Finance
Ottawa tries to entice Canadian pensions to finance EV battery plants
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The federal authorities is attempting to entice Canadian pensions to finance the constructing of dozens of electrical battery crops and lease them again to the automotive business.
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François-Philippe Champagne, the minister of innovation, science and business, mentioned the proposal could be a win for business and for the retirement plans as a result of it will velocity up the constructing of crops to service rising demand for electrical automobiles whereas offering steady returns to pensions.
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Talking on the Bloomberg Canadian Finance Convention on Thursday, Champagne mentioned pairing institutional buyers with giant manufacturing amenities is just not with out precedent — citing Brookfield Infrastructure Companions L.P.’s settlement with Intel Corp. final month to collectively fund Intel’s under-construction semiconductor fabrication facility in Arizona.
It could additionally assist clear a “bottleneck” by accelerating building of manufacturing amenities to course of crucial minerals which can be considerable in Canada corresponding to lithium nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite, he mentioned.
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“I believe we might be inventive in financing these belongings and offering steady returns to those pension funds and on the similar time guaranteeing entry to those crucial minerals in a jurisdiction of selection,” Champagne mentioned.
Michel Leduc, senior managing director and international head of public affairs on the Canada Pension Plan Funding Board, mentioned he isn’t conscious of any present talks particularly about electrical battery crops however he “can’t see why it wouldn’t be attention-grabbing to discover.”
The sub-sector and theme of electrical autos and important minerals could be “heading in the right direction” for Canada’s largest pension, he mentioned.
What’s extra “the mannequin isn’t solely overseas” to CPPIB, which has expertise with shopping for mental property rights within the pharmaceutical sector in alternate for a share of royalty funds.
“Not the identical, but a relatable mannequin,” Leduc mentioned.
• E-mail: bshecter@nationalpost.com | Twitter: BatPost
Finance
G7 finance ministers back plan to use Russian assets for Ukraine funding – the FT
Stock photo: Getty Images
The G7 finance ministers supported the idea of providing Ukraine with a loan secured by profits from frozen Russian assets to ensure funding for Kyiv after 2024.
Source: Financial Times, citing the draft communiqué of the ministers’ meeting, as reported by European Pravda
The ministers’ discussions were based on a US proposal, which was circulated before the meeting in the Italian city of Stresa, to issue Ukraine a loan of about US$50 billion, to be repaid from the profits of the Russian central bank’s assets amounting to around €190 billion.
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The ministers stated that they were “making progress” in working out options to “bring forward” the profits, according to the draft communiqué. They added that options for structuring the loan would be presented to the G7 leaders before the June summit.
They also promised to continue pressuring China to reduce industrial subsidies that they believe are driving Western competitors out of business, and stated that implementing the most significant global tax agreement in more than a century is a “top priority”.
The G7, a group of advanced economies that includes all major Western allies of Ukraine, aims to ensure funding for Kyiv in the long term, even after this year when crucial elections will take place on both sides of the Atlantic.
According to people familiar with the negotiations, many details of the loan are yet to be agreed upon, including the amount, who will issue it, and how it will be guaranteed in case of Ukraine’s default or if the profits do not materialise.
One official mentioned that Europeans are particularly concerned about “fair-risk sharing”, fearing that Europe will bear the brunt of the financial and legal risks and potential retaliatory actions from Russia, as most of the assets are located on the continent.
This week, the EU officially approved a plan to use interest from frozen Russian assets, which, according to estimates, could bring up to three billion euros per year to Ukraine.
Background:
- In February, the United States argued that G7 countries should fully seize frozen assets, but later abandoned this idea due to concerns from allies that it could set a dangerous legal precedent and prompt retaliatory measures from Russia.
- Earlier, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba stated that Ukraine insists on the confiscation and transfer to Ukraine of all frozen assets of the Russian Federation held in the West.
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Finance
Big Players Maneuver In Global Finance And Industry
What’s going on here?
From hostile takeovers to strategic acquisitions, major financial and industrial players are making bold moves to bolster their market positions. Spanish bank BBVA, Swiss private bank Julius Baer, and British IT services group Redcentric are all in high-stakes negotiations for potential mergers.
What does this mean?
BBVA’s €12.23 billion hostile takeover bid for Sabadell marks a major potential consolidation in the Spanish banking sector, despite opposition from Madrid. Julius Baer’s talks with EFG International highlighted competition in Swiss private banking, though discussions have ceased. In IT services, Redcentric’s negotiations with Milan-listed Wiit SpA could lead to a substantial acquisition. Additionally, private equity firm Carlyle is preparing to sell aerospace manufacturer Forgital, signaling increased activity in the aerospace sector. Also, Deutsche Bahn is advancing in the bidding process for its logistics subsidiary Schenker, with four contenders still vying for it.
Why should I care?
For markets: Strategic consolidations and divestments.
These moves reflect broader trends of consolidation and strategic realignment across industries. BBVA’s bold bid for Sabadell and Criteria’s acquisition of a 9.4% stake in ACS for €983 million signify aggressive strategies to capitalize on market opportunities. Carlyle’s plan to sell Forgital and Saudi Aramco’s in Repsol’s renewable energy division highlight the growing focus on portfolio diversification and sustainability.
The bigger picture: Global shifts in financial and industrial landscapes.
These developments indicate profound changes in the global financial and industrial sectors. KKR’s likely approval to acquire Telecom Italia’s fixed-line network without EU antitrust conditions signals a favorable regulatory climate for strategic deals. On the flip side, the Italian government’s decree for state broadcaster RAI to possibly merge its tower unit, RaiWay, with EI Towers shows the fluidity of managing national strategic assets. Meanwhile, Coventry Building Society’s £780 million purchase of Co-operative Bank underscores ongoing consolidation in the British banking sector.
Finance
Commodity price volatility presents ‘substantial’ challenges: Finance Ministry
Bengaluru: The Union Finance Ministry said on Friday that the ongoing geo-political upheavals and the resultant volatility in prices of commodities globally, continues to be a cause of concern on the economic front, but added that there are enough macro-economic buffers to navigate these challenges.
“The unrelenting geopolitical tensions and volatility in global commodity prices, especially of petroleum products, present substantial multi-frontal challenges,” the ministry said in its latest Monthly Economic Review (MER), for the month of April 2024.
Nonetheless, the expectation is that the macro-economic buffers nurtured and strengthened during the post-Covid management of the economy will help the India navigate these challenges reasonably smoothly, the MER stated.
India’s retail inflation for April declined to a 10-month low of 4.83%, the second consecutive month below the 5% level. This was primarily due to easing of core inflation, even as food prices remained elevated.
There has been a continued decline in retail inflation since December 2023. It has been within the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) tolerance range of 2-6 per cent for the seventh month in a row. However, it has been above the central bank’s medium-term target of 4 per cent for 54 consecutive months.
Primarily due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle-East, prices of the benchmark Brent crude have risen more than 6 per cent year-to date.
On Wednesday, the MER stated that as per all available high-frequency data, the strong performance of the Indian economy in 2023-24 has carried onto the current April-June quarter (Q1 of 2024-25).
“The Indian economy closed FY24 strongly with its growth surpassing market expectations, despite strong external headwinds. Early indications suggest a continuation of the economic momentum during the first quarter of FY25,” it stated.
It said that industrial activity is gaining momentum and fixed investment is gathering pace on the back of the focus the government’s capital spending. “The forward-looking surveys of the Reserve Bank also indicate improving consumer confidence and industrial outlook,” the report said.
Published 24 May 2024, 22:45 IST
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