Page 15 - AsiaElec Week 39 2021

AsiaElec ELECTRIC VEHICLES AsiaElec

Hong Kong ZRSC Technology to

invest $43mn in Uzbek EV production

CHINA HONG Kong ZRSC Technology is set to chan- regions. However, these plans have not been
nel $43mn of foreign direct investment (FDI) implemented.
into the production of electric vehicles (EVs) in EVs in Uzbekistan enjoy zeroed customs
Uzbekistan. duties, excise tax and motor vehicle fees.
A joint facility is to be established in Ferghana The popularity of electric vehicle transport
with Central Asia Motors enterprise, according among Uzbeks is growing, as evidenced by data
to a draft Uzbek presidential decree. presented by the country’s statistical committee.
The $55mn facility is expected to have the Some 501 EVs were imported into the country
capacity to produce 10,000 EVs per annum. in the first eight months of 2021, up sevenfold
The launch is scheduled for December 2022. year on year.
Uzbekistan has repeatedly announced plans Along with the growth in EV imports, the
to launch the production of EVs. In particular, required infrastructure is also developing.
back in 2018, the government unveiled plans According to latest data, 33 EV charging stations
to produce EVs in the Andijan and Bukhara are functioning throughout the country.™

InterRAO asked by China

to raise exports

MONGOLIA RUSSIA power exporter InterRAO said it could InterRAO has forecast that power exports to
raise electricity exports to China after Beijing all its destination countries in Europe and Asia
asked it to increase supplies in a bid to fill the should return to the 2019 level of 19bn kWh,
current power deficit in northern China. after dipping in 2020.
InterRAO said on Wednesday 29 that it was In 3Q20, the company’s generating output in
considering raising exports, although it warned Russia fell by 12%, as demand dropped because
that the export price could be unprofitable, VTB of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.
said in a note. However, the company warned earlier in Sep-
The Russian government in 2020 reformed tember that its export business to the EU could
the tightly regulated, state-owned company’s face annual losses of up to $193mn because of
pricing regulations, placing a cap of 5% on the the EU’s new CBAM system, which would effec-
margin between wholesale and retail prices. tively slap a carbon tax on the carbon footprint of
InterRAO warned that the price of electricity electricity generated from coal and gas.
in the Russian Far East is likely to decrease for VTB said that the government’s limit on
industrial consumers. the pricing margin of 5% means that any new
InterRAO exported 3.06bn kWh to China in exports are unlikely to generate significantly
2020, earning RUB9.9bn ($136mn) in revenues, new profits.
which implies a tariff of RUB3.25 per kWh. “By the end of the year, they might add no
Crucially, export volumes in the first half of more than RUB250-300mn [$3.43-4.12mn]
2021 fell 7.2% year on year, meaning that there is of additional profits for the trading business,
plenty of unused capacity in cross-border con- against about RUB150bn [$2.06mn] in EBITDA
nections between Russia and China. that the group is to earn in 2021, according to the
“Due to the specifics of tariff setting (with latest company guidance,” said VTB.
a 5% margin preset), supplies to China are However, any increase in export volumes is
unlikely to lead to a sharp increase in profita- more positive for consumers in the Russian Far
bility by the end of the year,” said VTB Capital East, who get the lion’s share of the profitability
(VTBC) Research in a note. from such supplies, VTB explained.™

Week 39 29•September•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P15