Reliance Retail is India’s largest retailer and is led by Asia’s richest person Mukesh Ambani. The talks with investors are part of an internal target to raise $3.5 billion which the company wants to close by the end September, Reuters has reported. Of that, QIA last month announced a $1 billion investment and KKR & Co (KKR.N) this week $250 million.

Singapore’s GIC, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) are looking to invest at least $500 million each in Reliance Retail at a valuation of $100 billion, one of the sources told Reuters.

GIC, ADIA declined to comment, while PIF did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. Reliance (RELI.NS) said: “we do not comment on media speculation and rumours”.

A second source said some of the three investors could end up putting in less than $500 million, and talks were also on with at least one or two further investors for the fund raising.

“All the three investors have evaluated the company quite seriously,” said the first of the three sources, all of whom declined to be named as the discussions are private.

The final investments or funding plans could still change.

GIC, PIF and ADIA are among the world’s biggest investment funds and together they own a 4.4% stake in the Indian retailer.

Reliance Industries (RELI.NS), the retail arm’s parent, also has plans to invest in the ongoing fund raising round of $3.5 billion, two of the sources said.

Reliance sold a 10.09% stake in its retail unit in 2020, valuing it at 4.68 trillion rupees ($56.4 billion). At that time, GIC and ADIA invested $664 million each, while PIF pumped in $1.15 billion, based on current exchange rates.

A fourth source briefed on the dealmaking said the 2020 fund raising agreements had a clause that allowed existing investors to increase their stakes, and those investment funds were showing keen interest.

Ambani’s Indian retail empire has more than 18,000 stores, with operations ranging from groceries to electronics. It includes foreign partnerships with brands such as Marks and Spencer (MKS.L) and competes with Amazon (AMZN.O) and Walmart’s (WMT.N) Flipkart in one of the world’s biggest markets.

When ADIA invested in Reliance Retail in 2020, it said it was part of its strategy of targeting market leading businesses in Asia linked to the region’s consumption-driven growth.

Last month Ambani said in a speech that “several marquee global strategic and financial investors have shown strong interest” in his company, but gave no names. In 2019, the billionaire said his group planned to list the retail business in five years.

Reliance Retail reported a consolidated net profit of 91.81 billion rupees ($1.11 billion) for the financial year that ended in March 2023, on revenue of 2.6 trillion rupees. It has also forayed into the consumer goods business, which will compete with likes of Coca-Cola (KO.N) and Unilever (ULVR.L).

The ministers discussed potential areas of cooperation, including trade and investment, finance and banking, infrastructure development, technology, and tourism. They expressed mutual interest in promoting trade flows and exploring investment opportunities that can benefit both economies.

The meeting also touched upon enhancing financial cooperation, such as facilitating financial transactions and encouraging partnerships between financial institutions of both countries. They highlighted the potential for collaboration in Islamic finance, given Saudi Arabia’s expertise in this sector and Singapore’s position as a leading global financial hub.

Furthermore, the ministers discussed the importance of fostering innovation and digital transformation in their respective economies. They explored avenues for sharing knowledge and best practices in areas such as financial technology (fintech) and digital payments.

Overall, the discussions between the Saudi and Singaporean finance ministers underscored the commitment to strengthening bilateral ties and exploring opportunities for economic cooperation between the two countries.

The Singapore-listed Hotel Properties Ltd (HPPS.SI) said in a statement no charges had been filed against its managing director Ong Beng Seng, adding that he was asked by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) to provide information on his interactions with transport minister S Iswaran.

Contacted by Reuters, the CPIB said it had no immediate comment on the issue.

The CPIB earlier this week said it had launched an investigation into Iswaran, but did not provide further details. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday said he had instructed Iswaran to take a leave of absence until the investigations were completed.

The case is a rare high-level probe in Singapore, a top Asian financial hub that prides itself on a corruption-free government. Civil servants are paid handsomely to discourage graft, with some ministers’ annual salaries exceeding S$1 million ($758,000).

Ong, who was travelling on Friday, will surrender his passport to the CPIB upon his return to Singapore, his company said. He has been given a notice of arrest and posted bail of S$100,000, it added.

The 79-year-old’s company has around 38 hotels and resorts operating under brands that include COMO, Four Seasons, Hard Rock Hotels and Concorde, according to the London Stock Exchange’s Refinitiv Eikon.

Shares in Hotel Properties Ltd fell as much as 7% on the news and were last down 4.4%, heading for their worst session in more than two years.

Malaysia-born Ong is also credited with bringing Formula One (F1) motor racing to Singapore in 2008. He and his wife Christina Ong had a net worth of $1.75 billion in 2022, according to Forbes

Singapore is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which barred Myanmar’s junta from its high-level meetings after the putsch plunged the country into violence, with the military battling on multiple fronts to try to crush an armed pro-democracy resistance movement.

Balakrishnan told a press conference a lack of progress meant it was not the time to re-engage at a high-level with Myanmar’s junta, but said current ASEAN chair Indonesia was engaging with “a wide spectrum of stakeholders” on Myanmar, a reference to talks involving opponents of the coup.

“You do need everyone ultimately to sit down and negotiate. I don’t know how long it will take. The last time it took 25 years for some form of democratic transition to occur in Myanmar. I hope it wont take that long,” he said, adding that he remained “pessimistic.”

Blinken said he agreed with his Singaporean counterpart and that Washington supports ASEAN’s efforts on Myanmar.

“It’s very important that we continue – all of us – to sustain the appropriate pressure on the junta and look for ways, of course, to engage the opposition,” he said.

The United States has issued sanctions against Myanmar’s military and its companies, and urged other countries to stop weapons sales to the junta.

A UN expert in May identified $254 million of supplies shipped from entities in Singapore to the Myanmar military.

Asked about the report, Balakrishnan said Singapore’s policy was to “do our best” to prevent arms or so-called dual-use items that can be used in warfare getting to Myanmar and said the city-state would act on the UN expert’s findings.

Hameed was deported from Singapore to India and detained upon arrival in Madurai. He was presented to a Delhi court, which remanded him for ten days to the ED’s custody.

The reward for any information regarding Shahul Hameed was increased by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to Rs 3 lakh in May.

The ED filed a money laundering investigation against the top officials of the now-banned group last year.

The Centre designated PFI and its affiliates as a “unlawful association” in a broad assault on PFI.

“The Popular Front of India and its associates, affiliates, or fronts have been found to be involved in serious offences that are detrimental to the integrity, security, and sovereignty of the nation, such as terrorism and its financing, targeted brutal killings, disobeying the country’s constitutional order, causing public disturbances, etc. The Popular Front of India, along with its associates, affiliates, or fronts, has been declared a “unlawful association” under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, the Centre said in a release. As a result, the Ministry of Home Affairs felt it necessary to stop the organization’s evil deeds.

Since the prohibition last year, the ED and the NIA have conducted raids on a number of PFI leaders and employees.

Such meetings are organised by the Singapore government and have been discreetly held at a separate venue alongside the security summit for several years, they said. The meetings have not been previously reported.

The U.S. was represented by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, the head of her country’s intelligence community, while China was among the other countries present, despite the tensions between the two superpowers.

Samant Goel, the head of India’s overseas intelligence gathering agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, also attended, an Indian source said.

“The meeting is an important fixture on the international shadow agenda,” said one person with knowledge of the discussions. “Given the range of countries involved, it is not a festival of tradecraft, but rather a way of promoting a deeper understanding of intentions and bottom lines.

“There is an unspoken code among intelligence services that they can talk when more formal and open diplomacy is harder – it is a very important factor during times of tension, and the Singapore event helps promote that.”

All five sources who discussed the meetings declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

A spokesperson for the Singapore Ministry of Defence said that while attending the Shangri-La Dialogue, “participants including senior officials from intelligence agencies also take the opportunity to meet their counterparts.”

“The Singapore Ministry of Defence may facilitate some of these bilateral or multilateral meetings,” the spokesperson said. “Participants have found such meetings held on the sidelines of the (dialogue) beneficial.”

The U.S. Embassy in Singapore said it had no information on the meeting. The Chinese and Indian governments did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand operate what is called the Five Eyes network to gather and share a broad range of intelligence, and their intelligence officials meet frequently.

Larger meetings of the intelligence community are rarer, and almost never publicised.

Although few details were available on the specific discussions in Singapore, Russia’s war in Ukraine and transnational crime figured in the talks on Friday, the person with knowledge of the discussions added. On Thursday evening, the intelligence chiefs held an informal gathering.

No Russian representative was present, one of the sources said. Ukraine’s deputy defence minister, Volodymr V. Havrylov, was at the Shangri-La Dialogue but said he did not attend the intelligence meeting.

Another of the sources said the tone at the meeting was collaborative and cooperative, and not confrontational.

At the main security dialogue, more than 600 delegates from 49 countries held three days of plenary sessions, as well as closed-door bilateral and multilateral meetings at the sprawling Shangri-La Hotel.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gave the keynote address while U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu and counterparts from Britain,

Japan, Canada, Indonesia and South Korea also spoke.

Haines was among the official U.S. delegates to the Shangri-La Dialogue. At a discussion on cybersecurity in the main meeting, she said in response to a question from a Chinese military officer that cooperation between countries was essential.

“It is absolutely critical, even when there is distrust, and even when you are facing in effect adversaries, that you still try to work through and cooperate on issues of mutual interest and also try to manage the potential for escalation,” she said.

U.S. officials said on Friday that CIA Director William Burns visited China last month for talks with Chinese counterparts as the Biden administration seeks to boost communications with Beijing.

Myanmar state media on Tuesday said “terrorists” with small arms attacked a convoy that was delivering supplies to displaced people in His Hseng township in Shan State in northern Myanmar on May 7.

It said no one was harmed and showed pictures of a pickup truck with minor damage, including broken glass from bullets.

It remained unclear who was behind the incident involving staff from the Indonesian and Singaporean embassies in Yangon and personnel from the humanitarian assistance centre of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

No group claimed responsibility for the incident.

Myanmar has been trapped in a spiral of violence and economic turmoil since the military overthrew an elected government in 2021 and launched a bloody crackdown on dissent.

Intensifying military attacks and clashes with armed resistance movements have prompted calls, including from Myanmar’s ASEAN neighbours, to end hostilities and allow access for humanitarian aid.

It comes as Southeast Asian leaders meet in Indonesia to discuss the crisis in Myanmar among other issues. Myanmar’s generals have been barred from the meeting over their lack of progress in implementing an ASEAN peace plan.

An Indonesian diplomat involved in the incident was “in good condition”, said foreign ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah.

Two staff of Singapore’s embassy in Yangon were also safe and had returned to the city, its foreign ministry said.

“Only constructive dialogue among all key stakeholders in Myanmar can facilitate a peaceful solution in the interests of the people of Myanmar,” the ministry said in a statement.

The United States also condemned the attack and called on Myanmar’s military to implement a peace consensus agreed between its generals and ASEAN.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Monday said the “shootout” would not deter efforts by Indonesia and ASEAN to push for peace in Myanmar.

“Stop using force. Stop violence because it’s the people who will be victims. This condition will not make anybody win,” he said.

Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government, which is allied with anti-junta militias, the People’s Defence Forces (PDF), said it was not involved in the incident. The PDF in the region did not respond to a request for comment.

Indonesia has for months been quietly engaging Myanmar’s junta, shadow government and armed ethnic groups to try and kick-start a peace process, its foreign minister said last week.

The draft, if approved by the federal cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, would make China the only major economy open to fresh requests to add significant new coal-fired capacity.

India and China account for about 80% of all active coal projects as most developing nations wind down capacity to meet climate targets. As of January 2023, only 20 countries have more than one coal project planned, according to E3G, an independent climate think tank.

“After months of deliberations, we have arrived at a conclusion that we would not need new coal additions apart from the ones already in pipeline,” one of three government sources said.

The sources declined to be identified as they are not authorised to speak to the media. India’s power ministry did not respond to requests seeking comment.

The new policy, if approved, would not impact the 28.2 GW of coal-based power in various stages of construction, the sources said.

China and India have together been lobbying for freedom for countries to choose a roadmap to cut emissions.

India, whose proposed coal power capacity is the highest after China, had repeatedly refused to set a timeline to phase out coal, citing low per-capita emissions, surging renewable energy capacity and demand for inexpensive fuel sources.

Coal is expected to be the dominant fuel in generating electricity in India for decades, but activists have pressed for a halt to new coal-fired plants, arguing this would at least help to reduce the share of the polluting fuel in overall power output.

The draft, India’s first attempt at revising its electricity policy enacted in 2005, also proposes delaying the retirement of old coal-fired plants until energy storage for renewable power becomes financially viable, the sources said.

So far, old coal-fired power plants with a cumulative capacity of 13 GW have been earmarked for functioning post retirement deadline to meet high power demand, they said.

Change In Stance

In the first draft of the NEP in 2021, India had said it may add new coal-fired capacity, though it proposed tighter technology standards to reduce pollution.

The Central Electricity Authority, an advisory body to the federal power ministry, had said last year India might have to add as much as 28 GW of new coal-fired power in addition to the plants under construction to address surging power demand.

However, the final draft, which will guide India’s policymaking on energy over the next decade, features no references to new coal-fired power, the sources said.

In contrast, China’s National Development and Reform Commission said in a March 2022 document that outlined its energy policy, that the world’s largest coal user “will rationally build advanced coal-fired power plants based on development needs.”

China plans to build some 100 new coal-fired power plants to back up wind and solar capacity, which analysts said goes against Beijing’s stated intention to reduce the role of coal.

The policy revision could also impact long-term coal prices and miners in Indonesia, Australia and South Africa, as India is the world’s second-largest coal importer.

The world’s largest coal mining company will likely end the fiscal year ending on Friday with an output of 703.4 million tonnes, it said, 13% higher than the 622.6 million tonnes it produced the previous fiscal year.

“The volume increase of a whopping 81 million tonnes in a single year, by fiscal year 2023 end, would be a historic high since the company’s inception,” the company said in a statement on Friday.

Coal India last achieved its annual production target in 2006, when it produced 343.4 million tonnes against a plan to produce 343 million tonnes.

The miner, which accounts for 80% of India’s annual coal output, is targeting production of 780 million tonnes in the upcoming fiscal year, in a bid to fire its power utilities, which are expected to burn about 8% more coal in the year.

India’s coal-fired power output has increased much faster than any other country in the Asia Pacific since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, underscoring the challenges the world’s third-largest greenhouse gas emitter faces in weaning its economy off carbon.

The government has previously cited lower per capita emissions compared with richer nations and surging renewable energy output, when asked about rising coal use.

Coal accounts for nearly 75% of India’s power generation and utilities account for more than 75% of its coal use. India is the world’s second largest producer, consumer and importer of the fuel.

Coal India intends to ramp up production to 1 billion tonnes by March 2026 by increasing the capacity of its existing mines and opening new mines.