Page 7 - AsiaElec Week 47 2021
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AsiaElec POWER DEMAND AsiaElec
Electricity demand in SE
Asia to rise in 2021
GLOBAL ELECTRICITY demand in Southeast Asia is Fitch expects an electricity-tariff freeze and
likely to increase in 2021, following slow growth various Covid-19 relief measures to continue till
or contraction in 2020, thanks to state support the end of the year.
that has mitigated the impact of the coronavirus This will mean Perusahaan Listrik Negara
pandemic on power consumption, Fitch Ratings (Persero) (BBB/Stable) will remain reliant on
says in a new report. state support to sustain its operations over the
In Vietnam, a resurgence of Covid-19 cases in medium term.
the second half of the year led to re-imposition of A spike in Covid-19 cases in Thailand led to
restrictions. As a result, Fitch expects Vietnam’s a lockdown from July to September 2021, which
electricity demand to rise by 5% in 2021 (1H-21: is likely to drag down overall demand growth for
8% y/y), slower than the annual average of 9% in electricity to 1%-1.5% for the year.
the past decade. Thailand’s electricity demand declined by 3%
The government approved tariff subsidies for in 2020 (2019: 3% growth), driven by the pan-
consumers in 2020, and this continued at lower demic-led economic slowdown and decline in
levels in 2021. We expect Vietnam Electricity’s tourism.
(BB/Positive) ‘bb’ Standalone Credit Profile to The government provided several relief meas-
have reasonable headroom to absorb the lower ures to aid households and businesses. We expect
electricity demand and delay in tariff increase. Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand’s
Fitch expects electricity demand in Indonesia (BBB+/Stable) strong financial profile to provide
to increase by around 5% in 2021 (9M-21: 4.4%), buffer against lower electricity demand and tariff
after demand fell by 0.8% in 2020 due to the pan- discounts.
demic-led economic slowdown.
Mongolia’s coal exports to
China surge 82% in October
CHINA CHINA’S coking coal imports rose in October October again slowed border crossings.
from September on a rebound in Mongolian China imported 4.38mn tonnes of coking
shipments, Argus reported on November 23. coal in October, down by 26% y/y and up by 1%
Mongolian arrivals surged by 82% from the m/m, according to Chinese customs data.
previous month to 1.2mn tonnes in October, but January-October imports fell by 40% to
they were down by 63% y/y. Imported Mongo- 39.47mn tonnes. China’s ban on Australian coal
lian coking coal crossing the border increased imports over the past year halted the country’s
to approximately 400 trucks/d in mid-Octo- imports from December, although last month
ber, marking a doubling of trucks/d m/m. But Beijing allowed the discharge of Australian car-
a resurgence of COVID-19 cases at the end of goes that arrived before the ban.
Week 47 24•November•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P7
