India agrees on conditional nod for Starlink operations in country, CNBC-TV18 reports
(Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
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The Star
6 hours ago
- The Star
Runway widens for SIA as Jetstar Asia exits amid aviation turbulence
SINGAPORE: Escalating tensions between Israel and Iran and the tragic crash of Air India Flight AI171 have roiled the global aviation industry and clouded the operational outlook for many airlines, including major carriers like Singapore Airlines (SIA). Yet there could be a silver lining for the national airline amid the turbulence, following the closure of Singapore-based budget carrier Jetstar Asia. On June 12, an Air India plane bound for London crashed outside the perimeter of India's Ahmedabad airport, resulting in at least 271 casualties. The crash could have an impact on SIA, as it holds a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India, following the carrier's merger with Vistara, another Indian airline, in November 2024. Before the merger, Vistara was jointly owned by Tata Sons and SIA. A day later, on June 13, geopolitical tensions rose sharply when Israel launched air strikes on Iran, with Iran subsequently retaliating. The attacks, which continued over the weekend, sent oil prices surging as much as 7 per cent on June 13 before partially retreating. Volatile oil prices could have a direct impact on airlines, including SIA, as jet fuel, derived from oil, is its largest operating expense. US airline shares fell, hit by worries of a broad and protracted Middle East conflict. Shares of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines all finished lower on June 13 before recovering on June 16. SIA shares fell around 1.3 per cent on June 13 to $6.94. They closed lower at $6.88 on June 17. Despite the uncertain outlook, there are unique growth opportunities for SIA, following Jetstar Asia's June 11 announcement that it will close on July 31. SIA will reportedly ramp up flights to key Asian destinations after Jetstar Asia ceases operations. Scoot, SIA's low-cost subsidiary, plans to launch new flights to Okinawa, Japan, and Labuan Bajo, Indonesia. This bodes well for SIA, as Scoot is now well positioned to capture market share following Jetstar Asia's exit, said Morningstar director Lorraine Tan. Maybank analyst Eric Ong said: 'The exit of Jetstar Asia may bring some reprieve in the competitive low-cost carrier market in terms of load factor and yield.' With one less airline operating, there will be fewer available seats, which may lead to higher load factors for SIA and Scoot as more passengers fly on existing flights. In addition, the reduced competition could allow the airlines to stabilise or even increase ticket prices, leading to improved yields and profitability. Jetstar Asia operated around 180 weekly flights from Changi Airport and carried 2.3 million passengers in 2024. Its exit creates a significant gap in the market – one that competitors like Scoot are well placed to fill. For the year ended March 31, SIA and Scoot carried a record 39.4 million passengers. Morningstar's Tan noted that while the exit of Jetstar Asia will have a more material impact on SIA than the crash of the Air India flight and Israel-Iran conflict, oil prices may stay elevated while fighting continues. 'Increased market share and reduced competition could be offset by higher fuel costs and increased associate losses (in 2025),' she said. DBS Bank analyst Jason Sum noted that SIA remains 'relatively insulated' from the rise in Brent crude and jet fuel prices, having hedged around 40 per cent of its near-term fuel requirements. SIA uses a fuel-hedging policy to manage the volatility of oil prices. The higher fuel cost could also be partially mitigated by a weaker US dollar, added OCBC Bank's head of investment research Carmen Lee. In any case, analysts from energy research company Rystad Energy noted that oil prices might already be stabilising, rather than escalating further. For now, the conflict appears likely to be contained, the analysts said, projecting that oil prices will be capped at below US$80 a barrel. The price of Brent crude moderated to hover between US$73 and US$74 a barrel on June 16, after hitting US$78 on June 13. But airlines' growth can also be hit by souring consumer sentiment, if people cut back on their travel plans because of rising tensions in the Middle East, OCBC's Lee said. DBS' Sum also noted that the Air India incident could weigh on consumer perception and potentially slow the airline's transformation. 'This could result in a moderately larger share of losses for SIA, although we do not expect a material impact on SIA's bottom line at this stage,' he said. - The Straits Times/ANN
The Sun
8 hours ago
- The Sun
China EV brands Zeekr, Neta accused of inflating car sales
CHINESE electric vehicle brands Neta and Zeekr inflated sales in recent years to hit aggressive targets, with Neta doing so for more than 60,000 cars, according to documents reviewed by Reuters and interviews with dealers and buyers. The companies arranged for cars to be insured before they were sold to buyers, the documents show, enabling them under Chinese industry car registration practices to book sales early so they could hit the monthly and quarterly targets, the dealers and buyers said. Neta booked early sales of at least 64,719 cars through this method from January 2023 to March 2024, according to copies of records it sent to dealers, seen by Reuters. That was more than half the sales of 117,000 vehicles it reported over the 15 months. Zeekr, a premium EV brand owned by Geely, used the same method to book early sales in late 2024 in the southern city of Xiamen through its main dealer there, state-owned Xiamen C&D Automobile, according to dealers, buyers and sales receipts seen by Reuters. Vehicles booked as sold before reaching a buyer are called 'zero-mileage used cars' in the Chinese auto industry. The practice has emerged out of cutthroat competition for sales in the world's largest auto market, which is reeling from a brutal, years-long price war caused by chronic overcapacity. The industry faces a moment of reckoning, with state media calling out the zero-mileage car practice, the cabinet pledging to regulate 'irrational' competition, and other central government bodies organising meetings with the industry's largest players to express concern about such methods. On Saturday a publication run by the China Association of Auto Manufacturers said the industry ministry was planning to clamp down on the practice by banning cars from being resold within six months of being registered as a sale. STATE MEDIA FOCUS Also on Saturday, state media reported that Zeekr had been selling cars with insurance already purchased to inflate sales, the first such naming and shaming of a specific automaker. In a front-page story, the China Securities Journal newspaper interviewed Zeekr car buyers in cities such as Guangzhou and Chongqing, who the newspaper said had found that their cars already had insurance policies before they were sold. They said they were refused refunds, even though they felt they were deceived. The newspaper questioned Zeekr's unusually high sales in the cities of Shenzhen and Xiamen in December. Its reported sales in Xiamen surged to 2,737 that month, more than 14 times its monthly average. Reuters could not determine how much of that volume might have been booked early. The China Securities Journal also raised questions over Neta's sales, saying it showed anomalies. Reuters is reporting for the first time details of how Neta inflated sales. Zeekr, Zhejiang Hozon New Energy Automobile, which owns Neta, and Xiamen C&D did not respond to requests for comment on Saturday. A spokesperson for Geely said, 'Geely firmly rejects the report put forward by the China Securities Journal.' The spokesperson declined to comment on Reuters findings or provide further details. Li Yanwei, an analyst with the China Automobile Dealers Association, said he believed the firms carried out such practices to embellish their financial reports and achieve their performance goals. 'This way of whitewashing performance is not advisable,' he wrote on Chinese social media platform Weibo on Saturday. Analysts and investors tracking China's auto industry gauge performance and estimate inventory levels with two sets of sales data. Wholesale numbers reported by automakers to the industry association show sales from automakers to dealers, while retail data compiled from insurance registration records show the sales to users. Some zero-mileage used cars are exported to be sold as second-hand cars overseas, but analysts and dealers say the domestic sales volume is significantly higher, with Chinese customers nationwide buying what they believe to be discounted new vehicles, only to find out later their car is not insured under their name. PRESSURE ON DEALERS Last month the state-owned People's Daily, the mouthpiece of China's ruling Communist Party, published an editorial condemning the sale of zero-mileage used cars domestically and listing a litany of harms the practice brings upon the industry and buyers. This month four dealer associations based in the wealthy Yangtze River Delta urged automakers to set them more reasonable sales targets and incentive policies, saying, without providing details, that dealers were being forced to falsify sales. Neta booked sales early by arranging insurance policies for cars before sending them to dealers, according to records shared with Reuters and a dealer for the brand. The records contain details for each car and the insurance policies purchased on them, with the names of the insurance agents. Dealers were able to refer to these when they found a buyer to transfer the policy to, according to copies seen by Reuters. The company booked early sales of 64,719 cars this way. 'In Neta's case, the company made it clear to dealers that the cars were insured ahead of time and therefore counted as sold,' said the dealer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing fears of retaliation from the company. 'We had to explain to buyers that the traffic insurance was complementary and remind them it would expire earlier and should be renewed on time,' he said. But three Neta buyers, who asked not to be named, told Reuters the dealerships had not told them the policies had begun well before the purchase date, only finding out when the policies expired. The dealer said Neta started doing this in late 2022 to obtain EV subsidies that were set to end that year. Neta's sales peaked in 2022 when it was ranked as the eighth-largest maker of new EVs in China with sales of 152,000 vehicles. Sales fell last year to 87,948 vehicles, including 23,399 exported, and it sold 1,215 cars in the first quarter of 2025, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. The brand has been in financial trouble since late 2024, and its owner, Zhejiang Hozon New Energy Automobile, entered bankruptcy proceedings in China last month, according to state media. 'JUST DO IT' The Neta dealer said many of the zero-mileage used cars he received from the company remained in his warehouse, unsold. The company 'only had one message: Just do it, everyone else is doing it'. Zeekr, which is being privatised by Geely Auto, booked sales with the help of Xiamen C&D, which runs dealerships for Zeekr and other brands. Xiamen C&D insured and registered the vehicles under the names of two subsidiaries in December, allowing Zeekr to count the sales before year-end, according to four dealers and two buyers, as well as a receipt shared with Reuters. Zeekr dealers sold some of the cars in subsequent months to buyers in other cities such as Beijing and Chongqing, the sources said. 'The Zeekr salesman said the car would be 3,000 yuan ($420) less than a car I would get from the store and I would also get a charging coupon worth 10,000 yuan,' said a buyer in another southern city. He declined to be named, citing concerns of retaliation from the automaker. The China Securities Journal reported that most of the owners it spoke to said their cars were insured by Xiamen C&D and its affiliates. China Automobile Dealers Association data showed that 2,508 of the 2,737 sales Zeekr booked in Xiamen in December were sold to companies, while 257 went to individual buyers. But data published by Xiamen's vehicle administration bureau showed just 271 cars registered in December for license plates, which genuine buyers generally obtain once they receive their cars. - Reuters
The Sun
13 hours ago
- The Sun
Greek olive oil producers pivot from US amid Trump tariff threats
VARVASAINA: Greek olive oil producer Konstantinos Papadopoulos acted swiftly when U.S. President Donald Trump hinted at imposing tariffs on European goods earlier this year. His family-run business quickly secured a new buyer in Brazil, a market traditionally dominated by Portuguese olive oil. A shipment of 15,000 bottles is set to arrive in Itapoa soon, with another deal in Australia nearing completion. 'I think we learned a lesson from Trump not to rely with all our strength on one market... and to always have alternatives,' Papadopoulos said during a visit to his mill, where tanks brimmed with olive oil ready for export. The proposed 30% tariff on EU products has rattled industries from wine to automobiles, pushing producers like Papadopoulos to explore new markets preemptively. Greece, the fifth-largest olive oil exporter to the U.S., ships 8,000-10,000 tonnes annually. Other major European producers—Spain, Italy, and Portugal—face similar challenges. For Greece, olive oil is a cornerstone of agriculture, with ancient groves dotting its landscapes. The Papadopoulos family exported 350 tonnes to the U.S. in 2024, a third of their total output. This year, shipments have dropped to 100 tonnes, with a projected 40% decline if tariffs take effect. 'While we had built all our infrastructure based on a large scale on the American market, suddenly we see it disappearing,' Papadopoulos said. - REUTERS
