Royal Dutch Shell unveiled plans on Monday to shift its headquarters from the Netherlands to the UK, a move that will result in it ditching its current dual structure.
The company also wants to drop “Royal Dutch” from its name – a part of its branding since 1907 – relocate its tax residence to the UK and move its top executives from The Hague to London.
The British-Dutch energy company said the decision to walk away from the Netherlands would make it nimbler as it moves away from oil and gas and towards renewable sources of power.
Shell chairman Sir Andrew Mackenzie said a “a simpler structure” will allow the company to speed up the delivery of its new strategy.
“At a time of unprecedented change for the industry, it is even more important that we have an increased ability to accelerate the transition to a lower-carbon global energy system,” said Mr Mackenzie.
The Netherlands immediately said it was “unpleasantly surprised” by the news.
“Shell informed the Cabinet about this intention yesterday,” the country's Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, Stef Blok, said.
“The government deeply regrets that Shell wants to move its head office to the UK.”
Shell’s decision to adopt a simplified structure has been on the agenda for a number of years.
However, the company’s relations in the Netherlands, its country of origin, have become increasingly fraught of late.
Dutch pension fund ABP said last month it would drop the oil company – and all fossil fuels – from its portfolio without warning, while a court in The Hague ruled in May that the company must slash its emissions harder and faster than planned.
“Shell will be better positioned to seize opportunities and play a leading role in the energy transition.”
The company has been incorporated in the UK with tax residence in the Netherlands and a dual share structure since the 2005 unification of Koninklijke Nederlandsche Petroleum Maatschappij and Shell Transport & Trading Company.
It was not envisaged at the time that the particular share structure would be permanent, the company said.
The company now expects to become Shell Plc, subject to shareholder approval, while chief executive Ben van Beurden and chief financial officer Jessica Uhl will relocate to the UK, where all executive and board member meetings will now take place.
Shell will retain its listings in London, Amsterdam and New York. Shareholders will be given the opportunity to vote on the changes by December 10, with the shake-up taking effect next year if approved.
Although the Netherlands is famously business-friendly, Prime Minister Mark Rutte has had to act on growing sentiment that companies do not give back enough.
The Anglo-Dutch company has been in a long-running tussle with the Dutch authorities over the country's 15 per cent dividend withholding tax, which Shell sought to avoid paying with its two share classes. Its new structure would resolve that issue.
As is the case with its European peers, Shell has embarked on a multidecade strategy to rein in its emissions, in part by selling more low-carbon fuels.
But its approach to the energy transition is struggling to gain traction. Before its earnings report last month, activist investor Dan Loeb revealed his fund Third Point had taken a $750 million stake in Shell and was pushing to break up the company.
Third Point’s position came to light a few days after long-time Shell ally ABP said it would divest €15 billion ($17.2bn) of fossil-fuel assets by early 2023, including its holdings in the energy company.
The pressure comes on top of legal challenges, with Shell appealing a Dutch court verdict from May, which said the company must cut its emissions 45 per cent by 2030.
“The simplification will have no impact on legal proceedings related to the Dutch court ruling,” Mr Mackenzie said.
The company has already expanded its carbon-reduction targets.
Pari
Produced by: Clean Slate Films (Anushka Sharma, Karnesh Sharma) & KriArj Entertainment
Director: Prosit Roy
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Rajat Kapoor, Mansi Multani
Three stars
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Jonathan Miller, Scribe Publications
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
At a glance
Fixtures All matches start at 9.30am, at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free
Thursday UAE v Ireland; Saturday UAE v Ireland; Jan 21 UAE v Scotland; Jan 23 UAE v Scotland
UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (c), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan
ABU DHABI CARD
5pm: UAE Martyrs Cup (TB) Conditions; Dh90,000; 2,200m
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap; Dh70,000; 1,400m
6pm: UAE Matyrs Trophy (PA) Maiden; Dh80,000; 1,600m
6.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Apprentice Championship (PA) Prestige; Dh100,000; 1,600m
7pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Ladies World Championship (PA) Prestige; Dh125,000; 1,600m
8pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown (PA) Group 1; Dh5,000,000; 1,600m
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Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
If you go
The flights
Emirates (www.emirates.com) and Etihad (www.etihad.com) both fly direct to Bengaluru, with return fares from Dh 1240. From Bengaluru airport, Coorg is a five-hour drive by car.
The hotels
The Tamara (www.thetamara.com) is located inside a working coffee plantation and offers individual villas with sprawling views of the hills (tariff from Dh1,300, including taxes and breakfast).
When to go
Coorg is an all-year destination, with the peak season for travel extending from the cooler months between October and March.
The Scale for Clinical Actionability of Molecular Targets
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE Falcons
Carly Lewis (captain), Emily Fensome, Kelly Loy, Isabel Affley, Jessica Cronin, Jemma Eley, Jenna Guy, Kate Lewis, Megan Polley, Charlie Preston, Becki Quigley and Sophie Siffre. Deb Jones and Lucia Sdao – coach and assistant coach.
