04/08/2025

BIZ & FINANCE MONDAY | AUG 4, 2025

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India to buy Russian oil despite US threats: Sources

Kering in talks with Qatar for sale of Milan building ROME: Gucci-owner Kering is in talks with a member of the Qatari royal family for the sale of a building in Milan’s top shopping avenue, Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported on Saturday. The deal could help the French luxury group cut its debt, which ballooned to more than €10 billion (RM50 billion) in 2024, following a series of expensive acquisitions. Among them was the 18th century property in Via Montenapoleone, which the French group bought from Blackstone for €1.3 billion in April last year. Corriere said Kering was looking at selling a majority stake in the company through which it owns the building, based on a “similar valuation”. It added that the buyer would be a vehicle linked to former Qatari Prime Minister and real estate billionaire Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al-Thani. Kering declined to comment on the report. It was not immediately possible to contact Al-Thani for a comment. In April, when Corriere first reported about a possible Qatari-Kering deal for the Via Montenapoleone property, the Qatar Investment Authority denied it had any interest.

unless Moscow reaches a major peace deal with Ukraine. Russia is the leading supplier to India, the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer, accounting for about 35% of its overall supplies. India imported about 1.75 million barrels per day of Russian oil from January to June this year, up 1% from a year ago, according to data provided to Reuters by sources. But while the Indian government may not be deterred by Trump’s threats, sources told Reuters this week that Indian state refiners stopped buying Russian oil after July discounts narrowed to their lowest since 2022 – when sanctions were first imposed on Moscow – due to lower Russian exports and steady demand. Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Mangalore Refinery Petrochemical Ltd have not sought Russian crude in the past week or so, four sources told Reuters. Nayara Energy – a refinery majority-owned by Russian entities, including oil major Rosneft, and major buyer of Russian oil – was recently sanctioned by the EU.

subdued despite Western curbs on the Russian oil sector. Unlike Iranian and Venezuelan oil, Russian crude is not subject to direct sanctions, and India is buying it below the current price cap fixed by the European Union, the source said. The New York Times also quoted two unnamed senior Indian officials on Saturday as saying there had been no change in Indian government policy. Indian government authorities did not respond to Reuters’ request for official comment on its oil purchasing intentions. However, during a regular press briefing on Friday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India has a “steady and time-tested partnership” with Russia. “On our energy sourcing requirements ... we look at what is there available in the markets, what is there on offer, and also what is the prevailing global situation or circumstances,” he said. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trump, who has made ending Russia’s war in Ukraine a priority of his administration since returning to office this year, has expressed growing impatience with Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent weeks.

MUMBAI: India’s stranded renewable power capacity – projects awarded but unable to come online – more than doubled over nine months, due to unfinished transmission lines, and legal and regulatory delays, letters from an industry group to the government showed. The South Asian nation aims to more than double its non-fossil fuel power capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030, but the acceleration has left projects without firm agreements to supply power. Renewable projects that won tenders to generate power but are yet to sign power purchase agreements with buyers have surged to over 50 gigawatts, India’s Sustainable Projects Developers Association said in a letter to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy on June 27. That compared with stranded projects of over 20 GW, another letter sent by the SPDA on October 4 showed. Both letters were reviewed by Reuters. Tendered projects cumulatively worth billions of dollars awarded to companies including JSW, NTPC , Adani Green, ACME Solar, Renew and Sembcorp are stranded, two industry officials familiar with the matter said. “Energy transition is not just about building solar and wind capacity, it is also about ensuring that clean power reaches in a most optimum cost and timely manner,” the SPDA said in its June 27 letter to the Renewable Energy Ministry. The stranded solar and wind capacity without buyers of over 50 GW reported by the SPDA is about a quarter the size of India’s current installed renewable capacity of 184.6 GW. The companies did not respond to Reuters requests seeking comment. A spokesperson for India’s power ministry told Reuters on Saturday renewable projects of about 44 GW had been awarded generation licences by federal agencies – which account for most tenders – but did not have supply agreements. He did not elaborate on the scale of the NEW DELHI: India will keep purchasing oil from Russia despite US President Donald Trump’s threats of penalties, two Indian government sources told Reuters on Saturday, not wishing to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. On top of a new 25% tariff on India’s exports to the US, Trump indicated in a Truth Social post recently that India would face additional penalties for purchases of Russian arms and oil. On Friday, Trump told reporters he had heard that India would no longer be buying oil from Russia. But the sources said there would be no immediate changes. “These are long-term oil contracts,” one of the sources said. “It is not so simple to just stop buying overnight.” o Foreign Ministry emphasises independent energy decisions

Kering, which appointed former Renault CEO Luca de Meo to lead the group from September, is under pressure to trim debt and revive declining sales, particularly at its top brand Gucci. – Reuters Indian green power projects without supply deals double in nine months Justifying India’s oil purchases from Russia, a second source said India’s imports of Russian grades had helped avoid a global surge in oil prices, which have remained He has threatened 100% tariffs on US imports from countries that buy Russian oil Nayara’s chief executive resigned following the sanctions, and three vessels laden with oil products from Nayara Energy have yet to discharge their cargoes, hindered by the new EU sanctions. – Reuters

A man riding a motorcycle along the solar panels in Gujarat Solar Park in India. – REUTERSPIC

completed, 70% are under construction and the remainder is being bid out, he said, without specifying a timeline for completion. Renewable projects are also stuck due to prolonged legal disputes over land and environmental permissions, SPDA said, adding that several developers have paused operations over unresolved court cases. – Reuters

renewable energy projects to the grid are being fast-tracked, and compensation for landowners allowing power cables on their property has been increased to facilitate construction, the ministry spokesperson said. India plans to connect 230 GW of renewable energy projects to the grid through interstate transmission lines, of which 20% have been

increase in stranded projects, the duration of delay or companies affected. Delays in critical transmission infrastructure – especially in sun-drenched states such as Rajasthan and Gujarat – have forced many solar plants to miss commissioning deadlines, the SPDA said in the June letter. Interstate transmission lines connecting