Europe will become ever less relevant as century progresses October 23, 2012 ONCE again, the political establishment is debating Europe, and what Britain’s place in it should be. To me, the answer is straightforward: Europe will become increasingly irrelevant to the global economy as the century progresses, a tragic development which will see one of the world’s great civilisations increasingly marginalised culturally and geopolitically. Those who still [...]
BP banks on Rosneft with $27bn tie-up October 22, 2012 BRITISH oil giant BP yesterday agreed to sell out of its Russian joint venture in a deal that will net the firm just over $12bn (£7.5bn) – and a seat at the table of Russia’s newest superpower. After weeks of negotiations, BP yesterday announced it will sell its 50 per cent stake in TNK-BP to [...]
Europe will become ever less relevant as century progresses October 22, 2012 ONCE again, the political establishment is debating Europe, and what Britain’s place in it should be. To me, the answer is straightforward: Europe will become increasingly irrelevant to the global economy as the century progresses, a tragic development which will see one of the world’s great civilisations increasingly marginalised culturally and geopolitically. Those who still [...]
Dudley gets back his seat at the table October 22, 2012 JUST over four years ago, Bob Dudley left Russia in something of a hurry. Then boss of the firm’s TNK-BP tie-up with AAR – the consortium of oligarchs who yesterday agreed to sell out to Rosneft – Dudley spent the next five months attempting to run the joint venture from a secret location, as the [...]
BP set to reveal deal with Rosneft as it exits Russian venture October 22, 2012 BP hopes to unveil a multi-billion pound escape route from its troubled Russian joint venture as early as today, in the form of a long-awaited shares and cash tie-up with state-owned energy giant Rosneft. The agreement, which was last night yet to be finalised after weeks of boardroom talks, will get BP out of TNK-BP, [...]
Canada closes the door as Russia keeps playing the field October 22, 2012 CANADIAN politicians were in damage limitation mode yesterday, taking to the country’s airwaves to tell anyone who’d listen that The True North is open for business. Their protestations come in the wake of industry minister Christian Paradis’ last minute decision on Friday to block Malaysian state oil company Petronas’ bid for Progress Energy, a natural [...]
Rosneft to buy BP’s TNK stake in $26bn deal October 18, 2012 BP HAS received a cash and shares bid for its 50 per cent stake in TNK-BP from Russian state-controlled oil producer Rosneft, it is understood, putting Rosneft close to dominating Russia’s oil industry. Sources said that Rosneft earlier this week agreed a bid for Russian consortium AAR’s 50 per cent stake in TNK-BP, the country’s [...]
BP weighs the risks of contamination from Russian oil October 18, 2012 MONEY isn’t everything. As the elaborate negotiations over TNK-BP’s ownership continue, BP finds itself in a sticky strategic position, despite a generous offer for its stake. The apparent $28bn bid from Rosneft for BP’s 50 per cent TNK-BP stake looks attractively priced and would enable the UK oil major to extricate itself from a less-than-ideal [...]
Bumi will reinforce the need for better governance October 18, 2012 While London continues to struggle to create an attractive environment for companies in search of fresh equity, the last thing it needs is a daily diet of allegations and counter-allegations about a deal, lauded as a triumph by banks such as JP Morgan, Credit Suisse and Evolution (before its sale to Investec) only two and [...]
Russia’s Evraz hurt by lower steel output October 18, 2012 RUSSIAN steelmaker Evraz yesterday posted a three per cent drop in steel production year on year over the three months to September. The FTSE 250 firm cited lower production at the Vitkovice steel operations in the Czech Republic and Highveld in South Africa for the drop in output. Evraz this month temporarily shut down production [...]