Sustainability

LG revs up Asia’s green-car capital engine

11 Jan 2022

The South Korean company’s $11 bln battery spinoff is just the start of a regional deal frenzy that also includes CATL’s $7 bln share sale. Unlike in Chinese tech, government policies are lifting growth and valuations. For now at least, investors will go along for the ride.

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.

Climate M&A will shift from risk to opportunity

29 Dec 2021

Defensive and green-signalling plays dominate ESG-touted deals, like BHP’s coal sales and Santos’ Oil Search swoop. SPACs are active, too. Next will be more ambitious, impactful tie-ups, from banks upping their skills to firms like Autodesk and Ecolab being predator or prey.

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.

Climate-change money will flow freely to Plan B

24 Dec 2021

COP26’s so-so outcome makes damaging temperature rises more likely. At some point, optimal portfolios may require guns and canned food. Until then investors will lean towards shares in Syngenta, Veolia and other companies that aid adaptation to global warming not just mitigation.

ESG acronym is due for a spin-off of its initials

24 Dec 2021

Lumping environmental sustainability, social justice and corporate governance into a single bucket is a clumsy way to address three complex and distantly related challenges. Savvy executives and investors want to separate them. E, S and G will be more valuable after a breakup.

Viewsroom: Some of our 2022 predictions, Part One

23 Dec 2021

Look for an end to the cult of revenue and another milestone for Microsoft. As net-zero efforts falter, investors ready a Plan B. Riyadh becomes strangely appealing. The World Cup pays dividends for the Gulf. And chips become Taiwan’s green calling card. Our columnists explain.

Combustion engines are carmakers’ toxic assets

22 Dec 2021

The likes of Volkswagen and GM are shifting to battery vehicles while petrol-powered rides die out. Engine units are a drag on valuations, like lenders’ ropey assets after the 2008 crisis. Hiving them off into a “bad bank” would please investors and generate much-needed savings.

Capital Calls: Nikola’s SEC collision damage

21 Dec 2021

Concise views on global finance: The electric-truck maker is paying the U.S. securities watchdog $125 million. It’s a big dent but, given the stakes for SPACs and their targets, may only mildly discourage cheerleaders from taking the step from hype into fraud.

Riyadh will flip from No-Go to FOMO for business

21 Dec 2021

Lifestyle reasons mean bosses have long preferred Dubai to the Saudi capital as a Gulf HQ. A mix of the kingdom’s financial promise and government strong-arming means that could start to change. The city’s social scene is already slowly making it less of a punishment posting.

Big Meat will channel VW-Tesla in alt-protein war

20 Dec 2021

Elon Musk stole a march on automakers, forcing them to play catchup on electric cars. A similar dynamic could play out in real and plant-based meat. The likes of Impossible Foods have a Tesla-like lead, but old hands like Tyson and JBS can use M&A to play tortoise to their hare.

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.

Toyota will send its hybrids to the breaker’s yard

14 Dec 2021

The $250 bln carmaker is dramatically increasing its electric ambitions after lagging for years. It could help defend its earnings multiple lead over Ford and GM. But Toyota still lobbies against tougher emissions standards. Powering down its hybrids will add carbon clarity.

The Exchange: Top chef who turned his back on meat

14 Dec 2021

Daniel Humm’s Eleven Madison Park in New York garnered three Michelin stars and was voted the world’s best restaurant in 2017. But after the pandemic, the marathoning Swiss transplant pivoted his kitchen entirely towards plant-based cuisine. He tells Rob Cox why.

Saint-Gobain’s U.S. deal will cement its Sika envy

6 Dec 2021

The $34 bln French construction firm tried and failed to buy its Swiss rival, which then went on a growth spurt. Saint-Gobain’s $2.3 bln offer for U.S. group GCP will help it decarbonise. The catch is that Sika made a similar move last month, and the returns on that look better.

Capital Calls: China’s data centre sale

24 Nov 2021

Concise views on global finance: Global Switch is attracting big-name private equity interest, but its quirky setup might justify suitors asking for a discount.

ESG ratings’ big dogs may need to learn new tricks

23 Nov 2021

IOSCO wants better oversight in the murky world of sustainability grading. The global standards-setter hasn’t called for much that the likes of MSCI can’t live with. But the direction of travel suggests incumbents will lose out as data becomes more sophisticated and transparent.

Reliance-Aramco no-deal is sign of the ESG times

22 Nov 2021

A Saudi plan from 2019 to invest $15 bln into the Indian company’s refining arm is being re-evaluated as Reliance’s green ambitions complicate matters for both sides. The impasse reflects the hectic pace of the energy transition, and the cheap capital available to fund it.