Published: 28 September 2023
By Suzanne Evans, Director, Political Insight
City minister and Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Griffith has told City AM the UK is “committed to working closely” with the EU on financial services rules. The UK’s decision to leave the EU was not a vote to “turn inwards” and “exclude our friends from our markets,” he said, and insited Britain “is committed to working closely with our neighbours in Europe, and with other international partners through the Financial Stability Board, Bank of International Settlement and other fora”. “Whilst some details of our approach may occasionally differ to our friends, what will never falter is our commitment to the highest standards. To be clear, we will never diverge just for the sake of divergence,” he pledged. Ministers have been looking to strip back red tape in the UK after leaving the bloc in order to free up the City but there are concerns that a potential sharp change in direction from the EU on financial services rules could add to the swelling regulatory burden facing firms. KPMG has produced evidence that divergence from the EU on regulation is placing a growing strain on companies operating in both the UK and on the continent, which is making the situation increasingly complex for firms operating in both jurisdictions.
Car production fell by almost 10% in August, after six consecutive months of growth, new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show. A total of 45,052 models rolled off factory lines, the SMMT said, while noting that August typically has the fewest number of cars built because of summer shutdowns. However, last month was affected by extended production pauses at some plants for planned maintenance and upgrades as car makers gear up to produce the next generation of electric vehicles. Overall, production for the domestic market fell by a quarter while output for export dropped by 5.5%, driven largely by a decline in shipments to the US, China and Japan. The EU remained the UK’s biggest global market with almost six in 10 exports heading for the bloc. In the year to date, overall production has increased by 11.8% to 571,671 units.
Ten former Wilko stores are set to reopen as Poundland outlets on Saturday, in Stafford, Nelson, Barking, Stockport, Eccles, Leigh, Southport, Maidenhead, Jarrow and Scunthorpe. Poundland owner Pepco agreed earlier this month to buy up to 71 Wilko stores from administrator PwC following the collapse of the High Street chain.
Flutter Entertainment, the FTSE 100 owner of major betting companies including Paddy Power and Betfair, has bought an initial 51% stake costing €141m (£123m) in Serbian gambling operator MaxBet Kladionica and reserved an option to acquire the remaining 49% in 2029. Flutter said the purchase boosts its commercial prospects in the Balkans region, with MaxBet being the second largest Serbian operator, with a 20% online share, and smaller operations in Bosnia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. “MaxBet has successfully capitalised on the fast-growing online market in Serbia which grew by 25% on a compound annual basis over the last five years,” Flutter said. In June, Maxbet reported full year revenues of €145m (£126m), 44% of which came from online gambling.
Some employees have written to Shell CEO Wael Sawan saying they are “deeply concerned” by the oil giant’s shift away from green energy. Plans the FTSE 100 company is considering include selling a stake in or even spinning off its global renewable power business entirely, having recently scrapped the role of global head of renewables. The open letter, posted on Shell’s internal website and seen by Reuters, read: “For a long time, it has been Shell’s ambition to be a leader in the energy transition. It is the reason we work here. The recent announcements at and after the capital markets day deeply concern us ... We can only hope the optics of the CMD [Capital Markets Day] announcements are deceiving us and that Shell continues its path as a leader in the energy transition.” Among the signatories to the letter were Lisette de Heiden and Wouter Drinkwaard, two employees in the company’s low-carbon division. Responding to the letter, Sawan said: “For an organisation at the crux of the energy transition, there are no easy answers and no shortage of dilemmas or challenges. We might not always agree on the way forward, but I feel good about the role Shell is, and will continue, to play. I am proud of how we provide affordable and secure energy to people every day, while we work hard to provide lower-carbon solutions to our customers, as we transition over time to a net-zero emissions business.” A Shell spokesman, meanwhile, denied the company had changed its strategy, insisting it was still committed to its aim of becoming a net zero emissions business by 2050.
Ineos boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe has criticised what he sees as the UK’s “total lack” of an energy policy, which he branded “completely irresponsible”. PA reports the billionaire owner of the chemicals group accused the Government of seeking to discourage local oil and gas production, thereby putting the country “at the mercy” of foreign suppliers and pushing ever increasing numbers of people into fuel poverty, as he revealed his company’s Forties Pipeline System (FPS) has seen North Sea oil flows drop by 40% over the last six years. The FPS moves 40 per cent of the UK’s oil from the North Sea through to Grangemouth, where it is processed for distribution throughout the UK. Ineos has been forced to close a third of the system’s processing capacity as a result of the recent reduction in oil flow, Ratcliffe said, potentially threatening hundreds of jobs that depend on it. He blamed the decline on a combination of windfall taxes and “negative signals” he claims politicians have been making about the future of the North Sea in recent times. “Whilst the rest of the world is encouraging local oil and gas production, the UK seems intent on destroying it through high taxes and disincentives, making us totally reliant on overseas supplies and losing billions in potential revenue,” he said. Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho said: “The jobs and billions of pounds this is worth to our economy will enable us to have greater energy independence, making us more secure against tyrants like Putin. We will continue to back the UK’s oil and gas industry to underpin our energy security, grow our economy and help us deliver the transition to cheaper, cleaner energy.”
Morrisons’ CEO David Potts is stepping after nine years in the role, to be replaced by former Carrefour boss Rami Baitiéh. Potts, who steered the company into private ownership, will leave in November. The supermarket chain was taken over in a £7bn deal by the US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R). Potts said being in the role had been “the privilege of my working life”, and that “Rami is joining a very special company”.
Hui Ka Yan, the billionaire chair of China Evergrande Group (CEG) has been placed under police surveillance according to Bloomberg, which cities people with knowledge of the matter. Trading in shares of the company were suspended earlier today on the news, as were shares in CEG’s property services and electric vehicle units. Ka Yan was taken away earlier this month and is now being monitored at an unspecified "designated location" from which he is not allowed to leave, and neither can he meet or communicate with others without approval. China's criminal procedure law also states that passports and identification cards must be handed to the police. It is not clear why Hui has been placed under surveillance, which falls short of formal detention or arrest, and does not automatically mean that criminal charges will follow. Evergrande, the world's most indebted property developer, has been on the brink of collapse at several times during the last two years. The firm borrowed heavily to build portfolios but then Beijing introduced policies in a crackdown on the sector, sending the firm reeling, leading it to default on its debts in 2021. Evergrande currently faces a winding up petition in Hong Kong on 30th October, which could force it into liquidation. It was also revealed recently that several employees of Evergrande's wealth management unit were also detained on unspecified charges last month.
Mitsubishi has been forced to pull out of China amid tough competition from cut-price rivals. The Japanese car giant is said to be in final withdrawal discussions with its Chinese partner Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) to end production in the country. Mitsubishi said in July that it was suspending production in China indefinitely and would cut jobs amid a sharp drop in car sales. The group has now decided not to resume operations at its factory in the Hunan province, Nikkei reported. Mitsubishi’s sales in China have slumped in recent years amid growing demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and more affordable local brands such as BYD and Nio.
And finally, they’re not quite X-ray specs but… Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has unveiled a £299 pair of sunglasses with an inbuilt artificial intelligence (AI) assistant that can answer questions and translate foreign languages on the go. The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses connect to Meta AI, the company’s rival to the ChatGPT chatbot, and respond to voice commands to look up facts or “settle disputes,” Zuckerberg said when launching the specs and a range of other digital products yesterday. The glasses go on sale in the US only next month. Next year, Zuckerberg said, purchasers will be able to receive a free upgrade allowing the glasses to recognise images in the world around them, or translate food menus written in foreign languages. The specs are the “ideal form factor” for interacting with AI, rather than chatting to a chatbot on a screen, he added. Other items unveiled yesterday included a new virtual reality headset that allows you to play games within your own environment, and watch a huge virtual TV in your own living room.
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