According to The Australian Financial Review, Transurban’s biggest dealmaker, Scott Charlton, will step down at the end of the year after a “collective decision” by the toll road group’s board and the chief executive, who describes running the $30 billion company as the highlight of his infrastructure career.
“The last thing I want to do is be one of those people who stays too long,” the 58-year-old told The Australian Financial Review after investors were informed of his departure – slated for December – along with record first-half earnings from the company’s toll roads. “Eleven years is a long time. I want to do something else.” Transurban’s board met on Monday to discuss Mr Charlton’s exit from the company. The 12-month notice will give Mr Charlton time to potentially bid for another toll road, Melbourne’s EastLink, and tackle the remaining risks on Melbourne’s West Gate Tunnel project, where costs blew out by $2 billion. https://www.afr.com/companies/infrastructure/now-is-a-good-time-transurban-ceo-scott-charlton-to-retire-20230206-p5cibs
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According to The Australian Financial Review, AGL is targeting owning up to 7 gigawatts of grid scale batteries and pumped hydro projects to drive its transition away from fossil fuels, which it says will generate more lucrative returns than wind and solar farms and underpin its return to profitability.
AGL, the nation’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, last year committed to a $20 billion plan to develop 12GW worth of zero emission generation after bowing to mounting pressure from shareholders and activists such as billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes. As it announced a six-month net loss of $1.1 billion that sent shares down 10 per cent, AGL said it expects to own and control between 5GW-7GW of firming capacity assets that will be the largest component of the 12GW of new assets it needs to replace retiring coal generation. https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/lucrative-firming-assets-to-drive-agl-s-energy-transition-20230209-p5cja1
According to The Australian Financial Review, the world’s largest gold miner has lobbed a blockbuster $24.4 billion bid for ASX-listed Newcrest Mining, but faces a pushback from investors who are hoping to set up an auction for the local giant.
Newcrest is Australia’s largest gold miner, and operates in NSW, Western Australia, Papua New Guinea, Canada and Ecuador. US-based Newmont owns Boddington in WA and Tanami in the Northern Territory as well as assets in Africa, South America and North America. Newcrest shares rose 9.3 per cent on 6 February to $24.53. https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/newcrest-investors-say-24-4b-bid-is-not-enough-20230206-p5ci9j
According to The Nikkei Asia, Japan's food exports soared to a 10th straight annual record in 2022, as the economic reopening from the pandemic in many countries sparked renewed interest in dining out.
A weaker yen helped make foodstuffs from Japan competitively priced for international buyers as well. Exports rose 14.3% to an all-time high of 1.41 trillion yen (US$10.9 billion), the government said Friday, as shipments topped 1 trillion yen for a second consecutive year. Japan now aims to reach 2 trillion yen sooner than its projected time frame of 2025. https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Trade/Japan-s-food-exports-hit-new-high-on-seafood-whisky-demand
According to The Australian Financial Review, the record-breaking rate of house price declines has finally eased, with values slipping by just 0.7 per cent across the combined capital cities in the December quarter as buyers adjust to higher interest rates.
The rate at which prices fell in the final quarter last year is six times less than the 4 per cent drop recorded in the preceding three months, which was the largest ever quarterly fall, according to Domain data. https://www.afr.com/property/residential/property-price-slump-slows-from-record-speed-20230123-p5ceow
According to The Asahi Shimbun, buildings in the capital’s Otemachi business district are looking increasingly green and lush, as developers turn to plants, trees and even farms to win over office workers seeking more refreshing work environments.
Mitsui & Co. and Mitsui Fudosan Co. are at the forefront of the trend, having made available one of the largest green spaces in the district. Soon after the Otemachi One Garden opened near the Imperial Palace at noon on Dec. 16 in the northwestern area of Otemachi, it quickly filled with visitors on their lunch breaks. The 6,000-square-meter green zone is located where there used to be an open space beside Mitsui & Co.’s previous headquarters. The land was developed alongside Mitsui & Co.’s new main office building and the Otemachi One Tower complex, which was constructed in 2020. https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14811957
According to The Australian Financial Review, Canada’s Brookfield and US private equity group EIG Partners have held talks to re-price their $9 a share joint bid for Origin Energy, to reflect what they see as heightened risk since due diligence started in November.
It is understood Brookfield and EIG Partners have discussed lowering their offer below the $9 mark with Origin Energy and its advisers in the past week, to gauge the ASX-listed giant’s willingness to recommend a lower offer. Brookfield and EIG Partners believe changes in the regulatory environment - particularly the gas price cap which impacts earnings at Origin’s Australia Pacific LNG project - have created material uncertainty around the group’s long-term earnings outlook. https://www.afr.com/street-talk/brookfield-eig-turn-screws-on-origin-energy-price-talks-heat-up-20230201-p5ch2m
According to The Statement, ENEOS Corporation announces that it has constructed a demonstration plant in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, to produce MCH, a type of hydrogen carrier, using its proprietary low-cost “electrochemical synthesis of organic hydride” method (Direct MCH). The opening ceremony was held on 30 January, and the plant will begin operation in February.
The demonstration plant will produce green MCH by combining the medium-sized electrolyzer with a 250-kilowatt solar power system in Queensland, which is ideal for solar power generation. With the aim of maximizing production efficiency, the plant will confirm the durability of the electrolyzer under subtropical conditions as well as develop optimal operation and control technologies for it when plant operation is adjusted to match fluctuations in solar power during the approximately eight-month-long demonstration period from February to September 2023. https://www.eneos.co.jp/english/newsrelease/2022/pdf/20230130_01.pdf |
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