UAE’s Mubadala Acquires 1.9% Stake in Russia’s Sibur

WAM file photo: Mubadala Investment Company, established after the merger of Mubadala Development Company and International Petroleum Investment Company.
WAM file photo: Mubadala Investment Company, established after the merger of Mubadala Development Company and International Petroleum Investment Company.
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UAE’s Mubadala Acquires 1.9% Stake in Russia’s Sibur

WAM file photo: Mubadala Investment Company, established after the merger of Mubadala Development Company and International Petroleum Investment Company.
WAM file photo: Mubadala Investment Company, established after the merger of Mubadala Development Company and International Petroleum Investment Company.

Mubadala Investment Company, the Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor managing a global portfolio of assets valued at $243 billion, has announced its largest investment in Russia, the acquisition of a 1.9% stake in Sibur, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.

Founded in 1995, Sibur is the leader in the Russian petrochemicals industry, operating a balanced and integrated business model and servicing over 1,800 customers in 100 countries worldwide, WAM said.

The company is currently transitioning to an ESG-driven strategy and governance framework, which is expected to enable Sibur to develop into one of the most sustainable industry market participants, it added.

The acquisition terms were agreed prior to the recent merger with TAIF, which is bound to further enhance the company’s position in the polyolefins and rubbers markets, contribute to the pipeline of growth capex projects and unlock additional operational synergies.

"Mubadala and Sibur have had a long-standing partnership since 2015 and now we are excited to become shareholders in the company. Sibur’s track record of delivering complex large-scale projects and creating shareholder value is a testament to its first-class management team,” WAM quoted Faris Sohail Al Mazrui, Head of Mubadala’s Russia and CIS Investment Program, as saying.

“Sibur’s merger with TAIF creates an even better-positioned player in the market that can capitalize on synergies and development opportunities,” he said.

The transaction between Mubadala and Sibur builds on the established working relationship between the two companies. In 2015, Mubadala invested in Sibur’s transshipment terminal in Ust-Luga.

Mubadala’s global portfolio spans six continents with interests in multiple sectors and asset classes, including shareholding in Borealis, a global leader in polyolefin production, and in Nova Chemicals, a plastics and chemicals producer in North America.

Mubadala is a long-term investor in the Russian economy, with an office in Moscow run by a team of more than 22 experienced regional specialists. Since entering the market in 2010, Mubadala has deployed over $3 billion, and built up a portfolio of about 50 investments in Russia in sectors as wide-ranging as infrastructure, real estate, commodities, banking, logistics and technology, resulting in strong financial returns.



China’s Deflationary Pressures Build in Sept, Consumer Inflation Cools

 People arrive at the Beijing railway station in Beijing on October 10, 2024. (AFP)
People arrive at the Beijing railway station in Beijing on October 10, 2024. (AFP)
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China’s Deflationary Pressures Build in Sept, Consumer Inflation Cools

 People arrive at the Beijing railway station in Beijing on October 10, 2024. (AFP)
People arrive at the Beijing railway station in Beijing on October 10, 2024. (AFP)

China's consumer inflation unexpectedly eased in September, while producer price deflation deepened, heightening pressure on Beijing to roll out more stimulus measures quickly to revive flagging demand and shaky economic activity.

Finance Minister Lan Foan told a news conference on Saturday there will be more "counter-cyclical measures" this year, but officials did not provide details on the size of fiscal stimulus being prepared, which investors hope will ease deflationary pressures in the world's second-largest economy.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.4% from a year earlier last month, against a 0.6% rise in August, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Sunday, missing a 0.6% increase forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.

The producer price index (PPI) fell at the fastest pace in six months, down 2.8% year-on-year in September, versus a 1.8% decline the previous month and below an expected 2.5% decline.

Chinese authorities have stepped up stimulus efforts in recent weeks to spur demand and help meet an around 5.0% economic growth target for this year, though some analysts say the moves may only offer temporary relief for the economy and stronger measures are needed soon.

The central bank in late September announced the most aggressive monetary support measures since the COVID-19 pandemic, including numerous steps to help pull the property sector out of a severe, multi-year slump, including mortgage rate cuts.

With little new from Saturday's Ministry of Finance briefing, some analysts are now hoping that a meeting of China's parliament expected in coming weeks will unveil more specific proposals.

However, many China watchers say Beijing also needs to firmly address more deeply-rooted structural issues such as overcapacity and sluggish consumption.

Excessive domestic investment and weak demand have pushed down prices and forced companies to reduce wages or fire workers to cut costs.

CPI was unchanged month-on-month, versus a 0.4% gain in August and below an estimated 0.4% increase.

Food prices perked up 3.3% on-year in September compared with a 2.8% rise in August, while non-food prices was down 0.2%, reversing 0.2% uptick in August.

Among non-food items, the decline in energy prices deepened, and tourism prices switched to down from up with declines in airfares and hotel accommodation prices widening, said the NBS in an accompanying statement.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and fuel prices, stood at 0.1%, down from 0.3% in August, also hinting that deflation pressures were mounting.