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The OZ Minerals Limited (ASX: OZL) share price will be on watch this morning.

This follows the announcement of a new takeover approach from BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP).

OZ Minerals share price on watch

The OZ Minerals share price could be heading higher today after the company revealed that BHP has improved its previous $25.00 per share offer.

According to the release, BHP has submitted a revised non-binding indicative proposal to acquire 100% of OZ Minerals by way of a scheme of arrangement for a cash price of $28.25 per share. BHP stressed that this offer price represents the best and final price BHP is willing to offer under the revised proposal, in the absence of a competing proposal.

Offer accepted

The good news for BHP, is that this final offer has been enough for the OZ Minerals board, which intends to unanimously recommend the proposal to shareholders as being in their best interests.

This is in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to the two parties entering into a binding scheme implementation agreement following completion of BHP’s confirmatory due diligence. It will also be subject to an independent expert concluding that the proposal is in the best interests of shareholders.

While the offer is only a 7.4% premium to the OZ Minerals share price at Tuesday’s close, it represents a 49.3% premium to where its shares were trading prior to the initial proposal back in August.

The release notes that OZ Minerals will have the right to consider paying a franked dividend to shareholders prior to the transaction being implemented. However, the cash consideration price will be reduced by the cash component of any dividends or return of capital.

Management commentary

OZ Minerals chair, Rebecca McGrath, commented:

The Revised Proposal from BHP follows a period of Board-level engagement, securing a circa $1.1 billion increase to the Initial Proposal. It is the Board’s view that progressing the Revised Proposal, including providing BHP with access to due diligence, is in the best interests of OZ Minerals’ shareholders and other stakeholders. The Board will continue to update shareholders as appropriate.

OZ Minerals CEO, Andrew Cole, added:

BHP’s Revised Proposal is a clear reflection of OZ Minerals’ unique set of highly strategic, quality assets in quality jurisdictions and an enviable multigenerational growth pipeline of copper and nickel assets in strong demand due to global electrification. We look forward to working with BHP in a collaborative way to progress the Revised Proposal in the best interests of OZ Minerals’ and its stakeholders.

The post OZ Minerals share price on watch after accepting BHP’s $28.25 per share takeover offer appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Is a weak US dollar good for ASX 200 mining shares?
• Which stocks are in the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (VAS) right now?
• How to have your ASX 200 dividend cake and eat it too
• What’s going on with ASX 200 mining shares on Thursday?
• OZ Minerals shares remain halted ahead of potential BHP takeover offer update

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Three S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares will be trading ex-dividend next week.

Income investors take note.

If you want to receive the payouts, you’ll need to own these ASX 200 shares at least one day before they trade ex-dividend. If you buy them after this date, the seller retains the dividend.

You should also be aware that a company’s share price tends to fall by a similar amount to its per share payout once the stock trades ex-dividend.

With that said…

These three ASX 200 shares are trading ex-dividend next week

First up we have farm products company Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD).

The Elders share price closed yesterday at $10.40.

Elders’ board declared a final dividend of 28 cents per share. The stock trades ex-dividend on Monday, making today the last day for investors to buy the ASX 200 share if they want that payout. The payment date is 16 December.

Elders also paid a 28 cent interim dividend, bringing its trailing yield to 5.4%, 30% franked.

The second ASX 200 share trading ex-dividend next week is Amcor PLC (ASX: AMC).

The international plastics packaging company trades ex-dividend next Tuesday, meaning investors will need to buy shares today or on Monday to receive the payout. The payment date is 13 December.

The most recent dividend the Amcor board declared was 19.4 cents. Amcor closed yesterday trading for $17.55 per share. With its other dividend payments factored in, Amcor trades on a trailing yield of 4.1%, unfranked.

Which brings us to ALS Ltd (ASX: ALQ), the third ASX 200 share that’s going ex-dividend next week.

The professional technical services provider trades ex-dividend next Thursday, 24 November. That gives investors who want the 20.3 cents per share payout until Wednesday to buy shares. The payment date is 16 December.

ALS closed yesterday trading for $12.12 per share, giving it a trailing yield of 2.9%, unfranked.

The post 3 ASX 200 shares trading ex-dividend next week   appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Analysts name 2 beaten down ASX dividend shares to buy
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why Elders, Flight Centre, Perpetual, and Telstra shares are dropping
• Why is this ASX 200 share crashing 17% today?
• 3 ‘champion’ ASX shares to buy and hold: Bell Potter

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Amcor Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Elders Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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If you’re looking for retirement portfolio options, then you may want to look at the shares listed below.

Here’s why these ASX shares could be top options for retirees:

Centuria Industrial Reit (ASX: CIP)

The first ASX share to consider for a retirement portfolio is this industrial-focused property company.

Centuria Industrial owns a portfolio of high quality industrial assets that has been constructed with the aim of delivering consistent income and capital growth to investors.

The company’s portfolio is heavily weighted to areas of the economy that are still growing and are in demand from tenants. This includes properties linked to the production, packaging, and distribution of consumer staples, telecommunications, and pharmaceuticals.

One broker that is positive on the company is Moelis. It currently has a buy rating and $3.69 price target on its shares. The broker is also forecasting dividend yields of over 5% for investors over the next couple of financial years.

National Storage REIT (ASX: NSR)

Another top ASX share to consider for a retirement portfolio is National Storage.

It is one of the region’s largest self-storage operators with over 225 centres in the ANZ market. Through this growing network the company provides tailored storage solutions to over 90,000 residential and commercial customers.

National Storage has been growing at a solid rate over the last decade thanks to its strong position in a fragmented market and its growth through acquisition strategy. The good news is that management still sees plenty of room to grow both organically and through acquisitions and developments.

Jarden currently has an overweight rating and $2.90 price target on its shares. The broker is also expecting dividend yields greater than 4% over the next two financial years.

The post 2 excellent ASX shares for a retirement portfolio: brokers appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Experts name 2 ASX dividend shares to buy with great yields
• ASX dividend shares or distribution shares? Is there even a difference?
• Analysts name 2 ASX dividend shares to buy with great yields

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Currency implications on your ASX shares can get confusing.

One such example is if you hold stocks for mining companies.

Many of those operate in Australia but sell the commodities in US dollars, because that’s the de facto currency of the global resources market.

Traditionally, the thinking is that a strong US dollar is favourable for investors of businesses like that.

The idea is that costs are spent in the lower Australian dollar, therefore minimising expenses — then the income is maximised as customers pay in the higher US dollar.

“In simple terms, a higher Australian dollar hurts exporters and companies that make money offshore while benefiting importers that end up paying less for their purchases,” said Finder expert Prashant Mehra in a blog post.

However, one expert recently disagreed with this theory.

No, a weaker US dollar is better for ASX miners

Shaw and Partners portfolio manager James Gerrish told a Market Matters Q&A that the equation is not that simple.

In fact, he believes the opposite of the conventional wisdom actually applies to local resource producers.

“It’s more a case of a weak US dollar is bullish for commodities as opposed to a strong Australian dollar, although they usually go hand in hand,” he said.

“The likes of crude oil, copper, gold etc are all priced, bought and sold in US dollars — hence a weaker greenback helps drive up the prices of these resources in US dollar terms.”

So when this happens, ASX-listed mining companies reap higher revenue, which “usually more than outstrips the accompanying strength in the Australian dollar”. 

“But, of course, this may not always be the case.”

Classic example is right now

Gerrish took Thursday last week as a “classic” example.

That night US inflation figures came in lower than market expectations, sending the US dollar weaker. 

“The Australian dollar roared back above 66 US cents helped by a weak greenback, the commodities surged higher — e.g. gold up US$40/oz,” he said.

“While the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was trading up +2.7% at 11am, many resource heavyweights outperformed — e.g. Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) +5%, Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR) +6.3%, Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) +6.6% and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) +3.5%.”

Gerrish’s team, therefore, likes the current conditions for resources and is overweight in the sector.

The post Is a weak US dollar good for ASX 200 mining shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Is it finally safe to buy ASX shares now?
• What dragged on the Santos share price today?
• Why did the Flight Centre share price trounce the ASX 200 today?
• The latest $750 million investment by Fortescue’s Andrew Forrest might surprise you

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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On Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was back on form and pushed higher. The benchmark index rose 0.2% to 7,135.7 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Friday and end the week on a high? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to fall

The Australian share market looks set to end the week in the red. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open 5 points or 0.1% lower this morning. In late trade in the United States, the Dow Jones is down 0.15%, the S&P 500 has fallen 0.55%, and the Nasdaq has dropped 0.55%.

Oil prices tumble

Energy shares Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) could have a difficult finish to the week after oil prices sank overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 3.8% to US$82.30 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 2.4% to US$90.65 a barrel. Oil prices fell on concerns over Chinese demand.

Webjet remains a buy

The Webjet Ltd (ASX: WEB) share price remains great value according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. The broker was impressed with the online travel agent’s first half results, which came in well ahead of expectations. Goldman commented: “WEB’s 1H23 results reported a strong beat across both the Webbeds and Webjet OTA business, cementing our view that the business is structurally improved vs. pre-pandemic times.” Its analysts have retained their buy rating with an improved price target of $6.90.

Gold price falls

Gold miners including Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) and St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) could have a subdued end to the week after the gold price fell overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 0.65% to US$1,764 an ounce. Traders were selling gold after the US dollar and treasury yields strengthened.

Annual general meetings

There are a good number of annual general meetings being held on Friday. This includes infant formula company A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M), integrated real estate company Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC), infection prevention company Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN), and data centre operator NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT). These companies could provide trading updates at their respective events.

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Is it finally safe to buy ASX shares now?
• What dragged on the Santos share price today?
• Why did the Flight Centre share price trounce the ASX 200 today?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in NEXTDC Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Nanosonics Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Nanosonics Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended A2 Milk and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Share markets have put on a ferocious resurgence recently, after United States inflation figures came in lighter than expected last week.

In fact, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has now gained a tidy 6.9% over the past month. Not bad after being down 14.9% year to date.

Because several consecutive steep interest rate rises are now behind us, some experts have speculated stock markets may have passed the bottom.

“There is a rising chance we have seen the low in shares,” said AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) chief economist Dr Shane Oliver earlier this week.

“At last, it seems some of the bad news for shares appears to be abating.”

So what do ASX share investors do now?

How can you call the bottom when things are still so bad?

Many investors might be wondering how experts can call the bottom when inflation is still rampant — it’s 7.7% in the US and 7.3% in Australia.

American financial expert and long-term buy-and-hold advocate Brian Feroldi reminded his newsletter subscribers that the stock market is “a forward-looking machine”.

“It doesn’t care about where we are. It only cares about where we’re going,” he said.

“This is why markets tend to bottom while the headlines still look awful.”

He recalled some of the new headlines on 9 March 2009, which was when US share markets bottomed in the midst of the global financial crisis:

• “Collapse of the financial sector harder, deeper than tech wreck”
• “US to push for global stimulus”
• “China warns of severe fiscal conditions”
• “UK says markets need crisis plan”
• “The bear growls louder”
• “Jobless scars will outlast the recession”

Feroldi pointed out how there was absolutely no good news or optimism at the time. Yet the share markets started their rise from that point.

“Do you see any good news? We sure don’t. In fact, it wasn’t until April 2010 — 13 months later — that unemployment finally peaked,” he said.

“Yet, if you… waited on the sidelines until April 2010 to start investing in stocks again, you would have missed out 80% of the market’s gains.”

How to capture the ASX share recovery

Of course, no one should expect a smooth, linear upward progression from here. ASX shares will experience many dips ahead.

But for Feroldi, there’s only one way to take advantage of this potential bottom.

“The takeaway is that you can only capture all of the stock market long-term gains by remaining invested,” he said.

“That’s easy to do in theory, but damn hard to do in practice.”

The lesson is that none of us will know whether this is the bottom until much later — maybe six months down the track, or even a year.

But if you wait until then to buy shares, it will be too late. You will have missed all the spectacular recovery gains.

So buy now with a long-term horizon.

“We certainly hope that we’ve hit a bottom and that the economic picture gets better from. However, the only way we’ll know that for sure will be with the benefit of hindsight.”

The post Is it finally safe to buy ASX shares now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• What dragged on the Santos share price today?
• Why did the Flight Centre share price trounce the ASX 200 today?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday
• Why ASX 200 ‘investors should brace for impact’: Morgan Stanley

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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If you’re looking to boost your income portfolio this month, then you may want to look at the dividend shares listed below.

Here’s why these ASX dividend shares have been tipped as buys by Goldman Sachs:

Healthco Healthcare and Wellness REIT (ASX: HCW)

The first ASX dividend share to look at is the Healthco Healthcare and Wellness REIT.

As you might have guessed from its name, it is a real estate investment trust with a focus on health and wellness assets such as hospitals, aged care, childcare, life sciences, and primary care properties.

Goldman Sachs is very positive on the company and has a conviction buy rating and $2.05 price target on its shares.

The broker named four reasons that it is positive. It said:

[T]he REIT remains one of our top picks in the sector given 1) its net cash position with over $450mn of liquidity, providing flexibility for near term opportunities, 2) its diversified mix of strong tenant covenants in sub-sectors that are majority government-backed across the care spectrum, mitigating potential tenant credit risks, 3) Healthcare and childcare assets valuations have remained resilient, 4) the expansive forecast future demand for assets across the care spectrum, underpinning development opportunities, and 5) inexpensive valuation.

Goldman expects dividends per share of 7.5 cents in both FY 2023 and FY 2024. Based on the current Healthco Healthcare and Wellness REIT unit price of $1.59, this will mean yields of 4.7% for investors.

HomeCo Daily Needs REIT (ASX: HDN)

HomeCo Daily Needs is another real estate investment trust that Goldman Sachs is bullish on.

It has a focus on metro-located, convenience-based assets across neighbourhood retail, large format retail, and health and services.

The broker believes that its shares are cheap at current levels and has a buy rating and $1.57 price target on them. It commented:

We continue to believe HDN is undervalued at its current valuation given its diversified tenant base, and see it as well positioned to benefit from the shift to omni channel retailing, with additional external growth opportunities to drive earnings growth over the medium-term.

As for dividends, Goldman is forecasting dividends of 8.3 cents per share in FY 2023 and 8.5 cents per share in FY 2024. Based on the current HomeCo Daily Needs REIT unit price of $1.28, this will mean yields of 6.5% and 6.65%, respectively.

The post Buy these ASX dividend shares now: Goldman Sachs appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Building a passive income for retirement? Check out these 3 ASX 200 dividend shares
• Brokers say these top ASX dividend shares are buys
• Analysts name 2 ASX dividend shares to buy right now
• 2 dirt cheap high yield ASX dividend shares to boost your income: analysts
• Brokers name 2 ASX dividend shares to buy with big yields

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price closed 0.94% lower at $7.36 on Thursday.

The energy sector as a whole was the heaviest weight on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) today. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) fell 2.06%, while the ASX 200 gained 0.19%

Let’s take a look at what else might be affecting the ASX energy share.

What’s going on with the Santos share price?

It’s been a tough week for the Santos share price, which has now finished in the red in five of the last six sessions.

On Wednesday, the oil and gas giant’s legal appeal to restart drilling operations at its Barossa gas project was concluded in the Federal Court.

The $4.7 billion project in the Timor Sea will remain on hold until a ruling has been made.

In September, the project was ruled invalid after the court decided the Munupi clan of the Tiwi Islands should have been consulted before drilling began at the Northern Territory project.

Santos appealed the decision, claiming the clan did not legally count as “relevant persons” and that it was unreasonable to expect the company to consult with “each and every” individual clan member.

On Wednesday, Federal Court Justice Debra Mortimer questioned the claim by Santos’s lawyers that it was “unworkable” to consult with the clan.

Mortimer said:

The only category which is said to be unworkable are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have interests in this area. It’s not said to be unworkable to contact a department. It’s not said to be unworkable to consult an organisation. It’s not said to be unworkable to consult a fisheries body [which] has hundreds of members. It’s only said to be unworkable to consult with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

A date for the judgment is yet to be set.

EU to propose natural gas price cap

Some more potentially bad news for Santos came this week amid the EU proposing a price cap on natural gas, reports Reuters.

A cap will be proposed after a meeting of EU energy ministers on 24 November, with a goal of putting a lid on the European energy crisis.

EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson said this could help stabilise the problem in Europe, stating:

We will move swiftly and we will make a legal proposal immediately after ministers will mandate us to do so. We have done our homework. I think that this kind of price cap can allow us to calm the market. It also removes the risk that we will not receive cargos at all.

The price level of the cap is undisclosed at this stage, and it’s unknown how it will affect Santos’s earnings in European markets moving forward.

However, in March, the company suggested it was interested in exporting more Australian LNG to the continent, 7 News reported. That could help wean Europe off its dependence on Russian oil and gas as the war in Ukraine rages on.

The comments were made at a federal inquiry into taxpayer subsidies for Beetaloo Basin gas exploration in the Northern Territory.

Santos share price snapshot

The Santos share price is up almost 17% year to date. The ASX 200 is down 4% over the same period.

The company’s market capitalisation is around $24.73 billion.

The post What dragged on the Santos share price today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why did the Flight Centre share price trounce the ASX 200 today?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday
• Why ASX 200 ‘investors should brace for impact’: Morgan Stanley
• Why did these ASX 200 shares just crack new, multi-year highs?

Motley Fool contributor Matthew Farley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price gained 1.49% on Thursday, closing at $16.38.

The ASX travel share comfortably outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which finished 0.19% higher.

It also narrowly beat the performance of its ‘home’ sector, with the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) rising 1.26%.

Flight Centre’s shares lifted higher despite there being no news from the company today.

However, one of its travel peers reported some positive steps toward a full recovery this morning. Let’s cover the highlights.

What happened with Flight Centre today?

The Flight Centre share price lifted along with those of fellow ASX travel share Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB), which reported its half-year results for FY23 this morning.

The results appear to have impressed investors, with the Webjet share price ending the day 10.14% higher at $6.19.

The online travel agent noted that some aspects of its business are trading ahead of pre-COVID levels as pent-up demand continues to be released.

Revenue increased 217% year over year to $175.7 million. Underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 557% to $72.5 million.

Webjet’s WebBed business led the charge in turning the company around after it posted a $15.9 million loss for 1H22.

WebBeds contributed $1.42 billion in total transaction value (TTV) and $114.4 million in revenue to the company’s top and bottom lines.

Webjet’s managing director John Guscic described its performance as a “spectacular turnaround”, and said it’s expected the company will exceed pre-pandemic profitability for FY23.

Flight Centre share price snapshot

Webjet’s results could come as welcome news to the Flight Centre share price, which took a beating amid the company releasing its trading update on 14 November.

Flight Centre’s revenue growth for the first four months of FY23 apparently came in lower than expected, as its shares dropped 4% on the day.

The Flight Centre share price is now down 7% since the start of the year. The ASX 200 is down 4% over the same period.

The company’s market capitalisation is around $3.22 billion.

The post Why did the Flight Centre share price trounce the ASX 200 today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Guess which ASX 200 lithium director just snapped up $250,000 worth of their company’s shares

Motley Fool contributor Matthew Farley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price closed down 1.76% today to $19.50.

There was no official news from the company today. So, it’s probably fair to say this was a predictable share price pullback after what was nothing short of a stellar run for Fortescue over the first two weeks of November.

The Fortescue share price leapt 33% between 1 November and 14 November.

This was largely due to a variety of good news out of China, including a relaxation of COVID restrictions which means economic activity will increase.

Separate to Fortescue’s incredible share price rise is news today that founder and chair, Dr Andrew Forrest AO, and his wife, Nicola Forrest, have personally invested almost $750 million into the rebuilding of Ukraine when the war is over.

Fortescue chair makes personal investment in Ukraine rebuild

According to reporting in The Australian, the Forrests have invested US$500 million (A$746.3 million) through their private investment company, Tattarang, as seed money for a multi-billion dollar fund to rebuild the war-battered country using green digital technology.

The Forrests are well-known humanitarians and philanthropists. Forrest was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2017 partly due to his philanthropy and charity work.

In 2013, the Forrests were the first Australian billionaires to pledge the majority of their lifetime wealth to charity through the Warren Buffett-founded The Giving Pledge.

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of the Ukraine Green Growth Initiative and the Forrests’ involvement at the New Economy Forum in Singapore.

Zelensky said:

Andrew and I have agreed we will not replace communist-era rubbish Russian infrastructure, instead we will leapfrog to the latest technology. We will take advantage of the fact that what the Russians have destroyed can readily be replaced with the latest, most modern green and digital infrastructure.

Dr Forrest told The Australian he expected the fund to grow to at least US$100 billion. He said rebuilding work would commence after the war with Russia ends.

Forrest said:

… this will not lock in for years after the cessation of hostilities, as happened in World War Two, this will lock in on the first day of the cessation of hostilities and seek immediately to rebuild the primary infrastructure which the Russians are hell bent on destroying.

What’s been happening at Fortescue?

Fortescue shareholders have been cheering of late due to the ASX mining share‘s astounding rise.

As my Fool colleague Sebastian remarked yesterday, it’s not often that you see a $60 billion stock move that much, that fast.

Forrest is easily one of the most vocal and proactive Australian business leaders championing a green energy future.

He continues to expand Fortescue Metals’ subsidiary, Fortescue Future Industries (FFI). This division of the Fortescue business plans to produce green hydrogen and ammonia.

The Fortescue share price surged 9% on Monday on the back of news that Fortescue will collaborate with GPR, an Indonesian steelmaker, to explore making green steel.

Forrest also hinted that an even bigger agreement for European green steel might be on the way.

The Fortescue founder also wants to decarbonise the mining company’s Pilbara operations at an estimated cost of $9.2 billion.

This has some brokers worried, with Goldman Sachs suggesting it may impact Fortescue’s generous dividend payout ratio.

The post The latest $750 million investment by Fortescue’s Andrew Forrest might surprise you appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Which stocks are in the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (VAS) right now?
• What’s going on with ASX 200 mining shares on Thursday?
• Why has the Fortescue share price leapt 18% in a week?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why Accent, Block, Core Lithium, and Fortescue shares are pushing higher

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in Fortescue Metals Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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