Two power plants planned in Laos for sale of electricity to Cambodia
CONSTRUCTION of two coalfired power plants will begin at the end of this year in Sekong province in the southeast of Laos, according to a senior government official.
Officials say these plants will become operational and begin transmitting electricity to Cambodia in 2025 based on an agreement signed between the developers and the Lao government.
Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines Dr Daovong Phonekeo told Vientiane Times that the first power plant will be built by Phonesack Group Co Ltd in Kaleum district, with installed capacity of 1,800MW.
“The company will invest about $3-4 billion in the power plant, including the construction of power lines to transmit electricity to Cambodia,” he said, adding that the transmission line would be 200km in length.
The second power plant will be built in Lamam district by a Chinese company which plans to invest more than $1 billion in the project, which will have installed capacity of 700MW.
Dr Daovong said that, based on the agreement, the Chinese company was to supply 600MW to Cambodia. However, the company wants to ensure a sustainable supply of energy to the buyer so has decided to increase the installed capacity to 700MW.
The Chinese company will not build transmission lines but will partner with Electricite
du Laos (EDL) in the export of power to Cambodia.
“Cambodia will buy electricity from our power plants for 7.3 US cents per kWh,” the deputy minister said.
When asked about the amount of coal present in the two districts to supply the power plants, Dr Daovong said it was sufficient to supply the two plants over the concession period of 25 years.
More surveys will be carried out to locate coal seams in other areas as alternative sources of supply.
Sekong provincial governor Leklay Sivilay told reporters recently that Sekong has huge potential to produce energy for export, which will generate income for local people and drive economic growth in the province.
He said the government will take into account the need to balance power plant development and environmental protection, and ensure that power plants benefit local communities and help to improve livelihoods in the area.
The government will learn from experiences gained during the operation of the Hongsa coal-fired power plant, the largest energy-generating plant in Laos, when building the new coal-fired power plants in southern Laos. Laos is looking to increase electricity exports to neighbouring countries including Vietnam and Cambodia.
The 260MW Don Sahong hydropower project in Khong district, Champasak province, is already transmitting electricity to Cambodia’s Stung Treng province.
Laos intends to increase the amount of electricity sold to Cambodia as the existing transmission line has the capacity to carry more energy.
SIXTY per cent of companies listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange which released earnings reports through February 4 posted losses or reduced profits for the April-December period, according to a tally by SMBC Nikko Securities Inc.
SMBC Nikko tabulated the financial results of 636 companies, which excludes financial institutions and accounts for 47.6 per cent of the total firms listed on TSE’s First Section.
While a harsh business climate continues particularly in the non-manufacturing sector, some companies have stood out as efforts launched before the novel coronavirus crisis have fit perfectly with new lifestyles brought about by the pandemic, resulting in record profits.
According to SMBC Nikko, 280 of the 636 companies, or 44 per cent, saw a decline in net profits, while 104, or 16.3 per cent, suffered losses for the period.
Total of sales by the 636 companies fell by nearly 10 per cent from the same period in 2019, and total net profits decreased by 29.5 per cent. While that margin of profit decline marked an improvement from that for the first-half period through September 2020, when it stood at 40.7 per cent, the extent of recovery has varied by industry.
Non-manufacturing industries such as travel and food
services saw net profits drop 48.6 per cent, a worsening from the first-half results of 30 per cent. The land and air transportation sectors both suffered significant losses.
On the other hand, some companies have reported upbeat earnings thanks to launching subscription services, strengthening online shopping businesses or starting other ventures before the pandemic.
Sony Corp executive deputy president and CEO Hiroki Totoki told a February 3 press conference: “Demand from people staying at home has
continued. It is very strong.”
Sony’s online subscription services that allow unlimited home access to music or games are doing well. For the April-December period, the company posted an 87 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to a record high of 1.0647 trillion yen ($10 billion), based on US accounting standards.
Since the 2000s, Sony has shifted to profitable subscription and insurance services after its TV and other home electronics businesses became sluggish amid competition from South Korean rivals. As
a result, Sony was well placed to capture growing demand when the pandemic led more people to refrain from going out and to work from home.
Its game, music and financial units all reported increased profits. The company also revised upward to 1.085 trillion yen its annual net profit forecast for the year through March 31.
Fast Retailing Co, the operator of the casual clothing giant Uniqlo, reported a slight decline in sales and profits for the September-November period, based on international financial reporting standards, as the number of customers shopping at actual stores declined.
However, online sales grew by about 50 per cent, and the company expects sales and profits to be in the black for the full year ending August 2021. In 2018, it constructed a huge logistics warehouse in Tokyo for its online shopping business, which is proving to be the right move.
Alpen Co, a major sporting goods retailer whose name was once synonymous with skiing goods, posted record sales for the first-half period that ended in December. The company projects annual net profit to hit a record high, about 500 times better than the previous fiscal year.
While the number of skiers has been on a decline in Japan, Alpen has opened outdoor specialty stores and strengthened its selection of golf and outdoor products. Golf and camping have grown in popularity as leisure activities that allow people to avoid crowds, and the company has cashed in on brisk sales of related products.
“It’s difficult to respond quickly to changes caused by the coronavirus pandemic,” said Nomura Securities Co senior strategist Takashi Ito. “Businesses for which the companies planted seeds have contributed to strong earnings.”
HAITIAN authorities on February 7 said they had foiled an attempt to murder President Jovenel Moise and overthrow the government, as a dispute rages over when his term ends.
The plot was an “attempted coup d’etat”, according to justice minister Rockefeller Vincent, with authorities saying at least 23 people have been arrested, including a top judge and an official from the national police.
“I thank my head of security at the palace. The goal of these people was to make an attempt on my life,” Moise said.
“That plan was aborted,” he added, speaking on the tarmac at Port-au-Prince airport, accompanied by his wife and Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe.
Jouthe said plotters had contacted police officials at the presidential palace who were planning to arrest Moise and then help install a “transition” president.
Leon Charles, the director of Haiti’s national police force, said officers had seized documents, cash and several weapons, including assault rifles, an Uzi submachine gun, pistols and machetes.
Jouthe added that among the documents was a speech from the judge who had planned on becoming interim leader in a transition government.
But political opposition figures dismissed claims that a coup had been attempted.
Lawyer Andre Michel said: “You don’t carry out a coup with two pistols and three or four rifles.”
He added that Moise could not claim to have suffered a coup attempt because his presidential term had expired.
Moise has been governing without any checks on his power for the past year and says he remains president until February 7, 2022 – in an interpretation of the constitution rejected by the opposition, which has led protests asserting that his term ended on Sunday.
The US on February 5 accepted the president’s claim to power, with Department of State spokesman Ned Price saying Washington has urged “free and fair legislative elections
so that parliament may resume its rightful role”.
The dispute over when the president’s term ends stems from Moise’s original election – he was voted into office in a poll subsequently cancelled on grounds of fraud, and then elected again a year later, in 2016.
After the latter disputed election, demonstrations demanding his resignation intensified in the summer of 2018.
Voting to elect deputies, senators, mayors and local
officials should have been held in 2018, but the polls have been delayed, triggering the vacuum in which Moise says he is entitled to stay for another year.
In recent years, angry Haitians have demonstrated against what they call rampant government corruption and unchecked crime by gangs.
In a February 5 letter to the UN mission in Haiti, several human rights and women’s advocacy groups faulted it
for providing technical and logistical support for Moise’s plans to hold a constitutional reform referendum in April followed by presidential and legislative elections.
The letter said the UN “must under no circumstances support President Jovenel Moise in his anti-democratic plans”.
Haiti’s capital Port-auPrince on February 7 saw sparse demonstrations and sporadic clashes with police.