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Technology"},"subtitle":{"type":"html","$t":""},"link":[{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.indrastra.com\/feeds\/posts\/default"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/1461303524738926686\/posts\/default\/-\/Kindle?alt=json-in-script\u0026max-results=8"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/www.indrastra.com\/search\/label\/Kindle"},{"rel":"hub","href":"http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/"},{"rel":"next","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/1461303524738926686\/posts\/default\/-\/Kindle\/-\/Kindle?alt=json-in-script\u0026start-index=9\u0026max-results=8"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"IndraStra Global"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04065983396291846323"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-M0HD88VMMSA\/XMrUpcDhagI\/AAAAAAAAUJs\/a5ZbTU09eGMvNCplyJE9bDNBxc3o8kTeQCK4BGAYYCw\/s113\/Webp.net-resizeimage%2B%252814%2529.jpg"}}],"generator":{"version":"7.00","uri":"http://www.blogger.com","$t":"Blogger"},"openSearch$totalResults":{"$t":"700"},"openSearch$startIndex":{"$t":"1"},"openSearch$itemsPerPage":{"$t":"8"},"entry":[{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1461303524738926686.post-5014027584463309272"},"published":{"$t":"2020-04-08T00:59:00.002-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2020-04-08T00:59:55.330-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Africa"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Coronavirus"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Kindle"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Opinion"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Pandemic"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"COVID-19 and its Impact on Africa"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" trbidi=\"on\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EBy Meghna Ria Muralidharan\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003ECenter for African Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-PXjYseSyRNI\/Xo1ZslrxxlI\/AAAAAAAAUqQ\/jyOdJppb7AcpJqoft0soSpXuktCh0fcBACLcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/AIDN0060420200009-CI.gif\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"COVID-19 and its Impact on Africa | By Meghna Ria Muralidharan\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"512\" data-original-width=\"1024\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-PXjYseSyRNI\/Xo1ZslrxxlI\/AAAAAAAAUqQ\/jyOdJppb7AcpJqoft0soSpXuktCh0fcBACLcBGAsYHQ\/s640\/AIDN0060420200009-CI.gif\" title=\"COVID-19 and its Impact on Africa | By Meghna Ria Muralidharan\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ESince the last few months, the world has witnessed sudden chaos inflicted upon the global public health and the international economic system. For a change, the global political scenario is not being controlled by one or two major powers, but governments across the world are trying to counter a similar challenge, adopting new mechanisms from total lockdown and quarantine to develop immunization. The virus may have originated in Wuhan in China but is having an adverse effect on countries across different continents.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAsia and Europe may have been the worst hit by COVID-19, but the biggest question making news is the impact of this pandemic on the African continent and the readiness of these countries to tackle the challenge. Various existing challenges obstruct the African countries from proactively handling the current situation. Lack of public health facilities, infrastructure, dwindling economy, and leadership are some of the already existing challenges that most of the African countries have been facing.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EConsidering its deep and close ties with China, it is a fact that anything that happens to China’s economy will have an adverse effect on the world at large and Africa, specifically. China over the years has been Africa’s leading economic partner and millions of Chinese have been residing in different countries across the African continent. Similarly, thousands of Africans taking advantage of the significant scholarships provided by various universities in China have been studying in some of the major cities. To add further, Chinese investments, infrastructure projects, and training programs have increased African productivity. However, with the current economic condition of China and the closing down of the Chinese market to the outside world, there is a high possibility that the African economy will be the worst hit due to its high reliance over the Chinese imports.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EHow are the Africans dealing with this situation?\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe coronavirus pandemic continues to impact the African continent. Though the number of confirmed cases and deaths are comparatively less, an upward trend is being witnessed in the total number of cases in the last few days. According to the WHO report issued on April 4, 2020, there are approximately 8,426 confirmed cases and 300 deaths. The outbreak, witnessed in Algeria for the first time in Africa, has been spreading to different parts of the continent in a very short time. With limited political tools and a lack of transparent information available, it is quite challenging to understand the impact the pandemic is having on the African continent. Although there is no clear picture highlighting the extent to which the countries are getting affected, specific changes are visible at the geopolitical level.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ESouth Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Kenya, and Morocco are some of the worst affected and countries such as Mozambique, Rwanda, Guinea, and Eswatini have also reported cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases during the first week of March was comparatively less, and eight countries had no confirmed cases, but the number has gone up towards the end of March, and currently, only four countries have no confirmed cases. Lack of healthcare infrastructure and porous borders have played a primary role in the growing number of cases.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EOut of the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.weforum.org\/agenda\/2020\/03\/why-sub-saharan-africa-needs-a-unique-response-to-covid-19\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E54 countries\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, 33 countries in Africa are considered as least developed and of these, 22 countries are most vulnerable to such infection outbreaks. Almost, a large number of countries in Africa are unfavorable in different areas, ranging from healthcare facilities to basic hygiene. Another alarming factor is that many of the people in Africa live in unfavorable conditions, thereby forcing them to migrate to different places and stay in non-sterile environments. Under such circumstances, there are high chances of the virus spreading, and a large number of individuals getting infected.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThough there are many factors that challenge the African continent, Africa has an added advantage and prior experience to pandemics over the outbreak that is effecting America, Asia, and Europe. Firstly, the continent’s recent experience of viruses such as Ebola, Malaria, and HIV. This experience has provided many countries with the infrastructural support required to tackle the viruses but insufficient health infrastructure and access to clean water across the continent continues to be a major sign of concern. Secondly, as COVID-19 has entered the African continent comparatively at a later stage gives the continent an added advantage in fighting this health emergency. The response of many of the African countries to the outbreak has been comparatively better as the rate of speed and the level of impact of the outbreak were detected at its nascent stage. Immediate measures such as suspension of international flights, sealing of borders, limited curfew practices, suspension of academic activities, extensive disinfection work and quarantine were implemented in the initial phase itself.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGeopolitical implications of the outbreak in Africa\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EWith many of the African countries dependent on China, the economic impact can be witnessed in African countries as both the demand and supply chain will be affected adversely. This negative impact of the outbreak can and will be witnessed both in international politics and economics. With the oil prices falling to their lowest levels in the last two decades some of the major African oil-exporting countries such as Algeria, Libya, Gabon, Angola, and Nigeria will face the heat of the dwindling oil prices. The \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/av\/world-africa-51952739\/coronavirus-in-africa-what-impact-could-virus-have-on-the-continent\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003Edamage of the global outbreak will have severe implications on the economy as compared to its health sector\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. In the current scenario, negative trends in stock markets, the decline in the demand for goods, commodity prices, the value of currencies and interest rates, are some of the main factors that are pushing the countries towards the global economic crisis. Though the western government may identify certain mechanisms to overcome the economic crisis, this will be a major challenge for many of the African countries. Along with the economic impact, weak and strained health care system especially in SubSaharan Africa, the chances of the spreading of the virus are comparatively higher thereby increased mortality rate as compared to Europe, America, and Asia. Along with economic and healthcare impact, the geopolitical ramifications should not be ignored. The outbreak could fundamentally affect the power dynamics thereby threatening the equations of the African countries with some of the key players in the international system.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EConclusion\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ETherefore the cost of the Coronavirus outbreak is seen impacting countries across the world, and in such a situation, the collaboration of the government and the citizens is the need of the hour. The African government has been proactive and implemented various measures to fight this global health emergency. Along with the government, private laboratories have also been set up to carry out a testing facility. Many of the African countries have also adopted e-payment options, one of the many ways to curb the spread of COVID-19. Countries such as South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe have ordered a lockdown for a brief period of time.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAt this crucial period of time, international organizations like World Health Organisation and other regional organizations need to collaborate and provide basic healthcare facilities to countries that lack the ability to do so in order to prevent the spreading of the virus. A Large number of medical personnel need to be deployed in various African countries. Thus it will be interesting to see whether the African continent will be able to counter the virus or will succumb to it like that of Europe and Asia.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EAbout the Author:\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EMeghna Ria Muralidharan (ORCID ID: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1187-3280\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E0000-0003-1187-3280\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E) is currently pursuing her MPhil in African Studies from the Center for African Studies, SIS, JNU. The author extensively works on the topic such as India-Africa Relationship, Energy Security, Peace and Conflict in Africa and Diaspora Politics\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cb\u003EIndraStra Global\u003C\/b\u003E is now available on \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/apple.news\/Tbvq4-R3hQ5izxn0b9mqG9Q\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EApple News\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMNbQ3gow9aLWAQ?hl=en-IN\u0026amp;gl=IN\u0026amp;ceid=IN:en\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGoogle News\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E,\u003Cb\u003E \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/flipboard.com\/@indrastra\/indrastra-global-ctkeo059z\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EFlipboard\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003E \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/IndrastraGlobal\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EFeedburner\u003C\/a\u003E,\u003C\/b\u003E and\u0026nbsp;\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/indrastraglobal\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ETelegram\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Ci style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EDISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this insight piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the IndraStra Global.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003E\u003Cscript async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\n\u003Cins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block\"\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-c6-3y+3v+0+c6\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7609865815468089\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"3607324678\"\u003E\u003C\/ins\u003E\n\u003Cscript\u003E\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n\u003C\/script\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/1461303524738926686\/posts\/default\/5014027584463309272"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/1461303524738926686\/posts\/default\/5014027584463309272"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/www.indrastra.com\/2020\/04\/COVID-19-and-its-Impact-on-Africa-006-04-2020-0009.html","title":"COVID-19 and its Impact on Africa"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"IndraStra Global"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04065983396291846323"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-M0HD88VMMSA\/XMrUpcDhagI\/AAAAAAAAUJs\/a5ZbTU09eGMvNCplyJE9bDNBxc3o8kTeQCK4BGAYYCw\/s113\/Webp.net-resizeimage%2B%252814%2529.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-PXjYseSyRNI\/Xo1ZslrxxlI\/AAAAAAAAUqQ\/jyOdJppb7AcpJqoft0soSpXuktCh0fcBACLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/AIDN0060420200009-CI.gif","height":"72","width":"72"},"georss$featurename":{"$t":"New Delhi, Delhi, India"},"georss$point":{"$t":"28.6139391 77.2090212"},"georss$box":{"$t":"28.3907261 76.8862977 28.8371521 77.53174469999999"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1461303524738926686.post-8776294558819407258"},"published":{"$t":"2020-04-06T23:05:00.002-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2020-04-06T23:06:34.142-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Coronavirus"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Kindle"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Opinion"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Xi Jinping"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"COVID-19: Does the Virus Disrupts Xi’s ‘Manifested Destiny’?"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" trbidi=\"on\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EBy Dr. Amrita Jash\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EResearch Fellow, Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), New Delhi, India\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Ln5YzlotUhM\/Xovs6kghXCI\/AAAAAAAAUpQ\/hk1w4hT0Ww8plkzaS1DXYQ1D0b-iK2XsQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/AIDN0060420200005-CI.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"COVID-19: Does the Virus Disrupts Xi’s ‘Manifested Destiny’?\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"512\" data-original-width=\"1024\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Ln5YzlotUhM\/Xovs6kghXCI\/AAAAAAAAUpQ\/hk1w4hT0Ww8plkzaS1DXYQ1D0b-iK2XsQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s640\/AIDN0060420200005-CI.png\" title=\"COVID-19: Does the Virus Disrupts Xi’s ‘Manifested Destiny’?\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EDr. Li Wenliang, the whistleblower of the COVID-19 epidemic parted with\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca class=\"_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.caixinglobal.com\/2020-02-06\/after-being-punished-by-local-police-coronavirus-whistleblower-vindicated-by-top-court-101509986.html\" rel=\"nofollow\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4a6ee0; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003Esaying\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E: “\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cem style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EThere Should Be More Than One Voice In A Healthy Society”.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EThis very statement brings into perspective the deep fault lines in China’s existing monolithic and censored political system. Wherein, upholding the political stability of the \u003Ci\u003ECommunist Party of China (CPC)\u003C\/i\u003E and its leadership acts as the cornerstone. That is, political security is about CPC’s security as the ruling party- holding tantamount importance for regime survival. To which, the Wuhan epidemic acting as the litmus test proves that being \u003Ci\u003E‘red’ \u003C\/i\u003Estill takes\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca class=\"_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.claws.in\/coronavirus-and-chinas-peoples-war-to-be-red-or-not-to-be\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4a6ee0; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003Eprecedence\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;over being an ‘expert’ in today’s China. However, with COVOD-19 causing social instability in China, it becomes imperative to ask: What does COVID-19 imply for China’s political stability?\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EIn calling the coronavirus outbreak as the \u003Ci\u003E“major public health emergency”\u003C\/i\u003E since the founding of the \u003Ci\u003EPeople’s Republic of China (PRC)\u003C\/i\u003E in 1949, Xi\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca class=\"_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink\" href=\"http:\/\/www.xinhuanet.com\/english\/2020-02\/24\/c_138811372.htm\" rel=\"nofollow\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4a6ee0; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003Eremarked\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;saying- \u003Ci\u003E“ [t]his is a crisis for us [China] and it is a big test”\u003C\/i\u003E. Xi’s words itself exemplify that the biggest casualty of the epidemic is Xi Jinping’s political legacy as the ‘supreme leader’ for infinity. As noted, Xi’s long absence from the political scene during the peak of the outbreak until\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca class=\"_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink\" href=\"http:\/\/www.xinhuanet.com\/english\/2020-03\/10\/c_138863611.htm\" rel=\"nofollow\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4a6ee0; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003Ecalling\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003E‘Victory in Wuhan’\u003C\/i\u003E in March has called for significant criticism. How does this affect China’s domestic politics?\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EFirst, the Party leadership’s \u003Ci\u003E‘hide and bide’\u003C\/i\u003E strategy at the initial stages of the virus outbreak has resulted in public criticism of the incompetent handling of the Wuhan epidemic. As a result, the Chinese leadership called for a reshuffle with Party chiefs of Hubei and Wuhan, Jiang Chaoliang and Ma Guoqiang\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca class=\"_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/news\/china\/politics\/article\/3050372\/coronavirus-beijings-purge-over-virus-takes-down-top-communist\" rel=\"nofollow\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4a6ee0; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003Ereplaced\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;by Ying Yong and Wang Zhonglin respectively in light of the fading confidence of the Chinese public of the Party. The likely impact of which will be witnessed in an \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E“\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca class=\"_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.project-syndicate.org\/commentary\/coronavirus-china-political-consequences-by-minxin-pei-2020-03\" rel=\"nofollow\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4a6ee0; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003Eerosion of support\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E” \u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003Efor the CPC among China’s urban middle class.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003ESecond, the increasing political divide that challenges Xi’s accountability. As evident from Ren Zhiqiang, a Chinese realty tycoon and mainly a member of the princeling clique,\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca class=\"_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newhighlandvision.com\/%E4%BB%BB%E5%BF%97%E5%BC%BA%EF%BC%9A%E4%B9%A0%E8%BF%91%E5%B9%B3%E5%B0%B1%E5%83%8F%E4%B8%80%E4%B8%AA%E8%A2%AB%E5%89%A5%E5%85%89%E4%BA%86%E8%A1%A3%E6%9C%8D%E4%B9%9F%E8%A6%81%E5%9D%9A%E6%8C%81%E5%BD%93\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4a6ee0; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003Ecriticism\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;of Xi as a  \u003Ci\u003E“clown who insists on wearing the emperor’s new clothes”.\u003C\/i\u003E This is reflective of the way COVID-19 is causing a factional divide in Chinese politics at large, and Xi in particular.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EThird, increasing opposition to Xi’s profile as \u003Ci\u003E“Chairman of All Things”\u003C\/i\u003E.An open letter in circulation is\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca class=\"_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/asiatimes.com\/2020\/03\/as-virus-recedes-in-china-anti-xi-revolt-spreads\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4a6ee0; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003Esuggesting\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;an extraordinary plenum of the Politburo to reflect on \u003Ci\u003E“Xi’s wrongs”,\u003C\/i\u003E added with a demand of Xi’s \u003Ci\u003E“step down as president, party chief and commander of the Chinese military”.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EFourth, Xi’s handling of the virus gets shadowed by the experts of the 2003 SARS handlers. That is, China’s other top leaders such as Vice President, Wang Qishan and Premier Li Keqiang- both with history of dealing with the SARS epidemic were called upon by the Chinese public to take the lead in fighting the epidemic. This highlights Xi’s lost grip over the confidence of the Chinese people. To restore Xi’s image, CPC’s new line of thought is emphasized on\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca class=\"_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink\" href=\"http:\/\/www.xinhuanet.com\/english\/2020-03\/10\/c_138863611.htm\" rel=\"nofollow\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4a6ee0; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003Ecalling\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;Xi as the \u003Ci\u003E“man of the hour” \u003C\/i\u003Eand \u003Ci\u003E“commander-in-chief of China’s war against COVID-19”.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EIn this context, China’s fight against COVID-19 also brings forth two perspectives: First, with unprecedented measures of Xi’s\u003Ci\u003E ‘people’s war’\u003C\/i\u003E such as-imposing countrywide lockdowns, holding commercial restrictions on travel, utilizing big data, AI and robotics, setting up fields hospitals and enforcing mass mobilization has succeeded in prevention and control of COVID-19 in China. And second, Chinese leadership’s lack of transparency in the handling of the Wuhan epidemic added with measures of surveillance and censorship over its public has exposed the brimming reality of Chinese domestic politics.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhat makes these aspects significant is the fact that it puts Xi’s accountability under severe scrutiny. It can be strongly argued that this will factor in largely at the leadership change during the 20th Party Congress in 2022. Hence, it can be rightly said that COVID-19 does act as a decisive factor in shaping Xi’s fate in the future. For Xi, the dent is already made.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EAbout the Author\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amritajash.in\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EDr. Amrita Jash\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E (ORCID ID:\u003Cb\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7004-694X\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E0000-0002-7004-694X\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/span\u003E\u0026nbsp;is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies. She has a Ph.D. in Chinese Studies from Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi-India. Her expertise are China's foreign policy, China-India relations, China-Japan relations, security, and strategic studies.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cb\u003EIndraStra Global\u003C\/b\u003E is now available on \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/apple.news\/Tbvq4-R3hQ5izxn0b9mqG9Q\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EApple News\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMNbQ3gow9aLWAQ?hl=en-IN\u0026amp;gl=IN\u0026amp;ceid=IN:en\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGoogle News\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E,\u003Cb\u003E \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/flipboard.com\/@indrastra\/indrastra-global-ctkeo059z\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EFlipboard\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003E \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/IndrastraGlobal\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EFeedburner\u003C\/a\u003E,\u003C\/b\u003E and\u0026nbsp;\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/indrastraglobal\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ETelegram\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EDISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this insight piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the IndraStra Global.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003E\u003Cscript async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\n\u003Cins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block\"\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-c6-3y+3v+0+c6\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7609865815468089\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"3607324678\"\u003E\u003C\/ins\u003E\n\u003Cscript\u003E\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n\u003C\/script\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/1461303524738926686\/posts\/default\/8776294558819407258"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/1461303524738926686\/posts\/default\/8776294558819407258"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/www.indrastra.com\/2020\/04\/COVID-19-Does-Virus-Disrupts-Xi-s-Manifested-Destiny-006-04-2020-0005.html","title":"COVID-19: Does the Virus Disrupts Xi’s ‘Manifested Destiny’?"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"IndraStra Global"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04065983396291846323"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-M0HD88VMMSA\/XMrUpcDhagI\/AAAAAAAAUJs\/a5ZbTU09eGMvNCplyJE9bDNBxc3o8kTeQCK4BGAYYCw\/s113\/Webp.net-resizeimage%2B%252814%2529.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Ln5YzlotUhM\/Xovs6kghXCI\/AAAAAAAAUpQ\/hk1w4hT0Ww8plkzaS1DXYQ1D0b-iK2XsQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/AIDN0060420200005-CI.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"georss$featurename":{"$t":"New Delhi, Delhi, India"},"georss$point":{"$t":"28.6139391 77.2090212"},"georss$box":{"$t":"28.3907261 76.8862977 28.8371521 77.53174469999999"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1461303524738926686.post-4412364993223352281"},"published":{"$t":"2020-04-06T02:22:00.002-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2020-04-06T02:36:51.927-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Coronavirus"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"India"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Kindle"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Opinion"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"South Asia"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Imminent Concerns: Unorganized Workers and Interstate Migrants"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" trbidi=\"on\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EBy Dr. Amitabh Kundu\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EDistinguished Fellow, Research and Information System for Developing Countries\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-L2jgEU3dM5M\/XorKWOHGQuI\/AAAAAAAAUpE\/neNYGgld5UI0wibQq11XeU1ECai7o-xUwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/AIDN0060420200003-CI.gif\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"Imminent Concerns: Unorganized Workers and Interstate Migrants\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"512\" data-original-width=\"1024\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-L2jgEU3dM5M\/XorKWOHGQuI\/AAAAAAAAUpE\/neNYGgld5UI0wibQq11XeU1ECai7o-xUwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s640\/AIDN0060420200003-CI.gif\" title=\"Imminent Concerns: Unorganized Workers and Interstate Migrants\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EThere are three different viruses spreading dangerously in the country. The most serious is that of COVID 19. The two others that are potentially equally dangerous for the long term wellbeing of the people pertaining to data and prediction. Besides the public and private websites that are coming up with varying estimates, with continuous updating of data about incidence, death, and recovery, there is social media and \u003Ci\u003E‘I heard from reliable sources’.\u003C\/i\u003E Berserk data are being churned out and in the atmosphere of panic, people are willing to believe anything and indulge in behavior, detrimental to individual and societal health. The dangers of the prediction virus can be assessed from the panic created by popular projections that the number of confirmed cases and that of a casualty are directly proportional to a number of tests that are conducted. The number of infected cases in India is predicted in millions in the coming month.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EOne must recognize that tests conducted on high-risk cases that have shown symptoms or travel history and those put under some kind of quarantine have not increased the number of confirmed cases alarmingly. The number will be even less when tests are conducted on a low-risk population. Given the high alert and awareness about Corona danger in slums, low-income colonies and even in rural areas \u003Ci\u003E(that are not allowing the returnee migrants to enter the villages)\u003C\/i\u003E, the possibility that households are not taking their patients with symptom to hospitals, apprehending harassment, refusal, high expenditures or catching infections during treatment, etc. is unlikely to be very high. Given the low level of physical interaction between the workers in organized and unorganized sectors and spatial segmentation of rich and poor even in many public places in India, the rate of infection so far has been low. Hopefully, the country will be able to contain this before it enters the third stage. Understandably the cases will go up but at a much lower rate than that of the number of tests, particularly due to lockdown in the country, which is generally welcomed by the people. There are, on the other hand, predictions that this risk factor is exaggerated for taking political advantages by creating panic in the country. Their voices would become louder once the rate of infection is brought down to a manageable level. If the number does not go down the management of the crisis would be blamed.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003ENot many have opposed the lockdown but argued that the institutional preparation for this, in terms of providing support to migrant laborers, unorganized workers, legitimate mobility of common people and those with special problems have not been planned and communicated to people and implementers at the grass-root level. The implications of the lockdown at the community level are unclear even to the implementing agencies. Does this mean everyone remains captive, not stepping out of the premises even for the purchase of medicine, food and other essential items, household emergency and constitutional walk? If so, has a system of doorstep delivery and safety in the transaction at the door been operationalized? Alternately, if the lockdown permits people to be out of the house or the colony within the city for genuine purposes, how its misuse will be detected and penalized? In case permission for travel beyond the city or state, limits have to be allowed in exceptional cases, its modus operandi needs to be institutionalized. Twenty-one days is a long period for over 300 million-plus households for assuming no grave exigency requiring anyone to step out.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003EIt would nonetheless be important to ensure that the relaxations do not open up the possibility of vested interest playing foul in our hierarchical society.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-ccMmJzEf2YM\/XoqnktowHxI\/AAAAAAAAUo4\/PuzgGS69kwsR5vseyTb91UERdJJFrv_uwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG-Indian-Migrants-COVID-19.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"Image Attribute: Migrant workers and their families queue to board a train at Mumbai railway station after government-imposed restrictions on public gatherings in attempts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 \/ Source: Prashant Waydande\/Reuters\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"450\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-ccMmJzEf2YM\/XoqnktowHxI\/AAAAAAAAUo4\/PuzgGS69kwsR5vseyTb91UERdJJFrv_uwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s640\/IMG-Indian-Migrants-COVID-19.jpg\" title=\"Image Attribute: Migrant workers and their families queue to board a train at Mumbai railway station after government-imposed restrictions on public gatherings in attempts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 \/ Source: Prashant Waydande\/Reuters\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EImage Attribute:\u0026nbsp;Migrant workers and their families queue to board a train at Mumbai railway station after government-imposed restrictions on public gatherings in attempts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 \/ Source: Prashant Waydande\/Reuters\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInvolving the community or civil society in a big way is a challenge since this may compromise safety concerns. Importantly, the middle class based civil society has already become active in implementing the lockdown to protect its interest. Without any administrative control, this is leading to targeting people of certain regions, belonging to certain professions and slum populations. Also, this results in ignoring the concerns of the people who have special needs or are trapped in an exigency like daily wage workers, those taking care sick\/disabled or separated from a family from employment reasons.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EDespite such risks, the government, private sector, and civil society partnership can be effective and in fact help in bringing down the security risks.  A major problem of movement in the period of lockdown is that of about 65 million interstate migrants, 33 percent of them being workers. By conservative estimates, 30 percent of the latter are casual workers and another 30 percent work on a regular basis but in the informal sector. This would mean about 12 million people, who are at the risk of losing employment, are residing in states other than that of their origin. The street vendors amounting to about 8 million can also be placed in this vulnerable category. Many among them have lost the means of their subsistence and started leaving their place of residence and have been stranded in different cities. The government which is rightly bringing back the Indians from Corona affected countries could easily provide safe transportation to the migrants who desperately want to go back to their homes, rather than allowing them to travel in jam-packed compartments\/buses or to fend for themselves.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EThe present strategy of the government does not preclude the participation of the community. Even helping nine poor families every day during\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cem style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003ENavaratra\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E, as proposed, would mean exposing the households to unsafe interactions, unless it is institutionalized. Unless the logistic issues are sorted out immediately and communicated to the lowest level of administration and common people, there will be serious management issues, besides protest and intragroup violence at the community level.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EState governments must work with the private corporate sector and non-governmental organizations including those of the workers, to ensure that there is no massive loss of employment. Central funds could be used along with that of the state and private companies for this purpose while civil society organizations can be engaged in provisioning of travel, food, stay and medical checkup for the period required, under the safety supervision of public authorities. Attempts must be made to ensure that a large majority of these people remain at their present place and are taken care of. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar account for 25 percent and 14 percent of the total interstate migrants, followed by Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, recording figures over 5 percent each. It would be very difficult to control the pandemic when they return home after all their travails enroute. They will be just another unemployed in the household. Taking care of them at their current locations would be a major step in ensuring that the COVID 19 does not make inroads into the interiors of the backward regions of the county where\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #0e101a;\"\u003Eprovisioning of adequate medical assistance would not be challenging. It would be impossible.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #0e101a;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #0e101a;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EAbout the Author:\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #0e101a;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #0e101a;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Amitabh_Kundu\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EDr. Amitabh Kundu\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E is currently a Distinguished Fellow at the Research and Information System for Developing Countries, New Delhi. He was Regional Advisor on Poverty at UNESCWA, Beirut during 2017 and Consultant to the Government of Sri Lanka during 2016. Until January 2014, he was Professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has been the Dean of the School of Social Sciences and has served as a member of the National Statistical Commission during 2006-08. Currently, he is chairing a Committee for Swatch Bharat Mission and associated as a m\u003C\/span\u003Eentor with\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EImpact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI), New Delhi.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #0e101a;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EAbout IMPRI+IndraStra COVID-19 Insights\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #0e101a;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EIMPRI+IndraStra COVID-19 Insights\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003Eare jointly produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.impriindia.org\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EI\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.impriindia.org\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Empact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI), New Delhi\u0026nbsp;(India)\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.indrastra.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EIndraStra Global, New York\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #0e101a;\"\u003ESince the content of these kinds of insights are based on a current event, the information may change rapidly as the event progresses.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #0e101a;\"\u003EPlease do feel free to comment and share your valuable feedback.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; 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text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-QApjHQBbXfg\/Xowmi4oY0mI\/AAAAAAAAUpc\/VTeQmlXTsKAMnYlv0h8C2hKQmz0D13oLgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/AIDN0060420200006-CI.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"Crude Rallies as Saudis Call for 'Urgent' OPEC+ Meeting on Output\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"512\" data-original-width=\"1024\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-QApjHQBbXfg\/Xowmi4oY0mI\/AAAAAAAAUpc\/VTeQmlXTsKAMnYlv0h8C2hKQmz0D13oLgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s640\/AIDN0060420200006-CI.png\" title=\"Crude Rallies as Saudis Call for 'Urgent' OPEC+ Meeting on Output\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EApril 5, 2020, New York \u003C\/b\u003E— Crude prices rallied 25% Thursday after Saudi Arabia called for an \"urgent meeting\" of the OPEC+ alliance and other producers to negotiate an output cut deal.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003ENYMEX front-month crude settled at $25.32\/b, up $5.01.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EThe statement followed comments from US President Donald Trump, who earlier in the day tweeted that he had spoken with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who had in turn called Russian President Vladimir Putin to heal their oil market rift.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003ETrump said he expects a\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca class=\"_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink\" href=\"http:\/\/click.agilitypr.delivery\/ls\/click?upn=g3DG5s3EbPyfnTTVEu0Hh6Muo3bxzMdSL7QdJKrUHMds4kbtNJYY1VefwMnUiQLOZSqW-2BshtMCttYCqUbrNs-2F5d4fBXcDBeunZm9MIfJfI4wsclkggqA-2FD8ovb-2B-2FKWB-2FSdrVZh9UQI-2FzMfEqNVk9Y1-2FBS2mnqW-2BVNmmq8GDBnUnxSeJrXQxaVxsfFNFEDhKuT87SitYX7cvTsgm9Lg-2FP7w-3D-3Dhzyj_V3NU-2FA-2F-2BMCS01eqTEl7SwSUxo4DQkXesTG09x1HpR2vjk2J1EmsQPfRBqDbXCey8tdWs-2BShDn4PhGOvo-2F2Ttpwdw9tPVilb3K0ExOYK9QNmVUdJPvIX-2Fd0g1Cq1pJJJWRKZI6NciFEkqxaCeBXjPMwkOd31J-2F3cay9UXCVI3wpJk93PNx2kHXkeUVw5v9zh4NepBY5kbzYTZbeAzyTrGyOBfdaVT4D6pJ-2BrVkPZfMZpl1JjUeBspOj3ofndq3KSBhqR8ABsergYHuxLBkNzPmmZMfsPBNTcDzobR22SGOlgAjPr5JGPzEoiGvzfnw6H30oxNR-2FDLTVUCeJePMxrNgR18WgYctryve6E4b64BEnviEKVdTEkjihbWp73d0RLSOGb-2FE9-2F6OQpUzDR3NGLYHOYtiNjLoJuvkK7XZaqIThw-2F5-2BVRyXJW0o7kW65aHdGl\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4a6ee0; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003Eproduction cut agreement of 10 million b\/d to 15 million b\/d\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E. Trump is expected to meet with US oil industry leaders on Friday to discuss steps the government can take to help the sector.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EThe market has been glutted with crude as Saudi Arabia and Russia have yet to back off their plans to expand market share despite the drop in demand, which has tumbled as coronavirus spread has slashed consumption of transportation fuels.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-3_-EyqNt9_U\/XownG-dbwdI\/AAAAAAAAUpk\/bsTMjcz9IjEbi88rNlQp8QvvjUKfqIoXgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/CoronaTimeline.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"Coronavirus Timeline: Saudi-Russia Price Battle \/ Source: S\u0026amp;P Global Platts\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"261\" data-original-width=\"996\" height=\"166\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-3_-EyqNt9_U\/XownG-dbwdI\/AAAAAAAAUpk\/bsTMjcz9IjEbi88rNlQp8QvvjUKfqIoXgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s640\/CoronaTimeline.jpg\" title=\"Coronavirus Timeline: Saudi-Russia Price Battle \/ Source: S\u0026amp;P Global Platts\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca class=\"_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink\" href=\"http:\/\/click.agilitypr.delivery\/ls\/click?upn=g3DG5s3EbPyfnTTVEu0Hh6Muo3bxzMdSL7QdJKrUHMcBdN-2B-2B3mjOu3zEw-2B3DbEW-2FhGrTpzqYMDHcm7M2pbYZ2qDrAE1nd4gxlAWn0MpI1blJaqfPo22tliMzIoojoc4oKY4vARZmdnbgmhNgtJ6iZQ-3D-3DzpoB_V3NU-2FA-2F-2BMCS01eqTEl7SwSUxo4DQkXesTG09x1HpR2vjk2J1EmsQPfRBqDbXCey8tdWs-2BShDn4PhGOvo-2F2Ttpwdw9tPVilb3K0ExOYK9QNmVUdJPvIX-2Fd0g1Cq1pJJJWRKZI6NciFEkqxaCeBXjPMwkOd31J-2F3cay9UXCVI3wpJk93PNx2kHXkeUVw5v9zh4NepBY5kbzYTZbeAzyTrGyOBfdaVT4D6pJ-2BrVkPZfMZpl1JjUeBspOj3ofndq3KSB27CqiMHNpXrzp2bYOk4mxZ6sj3K1doDya0ankXWJYDkEQmbuawpsA3xVzJCmiLHdb8ahvs19-2BjlT4UxvdMnhmldbOZTaCm4leQ5FupKSQxHO8c-2BgWiFnaEuNdCp3NVlfud42ZI4sV8ZeC0shEyQ12jzCpgwyGmpvMjA8LsLj1DdljWr4hxaKbS8qZF2OoMD9\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4a6ee0; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EClick here for full-size image\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EHowever, some were skeptical about the possibility of those production cuts materializing in time to prevent a further price collapse.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EAn immediate reduction of 10 million b\/d is required to \u003Ci\u003E\"prevent inventories globally from reaching tank tops,\"\u003C\/i\u003E said Ed Morse, Citi Group's global head of commodities research. \u003Ci\u003E\"That is based on a demand drop globally of nearly [16 million b\/d] for all of 2Q, but peaking at [18.5 million b\/d] over the coming 8 weeks,\"\u003C\/i\u003E he said.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EEarlier in the day, Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said a coordinated OPEC+ production cut would not be enough to compensate for the fall in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which he said could reach 20 million b\/d.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EOil producers have already started to cut 2020 spending and operations, primarily in the US.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EThe US oil and gas\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca class=\"_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink\" href=\"http:\/\/click.agilitypr.delivery\/ls\/click?upn=g3DG5s3EbPyfnTTVEu0Hh6Muo3bxzMdSL7QdJKrUHMds4kbtNJYY1VefwMnUiQLOZSqW-2BshtMCttYCqUbrNs-2FwuvFPboWJ75-2Fjd9qATmOZkVtyDa8ttNAT43-2Fc6wVwR2p4uWJOPkA6eXubtEl28niKEsNSZC5GYkr3Y9n2cTSz85uKJMCfsgDwSiHgViW32f0gdo4nDPiAdAyLHc5LikdYBM3aWJBu-2FWQcnc5-2Bc-2BNVs-3DYbg6_V3NU-2FA-2F-2BMCS01eqTEl7SwSUxo4DQkXesTG09x1HpR2vjk2J1EmsQPfRBqDbXCey8tdWs-2BShDn4PhGOvo-2F2Ttpwdw9tPVilb3K0ExOYK9QNmVUdJPvIX-2Fd0g1Cq1pJJJWRKZI6NciFEkqxaCeBXjPMwkOd31J-2F3cay9UXCVI3wpJk93PNx2kHXkeUVw5v9zh4NepBY5kbzYTZbeAzyTrGyOBfdaVT4D6pJ-2BrVkPZfMZpl1JjUeBspOj3ofndq3KSB8ajFV9F8B-2BRVxsRjmFgBHpuaqL9yiVg9W1FEozcI2K0cnWKPWghG2feIyhXEYwZw9uNmk41WSQrk6VCNTcKY4ZC6-2BhVwwRMgsl-2BAvZ9xmXYyfFiY6J1hhdL52EpwpbbKsr40nhHEahiXQrKiuWkCqe-2BUpovTyYgIIUUVOQStkpakkJrjqCJlc6muAXljGCj6\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4a6ee0; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003Erig count fell 45 this week to 721\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E, rig data provider Enverus said Thursday. That followed an even steeper plunge of 47 last week.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EBut it will take some time for those cuts to be seen in the output.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EIn the meantime, with travel restrictions still in place, crude demand is expected to remain low as refiners cut operations because of depressed margins.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EPRICES\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EOil\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**West Texas Intermediate at Midland, Texas was assessed by S\u0026amp;P Global Platts at $19.02\/b Thursday, up from $10.09\/b March 30, but down $40.84\/b from January 20, when commodities markets first began reacting to the virus.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Western Canadian Select at Hardisty, Alberta, was assessed at $12.45\/b Thursday, up from $8.03\/b Wednesday, but down from $35.24\/b on January 20.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Atlantic Basin physical crude price differentials are weakening because of the refinery run cuts, with West African Djeno crude, for instance, assessed at a $7.10\/b discount to Brent Thursday, down from a $1.50\/b discount March 2.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Belarus said it expects to receive 488,666 b\/d of crude from Russia in April, paying roughly just $4\/b for the crude.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Market participants expect Saudi Aramco could cut price differentials even further for its crude grades flowing east by $2-$3\/b this month based on plunging demand and the sharp drop in underlying reference markers for the Middle East crudes in Asia.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EJet\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**The Singapore jet crack spread against Brent ended Thursday at minus 11 cents\/b, down from $11.34\/b January 20.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**The Rotterdam jet fuel crack against Brent ended Thursday at minus $1.55\/b, down from $14.17\/b January 20.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**The New York Harbor jet crack against Brent ended Thursday at minus 67 cents\/b, down from $14.19\/b January 20.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EGasoline\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**The June NYMEX RBOB crack spread vs. ICE Brent ended Thursday at around 33 cents\/b, rising from minus $6.29\/b March 23 as refiners have cut runs, but down from $11.78\/b one month ago.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Massive reductions in downstream demand following coronavirus stay-at-home orders have hammered flat prices for gasoline in Chicago. CBOB in Chicago was assessed at 16.65 cents\/gal Wednesday, while its RBOB counterpart was assessed at 28.65 cents\/gal, both falling to historic lows.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**S\u0026amp;P Global Platts assessed Eurobob gasoline FOB basis AR barges at a record low of $144\/mt Wednesday.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003ETRADE FLOW\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EStorage\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**With Saudi Arabia and Russia in a pricing war to flood the market with cheap crude, and refiners cutting runs on low demand, the crude contango has widened, encouraging global inventory builds.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**After Democrats in Congress blocked efforts to buy US crude for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the Department of Energy announced Thursday that it was making 30 million barrels of space available for US producers to store crude. The DOE said it would make an additional 47 million barrels of storage space, accounting for the remainder of its total capacity, available at a later date.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**US commercial crude stocks jumped 13.83 million barrels to 469.19 million barrels the week ended March 27, according to the US Energy Information Administration, the second-largest build ever reported by EIA.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-xKLGCmUNStw\/XowoCLK1nTI\/AAAAAAAAUp0\/L0_Ghqx0G8wBF7jNb4UoipCfcldw-ouBACLcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/vlcctanker.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"VLCC Tanker Rates Soar as Crude Contango Widens \/ Source: S\u0026amp;P Global Platts\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"290\" data-original-width=\"484\" height=\"382\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-xKLGCmUNStw\/XowoCLK1nTI\/AAAAAAAAUp0\/L0_Ghqx0G8wBF7jNb4UoipCfcldw-ouBACLcBGAsYHQ\/s640\/vlcctanker.jpg\" title=\"VLCC Tanker Rates Soar as Crude Contango Widens \/ Source: S\u0026amp;P Global Platts\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Some supertankers are being booked to store crude for up to three years -- potentially the longest ever duration for floating storage. Sources said two VLCCs, NS Lemos and Kyklades, had been placed on subjects for a time charter of up to three years for a daily rate of $48,000.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-zYsI2xFIDO8\/XownzXmZssI\/AAAAAAAAUpw\/CBQDJXuNKXc_YGtPtrSLtrTqkNFOfk4xgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/us_crude_storage.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"US Crude Storage Building Amid Coronavirus Pandemic \/ Source: S\u0026amp;P Global Platts\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"328\" data-original-width=\"996\" height=\"210\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-zYsI2xFIDO8\/XownzXmZssI\/AAAAAAAAUpw\/CBQDJXuNKXc_YGtPtrSLtrTqkNFOfk4xgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s640\/us_crude_storage.jpg\" title=\"US Crude Storage Building Amid Coronavirus Pandemic \/ Source: S\u0026amp;P Global Platts\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Over the next few months, Platts Analytics sees global \u003Ci\u003E\"massive\"\u003C\/i\u003E crude stock builds of 500 million barrels in its best-case scenario, compared with the 1 billion-barrel build in its worst-case scenario, relative to the end of February levels.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**A record 11.1 million barrels of LOOP Sour Crude oil storage will be auctioned April 7, auction platform operator Matrix Markets announced Monday. During the monthly online auction, 11,100 capacity allocation contracts, spanning from front-month May through the third quarter of 2021, will be available to bidders.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco is moving a substantial amount of its crude to storage caverns in Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Sidi Kerir in Egypt. Around 800,000 b\/d to 1 million b\/d -- or 10%-15% -- of Saudi crude exports has recently traveled to Europe, with France, the Netherlands, Poland, Greece, and Spain making up the key demand hubs, according to S\u0026amp;P Global Platts estimates.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Rising freight rates are posing a problem for traders looking to do floating storage of jet fuel in Europe, with some fixtures being canceled. The 64,917 dwt Stena Polaris, which was previously put on subjects for jet fuel floating storage at $25,500\/day for 45 days, with an option to extend to 90 days, failed owing to higher rates, shipping sources said.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-7N3SdPDQir0\/XowoNBZbM9I\/AAAAAAAAUp8\/tqJUWH7Sd5EY8pAptB4PKOcC8HpR9fuTwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/oilexporters.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"Oil Exporters Pinched: Fiscal Breakeven Brent Price \/ Source: S\u0026amp;P Global Platts\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"389\" data-original-width=\"484\" height=\"514\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-7N3SdPDQir0\/XowoNBZbM9I\/AAAAAAAAUp8\/tqJUWH7Sd5EY8pAptB4PKOcC8HpR9fuTwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s640\/oilexporters.jpg\" title=\"Oil Exporters Pinched: Fiscal Breakeven Brent Price \/ Source: S\u0026amp;P Global Platts\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003ECrude output and sales\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Saudi Arabia on Thursday called for an \"urgent meeting\" of the OPEC+ alliance and other producers to negotiate a deal on output cuts that could stem the coronavirus-induced freefall in oil prices.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**US President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday that he had spoken by phone with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who in turn called Russian President Vladimir Putin to heal their oil market rift. Trump said he expects a crude output cut of 10 million b\/d, and possibly as high as 15 million b\/d.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said a coordinated OPEC+ production cut would not be enough to compensate for the fall in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which he said could reach 20 million b\/d.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Argentina's YPF offered a rare 1-million barrel cargo of Canadon Seco crude for April loading and a 1-million barrel cargo of Medanito for April loading. YPF has cut refinery runs on low demand and is thus offering Canadon Seco crude for export for the first time in 20 years.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**US crude exports fell 700,000 b\/d last week to 3.16 million b\/d, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Traders said that activity in the spot US export markets had been limited recently amid a lack of global refiner demand.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**PetroVietnam aims to produce 10.62 million mt of crude in 2020, down 18.9% from 2019, and may further cut its production target as prices are too low and exports not profitable. Also, PetroVietnam's oil and gas exploration and production projects have been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak as many contractors are unable to send workers to the operation fields as planned.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**With refined products demand weak, several refiners in North Asia declined offers from Middle East producers for additional crude volumes to their allocated April term barrels, despite low oil prices. Japanese refiners are still mulling whether to increase crude oil purchases from Saudi Arabia and the UAE for May loading programs, after seeing no room for additional intake from the Middle East for April.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EAviation\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Some of the world's biggest airlines are slashing their flights for the coming months, and jet fuel demand, which accounts for almost 8% of total oil demand, is taking an unprecedented hit.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Middle East jet fuel\/kerosene demand will fall by 125 kb\/d, or 23% year-on-year, to some 420,000 b\/d in 2020, which would be the lowest in at least a decade, according to FGE Energy.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**European airline capacity - Western, Central and Eastern - has fallen by 74% to 22.3 million seats from January 20 to 5.77 million Monday, OAG Schedules Analyzer data shows. While global capacity dropped below 50% Monday to below 50 million seats.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**European airlines are at the top of the table for making reductions in capacity this week with British Airways announcing the suspension of all flights out of London's Gatwick Airport Tuesday.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Singapore Airlines Group said Monday it was cutting 96% of its capacity through the end of April in the wake of travel restrictions, while the UAE's Emirates, the world's biggest long-haul airline, will suspend most passenger flights as of March 25, operating mainly cargo.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**The International Airlines Group, which includes British Airways, Vueling and Iberia, plans to reduce capacity by at least 75% compared with April and May 2019.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EINFRASTRUCTURE\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EUpstream\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Global producers have announced spending cuts and reduced operations because of low prices, with the bulk of the cuts coming from North America.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**More than 1 million b\/d shut-ins at the wellhead, nearly all in the price-sensitive US shale sector, have already been announced with spending and rig counts dropping daily.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**BP is cutting its planned capital expenditure this year by around 25% from previous guidance to $12 billion, targeting reductions in US shale activity as well as spending on exploration and major projects, with some output reduction expected.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**After announcing a 100,000-b\/d cut to its crude production less than a week ago, Brazilian state-led Petrobras on Wednesday doubled its plan for output cuts to 200,000 b\/d.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**The cuts have begun to materialize in weekly rig activity. The US oil and gas rig count fell 45 this week to 721, rig data provider Enverus said Thursday. That followed an even steeper plunge of 47 last week.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Brazil's National Petroleum Agency, or ANP, suspended the 17th bid round sale of oil and natural gas exploration and production concessions scheduled for the second half of 2020. The round was expected to include 128 offshore blocks located in deep or ultra-deep waters of the Campos, Para-Maranhao, Pelotas, Potiguar and Santos basins.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**A plunge in prices has slashed the profit potential for oil production in Argentina, raising concerns that a cutback in investment could stymie the development of Vaca Muerta, its biggest shale play -- and one of the largest in the world. Pampa Energia, one of the biggest energy companies in Argentina, has postponed its drilling plans in Vaca Muerta.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003EDownstream\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Fujairah port, the Middle East's crude product storage, and trading hub put plans on hold to expand its storage capacity because of slumping global. Fujairah, which currently has crude and oil product storage capacity exceeding 10 million cubic meters had plans to reach up to 16 million cubic meters in 2023.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Global refineries have started to cut operations because of the low demand for transportation fuels. In the US, refiners are expected to cut runs by roughly 2.2 million b\/d in April from January's 16.5 million b\/d figure, according to Platts Analytics.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Canadian refiners have joined in, with Newfoundland's 130,000 b\/d Come by Chance refinery \"transitioning to standby mode this week,\" a company spokeswoman said, while market sources said that Irving's 330,000 b\/d refinery in Saint John, New Brunswick, were cut by 25%-30% as gasoline cracks turned negative.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**A number of refineries in Europe have reported cutting runs, including ExxonMobil's Gravenchon and Fos plants in France, and API's Falconara plant in Italy.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Brazil's Petrobras is currently running refineries at about 74% of installed capacity compared with an average of 79% in 2019.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Japanese refiners are considering cutting operating rates further in April - despite the rate in March falling to the typical turnaround level before the maintenance season has started.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Refinery utilization rates have risen across China with state-owned oil giants raising run rates to around 70% of their combined nameplate capacity in March from a record low of 67% in February. Independent refineries in eastern Shandong province also lifted their average run rates to 60.3% as of March 25 from an average of 41.5% in February, according to local information provider JLC.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E**Refiners in Vietnam have been forced to lower their production capacity. State-controlled PetroVietnam's Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical, or BSR, has cut the capacity of its 148,000 b\/d refinery at Dung Quat to 105%, down from 108% before the end of February, an official from BSR said Tuesday. Crude rallies as Saudis call for 'urgent' OPEC+ meeting on output\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cb\u003EIndraStra Global\u003C\/b\u003E is now available on \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/apple.news\/Tbvq4-R3hQ5izxn0b9mqG9Q\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EApple News\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMNbQ3gow9aLWAQ?hl=en-IN\u0026amp;gl=IN\u0026amp;ceid=IN:en\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGoogle News\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E,\u003Cb\u003E \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/flipboard.com\/@indrastra\/indrastra-global-ctkeo059z\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EFlipboard\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003E \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/IndrastraGlobal\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EFeedburner\u003C\/a\u003E,\u003C\/b\u003E and\u0026nbsp;\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/indrastraglobal\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ETelegram\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003E\u003Cscript async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\n\u003Cins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block\"\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-c6-3y+3v+0+c6\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7609865815468089\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"3607324678\"\u003E\u003C\/ins\u003E\n\u003Cscript\u003E\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n\u003C\/script\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/1461303524738926686\/posts\/default\/8836311629990738058"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/1461303524738926686\/posts\/default\/8836311629990738058"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/www.indrastra.com\/2020\/04\/Crude-Rallies-as-Saudis-Call-for-Urgent-OPEC-Plus-Meeting-on-Output-006-04-2020-0006.html","title":"Crude Rallies as Saudis Call for 'Urgent' OPEC+ Meeting on Output"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"IndraStra Global"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04065983396291846323"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-M0HD88VMMSA\/XMrUpcDhagI\/AAAAAAAAUJs\/a5ZbTU09eGMvNCplyJE9bDNBxc3o8kTeQCK4BGAYYCw\/s113\/Webp.net-resizeimage%2B%252814%2529.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-QApjHQBbXfg\/Xowmi4oY0mI\/AAAAAAAAUpc\/VTeQmlXTsKAMnYlv0h8C2hKQmz0D13oLgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/AIDN0060420200006-CI.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"georss$featurename":{"$t":"New York, NY, USA"},"georss$point":{"$t":"40.7127753 -74.0059728"},"georss$box":{"$t":"39.9423093 -75.296866299999991 41.483241299999996 -72.7150793"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1461303524738926686.post-4205879524094621395"},"published":{"$t":"2018-03-22T13:02:00.003-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2018-03-22T13:02:54.150-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Black Money"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Featured"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Kazakhstan"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Kindle"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"News"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United Kingdom"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"The Case of Ablyazov – Lack of Political Will"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" trbidi=\"on\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;georgia\u0026quot; , \u0026quot;times new roman\u0026quot; , serif;\"\u003EThe Case of Ablyazovs' Highlights \"Lack of Political Will\" to Tackle Kleptocracy in the U.K.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EBy Stephen M. Bland\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-MyZQkHLtb-w\/WrPdnkX06zI\/AAAAAAAATAM\/4BSaOZ5VMGEtpz2MzXpEDgLMurj67WC_wCLcBGAs\/s1600\/ABLYAZOV.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"The Case of Ablyazovs' Highlights \u0026quot;Lack of Political Will\u0026quot; to Tackle Kleptocracy in the U.K.\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"800\" data-original-width=\"1600\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-MyZQkHLtb-w\/WrPdnkX06zI\/AAAAAAAATAM\/4BSaOZ5VMGEtpz2MzXpEDgLMurj67WC_wCLcBGAs\/s640\/ABLYAZOV.jpg\" title=\"The Case of Ablyazovs' Highlights \u0026quot;Lack of Political Will\u0026quot; to Tackle Kleptocracy in the U.K.\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe biggest fraud case in British history, almost nine years since the case of \u003Ci\u003EBTA Bank v Mukhtar Ablyazov\u003C\/i\u003E first appeared in the U.K. courts, a new round of litigation has been set into motion, whilst lawsuits are also ongoing in France, Kazakhstan and the United States.\u003Ci\u003E\"In this action the Bank brings a claim against Mr. Ablyazov and Mr. Khrapunov, his son-in-law, alleging a conspiracy by unlawful means,\"\u003C\/i\u003E the court document \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.bailii.org\/ew\/cases\/EWHC\/Comm\/2017\/2702.html\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ereads\u003C\/a\u003E. \u003C\/b\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\"The Bank has judgments for over $4.6 [now $4.9] billion against Mr. Ablyazov, and it alleges that he and Mr. Khrapunov acted together to deal with assets in breach of court orders made against Mr. Ablyazov so as to prevent it from enforcing the judgments.\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EHaving committed\u003Ci\u003E \"fraud on an epic scale,\" \u003C\/i\u003Ein the words of Justice Teare, former Minister for Energy, Industry, and Trade in Kazakhstan, Mukhtar Ablyazov hightailed it out of London to France in February 2012 in order to avoid three concurrent 22-month sentences passed upon him for contempt of court. Accused of embezzling upwards of £7.25 billion in total from the bank he once chaired, with only a fraction of the missing funds having been recovered, those hardest hit by the scandal are Kazakh home buyers whose properties were never built and pensioners who saw their retirement funds disappear into a sinkhole of over a thousand shell companies worldwide which have been uncovered so far. Among numerous British institutions to suffer collateral damage, prior to being bailed-out by British taxpayers, RBS suffered losses of more than £1.3 billion.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThough they often raise more questions than answers, the opaque cases of Mukhtar Ablyazov, his family and entourage serve to highlight a particularly British problem. Through a mixture of oversight, the turning of blind eyes and institutional failures, the UK has become a bolthole for politically exposed persons and a haven for money laundering kleptocrats hiding behind anonymous offshore mailbox companies. Only now, in the wake of the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.indrastra.com\/2018\/03\/Spy-Poisoning-Diplomatic-Escalation-UK-Russia-004-03-2018-0028.html\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003Eattack\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.indrastra.com\/2018\/03\/Spy-Poisoning-Diplomatic-Escalation-UK-Russia-004-03-2018-0028.html\" rel=\"nofollow\" style=\"font-weight: bold;\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E on Sergei and Yulia Skripal\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cb\u003E,\u003C\/b\u003E is the Treasury Select Committee understood to be in talks regarding a potential investigation into money laundering.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EThe Golden Son\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EMukhtar Ablyazov’s son, Madiyar was born in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 1992. At the age of ten, he moved to London to live with his aunt and uncle, the Shalabayevs’, settling into the opulent surroundings of Carlton House on Billionaire’s Row in Highgate. A seven-bedroom mansion replete with an indoor leisure complex, a pool, and a Turkish baths, this was one of four London properties owned by Mukhtar Ablyazov.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EWith the authorities in Kazakhstan closing in on Mukhtar Ablyazov - where a huge black hole in BTA Bank’s finances had become apparent - in 2008, Madiyar’s family began looking for alternatives which would allow him to remain in the U.K. upon the expiration of his student visa. The Ablyazovs’ settled on the Tier 1 Investor scheme, which at the time granted individuals residency as a path towards citizenship in exchange for an investment of £1 million in the U.K. At the end of this investment period, this sum would then be returned to the applicant along with any interest accrued.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIn a farce worthy of \u003Ci\u003EYes Minister\u003C\/i\u003E or \u003Ci\u003EThe Thick of It\u003C\/i\u003E, from 2008 - 2015 the Home Office approved Tier 1 Investor visas thinking the applicant would then open a bank account thus leading to due diligence being carried out by the banks, whilst banks took the issuance of the visa as proof that due diligence had already been carried out by the Home Office. During this so-called\u003Ci\u003E \"blind faith\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;period, a total of three thousand\u003Ci\u003E \"golden visas\"\u003C\/i\u003E were issued. Part of a system which inherently assumes that wealthier people make better immigrants, the names of applicants were hidden behind a wall of secrecy until 2016 that is when a new strand of the multiple Ablyazov cases came before the High Court of Justice.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EWith a payment of £1.1 million having been transferred into an account in Madiyar’s name at EFG Private Bank Limited in London, the Ablyazovs’ filed a \u003Ci\u003E\"memorandum of gift\" \u003C\/i\u003Ewith the \u003Ci\u003EU.K. Border Agency\u003C\/i\u003E, naming his father – already on the run from Kazakhstan at this juncture - as his benefactor. Despite the growing storm of well-publicised fraud allegations swirling around Mukhtar Ablyazov, in July 2009 Madiyar duly received his Tier 1 Investor visa. In September 2013, he received indefinite leave to remain in the UK, despite his father having had £3 billion in \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.bailii.org\/ew\/cases\/EWCA\/Civ\/2012\/1411.html\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003Ejudgments passed\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E against him in the British courts and having fled the country after being found to have acted with \u003Ci\u003E\"cynicism, opportunism, and deviousness’ and to be guilty of ‘lying under cross-examination.\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\"The most amazing thing about it was that there were really no background checks as far as I could tell,\" \u003C\/i\u003ELord Wallace of Saltaire, Government Whip and spokesperson in the \u003Ci\u003EHouse of Lords\u003C\/i\u003E for the \u003Ci\u003EForeign and Commonwealth Office\u003C\/i\u003E, the \u003Ci\u003EDepartment for Work and Pensions\u003C\/i\u003E and the \u003Ci\u003EDepartment for Education \u003C\/i\u003Ebetween 2010 – 2015 told me with regard to golden visas. \u003Ci\u003E\"It demonstrates the extent to which we have preferred as a country not to look too closely at where money is coming from. It's just one of the many ways in which illegally acquired money has flowed into London.\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAccording to Duncan Hames, Director of Policy at Transparency International UK:\u003Ci\u003E \"The three thousand individuals who benefitted from the Tier 1 Investor system between 2008 and 2015 represent ongoing money laundering risks due to the fact they gained visas before any due diligence was carried out on them. Retrospective source of wealth checks should be carried out on these individuals to ensure the UK does not continue to harbor those benefitting from corrupt wealth.\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ESince 2015, changes to the Tier 1 Investor scheme have seen increased due diligence and the amount it is necessary to invest being raised to £2 million, still pocket change for the average kleptocrat. In the financial year 2015 – 2016, the number of Chinese citizens granted Tier 1 Investor visas dropped from 488 to 35, whilst the number of Russians, the second largest group, fell from 196 to 34. Though increased due diligence has played a part, this dramatic decline in numbers can largely be attributed to uncertainty regarding Brexit and other egregious examples of citizenship through investment schemes, such as those offered by Portugal, Cyprus, and Malta. To date, however, nothing has been done with regard to retrospective due diligence.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\"Action on the blind faith period is something that we’ve called for consistently,\"\u003C\/i\u003E Naomi Hirst, Senior Campaigner at Global Witness told me.\u003Ci\u003E \"We definitely think that those individuals that came through during the blind faith period should be subject to retrospective checks. The crux is that three thousand people came through, some of them could be citizens by now, and we really don’t know where their money came from. The government hasn’t really acknowledged the risk that we were opening ourselves up to.\"\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EI asked Lord Wallace of Saltaire about the changes to Tier 1 Investor visas implemented in April 2015.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\"Evidently, the staggering thing is, one, that they didn’t do it before, and secondly that they don’t seem to have done much in the way of retrospective due diligence on people who had been let in earlier,’ he said.‘I would have thought [retrospective action] would be a possibility, but it would be inconvenient. Schemes like this which commoditize nationality and the absence of any proper checks meant that we were selling, first of all, the right to British residence, and then the right to British nationality. One of the things that you rapidly discover when you get into this world is that there a lot of people in London who make very good incomes out of servicing all this offshore business: the estate agents, the accountants and others who service the super-rich who come in this way.\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIn a telephone conversation, whilst refusing to discuss specific cases, a Home Office spokesperson stated that changes implemented since 2015 have made the process more vigorous. Anyone who was granted a Tier 1 Investor visa during this period would’ve had to apply for an extension within three years if they wanted to stay, so many would’ve been subject to increased due diligence during this process. The spokesperson went on to say that the Home Office does not accept that banks were not carrying out due diligence during the so-called\u003Ci\u003E \"blind faith\" \u003C\/i\u003Eperiod and that this and the phrase ‘golden visa’ are inaccurate. Retrospective due diligence was, therefore, unnecessary.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIn a written statement, the Home Office spokesperson stated that: \u003Ci\u003E\"We carry out a range of robust checks on all those applying for these visas. Changes have been made to the Tier 1 route to introduce new powers to refuse applications and address concerns about the source of funds used to meet the investment requirement. In addition to Government checks, banks are obliged to carry out their own due diligence checks on all Tier 1 investors.\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EHot Property\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIn addition to the mansion on Billionaire’s Row, at the peak of his powers, Mukhtar Ablyazov owned three other properties in and around London. There were flats in Elizabeth Court and Alberts Court in St. John's Wood, but the jewel in the crown was Oaklands Park in Surrey. Purchased through a Seychelles-based shell company in 2006 for £18.15 million, behind its wrought iron gates the hundred-acre estate boasts a 12,000 sq. foot main premises, four cottages, two log cabins, stables and a full-size polo pitch.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EResearch released in March 2017 by Transparency International identified forty thousand properties in London alone worth a total of £4.2billion that were purchased by individuals with\u003Ci\u003E \"suspicious wealth.\" \u003C\/i\u003EA long-standing source of concern for a plethora of NGOs, according to a Home Affairs select committee report from 2016, £100 billion is being laundered through the U.K. property market every year.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI spoke with Roman Borisovich, founder of the anti-kleptocracy NGO, ClampK about golden visas and the wider issues of kleptocracy in the U.K.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\"Very little was done in terms of checking the background of visa applicants,’ he said. ‘I know a few people who went through it and got their golden visas and eventually UK passports because of that. In these cases, clearly, the government didn’t ask the right questions. It’s exactly how it works with real estate. In every transaction that involves the proceeds of crime, there are always at least three people who beyond reasonable doubt have knowledge of or are suspicious that the transaction is criminal; so between the banker, lawyer and the director or administrator of the offshore company where the money is coming from, there’s no chance that at least one of these three is not aware of this, because they need to understand where the money is coming from to justify the transaction.\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI asked Borisovich about an undercover documentary from 2015 in which he starred called From Russia with Cash, in which a high-end London estate agent comments that \u003Ci\u003E\"eighty percent of my transactions, actually more I’d say now, are to international overseas based buyers, and I’d say fifty to sixty percent of those in various stages of anonymity, whether it be through a company or an offshore trust.\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\"It’s not only people who lose money to these kleptocrats who suffer,\"\u003C\/i\u003E Borisovich said,\u003Ci\u003E \"it’s people who are losing their place on the property ladder; it’s people losing active members of their communities. The consequences are twofold, first, prices increase, which has pretty much made it impossible for the average Londoner to purchase anything in the centre of town, and secondly, it’s led to the appearance of ghost areas, like Ennismore Gardens, SW7, places where the majority of properties are owned by kleptocrats who don’t live there and don’t rent them out. This is also known as the “lights out London” phenomenon that devastates whole neighbourhoods. If you go to Ennismore Gardens on a weekday night or a Sunday morning, you won’t see anybody. Ten years ago, it was one of the most lively and lovely residential areas in London.\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIt was his dabbling in real estate that led Justice Teare to find that Mukhtar Ablyazov had‘acted in contempt of court as alleged by the Bank,’ the\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.bailii.org\/ew\/cases\/EWHC\/Comm\/2012\/237.html\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E judgement reads\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\"I am sure that he was the true [beneficial owner] of shares in Mount Properties, the registered proprietor of Carlton House because...\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ei) The money used for the purchase came from Sunstone. Sunstone is a company which was undoubtedly connected with Mr. Ablyazov and in all probability, the shares in Sunstone were held for him by Mr. Udovenko.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003Eii) Both Mr. Ablyazov and Syrym Shalabayev gave untrue evidence that Syrym Shalabayev was the owner and seller of a uranium business when in fact Mr. Ablyazov was the owner and seller. That evidence was relied upon to show that Syrym Shalabayev had the means to purchase Carlton House. These lies can only have been told to hide Mr. Ablyazov's interest in Carlton House.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003Eiii) The fact that no third party has applied to the English Court to challenge the inclusion of Mount Properties within the receivership order indicates that Mr. Ablyazov is the beneficial owner of Carlton House.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003Eiv) The transfer of shares in Mount Properties in November 2009 was probably intended to distance Mr. Ablyazov from Carlton House.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ev) The \"lease\" of Carlton House was a sham.\" And so the judgement continues with regard to other properties which were subsequently seized and sold off.\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EA Lack of Political Will\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EGiven the scale of the problem and the widely recognized fact that London is awash with laundered money, I asked Naomi Hirst whether the government was likely to tackle kleptocracy.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\"It’s been eighteen months since the Panama Papers,\"\u003C\/i\u003E she said, \u003Ci\u003E\"and back then it looked as if the government did actually sit up, take notice and recognize the scale of the problem. Subsequent to the Panama Papers, an International Anti-Corruption summit was hosted by David Cameron, and the government made all sorts of promises, not least to crack down on tax havens by bringing in public records of beneficial ownership. In the eighteen months that have passed, we’re another set of leaks on, but really we’ve seen no meaningful action from the government in the interim period and certainly not since the Paradise Papers.\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\"We think it’s actually high time that the UK government and Theresa May delivered on the promises they made, for one thing on the union-bound overseas territories and crown dependencies, and another to clean up the UK property market. At the summit, the government promised to bring in a register which would reveal the real owners of overseas companies that own properties here, which would have a significant deterrent effect on corrupt money coming in as anonymous companies would no longer be able to buy properties. The government was also supposed to deliver an anti-corruption strategy in December 2016. It's more than a year overdue. I think it really does speak volumes about the lack of political will that the government doesn’t even have a strategy for the problems it identified eighteen months ago.\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EOne new power which came into force in the U.K. on January 31st, 2018 and could be used to tackle corruption is the \u003Ci\u003EUnexplained Wealth Order\u003C\/i\u003E provision of the \u003Ci\u003ECriminal Finances Act\u003C\/i\u003E, which gives law enforcement the ability to require the owners of assets to prove the legality of the funds which paid for them. Should they fail to do so or refuse to comply, those assets would then be subject to a seizure and forfeiture process. Whilst it remains to be seen how well the relevant authorities will be resourced in order to enforce this, an obvious loophole is the fact that anonymous ownership will thwart investigations. Thus, for example, with over seventy-five percent of corruption cases involving property investigated by the \u003Ci\u003EMetropolitan Police\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EProceeds of Corruption Unit\u003C\/i\u003E involving anonymous companies, the true beneficial owner is shrouded behind layers of secrecy.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\"Our research suggests the UK is home to billions of pounds in corrupt assets,’ said Duncan Hames. ‘However, the system by which these funds are seized and repatriated has until now failed to achieve effective asset recovery. We expect the new Unexplained Wealth Orders to be used effectively, resulting in more corrupt assets being recovered. The success of Unexplained Wealth Orders depends in part on other government initiatives such as the long overdue register which would reveal those benefitting from the overseas companies that own UK property.\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EBack in the world of the Ablyazovs, the last twelve months have seen an upturn in fortunes for the oligarch and his family. After having spent three years in jail in France, on December 9th, 2016, France’s highest administrative court cancelled an extradition order to send Mukhtar Ablyazov to Russia on the grounds that the request was made for political reasons. \u003Ci\u003E\"When you have so much money, you can buy everything, but you cannot buy the French justice system,\"\u003C\/i\u003E regional advocate-general, Solange Legras had crowed when the first extradition order was granted in January 2014.The decision by the Conseil d'Etat rides roughshod over every other court decision in the country to date as well as an extradition order signed by then Prime Minister, Manuel Valls in 2015.\u003Ci\u003E \"France must refrain from extraditing an individual to a country where there are serious grounds for believing that he or she would be in danger of being subjected to torture,\"\u003C\/i\u003E UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer had argued just days before the ruling.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIn a written interview, a representative of BTA Bank described the court’s decision as \u003Ci\u003E\"completely unexpected,\"\u003C\/i\u003E expressing their\u003Ci\u003E \"surprise and disappointment.\"\u003C\/i\u003E Although the reasons behind this reversal remain obscure, an expert on the situation who wished to remain anonymous cited a low point in Franco-Russian relations as the key reason for the decision.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIn Britain, meanwhile, ruling against BTA Bank, on the 19th, December 2016, the Royal Courts of Justice recognized Madiyar Ablyazov as the final beneficial owner of the £1.1 million \u003Ci\u003E‘gift’\u003C\/i\u003E from his father. \u003Ci\u003E\"I find that it is most unlikely that Mr. Ablyazov would have embarked on the process of obtaining an investor visa for Madiyar as part of a scheme to put the £1.1 million outside the hands of any future creditors,\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.bailii.org\/ew\/cases\/EWHC\/Comm\/2016\/3071.html\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003Ereads the \u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cb class=\"\"\u003Ejudgemen\u003C\/b\u003Et\u003C\/a\u003E by Laurence Rabinowitz QC. Nothing is mentioned in the judgement as regards the origin of these funds, which are thought to have come from an offshore company named on a prior asset freezing order.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ECurrently working at a financial services firm and a start-up in Geneva, Madiyar Ablyazov has gone on to keep a low profile. Mukhtar Ablyazov, meanwhile - a man once said to have owned three private planes, a thousand apartments, one-hundred-and-six cars, and twenty luxury villas - continues to bemoan his \u003Ci\u003E\"political persecution as a shield of protection against the law.\"\u003C\/i\u003E A representative of BTA Bank told me that £1 billion has been recovered in the UK to date and that having been granted leave to appeal, BTA’s challenge to the court’s verdict as regards Madiyar’s \u003Ci\u003E‘gift’\u003C\/i\u003E is set to be heard in April 2018. \u003Ci\u003E\"London has become a centre of attraction for fraudsters,\"\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003Ethe representative stated.\u003Ci\u003E\" All the funds poured into [the UK] by so-called \u003Cb\u003E“political victims”\u003C\/b\u003E successfully fuel the UK economy, which I think is very convenient.\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EWhilst the cases of Ablyazov and his cronies have served to highlight rampant kleptocracy, institutional failures and the lack of political will to address these issues, in the wake of the Paradise Papers, the government’s latest attempts to dilute EU anti-tax haven legislation do not augur well. \u003Ci\u003E\"The government has moved away from its commitments,\" \u003C\/i\u003Eargues Borisovich. \u003Ci\u003E\"Despite the Paradise Papers, because of Brexit fears, they’re paralysed… As with the register of beneficial owners, for example, it’s not just something they promised the British public, it’s something they promised leaders throughout the rest of the world.\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EAbout the Author:\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.stephenmbland.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EStephen M. Bland\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E is a freelance journalist, author and travel writer specializing in Central Asia, the Caucasus and South-East Asia, Mr. Bland's articles have appeared in numerous publications including Vice, Registan, Motherboard, and Eurasianet. You can view a selection at \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.stephenmbland.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003Ewww.stephenmbland.com\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;He regularly tweets at \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/stephenmbland\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E@stephenmbland\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EDISCLAIMER:\u0026nbsp;The views expressed in this insight piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the IndraStra Global.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003E\u003Cscript async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\n\u003Cins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block\"\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-c6-3y+3v+0+c6\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7609865815468089\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"3607324678\"\u003E\u003C\/ins\u003E\n\u003Cscript\u003E\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n\u003C\/script\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/1461303524738926686\/posts\/default\/4205879524094621395"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/1461303524738926686\/posts\/default\/4205879524094621395"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/www.indrastra.com\/2018\/03\/Case-of-Ablyazov-004-03-2018-0040.html","title":"The Case of Ablyazov – Lack of Political Will"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"IndraStra Global"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04065983396291846323"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-M0HD88VMMSA\/XMrUpcDhagI\/AAAAAAAAUJs\/a5ZbTU09eGMvNCplyJE9bDNBxc3o8kTeQCK4BGAYYCw\/s113\/Webp.net-resizeimage%2B%252814%2529.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-MyZQkHLtb-w\/WrPdnkX06zI\/AAAAAAAATAM\/4BSaOZ5VMGEtpz2MzXpEDgLMurj67WC_wCLcBGAs\/s72-c\/ABLYAZOV.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"georss$featurename":{"$t":"London, UK"},"georss$point":{"$t":"51.5073509 -0.12775829999998223"},"georss$box":{"$t":"51.5073509 -0.12775829999998223 51.5073509 -0.12775829999998223"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1461303524738926686.post-8206854250581714127"},"published":{"$t":"2018-03-13T06:17:00.004-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2018-04-03T07:42:32.490-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Blockchain"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Kindle"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Science \u0026 Technology"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Supply Chain Management"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Blockchain in Automotive Domain"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" trbidi=\"on\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: large;\"\u003ETransparency, Interoperability, \u0026amp; Scalability\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EBy Rahul Guhathakurta\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-PHSJ68mXcbk\/WqelBz2DN-I\/AAAAAAAAS50\/T7gwMGIsLbEDu5AeVaQohrqn7SK91i3dwCLcBGAs\/s1600\/blockchain-automotive.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"Blockchain in Automotive Domain\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"800\" data-original-width=\"1600\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-PHSJ68mXcbk\/WqelBz2DN-I\/AAAAAAAAS50\/T7gwMGIsLbEDu5AeVaQohrqn7SK91i3dwCLcBGAs\/s640\/blockchain-automotive.jpg\" title=\"Blockchain in Automotive Domain\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EImage Attribute: IndraStra Creatives\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe \u003Ci\u003E\"Blockchain\"\u003C\/i\u003E is a revolutionary database that does away with the weaknesses of traditional solutions for storing big data. It provides a transparent record of the entire business network, allowing buyers and sellers of each vehicle to track where the vehicle is in its lifecycle. The blockchain as a technology is more of a ledger recording\u003Ci\u003E \"agreements.\"\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003EIt is a system which contains a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked and secured using blockchain-based \u003Ci\u003EPublic Key Infrastructure (PKI)\u003C\/i\u003E encryption. It also provides a complete history of \u003Ci\u003E\"deals\"\u003C\/i\u003E made between two or more parties, in which the record cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks and the collusion of the network.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EUpstream Application\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe advantages of the blockchain are valuable, to say the least. Automotive manufacturers can partner with a blockchain service provider to create a unique ledger among its network of \u003Ci\u003Eoriginal equipment manufacturers (OEMs)\u003C\/i\u003E as well. It can help them to address the issues related to parts quality and the cases of fictitious pickups to strengthen its logistics monitoring and control. Like, one can cut tracking time of a particular shipment or series of shipments from several days to seconds. With improved traceability, both automotive manufacturers and OEMs can ensure the authenticity of parts delivery at assembly level milk runs.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESoftware-based Manufacturing\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ESoftware-based manufacturing based on blockchain can easily increase the manufacturing productivity and quality, significantly reduce the expenses for tracking in regards to warranty, maintenance and recycling purposes. Factors related to extra inspections about the product fabrication, version management, and recalls\/callbacks would also, be simplified.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EFor an example, a unique sensor can be added to each and every parts pallet before it is shipped from \u003Ci\u003Eoriginal equipment supplier\u003C\/i\u003E (OES)-end and tracks its real-time status and location, to ensure that the shipment complies with the\u003Ci\u003E expected time of arrival (ETA)\u003C\/i\u003E at the assembly dock. This entire works in conjunction with the \u003Ci\u003EInternet of Things (IoT)\u003C\/i\u003E to form an effective anti-counterfeit strategy by using countermeasure technologies based on blockchain principles, where each supply chain partner proactively takes part in updating the status (attributes) of the item as it traverses from \u003Ci\u003Epoint of sourcing\u003C\/i\u003E to \u003Ci\u003Epoint of manufacture\u003C\/i\u003E to \u003Ci\u003Epoint of sale\u003C\/i\u003E. The whole concept demands an extensive and exhaustive level of cooperation among automotive manufacturers, OEMs, software developers and cybersecurity firms at a scale that has never been achieved before.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EDownstream Application\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EVehicular Maintenance\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EOn July 25, 2017, Renault, the French automaker \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/media.group.renault.com\/global\/en-gb\/media\/pressreleases\/94238\/groupe-renault-microsoft-et-viseo-sassocient-pour-creer-le-premier-prototype-de-carnet-dentretien-nu1\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003Eannounced a pilot project\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E to digitized its car maintenance program, which uses blockchain as a shared ledger to log all car repair and maintenance history in one place. According to Renault, currently, the information about a vehicle's maintenance history is kept by a range of sources, including repair shops and dealerships, making it harder to keep track of new changes. By contrast, the blockchain-based digital maintenance log prototype puts all of this information in one place. The next pilot, it says, will focus on vehicle-based microtransactions – essential to integrating the IoT with the exchange of value.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EAutomotive Finance \u0026amp; Vehicle Leasing\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAutomotive financing varies somewhat by the nature of the transaction, typically it includes a host of verification steps to which blockchain could be applied for efficiency gain over the traditionally cumbersome processes like customer bank validation along multiple phases of transaction set up in compliance with \u003Ci\u003Eknow your customer (KYC)\u003C\/i\u003E, loan approval; review of multiple documents sourced from different locations; scoring and classifying risk; archiving of reviewed documents; etc. A blockchain-enabled smart contracts, which will allow these files to automatically negotiate payment on a new car lease and other terms and conditions with the prospective leaseholder, without the need for a middleman. It will also ensure the execution of secure crypto-payments to the necessary parties.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EA dedicated blockchain system can also provide most-needed transparency of information about a vehicle’s real wear and tear would help the auto finance provider to more accurately gauge the residual value of the vehicle as the lease approached its end of contract date.\u0026nbsp; For example, an \u003Ci\u003EOn-board Diagnostic-II (OBD-II)\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp; device connected vehicle over a defined mobile network, would enable capturing of data like driving behaviour events (mileage, hard break threshold exceeded), safety events (airbag deployed, part replacement warning), service events (annual service, part replaced), etc., and get sent to a shared ledger that all parties had access to, including the owner\/leaseholder. This, in turn, would enable the auto finance provider to achieve a higher price at subsequent onward sale than would otherwise be possible.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EFleet Tracking\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe same fundamental of OBD-II devices can be deployed, riding over a blockchain infrastructure, which, in turn, can enable fleet companies to push \u0026amp; pull OBD-II messages, fetch the gyroscope inclination, along with GPS position of a vehicle or a fleet in real-time. Further, it can be enhanced and integrated with \u003Ci\u003EElectronic Logging Devices (ELD)\u003C\/i\u003E in compliance with the \u003Ci\u003EFederal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)\u003C\/i\u003E mandate, providing an all-in-one tool that streamlines every facet of a truck driver’s job. A cloud-based, blockchain-driven fleet tracking can solve the key issues related to drivers, dispatchers, and fleet owners often face with the best hardware and software available in the market, while also fetching a reasonable rate of \u003Ci\u003Ereturn on investment (ROI)\u003C\/i\u003E in near future.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EConclusion: An Integrated Application\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EOverall, a dedicated multi-tier interconnected blockchain platform based on the fundamentals of scalability and interoperability can benefit many stakeholders, like \u003Ci\u003E- a shared ledger -\u003C\/i\u003E between automotive manufacturers, automotive dealerships, regulators, auto finance-cum-insurance companies, vehicle leasing companies, buyers, sellers and even garages, providing a higher degree transparency and trust in all kind of vehicular transactions, preventing disputes and lowering the overall cost of maintenance and services by tracking ownership, sale, and accident history. And, at the same time, it could significantly streamline processes, especially those that rely on regulatory and compliance approvals. The blockchain is all about bringing in transparency and efficiency into the existing systems which are running the upstream and downstream supply chains and making them more proactive and predictive.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EAbout the Author:\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/rahulguhathakurta\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERahul Guhathakurta\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, Founder\/Publisher, IndraStra Global. He is a seasoned retail and supply chain consultant with cross-industry experience spanning across 3 continents. He regularly tweets at \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rahulogy\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E@rahulogy\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECite this Article:\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EGuhathakurta, R. \u003C\/i\u003E\"Blockchain in Automotive Domain: Transparency, Interoperability, \u0026amp; Scalability\", IndraStra Global Vol. 004, Issue No: 03 (2018) 0024, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.indrastra.com\/2018\/03\/Blockchain-in-Automotive-Domain-004-03-2018-0024.html\" rel=\"nofollow\" style=\"font-size: small;\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.indrastra.com\/2018\/03\/Blockchain-in-Automotive-Domain-004-03-2018-0024.html\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-small;\"\u003E | ISSN 2381-3652 |\u0026nbsp;DOI: \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.5281\/zenodo.1197047\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E10.5281\/zenodo.1197047\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-small;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-GwyYCdhTmvI\/WqektdhgP_I\/AAAAAAAAS5s\/tFV6wOiKecc0iwhdOj1bGJeZULsamewKQCLcBGAs\/s1600\/AIDN0040320180024.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"Guhathakurta, R. \u0026quot;Blockchain in Automotive Domain: Transparency, Interoperability, \u0026amp; Scalability\u0026quot;, IndraStra Global Vol. 004, Issue No: 03 (2018) 0024, http:\/\/www.indrastra.com\/2018\/03\/Blockchain-in-Automotive-Domain-004-03-2018-0024.html | ISSN 2381-3652 \" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"50\" data-original-width=\"648\" height=\"48\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-GwyYCdhTmvI\/WqektdhgP_I\/AAAAAAAAS5s\/tFV6wOiKecc0iwhdOj1bGJeZULsamewKQCLcBGAs\/s640\/AIDN0040320180024.png\" title=\"Guhathakurta, R. \u0026quot;Blockchain in Automotive Domain: Transparency, Interoperability, \u0026amp; Scalability\u0026quot;, IndraStra Global Vol. 004, Issue No: 03 (2018) 0024, http:\/\/www.indrastra.com\/2018\/03\/Blockchain-in-Automotive-Domain-004-03-2018-0024.html | ISSN 2381-3652 \" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003E\u003Cscript async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\n\u003Cins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block\"\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-c6-3y+3v+0+c6\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7609865815468089\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"3607324678\"\u003E\u003C\/ins\u003E\n\u003Cscript\u003E\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n\u003C\/script\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/1461303524738926686\/posts\/default\/8206854250581714127"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/1461303524738926686\/posts\/default\/8206854250581714127"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/www.indrastra.com\/2018\/03\/Blockchain-in-Automotive-Domain-004-03-2018-0024.html","title":"Blockchain in Automotive Domain"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"IndraStra Global"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04065983396291846323"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-M0HD88VMMSA\/XMrUpcDhagI\/AAAAAAAAUJs\/a5ZbTU09eGMvNCplyJE9bDNBxc3o8kTeQCK4BGAYYCw\/s113\/Webp.net-resizeimage%2B%252814%2529.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-PHSJ68mXcbk\/WqelBz2DN-I\/AAAAAAAAS50\/T7gwMGIsLbEDu5AeVaQohrqn7SK91i3dwCLcBGAs\/s72-c\/blockchain-automotive.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"georss$featurename":{"$t":"New York, NY, USA"},"georss$point":{"$t":"40.7127753 -74.0059728"},"georss$box":{"$t":"39.9423093 -75.296866299999991 41.483241299999996 -72.7150793"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1461303524738926686.post-4511343700316439030"},"published":{"$t":"2018-02-02T23:56:00.003-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2018-02-03T00:04:57.328-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Asia"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Business \u0026 Economy"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Debt"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Financial Markets"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Housing"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Kindle"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"EXCERPT | China's Potential Debt Crisis"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" trbidi=\"on\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EBy Anqi Lei\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EDepartment of Government and Public Administration, University of Macau, China\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-YNm8-W6hl-w\/WnVAxBdsH4I\/AAAAAAAASl0\/Z5z8ySIi5F0eSIvjE7gcz79gcU7Bl1vnACLcBGAs\/s1600\/ORDOS1.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"Image Attribute:  Kangbashi, a subdivision of the Chinese city of Ordos, Inner Mongolia \/ Source: Wikimedia Commons\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"800\" data-original-width=\"1600\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-YNm8-W6hl-w\/WnVAxBdsH4I\/AAAAAAAASl0\/Z5z8ySIi5F0eSIvjE7gcz79gcU7Bl1vnACLcBGAs\/s640\/ORDOS1.jpg\" title=\"Image Attribute:  Kangbashi, a subdivision of the Chinese city of Ordos, Inner Mongolia \/ Source: Wikimedia Commons\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E \u003Ci\u003EImage Attribute:\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;Kangbashi, a subdivision of the Chinese city of Ordos, Inner Mongolia \/ Source: Wikimedia Commons\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EReal Estate Market Overinvestment\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIn order to motivate domestic real estate market, many Chinese banks took some measures to motivate their loan business, and real estate market became the target market. Most of these banks determine the amount and type of mortgage be obtained on the basis of the credit risk evaluation of counterparties. Collaterals are provided in the form of bills, loans or securities for reverse repurchase agreements, in the form of real estates and other assets for commercial loans, and in the form of residential properties for personal loans.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EFor instance, The ICBC \u003Ci\u003E“stepped up the support for residents buying a house for own use, drove personal mortgage loans using real estate development loans, and strengthened cooperation with large high-quality real estate intermediary agencies to promote new housing and secondhand housing loan business”\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;([1], Pg:58). By the end of 2008, loans secured by mortgages amounted to RMB 1,688,435 million, including RMB 597,374 million personal housing loans and representing an increase of RMB 168,687 million or 11.1% over 2007, which remained as the largest component of the total loans (Table 1).\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-QWw9eNHix-4\/WnU3YcacrbI\/AAAAAAAASlU\/DMmgiUio4-kjlpe8oD1NtBWp6xTUITX1QCLcBGAs\/s1600\/1-2550263x7.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"Chart 1: Distribution of loans by collaterals. Source: ICBC Annual Report, 2008 \" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"160\" data-original-width=\"460\" height=\"222\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-QWw9eNHix-4\/WnU3YcacrbI\/AAAAAAAASlU\/DMmgiUio4-kjlpe8oD1NtBWp6xTUITX1QCLcBGAs\/s640\/1-2550263x7.png\" title=\"Chart 1: Distribution of loans by collaterals. Source: ICBC Annual Report, 2008 \" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003ETable 1:\u0026nbsp;Distribution of loans by collaterals. Source: ICBC Annual Report, 2008 [1]\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EQuickly, the real estate loans in 2009 rose by RMB 95,137 million or 27.8%, principally when more and more developers and households start speculating in real estate market. And during the period between 2008 and 2010, the percentage of corporate real estate loans was always above 10% until 2011 when the property loans began to decrease quickly by RMB 7306 million or 1.4%, mainly because the Bank actively reduced the size of property loans in line with the changes in the real estate market (Chart 1). In fact, in 2011 many banks strengthened risk management of the real estate industry in response to the changes in relevant government policies which aimed to combat speculation in the housing market. Thus, banks adjusted their credit policy for the real estate industry in a timely fashion, revised relevant administrative measures and further improved the property loan system. Banks, like ICBC, even improved their customer entry standards and \u003Ci\u003E“adjusted the product mix of property loans to extend\u0026nbsp;an active support to the construction of government-subsidized housing and further improve relevant policy for land reserve loans” \u003C\/i\u003E[2]. These bank policies worked and since 2011, both corporate loans and non-performing ratio decreased obviously. By the end of 2014, the corporate loans only took up 6.6% of the total corporate loans among all industry.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-KF1jcrWqfh4\/WnU3zVfCy5I\/AAAAAAAASlY\/92HmO-iCZjQnEwDR94avlxIFfcETiuhKgCLcBGAs\/s1600\/1-2550263x8.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"Chart 2: Corporate loans and non-performing corporate loans in real estate industry from 2008 to 2016. Source: ICBC Annual Report, 2008 -2016.\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"258\" data-original-width=\"460\" height=\"352\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-KF1jcrWqfh4\/WnU3zVfCy5I\/AAAAAAAASlY\/92HmO-iCZjQnEwDR94avlxIFfcETiuhKgCLcBGAs\/s640\/1-2550263x8.png\" title=\"Chart 2: Corporate loans and non-performing corporate loans in real estate industry from 2008 to 2016. Source: ICBC Annual Report, 2008 -2016.\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EChart 1:\u0026nbsp;Corporate loans and non-performing corporate loans in real estate industry from 2008 to 2016. Source: ICBC Annual Report, 2008 -2016 [3].\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHowever, one big problem is that the non-performing ratio increased quickly since 2014, and it increased from 6.6% in 2014 to 2.19% in 2016. As we can see in \u003Ci\u003ETable 2\u003C\/i\u003E, the total loans and advances to customers increased since 2008 and suddenly dropped since 2011 due to government real estate control policy, but again, it climbed quickly since 2014 and peaked at RMB 642,423 million in 2016 which is the highest in the history. We can also see from the table that there was huge amount of overdue loans in real estate sector in 2015 and 2016 at RMB 17,653 million and RMB 22,288 million, respectively, which was around 4 times more than that in year 2011, and even higher than the climax of 2009. What’s more, loans that assessed to be impaired were amounted to as high as RMB 9556 million hence achieving the highest of the last ten years. All these data indicate that Chinese banks, represented by ICBC as the largest commercial state-owned bank in China, are and will face much severer default problem from real estate\u0026nbsp;sector in the following years. And things for banks will become worse if China’s real estate market began to cycle from boom to burst. Unfortunately, the housing market in many cities has already been cooled down in recent years.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-iqNXpNo_k4g\/WnU4qORZ0lI\/AAAAAAAASlo\/CqGl1xKrNfAgCe9nfH-pu2yfVilUT7jfACLcBGAs\/s1600\/TAB2.JPG\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"310\" data-original-width=\"452\" height=\"434\" src=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-iqNXpNo_k4g\/WnU4qORZ0lI\/AAAAAAAASlo\/CqGl1xKrNfAgCe9nfH-pu2yfVilUT7jfACLcBGAs\/s640\/TAB2.JPG\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003ETable 2: Loans and advances to customers analysis in real estate sector from 2008 to 2016. [1] - [4]\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch4\u003EPotential Debt Crisis\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn China, out of their expectation, this form of financial repression policies caused large debt expansion and hot money in speculation industry, especially real estate market. On the one hand, low international interest rates have fueled debt through onshore banks. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) [5] finds that Chinese state-owned banks have served as intermediaries for corporate borrowing overseas through the provision of bank guarantees and letters of credit. The IMF notes: \u003Ci\u003E“Chinese firms have also taken advantage of low global interest rates through offshore bond issuance, which has increased substantially since 2010. Half of the debt issued abroad has been for operations in China. Since 2009, real estate developers have been the largest issuers of offshore bonds among nonfinancial firms.”\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAccording to the statistics and calculation of a report from McKinsey Global Institute [6], non-financial corporations are most heavily indebted where real estate industry is a very significant part. As can be seen in Chart 1, the overall indebtedness of non-financial corporations increased dramatically from 72 trillion dollars in 2007 to 125 trillion dollars in 2014. At the same time, the debts of financial corporations and government also grew by a large amount since 2000, 828% and 139% respectively. According to Miriam’s calculation [7], \u003Ci\u003E“debt accumulation in areas such as real estate, shadow banking, provincial governments and SOEs has nearly quadrupled since 2007, rising to the US $28 trillion by mid-2014, up from US$7 trillion in 2007”.\u003C\/i\u003E Data compiled by Bloomberg [8] shows that loans to companies and households.stood at a record 207% of gross domestic product at the end of June 2015 which was even higher than Greek debt (185% of GDP).\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-bBvcOPLdfIs\/WnSrktXOcfI\/AAAAAAAASk0\/FEY2TNHVVTAeV_sfuRgYAQ7AVKWOpiuxQCLcBGAs\/s1600\/1-2550263x9.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"Chart 1. The composition of debt in China. Source: Dobbs et al., 2015 [2]\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"212\" data-original-width=\"374\" height=\"362\" src=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-bBvcOPLdfIs\/WnSrktXOcfI\/AAAAAAAASk0\/FEY2TNHVVTAeV_sfuRgYAQ7AVKWOpiuxQCLcBGAs\/s640\/1-2550263x9.png\" title=\"Chart 1. The composition of debt in China. Source: Dobbs et al., 2015 [2]\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EChart 1. The composition of debt in China. Source: Dobbs et al., 2015 [6]\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EChart 2 describes China’s debt situation compared with South Korea, Australia, United States, Germany and Canada in 2014. Among all these countries, China’s debt took up about 282 percent of GDP and listed number two, followed South Korea (286% of GDP), but is larger than that of the United States, Australia, Canada, and Germany. What’s more, among all the six counties and four debt sectors, China had the largest amount of non-financial corporation debts, which is around twice as much as that of the United States, Canada, and Germany. China also had the second largest amount of financial corporation debts, but least amount of household debts, only about half of that of the United States.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-jH17B9RV_Ps\/WnUtTnDlKlI\/AAAAAAAASlA\/g4d0W6glr5UJkMFpjUIkzdeYeOZB5EDOQCLcBGAs\/s1600\/1-2550263x10.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"Chart 2: China’s debt compared with selected economies. Source: Dobbs et al., 2015 [2]\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"256\" data-original-width=\"460\" height=\"350\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-jH17B9RV_Ps\/WnUtTnDlKlI\/AAAAAAAASlA\/g4d0W6glr5UJkMFpjUIkzdeYeOZB5EDOQCLcBGAs\/s640\/1-2550263x10.png\" title=\"Chart 2: China’s debt compared with selected economies. Source: Dobbs et al., 2015 [2]\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EChart 2: China’s debt compared with selected economies. Source: Dobbs et al., 2015 [6]\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EChart\u0026nbsp;3 is about corporate debt in China in 2014 which shows that corporate debt in China has grown faster than in any other top-15 economy, and has become the highest in world’s large economies, implying a potential government contingent liability.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-bFe49SnGK50\/WnUtp-AwiuI\/AAAAAAAASlE\/bYHq3OpfX9sKdLMaP7ugAz_ASuEsvQtigCLcBGAs\/s1600\/1-2550263x11.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"Chart 3: Corporate debt in China. Source: Business insider UK (Moshinsky, 2015; Lopez, 2015).\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"175\" data-original-width=\"460\" height=\"242\" src=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-bFe49SnGK50\/WnUtp-AwiuI\/AAAAAAAASlE\/bYHq3OpfX9sKdLMaP7ugAz_ASuEsvQtigCLcBGAs\/s640\/1-2550263x11.png\" title=\"Chart 3: Corporate debt in China. Source: Business insider UK (Moshinsky, 2015; Lopez, 2015).\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EChart 3: Corporate debt in China. Source: Business insider UK\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E[11][12]\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThus, the evidence has already demonstrated a severe debt expansion problem in China, and these financial or non-financial companies and enterprises may default at any time as economic growth began to slow down and housing bubble began to burst in many cities. A Bloomberg article investigated the related debt environment and potential risk in China and pointed out that \u003Ci\u003E“Firms now take record 192 days to collect payment for their goods or services from when they pay for the inputs, according to data compiled by Bloomberg on non-financial corporations traded in Shanghai and Shenzhen. The cash conversion ratio is up from 125 days five years ago. Liquidity is tightening in China after company profits declined for the first time in three years and as debtors face their hardest time ever paying interest”.\u003C\/i\u003E And the article quotes Iris Pang of Natixis \u003Ci\u003E“the longer the cash conversion cycle, the higher the risk of corporates not having enough cash to repay their debts”\u003C\/i\u003E [9].\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch4\u003EReal Estate Industry Default Cases in China\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIn China, debt exposure problems are just getting bigger. Many enterprises, especially real estate developers and related industries have been unable to pay\u0026nbsp;their debts. Huas International Group, a famous real estate developer, was unable to pay their debts which involve more than 5 billion yuan [10]. Another big Chinese cement company, Shanshui Group, defaulted on two-billion-yuan ($314 million, £207 million) domestic payment [11][12]. What’s more, the state-owned Dongbei Special Steel Group Co. recently announced that it will not be able to get enough money to meet the RMB700 million debts [14]. All these default cases interpret a harbinger of bigger problems to come in China.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003EHuas International Group (Holdings) Company. Ltd\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHuas International Group was established in 1993, and has become one of the most influential enterprises in the private economy of Hubei province, and also one of the top ten private enterprises in Hubei province. In 1996, the Group moved to the property market and mainly engaged in real estate development, commercial operations, hotel management, commercial trade, cinema studios, investment guarantees, financial securities, media advertising, property management, and other industries. Now the Group assets have reached six billion yuan.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOn November 26, 2015, Wuhan Wealth Cornerstone Investment Management Co., Ltd which is one of the most influential management companies in Wuhan area, announced that its financial products cannot be honored. Huas International Group was just the real owner behind the Wuhan Wealth Cornerstone Investment Management. In 2015, Huas’ project was seized and cannot be sold so that the capital cannot be returned, which directly lead to this payment crisis. This payment crisis involves a total of more than 70 thousand investors and an amount of more than 5 billion yuan. Wuhan Wealth Cornerstone belongs to Cornerstone capital group (Huas international Group is the real one behind), and they use an online and offline dual track operating mode. Currently, there are more than 30 stores across the country, most of which are located in Wuhan city.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAccording to the Cornerstone online lending platform, we can find that this platform has been online for 483 days, the total amount of investment is one billion two hundred and fifty-eight million yuan, users total revenue is 19.9 million yuan, the total number of registered user are more than 75 thousand [10]\u0026nbsp;[13].\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMany industry insiders said that many real estate companies set up financial companies to input funds for their projects. However, those financial companies will be bankrupt once there is stagnation in sales and construction. The financial product which seems promising and profitable is actually highly risky.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003EShandong Shanshui Default Case\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDragged by real estate industry, cement industry was hit by the dramatically decreasing demand. Real estate and infrastructure accounted for approximately\u003Ci\u003E 60% ~ 70%\u003C\/i\u003E in the cement demand, so the increasingly murky situation in real estate industry has great negative effects on the cement industry. According to the data from the National Bureau of statistics, from January to April in 2015, the investment in Shandong’s real estate development grew by 0.6%, which decreased by 0.2 percentage points compared with the previous three months. Compared with the slow growth in investment, the fall of new projects of real estate is more severe. During the same period, Shandong new construction area of real estate fell by 30.5%. In the first 4 months of this year, Shandong cement production fell by 14.18%, to 4045.6 tons, while it was 4714.3 tons during the same period last year. Although the decreasing demand for cement, it is hard to further reduce the price because the low cost is also hard to reduce. The current cement prices are in the cost line. To reduce losses as far as possible, many companies have chosen to stop production. Now the operating rate of Shandong cement enterprises is about 60%, some are even lower than 50%, lower than the average level of 65% in previous years.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOn November 11, Shanshui Group, as one of the biggest cement companies, has announced that it will not be able to get enough money to meet the domestic debts (Two-billion-yuan ultra-short financial bond) on or before November 12, 2014, and it will certainly face a debt default within the territory. Shanshui Group also announced that due to the economic slowdown and the decline of demand in cement market, coupled with overcapacity, China’s cement market competition continues to be intense, and there is a decline in both price and production [9].\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EUp to now, Shanshui Group still has six domestic bonds, and the total debts are 7.1 billion yuan, including the 20% debt default. These bonds will mature in the next two years, and the 2.6 billion yuan of ultrashort integration and medium-term notes need to be honored the first quarter of next year [11][12].\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThis is an excerpt taken from an original work by Anqi Lei, Department of Government and Public Administration, University of Macau, Macau, China. Views and opinions expressed in the adaptation are the sole responsibility of the author or authors of the adaptation and are not endorsed by Anqi Lei.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECite this Article:\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003ELei, A. (2017)\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;The Political Economy of Financial Repression Policy-Dominated China’s Overheated Housing Market. Chinese Studies, 6, 213-233. doi:\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.scirp.org\/Journal\/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=79875#ref28\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E10.4236\/chnstd.2017.64021\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EReferences:\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E [1]\u0026nbsp; ICBC (2008). Annual Report 2008, March 13.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E[2]\u0026nbsp;ICBC (2011). Annual Report 2011, March 15. Available from:\u0026nbsp; http:\/\/www.icbc-ltd.com\/icbcltd\/investor%20relations\/financial%20information\/financial%20 reports\/\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E[3] ICBC (2014). Annual Report 2014, March 26.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E[4]\u003Cspan style=\"white-space: pre;\"\u003E \u003C\/span\u003EICBC (2016). Annual Report 2016, March 30. Available from:\u0026nbsp; http:\/\/v.icbc.com.cn\/userfiles\/Resources\/ICBCLTD\/download\/2016\/7201520160422.pdf\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E[5] IMF (2013). Transition Challenges to Stability. Available from:\u0026nbsp; http:\/\/www.imf.org\/en\/publications\/gfsr\/issues\/2016\/12\/31\/transition-challenges-to-stability\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E[6] Dobbs et al. (2015). Debt and (Not Much) Deleveraging. Finweek.\u0026nbsp; http:\/\/www.mckinsey.com\/global-themes\/employment-and-growth\/debt-and-not-much-deleveraging\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E[7]\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003Cspan style=\"white-space: pre;\"\u003E \u003C\/span\u003ECampanella, M. L. (2016). Financial Repression and the Debt Build-up in China: Is There a Way Out? European Centre for International Political Economy. Available from:\u0026nbsp; http:\/\/ecipe.org\/app\/uploads\/2016\/06\/PB_05_2016_V3.pdf\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E[8]\u0026nbsp;Bloomberg (2015). China’s Latest Default Foretold in Creditors Calling CFO Nonstop.\u0026nbsp; https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2015-11-11\/china-s-shanshui-cement-to-default-on-onshore-bonds-on-thursday\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E[9]\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;Bloomberg (2016). China Default Chain Reaction Looms Amid 192 Day Cash Turnaround.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E[10]\u0026nbsp;Sohu (2016) Reveal the Secret of the Bankruptcy of the Wealth Cornerstone and Other Wealth Management Companies for You.\u0026nbsp; http:\/\/chihe.sohu.com\/20160115\/n434686335.shtml\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E[11]\u0026nbsp;Moshinsky, B. (2015). Chinese Companies Are Starting to Default on Their Debt. Business Insider UK November 11. Available from:\u0026nbsp; http:\/\/uk.businessinsider.com\/chinese-shanshui-cement-corporate-default-2015-11\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E[12]\u0026nbsp;Lopez, L. (2015). Chinese Companies Keep Giving Crazy Reasons for Losing Their Financial Records. Business Insider UK December 31. Available from:\u0026nbsp; http:\/\/uk.businessinsider.com\/chinese-company-records-taken-by-gang-2015-12\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E[13] Caixin (2016). Rash of Debt Defaults Should Spur Regulators to Act. http:\/\/english.caixin.com\/2016-05-11\/100942211.html\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E[14]\u0026nbsp;Wodai (2015). Wuhan Cornerstone Was Reported Hard to Pay, 1000 Debt Collector Came down on the Company.\u0026nbsp; http:\/\/www.wodai.com\/n_zhuanlan\/atrcle_71253.html\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003E\u003Cscript async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\n\u003Cins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block\"\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-c6-3y+3v+0+c6\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7609865815468089\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"3607324678\"\u003E\u003C\/ins\u003E\n\u003Cscript\u003E\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n\u003C\/script\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/1461303524738926686\/posts\/default\/4511343700316439030"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/1461303524738926686\/posts\/default\/4511343700316439030"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/www.indrastra.com\/2018\/02\/EXCERPT-China-s-Potential-Debt-Crisis-004-02-2018-0003.html","title":"EXCERPT | China's Potential Debt Crisis"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"IndraStra Global"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04065983396291846323"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-M0HD88VMMSA\/XMrUpcDhagI\/AAAAAAAAUJs\/a5ZbTU09eGMvNCplyJE9bDNBxc3o8kTeQCK4BGAYYCw\/s113\/Webp.net-resizeimage%2B%252814%2529.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-YNm8-W6hl-w\/WnVAxBdsH4I\/AAAAAAAASl0\/Z5z8ySIi5F0eSIvjE7gcz79gcU7Bl1vnACLcBGAs\/s72-c\/ORDOS1.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"georss$featurename":{"$t":"Av. Wai Long, Macau"},"georss$point":{"$t":"22.1524575 113.56502079999996"},"georss$box":{"$t":"-3.5026139999999977 72.080645799999957 47.807529 155.04939579999996"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1461303524738926686.post-3168916423030529739"},"published":{"$t":"2017-11-07T04:26:00.004-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2017-11-07T04:26:26.200-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Cloud Computing"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Computers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Kindle"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Science \u0026 Technology"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"What Features to Expect in SharePoint 2019?"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" trbidi=\"on\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EBy Lucy Kaith\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.gatewaytechnolabs.de\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EGateway TechnoLabs GmbH\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-klHQjODEbdk\/WgF7U8Jr2_I\/AAAAAAAAQns\/hhQbYRieVo8btwX5dKkYUgjn44SFlWAPwCLcBGAs\/s1600\/825x510-04-04.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"What Features to Expect in SharePoint 2019?\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"414\" data-original-width=\"825\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-klHQjODEbdk\/WgF7U8Jr2_I\/AAAAAAAAQns\/hhQbYRieVo8btwX5dKkYUgjn44SFlWAPwCLcBGAs\/s640\/825x510-04-04.jpg\" title=\"What Features to Expect in SharePoint 2019?\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EOn September 26, 2017, Microsoft unveiled SharePoint 2019’s development plan via \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/techcommunity.microsoft.com\/t5\/SharePoint-Blog\/Connecting-the-modern-workplace-with-SharePoint-and-OneDrive\/ba-p\/110399\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003Eblog post\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E which is going on in full swing. The company briefed about the progress in the recently concluded \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/ignite.microsoft.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EIgnite conference\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E at Orlando. This has sparked interest among potential users although the preview is slated for mid-2018. SharePoint 2019 is expected to come bundled up with an array of exciting new features. The excitement among the fans has continued to generate curiosity. This post takes a sneak peek at top new features.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EShare and Work Together\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EFundamentally, SharePoint and OneDrive are similar in terms of technology, however, OneDrive is introduced with a concept of \u003Ci\u003E‘share and work together’.\u003C\/i\u003E Now, you can easily share content, information, and apps no matter on what you are working from Microsoft Teams to Outlook to Yammer after the release of SharePoint 2019.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ERevamped Admin Centre\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe Admin Centre of SharePoint has been completely overhauled. The revamped page would now dynamically feature notifications from OneDrive and SharePoint. The notifications would pertain to information about service health, active sites whose data can be filtered, and file related activities. Recover Bin has been provided to facilitate recovery of deleted sites. Data Leakage, conditional access and conformance to policies have been addressed through advanced controls related to sharing and device’s policies.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EEnhanced Migration Tool\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe new tool would help in seamlessly moving document libraries, shared files and other content from server sites situated within Sharepoint data centers of the organization to cloud. Cloud options include Microsoft’s Sharepoint Online Services hosted on cloud or OneDrive Office 365 server. Migration tool’s preview has already been released by Microsoft. The tool is capable of handling migrations of all scales with equal ease. Work is still in progress on this tool and addition of more optimized controls for facilitating movement of files, sites and tenants are on the cards.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EData Residency and Compliance\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ESharePoint Online would have better compliance capabilities. This feature has been titled \u003Ci\u003E‘Multi-Geo Capabilities in Office 365’\u003C\/i\u003E. The organization would have the option of choosing the regional location for data and search index storage. One can get a feel of the purported capabilities by signing in at the announcement page of Microsoft.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAn organization can specify the access policies for a device in which content have been stored for access through SharePoint server. The policies can be spelled out at site collection level. Access to sites from the policy controlled devices can be limited on an individual site basis.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EData Security\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EData security would be taken to the next level in SharePoint 2019 with enhanced \u003Ci\u003E‘service-level encryption with customer key’\u003C\/i\u003E. Designed for SharePoint Online, an organization can revoke the keys which would block all access to sensitive content. Once the content has been classified, control can be implemented. This would also be integrated with Office 365 that would result in spontaneous signing out of a session once it has remained idle for a set period of time.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAddition of Hub Sites\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EUsers of SharePoint Online can also avail of Hub Sites. This feature would be unveiled at the start of 2018. The dynamic interface would allow users to couple relevant sites to get news and activity information collectively, for simplification of searches, for strengthened shared navigation and better look. Team and communication sites can be associated. Hub sites would become powerful knowledge sharing tools.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EPersonalization of Search\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe first look of \u003Ci\u003E‘Personalized Search’ \u003C\/i\u003Ewould be released by the end of 2017. Apart from faster searches, items would be listed in the result page from SharePoint site. Earlier, search results confined them to enterprise search center. Search capability can also be accessed from Windows Taskbar.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAdvancement in Web Parts\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EConsidering people’s choice and their expectations there would be several new web parts in SharePoint 2019:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMICROSOFT FORMS for creating and surveys that can be directly visible on your pages.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EView your PLANNER items from the same page. Now no need switch from one app to another view your relevant planner items.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EEmbed all kinds of work on your \u003Ci\u003E‘Team and Communication’\u003C\/i\u003E with FILE PRE-VIEWER web part which will function as the own web part of OneDrive.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EShare your work with the organization members and let them view through ACTIVITY WEB PART\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECONNECTOR WEB PART will connect you to 100 different data sources from single view.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMicrosoft continues to make improvements in YAMMER web part to fit in better with rest of their collaboration apps.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E3D FILE VIEWER WEB PART to interact with 3D models while working on your current page.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EOther features to expect in SharePoint 2019\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIn SharePoint 2019, there would be a slew of advanced features. Prominent among them would be an ability to use customized forms using PowerApps, and capability of launching Flows in OneDrive. There would be an integration of \u003Ci\u003E‘Flow Launch Panel’ \u003C\/i\u003Ethat would seek inputs from users. Custom approval action for libraries would be made flow based. This would need check-in and formal approval. SharePoint lists can be formatted in a columnar manner also.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe best thing about SharePoint 2019 is it will help and improve the users for efficient \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.gatewaytechnolabs.com\/microsoft-practices\/ms-sharepoint\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ES\u003Cb\u003EharePoint project management\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cb\u003E \u003C\/b\u003Eas it promises to offer a refreshingly new experience.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EAbout the Author:\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/lucy-kaith-b87962141\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ELucy Kaith\u003C\/a\u003E \u003C\/b\u003Eis a seasoned IT consultant working with \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.gatewaytechnolabs.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGateway TechnoLabs\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and predominantly writes about recent technology and trends in various industries. she has published many articles on various print media publications.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.gatewaytechnolabs.com\/microsoft-practices\/ms-sharepoint\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"91\" data-original-width=\"729\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-X4Z0ml9zF24\/WgF6Cd10UfI\/AAAAAAAAQng\/l1AilMkkpwgrSYIkEaDp-uOBkpihxezDQCLcBGAs\/s640\/Blog%2BAd%2B728x90-10.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003E\u003Cscript async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\n\u003Cins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block\"\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-c6-3y+3v+0+c6\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7609865815468089\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"3607324678\"\u003E\u003C\/ins\u003E\n\u003Cscript\u003E\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n\u003C\/script\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/1461303524738926686\/posts\/default\/3168916423030529739"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/1461303524738926686\/posts\/default\/3168916423030529739"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/www.indrastra.com\/2017\/11\/What-Features-to-Expect-in-SharePoint-2019-003-11-2017-0003.html","title":"What Features to Expect in SharePoint 2019?"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"IndraStra Global"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04065983396291846323"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-M0HD88VMMSA\/XMrUpcDhagI\/AAAAAAAAUJs\/a5ZbTU09eGMvNCplyJE9bDNBxc3o8kTeQCK4BGAYYCw\/s113\/Webp.net-resizeimage%2B%252814%2529.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-klHQjODEbdk\/WgF7U8Jr2_I\/AAAAAAAAQns\/hhQbYRieVo8btwX5dKkYUgjn44SFlWAPwCLcBGAs\/s72-c\/825x510-04-04.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"georss$featurename":{"$t":"Munich, Germany"},"georss$point":{"$t":"48.1351253 11.581980499999986"},"georss$box":{"$t":"48.1351253 11.581980499999986 48.1351253 11.581980499999986"}}]}});