Khon Kaen takes lead in Thailand’s race to smarten up
Khon Kaen has been chosen to be the government’s model smart city for other provinces to learn from. Last Saturday, Khon Kaen hosted the Smart City Expo 2018, an event designed to showcase a variety of projects aimed at achieving the goal. Known as the centre of the Northeastern Region, Khon Kaen — the 9th […]
Foreign investors see more chance to step in Vietnam’s oil refinery
The recent withdrawal of Vietnamese groups from billion-dollar oil refinery projects is paving the way for potential foreign investors, especially those from Thailand and China, to jump in the industry. At a recent meeting with government agencies, Pham Van Thanh, chairman of the Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex), proposed to pull out from the South […]
Gov’t Unwilling to Intervene as Fuel Oil Prices Rise
NAYPYITAW—The government cannot control the fuel oil price, which is determined by market forces and the law of supply and demand, Ministry of Electricity and Energy managing director U Thant Sin said. At a press conference on Thursday, the managing director said fuel oil prices were unlikely to come down any time soon due to […]
Peso depreciation weighs on energy companies
ENERGY COMPANIES have counted the cost of the peso depreciation against the US dollar, prompting them to adopt measures to soften the impact on their finances, operations and investment decisions. “In the short-term operating perspective, you’d have to worry if the movement, the devaluation of the peso, has an impact on the growth rate of […]
Mindanao projected to need 10,200 MW additional capacity by 2040
DAVAO CITY — Energy officials said more investors are needed in the power supply sector, particularly for Mindanao, to meet the island’s projected 10,200-megawatt (MW) additional capacity requirement by 2040. Department of Energy (DoE) Assistant Secretary Redentor E. Delola, speaking at the 2018 Mindanao Energy Investment Forum held here Oct. 11, said that while a […]
Indonesia Eases Tax Holiday Policy for New FDI Projects in All Sectors
In a bid to attract more investment to support the country’s economic growth, Indonesia recently issued a new regulation granting a 100 percent Corporate Income Tax (CIT) cut to new FDI-backed businesses. The government has further announced that the tax holiday will now be offered to new investors in all business sectors in the country. […]
Micro and mini-grids to bring power to Indonesia’s off-grid communities
The government wants to help the provinces of eastern Indonesia – in particular Papua, which has the lowest electrification rate in the country. Policymakers are in talks with the Asian Development Bank and seeking advice for implementation. The government of Indonesia – and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) – will implement a micro and mini-grid […]
Indonesia, Finland seeks further partnership in renewable energy
Indonesia is seeking assistance from Finland to develop renewable energy, which is currently in its early stages. Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan said Indonesia had recently begun turning to renewable energy, adding that it would be a long-term project that Finland could help develop. “Finland has among the cheapest electricity in the Europe, […]
Thailand blocks sale of French-owned power producer
Bangkok: Thailand’s energy regulator on Thursday said it would block PTT Group’s multibillion-dollar acquisition of a company owned by French energy giant Engie on grounds that it could create a electricity monopoly in some areas. Engie signed a deal with Thai group Global Power Synergy Public Company (GPSC), part of state-owned PTT, in June to […]
When a switch to cold water rinsing does the job equally well
THE Singapore unit of Globalfoundries has won the Best Practices in energy efficiency award this year at the EENP Awards for a project that involves switching from hot to cold water for post chemical de-ionised (DI) water rinse, which is a low carbon innovative process. In the wafer fabrication process, chemicals were used extensively to […]