Page 8 - BNE_magazine_04_2019

8 I The Month That Was bne April 2019
Business
Eastern Europe
Russian independent gas producer Novatek is mulling the sale of up to 30% in its Arctic LNG 2 project to Sau- di Aramco if the terms are favourable, CEO Leonid Mikhelson told report-
ers on March 17. Also Novatek will be allowed to transport LNG via the North- ern Sea Route using tankers not regis- tered in Russia.
Chinese online retailer AliEx- press is to launch sales of cars in Russia teaming up with Chinese carmaker Chery. Chery Avtomo- bili Rus plans to eventually start assembly of the vehicles in Russia.
Central Europe
Gas transmission capacity between Hungary and Romania could rise to an annual 1.75bn cubic metres (cm) from October as the interconnector will be enabled for two-way flow. Construc- tion of the gas corridor is a priority in the ten-year development strategy of MOL’s gas transmission unit FGSZ.
The Lithuanian capital Vilnius is Europe’s most affordable destination for a city break, according to the UK Post Office’s annual City Costs Barom- eter. Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, was rated Europe's most expensive city by the same survey.
Czech car manufacturer Auto Skoda’s profit dropped 4.4% y/y in 2018 to CZK57.3bn (€2.234bn), mainly because of expenses associated with changes to emissions legislation, the cost of new products, electromobility and other technologies and higher personnel costs, according to the company’s annual report.
A subsidiary of Hungary’s state-owned electricity company MVM opened Hungary’s largest solar park in Paks, near the country’s sole nuclear power plant. Solar energy accounts for 0.5% of the country's annual electricity produc- tion, but that could grow substantially with the construction of new facili-
ties. There are some 3,000MW capac- ity solar projects in the pipeline.
A plan to build a railway tunnel under the Baltic Sea to connect Fin- land and Estonia secured €15bn in funding from Chinese investment Touchstone Capital Partners. If com- pleted the tunnel will be the longest subsea tunnel, exceeding the Channel Tunnel that opened in 1994.
Southeast Europe
Volkswagen is considering mov-
ing production from its Ukrainian plant to Serbia, eKapija reported, quot-
ing Milenko Kostic, owner of local com- pany Auto Cacak that represents Skoda in the country. Earlier in March, Serbian media reported that Volkswagen was mulling plans to build a €1.4bn plant in Serbia, expected to start in 2023 that will produce 300,000 cars per year.
The financial woes of Turkey’s Dogus Holding are getting worse even
as the Turkish owner of the Salt Bae steakhouse chain goes on a selling
spree to help restructure debt, accord- ing to Bloomberg. The Istanbul-based investment-holding group, controlled by Ferit Sahenk, has been disposing mainly of hotels over the past year as part of a December agreement with lenders to renegotiate the terms on $2.5bn of debt.
Production in recession – hit Turkey’s automotive sector fell 14% y/y in the January – February period, the latest output data from the country’s Automo- tive Industry Association (OSD) showed. Total automotive exports declined 8%, while automobile exports contracted 14%, the OSD said.
Eurasia
Lukoil signed an agreement to explore territory in the northwest of Uzbeki- stan for new hydrocarbon reserves, IFG Capital said, quoting the Russian com- pany’s president Vagit Alekperov. It was previously announced that Lukoil plans to increase gas production in Uzbekistan to 14.6bn cubic metres (cm) in 2018 and 19bn cm in 2019, up from 9.09bn cm.
Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation and Mit- subishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) signed an agreement with Uzbek state- run energy firm Uzbekenergo on the construction of a $432mn combined- cycle power plant with a capacity of 450MW in Navoi Region, investment firm IFG Capital said. Uzbekenergo earlier announced plans to invest a total of $4.4bn in 14 projects this year – the new plant likely falls under that commitment.
Sales of smartphones in Russia dropped by almost a third in Febru- ary, marking the sharpest decline
since the 2015 market turbulence. The respondents attributed the decline to the high indebtedness of the consum- ers, tougher requirements on consumer loans, and loss of momentum after front-loaded purchases in the end of 2018 ahead of the VAT hike.
Belarus sent mixed signals over
a possible sale of state-owned Belin- vestbank to the EBRD. The Belarusian government is waiting for "a formal proposal" from the EBRD over the possible acquisition of a stake in Belinvestbank, the nation's Economy Minister Dmitry Krutoi said follow- ing years of negotiations between
the multinational lender and the Belarusian authorities.
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