Huayou seeks $2.7 billion for Ford-backed Indonesia nickel plant
The fundraising comes as benchmark nickel prices trade near a four-year low amid weaker demand from the stainless steel market.
HSBC Holdings Plc has hired Michael Willoughby, a top mining banker at Standard Chartered Plc, to help build its global resources team, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Willoughby, a Singapore-based managing director and co-head of metals and mining for Asia Pacific at Standard Chartered, will join HSBC in August as global head of metals, mining and transition materials, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the appointment isn’t yet public.
He will continue to be based in Singapore though he has the option to relocate, one of the people said. Before joining Standard Chartered in 2019, Willoughby had worked at JPMorgan Chase & Co. for more than two decades.
As electric vehicle sales continue to rise, demand for metals used to make lithium-ion batteries could jump fivefold between 2021 and 2030, reaching 13.8 million metric tons, according to BloombergNEF.
The booming demand and supply chain bottlenecks have prompted a rise in deals for battery materials. Glencore Plc agreed in March to sell its CSA copper mine in Australia to a newly formed mining investment group for $1.1 billion. Zijin Mining Group Co. announced earlier this month that it would acquire a bundle of assets held by DunAn Holding Group Co., including a stake in the Lakkor Tso Salt Lak Lithium mine in Tibet, worth nearly 7.7 billion yuan ($1.2 billion).
Representatives for HSBC and Standard Chartered declined to comment.
(By Vinicy Chan)
Comments