Guangdong Development Fund Share Discussion Threads

[ariane] 15/9/2011 17:24

Euro-Zone Crisis Won't Hit GDF Suez Capex Plans-CEO
By Selina Williams

Published September 15, 2011
| Dow Jones Newswires

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--Euro-zone debt woes won't hit GDF Suez's EUR11B/year capex plan through 2013

--Comments come as European stocks rally on signs of progress on the sovereign debt crisis

--GDF Suez CEO confirms in talks with ENI to sell North Sea gas fields

--GDF Suez looking at opportunities in Libya water, gas exploration, production

(Adds details.)

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- French utility giant GDF Suez SA (GSZ.FR) has no intention of cutting its capital expenditure for 2011 through 2013, despite the impact of the euro-zone sovereign debt crisis on the region's corporate sector, the company's chairman and chief executive said Thursday.

The comments from the CEO of one of Europe's top utility companies come as European stock markets soared Thursday on growing investor confidence that progress is being made on the euro zone's sovereign debt situation and ahead of a Friday meeting of key European and U.S. officials.

"So far we have decided to stick to our EUR11 billion-a-year capex plan," Gerard Mestrallet told reporters in London.

The company is in a good position to meet its investment targets thanks to a strong balance sheet with EUR10 billion in cash and billions in undrawn credit facilities. The French power group has also been restructuring its corporate debt in the period between the 2008 crisis and now, Mestrallet added.

He said GDF Suez, which has completed two major transactions in less than four years, was also on track with its plan to divest some EUR10 billion in assets by 2013 as it focuses on organic growth.

"So far after six months we are able to announce that 60%, or EUR6 billion, has been realized," he said, adding that those assets included non-core assets or businesses where GDF Suez held a minority stake in projects operated by other companies.

These asset sales have already offset the impact of the merger of GDF's international assets with the U.K.'s International Power. The $2.5 billion transaction completed in February, making GDF Suez the world's largest utility by revenue.

Mestrallet also confirmed reports in the French press that the company was in talks with Italian energy giant ENI SpA (ENI.MI) to sell its 10.4% stake in the Elgin, Franklin and West Franklin gas fields in the North Sea.

In early August, GDF Suez said it was in talks to sell the assets and said the amount of the transaction would likely be around EUR600 million, representing a net gain of EUR300 million at the time.

Mestrallet also said GDF Suez is looking at opportunities in Libya in several areas including water and contracts for the exploration and production of natural gas.

Libya is now focusing on developing its natural gas sector where it aims to become a major player alongside key producers such as Qatar and Algeria amid a broader shakeup of the North African country's energy industry after rebels took over Tripoli last month.

Separately, Mestrallet said the company will review its nuclear policy in mid-2012 once it has the complete picture on the results from stress tests at Europe's nuclear reactors and more clarity on various European government's positions on atomic power following the partial meltdown at Japan's Fukushima nuclear facility earlier this year.

GDF Suez's current strategy is for nuclear to comprise 10% of its power generation portfolio. Mestrallet said it was too early to say more on a project to build a new nuclear power plant in the U.K. as the investment decision wouldn't be made before 2014-2015.

At 1213 GMT, shares in GDF Suez were up 2.5% at EUR20.82.



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[grupo guitarlumber] 12/9/2011 07:59

Huge Total Find Changes Gas Map
11 September 2011
Bloomberg
Total, Europe's third-biggest oil company, has made a "major" natural gas discovery in the Caspian Sea off Azerbaijan that may boost supplies of the fuel pumped to the European Union.

"This discovery could be very significant in terms of resources," said Marc Blaizot, vice president for exploration. The Absheron well's first results show a potential of several trillion cubic feet of gas and associated condensates, the company said.

The European Union wants to bring gas supplies from Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea basin to replace dwindling North Sea output and reduce reliance on Russia and North Africa.

"Total's Absheron discovery is extremely significant," Jennifer Coolidge, executive director of CMX Caspian and Gulf Consultants, said Friday. "It means the total quantity of gas Azerbaijan will seek to move westward through the Southern Corridor to Europe should increase, benefiting pipeline projects designed for larger-scale deliveries or multiple pipeline projects."


Azerbaijan's state oil company, Socar, said in June that the country would have 25 billion to 30 billion cubic meters of gas for export by 2020-25. Azerbaijan has guaranteed 10 bcm of gas a year for Europe from the second phase of the BP-led Shah Deniz deposit.

"I am confident that all transit issues will be resolved by year-end and new markets will be found for Azeri gas," Azeri President Ilham Aliyev told state news agency Azertac. "This will certainly boost the importance of our state."

Transit projects such as the OMV-led Nabucco pipeline, the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline managed by Statoil and E.On, and a third link led by Edison, Depa and Boru Hatlari Ile Petrol Tasima are vying to carry Azeri output to Europe.

Nabucco has the largest projected capacity among them, seeking to transport 30 billion cubic meters of the fuel.

Total operates the Absheron development with a 40 percent interest. The other shareholders are Socar with 40 percent and GDF Suez SA with 20 percent.

The find at Absheron, which was previously abandoned by a Chevron-led group that included Total, marks a second success since Socar announced a gas find at the Umid structure in November.

Socar estimates that the field holds 300 bcm of gas, according to a presentation.



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The Moscow Times

[ariane] 08/9/2011 09:17

GDF Suez : support à 19.6.

Imprimer..Sociétés :GDF SUEZGDF SUEZRubriques :Bourse.Cours associés
Symbole Cours Variation
GSZ.NX 20.02 +0.2

GSZ.PA 20.49 +0.86


Suivre ces actions
{"s" : "GSZ.NX,GSZ.PA","k" : "a00,a50,b00,b60,c10,g00,h00,l10,p20,t10,v00","o" : "","j" : ""} Le vendredi 2 septembre 2011, à 18h 45
Sur les 5 derniers jours, le titre a peu évolué, perdant 0.19%. Depuis le début de l'année, il est en baisse de 22.46%.

Du point de vue de l'analyse technique : le RSI est supérieur à sa zone de neutralité des 50. Le MACD est supérieur à sa ligne de signal et négatif. Le MACD doit dépasser la ligne du zéro pour valider une poursuite de la hausse. Enfin, le titre est inférieur à sa moyenne mobile 50 jours.
A noter que les volumes sont en baisse depuis quelques jours.

Graphiquement : les niveaux de résistances se situent sur : 22.9 puis 23.6. Tandis que les prochains supports sont sur : 20.1 puis 19.6.

Notre préférence : Achat court terme sur GDF Suez (Euronext: GSZ.NX - actualité) (GSZ).

Le point d'invalidation de notre scénario est situé sur : 19.6.
Cours de référence : 20.8.
Copyright © CHARTS

[ariane] 07/9/2011 05:52

02.09.2011 12:27:05JPMorgan belässt GDF Suez auf 'Neutral' - Ziel 29,60 EuroLONDON (dpa-AFX Analyser) - Die US-Bank JPMorgan hat das Kursziel für GDF Suez von 30,00 auf 29,60 Euro gesenkt und die Einstufung auf "Neutral" belassen.

[ariane] 07/9/2011 04:36

GDF Suez Launches EUR500 Million Share Buyback Program
By Gabriele Parussini

Published September 06, 2011
| Dow Jones Newswires

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PARIS -(Dow Jones)- French utility giant GDF Suez SA (GSZ.FR) is planning to buy back a maximum of EUR500 million of its shares, the company said in a statement Tuesday.

"Pursuant to the 5th resolution of the May 2 Combined Annual and Extraordinary General Meeting, GDF Suez is announcing the launch of a share buyback program," the company said in a statement.

The program will be used to cover the group's share allocation commitments within GDF Suez employee profit-sharing program, it said.



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[waldron] 05/9/2011 11:10

|
0ShareTEC le 30/08/2011 à 12:37GDF SUEZ : Le débordement des résistances permettra une hausse


© TEC


SYNTHESE
Le MACD est négatif, mais il se situe au-dessus de sa ligne de signal : la tendance est en train de changer. Maintenant, le MACD doit franchir zéro pour que la hausse se poursuive dans les jours à venir. Le RSI est supérieur à 50, cela confirme une bonne orientation du titre. Mais les indicateurs stochastiques sont élevés, ce qui doit inciter à la prudence à très court terme. Les volumes échangés sont supérieurs à la moyenne des volumes sur les 10 derniers jours.

MOUVEMENTS ET NIVEAUX
Depuis le plus bas à 19,17 EUR le titre est en phase de reprise technique vers sa moyenne mobile à 50 jours située à 22,53 EUR : le comportement des cours sur ce niveau permettra d'envisager la poursuite du mouvement à moyen terme. Pour alléger la position, on pourra attendre de tester les résistances à court terme situées à 23,62 EUR et 24,39 EUR. Les supports sont à 18,24 EUR puis à 16,7 EUR .



Dernier cours : 21.56
Opinion : neutre
Tendance : baissière
Support : 18.24 / 16.7
Resistance : 23.62 / 24.39

[ariane] 26/8/2011 07:56

Gazprom Defends Oil-Price Link, Says Gas German Customers Made 'Mistakes'
QBy Anna Shiryaevskaya - Aug 26, 2011 1:00 AM GMT+0200 .
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QAug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Sergei Komlev, head of pricing and contract formation at OAO Gazprom's export division, discusses Russian gas prices and the role of the spot market as European utilities seek to adjust gas-purchase contracts. Komlev spoke with Bloomberg's Anna Shiryaevskaya on Aug. 18 in Moscow. (Source: Bloomberg)
.OAO Gazprom said it's not responsible for its customers' "strategic mistakes," signaling Russia's gas-export monopoly may not compromise in its pricing dispute with European utilities.

Buyers are demanding "one-off help, given the difficult situation they found themselves in because of the failure of their gas sales campaign," Sergei Komlev, head of pricing and contract formation at Moscow-based Gazprom's export division, said in a interview at his central Moscow office.

EON AG and RWE AG, Germany's biggest utilities, have sought to change terms for gas purchases from Gazprom to weaken the link with crude oil prices. The companies have lost hundreds of millions of dollars in the last year after they had to sell gas at less than it cost to supply it.

Europe depends on Gazprom for about a quarter of its gas, most of which is shipped through pipelines under long-term contracts, and Germany is Gazprom's biggest market outside the former Soviet Union. Gazprom and its German customers have agreed to arbitration to resolves their dispute.

Importers are asking for "a very big discount," Komlev said in an interview at Gazprom Export's headquarters in Moscow. He declined to discuss any specific customers or the arbitration process. Lowering prices would in essence mean linking gas prices to a benchmark other than oil, he said.

Gazprom indexes its prices to oil with a lag of as long as nine months and expects to maintain that link as the dominant pricing factor in its contracts, he said. The exporter last year agreed to give some weight in the pricing formula to short-term gas prices.

'Deep Connection'
"We think a deep connection between oil and gas prices has remained and even grown stronger," Komlev said.

Gazprom's customers disagree and have sought arbitration.

"Today, the wholesale pricing is regarded as independent from the oil-price indexed long-term gas contracts," RWE spokeswoman Annett Urbaczka said in an e-mail. EON spokesman Adrian Schaffranietz said contract pricing should reflect the "growing importance of trading markets."

Gazprom's average gas price under long-term contracts in Europe is now at about $440 to $450 per 1,000 cubic meters, Komlev said. The price is expected to average $400 this year, compared with $306 last year.

Gas for next-month delivery at the Title Transfer Facility, the Dutch hub, traded at 22.95 euros a megawatt-hour yesterday, compared with about 18 euros a year-earlier, according to broker data compiled by Bloomberg.

'Sell Cheaply'
"Some of our partners expected they'd be able to sell gas to their clients cheaply by mixing Russian and spot gas, which turned out to be wrong," Komlev said. "The first thing our clients have to do is admit the mistake they have made during the sales campaign of 2010. The general market obsession with low spot prices has proved to be a wrong strategy."

Europe can no longer abide a two-tier system, with the gap between long- and short-term gas pricing, GDF Suez SA Vice Chairman Jean-Francois Cirelli said in May, speaking as head of the Eurogas industry group.

Gazprom is holding "commercial consultations" with customers including EON Ruhrgas, RWE, GDF Suez and Eni SpA, according to a report on the company's web site.

"The formula Gazprom uses in Europe is starting to get old," Artem Konchin, an oil and gas analyst at UniCredit SpA said by phone. "In 20 to 30 years, the market will be absolutely liquid and mobile and may resemble the oil market."

Patterns Diverge
The connection to oil markets may weaken in the "long term" as supply patterns diverge, according to an article in Gas Industry Journal's August edition, co-written by Vlada Rusakova, head of strategy at Gazprom.

European customers expected spot prices to remain low when they were signing one- or two-year contracts with clients last year, Komlev said.

EON, which this month reported its first quarterly net loss in 10 years, earlier this year sought to change the contract formula to as much as a 100 percent spot indexation, two people with knowledge of the matter said in February. Komlev said at the time that Gazprom wouldn't agree to the request.

RWE in April sought to "reach adjustments" allowing it to sell gas profitably in a "structurally changed market," CEO Juergen Grossmann said. Germany's second-largest utility expects arbitration with Gazprom to yield results in 2012 or 2013.

Spot rates, which had fallen as the global economic contraction left hubs with unwanted volumes, started to increase in August 2010, meaning Gazprom's partners sold fuel to their clients at lower-than-market rates, Komlev said.

Seasonal Demand
The gap between spot and contract prices isn't as "gigantic" as it was in the past two years and will narrow "closer to winter" because of seasonal demand, he said.

Japan's nuclear disaster in March, which led Germany to speed up its exit from atomic power, diverted some gas volumes to Asia, supporting demand and prices in Europe.

For European buyers, "the most critical phase has started, because it coincided with some companies' closure of nuclear power plants," Komlev said. "If some partners are now seeing problems, it's in no way connected to the price for Russian gas."

To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Shiryaevskaya in Moscow at [e-mail]

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at [e-mail]

[ariane] 26/8/2011 07:41

GDF SUEZ Belgium's Electrabel, owned by the French utility, on Thursday signed an
agreement with a consortium of Belgian industrial energy users who will take
capacity in existing and future power plants. [ID:nL5E7JP

[ariane] 22/8/2011 19:25

GDF Suez (GSZ) SA, Europe's largest natural-gas network operator, climbed 3.5 percent to 20.17 euros, leading a rally in utilities. BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research named the company among its preferred utility stocks, saying GDF provides "attractive relative valuations over the next 12 months."

[ariane] 21/8/2011 18:45

GDF Suez (GSZ) SA: The French utility is among eight companies that placed binding bids to buy Polish hydroelectric power plant ZEW Niedzica SA from Poland's Treasury Ministry. The shares gained 0.4 percent to 19.49 euros.

[waldron] 20/8/2011 08:42

GDF Suez : support à 16.9.

Imprimer..Sociétés :GDF SUEZGDF SUEZRubriques :Bourse.Cours associés
Symbole Cours Variation
GSZ.NX 20,02 +0,20

GSZ.PA 19,49 +0,08


Suivre ces actions
{"s" : "GSZ.NX,GSZ.PA","k" : "a00,a50,b00,b60,c10,g00,h00,l10,p20,t10,v00","o" : "","j" : ""} Le vendredi 19 août 2011, à 19h 11
Sur les 5 derniers jours, le titre s'est effondré de 6.12%. Depuis le début de l'année, il est en baisse de 27.43%.

Du point de vue de l'analyse technique : le RSI est inférieur à sa zone de neutralité des 50. Le MACD est inférieur à sa ligne de signal et négatif. La configuration est baissière à court terme. Enfin, le titre est inférieur à sa moyenne mobile 50 jours.
A noter que les volumes sont en baisse depuis quelques jours.

Graphiquement : les niveaux de résistances se situent sur : 20.4 puis 20.8. Tandis que les prochains supports sont sur : 17.5 puis 16.9.

Notre préférence : Le titre GDF Suez (Euronext: GSZ.NX - actualité) (GSZ) est baissier tant que 20.8 est résistance.

Le point d'invalidation de notre scénario est situé sur : 20.8.
Cours de référence : 19.5.
Copyright © CHARTS .

[grupo guitarlumber] 18/8/2011 07:48

International Power To Expand Jirau Hydro Project In Brazil
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Intl Power (LSE:IPR)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Thursday 18 August 2011
Electricity generating company International Power PLC (IPR.LN) Thursday said the Jirau hydro project in Brazil will be expanded from the original concession of 44 units to 50 units following a successful outcome of the A-3 energy auction on Aug. 17.

MAIN FACTS:

-Expansion will take the total capacity of the project under construction from the initial 3,300MW, or megawatt, to 3,750MW, with the majority of its output contracted under long-term Power Purchase Agreements, or PPAs.

-Six units have been allocated 209MW of assured energy and 100% of this energy has been sold in the regulated market at an inflation-indexed price of U.S.$64/MWh for 30 years commencing in 2014.

-Total assured energy for the whole project now amounts to 2,184MW, of which 73% is contracted under long-term PPAs; Balance will be sold in the free market.

-Expansion may allow for a further 90MW of assured energy to be allocated to the project.

-International Power is 70% owned by GDF SUEZ (GSZ.FR).

-Shares on Wednesday closed at GBP2.992.

-By Tapan Panchal, Dow Jones Newswires. Tel [phone], [e-mail]

[grupo guitarlumber] 17/8/2011 11:43

•GDF Suez : support à 17.4.Chart's(ven. 12 août)
•GDF Suez : support à 18.8.Chart's(ven. 5 août)
•GDF Suez : support à 21.9.Chart's(ven. 29 juil.)
•GDF Suez : support à 22.Chart's(ven. 22 juil.)
•GDF Suez : support à 21.4.Chart's(ven. 15 juil.)
•GDF Suez : support à 23.6.Chart's(ven. 8 juil.)
•GDF Suez : support à 24.4.Chart's(ven. 1 juil.)

[grupo guitarlumber] 17/8/2011 11:43

•GDF Suez : support à 17.4.Chart's(ven. 12 août)
•GDF Suez : support à 18.8.Chart's(ven. 5 août)
•GDF Suez : support à 21.9.Chart's(ven. 29 juil.)
•GDF Suez : support à 22.Chart's(ven. 22 juil.)
•GDF Suez : support à 21.4.Chart's(ven. 15 juil.)
•GDF Suez : support à 23.6.Chart's(ven. 8 juil.)
•GDF Suez : support à 24.4.Chart's(ven. 1 juil.)

[grupo guitarlumber] 17/8/2011 08:15

By MATTHEW CURTIN
Europe's power utilities remain sitting ducks for cash-strapped governments. True, Italy's new special utilities taxes are supposed to last only three years. And the new levies on power-generation and transportation profits might be watered down in final legislation. But taxes tend to strive toward immortality. As in Germany and France, where utilities like E.ON, RWE and GDF Suez have been among the year's worst-performing stocks, investors are right to fear a long-term squeeze on cash flow until Europe's sovereign-debt crisis is resolved.

.Shareholders in electricity giant Enel and smaller network operators Terna and Snam Rete Gas-50%-owned by oil and gas group Eni-face a double blow. First, Rome plans to raise an existing so-called "Robin Hood" tax on electricity generation to 10.5%, from 6.5%. It also wants to slap a new 10.5% tax on electricity networks. Secondly, the draft law prohibits the utilities from passing on the increases to customers.

This could be quite a jolt. Take Snam Rete Gas. The levy might knock up to €125 million a year off earnings between 2011 and 2013 and up to €70 million a year after that if the tax falls back to 6.5%, according to J.P. Morgan. Capitalized, that's worth more than €1 billion, reflected in the 12% decline in Snam's share price Tuesday.

For Enel, with big investments in Spain and the Americas, the impact is less severe. But the 5.1%, or €0.18, decline in the shares Tuesday is bigger than the €0.10-a-share value of the profit hit as calculated by J.P. Morgan. That suggests investors are braced for the tax to live longer than planned, or that they fear similar moves in other countries.

The utilities will lobby Rome for concessions before the draft law is voted on. Italy's electricity regulator takes tax into consideration in setting tariffs on multi-year cycles so the utilities may yet pass on increases to customers indirectly. And the government enjoys dividends from 30% stakes in Enel and Eni, possibly limiting the pain it will inflict. Still, as investors in Germany and France have found, utilities are no refuge from the volatile politics of a debt-troubled Europe.

Want Heard on the Street live?
Sign up for individual email alerts as soon as each column is published, or a daily newsletter with all of the day's Heards.

.Write to Matthew Curtin at [e-mail]

[waldron] 16/8/2011 11:32

Shell, GDF Suez start price talks with Gazprom

© AFP/ Sergei Supinsky12:07 16/08/2011MOSCOW, August 16 (RIA Novosti)
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Royal Dutch Shell and France's GDF Suez have started talks with Russia's gas giant Gazprom on prices amid pressure from European firms to cut prices, Gazprom said late on Monday.

"Gazprom export is holding commercial consultations with RWE Transgas, SPP, Shell Energy Europe B.V, E.ON Ruhrgas, Eni, GDF Suez, EconGas, GWH Gashandel, Centrex," Gazprom said in a statement referring to its export arm.

Most European gas consumers are in talks with Gazprom to revise prices. Gazprom favors long-term deals where the price is set under a take-or-pay principle, while consumers say long-term contracts are more expensive than purchases on the spot market.

In early August Germany's E.ON, one of Gazprom's major consumers, went to court over the pricing principle while Italy's Edison had recently forced it to cut the price by 200 million euros with the help of court proceedings.

[ariane] 13/8/2011 05:58

GDF Suez : support à 17.4.

Imprimer..Sociétés :GDF SUEZGDF SUEZRubriques :Bourse.Cours associés
Symbole Cours Variation
GSZ.NX 20,02 +0,20

GSZ.PA 20,75 +1,13


Suivre ces actions
{"s" : "GSZ.NX,GSZ.PA","k" : "a00,a50,b00,b60,c10,g00,h00,l10,p20,t10,v00","o" : "","j" : ""} Le vendredi 12 août 2011, à 18h 20
Sur les 5 derniers jours, le titre a peu évolué, gagnant 1.69%. Depuis le début de l'année, il est en baisse de 22.7%.

Du point de vue de l'analyse technique : le RSI est inférieur à 30. Cela peut indiquer un titre dans une forte tendance baissière ou plutôt dans un état survendu et que donc une reprise s'impose (surveiller les divergences). Le MACD est inférieur à sa ligne de signal et négatif. La configuration est baissière à court terme. Enfin, le titre est inférieur à sa moyenne mobile 50 jours.
A noter que les volumes sont en hausse depuis quelques jours.

Graphiquement : les niveaux de résistances se situent sur : 21.2 puis 21.6. Tandis que les prochains supports sont sur : 18 puis 17.4.

Notre préférence : Le titre GDF Suez (Euronext: GSZ.NX - actualité) (GSZ) est baissier tant que 21.6 est résistance.

Le point d'invalidation de notre scénario est situé sur : 21.6.
Cours de référence : 20.8.
Copyright © CHARTS

[ariane] 12/8/2011 10:41

GDF Suez sign finance agreement with China's ICBC
(AFP) – 1 day ago
PARIS - French energy group GDF Suez and China's giant ICBC bank said Thursday they had signed a non-exclusive finance cooperation agreement aimed at funding global projects, with a focus on Asia-Pacific.

The deal will span the GDF Suez group's businesses, including gas, power, water, waste and energy and efficiency services, the company said in a statement Thursday.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and other Chinese banks have been aggressively expanding abroad to serve Chinese companies that are increasingly active globally.

GDF Suez signed a 2.9 billion euros investment deal with Chinese sovereign wealth fund CIC Wednesday to help boost expansion in Asia-Pacific and China.

"We are very pleased to enter into this agreement with ICBC as a second major step of our new partnership with CIC," said executive vice president Gerard Lamarche.

"This cooperation will strongly support strategically and financially GDF Suez group's development throughout Asia Pacific and China."

[waldron] 11/8/2011 11:07

GDF Suez sign finance agreement with China's ICBC
(AFP) – 31 minutes ago
PARIS - French energy group GDF Suez and China's giant ICBC bank said Thursday they had signed a non-exclusive finance cooperation agreement aimed at funding global projects, with a focus on Asia-Pacific.

The deal will span the GDF Suez group's businesses, including gas, power, water, waste and energy and efficiency services, the company said in a statement Thursday.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and other Chinese banks have been aggressively expanding abroad to serve Chinese companies that are increasingly active globally.

GDF Suez signed a 2.9 billion euros investment deal with Chinese sovereign wealth fund CIC Wednesday to help boost expansion in Asia-Pacific and China.

"We are very pleased to enter into this agreement with ICBC as a second major step of our new partnership with CIC," said executive vice president Gerard Lamarche.

"This cooperation will strongly support strategically and financially GDF Suez group's development throughout Asia Pacific and China."

[waldron] 11/8/2011 08:55

HEARD ON THE STREETAUGUST 10, 2011, 2:28 P.M. ET.GDF Suez's Missing Spark .Article Stock Quotes Comments more in Heard on the Street ».Email Print Save ↓ More .
.smaller Larger By MATTHEW CURTIN
GDF Suez's inventive streak continues. The Franco-Belgian power giant has sold minority stakes in upstream units for EUR2.9 billion to China's sovereign wealth fund, partly to unlock value hidden within the group. That should help end the stock's losing streak given GDF Suez's robust profits and stable dividend. Still, investors will likely remain skittish as long as politics wreak havoc on domestic earnings.

In China Investment Corp., GDF Suez has a deep-pocketed partner for a capital intensive but sub-scale business. CIC will shoulder some of the risk of projects like the Bonaparte Liquid Natural Gas venture off Australia's coast and open doors in Asia. The deal values the upstream unit at EUR8.1 billion, equivalent to 7% of GDF Suez's enterprise value.

But as with its International Power acquisition last year, GDF Suez's efforts to boost its international activities are unlikely to deflect investor attention from its domestic activities. It is France's former gas monopoly and Belgium's main, nuclear-based power supplier. Energy activities in these two countries account for around a third of sales.

True, French and Belgian energy policy isn't as chaotic as Germany's. An accelerated nuclear shut-down has dented E.ON's and RWE's profits and dividends. GDF Suez is sticking to a target of at least EUR17 billion in 2011 Ebitda and maintaining its dividend.

Still, ahead of elections next year, the French government has frozen household gas tariffs. GDF Suez had expected a 7.5% rise from July 1. That could cost GDF Suez EUR72 million in lost second-half Ebitda. Belgium is studying a new nuclear tax. Older reactors could close after a post-Fukushima safety review.

The political turbulence matters when GDF Suez's net debt stands at EUR35 billion even after a string of disposals. GDF Suez shares have fallen 23% this year, underperforming the sector. At 6.1 times 2012 Ebitda, the stock trades at a 10% discount to peers, according to Deutsche Bank. Until political clouds clear, that may be hard to change.

Want Heard on the Street live?
Sign up for individual email alerts as soon as each column is published, or a daily newsletter with all of the day's Heards.

.Write to Matthew Curtin at [e-mail]

[waldron] 10/8/2011 09:06

source: investir



Le titre perd plus de 30% en l'espace de six mois. Les cours actuels nous semblent constituer un bon point d'entrée, d'autant que le rendement est très appréciable, supérieur à 7%. Achat.