At the request of its Board of Directors, the French oil group is studying the possibility of listing on the New York Stock Exchange, arousing the ire of Bercy who does not intend to see the group’s decision-making center in the United States leave. United. For several years, TotalEnergies has strengthened itself in the United States, both in liquefied gas, of which it is the leading exporter, and in battery storage and renewable electricity projects.
The CEO of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné, announced at the end of April in an interview with the financial information agency Bloomberg that his Board of Directors had asked him to study the possibility of a primary listing of the oil giant on the Stock Exchange from New York. According to the president of TotalEnergies, this would be a “legitimate question», given the rise in power of North American shareholders in the capital. “I think this is a legitimate question. It’s not a question of emotion. It’s a business question“, he emphasizes.
Faced with these desires from elsewhere, the French executive reacted strongly on May 2 on the airwaves of the continuous news channel BFMTV. French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said he took seriously the oil major’s plan to choose New York as its main listing location to the detriment of Paris, saying such a decision should not have place.
TotalEnergies strongly committed to Africa
“Is it in the best interest of the nation to keep the head office of TotalEnergies in France and the main listing of Total in France? Yes. So I would fight for that,” warned the Bercy tenant.
As a reminder, TotalEnergies is involved in several hydrocarbon projects in Africa, which will require significant financial mobilization on its part. In 2020, the French giant announced the signing of an external financing agreement for the Mozambique LNG project, for an amount of $14.9 billion.
By AJ.SEditorial Committee
