling the negotiations some of the “toughest” of his career.He added that an unfinalised second phase of the agreement would bring a “permanent end to the war”, and he was “confident” the deal would hold.Envoys from both Trump’s incoming administration and Biden’s outgoing one had been present at the latest negotiations, with a senior Biden official saying the unlikely pairing had been a decisive factor in reaching the deal.”This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November” in the US election, Trump said on social media.The president-elect added that his White House would “continue to work closely with Israel and our Allies to make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a terrorist safe haven”.- Aid rapidly needed -Biden said the deal would “surge much needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families”.Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also underscored the “importance of accelerating the entry of urgent humanitarian aid” into Gaza as he welcomed news of the deal.Egypt’s state-linked Al-Qahera news outlet cited a security source as saying coordination was “underway” to reopen the Rafah crossing on Gaza’s border with Egypt to allow the entry of aid.Iran, which backs Hamas, welcomed the ceasefire deal, with its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hailing Palestinian “resistance”.The UN’s Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, facing an Israeli ban on its activities set to take effect later this month, welcomed news of the deal.”What’s needed is rapid, unhindered and uninterrupted humanitarian access and supplies to respond to the tremendous suffering caused by this war,” UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X.

Taiwan’s TSMC says net profit rose 57% in fourth quarter

Taiwanese chipmaking giant TSMC on Thursday announced a better-than-expected net profit for the fourth quarter as it benefits from booming demand for AI technology.Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is the world’s largest contract maker of chips that are used in everything from Apple’s iPhones to Nvidia’s cutting-edge artificial intelligence hardware.The firm said net profit for the three months to December jumped 57 percent on-year to NT$374.7 billion (US$11.4 billion).That was better than the NT$369.8 billion forecast by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News, and underscores expectations for sustained spending on AI infrastructure from the likes of Microsoft and Amazon.Net revenue for the fourth quarter rose 38.8 percent to NT$868.46 billion, TMSC said, beating forecasts.For the full year, net profit reached NT$1.2 trillion, up 40.5 percent. The firm said last week that net revenue rose 33.9 percent to NT$2.9 trillion.”We expect 2025 to be another strong growth year for TSMC” as AI-related demand continues to surge, chairman and chief executive C.C. Wei told an earnings conference.TSMC’s Taiwan shares surged 3.76 percent to close at NT$1,105 ahead of the announcement. The briefing was held as Nvidia boss Jensen Huang visited Taiwan where the government says the US chip giant plans to establish its Asia headquarters.TSMC’s full year revenue was expected to increase “by close to mid-20s percent in US dollar terms”, Wei said. Taiwan’s largest company is at the forefront of the AI revolution but it has been grappling with geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington over technology, trade and Taiwan.The United States this week tightened controls on high-end chip exports as it seeks to curb the flow of the advanced technology to China.Wei said the company was still analysing the potential impact from the US restrictions, but it appeared “manageable”.He added that TSMC would apply for “special permits” for customers and the company was confident that those not involved in AI would get “some permission”.TSMC has been under pressure to move more of its production away from Taiwan, where the bulk of its fabrication plants are located.While Taiwan is a self-ruled island, China claims it as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control. TSMC’s new factories overseas include three planned in the United States and one that opened in Japan last year. It is also moving into Europe.The United States will award TSMC up to US$6.6 billion in direct funding to help build “state-of-the-art facilities in Arizona”, officials said in November, finalising the deal before Donald Trump enters the White House.The funding is part of efforts to revive US manufacturing and secure the country’s access to chips.”Let me assure you that we have a very frank and open communication with the current (US) government and with the future one also,” Wei said. TSMC’s expansion overseas drove a surge in Taiwanese foreign direct investment in 2024, Bloomberg reported, citing figures from the Economic Ministry.Bloomberg said the data showed a “decoupling” from China, with investment in Japan and the United States by Taiwanese companies hitting a record as investment in China stagnated.

India achieves ‘historic’ space docking mission

India docked two satellites in space Thursday, a key milestone for the country’s dreams of a space station and manned Moon mission, the space agency said.The satellites, weighing 220 kilograms (485 pounds) each, blasted off in December on a single rocket from India’s Sriharikota launch site. Later they separated.The two satellites were manoeuvred back together on Thursday in a “precision” process resulting in a “successful spacecraft capture”, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said, calling it a “historic moment”.India became the fourth country to achieve the feat — dubbed as SpaDeX, or Space Docking Experiment — after Russia, the United States and China.The aim of the mission was to “develop and demonstrate the technology needed for rendezvous, docking, and undocking of two small spacecraft”, ISRO said.Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Indian scientists for the successful docking.”It is a significant stepping stone for India’s ambitious space missions in the years to come,” he said on social media.Two earlier docking attempts by ISRO were postponed due to technical issues.ISRO said the technology is “essential” for India’s Moon mission, and comes after Modi announced plans last year to send a manned mission to the Moon by 2040.The world’s most populous nation has flexed its spacefaring ambitions in the last decade with its space programme growing considerably, matching the achievements of established powers at a much cheaper price tag.It became just the fourth nation to land an unmanned craft on the Moon in August 2023.