Qatar – Shell to drop the ‘Dutch’ from name, end dual share structure

Qatar – Shell to drop the ‘Dutch’ from name, end dual share structure

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Royal Dutch Shell Plc plans to simplify its structure, establishing a single line of shares and moving its tax residence to the UK from the Netherlands. While such a change had been on the cards for years, the decision comes at a time when relations in its home country have become increasingly fraught. Without warning, Dutch pension fund ABP said last month it would drop Shell -- and all fossil fuels -- from its portfolio, while in May a court ruled the firm must slash its emissions harder and faster than planned. "The simplification will normalize our share structure under the tax and legal jurisdictions of a single country and make us more competitive," Chairman Andrew Mackenzie said Monday in a statement. "Shell will be better positioned to seize opportunities and play a leading role in the energy transition." Shell has been incorporated in the UK with Dutch tax residence and a dual share structure since the 2005 unification of Koninklijke Nederlandsche Petroleum Maatschappij and Shell Transport & Trading Co. It was not envisaged at the time that the current A/B share structure would be permanent, the company said. Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden and Chief