BNP Paribas has launched a portfolio aiming to help fund projects and businesses involved in energy transition and climate-change mitigation. The BNP Paribas Climate Impact Infrastructure Debt fund will be structured as a Luxembourg Reserved Alternative Investment Fund and classified as ‘Article 9’ under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation. The bank added it would be…
German businesses are “significantly” reducing their investment plans, according to the latest economic survey from the country’s ifo Institute. The Munich-based organisation said the investment climate within Germany had “deteriorated noticeably” as a result of higher financing costs, weak demand and uncertainty around economic policy. Companies that specialise in trade, it said, were the most…
North Macedonia has launched its own energy transition investment platform, making the announcement to coincide with COP28. The country said it now aimed, by the end of the decade, to have phased out coal, adding 1.7GW of renewable energy, and strengthened its grid. The move is being supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and…
VBDO benchmark finds 34% lacked ‘proper ESG integration in tax matters’, writes Natasha Turner European companies are becoming ever-more responsible taxpayers, but a third still lack proper ESG integration on tax matters, this year’s Tax Transparency Benchmark has found. The benchmark, which has been published by the Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO) and PwC, this…
The European Commission (EC) has revised down its GDP growth predictions for the bloc, acknowledging the high cost of living, weak external demand and monetary tightening. In its Autumn 2023 Economic Outlook, the EC expected economic activity would gradually recover but that GDP growth would be 0.6% in both the EU and the European area.…
First Sentier Investors has received all regulatory approvals to form a strategic partnership with boutique European alternative credit manager AlbaCore Capital Group, the asset manager announced. Mark Steinberg, CEO of First Sentier Investors, said that the completion of the group’s majority investment into a strategic partnership with AlbaCore would diversify the range of investment capabilities…
Energy investment within Europe is set to decline, according to an ING report, as European utilities grow more selective In European Utilities Outlook: More Investment but More Selective in 2024, ING’s head of corporates sector strategy Nadège Tillier noted that investment grew by 10% a year between 2018 and 2022. Despite this, she contended 2024…
Asset manager Robeco has appointed Ana Claver to the role of head of Europe wholesale and Nick King to head up its new ETF platform. Claver (pictured) will oversee the wholesale teams, the firm said, as well as develop and execute strategic plans for the wholesale division in Europe, aligning with Robeco’s overall objectives. Madrid-based…
Green bonds are propelling the worldwide ESG debt market, according to analysis by Bloomberg Intelligence, writes Laura Miller. The resilience of the green bond market in the first nine months of the year saw issuance exceed $505bn – or 48% of total sustainable issuance – up 8% on the same period last year. Social bond…
France has been identified as the second-largest start-up “ecosystem” on the continent. The claim was made in an article on the site Maddyness, which also posited that Paris was set to become a ‘boomtown’ for investment in artificial intelligence (AI). Hugo Borensztein, co-founder and CEO of AI platform Omi, who was interviewed for the piece,…
MEPs have voted to adopt a new voluntary standard over the use of the ‘European Green Bond’ label. According to the European Parliament, the regulation – adopted by 418 votes in favour, with 79 against and 72 abstentions – lays down uniform standards for issuers who wish to use the designation ‘European green bond’ or…
Financial institutions are increasingly embracing a ‘digital revolution’, according to analysis by global fintech group Broadridge. The report, Digital Transformation Enters a New Phase – Here’s What Comes Next, found more than half of participants saying digital transformation was the most-important strategic initiative for their company, with almost three-quarters (71%) suggesting AI had changed how…
