Latest news with #ClarenceFernandez
The Print
5 days ago
- Business
- The Print
Lion cub cuddles on offer with afternoon tea in China
The Wanhui restaurant in Taiyuan city features llamas, turtles and deer in addition to the cubs on its page on Douyin , China's counterpart to social media app TikTok. Customers cradled the lion cubs as if they were babies in pictures and video clips posted online on China's Wechat and Weibo platforms. HONG KONG (Reuters) -Teatime revels in China now include hugs with lion cubs in a four-course afternoon set offered by a restaurant in the northern province of Shanxi, drawing widespread attention online and fuelling concern for the animals' welfare. Wanhui, which opened in June, sells about 20 tickets a day to customers looking to snuggle with the animals as part of a set menu costing 1,078 yuan ($150), the state-run Shanghai Daily said on its official Wechat page. 'The service has raised serious concerns about legality and animal welfare,' the English-language newspaper added. Reuters was unable to independently contact Wanhui. Online comments were mostly critical, saying the venture was dangerous and not good for the animals. 'This is for the rich to play,' said one Weibo user. 'Ordinary people even can't afford to drink.' Another user urged action by the authorities, adding, 'The relevant departments should take care of it.' The incident comes just after authorities investigated a hotel in June for offering a 'wake-up service' starring red pandas, state media said. The hotel in the southwestern region of Chongqing allowed the animals to climb onto beds to awaken guests. ($1=7.1806 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Farah Master in Hong Kong and the Beijing newsroom; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Zawya
27-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
India set to double investment limit for foreign individuals, sources, memo say
NEW DELHI - India's central bank is set to double to 10% a cap on investment by individual foreign investors in listed companies, as it aims to boost capital inflows, according to two senior government officials and documents reviewed by Reuters. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), pressured by poor earnings, high valuations and prospects of U.S. tariffs, have pulled more than $28 billion out of Indian stocks since September's record high in the benchmark NSE Nifty 50. To boost foreign investment, India is widening to all foreign investors benefits it had until now restricted to overseas Indians, while also raising applicable investment limits, the officials said. "It is felt that these proposals may be implemented as early as possible," the central bank told the government in a letter last week, pointing to disruption in capital inflows among recent developments in the external sector. Emails seeking comment from the finance ministry, the central bank, and the market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), did not get any response. The plans envisage allowing all foreign individual investors to invest a maximum of 10% in a listed company, the document showed. That is up from the 5% holding in an Indian company allowed to overseas Indian citizens by special rules under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). "Current foreign exchange management rules only mention non-resident Indians (NRIs) and overseas citizens of India (OCIs) under Schedule III," the second government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We are broadening this to include all individual foreign investors." The central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), will also raise to 24% the combined holding limit for all overseas individual investors in an Indian listed company, from 10% now, the officials added. The plan to hike foreign investor limits in Indian listed firms is in the final stages of discussion between the government, the RBI, and SEBI, the officials said. MONITORING CHALLENGES While the government and the RBI favour the move, the market regulator has flagged some challenges in monitoring compliance with foreign investment limits. It has warned that a single foreign investor holding of 10%, combined with associates, could exceed 34%, triggering takeover rules. "Without effective monitoring across different frameworks, such takeovers may go undetected," SEBI cautioned the RBI in a letter last month. Indian rules compel an investor who acquires more than 25% of a company to make an open offer for shares held by retail investors. The government and regulators are now weighing these concerns before finalising the reforms. "We are working to rationalise the rules to prevent the possibility of such arbitrage across regulations by the foreign investors," the second official said. (Reporting by Shubham Batra in New Delhi; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
Zawya
13-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Indian refiners turn to Latam, Africa to replace Russian oil in Feb, data shows
NEW DELHI - India's crude oil imports from Latin America and Africa rose marginally in February as refiners turned to alternative sources, fearing a loss of Russian oil supplies caused by tighter U.S. sanctions, data from trade sources shows. The South Asian nation became the biggest buyer of Russian seaborne oil sold at a discount after Western nations imposed sanctions on Moscow for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In February, imports of Russian oil fell 3% from January to about 1.54 million barrels per day (bpd), with Moscow's share in New Delhi's overall crude purchases shrinking to the lowest since January 2024, the data shows. India's oil imports from African nations rose to about 330,000 bpd in February from 143,000 bpd in January while those from South America rose 60% to 453,600 bpd, the data showed. In January, Washington imposed sweeping sanctions targeting Russian producers and tankers, disrupting supply from the world's No. 2 producer and tightening ship availability. Russia's share in the overall oil imports by India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer, shrank marginally to about 30.5% in February while that of Latin America rose to 9%, the highest since December 2021, the data showed. Last month India received a rare cargo of Gabon's Etame grade and for the first time took Argentina's Medanito oil, the data showed. Refiners in India maximised the purchase of Russian oil ahead of ahead of a Feb. 27 deadline set under the latest US sanctions to settle some energy deals, the data show. About half-a-dozen vessels loaded with Russian oil arrived at Indian ports towards the end of the month and were discharged in March. Lower intake of Russia oil slightly pushed up the share of oil from members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and West African nations in February. (Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
