Energy

EDF is latest utility in energy crisis hurt locker

14 Jan 2022

The state-controlled French group’s shares dived after the government ordered it to sell cheap nuclear power to smaller rivals. It’s no surprise France is shielding consumers from high wholesale prices in an election year. EDF won’t be the last European energy provider to suffer.

Boris Johnson has Europe’s biggest energy headache

7 Jan 2022

Customers across Europe are braced for higher utility bills, prompting governments to divide the pain between users, suppliers and the state. But Britain faces the biggest hike and has done the least to cushion the blow. That makes the prime minister’s position more perilous.

Pricey oil gives Kazakh investors emergency cover

7 Jan 2022

Russia sent troops to quash a revolt in its neighbour. Even if President Tokayev keeps his job, energy majors like Chevron and Shell will fear fallout from the unrest. With the state reaping the rewards of oil at $80 a barrel, there’s less incentive to renegotiate their terms.

EU’s anti-greenwashing crusade takes a risky turn

5 Jan 2022

The bloc’s new draft of its green taxonomy includes gas and nuclear power. The risk is a tool intended to make sustainable financing less prone to greenwashing does the opposite. A lot hinges on whether investors properly differentiate between clean and “transition” activities.

Mammoth re-engineering project begins: Germany

28 Dec 2021

Its manufacturing-led, carbon intensive economy is ill-suited to the 21st century. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and firms like Volkswagen will spend more on green and digital investment. The trick will be to plough on despite short-term supply chain problems and rising labour costs.

The Exchange: Environmentalist on Exxon’s board

28 Dec 2021

Kaisa Hietala was one of the directors elected by shareholders in May through activist Engine No. 1’s successful campaign to green up the $250 bln oil giant. The former Neste executive from Finland sat down with Rob Cox to explain her vision for creating sustainable businesses.

Capital Calls: Enel’s payments punt

24 Dec 2021

Concise views on global finance: The 70 bln euro utility is paying up to 361 mln euros for a relatively pricey punt on fellow Italian payments firm Mooney.

Nordic $20 bln deal sets high bar for oil mergers

22 Dec 2021

Aker BP is acquiring Lundin Energy’s fossil fuel assets using cash and stock. Both sides emerge with a stake in a low-cost big hitter, better able to negotiate oil’s decline. The billionaire Lundin brothers get a smoother path out of the sector, and arguably a small premium.

Rio and BHP wrestle with green M&A conundrum

22 Dec 2021

The two rivals are fighting over access to battery metals, including stakes in volatile startups. BHP just withdrew from a pricey battle for a wannabe nickel maker, but Rio is pressing on with an $825 mln bid for a nascent lithium firm. Investors are wise to be wary.

Toshiba clears path for big 2022 Japanese buyouts

22 Dec 2021

The $18 bln conglomerate plans to split, but a takeover bid betrayed private equity’s voracious appetite in the country. A few dozen chunky companies suit the LBO financial model, per a Breakingviews analysis. Closer inspection suggests a tempting target among them is Ricoh.

Booze to batteries will measure China’s transition

21 Dec 2021

Distiller Kweichow Moutai overtook lender ICBC as the country’s biggest company by market cap in 2020. President Xi Jinping’s policy upheaval, along with rapidly changing investor attitudes, augur a new champ for 2022. Look for CATL to ride the electric-vehicle craze to the top.

Alibaba climate tide can lift valuation boat

20 Dec 2021

The e-commerce titan, whose market worth has halved this year, has unveiled bold 2030 carbon neutrality goals. Notably, it wants to widen the scope of consumer and merchant emissions it includes. Details will be key but longer term, the efforts could bolster shareholder returns.

Aussie climate ambition will restart at ballot box

20 Dec 2021

The $1.4 trln economy has all it needs to be an energy-transition leader, except a proactive government. The 2022 election will change that, making independent, global warming-savvy candidates the kingmakers. Stronger policy also will be lucrative for domestic and export markets.

Europe tightens energy noose round its own neck

17 Dec 2021

Germany will not certify Nord Stream 2 until the second half of next year. The Baltic pipeline is a hugely flawed solution to Europe’s energy security shortcomings. But the main losers from delaying its launch are likely to be its own consumers, rather than Russia or Gazprom.

TSMC can fix Taiwan’s stalled green transition

17 Dec 2021

Referendums on a nuclear power plant and a fossil-gas terminal spotlight the island’s 20% renewables target. Bureaucracy and red tape, though, have held up wind and solar projects. The local chipmaking champion’s voracious appetite for cleaner power offers a much-needed spark.

EDF picks doubly bad time for a nuclear wobble

16 Dec 2021

The 33 bln euro French energy giant shuttered four reactors, sending its shares down 14%. With European power prices soaring, it’s an unfortunate moment to be buying replacement power. And with nuclear’s role in the energy transition up for grabs, outages may turn more heads.

Xi’s new year’s resolutions are hard balancing act

13 Dec 2021

China's president wants to tap the brakes on tech and other crackdowns in 2022. He's also softening his energy-transition stance while pushing for more infrastructure. Yet he plans no U-turns on property or how regions raise funds. Officials will be walking a tightrope to comply.

Fortescue unearths transition leadership challenge

10 Dec 2021

The Aussie miner’s CEO will step down, a year after Chairman Andrew Forrest unveiled his bold green-hydrogen plans. Straddling iron ore and new energy is no easy feat. Others trying to remake themselves for a new era also will wrestle with finding the right person for the job.

LG’s $11 bln battery spinoff is fully charged

8 Dec 2021

The South Korean group is eyeing a $60 bln valuation for its crown jewel in what could be the country's biggest IPO. The hot play on electric vehicles hopes to entice investors by offering a discount to peer CATL. LG's track record of recalls, though, warrants caution.

Germany enlarges green transition’s grey area

2 Dec 2021

Berlin’s new coalition wants to build new plants powered by natural gas, even as it exits coal quicker. That strays from the ideal path to net-zero CO2 emissions. But the real problem is the precedent set by rich countries caving to those promoting gas as a green “bridge fuel”.