Latest news with #Lithuania-based
Epoch Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Epoch Times
China Hits EU Banks Over Bloc's Russian Sanctions Package
Beijing targeted two Lithuanian banks on Wednesday in retaliation for the European Union's latest Russian sanctions that affected two rural Chinese banks near the China-Russia border. In an order published in state media Xinhua, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said it's adding Lithuania-based UAB Urbo Bankas and AB Mano Bankas to its list of sanctioned entities under the regime's Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
08-08-2025
- Business
- First Post
How much will India have to spend if it stops importing oil from Russia?
US President Donald Trump has imposed a tariff of 50 per cent on India for its trade relationship with Russia and accused India of financing Russia's war with Ukraine. India has also hit back at America and Europe for their continued dealings with Russia and said it will do whatever is best in its national interest. But how much will it cost India to stop importing Russian oil? read more In July, India imported over 2 million barrels per day from Russia US President Donald Trump wants India to stop buying Russian oil. Trump has imposed a tariff of 50 per cent on India for its relationship with Russia. He has accused India of financing Russia's war with Ukraine. India has said it will do whatever is best in its national interest. India has also hit back at America and Europe for its own continued trade dealings with Russia. But how much will India have to spend if it stops importing Russian crude oil? STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Let's take a closer look: India's oil imports First, let's examine India's crude oil imports from Russia. India is a massive oil consumer. It needs over 5 million barrels of oil per day to meet domestic requirements – of which it imports 85 per cent. India today imports a third of its crude oil from Russia. India has purchased 88 metric million tonnes of oil from Russia this year alone. In July, India got over 2 million barrels per day from Russia. Moscow comprised a whopping 41 per cent of its oil imports. From January to June, India bought around 1.75 million barrels per day from Russia. In 2024, that figure was even higher – 1.9 million barrels per day. This wasn't always the case. In 2020, Russia supplied just 1.7 per cent of India's crude oil imports. In 2021, India was importing just .1 million barrels of oil from Russia. India back then was relying on its traditional suppliers in West Asian – Iraq, Saudi Arabia and UAE. So, what changed? The outbreak of the Ukraine war. After Moscow's invasion of Kyiv, US-led West imposed heavy sanctions on Russia. While the US and Europe did not ban Russia from selling its oil, it capped the price under which Moscow could do so – thus limiting its coffers. Russia's solution? Look for alternative buyers to the US and Europe. It did so by luring India and China through heavy discounts. Interestingly, America at the time supported India doing so to keep the prices of crude oil stable. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Hefty discounts In 2022, the Russia under its price cap was selling crude to India at $60 (Rs 5,255) per barrel. Keep in mind that crude in general had soared to $137 (Rs 12,000) per barrel in the aftermath of the Ukraine invasion. Russia has continued to sell oil at a discount to India over the next few years. Though the discount per barrel has become far less impressive of late, between $2 and $5 per barrel, India is still saving billions of dollars on its oil bill. US President Donald Trump. Reuters Petras Katinas, a Lithuania-based energy analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), told DW India had potentially saved $33 billion from 2022 to 2024. Katinas said New Delhi had prioritised 'energy security and affordability' while trying to keep ties with US and Russia on an even keel. Barclays estimates India saved between $7 billion and 10 billion in its import bill in 2024. How much could India spend? The State Bank of India in a report said New Delhi could spend an extra $9 billion this year alone on buying crude if it looked for supplies elsewhere. By 2027 India could be spending as much as an extra $12 billion on crude oil. 'If Russian supplies were cut off, India could shift back to its traditional Middle Eastern suppliers under existing annual deals, ensuring flexibility in meeting its import needs,' the SBI noted in its report. Others paint a far more rosy picture. Analysts at Nomura pointed out that given Russia's declining discounts on crude oil, India's bill could only increase by $1.5 billion if it gives up Russian oil. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India can also buy crude from Guyana, Brazil, and Canada. But that won't happen quickly. Sumit Ritolia, a New Delhi-based oil analyst from trade research house Kpler, told DW that India could take up to a year to replace Russian oil. Ritolia said India could 'reduce' its Russian oil imports, but added: 'I don't see us going down to zero anytime soon.' Experts agree that India's fuel bill could increase by billions were it to completely stop buying Russian oil. What do experts say? Experts say that New Delhi being cut off from Russian oil is not a good thing and that everyone will suffer. In fact, India buying crude oil from Russia after the Ukraine war kept the price under control. 'If India had not bought Russian crude [in 2022], it's anyone's guess what the oil price would have been — $100, $120, $300,' Ritolia told DW. Keep in mind that Russia is the world's second-biggest producer of crude oil. It fulfils around 10 per cent of the global demand, around 9.5 million barrels per day. It is also the world's second-largest exporter of oil. It ships roughly 4.5 million barrels per day of crude and 2.3 million barrels per day of refined products. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD They say that the price of oil, which is $65 (Rs 5,780) per barrel today, could skyrocket to as much as $200 (Rs 17,560) were India to stop buying Russian crude. Things could get even worse if everyone boycotts Russian oil. 'There is nowhere to get those five million [barrels] fast enough to prevent a spike in oil prices.' Alexander Kolyandr, senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, told The Independent. Even OPEC increasing its own output wouldn't help in the short-term. SBI predicts crude oil prices could increase as much as 10 per cent. 'Russia accounts 10 per cent of global crude supply, if all the countries stopped buying from Russia. So crude price may increase by 10 per cent if no other countries increase their production,' it said in the report. This in turn could spike inflation across the world. In short, it's a lose-lose for everyone.
DW
06-08-2025
- Business
- DW
What if India and China stop buying Russian oil? – DW – 08/06/2025
Donald Trump is tightening sanctions loopholes that fund Moscow's war machine. What does a crackdown on Russia's oil trade mean for global markets — and economic heavyweights like China and India? India and China have pushed back firmly against US President Donald Trump's threats of secondary sanctions — penalties for doing business with a sanctioned country — over their continued purchases of Russia's oil, which is a key revenue stream for Moscow's war in Ukraine. Both nations vowed to protect their energy security and economic sovereignty against what Beijing firmly called "coercion and pressure" from the United States. China became the biggest importer of Russian oil in 2022. India, meanwhile, accused the West of hypocrisy, pointing out that the European Union continues to import Russian energy, despite having massively reduced its reliance on it since the war began.. New Delhi further noted that Washington had actively supported its oil purchases from Russia, which ramped up shortly after the Russian invasion, to help stabilize global oil prices. India's oil purchases from Russia have grown nearly 19-fold over the past four years, from 0.1 to 1.9 million barrels a day, while China's rose by 50% to 2.4 million barrels a day. Petras Katinas, a Lithuania-based energy analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), told DW that India, Russia's second-largest oil buyer, had saved up to $33 billion in energy costs between 2022 and 2024 as Moscow offered large price cuts when the US and Europe cut their reliance on Russian oil and gas. India's longtime policy of balancing ties with the US, Russia and China, without prioritizing any side, had "underpinned" the decision to buy discounted Russian crude, with New Delhi "prioritizing energy security and affordability," Katinas said. Having already imposed a 25% tariff on Indian imports25% tariff on Indian imports, Trump issued an executive order on Wednesday, imposing an additional 25% tariff on goods from India over its purchases of Russian oil. Oil prices rose nearly 1% on the news, while Indian media outlets reported that the new levy could spike the country's oil bill by up to $11 billion. New Delhi labeled the additional levy "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable." Trump said the tariffs would take effect in 21 days, giving India and Russia time to negotiate with the administration on the import taxes. The president was also expected to announce wider secondary sanctions on other countries and entities with which Russia trades oil. Secondary sanctions would be another major blow for the Russian economy, already reeling from Western sanctions. With military spending now exceeding 6% of GDP and real inflation estimated by some analysts at 15-20% versus the official 9% figure, Russia is burning through cash, putting serious pressure on its budget and arms factories. For global markets, new sanctions could trigger a seismic shock in energy prices and trade flows reminiscent of 2022, when the oil price surged and Russia bypassed Western sanctions by striking discounted energy deals with two of the world's largest economies. "If India had not bought Russian crude [in 2022], it's anyone's guess what the oil price would have been — $100 (€86), $120, $300 [per barrel]," Sumit Ritolia, a New Delhi-based oil analyst from trade research house Kpler, told DW. WTI crude hovered between $74 and $95 per barrel in the weeks before the invasion. Trump's 25% "secondary tariff" could leave India with no choice but to scale back at least some of its oil trade with Russia. Any additional sanctions would only make matters worse. Katinas said secondary sanctions "raise the stakes" significantly, "threatening Indian companies' access to the US financial system and exposing banks, refineries, and shipping firms to serious repercussions given their integration into global markets." If Russia's 5 million barrels a day were suddenly removed from the oil market, analysts think oil prices could surge once again, as affected countries scramble to source other supplies. Even with oil cartel OPEC recently increasing output, replacing such a large volume would be exceptionally difficult in the short term, given limited spare capacity and logistical constraints. "There is nowhere to get those 5 million [barrels] fast enough to prevent a spike in oil prices." Alexander Kolyandr, senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, told the UK's newspaper. Ritolia told DW it may take Indian firms up to a year to cut their reliance on Russian oil, if required. Higher oil prices would trigger a sharp rise in inflation both in the US and worldwide. The US Federal Reserve has estimated that every $10 increase in crude adds about 0.2 percentage points to US inflation. India's central bank reached a similar conclusion. If prices were to climb from the current $66 a barrel to $110-$120 per barrel, a roughly 1 percentage point inflation rise would drive up costs for consumers and businesses — especially in energy, transport, and food. Katinas said China, whose total trade with the US is more than four times the size of India's, "might be exempt" from the new US measures. With the world's two largest economies conducting over $580 billion of trade, China's sheer economic scale gives it bargaining power that India lacks. China's chokehold on the supply of rare earth minerals — a persistent friction point in US-China relations — may serve as yet another lever Beijing is pulling to temper Trump's stance. With India lacking comparable leverage, Trump earlier this week doubled down on New Delhi, saying the likely impact of his new sanctions on Russia and India would "take their dead economies down together." India is, meanwhile, no longer reaping the same windfall from Russian oil as it did in 2022, when discounts ranged from $15 to $20 per barrel. That margin has now narrowed to around $5, according to Kpler's Ritolia. Eager to replenish its war chest, Russia is aggressively maximizing energy revenues, buoyed by rising demand from Turkey — now its third-largest oil customer — and across Asia, where Russian crude is discreetly reexported under alternative labels to sidestep US sanctions. Still, Indian refiners continue to buy. Imports hit an 11-month high in June at 2.08 million barrels per day, accounting for 44% of India's total crude intake — a sharp rebound driven by geopolitical hedging and price competitiveness. Beyond the rhetoric, China's likely response seems guided by its earlier reaction to secondary sanctions. Chinese banks are increasingly refusing Russian transactions, even in yuan, forcing Moscow to rely on opaque intermediaries and third-country workarounds. Beijing sees oil imports as a priority that is mostly shielded from political pressure, India is seen as more likely to hedge: trimming purchases if pressured, but not abandoning discounted Russian crude entirely Ritolia speculated that India might "reduce" its Russian oil imports, but added: "I don't see us going down to zero anytime soon."
Business Wire
06-08-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Faire Expands to New Zealand and 14 Additional European Countries, Bringing Global Wholesale Platform to Nearly 35 Countries Worldwide
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Faire, the leading online wholesale platform, today announced its expansion into New Zealand and 14 additional countries across Europe, making its global network of curated brands and powerful business tools available to independent retailers across nearly 35 countries worldwide. This expansion marks Faire's broadest international rollout to date and underscores its growing role as the preferred platform for independent retailers and brands worldwide. Over the past four years, Faire has rapidly expanded across Europe's largest markets, covering 70% of Europe's GDP and becoming a key global partner for independent businesses navigating a complex retail landscape. Today, Europe is growing twice as fast as North America, with brands on the continent fulfilling over 2 million orders on Faire and retailers spending nearly $500 million to date. 'Independent retailers are the heart of local economies around the world, and our mission has always been to help them thrive,' said Max Rhodes, co-founder and CEO of Faire. 'This expansion doubles our reach across Europe and extends our community of retailers and brands into New Zealand – giving thousands more shop owners access to the products, tools, and support they need to grow. We're proud to continue building a global network where local retail can flourish without borders.' This European expansion includes launches in Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Romania – and comes at a critical time for independent retail communities. Countries like Bulgaria and Romania are among the fastest-growing retail economies in Europe, yet local retailers historically faced barriers to accessing international products and suppliers. With Faire's platform, shop owners in cities like Athens, Krakow, and Ljubljana can now stock curated international goods with the same ease as retailers in Paris or New York. More than 35,000 retailers across these countries have already joined Faire's waitlist, and brands in these markets have listed over 115,000 products on the platform, signaling a vibrant wholesale ecosystem ready to grow. Lithuania-based home and accessories brand, Linen Tales, joined the platform in 2019 to reach retailers in new markets. 'Faire has helped us reach retailers across the world and their customers love our linen home textiles. New retailers discover us through the platform every week, place their first orders easily, and often come back for more,' said Linen Tales founder, Boris Symulevic. Since then, they've achieved over $3 million in order volume and are stocked in nearly 2,000 retailers through the platform. 'You should try Faire if you want to discover unique new products for your shop.' With Faire's continued expansion, brands like Linen Tales can now reach retailers in even more countries, introducing their products to new markets and customers across Europe and beyond. Faire offers retailers access to over 100,000 brands, flexible 60-day payment terms, simplified logistics, and personalized product recommendations – all designed to make wholesale easier and more efficient. Over the past four years, the company has made major investments in its international operations, including localized currency and VAT support, multi-language capabilities, and a robust shipping and logistics infrastructure. Its European headquarters in the UK continues to grow, with roughly 100 employees supporting customers in multiple languages and markets. The addition of New Zealand also builds on Faire's strong performance in Australia, where the company launched in 2022. Since then, the platform has enabled more than 170,000 orders for 4,000 Australian brands, and over 10,000 Australian retailers are transacting on the platform, demonstrating clear demand for Faire in the region. The move into New Zealand strengthens Faire's presence in Oceania and provides Australian brands with expanded regional reach while giving New Zealand retailers access to Faire's global network of suppliers. As local economies continue to digitize and appetite for cross-border commerce grows, Faire's expansion represents a future where local doesn't mean limited. About Faire: Faire is an online wholesale platform used by independent retailers to discover, source, and sell unique products from around the corner and around the world. Faire's data-driven approach levels the playing field for independent retailers by offering net 60 payment terms and free returns on opening orders, eliminating inventory risk and providing access to capital—key offerings previously only available to the largest retail chains. For brands, the platform provides powerful sales, marketing, and analytics tools, so sellers can simplify their wholesale business and focus on making great products. To date, Faire has facilitated over 10M new connections between brands and retailers on the platform. For more information, visit
Associated Press
30-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
iDenfy adds Sweden's BankID verification to provide a flexible onboarding workflow for Nordic users
iDenfy now offers BankID, the most trusted identity system in Sweden, to ensure a frictionless bank verification experience Kaunas County, Lithuania, July 30, 2025 -- iDenfy, a Lithuania-based identity verification and fraud prevention software provider, has announced the integration of BankID, Sweden's most widely used electronic identification system, into its multi-feature Know Your Customer (KYC) platform. This update enables a secure, government-compliant verification method that accepts electronic identities (eIDs). The new integration is particularly valuable for strictly regulated sectors, such as fintech, banking, and other online financial services, to ensure better adoption and accessibility of various online platforms through a log-in and onboarding method familiar to the Swedish audience. According to the recent statistics, BankID has 8.5 million users and a 99.4% adoption rate among Swedes aged 18 to 65. For this reason, this electronic identity verification method is named the most trusted digital identity tool in Sweden. Due to the recent integration in iDenfy's toolkit, now every business can easily choose BankID as their verification method, which allows them to simplify KYC compliance, helping build instant trust among Swedish customers. The system is suitable for both mobile and desktop versions, which provides access to online services, such as banking, with any device the clients prefer to use. At the beginning, the procedure is simple; users are securely redirected to the BankID app to authenticate and share their information. Once confirmed, iDenfy uses biometric facial recognition and cross-references the shared data to ensure complete accuracy. This two-layered authentication approach is familiar to users due to its wide adoption and is known for its high accuracy rates since more than one verification method is used in the same flow. According to iDenfy's team, this is a new industry standard not only in Sweden but in all EU countries, where many of them have plans to have approved government ID documents in a digital form in the near future. Domantas Ciulde, the CEO of iDenfy, stated, 'BankID is an essential part of everyday digital life in Sweden. Our integration adds a powerful layer of trust and speed to identity and verify identities in Sweden. This is another step toward making global compliance easier and more scalable.' Although BankID is intended to be used only in Sweden, iDenfy's biometric identity verification solution is used internationally. It can recognize and verify over 3,000 types of ID documents from more than 200 countries and territories, including passports, ID cards, driver's licenses, and residence permits. It extracts and examines information in seconds using a mix of sophisticated AI and human oversight. This results verification success rate of up to 99.99%, with most checks completed and reviewed in under three minutes. Domantas Ciulde added: 'We've invested years into perfecting our verification software to make it fast, secure, and user-friendly. Our goal is to deliver results that surpass customer expectations and meet compliance needs, all while focusing on preventing fraud.' iDenfy is offering flexibility in choosing extra KYC checks, such as requesting proof of address, age verification for age-restricted e-commerce shops, bank verification for fintech platforms for a more in-depth verification workflow, registry center checks and the ability to download PDF reports for Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD), and more, therefore every business can tailor identity verification flow to fit their needs. Thanks to its artificial intelligence tools, iDenfy can handle unlimited verification requests without downtime, which makes the company a great partner to scale any business onboarding operations without any struggle. It is important to mention that iDenfy differentiates from the competitors with its flexible pricing as the businesses pay only for approved and completed verifications. Unfinished verifications are free, therefore the companies are only charged in credits when a customer is successfully verified. For example, 1,000 credits means that the business is able to approve 1,000 users with no hidden costs and no fees for unfinished verifications. The platform complies with all major global data protection regulations, including GDPR, CCPA and SOC2. It provides long-term data retention options and secure audit logs to ensure that businesses have all needed information in one place. It is also worth mentioning for those who haven't used BankID that the integration is set up as one of the digital IDs verification methods, with more to be enabled additionally. Once active, it becomes part of iDenfy's all-in-one identity verification dashboard, where businesses can track, modify, and manage the entire verification process in real time. About the company: iDenfy is a RegTech business best known for its identity verification services and fraud prevention tools, which help ensure AML, KYC, and KYB compliance for every company, from large-scale businesses to small organizations. iDenfy was featured in G2's Spring 2025 Report as one of the leading ID verification and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) solution providers. For more information and business inquiries, please visit Contact Info: Name: Aurimas Kybartas Email: Send Email Organization: iDenfy Address: Barsausko g. 59 Phone: +37067644539 Website: Video URL: Release ID: 89165832 In case of identifying any errors, concerns, or inconsistencies within the content shared in this press release that necessitate action or if you require assistance with a press release takedown, we strongly urge you to notify us promptly by contacting [email protected] (it is important to note that this email is the authorized channel for such matters, sending multiple emails to multiple addresses does not necessarily help expedite your request). Our expert team is committed to addressing your concerns within 8 hours by taking necessary actions diligently to rectify any identified issues or supporting you with the removal process. Delivering accurate and reliable information remains our top priority.
