Ashish SinhaAll regulatory and financing issues in the infrastructure projects especially those involving the public-private-partnership (PPP) projects will be sorted out at the earliest. This assurance came after the meeting taken by Shaktikanta Das, Secretary, Economic Affairs with the representatives of the infrastructure companies on Monday, October 26, 2015. The meeting was organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII). It was attended by R Gandhi, RBI deputy government, Arundhati Bhattacharya, chairperson of the State Bank of India and officers from the infrastructure ministries like roads, shipping, and power, among others. "We will examine the suggestions in consultation with the various other departments and ministries and place them before the government for decision quickly," Das said after the meeting. A committee under Vijay Kelkar, former finance Secretary is already looking into ways and means of revitalising the stagnant PPP projects. It was set up after the need was spelled out in the budget speech by finance minister Arun Jaitley in February. During the meeting the industry representatives raised regulatory and financing issues, difficulties and certain issues which they have been encountering as well as capacity building. Besides, issues concerning dispute resolution with regard to concession agreement for implementing Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects were also discussed. "We are expecting the Kelkar committee report to be submitted before the end of this month or may be by first week of November. Some of the recommendations, if accepted by the government, can be operationalised far quicker. But some of the recommendations may require little more time. So it will depend on content of recommendation of the Kelkar panel," Das said. Further discussion in this regard would also take place between the RBI, banks and department of Financial Services. The terms of reference of the committee included measures to improve capacity building in government for effective implementation of PPP projects, review of experience of PPP policy, analysis of risks involved in such projects in different sectors and existing framework of sharing of such risks between project developer and government. ashish.sinha@businessworld.in
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Solar module manufacturer Vikram Solar has concluded an agreement with British Solar Renewables (BSR), a leading British project developer, to supply modules with a total output of 30 MW.Angus MacDonald, CEO at British Solar Renewables, the UK’s largest integrated solar developer and operator comments on the collaboration: "Based on the precise, power-optimized string-layout in our solar parks, the performance is far above average, which makes it extremely attractive to our investors and future buyers. In Vikram we have found a technology partner who meets our high engineering standards while being cost-efficient. The Vikram brand is also recognized across the industry, which makes it easier to resell the solar parks upon completion.”BSR will be installing the PID-resistant Eldora Ultima modules in their upcoming solar parks with a total output of 80 MW, to be finished by the end of March 2016. Macquarie Bank has agreed to provide the financial backing for the projects.Before signing the supply agreement, British Solar Renewables conducted due diligence on both Vikram Solar and the Eldora Ultima modules. Vikram Solar’s tier 1 status, the financial stability of the Vikram Group and the technical quality of the products were among the decisive criteria in favour of the collaboration. Supplementary reinsurance from Solarif will cover replacement modules as needed.Gyanesh Chaudhary, MD and CEO of Vikram Solar adds: “We already supply the UK’s largest builders’ merchant, EH Smith, and the country’s largest electrical wholesaler, Edmundson Electrical. The collaboration with British Solar Renewables fits well with our goal of making Vikram Solar modules available across the market and recruiting the best partners in each market segment.”(BW Online Bureau)
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Simar SinghOver the course of the next three years, the Haryana government plans to commission 215 additional sub-stations of different capacities across the state, with the view of strengthening the distribution and transmission infrastructure. Further, the state administration wants to augment as many as 418 existing sub-stations. An official spokesperson told PTI that there were plans of laying 3,171 kilometres of transmission lines over the coming three years. The Manohar Lal Khattar led government has initiated several schemes to improve the power situation in Haryana. In July the Haryana government had announced the launch of a voluntary scheme ‘Mhara Gaon – Jagmag Gaon’.This is aimed at working towards the provision of 24-hour uninterrupted supply to domestic consumers in rural areas and improving electricity bill collections to combat the accumulated losses of power utilities. The spokesperson further said that an outlay of Rs. 316 crore had been approved by the central government under the ‘Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana’, to stabilise the distribution system in rural areas. The decision to develop a ‘Smart Grid’ in Gurgaon has also been taken by the state. This will be done in collaboration with the central government and is estimated to cost Rs. 7,000 crore. Solving problems of power outages in the satellite city is a key area of concern for the government. Most recently, the decision to hike power tariffs lead to criticism across the state. This compelled the Haryana Electricity Regulation Commission to issue a revised tariff order, bringing down electricity costs for domestic consumers and making a provision for households to pay off their dues in instalments.
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Countries should not bank on oil prices remaining low when formulating their energy policies, as supplies could tighten from mid-2016 due to a drop in investment and falling US output, a senior industry official said on Monday (26 October).Global oil prices have more than halved since June 2014 on rising US shale oil output and as members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided to defend market share rather than cut production."It will be a great mistake to index our attention to oil security to the oil price trajectory in the short term," Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said at the Singapore International Energy Week.If prices continued at current levels, oil investment was likely to decline again in 2016, mainly in high-cost regions, after sliding this year by more than a fifth, said Birol, who took over the top post at the Paris-based IEA in September."If it comes true, this will be the first time in two decades we will see oil investments declining for two consecutive years," he said. "One should think about medium and long term implications of this lack of investments."US production of light tight oil production had peaked and was expected to decline by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2016, he added, tightening supplies further.Birol said geopolitical risks in the Middle East that could disrupt supplies remained, although a lifting of sanctions on Iran could boost production by 400,000-600,000 barrels per day (bpd) within a year.Still, he added that oil supplies were ample until at least mid-2016 and the IEA did not expect a strong price rebound in the short term.The IEA was set up in 1974 by oil-importing nations as a counter to OPEC and is a leading forecaster for opaque energy markets, although major energy consumers China and India are not members.On liquefied natural gas (LNG), Birol said supplies would be ample as the market will expand to 500 billion cubic metres around 2020 with new production in Australia and the United States.Most of the investment in renewables would be in emerging economies led by China and India, a shift away from OECD countries, Birol said."Renewables are now a mainstream fuel and will be responsible for two-thirds of new power plants added in the next five years," he said.Asked about the possibility of China or India joining the IEA, Birol said he hoped ministers from both countries would be at a 17-18 November ministerial meeting in Paris as special guests "which will strengthen the ties we have with those countries."(Reuters)
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The Dubai land department's latest data indicates that Indians were the most prolific foreign investors in Dubai real estate during H1 2015, with a total of 3,017 transactions worth over $ 2 billion. Burj Khalifa, Business Bay, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Marina most preferred locations for Indian property buyers who once again top the foreign property investment chart - a position they have consistently maintained for several years. "The characteristic Indian mindset of solidifying assets in multiple arenas compliments the dynamics of Dubai real estate that offers a number of options to buyers to accommodate their budget and preferences. Recent trends of purchasing properties in locations such as Downtown Dubai, Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Lake Towers, and The Palm also suggest that the buyers are looking at profitable dividends in the shape of rents and resale value," Sunil Jaiswal, President of Sumansa Exhibitions, said in a statement. The company is bringing Dubai Property Show to India in November from 6-8 at Bombay Exhibition Center, Goregaon (E). Amongst the factors responsible for the trend are relatively low property prices. The average ticket size for prime locations is around 2-4 million UAE Dirhams ($ 5.45 lakh to $ 1. 1 million), which is around Rs. 3.35 crore to Rs. 6.69 crore. The same ticket size in prime location in India would cost around Rs 5-10 crore. The Reserve Bank of India's latest move to allow investors to send up to $250,000 freely overseas to buy property has boosted the sentiment. Indian investors are increasingly exploring options in Dubai for a balanced real estate investment portfolio. Other factors that have boosted sentiment include proximity to India, rental yield from 4-7 per cent per year, better transparency in deals. According to the Dubai land department, residential apartments account for 60 per cent of India buyers' investments. "Prime property in Dubai is among some of the finest in the world and at the moment, in a softening market, represents excellent value-for-money. Identified as being one of Dubai's defining developments, The Palm Jumeirah is instantly recognisable and world-renowned for offering luxury homes in a unique location providing over 1,400 villas and 2,500 beachfront apartments", said Greg Lewis from Knight Frank, a leading independent global property consultancy.
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Oil prices rose on Friday (23 October), finding support from brighter economic data and a global stock market rally after the European Central Bank signalled more stimulus. Benchmark Brent crude oil was 20 cents higher at $48.28 a barrel by 0905 GMT after settling up 23 cents in the previous session. US crude for December was unchanged at $45.38 a barrel, having risen 18 cents on Thursday. The gains followed a raft of positive economic data and a statement by ECB President Mario Draghi on Thursday that new euro zone initiatives could be unveiled as soon as December. Draghi said the ECB was "open to the full menu of monetary policy" to stoke the economy. The euro saw its largest one-day percentage drop against the dollar in nine months on Thursday, a move that might have been expected to depress oil, which is traded internationally in the US currency. But Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at ABN AMRO Bank, said hopes that European economic stimulus measures would boost oil demand were supporting fuel globally. "Draghi's comments are supportive," van Cleef said. "Nevertheless, with the dollar finding support, the upside for oil prices will be limited." Jonathan Barratt, chief investment officer at Ayers Alliance, said markets had decided governments would not allow economies to falter. "These expectations suggest more active economic development will force consumption to go up," Barratt added. Data from the United States on Thursday showed a strong rebound in home resales in September and new applications for unemployment benefit hovering around 42-year lows. European stock markets joined a global share surge that buoyed overall sentiment. Japanese manufacturing activity expanded in October at what could be its fastest pace in 19 months, according to Markit/Nikkei Japan Flash Manufacturing PMI data on Friday. China's commercial crude oil stocks at the end of September rose 2.38 per cent from August, while diesel stocks saw a record 15.68 per cent drawdown and refined fuel stocks overall dropped 7.46 per cent, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday without giving actual volumes. Rising US oil inventories, which climbed by a larger-than-expected 8 million barrels to 476.6 million last week, were a potential headwind to oil prices, helping to fuel concern over global oversupply. Investors also awaited rig data on Friday for guidance on how US oil production has responded to recent price falls.(Reuters)
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Simar Singh At the India-Africa Forum Summit that is set to kick off on the upcoming Monday (26 October), Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to announce a global alliance of 110 countries to promote the adoption of solar power to address growing energy needs climate change concerns. The summit which will be held in the Capital’s Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium will see participation from all 54 members of the African Union including, at least, 41 countries engaging at the level of president, vice president, prime minister and king. Reportedly, this global alliance is to be known as the International Agency for Solar Power and Application and will be expected to do business worth $100 billion by 2020. This alliance will be in sync with policy trends in both India as well as Africa. Under the Modi administration’s aegis, there has been a drive to promote the nationwide increase in solar power capacities. African nations, too, have been moving in a similar direction. Most recently, politicians from 14 African nations joined hands with former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Virgin head Richard Branson to launch a global campaign with aims to bring solar energy to 620 million people across the continent who still have little or no access to electricity. PM Modi had previously pitched the idea of such a global alliance earlier this year. At the time, it found support from China, Australia, Brazil, New Zeland and African countries. This initiative is also a part of the climate change agenda which was submitted by New Delhi to the United Nations ahead of the Paris Climate Change Conference which will be held in December. India has pledged to fulfil at least 40 per cent of its energy requirements from renewable and low-carbon-emitting sources by 2030. With costs associated with solar energy installations sharply dropping and access to related technology becoming easier, India is likely to provide a platform for developing countries to share knowledge and other resources related to this. For a long time, one of the biggest issues that have plagued global climate talks, pitting developing and developed countries against each other is the reluctance of the latter to transfer clearer energy know-how at lower costs. A collaborative of this nature could be good for Indian businesses and will help strengthen India’s bilateral and multilateral relationship with African nations.
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Sembcorp Industries, one of Southeast Asia's biggest utilities companies, plans to roughly triple its renewable energy portfolio over the next five years, targetting India and China for growth, a senior company official said.Industrial conglomerate Sembcorp, whose utilities arm forms one of its three main divisions, expects renewable energy to account for 20 per cent of its total power capacity in five years, up from 13 percent at present, executive vice president Tan Cheng Guan told the Reuters Summit."Over the last three years, we have grown renewables quite significantly," Tan said. "We have been able to accelerate because the cost of renewables has been coming down quite quickly because of technology and scale."Sembcorp, which plans to focus on wind and solar energy, where costs are expected to drop further by 2020, has total power capacity of about 8,800 megawatts (MW).India and China make up the bulk of its renewables capacity, with wind power assets in China of about 450 MW.In India, it jointly owns and operates wind and solar power assets with a total power capacity of 750 MW after buying a majority stake in Indian renewable energy firm Green Infra in February, this year."India is under served at the moment and their (power) capacity is maybe one quarter of China's, even with about the same population," Tan said. "So, if India's economy grows by 7 to 8 per cent in the next decade, we see that India will grow the fastest."A boom in clean energy projects is expected in India after it hiked its solar energy target to 100 gigawatts by 2022, a 33-fold rise from current levels.In China, Sembcorp is also jointly building a coal-fired power plant near coal mines in Chongqing.Tan said the plant's newer and more efficient technology would help in China's push to reduce its carbon footprint.Sembcorp is also looking towards Bangladesh and Myanmar where it is developing gas-fired power plants.He declined to comment on Sembcorp's credit exposure to Jurong Aromatics Corp (JAC), which went into receivership last month due to debt problems.Sembcorp has a 20-year agreement with JAC for the supply of steam and other water and wastewater treatment services.(Reuters)
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