TAQA to Invest $11 Billion in UAE

TAQA said that it will work on commercially viable opportunities to reduce its reliance on the oil and gas sector. Asharq Al-Awsat
TAQA said that it will work on commercially viable opportunities to reduce its reliance on the oil and gas sector. Asharq Al-Awsat
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TAQA to Invest $11 Billion in UAE

TAQA said that it will work on commercially viable opportunities to reduce its reliance on the oil and gas sector. Asharq Al-Awsat
TAQA said that it will work on commercially viable opportunities to reduce its reliance on the oil and gas sector. Asharq Al-Awsat

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) announced plans to increase its renewable energy assets, in a shift away from reliance on oil. It plans to invest AED40 billion ($10.9 billion) in UAE.

TAQA will generate more than 30 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2030, compared with 5 percent currently.

The company also plans to expand its power-generation capacity in the UAE from 18 gigawatts to 30 gigawatts. It intends to boost its global generating capacity by 15 gigawatts.

TAQA operates oil and gas assets in North America and Iraq, and electricity assets in Morocco. This year, it took control of power generation assets of an Abu Dhabi state-owned firm.

The investment was announced as part of a new 2030 strategy.

The new strategic plan places at its core the global acceleration of the energy transition, and TAQA’s ambition to become a champion for low carbon power and water.

Growth is expected through meeting increased power, water, and network capacity needed in its home market of the UAE, as well as from selective opportunities internationally.

TAQA’s business will be anchored in ESG principles and practices. As part of that commitment, the company is working to develop and publish greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.

Chairman Mohamed Al Suwaidi said, “TAQA has the support of our shareholders for this new strategy and is on its way to becoming the recognized low carbon power and water champion from Abu Dhabi."

He added that “this strategy sets out how the company will achieve this ambition. As we emerge from the pandemic, around the world there will be an increasing focus on the need for clean, reliable, and sustainable sources of power and water.”

"TAQA is uniquely positioned to use its platform to play a key part in meeting Abu Dhabi's own ambitions in this space, as well as taking its expertise to international markets where it can add value," Suwaidi said.

For his part, Group Chief Executive and Managing Director Jasim Thabet said, “TAQA will become a champion for low carbon power and water.”

“We will expand our portfolio of renewables and highly efficient water desalination, drive efficiency in our networks and distribution business and invest in growing the UAE regulated asset base,” he added.



Inflation Rose to 2.3% in Europe. That Won't Stop the Central Bank from Cutting Interest Rates

A view shows the Bercy Economy and Finance Ministry as a metro operated by the Paris transport network RATP passes over the Pont de Bercy bridge in Paris, France, November 28, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
A view shows the Bercy Economy and Finance Ministry as a metro operated by the Paris transport network RATP passes over the Pont de Bercy bridge in Paris, France, November 28, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
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Inflation Rose to 2.3% in Europe. That Won't Stop the Central Bank from Cutting Interest Rates

A view shows the Bercy Economy and Finance Ministry as a metro operated by the Paris transport network RATP passes over the Pont de Bercy bridge in Paris, France, November 28, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
A view shows the Bercy Economy and Finance Ministry as a metro operated by the Paris transport network RATP passes over the Pont de Bercy bridge in Paris, France, November 28, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq

Inflation in the 20 countries that use the euro currency rose in November — but that likely won’t stop the European Central Bank from cutting interest rates as the prospect of new US tariffs from the incoming Trump administration adds to the gloom over weak growth.
The European Union’s harmonized index of consumer prices stood up 2.3% in the year to November, up from 2.0% in October, the EU statistics agency Eurostat reported Friday.
Energy prices fell 1.9% from a year ago, but that was offset by price increases of 3.9% in the services sector, a broad category including haircuts, medical treatment, hotels and restaurants, and sports and entertainment, The Associated Press reported.
Inflation has come down a long way from the peak of 10.6% in October 2022 as the ECB quickly raised rates to cool off price rises. It then started cutting them in June as worries about growth came into sharper focus.
High central bank benchmark rates combat inflation by influencing borrowing costs throughout the economy. Higher rates make buying things on credit — whether a car, a house or a new factory — more expensive and thus reduce demand for goods and take pressure off prices. However, higher rates can also dampen growth.
Growth worries got new emphasis after surveys of purchasing managers compiled by S&P Global showed the eurozone economy was contracting in October. On top of that come concerns about how US trade policy under incoming President Donald Trump, including possible new tariffs, or import taxes on imported goods, might affect Europe’s export-dependent economy. Trump takes office Jan. 20.
The eurozone’s economic output is expected to grow 0.8% for all of this year and 1.3% next year, according to the European Commission’s most recent forecast.
All that has meant the discussion about the Dec. 12 ECB meeting has focused not on whether the Frankfurt-based bank’s rate council will cut rates, but by how much. Market discussion has included the possibility of a larger than usual half-point cut in the benchmark rate, currently 3.25%.
Inflation in Germany, the eurozone’s largest economy, held steady at 2.4%. That “will strengthen opposition against a 50 basis point cut,” said Carsten Brzeski, global chief of macro at ING bank, using financial jargon for a half-percentage-point cut.
The ECB sets interest rate policy for the European Union member countries that have joined the euro currency.