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84-453: Électricité de France SA ( French pronunciation: [elɛktʁisite də fʁɑ̃s] ; lit.   ' Electricity of France ' ), commonly known as EDF , is a French multinational electric utility company owned by the government of France . Headquartered in Paris , with €139.7 billion in sales in 2023, EDF operates a diverse portfolio of at least 120 gigawatts of generation capacity in Europe, South America, North America, Asia,

168-432: A holding company to obscure the beneficiary. S.A. can be an abbreviation of: "SA" is part of the name of lots of corporations named after an acronym : some examples are Cepsa , originally Compañía Española de Petróleos, Sociedad Anónima , "Spanish petroleum company, S.A." ; Sabena , originally Societé anonyme belge d'Exploitation de la Navigation aérienne , "Belgian S.A. of exploitation of air navigation". It

252-766: A basis in a national ethos , being ultimate without a specific nationhood, and that this lack of an ethos appears in their ways of operating as they enter into contracts with countries that have low human rights or environmental standards . In the world economy facilitated by multinational corporations, capital will increasingly be able to play workers, communities, and nations off against one another as they demand tax, regulation and wage concessions while threatening to move. In other words, increased mobility of multinational corporations benefits capital while workers and communities lose. Some negative outcomes generated by multinational corporations include increased inequality , unemployment , and wage stagnation . Raymond Vernon presents

336-473: A continuing shortfall in 2023. To meet demand, EDF had to buy electricity on the European market at high prices, costing an estimated € 29 billion to June 2023. In late May 2022, when 12 nuclear reactors were offline, EDF increased the estimated earnings reductions for the inspections and repairs to €18.5 billion. EDF had to sell a further 20 TWh of power to other domestic suppliers at a reduced price due to

420-508: A corporation invests in a country in which it is not domiciled, it is called foreign direct investment (FDI). Countries may place restrictions on direct investment; for example, China has historically required partnerships with local firms or special approval for certain types of investments by foreigners, although some of these restrictions were eased in 2019. Similarly, the United States Committee on Foreign Investment in

504-429: A free market system where there is little government interference. As a result, international wealth is maximized with free exchange of goods and services. To many economic liberals, multinational corporations are the vanguard of the liberal order. They are the embodiment par excellence of the liberal ideal of an interdependent world economy. They have taken the integration of national economies beyond trade and money to

588-490: A million troops to help, and by February 1991, Iraqi forces were expelled from Kuwait. Due to the oil boycott from Kuwait and Iran, oil prices rose and quickly recovered. Saudi Arabia once again led OPEC, and thanks to assistance in defending Kuwait, new relations emerged between the USA and OPEC. Operation "Desert Storm" brought mutual dependence among the main oil producers. OPEC continued to influence global oil prices but recognized

672-476: A monopoly in electricity generation, although some small local distributors were retained by the nationalisation. This monopoly ended in 1999, when EDF was forced by a European Directive to open up 20% of its business to competitors. Until 19 November 2004, EDF was a state-owned corporation, but became a limited-liability corporation under private law ( société anonyme ), after its status was changed by statute. The French government partially floated shares of

756-528: A month an action plan for the project, calling it a "failure for the entire French nuclear industry". In April 2020 EDF estimated the economic slowdown due to the coronavirus pandemic could potentially reduce electricity consumption in France by 20%. EDF estimated annual nuclear output in France would be about 300 TWh in 2020 and 330-360 TWh in 2021 and 2022, down from a pre-coronavirus estimate of 375-390 TWh. Some nuclear reactors will likely be taken offline in

840-604: A unique focus on civil nuclear energy, through reconstruction and further industrialization within the Trente Glorieuses , being a flagship of France's new industrial landscape. In 2004, following integration into the European Common Market , EDF was privatized, although the government of France retained 84% equity. In 2017 EDF took over the majority of the reactor business Areva , in a French government-sponsored restructuring. That same year, following

924-402: A wish to divest from nuclear energy , the possible closure of 17 of EDF's French nuclear power reactors by 2025 was announced. By 2022, this decision had been reversed, with the administration of president Emmanuel Macron announcing plans for a "nuclear renaissance", beginning with the projected construction of 6 EPR model 2 reactors with an option for 8 further reactors. Meanwhile, construction

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1008-420: A €4bn rights issue of new shares to increase capital availability, at a 34.5% discount. The French government committed to purchasing €3bn of the rights issue. Shares prices fell to an all-time low due to the heavy discount on new shares. EDF's net debt at the end of 2018 was €33 billion, but with future obligations such as pension liabilities and costs for managing nuclear waste allowed for, the adjusted net debt

1092-436: Is aiming for a full nationalization of" EDF. Borne "vowed" to limit the impact of the rise in energy prices through the state having "full control over...electricity production and performance.” Borne told parliament, "we must ensure our sovereignty in the face of...the colossal challenges to come." Earlier in 2022, President Emmanuel Macron had "suggested" a renationalization of EDF as well as a "big expansion of nuclear energy in

1176-504: Is committed to spending €49.4 billion by 2025 for life extension of its French nuclear reactor fleet, which as of 2019 has an average age of 33 years, to 50 years. In December 2021, EDF had about €43 billion of debt, which investment analysts Morningstar expected to exceed €60bn by the end of 2022. EDF's credit rating was downgraded in February 2022. In February 2024, EDF took a €12.9 billion impairment charge on cost overruns building

1260-410: Is often handled through international arbitration . The actions of multinational corporations are strongly supported by economic liberalism and free market system in a globalized international society. According to the economic realist view, individuals act in rational ways to maximize their self-interest and therefore, when individuals act rationally, markets are created and they function best in

1344-463: Is ongoing on EPR model 1 reactors in France and Britain. Following privatization, decades of under-investment, and the 2021–2022 global energy crisis , the French government announced the full renationalisation of the company for an estimated cost of €5 billion, which it completed on 8 June 2023. EDF specialises in electricity, from engineering to distribution. The company's operations include

1428-865: Is usually a large corporation incorporated in one country that produces or sells goods or services in various countries. Two common characteristics shared by MNCs are their large size and centrally controlled worldwide activities. MNCs may gain from their global presence in a variety of ways. First of all, MNCs can benefit from the economy of scale by spreading R&D expenditures and advertising costs over their global sales, pooling global purchasing power over suppliers, and utilizing their technological and managerial experience globally with minimal additional costs. Furthermore, MNCs can use their global presence to take advantage of underpriced labor services available in certain developing countries and gain access to special R&D capabilities residing in advanced foreign countries. The problem of moral and legal constraints upon

1512-546: The 8th arrondissement of Paris . The EDF head office is shared between several EDF sites in Greater Paris . EDF was founded on 8 April 1946, as a result of the nationalisation of around 1,700 smaller energy producers, transporters and distributors by the Minister of Industrial Production Marcel Paul . Mostly a state-owned EPIC , it became the main electricity generation and distribution company in France, enjoying

1596-848: The Dutch East India Company (VOC) founded in 1602. In addition to carrying on trade between Great Britain and its colonies, the British East India Company became a quasi-government in its own right, with local government officials and its own army in India. Other examples include the Swedish Africa Company founded in 1649 and the Hudson's Bay Company founded in 1670. These early corporations engaged in international trade and exploration and set up trading posts. The Dutch government took over

1680-659: The EU taxonomy for sustainable activities which allows for private-public financing. EDF has developed recharging points for the Toyota Plug-in HV in France The French government has contributed $ 550 million to a partnership by Électricité de France with Renault-Nissan and with PSA Peugeot Citroen . In 2018 EDF had plans to invest up to €25 billion in photovoltaics solar power generation, and introduce green electricity tariffs. As of 2017, EDF still held

1764-644: The No Dash for Gas campaign that occupied the EDF-owned West Burton CCGT power station in October 2012. It is unusual in the UK for companies to seek damages from protesters. On 13 March 2013, EDF dropped their lawsuit against the protesters, after agreeing a permanent injunction against protesters entering EDF sites. In 2017 EDF took over the majority of the reactor business of Areva , excluding

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1848-670: The 19th century, such as the Rio Tinto company founded in 1873, which started with the purchase of sulfur and copper mines from the Spanish government. Rio Tinto, now based in London and Melbourne , Australia, has made many acquisitions and expanded globally to mine aluminum , iron ore , copper , uranium , and diamonds . European mines in South Africa began opening in the late 19th century, producing gold and other minerals for

1932-551: The English language. Senior officials, although mostly still Swedish, all learned English and all major internal documents were in English, the lingua franca of multinational corporations. After the war, the number of businesses having at least one foreign country operation rose drastically from a few thousand to 78,411 in 2007. Meanwhile, 74% of parent companies are located in economically advanced countries. Developing and former communist countries such as China, India, and Brazil are

2016-519: The French electrical and gas organization, had however acknowledged the right of villages to keep their role in the public distribution of electricity and gas. In 1946, certain firms, villages or groups of villages, did not accept the proposal of nationalisation and created autonomous state controls (who held the monopoly of distribution, until 2004, in their area). To note, contrary to the initial idea, local controllers of electricity, have had, since 1946,

2100-795: The Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. France is the world's largest user of nuclear power for electricity (78% of French production in 2007). In May 2004, the French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy reasserted, in front of the French Parliament, the primacy of nuclear power, much to the relief of labour unions of EDF. In this speech, the minister re-phrased the famous slogan, "We do not have oil, but we have ideas", by declaring: "We do not have oil, we do not have gas, we do not have coal, but we had ideas". Depleted uranium from reprocessing

2184-575: The International Energy Agency (IEA), enabling states to coordinate policy, gather data, and monitor global oil reserves. In the 1970s, OPEC gradually nationalized the Seven Sisters. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as the only largest world oil producer, could leverage this. However, Saudi Arabia opted for the correct approach and maintained consistent oil prices throughout the 1970s. In 1979, the "second oil shock" came from

2268-520: The Middle East, and Africa. In 2009, EDF was the world's largest producer of electricity. Its 56 active nuclear reactors in France are spread out over 18 sites (18 nuclear power plants ). They comprise 32 reactors of 900 MW e , 20 reactors of 1,300 MW e , and 4 reactors of 1,450 MW e , all PWRs . EDF was created on 8 April 1946 by the 1945 parliament, from the merging of various divided actors. EDF led France's post-war energy growth, with

2352-574: The Netherlands has become a popular choice, as its company laws have fewer requirements for meetings, compensation, and audit committees, and Great Britain had advantages due to laws on withholding dividends and a double-taxation treaty with the United States. Corporations can legally engage in tax avoidance through their choice of jurisdiction but must be careful to avoid illegal tax evasion . Corporations that are broadly active across

2436-558: The OLI framework. The other theoretical dimension of the role of multinational corporations concerns the relationship between the globalization of economic engagement and the culture of national and local responses. This has a history of self-conscious cultural management going back at least to the 60s. For example: Ernest Dichter, architect, of Exxon's international campaign, writing in the Harvard Business Review in 1963,

2520-464: The Third World colonies. That changed dramatically after 1945 as investors turned to industrialized countries and invested in manufacturing (especially high-tech electronics, chemicals, drugs, and vehicles) as well as trade. Sweden's leading manufacturing concern was SKF , a leading maker of bearings for machinery. In order to expand its international business, it decided in 1966 it needed to use

2604-636: The U.S. applies its corporate taxation "extraterritorially", which has motivated tax inversions to change the home state. By 2019, most OECD nations, with the notable exception of the U.S., had moved to territorial tax in which only revenue inside the border was taxed; however, these nations typically scrutinize foreign income with controlled foreign corporation (CFC) rules to avoid base erosion and profit shifting . In practice, even under an extraterritorial system, taxes may be deferred until remittance, with possible repatriation tax holidays , and subject to foreign tax credits . Countries generally cannot tax

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2688-541: The United States sanctions against Iran ; European companies faced with the possibility of losing access to the U.S. market by trading with Iran. International investment agreements also facilitate direct investment between two countries, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and most favored nation status. Raymond Vernon reported in 1977 that of the largest multinationals focused on manufacturing, 250 were headquartered in

2772-506: The United States scrutinizes foreign investments. In addition, corporations may be prohibited from various business transactions by international sanctions or domestic laws. For example, Chinese domestic corporations or citizens have limitations on their ability to make foreign investments outside China, in part to reduce capital outflow . Countries can impose extraterritorial sanctions on foreign corporations even for doing business with other foreign corporations, which occurred in 2019 with

2856-614: The United States as the largest consumer and guarantor of the existing oil security order. Since the Iraq War, OPEC has had only a minor influence on oil prices, but it has expanded to 11 members, accounting for about 40 percent of total global oil production, although this is a decline from nearly 50 percent in 1974. Oil has practically become a common commodity, leading to much more volatile prices. Most OPEC members are wealthy, and most remain dependent on oil revenues, which has serious consequences, such as when OPEC members were pressured by

2940-461: The United States from 2010. The USA became the leading oil producer, creating tension with OPEC. In 2014, Saudi Arabia increased production to push new American producers out of the market, leading to lower prices. OPEC then reduced production in 2016 to raise prices, further worsening relations with the United States. By 2012, only 7% of the world's known oil reserves were in countries that allowed private international companies free rein; 65% were in

3024-629: The United States, 115 in Western Europe, 70 in Japan, and 20 in the rest of the world. The multinationals in banking numbered 20 headquartered in the United States, 13 in Europe, nine in Japan and three in Canada. Today multinationals can select from a variety of jurisdictions for various subsidiaries, but the ultimate parent company can select a single legal domicile ; The Economist suggests that

3108-710: The VOC in 1799, and during the 19th century, other governments increasingly took over private companies, most notably in British India. During the process of decolonization , the European colonial charter companies were disbanded, with the final colonial corporation, the Mozambique Company , dissolving in 1972. Mining of gold, silver, copper, and oil was a major activity early on and remains so today. International mining companies became prominent in Britain in

3192-507: The West to the post-colonial South and invest either in foreign expenditures or ostentatious economic development projects. After 1974, most of the money from OPEC members ceased as payments for goods and services or investments in Western industry. In February 1974, the first Washington Energy Conference was convened. The most significant contribution of this conference was the establishment of

3276-695: The attack were thought to relate to the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan. Unlike Switzerland and Germany, which plan to close down all nuclear reactors at the end of their lifespan, the government of France had no such plans to move away from nuclear power and three months after the Fukushima meltdown, stated a budget increase for nuclear power. The downtime of the EDF website cost the company an estimated €162,000. In February 2013 EDF Energy sought an estimated £5 million in damages from environmental activists from

3360-469: The behavior of multinational corporations, given that they are effectively "stateless" actors, is one of several urgent global socioeconomic problems that has emerged during the late twentieth century. Potentially, the best concept for analyzing society's governance limitations over modern corporations is the concept of "stateless corporations". Coined at least as early as 1991 in Business Week ,

3444-587: The business of 85.5% of France's residential customers, though on a slow downward trend. Apart from foreign producers and distributors, there are some significant competitors of EDF in France, although their market share is weaker in comparison: Among the other rivals of EDF, one can count a number of municipally governed companies, known under the generic term 'entreprises locales de distribution' ('local businesses of distribution'), who are electricity producers exploiting EDF's network. The nationalisation of electricity and gas on 8 April 1946, which profoundly changed

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3528-498: The certificate. Since share certificates could be transferred privately, corporate management would not necessarily know who owned its shares – nor did anyone but the holders. As with bearer bonds , anonymous unregistered share ownership and dividend collection enabled money laundering , tax evasion , and concealed business transactions in general, so governments passed laws to audit the practice. Nowadays, shareholders of S.A.s are not anonymous, though shares can still be held by

3612-510: The choice to continue to produce electricity. In fact, their production was rather marginal, except in Rhône-Alpes; having often preferred buying the majority of the electrical power from EDF. With the recent opening of the electricity market, local controllers are considering developing, augmenting and diversifying their own production, (e.g. Ouest Énergie, the subsidiary company of SIEDS) and/or diversifying their sources of supply. To date,

3696-742: The collapse of the Shah's regime in Iran. Iran became a regional power due to oil money and American weapons. The Shah eventually abdicated and fled the country. This prompted a strike by thousands of Iranian oil workers, significantly reducing oil production in Iran. Saudi Arabia tried to cope with the crisis by increasing production, but oil prices still soared, leading to the "second oil shock." Saudi Arabia significantly reduced oil production, losing most of its revenues. In 1986, Riyadh changed course, and oil production in Saudi Arabia sharply increased, flooding

3780-549: The coming decades" however, in 2021, he had to scrap an "overhaul" of EDF, codenamed "Project Hercules," that would have placed EDF's profitable renewables sector in a new company, due to opposition by unions and objections raised by the European Commission . In March 2023, EDF created the Nuward subsidiary to design and manufacture a small modular reactor , for construction from 2030. In July 2024, EDF announced it

3864-654: The companies. This occurred in 1960. Prior to the 1973 oil crisis , the Seven Sisters controlled around 85 percent of the world's petroleum reserves . In the 1970s, most countries with large reserves nationalized their reserves that had been owned by major oil companies. Since then, industry dominance has shifted to the OPEC cartel and state-owned oil and gas companies, such as Saudi Aramco , Gazprom (Russia), China National Petroleum Corporation , National Iranian Oil Company , PDVSA (Venezuela), Petrobras (Brazil), and Petronas (Malaysia). A unilateral increase in oil prices

3948-543: The company on the Paris Stock Exchange in November 2005, although it retained almost 85% ownership as of the end of 2008. On 22 November 2016, French competition regulators raided EDF offices, looking for evidence that EDF was abusing its dominant position to manipulate electricity prices and squeeze rivals. Between 2001 and 2003, EDF was forced to reduce its equity capital by €6.4 billion total because of

4032-463: The company sold its 1.6% stake in U.S. utility Exelon for $ 470 million. In March 2016 EDF's Chief Financial Officer, Thomas Piquemal, who had argued that the final investment decision on building Hinkley Point C nuclear power station should be delayed for three years, resigned. With EDF's market value halved over the preceding year, the cost of the Hinkley Point C project now exceeded the entire market capitalisation of EDF. In March 2017 EDF offered

4116-510: The conception was theoretically clarified in 1993: that an empirical strategy for defining a stateless corporation is with analytical tools at the intersection between demographic analysis and transportation research. This intersection is known as logistics management , and it describes the importance of rapidly increasing global mobility of resources. In a long history of analysis of multinational corporations, we are some quarter-century into an era of stateless corporations—corporations that meet

4200-643: The creation of a "world customer". The idea of a global corporate village entailed the management and reconstitution of parochial attachments to one's nation. It involved not a denial of the naturalness of national attachments, but an internationalization of the way a nation defines itself. "Multinational enterprise" (MNE) is the term used by international economist and similarly defined with the multinational corporation (MNC) as an enterprise that controls and manages production establishments, known as plants located in at least two countries. The multinational enterprise (MNE) will engage in foreign direct investment (FDI) as

4284-487: The current largest and most influential companies are publicly traded multinational corporations, including Forbes Global 2000 companies. The history of multinational corporations began with the history of colonialism . The first multi-national corporations were founded to set up colonial "factories" or port cities. The two main examples were the British East India Company founded in 1600 and

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4368-636: The debate from a neo-liberal perspective in Storm over the Multinationals (1977). Soci%C3%A9t%C3%A9 anonyme The abbreviation S.A. or SA designates a type of limited company in certain countries, most of which have a Romance language as their official language and operates a derivative of the 1804, Napoleonic, civil law . Originally, shareholders could be anonymous and collect dividends by surrendering coupons attached to their share certificates . Dividends were paid to whomever held

4452-401: The design of a "New Model" EPR was being worked on, which will be easier to build, to be ready for orders from about 2020. In 2016 EDF's chief executive Jean-Bernard Lévy stated that EDF's 2030 strategy increased the emphasis on renewable energy, with a 2030 goal of doubling renewable energy capacity worldwide. He stated "I am convinced that we will still have a centralised and secure system in

4536-481: The firm makes direct investments in host country plants for equity ownership and managerial control to avoid some transaction costs . Sanjaya Lall in 1974 proposed a spectrum of scholarly analysis of multinational corporations, from the political right to the left. He put the business school how-to-do-it writers at the extreme right, followed by the liberal laissez-faire economists, and the neoliberals (they remain right of center but do allow for occasional mistakes of

4620-410: The following: electricity generation and distribution; power plant design, construction and dismantling; energy trading; and transport. It is active in such power generation technologies as nuclear power , hydropower , wind power , solar energy , biomass , geothermal energy and fossil-fired energy. In November 2022, EDF agreed the acquisition of GE Steam Power 's nuclear activities, which include

4704-484: The fuel business, in a French government sponsored restructuring following financial and technical problems at Areva due to the building of new EPR nuclear plants. The reactor business has been named Framatome . In October 2019 French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire released an audit report on the construction of the heavily delayed and nearly four times over-budget Flamanville 3 EPR development, started by Areva in 2007. The Finance Minister demanded EDF present within

4788-427: The future but it will be supplemented by a more intermittent and local decentralised system, in which customers will take charge of their consumption. In readiness for this, we must press on with research into electricity storage and smart electricity systems". In 2011, a French court fined EDF €1.5m and jailed two senior employees for spying on Greenpeace, including hacking into Greenpeace's computer systems. Greenpeace

4872-441: The government response to the 2021 global energy crisis . In January 2022, EDF calculated that the increase in reduced price wholesale supply would cost it €8.4 billion (£7 billion), and it withdrew its profit guidance. The EDF share price fell considerably. EDF's debt is about €41 billion, and Fitch Ratings lowered EDF's credit rating. On 6 July 2022, French prime minister Élisabeth Borne announced that "the French government

4956-416: The hands of state-owned companies that operated in one country and sold oil to multinationals such as BP, Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron. Down through the 1930s, about 80% of the international investments by multinational corporations were concentrated in the primary sector, especially mining (especially oil) and agriculture (rubber, tobacco, sugar, palm oil , coffee, cocoa, and tropical fruits). Most went to

5040-521: The international oil market. Iran was unable to sell any of its oil. In August 1953, the then-prime minister was overthrown by a pro-American dictatorship led by the Shah, and in October 1954, the Iranian industry was denationalized. Worldwide oil consumption increased rapidly between 1949 and 1970, a period known as the 'golden age of oil'. This increase in consumption was caused not only by the growth of production by multinational oil companies but also by

5124-415: The internationalization of production. For the first time in history, production, marketing, and investment are being organized on a global scale rather than in terms of isolated national economies. International business is also a specialist field of academic research. Economic theories of the multinational corporation include internalization theory and the eclectic paradigm . The latter is also known as

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5208-460: The largest recipients. However, 70% of foreign direct investment went into developed countries in the form of stocks and cash flows. The rise in the number of multinational companies could be due to a stable political environment that encourages cooperation, advances in technology that enable management of faraway regions, and favorable organizational development that encourages business expansion into other countries. A multinational corporation (MNC)

5292-474: The laws and regulations of both their domicile and the additional jurisdictions where they are engaged in business. In some cases, the jurisdiction can help to avoid burdensome laws, but regulatory statutes often target the "enterprise" with statutory language around "control". As of 1992 , the United States and most OECD countries have the donot legal authority to tax a domiciled parent corporation on its worldwide revenue, including subsidiaries. As of 2019 ,

5376-419: The manufacture of non-nuclear equipment for new nuclear power plants including steam turbines and the maintenance and upgrade of existing nuclear power plants outside America. The acquisition was completed on 31 May 2024, and GE Power 's nuclear business is now known as Arabelle Solutions . The electricity network in France is composed of the following: The EDF head office is located along Avenue de Wagram in

5460-434: The market with cheap oil. This caused a worldwide drop in oil prices, hence the "third oil shock" or "counter-shock." However, this shock represented something much bigger—the end of OPEC's dominance and its control over oil prices. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein decided to attack Kuwait. The invasion sparked a crisis in the Middle East, prompting Saudi Arabia to request assistance from the United States. The United States sent

5544-543: The marketplace such as externalities). Moving to the left side of the line are nationalists, who prioritize national interests over corporate profits, then the "dependencia" school in Latin America that focuses on the evils of imperialism, and on the far left the Marxists. The range is so broad that scholarly consensus is hard to discern. Anti-corporate advocates criticize multinational corporations for being without

5628-475: The number of local businesses of distribution is approximately 170 and holds 5% of the distribution of French electrical power in 2,500 villages. Created by local authorities, they serve about 3 million people and represent 7,000 jobs. Around thirty of them – 9 during creation in 1962 – are federated in a national entity known as ANROC. Several departments are not, therefore, served entirely or partly by EDF, for instance: Multinational corporation Most of

5712-481: The performance of subsidiaries in South America and Europe. In 2001, it also acquired a number of British energy companies, becoming the UK's biggest electricity supplier. The company remains heavily in debt. Its profitability suffered during the recession which began in 2008. It made €3.9 billion in 2009, which fell to €1.02 billion in 2010, with provisions set aside amounting to €2.9 billion. In January 2013

5796-560: The price collapse in 1998–1999. The United States still maintains close relations with Saudi Arabia. In 2003, U.S. forces invaded Iraq with the aim of removing the dictatorship and gaining access to Iraqi oil reserves, giving the United States greater strategic importance from 2000 to 2008. During this period, there was a constant shortage of oil, but its consumption continued to rise, maintaining high prices and leading to concerns about "peak oil". From 2005 to 2012, there were advances in oil and gas extraction, leading to increased production in

5880-611: The realities of the needs of source materials on a worldwide basis and to produce and customize products for individual countries. One of the first multinational business organizations, the East India Company , was established in 1601. After the East India Company came the Dutch East India Company , founded on March 20, 1603, which would become the largest company in the world for nearly 200 years. The main characteristics of multinational companies are: When

5964-606: The spent fuel of the 58 French nuclear power plants were exported from Le Havre to Russia in the last years and stored in Seversk where it was enriched, and the new fuel was exported back to France. In 2013 EDF acknowledged the difficulties it was having building the new EPR nuclear reactor design, with its head of production and engineering, Hervé Machenaud, saying EDF had lost its dominant international position in design and construction of nuclear power stations. In September 2015 EDF's chief executive Jean-Bernard Lévy stated that

6048-501: The strong influence of the United States on the global oil market. In 1959, companies lowered the price of oil due to a surplus in the market. This reduction dealt a significant blow to the finances of producers. Saudi oil minister Abdullah Tariki and Venezuela’s Juan Perez Alfonso entered into a secret agreement (the Mahdi Pact), promising that if the price of oil was lowered a second time, they would take collective action against

6132-576: The summer of 2020. EDF announced it had withdrawn financial targets for 2020 and 2021. A delay of planned 10-year reactor upgrades this year may be necessary. To mitigate the impact EDF is targeting €500 million of cost savings to 2022, and aims to sell €3 billion of assets to 2022. In October 2021, stress corrosion cracking in stainless steel safety system piping was discovered, eventually requiring rolling fleet-wide shutdowns for inspections and repair during 2022 and 2023. This reduced electricity production in 2022 to 279 TWh, 82 TWh less than expected, with

6216-496: The world market, jobs for locals, and business and profits for companies. Cecil Rhodes (1853–1902) was one of the few businessmen in the era who became Prime Minister (of South Africa 1890–1896). His mining enterprises included the British South Africa Company and De Beers . The latter company practically controlled the global diamond market from its base in southern Africa. In 1945, the United States

6300-573: The world without a concentration in one area have been called stateless or "transnational" (although "transnational corporation" is also used synonymously with "multinational corporation" ), but as of 1992, a corporation must be legally domiciled in a particular country and engage in other countries through foreign direct investment and the creation of foreign subsidiaries. Geographic diversification can be measured across various domains, including ownership and control, workforce, sales, and regulation and taxation. Multinational corporations may be subject to

6384-503: The worldwide revenue of a foreign subsidiary, and taxation is complicated by transfer pricing arrangements with parent corporations. For small corporations, registering a foreign subsidiary can be expensive and complex, involving fees, signatures, and forms; a professional employer organization (PEO) is sometimes advertised as a cheaper and simpler alternative, but not all jurisdictions have laws accepting these types of arrangements. Disputes between corporations in different nations

6468-450: Was awarded €500,000 in damages. Although EDF claimed that a security firm had only been employed to monitor Greenpeace, the court disagreed, jailing the head and deputy head of EDF's nuclear security operation for three years each. Two employees of the security firm, Kargus, run by a former member of France's secret services, received sentences of three and two years respectively. Charges were mostly dismissed in appeal in 2013. EDF's website

6552-537: Was brought down by DDoS attacks three times in 2011, twice in April and once later in June. The attacks were claimed by the hacktivist group Anonymous . Three men were later arrested and interviewed on charges of "obstructing functionality of a data processing service", "fraudulent access of a data processing service" and "participation in an association formed with the aim of preparing such infractions". Motivations for

6636-407: Was discontinuing the existing design, and will work on an SMR design based on existing rather than innovative technologies, following discussions with prospective SMR customers. In May 2024, EDF raised a loan of €5.8 billion over 3-5 years to finance the life extension of its older 900 MWe reactors by 10 years beyond 40 years. The loan is part of EDF's Green Financing Framework which is in accord with

6720-438: Was enabled by multinational corporations known as the 'Seven Sisters'. The "Seven Sisters" was a common term for the seven multinational companies that dominated the global petroleum industry from the mid-1940s to the mid-1970s. The nationalization of the Iranian oil industry in 1951 by Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and the subsequent boycott of Iranian oil by all companies had dramatic consequences for Iran and

6804-448: Was fully aware that the means to overcoming cultural resistance depended on an "understanding" of the countries in which a corporation operated. He observed that companies with "foresight to capitalize on international opportunities" must recognize that " cultural anthropology will be an important tool for competitive marketing". However, the projected outcome of this was not the assimilation of international firms into national cultures, but

6888-546: Was labeled as "the largest nonviolent transfer of wealth in human history." The OPEC sought immediate discussions regarding participation in national oil industries. Companies were not inclined to object as the price hike benefited both them and OPEC members. In 1980, the Seven Sisters were entirely displaced and replaced by national oil companies (NOCs). The rise in oil prices burdened developing countries with balance of payments deficits, leading to an energy crisis. OPEC members had to abandon their plan of redistributing wealth from

6972-513: Was the world's largest oil producer. However, their reserves were declining due to high demand. Therefore, the United States turned to foreign oil sources, which had a significant impact on the recovery of the West after World War II. Most of the world's oil was found in Latin America and the Middle East, particularly in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. This increase in non-American production

7056-453: Was €70 billion. In order to improve EDF's finances, as of 2019 EDF has sold €10 billion of assets, with plans to sell a further €2 to €3 billion of assets by 2021, and shareholders have been allocated new shares rather than cash dividends. Bonds have been issued in Asian currencies to expand sources of funding. It has financial commitments for new builds at Flamanville and Hinkley Point C . EDF

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