Soc Gen

What are your strengths?

*1. Ability to work well in a team environment* - During my time in NS, I often had to work in a team to achieve an outcome - Learnt how to communicate effectively and collaborate efficiently with large groups of people from diverse backgrounds *2. Being rational and not phased by challenging environments* - Not phased by stressful situations, time in army, shouting on mission, constantly changing variables, learnt how to keep calm to think rationally and make a decision whilst facing adversity. I think Investment Banking can at times be a difficult environment to work in, with long working hours, but I believe my previous experiences in the military will help me in navigating these challenges of working in IB. *3. Curiosity* - I'm constantly looking to learn more, whether it be from reading or listening to something, or meeting new people and learning from their experiences. I think in working in Investment Banking I would be working in an environment where you are constantly learning, and that very much excites me.

Oil & Gas valuation

*Comps/Precedent Transactions* *1. No P/E or Revenue Multiples* - P/E is not terribly useful because many energy companies have odd tax situations, huge depreciation numbers, and lots of impairment charges and write-downs; revenue multiples are useless because oil & gas companies have limited control over their revenue due to their dependence on commodity prices. *2. EBITDAX, not EBITDA* - The "X" stands for Exploration Expense, and we add back it to EBITDA when working with E&P companies because of the issue with successful efforts vs. full cost accounting, - always capitalize acquisitions/development and expense production BUT exploration under US GAAP can be recognised either using the *succesful efforts* methodology where you expense them or *full cost* way where you capitalize them and add that CapEx to the PP&E on your balance sheet. (Under IFRS all must use successful efforts) - By adding exploration expense back to EBITDA we're normalizing the metric. Sometimes you do see EBITDA as well, especially for more diversified companies, non-E&P ones, and even for the occasional E&P set if the companies all use one accounting standard. *3. Production and Reserves Multiples* Since oil & gas companies are so dependent on natural resources, they use Proved Reserves and Daily or Annual Production numbers. You use Enterprise Value in the numerator for both of these, and the values might be anywhere from $1.00 to $50.00 depending on the companies, region, economy, and so on. *4. Different Screening Metrics* - Rather than using revenue or EBITDA, you might pick companies and transactions based on Proved Reserves or Production volume; other important metrics include the R / P Ratio (Proved Reserves / Annual Production), the % Proved Reserves in their Total Reserves, and the % Oil Mix. - For downstream companies could use more normal multiples as they are more similar to normal companies

How would you value an oil company? NAV method

*Net Asset Value* - Similar to traditional DCF, but no terminal value as you no longer assume perpetual growth - Instead, you assume that the company adds nothing to its reserves and that it produces 100% of its proven reserves until it runs out of natural resources completely. - You assume that company spends no capex in looking for new reserves *1. Set Up Columns to Track Each Commodity, Revenue, Expenses, and Cash Flows* You want to track the beginning and ending reserves each year, the annual production volume, and the average price for each commodity; typically you use the same low/mid/high price cases that you used in the company's operating model. *2. Assume Production Decline Rates and Calculate Revenue Until the Reserves Run Out.* Depending on the company's previous history, you might assume a decline rate of 5-10% per year - potentially more or less depending on how mature it is. In each year, you assume that you produce either the production volume of that year or the remaining reserves - whichever number is lower. Then, you'd multiply the production volume times the average price each year for all commodities to get the revenue by year. *3. Project (Some) Expenses* You focus on Production and Development expenses here, both of which may be linked to the company's production in the first place. You don't assume anything for Exploration since you're pretending that the company finds nothing and dwindles to $0 in the future, and you leave out items like corporate overhead and SG&A because we're valuing the company on an asset-level. *4. Calculate and Discount After-Tax Cash Flows* Simply subtract the expenses from the revenue each year and then multiply by (1 - Tax Rate) to calculate the after-tax cash flows. Then, you add up and discount everything based on the standard 10% discount rate used in the Oil & Gas industry (no WACC or Cost of Equity here) *5. Add in Other Assets and Business Segments* For example, if the company has undeveloped land or if it has midstream or downstream operations, you might estimate the value of those based on an EBITDA multiple (or $ per acre for land) and add them in. You add all those up to arrive at Enterprise Value, then back into Equity Value the normal way, and calculate the company's Implied Share Price by dividing by the diluted shares outstanding. *Comps/Precedent Transactions* - Could also look at company comps and precedent transactions looking at: - EV / EBITDAX (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization & Exploration Expense) - EV / Daily Production - EV / Proved Reserve Quantities - EBITDAX exists because some companies capitalize (a portion of) their exploration expenses and some expense them. You add back the exploration expense to normalize the numbers. - For downstream companies could use more normal multiples as they are more similar to normal companies

What is Britain's Clean Growth Plan?

- A plan put together by the government to ensure that the UK decarbonises electricity generation and is able to meet its co2 emissions targets - Aims to financially incentivise consumers to reduce consumption and use more clean energy

What do you know about renewable energy?

- Companies are increasingly looking to reduce their carbon footprint and are actively setting goals to reduce the amount of fossil fuel generated power they consume, and shift to renewable energy sources

What is the Hinkley Point deal ?

- Deal between EDF energy and the UK Gov to build the first nuclear power plant in the UK since the 90s - Gov claims that plant will be vital in helping to reduce the UKs carbon emissions - However this will come at a cost to consumers with the PPA stating £92.50/MWh for 35 years promised to EDF for electricity from Hinkley which is well above the latest wind energy auction prices - Recent offshore wind auction saw a price of £57.50/ megawatt hour, for 15 years - Nuclear developers insist their technology should not be compared to intermittent renewables, which can only be relied on when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining - Intermittent supply can be managed by 1. Using batteries to store electricity is times of over supply 2. Incentivising customers to reduce usage in times of under supply

Lazada-Redmart deal details

- Deal value not disclosed but estimated to be between $30 - $40m USD Strategic Rationale - Lazada offers all items except perishable goods - Groceries have a much higher frequency purchase, almost twice a month compared to electronics etc. More data from which to gather info from potential customers - Singapore online grocery market very much in its infancy, only 3/4% of total grocery sales. Total grocery market is estimated to be around $4bn USD market - Out of all SE Asian countries, Singapore has highest smart phone penetration and greatest spending power, making it most mature market for this business model - Defensive strategy to gain first mover advantage in the grocery market over Amazon, Amazon Fresh launched in mid 2017 in Singapore

Recent deal that Soc Gen has worked on - TOTAL BUYS ENGIE's LNG ASSETS

- Engie has agreed to sell its upstream and midstream LNG activities, liquefaction, shipping and international LNG trading for an overall enterprise value of $1.49 billion USD - Engie will keep its regasification infrastructure and LNG retail end-customer sales - The sale aligns with Engie's broader strategy to focus on three key businesses: low carbon power generation, infrastructures - notably gas, and integrated downstream customer solutions. - This transaction also aligns with its Engie's strategy to reduce its exposure to commodity prices - Earlier this year Engie sold of its Exploration and Production Company, and this transaction helps to complete the shift away from its upstream O&G activities - The company has stated that green gases, biogas and renewable hydrogen are key to this energy transition - As part of the transaction, Engie will also be setting up a new entity which will develop renewable hydrogen and also signed a contract with Total to be their preferred biogas and renewable hydrogen supplier - From Total's perspective, this transaction helps to accelerate the implementation of their strategy to integrate along the full gas value chain - The most material asset of the transaction, is the 16.6% equity stake in the Cameron LNG liquefaction plant - The combined Gas portfolio will make Total second largest global player among the majors with a worldwide market share of 10%

Trends in the O&G market

- Firmer oil prices and lower cost structures could mean that we might see an increase in capital spending, after a few years of sharp decreases in capex - *Portfolio Evaluation* - Not just divestment to generate cash, but restructuring businesses based on forecasts of future conditions to ensure that projects companies are undertaking match the organization's capability - e.g. Dong Energy shifting its focus to renewable energy, and using its fossil fuel business to generate cash flow for the development of offshore wind farms. - M&A is an important part of portfolio evaluation and optimization - e.g. Shell's $70 billion deal to buy Britain's BG Group in 2016, a move that greatly expanded Shell's position in the natural gas market - Now that oil prices more stable, likely to see more deal activity as buyers and sellers come to agreement on oil-field valuations - O&G Companies are becoming much clearer on how *technology* can help their business. Companies are using digital technologies to enhance field development, make the supply chain more efficient and improve asset maintenance not just in upstream but also midstream, downstream and in the back office with robotic process automation. All these can help companies to become lower cost producers. In some cases, technology will be acquired through partnerships. GE has announced an array of agreements with large and small oil companies to implement digital devices, databases, and sensors that could predict equipment breakdowns before they occur and expand exploration and production efficiency in deep sea and offshore oil platforms

Why Power, Utilities and Infrastructure?

- I think the PUI industries are an exciting place to be working in at the moment, as their is great change and innovation happening at the moment, with companies having to manage revenue downturns, and having to meet the demands of more technology conscious consumers. There is also an increasing shift towards renewable energy, as the cost to produce clean energy is continually reduced and renewables account for a large proportion of new capacity. - Many large companies have also set renewable energy targets, although these goals may be unrealistic, even if they are ultimately changed, they will certainly affect business power usage in the short term, and shows the shift in interest towards renewables - Utility companies are facing challenges as demand of electricity in general has been declining due to a range of macro-economic factors such as older less energy efficient equipment being replaced by newer more efficient equipment, coupled with slowing population growth and shift towards less energy intensive industries - These downturns are being offeset by the increase in demand by consumers for applications and technology that can help to manage energy usage in an efficient manner. - Manufacturers are increasingly looking at reducing the amount of energy they consume and utility companies are in a strong position to provide energy management solutions to clients, by using energy monitors to reduce usage - Consumers increasingly expect Utility companies to innovate and integrate smart solutions into their product offerings. Utilities are increasingly adoption a "retailization" approach, a direct consumer to utility strategy, where consumers can benefit from energy management solutions, real time billing and mobile payments - Utilities may not always have the in house capabilities to provide energy management solutions and hence M&A is an important part of their strategy to acquire energy management companies that have a strong brand and presence already

Why IB?

- I want to work in IB, as I want to learn more about how transactions can help companies to achieve their goals - I am very interested in learning more about companies and their business models, and I think in working in investment banking you get to learn the ins and outs of companies in a specific industry, by looking at their financials, and understanding their strategies, and that is really interesting to me - I also believe IB also has a steep learning curve and at times can be a challenging environment to work in, where you are expected to deliver results - Through my previous experiences both in the military, I have learnt that I enjoy significant responsibility, as well as working in a results driven environment, which I firmly believe Investment Banking will provide - I also think that in working in IB, I will be surrounded by very talented and interesting individuals which will only help me to speeden my professional growth as a person

You already work in TAS at EY why do you want to work at an investment bank?

- I'm very much interested in learning about all aspects of a transaction, from the financial modelling and valuation, to the due dilligence. - At EY, you become specialised in one of those areas of the transaction. And having spoken to people who have worked in IB, it is clear that they have a strong understanding about all aspects of a transaction, which is what I am interested in

What do investment bankers do?

- Investment banker's provide advice to corporations and PE firms on mergers, acquisitions and financing solutions to help them to achieve their goals - Investment bankers offer advice on how the company should go about the transaction, including the pricing of the offer. This involves valuing the targeted company and coming up with a price that represents its value. On the other side of the deal, companies putting themselves up for sale also need investment bankers to evaluate asking price and offers.

What is an IPP?

- Its an entity which is not a public utility, but owns facilities to generate electricity which it then sells to utilities and end users

LNG Value Chain?

- Liquified natural gas - Cleanest fossil fuel 1. Extraction - Natural gas found in very remote areas, - Found both onshore and offshore 2. Treating and processing - Gas has been removed of water Co2 other gas impurities 3. Liquefacation - Transported via pipeline to liquefaction facility - Cooled to very low temperatures which reduces volume - LNG stored in insulated tankers and moved to LNG tankers - by liquifying it easier to transport, no need huge pipelines 4. Receiving and regasification - Transported in insulated containers to a regasification facility which turns it back into a gas before supplying it to customers 5. Market - Transported to power plants where it is used to generate electricity

How would Lazada have gone about valuing Redmart?

- Look at what similar publically ecommerce grocery retailers are trading at - DCF analysis

Pitch me a stock

- Micro-cap company with market cap of around $85m - Where Food Comes From operates in one of the fastest-growing niches of the food industry: supply chain auditing. - The company has built a strong moat with 30+ food verification services, and is beginning to ramp monetization through product and labeling revenue. - WFCF has a proven track record of creating shareholder value through a profitable core business, organic growth and accretive acquisitions to expand its product line. - The company's core business is food supply chain auditing. The company currently covers audits for beef, pork, dairy, lamb, bison, produce, dairy, eggs and grain. Future areas of coverage will be seafood, beverages and more produce. - The food auditing market is around $100m in size in the USA at the moment, and growing rapidly, and WFCF is a market leader in the space, with around 80% market share. - Auditing revenue is recurring, and profitability is improving as economies of scale kick in. Currently annual revenues are $10m, with EBITDA of $1.2m. - 80% of revenue at WFCF is currently driven by auditing, with the remainder coming from Cattle tagging and food labelling. - Food labelling is a huge growth prospect, with the market opportunity currently estimated at $2.7bn. WFCF is rapidly expanding in this high margin business, in partnering with grocery stores - Large amount of growth expected in the industry after China announced that it would start importing US beef again. China is already the world's second largest importer of beef, and its appetite is growing rapidly. Beef imports to China rose roughly 10X from 2010 to 2015. As China's emerging middle class continues to grow rapidly, it will continue to drive growing demand for beef imports for years to come. China has indicated it may soon reopen its markets to U.S. beef, which is expected to result in a significant increase in domestic beef producers conducting source and age verifications. *How would you value this company?* - As the company's revenue has grown significantly over the last ten years, CAGR of 28% - Could be difficult to project free cash flows for the next 5 years - Would look at Comparable companies in the food auditing space and see what multiples they trade at and apply them to WFCF. Multiples you could look at include EV/EBITDA, EV/Sales, P/E.

Would you be able to share about a recent deal that interests you? - Power

- One of the deals that I read about earlier this year, was Macquarie's sale of its 26% stake in Thames Water to Omers and KIA for 1.35 billion pounds. - This deal is interesting, because it has re-raised concerns that privatised utilities are continually being sold to Investors who are using a significant amount of leverage to boost returns, and pay a large portion of earnings out to shareholders as dividends, and paying little or no corporate tax as a result of its huge interest payments, laying of workers, and not providing quality services to customers - On the other hand, the amount of capital expenditure that utility companies have spent in improving infrastructure has benefitted the end consumer - Thames Water has started building a super sewer in London, a huge infrastructure project, which will be funded in part by the customers of Thames Water in the form of higher water bills - It will be interesting to see if the UK government continues to deliver big infrastructure projects in an attempt to boost the UK Economy after the vote to leave the EU

What is the Paris Agreement and what does it mean?

- Paris Agreement is an agreement with the UN over the the amount of greenhouse gases emitted and starts in the year 2020 - Each country determines, plans and regularly reports its own contribution it should make in order to mitigate global warming. - France's environment minister Nicolas Hulot announced France's five-year plan to ban all petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040 as part of the Paris Agreement. Hulot also stated that France would no longer use coal to produce electricity after 2022

Energy deal that Soc Gen has been involved in?

- Soc Gen advised Enbridge on its $218m transaction to purchase a 50% stake, previously owned by Dong Energy, in EMF, which will control 3 offshore windfarms with a capacity of 1,400 MW - This year the bank advised Brookfield Renewable Energy on its sale of its 100 MW Knockacummer and its 37 MW Kill Hill wind farms to PE firm Greencoat Capital

Soc Gen values?

- Team Spirit Brunei PC mission - Innovation IBCS series, saw apportunity - Responsibility NS instructor, took charge of cadets, outfield, canteen break, not approved, got it approved, kept my word - Commitment National Service, given choice by parents to move back or not, chose to do it valuable experience, difficult at times not knowing anyone/understanding Singaporean culture, but committed to learning the most from the experience, performed well, selected to go to officer cadet school, learnt valuable teamwork and leadership skills as a result

Offshore wind in the UK

- The cost of producing offshore wind energy has fell significantly in recent months, to 57.50 pounds per MwH - Denmark's Dong energy by far the leading company in developing offshore wind - This has been driven by larger turbine sizes which are able to generate more electricity - Fewer more powerful turbines have also led to lower maintenance and installation costs - Dong Energy earlier this year succesfully bid for a German PPA, without the use of government subsidy - Britain is currently the global leader in offshore wind power and is expected to double its capacity by 2020

What is the M&A environment like for PUI in Europe at the moment?

- The environment remains characterized by low (pool) prices and excess capacity - Large utilities are under pressure to divest and spin off more and more of their underperforming or non-core and non-synergistic assets. Increasing the number of targets for financial investors. - Financial investors, leveraging their strong credit ratings and the continued low-cost capital environment in Europe, are well positioned to continue their asset acquisition spree in the segment as targets become available.

Government ask Ofgem for price cap?

- Theresa May earlier this year put forward legislation which will enable regulator Ofgem to cap electricity and gas prices for standard variable tarriffs - Contributed to share price of Centrica and SSE falling significantly this year - Some say it might actually reduce competition remove any incentive for energy companies to drive down prices and fight to keep their customers, entrenching the position of the incumbent big six - SSE and Innology's retail business Npower currently in talks to merge

Questions to ask? (MAKE SURE TO ASK)

- Would you mind sharing what drew you to working in Oil & Gas, and in your opinion what is the most interesting aspect about working in this group? - You mentioned that you have worked in Societe Generale in investment banking for a number of years now, what would your advice be to an incoming trainee on how to have a successful career in investment banking? - As someone looking to start a career in investment banking, securing a full time role after my traineeship is very important to me. Would you be able to share with me what the recruitment process is like for trainees who have successfully completed their programme?

Could you tell me more about your experiences at EY and what skills you have developed?

- learnt how to manage different stakeholders (lawyers, bankers) - learnt how to perform cash flow forecasting as part of a transaction - Become very comfortable with using excel and analysing lots of numerical data - Learnt how to prepare marketing material for proposals

What is QE and how does it affect companies?

- unconventional monetary policy in which a central bank purchases government securities from the market in order to lower interest rates and increase the money supply. - QE increases supply of money by flooding banks with capital in effort to promote liquidity and lending - By lowering interest rates this lowers the cost of borrowing, which will affect companies by increasing their valuation. - Lower interest rates reduce discount rate used in a DCF. Which leads to higher cash flows and the present value of these cash flows being higher

Issues with using a DCF to value O&G company?

1. Capital Expenditures tend to be massive, which depresses Free Cash Flow and makes almost all of the company's value depend on the Terminal Value. 2. Perpetual Growth is a big leap for oil & gas companies. There's a limited amount of oil and gas on planet Earth, so can you really assume that the company will grow at 3%, 2%, or even 1% into perpetuity? - You do still see DCFs sometimes, but they are more common for midstream, downstream, and oilfield services companies. - More likely to use Net Asset Value model for E&P companies

Why *Oil & Gas*?

1. Energy is an essential component in enabling economic growth. Oil is the is the most demanded fuel source and will continue to be so. Energy needs are expected rise by 30% by 2040 as the population grows significantly, and Oil and Gas have a huge part to play in meeting that energy demand, and hence is an extremely important industry for the global economy 2. Oil and Gas is an industry which is extremely capital intensive, and so there is a constant necessity for capital, as a banker in the industry this is how we can add value 3. It's tangible, I love that the companies that I would be valuing have real assets such as oil fields, tankers and rigs, rather than other sectors such as technology which are more intangible 4. I've read that it features some of the most complex modeling out there--there's a lot to learn and that is interesting to me

Walk me through your CV

1. I was in born in Singapore, but grew up in London and went to high-school there. After school, I returned to Singapore to serve my compulsory National Service for just under 2 years, after which I chose to study a BComm at the University of Melbourne, where I majored in Finance. In my last year at university I was awarded the Melbourne Global Scholars award to study abroad at the London School of Economics. 2. After graduating from Uni I started working at ANZ in their global markets division. The team I joined sold cross-asset class investment products to ANZs Private Banks across Asia. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the fast-paced and quantitative nature of the trading floor, I wanted to learn more about the value drivers behind companies in various industries. 2. After leaving ANZ, I joined local ecommerce retailer, Redmart, as a graduate. During my time there, I performed a lot of quantitative analysis using both Excel and Tableau to recategorise the Food Cupboard category which helped to reduce bounce rates for the site. I learnt a lot about how an ecommerce business operates, both from a merchandising perspective and a logistics perspective. During my time at Redmart the company was acquired by Lazada, this deal really sparked my interest in M&A and transactions, and showed me how valuable a transaction can be, in helping a company achieve its goals. After this happened, I started to read more and more about transactions and tried to reach out to people who worked in the investment banking industry to find out more about the type of worked performed. 3. At the beginning of the year I joined Ernst and Young Restructuring group. Here I've assisted in the JM of of a publicly listed marine company. I've had to help in running the day-to-day operations of the company, along with reviewing legal documents and contracts. I have enjoyed learning about the OSV industry, I have become much more interested in working directly on a transaction, and learning more about financial modelling and valuation. I'm here today because I want to learn how to advise companies on transactions that will help them to grow, just like Lazada-Redmart deal that initially sparked my interest. Having spoken to people who have worked at Soc Gen, I am confident that Soc Gen is a great bank for me to join, to achieve my goals.

How to build business plan? (look at how to build assumptions for 3 statement model)

1. Look at historical financials, calculate key ratios - YoY growth rates for Rev, GP, EBIT, Net Income. Growth rate calculations can only begin in year 2 not year 1 - calculate COGS, SGA, D&A as a % of Revenue, Effective tax rate as (Tax Expense/EBT). All year 1/year1 - Do the same with balance sheet - AR days, days a customer invoice is outstanding before its collected (AR/Rev x 365 days) - Inventory days, (Inv/COGS x 365 days), the number of days it takes to sell through inventory - AP days (AP/COGS x 365) 2. Make assumptions and forecast - Look at revenue trend and make assumptions about growth - Typically as company grows revenue and keeps fixed costs constant, it will improve its gross margin, due to operating leverage. Company whose costs are mostly fixed has higher Op. Leverage, which means any increase in revenue is likely to straight to the bottom line in the form of profit, because the incremental cost of producing another unit is so low. e.g. Swimming club - Expenses typically a % of revenue - For balance sheet items like AR, AP days, might look at average across historical years and then keep that number constant going forward - Then create CF statement by taking net income for first forecasted year and making the necessary accounting amendments, adding back D&A adjusting for changes in working capital, cash from investing and cash from financing to arrive at company's net change in cash

What would Redmart and its advisors have presented to Lazada to entice them to doing a deal?

1. Macroeconomic Overview - GDP growth - Population growth - Smartphone penetration - Food consumption Look at bar charts and CAGR and explain trends 2. Look at each category RM sells goods in - Look at volume and revenue in each cat. - Explain the trends for each category, who are the major players and key competitors, what is RM's market share 3. Business Overview - What does RM do? what are some of the business characteristics? e.g. RM operates a fleet of 300 vehicles and owns two warehouses. - What are some of the key business highlights? It has strong margins and revenue growth - Who is it owned by? - What are the Key risks and mitigants? e.g Risk - Lack of geographic diversification (only operates in SG) Mitigant - One of largest economies in SE Asia, experiencing strong GDP growth. RM is a market leader in online grocery an industry still in its infancy (4% of total grocery vs 20% in mature markets like the UK) 4. Historical Financials - Revenue, what is CAGR and growth rate - EBITDA - Working capital - Cash flow generation (EBITDA - Capex/EBITDA) shows how much cash generated after investing in business - Cash position - Explain trends and highlight key areas 5. Valuation overview - Football field graph showing valuation range of company for each valuation methodology used e.g company comps, precedent transaction comps (slightly higher due to control premium) and DCF - Always show a range of values - Use companies similar to RM in terms of both Quantitative and Qualitative factors - What multiple does it imply EV/EBITDA

What price do oil & gas professionals look at

1. OPEC - Weighted average of prices for petroleum blends produced by OPEC members - OPEC has often attempted to keep the price of the OPEC Basket between upper and lower limits, by increasing and decreasing production. - The OPEC Basket, including a mix of light and heavy crude oil products, is heavier than both Brent crude oil, and West Texas Intermediate crude oil. 2. WTI Crude - lighter and sweeter than Brent - WTI is restricted to the lands of Texas 3. Brent Crude - Is heavier than WTI - Brent essentially draws its oil from more than a dozen oil fields located in the North Sea - slightly more expensive Why is Brent more expensive than WTI? The answer is simply that Brent has no government restrictions on where it can be sold. WTI is restricted by the federal government for sale within the US only (unless it is partially refined). If something is restricted regarding where it is available for sale either by the seller's choice or government the price that the remaining buyers will offer is decreased because your market and potential buyers are reduced. If you are not willing to sell to all buyers or are restricted to by government action, buyers will pay you less.

What are your weaknesses?

1. Sometimes when asked to perform a task can get caught up in the intricacies of the task, and not see the bigger picture/objective - Have been improving on this weakness by clarifying and understanding how the task fits into the bigger picture of events before performing it 2. Sometimes I can get impatient when my work is being held up by other people. - I have been improving on this by putting myself in the other person's shoes and trying to understand that they have other work commitments too, and that my work is not their only priority. 3. Don't feel particularly connected to one country or city, having lived in several countries I feel very mobile - This could also be useful in working in different places globally, but for now I definitely want to move back to London

What is a Megawatt hour?

A megawatt is a unit for measuring power that is equivalent to one million watts. - A Megawatt hour is equal to 1000 Kilowatts of electricity used continually for 1 hour

What is a PPA?

Its a contract between a power producer and and a power purchaser - this contract helps buyers to lock in a price for electricity for a long period of time, and hedges against the risk of prices fluctuating in the future - It also ensures that the purchaser has certainty of power supply and the producer has certainty of revenue

INTEREST RATES

LIBOR - is a benchmark rate that some of the world's leading banks charge each other for short-term loans - Serves as the first step to calculating interest rates on various loans throughout the world - Current USD 3 month LIBOR at 1.74% US interest rate - 1.25% BoE Interest Rate - Raised for the first time since the end of last year - increase 25bps to 0.5% US 10 Year Treasury (risk free rate) - 2.62%

What moves the price of oil?

On a macro level, economic conditions, and in particular, geopolitical events (national, regional, and local) make an impact on the market. These (broad) factors influence both demand and supply. *Demand* On the demand side, you see economic growth, debt grade improvements or declines, population growth, civil unrest, and political instability as factors. Suppose you observe massive growth in emerging markets such as China and India; this economic growth would be the biggest demand driver - when your GDP increases significantly, inevitably you will use more energy. You can add seasonality as a driver as well: when things get cold, you tend to use more energy *Supply* - OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries). Intergovernmental organisations with 14 nation members, who control a significant portion of the supply of oil - access to financing - discoveries of new deposits - Government sponsorship of alternative energy - wars, sanctions and natural disasters - technological advancements, like fracking

Share about a recent deal you have been following

Overview · Semiconductor company Broadcom is looking to acquire Qualcomm, has offered $70 per share ($60 cash and $10 stock). The bid has been rejected by Qualcomm. But if it were to eventually succeed it would be the biggest tech M&A deal ever. Also very interesting as it is a high profile hostile takeover deal. · 33% premium to Qualcomm's 30-day VWAP · Proposal stands even if Qualcomm acquires or does not acquire NXP, which it is currently in negotiations with, as long as the price remains · The proposed transaction values Qualcomm at USD130bn (EV) including 25bn of net debt from NXP · Broadcom has already received highly confident letters from banks to arrange the necessary financing. Silver Lake Partners have also provided a commitment letter for 5bn in convertible debt financing · In 2016 Broadcom was ranked as the 5th largest semiconductor company in the world, with Qualcomm being ranked 3rd · Broadcom annual sales are 18bn compared to Qualcomm's 22bn Strategic Rationale · Creates leading diversified semiconductor company, Qualcomm's cellular business complimentary to Broadcom's portfolio · Qualcomm's share price has fallen considerably, and has been effected by the poor relations with Apple (lawsuit) over royalties and payments · Good time to capitalize on the low share price of Qualcomm, but highly likely the bid will be rejected as Qualcomm was trading at $70 just a year ago, sees this bid as opportunistic, ignores future earnings potential of the company, building towards the deployment of its 5G networks · CEO of Broadcom is known for cutting costs in previous acquisitions such as the Avago Broadcom acquisition, and believes he can optimize Qualcomm's business · Broadcomm have considered using the upcoming AGM to nominate new directors, a hostile act · One stop shop for smartphone components would give the combined entity greater negotiating power with Apple and Samsung · Deal likely to face anti-trust issues in countries where both companies have market leading positions · Pro forma fiscal 2017 revenues of approximately USD 51bn and pro forma 2017 EBITDA of approximately USD 23bn, including synergies · Transaction expected to be accretive to Broadcom's Non GAAP EPS in the first full year after close What are some defence strategies that Qualcomm could use to block the takeover? • A poison pill shareholder rights plan gives existing shareholders the right to purchase more shares at a discount in the event of a takeover, making the takeover less attractive by diluting the acquirer. • A Pac-Man defense is when the company that is the target of the hostile takeover turns around and tries to acquire the firm that originally attempted the hostile takeover. • A white knight is a company that comes into the company, which is the target of a hostile takeover with a friendly takeover offer. Why hostile bids may ultimately fail? - If key employees/management at the target are unhappy or unmotivated this can impact the organisation and affect customers too. Essential to focus on keeping key personnel who have driven the companies success - Culture. Two contrasting cultures can cause organisations and departments to be silos. The whole point of a merger/acquisition is that the value of the combined entity is greater than the sum of the values of the entities when separate. If the two companies cannot work together to achieve the cost and revenue synergies set out, the takeover is likely to be unsuccesful. Latest - Broadcom has proposed candidates to replace the existing board of directors who are unwilling to engage with Broadcom - Wouldn't make sense to up the bid now as it will likely lead to back and forth and raise the price before the meeting

Why do you want to work at Societe Generale?

Societe Generale is a leading investment bank globally and has a huge global reach. (I believe 60% of its employees are based outside of France, and represent over 122 nationalities. Coming from a diverse background myself, I believe diversity makes organisations stronger, by helping the bank connect with different types of clients from different cultures.) Having also spoken to family and friends who have worked at the bank, they spoke highly of the opportunities and responsibility given to junior analysts, and of the extensive training programme provided. I understand that the bank partnered with EDHEC business school to develop the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) an easily accessible online curriculum for its bankers. As someone at the start of their career, joining a bank which invests in its people and helps to develop them professionally and personally is extremely important to me, and I firmly believe Societe Generale would be able to provide that environment.

What are standard variable tariffs?

Standard variable tariffs are energy packages where the price per unit is dependent on the base rate of the Bank of England. If the rate goes up, then so do energy prices, but similarly if the rate decreases then users will benefit from lower fuel costs. As such, users of Standard Variable tariffs experience large levels of fluctuation

Overview of O&G Sector

Wide variety of companies with different sizes, and focusing on different areas of the oil and gas market *1. International Oil Companies (IOCs)* - e.g. Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, BG Group, Total etc - vertically integrated companies with global operations spanning the entire oil and gas value chain - From finding oil, to transporting it and refining and distributing it *2. National Oil Companies (NOCs)* - most leading producing oil countries have a NOC which is majority owned by the government. e.g. Saudi Aramco, Sinopec, PEMEX - in the OPEC countries these companies have near exclusive control of oil production *3. Upstream (Exploration and Production)* - These companies explore sites to find oil and gas, and then develop and produce what they find (Companies include: Chesapeake Energy, EOG Resources, and Occidental Petroleum - some operate across multiple segments) *4. Midstream* - Storage, processing, distribution and transportation - transported to processing facilities, and from there to end users, by pipeline, tanker/barge, truck, and rail. Pipelines are the most economical transportation method and are most suited to movement across longer distances, for example, across continents. Tankers and barges are also employed for long-distance, often international transport. Rail and truck can also be used for longer distances but are most cost-effective for shorter routes - e.g. Kinder Morgan *5.Downstream* - Refining and processing, along with marketing and distribution of products - Turn them into something useful - AKA jet fuel, automobile gasoline, diesel, and so on - and then sell them to customers. - Phillips 66, Marathon Oil *6. Oilfield Services* - Outside of these categories, there are companies in sectors such as oilfield services (think: Halliburton) that fall under the "oil & gas" classification but which really provide infrastructure or services to energy companies.

What is the current Megawatt per hour price?

around 50 pounds/MWh