Global Business Roundup: September 30–October 13

Taxing international aid, divestiture, and global oil production

Hi everyone, welcome to Global Business Roundup! This is a series I’m currently piloting in which I roundup the most interesting headlines in international business/development. It’s meant to provide quick snapshot of events affecting the global economy in the last two weeks—depending on interest, I may make this weekly. Let me know what you think.

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South Sudan has imposed a $300 levy on every international aid truck that enters or exits the country—this tax alone is expected to bring in $339,000 a month in revenue. The government is also taxing vehicles and supplies belonging to UN peacekeepers in the country. Naturally, this has affected peacekeepers operations; for the time being, the UN has halted its daily security patrols of refugee camps. (Oct. 8)

Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund has written off its 9.9% stake in Thames Water, the UK’s largest water and wastewater services company. Earlier this year, the utility company was written off by its largest shareholder, a Canadian pension fund that has refused to put more equity into the business. This comes at a time when the UK government is hoping to attract investors. (Oct. 8)

Unilever has sold its Russian business to a local manufacturer for an undisclosed amount. This follows years of financial underperformance, and criticism from the Ukrainian government. The exodus of such firms from Russia has cost foreign companies more than $107 billion in write offs and lost revenues. (Oct. 10)

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Nigeria’s national petroleum company has ended its exclusive purchasing deal with the local Dangote refinery, eliminating oil subsidies in the process. The refinery is now free to sell at market prices. Petrol prices have subsequently increased by over 15 percent, marketing the second hike in less than a month. (Oct. 7)

Libya is set to resume full oil production, returning around 700,000 barrels a day of crude to the global market. The price of Brent crude fell by roughly 0.5 percent following the announcement, but has since recovered. This eases some concerns around potential oil supply disruptions in the Middle East. (Oct. 3)

Qatar Airways has agreed to buy a 25 percent stake in Virgin Australia. As part of the agreement, Virgin Australia will return to long-haul flying, feeding passengers from major Australian cities into Doha. This is the latest in a number of deals by Qatar Airways, which has bought several airline stakes to build its feeder network at its hub. (Oct. 1)