Bruno Le Maire News

The U.S. on Thursday imposed the first sanctions on owners of tankers carrying Russian oil above the G7 price cap of $60 a barrel, one based in Turkey and one in the United Arab Emirates, in an effort to close loopholes on the mechanism designed to punish Moscow for the war in Ukraine.The U.S., other G7 countries and Australia imposed the cap last year, seeking to reduce Russia's revenues from seaborne oil exports as part of sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine.The cap bans Western companies from providing maritime services, including insurance, finance and shipping, for Russian seaborne oil exports sold above $60 a barrel, while seeking to keep oil flowing to markets. Caps also were imposed on Russian fuel exports.U.S.

French customs have seized a yacht belonging to Rosneft boss Igor Sechin as it tried to leave the Mediterranean port of La Ciotat in a breach of EU sanctions on Russian oligarchs, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said.The move came as western states are implementing massive sanctions, including asset freezes, against Russia for invading its neighbor Ukraine. A separate nearly $600 million luxury yacht owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov has also been seized, by German authorities, Forbes reported. The 88-meter "Amore Vero" arrived in La Ciotat on Jan.3 and was due to stay there until April 1st for repairs, the finance ministry said in a statement…

France has offered Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri's a one-month extension to its planned acquisition of French rival Chantiers de l'Atlantique, the finance ministry said in a statement sent to Reuters on Wednesday.State-controlled Fincantieri has accepted the proposal, a spokesman said.The agreement between France and Fincantieri was due to expire on Thursday, after repeated deadline extensions following competition concerns over the merger of two global leaders and the deal…

France wants the European Union to work on creating a tax on airplane and ship fuels as part of a push to rein in carbon emissions, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday.Le Maire said the tax would complement plans supported by France and Germany for a carbon border tax that would shield European companies from competition from countries with lower emissions standards."It's incomprehensible that carbon emissions targets were set for cars and not for airplanes and ships.

Ahead of the G7 meeting at Biarritz from August 24-26, French President Emmanuel Macron, accompanied by Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Labour Muriel Pénicaud, and Deputy Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition Brune Poirson, this afternoon has invited to the Elysée Palace representatives of the shipping industry including global leader CMA CGM.On this occasion, Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, will…

French floating foundations developer Ideol and Japanese renewable specialist Shizen Energy have signed an agreement to jointly develop a commercial-scale floating offshore wind project (OWF) off the coasts of Kyushu in Japan.The agreement was signed in Tokyo today by Paul de la Guérivière, CEO of Ideol, and Masaya Hasegawa, Representative Director of Shizen Energy, during the state visit of Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic. Bruno Le Maire, French Minister of Economy, attended the signing ceremony.The wind farm will use Ideol's damping pool technology by, and Shizen will offer its local project development experience.While the companies are currently examining the implementation of floating offshore wind power projects in Kyushu…

The merger of Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri with STX France will go ahead as planned, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Friday, speaking after a period of tension between the Italian and French governments."The STX-Fincantieri deal will happen because we want it, because it is our ambition and because it is in our interest to create a shipyard giant, notably in Asia," Le Maire said, speaking at a Franco-Italian business summit in Versailles also attended by his Italian counterpart, Giovanni Tria."I believe in this merger, I believe in a tie-up between France and Italy in naval matters

French engineering company GTT said it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Korean thermal insulation specialist Dongsung Finetec to commercialize GTT's LNG Brick technology for liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel applications.LNG Brick will eventually be built by Dongsung Finetec and will be outfitted on a large range of commercial vessels such as container vessels, bulk carriers and pure car and truck carriers (PCTC).With the entry into force of the International Maritime Organization's global sulphur cap regulations in January 2020, limiting sulphur emissions to 0.5 percent throughout the whole world seas, and considering the economics of LNG…

France's BIO-UV Group has successfully installed and commissioned its Bio-Sea ballast water treatment system (BWTS) in CMA CGM's new flagship, the 400 m long, 20,600 TEU CMA CGM Antoine De Saint Exupéry.The vessel, one of the largest containerships to be built by Hanjin Heavy Industries' yard in the Philippines, and the largest to fly the French flag, was christened in Le Havre earlier this month by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, and the Minister in charge of Transport, Elisabeth Borne.BIO-UV Group will also supply BIO-Sea Units to nine 22,000TEU CMA CGM vessels under construction in China, following the signing of a supply order earlier this year.Benoit Gillmann…

The French government continues to support Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri's takeover of STX France, finance minister Bruno Le Maire said on Wednesday, but cautioned against hastening a related defense naval merger.Speaking in Rome after a meeting with the Italian government, he told journalists France had not changed its position on the deal, quelling concerns the takeover could be hampered by tenser relations between Paris and Italy's new anti-establishment government.However, he warned against hastening a merger between Fincantieri and French military shipyards operator Naval Group which ha

The United States on Thursday said it will impose tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union, reigniting investor fears of a global trade war as Washington's allies took steps to retaliate against U.S. goods.The move, announced by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in a telephone briefing on Thursday, ended months of uncertainty about potential tariff exemptions and suggested a hardening of the Trump administration's approach to trade negotiations.It also sent a chill through financial markets…

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri will take effective control of STX France under shared ownership, an Italian government source said on Wednesday, ending a dispute that has soured bilateral relations. France had angered Italy by ordering a "temporary" nationalization of STX, cancelling a deal in which Fincantieri and another Italian investor had agreed to buy 55 percent. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said earlier on Wednesday he now hoped to be able to form a European-scale naval defence firm, on a par with the rail engineering leader created on Tuesday in a tie-up between another French firm - Alstom - and Germany's Siemens.

The French and Italian governments have agreed on a shared ownership deal of the STX France shipyards, but with a clause giving France the right to take control if needed, Le Monde newspaper reported. Le Monde reported, citing an adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, that Italian company Fincantieri could get 51 percent ownership, including a 1 percentage point stake lent to it by France, which France could take back. Italian state-owned shipbuilder Fincantieri declined to comment. Fincantieri had agreed in May to pay 79.5 million euros ($93.43 million) for a majority stake in STX France, which is being sold following the collapse of South Korean parent STX.

France hopes for agreement over the future of the STX France shipyards at a Franco-Italian summit on Sept. 27, but a separate deal on warship co-operation would take longer to negotiate, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday. "I would like us to have an agreement between the French and Italian governments on STX for the summit on September 27," Le Maire told reporters after a meeting with suppliers in the aerospace sector. France clashed with Italy in July after ordering a "temporary" nationalisation of STX…

France will make new proposals to Italy with the hope of resolving their differences over the sale and joint control of STX shipyards before a Franco-Italian summit in September, Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Monday. Paris angered Rome last month after it ordered a "temporary" nationalisation of STX, cancelling a deal in which Italy's state-owned Fincantieri and another Italian investor had agreed to buy a 54.6 percent stake. France took the decision after Fincantieri…

France: Italy's Fincantieri best option. France wants a private investor for the STX France shipyards and Fincantieri is the best option but the government will be forced to consider other alternatives should negotiations with the Italian shipbuilder fail, the French Finance Minister said on Tuesday in an Italian paper. "The (STX) Saint Nazaire shipyards must not be directed by the French State. We want a private shareholder and Fincantieri today is the best industrial group to join this big European and Franco-Italian project," Bruno Le Maire told daily il Corriere della Sera in an interview. Le Maire, who will reopen talks with Italy on Tuesday…

France will temporarily nationalise the STX France shipyard to prevent an Italian firm taking majority control, the economy minister said on Thursday, marking President Emmanuel Macron's first big industrial policy decision. As France's most avowedly pro-business leader in decades, few would have predicted the former investment banker's first big move in the corporate sector would be a nationalisation. However, his action fits with the interventionist style of other postwar French leaders. It also crosses into the defence sector, where many national governments prefer to wield influence over ownership. The Italian state-owned shipbuilder Fincantieri rejected a French offer this week of 50-50 ownership of the shipyard…

French govt has made 50/50 ownership offer to Italy; Minister says offer on the table until Thursday. The French state said on Wednesday it would nationalise the STX France shipyard if Italy does not accept its offer to split STX's capital equally, putting down a marker on the limits of economic liberalism under new President Emmanuel Macron. The threat raises the stakes in a standoff with Rome over the shipyard's fate, the only one in France with facilities large enough to build aircraft carriers. Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said nationalisation would give the state more time to find a better shareholder deal, but even if temporary, it would mark the first major state intervention in the corporate world by Macron's government which was elected on a pro-business platform.

Ship owner MSC Cruises and shipbuilder STX France signed a new memorandum of understanding firming up the order of two 200,000 GRT, LNG-powered mega cruise ships, with options for two additional vessels. The four ships will become MSC Cruises’ World Class. The signing took place at the MSC Meraviglia delivery ceremony in the presence of Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, and Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy. In connection with the signing, MSC Cruises and STX France today also unveiled several key features of the World Class.

Italy and France have agreed to seek a rapid solution in discussions over selling a large stake in the STX France shipyard to Fincantieri, Italy's economy ministry said on Monday. Italian Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan and Industry Minister Carlo Calenda discussed the planned sale with French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire in Rome. "Taking into consideration the openness of both countries to foreign direct investment, talks will continue to find a shared solution rapidly," the ministry said in a statement.