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China - Middle East Business Update: June 2008
Dear Reader,
In this issue, please find news about the $149 million contract between the Abu Dhabi-based real estate developer 5 Pioneers Property Development and China’s Shanghai Lonjian Industry Corporation for the construction of Time Towers in the Najmat Abu Dhabi project on Al-Reem Island, the launch of the first Islamic mutual fund focused on the Greater China region, and Qatar’s first plan to build an oil refining and petrochemical complex in China.
For any further inquiries regarding the China- Gulf News Update please contact the secretariat at info@meconsult.co.uk. Please let me know if you have any particular news items that you would like to have included in the next newsletter, I would be happy to do so. Also, if you know any individual or organization that would like to receive the newsletter in the future, please let me know.
Kind regards,
Editor MEC International Ltd. Granville House, 132 Sloane Street, London SW1X 9AX Fax: 020 7591 4801 Email: info@meconsult.co.uk
Kuwait shortlists Shell, Dow for Chinese refinery (03/06/2008) Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) has short liste Royal Dutch Shell and Dow Chemical as potential partners in a joint-venture Chinese refinery it aims to build with Sinopec, a KPC executive said on Tuesday.
Aramco ramps up China refining capacity (04/06/2008) New units to triple capacity to 240,000 barrels per day (bpd) at China’s Fujian refinery will start up this year and be fully on line by the end of the first quarter 2009, Saudi Aramco said on its website on Wednesday. Aramco is a partner in a $5 billion project to boost the plant’s capacity and add petrochemical units with China’s Sinopec and US Exxon Mobil.
China coal price freeze spurs fears of export ban (05/06/2008) A price freeze on coal in some Chinese provinces has stoked worries over a possible halt to exports as Beijing grows increasingly anxious about securing a low-priced power supply in the run-up to the Olympic Games. With power shortages worsening ahead of the peak consuming season in the summer, several provinces, including the country’s top coal producer Shanxi, have issued circulars calling on local coal mines to increase supplies to power generators, with some also demanding that prices be lowered.
Shanghai giant snares US $149mn Time Towers deal (07/06/2008) Abu Dhabi-based real estate developer, 5 Pioneers Property Development, has awarded a US $149 million (AED547 million) contract to China’s Shanghai Lonjian Industry Corporation for the construction of Time Towers in the Najmat Abu Dhabi project on Al-Reem Island. Construction of the towers will begin this month and has a completion time of 28 months. Khalid Al-Shamsi, chairman, 5 Pioneers Property Development said that the project consisted of two towers, one residential and the other commercial, both joined by four floors containing a parking lot and shops.
ANALYSIS-China to keep grip on society as challenges loom (08/06/2008) The Chinese government’s burst of openness in the aftermath of its devastating earthquake was not a signal that the Communist Party is relaxing its grip on a rapidly changing society -- far from it. China’s leaders tolerated free media coverage of the country’s deadliest natural disaster in three decades and allowed society to take much of the response into its own hands as volunteers poured into Sichuan province to help the victims.
China’s Thirst for Oil (09/06/2008) The fear of China “locking up” energy supplies around the world is misplaced, and other countries should cooperate with it to ensure a more cooperative international environment on both energy and wider security issues. China’s Thirst for Oil, the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines China’s need for energy and assesses the impact of Beijing’s energy policies on the resolution of conflict by looking at Sudan and Iran as case studies.
Chinese firm starts drilling for oil in Harir (12/06/2008) Noozz Editorial As negotiations between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Baghdad’s central government continue to solve the disputes about foreign oil contracts, a Chinese company specialized in drilling for oil continues work in the Harir area of Kurdistan which is located in the Harir valley in Irbil governorate. Speaking to the press, the director of the Harir District, Rizkar Nasir, has stressed oil has been found in Kati Jurkan, Amokan, Je-Me-Sur and Makran villages in addition to a number of other district villages as well, adding that district residents provided a great deal of assistance to the Chinese firm drilling for oil there. Razkar Nasser, the official in charge of the Kurdish district of Harir, said the Chinese were working in the area and initial reports “are very encouraging.” He said he was instructed by the Kurdish regional government in Arbil to provide the Chinese with “the means that will make their stay in the area peaceful and comfortable. Harir plateau is said to be the Kurds’ breadbasket. The narrow plain almost bisects the Iraqi Kurdistan as it extends for hundreds of kilometers. Nasser said several villages will be affected by the excavation and that a committee has been formed to assess damage and determine financial compensation. Digging and excavating for oil by foreign firms is proceeding in Kurdish areas, which are relatively quiet in comparison to other parts of the country. At least 15 foreign oil firms are working in the region and the Kurds say they now have the potential to export up to 150,000 barrels of oil a day. However, differences with the central government in Baghdad have made shipping of Kurdish oil difficult. The Oil Ministry says it will not allow the Kurds use the country’s export pipelines. Nasser declined to say which Chinese firm was involved in the excavation. Baghdad has vowed to punish any foreign firm working in the Kurdish region without central government approval by denying it Iraqi contracts.
First Islamic Greater China fund launched (15/06/2008) Rapid growth and economic development make China an attractive destination for investment, but until now it has been extremely difficult to invest there in a Shariah compliant manner. This is set to become much easier with the launch of the first Islamic mutual fund focused on the Greater China region - covering mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Mayfair Pacific Asset Management, based in Hong Kong, has previous experience of fund management in the Asia Pacific region, and particularly China: its chief investment officer, Vincent Koo, in his previous funds, delivered annualised returns of around 22% between 2001 and 2007.
Oil rebounds after fall on China fuel price hike (20/06/2008) Oil rose by almost $3 a barrel on Friday as the view gained ground that a surprise fuel price increase by China may actually boost rather than curtail demand for fuel. Demand from China, India and the Middle East has been cited as a factor behind oil’s almost sevenfold surge from $20 six years ago to a record high of nearly $140 a barrel this week.
Xi sees big leap in trade ties between Saudi Arabia and China (23/06/2008) Mutual trade between Saudi Arabia and China is set to grow further, said Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping here yesterday. “The situation is favorable for further growth of economic cooperation in diverse fields between Kingdom and China,” Xi said while addressing a meeting of Saudi and Chinese businessmen held at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) yesterday.
Qatar, Shell to build China oil (24/06/2008) Qatar and Royal Dutch Shell together with PetroChina plan to build an oil refining and petrochemical complex in China. Although it supplies less than one percent of China’s crude imports, the refinery and petrochemical venture represents Qatar’s first foray into the massive Chinese oil market, following Middle East peers Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
China may offset losses for foreign refining partners (25/06/2008) China’s finance ministry is in talks with partly foreign-owned refiners that could help them offset losses caused by below-cost domestic fuel prices set by Beijing, industry sources told Reuters. This would allow the foreign firms including Total, Saudi Aramco and Exxon Mobil to share in some of the benefits that Beijing has offered its state oil majors Petrochina and Sinopec to ease the burden of supplying cheap gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
China passes Japan as No.2 crude importer in May (25/06/2008) China overtook Japan as the world’s second-largest crude oil importer in May, according to data on Wednesday that showed an 8 percent rise in purchases by Japan, where power plants have been forced to burn more crude. The Middle East suppliers boosted crude exports to Japan by 5 percent in May to 16.393 million kl, the data showed. Saudi Arabia, the top oil exporter to Japan, has boosted its crude supplies to Japan to full contracted volumes since last November.
China building its first coalbed methane pipeline (25/06/2008) State-owned China National Petroleum Corp has launched construction of the country’s first coalbed methane pipeline, the company, China’s biggest oil firm, said on its website (www.cnpc.com.cn). The 35-kilometre pipeline would take coalbed methane from the Qinshui area in the southwest of Shanxi, China’s top coal-producing province, to the west-east natural gas pipeline, the statement said.
EIA cuts world 2010 oil output; big non-OPEC loss (25/06/2008) Crude oil production from non-OPEC countries will not be able to keep up with growing global demand in the next few years, forcing oil consuming nations to rely more on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries for supplies, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday.
Aramex is considering acquisitions in China and the United-States (26/06/2008) Aramex PJSC, the U.A.E.-based courier has a presence in Europe, India and Europe, and needs to extend into China and the U.S. to complete its global network and compete with Atlanta-based United Parcel Service Inc. and Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx Corp.
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