Tag Archives: asian
Meeting Booming Asian Pellet Demand: How Competitive Are Regional Play
CMT’s Biomass Pellets Trade & Power summit, put together with support from Premium Sponsor Pellet Association Malaysia (PAM) and Agensi Inovasi Malaysia (AIM), in Seoul, on the 09-12 September, will set the stage for deep analysis of the ground realities in pellet trade patterns, feedstocks uncertainties, sourcing strategy, sustainability initiatives and pricing dynamics in the North East Asian biomass value chain. Asian biomass markets are witnessing profound shifts in trade and feedstocks sourcing with South Korea and Japan setting the pace for China, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. The Korean RPS (Renewable Portfolio Standard) and the Japanese feed-in tariffs (FiTs) for biomass have been important enablers of biomass trade in the region. Despite the potential, the Asian biomass market still face an uncertain future due to diverse challenges in cultivation, sub optimal pellet capacities, price volatilities, and cross border trade shifts. Korean and Japan’s demand for bioenergy depends on competitive sourcing of pellets from global sources. Moving forward, global and regional Asian pellet suppliers will have to invent novel supply models to remain competitive. Among the panelists are Chang Joo Ok, President & CEO of Korea East-West Power Co., delivering the keynote address and Timothy Ong, interim Chairman of Pellet Association Malaysia (PAM) speaking on the new initiatives in Malaysian biomass trade. Addressing Biomass pellet trade and development of wood pellets market trends is Prof. Gyu-Seong Han from Chungbuk National University (Forest Product Marketing Center), while global trade dynamics end is covered by Nick Tsirigotis of EDF Trading. Sharing DONG Energy’s experiences in conversion of coal to wood pellets fired power plant is Jens Price Wolf and elaborating on sustainable supply strategies will be Matt Bovelander of Indufor Asia Pacific Ltd. An inside perspective on going biomass-based power generation projects from South Korea’s top power utilities, Korea Southern Power (KOSPO), Korea East-West Power (EWP), Korea South-East Power (KOSEP), Korea Western Power (KOWEPO) and Korea Midland Power (KOMIPO) allows for a rare opportunity to assess the emerging scenario. The modalities of intra-regional alliance models will be explored by JP Jaepil Song, Eco-Frontier while Philippines project status update will be provided by Michael Paik, EnerOne, Inc. Bas Melssen from Agensi Inovasi Malaysia will present an overview of Malaysia’s National Biomass Strategy 2020, International biomass pellet trade shifts will be addressed by Todd G. Bush, Green Circle Bio Energy Inc., and the Russian wood pellet market by Dr. Olga Rakitova, The National Bioenergy Union, Russia. For more information and registration contact Ms Hafizah hafizah@cmtsp.com.sg at +65 63469218 & for more details. http://www.cmtevents.com Continue reading
FDB – An Exceptional Success At The Aquilaria Expo, Beijing
Bespoke fragrances are just one of the end products derived from rare Aquilaria trees so Fragrance Du Bois were delighted to be invited by Asia Plantation Capital (APC) to join them on their stand at the prestigious agarwood trade exhibition China International Aquilaria Culture Expo held in Beijing on the 8th to 11th August. As a successful plantation company APC showcased a range of Agarwood end products and sustainable plantation management services, but the undisputed star of the show was Fragrance Du Bois (FDB) and their exciting range of personalised fragrances which attracted franchise and trade enquiries from all across China. Over the three day expo FDB completely sold out of its demonstration fragrance range, totally 3000 bottles, and secured a list of follow up orders! Nicola Parker, spokesperson for FDB at the Beijing exhibition, stated “I was absolutely overwhelmed with the demand and interest from the Chinese market for our products”. Demand for agarwood products, including Oud oil based fragrances, has grown exponentially in China in recent years. FDB recently opened a fragrance lounge in the heart of Wan Chai, Hong Kong, adding to their sites across Asia. Du Bois is also in discussion with APC to widen market exposure across China using the new APC offices planned in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. Specialist lounges have already been announced by Fragrance Du Bois for Dubai, Moscow and London. The range of handmade Oud based fragrances FDB have developed with leading international perfumers are central to the product line up for Middle Eastern markets. Du Bois has already taken Asian markets by storm using a unique profiling and hand blending service for clients to sample the myriad delights of Oud based fragrances. Du Bois has secured the coveted title of being the official perfume of Amber Lounge, the iconic Formula 1 celebrity drivers party and charity fashion shows, for the forthcoming Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Monaco F1 Grand Prix. In Singapore Oud Noir Intense will be launched to commemorate and capture the scintillating excitement of the night race. Oud Noir Intense is a fragrance imbued with the mastery of Oud. The first of Du Bois’ privé collection will be launched at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November; Sahraa Oud, a name taken from Arabic for the desert, an essence that captures the mysterious romance of the desert at dusk and sets the scene for a spectacular celebrity launch planned at the Al Yas Circuit. As part of these thrilling events FDB will join APC and financial advisory services provider Sustainable Asset Management, Singapore on a series of road shows to leading retailers and private equity groups across the Gulf region during September and October. The road shows will focus on the education of local Arabic markets on the importance of sustainability in the agarwood plantation sector and its supply chain. Nicola Parker continued “it is extremely important that our niche sector and the distribution chains are well informed not only to ensure that traders comply with the law but equally to ensure their supplies are both sustainable and safeguarded for the future. Aquilaria has fast become an endangered tree species in the wild purely as a result of commercial and consumer demand being exploited by unscrupulous supply lines. The road shows being run by APC are important to help us communicate the importance of both CITES and IFRA in the production of sustainable Oud oil fragrances and agarwood with all the strategically important elements of this industry”. Continue reading
The Next Big Thing? Investors Switch From Emerging To Frontier Markets
27 Aug 2013 | 11:08 Anna Fedorova The poor performance of emerging market equities year-to-date has caused investors to turn to frontier markets in search of better returns. Assets under management in frontier market funds have more than doubled to $3.1bn since the start of the year, according to BofA Merrill Lynch, while EM funds have suffered outflows of $2.1bn. Frontier markets are enjoying a strong year, with MSCI Frontier Markets outperforming both developed and emerging market equities with a return of 14.7% for the year to 20 August, versus 12.1% for the MSCI World and 11.7% for MSCI EM. Adrian Lowcock, senior investment manager at Hargreaves Lansdown, said underperformance from major Asian markets in particular has led investors to look further afield. “With China having disappointed since the 2008 crisis, investors are now looking for the next big thing.” Charles Hepworth, investment director in charge of GAM’s discretionary fund management, has recently sold a global emerging markets fund and replaced it with Templeton Frontier Markets. “Frontier markets are a key area in the emerging market universe for us at the moment and we are shunning more generalist EM funds,” he said. Choosing a frontier markets fund can be tricky, as there are few on offer and many have recently soft-closed due to liquidity constraints. The Templeton fund soft-closed in May at $2bn and Goldman Sachs Asset Management soft-closed its Next 11 fund, which offers exposure to similar countries, in June at $1.7bn. Mona Shah, co-manager of multi-asset portfolios at Rathbones, tipped Renaissance Asset Management’s Eastern European fund as an option for investors wanting to gain access to these markets. Shah added that if the group was to overweight emerging markets, this would be an interesting option due to its exposure to high beta markets, particularly Russia. Meanwhile, Ben Seager-Scott, senior research analyst at Bestinvest, highlighted the BlackRock Frontiers investment trust, which has returned 48.7% over the year to 9 August, according to Morningstar. “The investment trust format means you do not have to worry so much about liquidity because it has a limited life, and it has a sizeable team covering the region, which is very important,” he said. Baring Asset Management is the latest provider to launch a Frontier Markets fund, and Seager-Scott expects many competitors to follow suit over the next ten years. The top performing global frontier markets equity fundsover one year to 19 August are the Schroder ISF Frontier Markets Equity and Charlemagne Magna New Frontiers funds, which have returned 38.9% and 24.3% respectively. Shah said frontier markets are particularly interesting because they have remained uncorrelated to both developed and emerging markets equities, with a correlation of 0.6% for the respective MSCI indices. Before the 2008 crisis, frontier markets followed the performance of developed and emerging equities but, after the crash, money failed to flow back into these markets. Seager-Scott said: “I particularly like frontier markets because they are not as mainstream as emerging markets and therefore not as sensitive to hot money flows and investorsentiment. When investors go into risk-off mode, they pull money out of EM, but that does not happen in frontier.” However, he cautioned frontier markets should be considered a long-term investment owing to their volatile nature. Continue reading
