Glencore Xstrata PLC confirmed Tony Hayward as permanent chairman of the mining and commodities trading group, sealing the former BP chief executive’s comeback from the worst offshore oil spill in US history.
Hayward, who is also chief executive of London-listed oil company Genel Energy PLC, has been Glencore Xstrata’s interim chairman since May last year, when his predecessor Sir John Bond was ousted by shareholders.
At the time, Glencore Xstrata said Hayward would return to his role as a senior independent director once a chairman was found.
Other leading candidates for the role were former Vale SA boss Roger Agnelli and ex-BG Group CEO Frank Chapman, sources said. The final decision was made after consultation with shareholders.
Hayward’s confirmation as chairman of one of the world’s largest mining groups completes his return to the corporate big league after he was forced out of BP following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon rig blowout and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
He was severely criticized for his handling of the disaster that killed 11 people and left huge stretches of sea and coast ravaged with oil and experimental chemicals used to disperse the leaked crude.
Hayward is expected to eventually step down as chief executive of Genel, the oil and gas explorer he has invested in alongside British-born financier Nat Rothschild, a source close to the matter said.
IRAQI OIL FIRM
Genel, which focuses on producing oil in Kurdistan, an autonomous region in Iraq, declined to comment on whether Hayward would leave, but one media report on Wednesday said Hayward would leave Genel after a successor has been found and a handover period allowed to take place, while another said Hayward was expected to leave within a year.
In his permanent role at Glencore Xstrata, Hayward could help the company with new acquisitions in the oil sector.
“Oil seems to be a growing arm of the Glencore business and if they want to push and expand a bit more, Tony’s expertise can certainly help with that,” Investec analyst Marc Elliott said.
BOARD WOES
Meanwhile, a group of British public sector pension funds has opposed Hayward’s appointment and asked its members to vote against him in protest at the company’s failure to set targets for female representation on its board.
Glencore defended its position and said it was searching for suitable female board members.
“Glencore values and promotes diversity across its business. The appointment of a female board member is a significant consideration, and our nominations committee is working to identify appropriate female candidates,” a Glencore official said in a statement.
Glencore expanded its oil and gas operations with the ￡800 million (US$1.4 billion) acquisition of Chad-focused energy company Caracal Energy last month.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
PRESSURE EXPECTED: The appreciation of the NT dollar reflected expectations that Washington would press Taiwan to boost its currency against the US dollar, dealers said Taiwan’s export-oriented semiconductor and auto part manufacturers are expecting their margins to be affected by large foreign exchange losses as the New Taiwan dollar continued to appreciate sharply against the US dollar yesterday. Among major semiconductor manufacturers, ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光), the world’s largest integrated circuit (IC) packaging and testing services provider, said that whenever the NT dollar rises NT$1 against the greenback, its gross margin is cut by about 1.5 percent. The NT dollar traded as strong as NT$29.59 per US dollar before trimming gains to close NT$0.919, or 2.96 percent, higher at NT$30.145 yesterday in Taipei trading
RSS