BY
Over the past few years this blog has attended numerous business and
investment forums in Odessa.
On 22 April there is another, the Nordic Business Forum.
As this blog has no business interests whatsoever – anywhere – other than
occasionally writing for publications that request a few (far more professional
and erudite) lines in return for a small token of appreciation, its attendance
at such events are either from a general interest regarding the who, what,
where, when and why, rather than schemes, plans, PEST and SWAT considerations,
or to meet specific diplomats that contact the blog wanting to put aside some
time for a chat – or normally both.
The diplomatic chats aside, the contents of which don’t appear on the blog,
there is naturally a lot of chit-chat from the business community about
investment, investment climate, nefarious dealings, corrupt and unreliable
courts, local and national political problems and how to mitigate as much of
the threats and leverage as many of the positives where ever possible – all of
which can be done.
At none of these innumerable events has this blog ever witnessed a Chinese
presence. Not once.
Yet China is well on its way to reaching its investment target of $12
billion here – and is likely to go beyond that.
It has spent many $ billions in Odessa Oblast on industrial parks, grain
silos and food storage already.
A Chinese company is about to buy a very large IT company with offices in
Odessa for approximately $1.2 billion. The name of both parties cannot be
disclosed at the time of writing but will very soon become known – a matter of
weeks.
It has now become public knowledge that the Chinese company CNBM
International (part of CNGC) has acquired eight solar panel plants (previously
owned by Activ Solar behind which were the Kluyev brothers, both now wanted in
Ukraine having done rather too well within the Yanukovych regime for all their
business dealings to be entirely above board).
The two “Franko” solar farms in Starokozache , both “Danube” solar
farms in Artsyz, the pair of “Lakeside” solar farms in Kilivy, and twin
“Limanskaya” farms in Renne have certainly been acquired by CNBM.
It is quite likely that the remaining Activ Solar farms in Bolgrad have the
same CNBM owners too, although as yet that cannot be confirmed. Also
unconfirmed, but of reasonable likelihood given the source, is a further solar
farm being built by CNBM. CNBM is after all, a renewable energy
superpower across Asia and a global heavyweight in wind farm blades – not
withstanding thin film solar cells.
(It will surely not be long, if it hasn’t quietly happened already, that
parent company CNGC expands its own interests into Ukraine – cement and drywall
production and raw material trading on truly global scales.)
Regardless, China via CNBM has just acquired in Odessa one of the top 50 solar power
plantsin the world, and seemingly intends to expand its solar energy production
in Odessa even further.
(With regard to these solar power plants/farms in Odessa, more than 70% of
the parts are actually manufactured in China by part of the CNGC industrial
empire – thus no surprise that its subsidiary CNBM have now acquired the Activ
Solar assets. Indeed the Kluyev brothers Activ Solar loans were underwritten
by these Chinese produced assets.)
Thus there is over the past few years a significant (almost $10 billion)
Chinese investment in Odessa in industrial parks, food silos (and storage),
energy, soon IT, and a rumoured port terminal (probably Yushni) – undoubtedly
justifying the biggest consulate in the city – without any attendance at a
single investment conference, nor indeed hosting one. Indeed the only
time the Chinese diplomatic and/or business leaders are to be seen (and chatted
with) are at certain restaurants in the city occasionally.
A reader may perhaps wonder, with Ukraine no longer the most receptive of
markets for the Russian Federation – and therefore opportunities aplenty exist
where they once did not – why it is China that is prepared to walk the business
investment walk, whilst it is the Europeans with the DCFTA and reform financing
leverage over Ukraine, that are still engaged in business talk.
Still. the Scandinavians are a smart lot – we shall see what they have to
say at the Nordic Business Forum beyond the usual PEST and SWAT diet (and off
the record diplomatic “chats”).
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