LONDON: Britain’s most energy intensive manufacturers, including producers of steel, glass, ceramics and paper, have warned the government that unless something is done about soaring wholesale gas prices they could be forced to shut down production.
Wholesale gas prices have increased 400 percent this year in Europe, partly due to low stocks and strong demand from Asia, putting particular pressure on energy intensive industries.
Industry bosses held talks on Friday with business minister Kwasi Kwarteng but said these ended with no immediate solutions.
“If the government doesn’t take any action then basically what we’ll see for the steel sector is more and more pauses of production in certain times of the day and those pauses will become longer,” Gareth Stace, director general of UK Steel told ITV News.
Similarly, Andrew Large, director general of the Confederation of Paper Industries, told the same broadcaster that he could not rule out factories having to suspend production due to increased energy costs.
David Dalton of the British Glass Manufacturers Association said some companies were days away from halting production.
After meeting the industry leaders on Friday, Kwarteng’s department said he was determined to secure a competitive future for Britain’s energy intensive industries.
It said he “promised to continue to work closely with companies over the coming days to further understand and help mitigate the impacts of any cost increases faced by businesses.”
However, some lawmakers within the ruling Conservative Party want more to be done for energy intensive industries.
“I would like to see more government support for these industries in the short term to ensure that we don’t lose them from the UK and we don’t deter further investment,” Andrew Bridgen told the BBC.
“I think they’d like to see a cap on the prices they’re going to pay for gas.”
Britain’s economy is already struggling with a supply chain crisis.
A post-Brexit shortage of workers, exacerbated by the global strains of the COVID-19 pandemic, has hobbled Britain’s supply chains for everything from fuel and pork to poultry and bottled water, putting any recovery from the pandemic under threat.
British industry warns of factory closures without help on fuel costs
https://arab.news/zzrx7
British industry warns of factory closures without help on fuel costs
- Wholesale gas prices have increased 400 percent this year in Europe
Stc Group issues US dollar-denominated sukuk with a total value of $2bn
RIYADH: Stc Group has issued US dollar-denominated sukuk with a total value of $2 billion across two tranches.
The group clarified that the issuance included the offering of $750 million in sukuk with a 5-year maturity at a yield of US Treasury plus 75 basis points, and an issuance of $1.250 billion with a 10-year maturity at a yield of UST plus 90 basis points, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
It noted that the total order book exceeded $8 billion across both tranches, with a coverage rate exceeding 4 times, and participation from over 300 investors in the subscription.
The issuance garnered strong demand from a broad and diverse base of international investors, reflecting solid confidence in the robustness and efficiency of stc Group’s business model and strategy.
This strategy is aimed at strengthening its digital leadership, seizing infrastructure opportunities, enabling massive projects, and contributing to the realization of Vision 2030 objectives, with a focus on achieving sustainable growth based on operational efficiency and maximizing shareholder value.
This issuance enhances stc Group’s access to international capital markets and solidifies investor confidence in the strength of its credit position.
It also supports its strategic role in accelerating the pace of digital transformation in the Kingdom and building a thriving digital economy.
