EDF investors wary

PARIS: The resignation of French energy giant EDF’s finance chief sent its shares plunging on Monday as concerns grew over the risks of its plan to build a next-generation nuclear plant in Britain. Thomas Piquemal quit after a disagreement within EDF over the £18-billion ($25.5 billion) Hinkley Point project in Somerset, southwest England, which has been slated to produce seven per cent of Britain’s energy needs by 2025. EDF confirmed his resignation with immediate effect, with a company source saying Piquemal had quit in a dispute over ‘the short-term feasibility’ of the project. Two sources told the Financial Times that Piquemal was concerned that going ahead with Hinkley Point could plunge heavily-indebted EDF’s future into peril.