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Pandemic’s ‘great reset’ makes energy firms invest more in renewables: executives

Reeling from the onset of the pandemic, global oil consumption shrank by more than 20% in the second quarter and prices hit their lowest in decades, making companies rethink how fast they should make the transition away from reliance on oil and gas.

“Everyone’s talking about this great reset . What do we need to do to survive this?” Arif Mahmood, Petronas’ executive vice president and CEO of downstream, said at the virtual Platts APPEC 2020.

“Energy transition will be pushed forward much faster,” he concluded.

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China’s Anbang Insurance Group to apply to disband, liquidate

After the Anbang take-over, China has tightened regulations on the country’s financial holdings companies to defuse risks accumulated by a group of non-financial firms that it says expanded blindly into the financial sector.

On Sunday, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) issued related new rules, setting requirements on registered capital, total assets, and assets under management on eligible financial holdings firms.

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Novavax aims for 2 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses with expanded India deal

Novavax’s vaccine is currently in mid-stage trials after an early-stage study showed it produced high levels of antibodies against the novel coronavirus. The company plans to begin late-stage trials in the third quarter.Last month, Novavax said it will supply 60 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine candidate to the UK beginning as early as the first quarter of 2021.

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WHO head urges rich nations to join vaccine scheme by Friday deadline

So far, 92 lower-income nations are seeking assistance via the COVAX facility, part of the WHO’s ACT Accelerator to boost development of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics to combat the pandemic. Some 80 higher-income nations have expressed interest, but many must still confirm their intention to join by the end of this week.

“If people in low- and middle-income countries miss out on vaccines, the virus will continue to kill and the economic recovery globally will be delayed,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a WHO regional event for Europe that was broadcast virtually.

“Financial and political investments in preparedness have been insufficient, and we are all paying the price,” said the report by The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB).

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Hannover Re anticipates significant price increases in property and casualty reinsurance

Hannover Re is looking ahead with optimism to the upcoming renewals as at 1 January 2021 and 1 April 2021 in the Asia-Pacific markets, even though price movements will likely vary from region to region depending on the burden of losses. The impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic must be kept in mind here as an element of uncertainty.
Hannover Re has launched a strategic initiative intended to maximise even more intensively the growth potential offered by its business in the APAC region.
Business in the area of structured reinsurance continues to develop in line with expectations in the current year. Going forward, too, Hannover Re expects to see further growth in demand for innovative and tailor-made reinsurance solutions.

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End of combustion engine moves closer with EU climate plan

Under a new climate target for 2030, European automakers would need to embrace tougher pollution standards, with new rules that could retire combustion engines to science museums. Energy will grow increasingly cleaner, with an additional 350 billion euros ($415 billion) per year required for investment in production and infrastructure. And to help cut greenhouse gases in agriculture, Europeans would be encouraged to eat less meat.

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