(BFM Bourse) – The Minister of the Economy declared on BFMTV-RMC that he “took seriously” the oil major’s plan to choose New York as its main listing location to the detriment of Paris. The member of the executive believes that such a decision should not take place.
Totalenergies’ announcement obviously does not send a good signal about the attractiveness of France, and of Europe more broadly.
The oil major, through its CEO, Patrick Pouyanné, indicated last week that it was considering making the New York Stock Exchange its main listing location to the detriment of that of Paris. The group intends to get closer to its North American shareholders, a shareholder base representing nearly 50% of capital, and which is growing in strength, unlike European investors.
The group does not currently have a listing in New York. Patrick Pouyanné must submit work on this reflection by September.
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A decision that would be “serious”
Asked about the oil group’s thoughts this Thursday on BFMTV-RMC, the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire assured that he was “taking it seriously”. The Bercy tenant claimed to be “there” so that “this does not happen”, because such a decision would be “serious”.
Noting that having an oil giant was “an asset” for France, Bruno Le Maire assured that it was “important to keep Total’s head office in France” as well as “Total’s main listing in France”.
“Is it 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,” continued the minister.
Capital Markets Union
Remember that Totalenergies had made it clear that there was no question of moving its head office outside of France.
Bruno Le Maire believes, moreover, that this debate on the main quotation of the oil group can be “separated” from that relating to a taxation of share buybacks, a form of return to the shareholder that Totalenergies uses a lot, like the most of the oil majors.
The political leader assures that Totalenergie’s problem mainly concerns the search for “financing” in Europe. Hence the need, according to Bruno Le Maire, to set up the union of capital markets in Europe, so as to “raise much larger sums on a European scale for (its) energy transition activities”. Such an initiative could, according to him, lead the group to abandon a primary listing in New York.
Julien Marion – ©2024 BFM Bourse
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