Soros goes large in green tech

This weeks blog is about the news that were released the weekend 10th of October 2009 announcing that US investor George Soros is planning to invest $1 billion (£625) in green technology.

The 79 year old with Hungarian roots who also lived in the UK for a period of his life and attended university here is one of the main individual players in global financial markets. He has managed to establish a big name and reputation for himself in the business world which is why these news will have an impact and an influence on markets and investments.

As sources the following 4 articles from the Financial Times, Yahoo Finance, Reuters and The National Business Review were analysed.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1407371a-b657-11de-8a28-00144feab49a.html
http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/10102009/325/soros-aims-invest-1-bln-green-tech.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5992BJ20091010
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/soros-invest-1-billion-clean-tech-112967

The FT article only briefly mentions that Mr Soros is planning to invest $1 billion and provide a climate protection organisation with $10 million a year over the next decade. It goes more into depth and actually explains why he will do so and what his objectives are. It explains a little more about Mr Soros himself and his occupations and interests rather than the actual investment, which makes it very easy and interesting informative reading for anyone with the slightest interest in the business world.

The Yahoo Finance article is more of a simple report of facts. It gives clear information and answers all the important questions as in What, When, Where, Who but unlike the FT article it is not pretty to read. It just sums up what Mr Soros announced he is intending to make this investment over the next years and what his intentions are. It briefly describes the situation and the necessary facts around, but doesn’t go into depth or give any background information at all. It is more for the reader that browses through the news and needs factual business information, precise and quick, without any nice or pleasant reading.

The Reuters article gives a very good mix of actual news information and facts as well as background data. They explain what Soros announced he will do, who he is, and why this might be in his interest to do.
It is very nice to read since it describes the matter in an interesting but factual way; it is a very good mix between a story and just a list of facts.
One thing that has to be mentioned is that other media actually use Reuters as a source and reference for their own articles.

The National Business Review article can in my eyes not even be described as a real article but more of a quick “note”. It uses Reuters as their source and reference and more or less as briefly as possible wraps up the facts. For someone who just wants to read and know the minimum this could be described as sufficient but there is no background information of any kind. It is technical and not very interesting, not even from a factual point of view.

I personally like the Reuters article best since it describes the whole situation and gives some informative and interesting background data about both, the matter and the person behind it. It is very informative and interesting to read, without anything unnecessary that would be a waste of time, which I consider very important.

For this matter and this cause I think the media and the reporting are of enormous importance. I strongly believe that George Soros has a very big influence on international financial markets due to the reputation and name he has achieved from his actions over the past decades. There will be a lot of people following him and his investment, and even if that is not the case it will create higher awareness.

What he is trying to achieve here in my opinion is a move towards green technology. He wants to use his name and his power together with the media to make people invest and consider green technology and support it.
Green technology is a growing market, but Mr Soros, who is 79 years old and worth $11 billion, has a minor personal interest in this I think.
What he actually wants to achieve is raise investment and awareness for climate and green tech for the future of the world.

He is investing in a good cause and advertising it and making it public through the global news. He is using his money name and power for the good cause which I consider as a very clever and honourable move. On top of that he uses the international media to distribute his ideas and his aims to the people around the world, which once again shows their power, influence and importance.