UAE’s ADNOC, Japan Bank for International Cooperation Sign $3 Billion Green Financing Agreement

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company signed a general agreement with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation for a $3 billion green financing facility. WAM
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company signed a general agreement with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation for a $3 billion green financing facility. WAM
TT

UAE’s ADNOC, Japan Bank for International Cooperation Sign $3 Billion Green Financing Agreement

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company signed a general agreement with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation for a $3 billion green financing facility. WAM
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company signed a general agreement with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation for a $3 billion green financing facility. WAM

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has signed a general agreement with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for a $3 billion (AED11 billion) green financing facility.

The move follows the signing of a Heads of Agreement (HOA) between ADNOC and JBIC in January this year and builds on their long-standing successful partnership.

Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Managing Director and Group CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC); Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, Ken Saitō attended the event.

ADNOC Group Chief Financial Officer Khaled Al Zaabi and Deputy Governor of JBIC Kazuhiko Amakawa signed the agreement in Tokyo.

The credit facility is part of JBIC’s Global action for Reconciling Economic growth and Environmental preservation (GREEN) lending program and is partially supported by Japanese commercial banks.

“We are very pleased to once again partner with JBIC on ADNOC’s first green funding to accelerate our decarbonization and energy transition initiatives,” said Al Zaabi.

“Proceeds of this credit facility will enable ADNOC’s strategy to support a just, orderly and equitable global energy transition. The agreement also marks the next milestone in the long-standing strategic energy relationship between the UAE and Japan, and we look forward to further collaboration with JBIC as ADNOC delivers against its ambitious growth strategy.”



US Job Growth Surges in September, Unemployment Rate Falls to 4.1%

A woman enters a store next to a sign advertising job openings at Times Square in New York City, New York, US, August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
A woman enters a store next to a sign advertising job openings at Times Square in New York City, New York, US, August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
TT

US Job Growth Surges in September, Unemployment Rate Falls to 4.1%

A woman enters a store next to a sign advertising job openings at Times Square in New York City, New York, US, August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
A woman enters a store next to a sign advertising job openings at Times Square in New York City, New York, US, August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo

US job growth accelerated in September and the unemployment slipped to 4.1%, further reducing the need for the Federal Reserve to maintain large interest rate cuts at its remaining two meetings this year.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 254,000 jobs last month after rising by an upwardly revised 159,000 in August, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its closely watched employment report on Friday.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls rising by 140,000 positions after advancing by a previously reported 142,000 in August.
The initial payrolls count for August has typically been revised higher over the past decade. Estimates for September's job gains ranged from 70,000 to 220,000.
The US labor market slowdown is being driven by tepid hiring against the backdrop of increased labor supply stemming mostly from a rise in immigration. Layoffs have remained low, which is underpinning the economy through solid consumer spending.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% after gaining 0.5% in August. Wages increased 4% year-on-year after climbing 3.9% in August.
The US unemployment rate dropped from 4.2% in August. It has jumped from 3.4% in April 2023, in part boosted by the 16-24 age cohort and rise in temporary layoffs during the annual automobile plant shutdowns in July.
The US Federal Reserve's policy setting committee kicked off its policy easing cycle with an unusually large half-percentage-point rate cut last month and Fed Chair Jerome Powell emphasized growing concerns over the health of the labor market.
While the labor market has taken a step back, annual benchmark revisions to national accounts data last week showed the economy in a much better shape than previously estimated, with upgrades to growth, income, savings and corporate profits.
This improved economic backdrop was acknowledged by Powell this week when he pushed back against investors' expectations for another half-percentage-point rate cut in November, saying “this is not a committee that feels like it is in a hurry to cut rates quickly.”
The Fed hiked rates by 525 basis points in 2022 and 2023, and delivered its first rate cut since 2020 last month. Its policy rate is currently set in the 4.75%-5.00% band.
Early on Friday, financial markets saw a roughly 71.5% chance of a quarter-point rate reduction in November, CME's FedWatch tool showed. The odds of a 50 basis points cut were around 28.5%.