Daily Times

Regulation of cryptocurrencies must be considered, Bundesbank vice president Claudia Buch told Reuters, even though she does not believe they pose a threat to financial stability.

Buch said that speculation on volatile virtual tokens does not pose a systemic threat because it is not financed through credit, but she said that regulators should look at introducing rules to protect consumers, given that such speculation could prove costly for investors.

“The role of crypto tokens in money laundering and criminal activity must also be closely examined,” Buch said.

“I don’t see a threat for financial stability at the moment as the speculations are generally not financed with loans and the relevant markets are rather small.”

The issue of how to regulate cryptocurrencies is likely to be high on the agenda at a March 19-20 meeting of Group of 20 finance leaders in Argentina.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde has urged governments and central banks to develop regulations for such assets to prevent them from becoming a new vehicle for money laundering and terrorist financing.

Japan has also urged its G20 partners to act on preventing cryptocurrencies from becoming a vehicle to finance criminal activities. agencies

Abu Dhabi awards France’s Total stakes in oil concessions

Abu Dhabi state energy company ADNOC said Sunday it had awarded French oil giant Total stakes in two offshore oil concessions, as it looks to boost production by year’s end.

Total now holds a fifth of the Umm Shaif and Nasr concession and 5 percent of the Lower Zakum concession, together worth some 5.3 billion dirhams ($1.4 billion, 1.2 million euros), ADNOC said in a press release.

Both concessions are effective March 9 for a duration of 40 years and are operated by ADNOC Offshore, a subsidiary of ADNOC, according to the statement.

Sunday’s signing was hosted by the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the billion-euro French-Emirati project that is the first Louvre-branded museum outside of France.

Abu Dhabi, where most of the UAE’s vast oil reserves are located, is in the process of awarding new oil concessions, as previous agreements have either expired or will run out this month. It has already granted concessions to ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, Japan’s INPEX, China’s CNPC, Spanish Cepsa and a state-owned Indian consortium led by ONGC Videsh.

The new concessions have been offered at nearly half the duration of the old concessions, with ADNOC taking majority stake in the projects. ADNOC aims to increase its oil production capacity from 3.2 million barrels per day to 3.5 million by the end of 2018.

Published in Daily Times, March 19^th 2018.