Tag: Japan

Toyota to build fuel cell stack plant, ramp up fuel cell vehicle sales from 2020

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Toyota Motor Corp on Thursday said it plans to set up a facility to mass manufacture hydrogen fuel cell stacks, a key component of fuel cell vehicles, as it seeks to ramp up production of hydrogen-powered cars and expand their usage as a zero-emission alternative to gasoline vehicles.

The new unit will come up on the grounds of its Honsha plant in Toyota City near the automaker’s global headquarters, the company said in a statement. It is also constructing a dedicated line at the nearby Shimoyama plant to produce tanks for storing high-pressure hydrogen gas inside vehicles.

Toyota declined to give details about their latest investment in this technology, but said mass production of components will begin around 2020, enabling the company to meet its target for global annual fuel cell vehicle sales of more than 30,000 units, including passenger cars and buses.

“As a technology, fuel cells are mature and ready to scale up,” Toyota said in a statement. “In order to encourage more widespread use of hydrogen-powered zero-emission vehicles, popularization needs to start by the 2020s.”

Toyota already sells the Mirai sedan, the world’s first mass-market fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), in Japan, in the United States and also some European countries. The model starts at about 7.2 million yen ($65,807.51) in the Japan market.

Due to its high cost and complexity of building its components, the Mirai is produced in small lots. Only around 5,300 units have been sold since its 2014 launch, a fraction of regular production models.

Mass manufacturing of the two components – hydrogen fuel cell stacks and hydrogen tanks – will enable Toyota to lower the price of FCEVs, and expand its fuel cell technology.

Honda Motor Co and Hyundai Motor Co also manufacture fuel cell vehicles, while other automakers are also developing the technology. However, many automakers, including Nissan Motor Co and Tesla Inc, are focussing on all-battery electric cars as a solution to reduce vehicle emissions.

Toyota, which developed the Prius, the world’s first gasoline hybrid vehicle, sees hydrogen FCEVs as a zero-emission alternative, which requires less time to refuel compared with the time it takes recharge electric vehicle batteries.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Russia and Japan warn US of $1 billion in tariff retaliation

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Russia and Japan have warned they could retaliate against US tariffs on steel and aluminium by imposing sanctions worth almost $1 billion combined, filings published by the World Trade Organization showed on Tuesday.

The documents from Russia and Japan, following similar filings last week by the European Union and China, notified the United States of the cost of its tariff plan, based on 2017 exports.

Russia said the US plan would add duties of $538 million to its annual exports and Japan put the sum at $440 million, and both said they had the right to impose equal costs on US exports. Neither named the US products that they might target.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Japan’s Nippon Steel says solid demand mutes impact of US duties

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Strong global demand has helped cushion the impact on Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp of new US import duties, but Japan’s top steelmaker remains worried Washington’s trade barriers could lead to a glut in Asia, a much bigger market for the company.

Japan is among the top 10 steel exporters to the United States which in March began imposing a 25% tariff on steel imports, aimed at curbing purchases from China.

“There has been no major impact from the US tariffs thanks to solid global demand,” Nippon Steel Executive Vice President Katsuhiro Miyamoto told Reuters in an interview late last week.

Nippon Steel, whose US-bound steel cargoes account for 4% of its total exports, saw more than 90% of its customers continuing to buy its products even after the tariffs were imposed because they are specialised products such as rails and seamless pipes, Miyamoto said.

Japan’s steel exports to the United States rose 13% in April from a year ago, after plunging by 40% in March, Japan’s preliminary trade data showed on Monday.

Nippon Steel’s US subsidiaries, which have a combined production capacity of 7.1 million tonnes, are benefiting from stronger local prices, he added.

“But we are closely watching where the products that were shut out from the United States are going as they could hurt the Asian market if they come to this area,” he said. About 70% of Nippon Steel’s exports go to Asia.

The hefty US steel tariffs could make Southeast Asia the new hunting ground for global exporters seeking buyers, industry officials and traders say, creating a glut that could depress prices and prompt some producers to close.

For now, Miyamoto is upbeat about Asian steel demand.

“Japan’s demand in construction and automobiles is solid. In China, consumer spending is also strong and there are lots of infrastructure projects such as subways and apartments near the stations,” he said.

Given a healthy demand outlook and its increased spending to upgrade ageing facilities, Nippon Steel plans to boost its crude steel output, on a parent basis, to more than 42.6 million tonnes in the current year to March 2019, from 40.67 million tonnes a year ago.

The company also aims to improve margins by hiking product prices to help absorb rising costs of auxiliary materials such as manganese and zinc and distribution expenses, Miyamoto said.

The steelmaker did not provide an earnings forecast. A Thomson Reuters survey of 13 analysts has forecast a mean recurring profit of 351 billion yen ($3.17 billion) for the current year, against 297.5 billion yen last year.

Among acquisition plans announced earlier this year by Nippon Steel, the world’s No.4 steelmaker, include Sweden’s Ovako, India’s bankrupt Essar Steel and its subsidiaries Nisshin Steel and Sanyo Special Steel.

And Miyamoto said the company is optimistic about winning the bidding race for Essar as Nippon Steel’s team up with ArcelorMittal could help with a quick restructuring of the Indian firm, the upgrading of factories and also with giving financial support.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Japan’s first quarter GDP shrinks more than expected in setback for ‘Abenomics’

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Japan’s economy contracted more than expected at the start of this year, breaking the longest run of growth seen for decades, in a blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s reflationary ‘Abenomics’ polices.

Wednesday’s data marked the end to eight straight quarters of economic expansion, which was the longest sequence of growth since a 12-quarter run between April-June 1986 and January-March 1989 during the asset-inflated bubble economy.

The economy shrank by 0.6 percent on an annualised basis, a much more severe contraction than the median estimate for an annualised 0.2 percent.

Fourth quarter growth was revised to an annualised 0.6 percent, down from the 1.6 percent estimated earlier.

Economists say the contraction will be temporary, but there is a risk that trade friction with the United States will hurt export demand, meaning a strong recovery is not assured.

“Globally, IT-related items have been in an adjustment phase, which weighed down Japan’s exports and factory output,” said Yoshimasa Maruyama, chief market economist at SMBC Nikko Securities.

“The economy is unlikely to continue to contract further. The global economy is performing well and a yen is trading beyond 110 yen against the dollar, so once exports start to grow again, the economy will return to a moderate growth path.”

Capital expenditure fell 0.1 percent, down for the first time in six quarters, suggesting corporate investment is not as strong as many economists had forecast. The median estimate was for a 0.4 percent increase.

Wednesday’s figures may presage data due on Thursday that is forecast to show core machinery orders, a leading indicator of capital expenditure, fell in March for the first time in three months.Compared to the previous quarter, gross domestic product (GDP) fell 0.2 percent, more than the median estimate for GDP to be flat, and following a downwardly revised 0.1 percent quarter-on-quarter expansion in October-December, Cabinet Office data showed on Wednesday.

Consumer spending fell marginally, registering a decline of less than one percentage point in the first quarter. The median estimate was for consumer spending to remain unchanged.

External demand – or exports minus imports – added 0.1 percentage point to first-quarter GDP, as imports slowed more than exports.

However, a breakdown of the data shows export growth is losing momentum, expanding 0.6 percent in the first quarter after growth of 2.2 percent expansion in the fourth quarter.

Japan’s government is preparing for its annual announcement of guidelines for economic and fiscal policy, but the government has been distracted by allegations of cronyism that have hurt Abe’s approval ratings.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Takeda forecasts 17% profit decline on Velcade US exclusivity loss

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd on Monday forecast a 17% fall in operating profit for the year through March 2019 as blood cancer drug Velcade looks set to lose exclusivity in the US.

The decline, which is likely to be partly offset by growing sales of drugs such as bowel disease treatment Entyvio and heartburn and ulcer drug Takecab, underscores Takeda’s need to bolster its pipeline. It also comes days after it agreed to a record-breaking $62 billion deal to acquire London-listed Shire.

Profit for the year ended March 2018 grew 55% to 241.8 billion yen ($2.21 billion) – its highest in six years.

Entyvio sales grew 41% to 201.4 billion yen, with Takecab sales up 62% to 55.1 billion yen. Velcade sales fell 0.2% to 137.3 billion yen.

The Shire acquisition is expected to add strength in rare diseases and blood-derived therapies to Takeda’s three core areas of gastroenterology, oncology and neuroscience. It will also result in the US market accounting for almost half of sales from a third currently.

Rare disease treatments are seen as more sheltered from price pressures in the US affecting areas like oncology.

The Shire deal could close by the end of the year, Chief Executive Christopher Weber said last week. Remaining hurdles include receiving regulatory and shareholder approval.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Buyers seek US waivers to buy Iranian oil amid new sanctions

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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South Korea said on Wednesday it would seek US exemptions to buy Iranian oil, a path many big oil consumers are likely to follow in the wake of new US sanctions on Tehran, which will tighten world oil markets and push up prices.

Iran is the third-largest oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and a key supplier, especially to refiners in Asia.

The United States plans to impose new unilateral sanctions after abandoning an agreement reached in late 2015 which limited Iran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for removing joint US-Europe sanctions, which included strict curbs on crude oil exports.

New US sanctions will include measures aimed at its oil and shipping sectors, with a six-month “wind down” period “to allow companies to end contracts, terminate business, (and) get their money out”, according to the US State Department.

“President Trump is clearly articulating that he has minimal desire in an alternative agreement with Iran,” said Ehsan Khoman, head of research for Middle East and North Africa at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.

During the last round of sanctions, Iran’s oil supplies fell by around 1 million barrels per day (bpd), but the country re-emerged as a major oil exporter after sanctions were lifted in January 2016.

Since then, Iran ramped up supplies, producing 3.81 million bpd in March 2018, almost 4 percent of global output. Its crude exports averaged over 2 million bpd in January-March quarter this year.

Analysts now expect Iran’s supplies to fall by between 200,000 bpd and 1 million bpd, depending on how many other countries fall in line with Washington.

SOUTH KOREA AND JAPAN

South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it planned “to minimize the damage” to its companies, adding it would seek an exemption from sanctions. Japan may follow suit.

“Japan and South Korea may comply with the proposed U.S. reimposition of Iranian sanctions on the concern of losing the U.S. security umbrella vis-à-vis North Korea,” Khoman said.

Trade data already show a reduction of Iranian oil supplies to Japan and South Korea, and refinery sources confirmed they had started shifting purchases in preparation for renewed sanctions.

Iranian crude oil shipments to Japan and South Korea have fallen by half from their post-sanction peak in March 2017, hitting just over 300,000 bpd in April, according to ship tracking data.

CHINA AND INDIA

The biggest single buyer of Iran’s crude is China, which imported about 900,000 bpd in mid-2016 but has scaled back shipments to around 600,000 bpd in 2018.

A senior official with a Chinese oil major, who declined to be identified because he is not authorised to speak to the media, said new sanctions would hurt Chinese refiners by pushing up the price of crude.

Benchmark Brent crude hit its highest since November 2014 on Wednesday at over $77 a barrel.

China’s response to the US sanctions is unclear. Beijing has opposed the U.S. move and many Chinese companies may continue to buy Iranian crude, analysts say.

And Chinese refiners say there are alternative suppliers, including Russia, Saudi Arabia and exporters in West Africa. In India, another major buyer of Iranian oil, refiners hope they can continue importing Iranian oil. During the last round of sanctions, India enjoyed waivers allowing limited Iranian oil imports paid for in rupees instead of U.S. dollars. “The impact (of new sanctions) in India will be there, but not so high,” said R Ramachandran, head of refineries at state-owned oil firm Bharat Petroleum Corp. When sanctions were loosened against Tehran in 2016, India ramped up imports from Iran to almost 900,000 bpd in late 2016, but intake has fallen back to around 500,000 bpd this year.

The threat of new sanctions comes as demand in Asia, the world’s biggest oil-consuming region, hit a record and producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia restrict supply to prop up prices.

As a result, crude oil inventories in major developed nations have fallen sharply in the last year and a half to 2.85 billion barrels, only slightly above their five-year average.

Trying to ease market concerns, Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday that it would work with other producers to diminish the impact of any shortage in oil supplies.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Japan and China agree on security hotline after a decade of talks

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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After a decade of talks, Japan and China agreed on Wednesday to set up a security hotline to defuse maritime incidents that could ignite tension between Asia’s two largest military powers.

The deal is the latest result of a push to improve ties strained by lingering acrimony over Japan’s wartime occupation of swathes of China and a dispute over the ownership of islets in the East China Sea.

In a public ceremony after a summit meeting in Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang signed a pact to set up within 30 days a hotline for senior defence officials to communicate during incidents involving each others’ naval vessels or military aircraft.

Talks on the hotline had stalled in 2012, after the Japanese government bought the disputed islands, known in Tokyo as the Senkaku, and in Beijing as the Diaoyu, from a private landowner.

The step aimed to halt a more inflammatory purchase by the Tokyo city government, then headed by a nationalist governor.

China had also resisted Japan’s insistence that the agreement should not cover the territorial waters surrounding the islets, which are controlled by Japan.

“It does not include the Senkakus,” a Japanese government official said during an earlier press briefing.

Besides the hotline, Wednesday’s pact provides for regular meetings between both nations’ defence officials and a mechanism for their naval vessels to communicate at sea to avert maritime incidents.

Known as the Code for Unexpected Encounters at Sea (CUES), the procedure is used by other nations, including the United States.

Besides having Asia’s second-largest military, Japan is defended by US forces that have used it as their main Asia base since the end of World War Two. A security treaty obliges Washington to aid Tokyo if its territory is attacked, including the disputed islets, even though the US does not support either side.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

India, Japan agree to work on electric vehicle development

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India and Japan on Tuesday agreed to initiate discussions on development of electric vehicles (EVs) by collaborating at a policy dialogue on next generation zero emission vehicles, an official statement said.

According to an Indian Power Ministry statement, both countries confirmed their commitment to promoting well-functioning energy markets as well as cooperation on environmental measures for coal-fired power plants at the ninth India Japan Energy Dialogue co-chaired by Power Minister R.K. Singh and Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko.

“Both countries agreed to initiate the discussion towards development of EVs by collaborating on the ‘Policy dialogue on next generation/Zero emission vehicles’,” it said.

“Both India and Japan further confirmed their commitment to work together in promoting well-functioning energy markets and affirmed to promote transparent and diversified liquefied natural gas (LNG) market through the relaxation of destination clause.

“Both Ministers agreed on further strengthening of bilateral energy cooperation for energy development of both countries, while also contributing to worldwide energy security, energy access and climate change issues,” it added.

According to the ministry, India and Japan also reiterated the continued importance of coal-based electricity in the energy mix of both countries and agreed to promote cooperation on environmental measures for coal-fired power plants.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Cabinet nod for renewing iron ore export to Japan, South Korea

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved renewal of long-term agreements for export of iron ore to Japan and South Korea through the state-run trading company MMTC, according to an official statement.

The Commerce Ministry release said that the cabinet had approved the renewal of the previous long-term agreements for export for another five years following their expiry at the end of last month.

“Cabinet has approved renewal of long-term agreements (LTAs) for supply of iron ore (lumps and fines) to Japanese steel mills and POSCO, South Korea for another five years (from 1.4.2018 upto 31.3.2023) through MMTC Ltd,” it said.

“The current LTAs with Japanese steel mills and POSCO for supply of iron ore for a period of three years expired on March 31, 2018.”

The range of quantity of iron ore to be exported would be from a minimum of 3.8 million tonnes per annum to 5.5 million tonnes per annum, it added.

According to the ministry, the high grade “+64% Fe” content iron ore will be supplied to Japanese and Korean steel mills from the state-run NMDC’s Bailadila mines in Chhattisgarh.

The existing policy of single-agency operation and exports through MMTC, with a trading margin of 2.8 per cent of free on board (FOB) price, will be continued, it said.

“Export of iron ore under the LTAs would help to strengthen India’s bilateral ties with long-standing partner countries, Japan and South Korea,” the statement added.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow