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Rio Tinto agreed to write off Oyu Tolgoi’s $2.3 billion loan to Mongolia to cover part of the government’s massive copper mine development costs.
Our Resources Editor Neil Hume reports that the debt relief was part of a broader agreement to end tensions over the project, which had affected by significant delays and cost overruns.
As reported by Neil, Rio has offered to end the underground development plan, accept an independent audit of the mine’s finances, and make further investment, which will enable the next phase of development. starting in January. The deal now needs to be ratified by the Mongolian Parliament.
Email us at citybulletin@ft.com and OLDlick here to hear the latest news in less than three minutes. Top Stories Today is an audio news summary that keeps you up to date with the day’s headlines.
Summary
Online real estate agent Purple delayed the publication of results for half a year after disclosing problems with its rental business. Purblebricks said it discovered a “process issue in the way it communicates with tenants on behalf of landlords regarding deposit application.” Purplebricks said “initial interim estimates” suggest potential debt of between £2m and £9m.
Machinist Capita reported a 0.6% increase in revenue in the 11 months to November, driven by its public services division. The company warned that this year marks the “climax” of the “corporate transformation period” and will review “the status of certain balance sheet items,” especially in relation to the current period. closed books and pensions business and the company’s financial system. So brace those wrists at the end of the year.
Greensil Capital gave a government-guaranteed coronavirus loan to a business owned by a neighbor of founder Lex Greensill, Robert Smith reports, after two men lobbied their local council to adopt its controversial supply chain finance model.
The Financial Control Authority turned to law firms to address a backlog of applications as they were trying to fill a staffing gap. The watchdog has spent nearly £1m on headhunters this year, with almost double the usual number of vacancies following a wave of departures, our financial regulation reporter Laura Noonan reports.
The UK Government is selling a third of its shares in ‘moving unit’ aka Behavior Insights Group. BIT will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Nesta, the UK’s innovation platform, under a £15.4 million deal. Peter Foster has full story.
And Cairn’s Energy and Standard Life Aberdeen have taken opposite approaches to their branding. Earlier this year Aberdeen cut three out of eight letters from its name to relaunch as Abrdn. Cairn doesn’t have many letters to play with, so it’s added a few letters instead. It rebranded to Capricorn Energy effective today.
Beyond the Square Mile
China artificial intelligence company SenseTime say it’s pulling it IPO in Hong Kong after being added a US investment blacklist, George Russell reports. The company said it will issue a revised prospectus and will “soon” complete the float. Washington accused the company of developing facial recognition programs that could identify a target’s ethnicity, with a particular focus on identifying Uighurs; SenseTime denies the allegations.
Among those who tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday were South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa and European Central Bank Vice president Luis de Guindos. De Guindos’ positive test means he will self-isolate ahead of Thursday’s key monetary policy meeting, where the ECB will decide how many bonds to buy next year. Martin Arnold there are more.
Almost two thirds US companies are planning to require at least some of their workers to get vaccination against Covid-19 regardless of whether they are legally bound to do so, Kiran Stacey reporting from Washington.
Maybe this appeals to me just because I’m a former attorney. But Sujeet Indap belong to Lex is one of the FT’s most interesting writers, and his column today features an excellent account of a trio of corporate law decisions from a single judge in Delaware with wide coverage. more for those considering how far advisors should go to serve their clients. Amid a gentle legal community, the judge had harsh words not only towards company executives but also their legal advisers, raising the question of whether the judge himself had changed. – or profession?
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