Australia’s Fortescue Metals plans to axe 1000 jobs, according to the country’s national newspaper The Australian. The job cuts will be across its back-office and clean energy business, Fortescue Future Industries, which is developing the group’s hydrogen projects. 

The announcement is expected despite a rally since December in the price of iron ore, of which Fortescue is the world’s fourth-biggest producer, in anticipation of China reopening its economy. 

The news from Fortescue, which was founded by Australian billionaire Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest, follows a wave of job cuts announced throughout January in the tech and investment banking sectors.

The group will release its half-yearly results next week.

Portugal plans new wind farm

Denmark’s Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), via its offshore wind partner Copenhagen Offshore Partners, is set to invest €8bn in an offshore wind farm which is being planned off Portugal’s central Atlantic coast, according to a Reuters report on February 9.  

The two-gigawatt (GW) project, called Nortada, will have the capacity to meet 20% of the country’s 10GW target for offshore wind power by 2030. The Portuguese government plans to hold its first offshore wind auctions by the end of this year.

CIP has been a key backer of offshore wind globally. Its portfolio reportedly holds more than 50GW of offshore wind projects across Europe and the US. 

Singapore’s record 2022

The Singapore Economic Development Board has announced it attracted an all-time high S$22.5bn ($17bn) worth of fixed-asset investment (FAI) last year. 

Around two-thirds of commitments were in the electronics sector, which included significant inflows into large manufacturing projects in the first half of the year, the Economic Development Board said in a statement on February 9. 

However, it expects FAI commitments to drop off in 2023 “in view of global macro-uncertainties, increased global competition for investments, and the sharp slowdown in demand that the semiconductor industry is experiencing.”