2024-07-17 10:32

July 17 (Reuters) - Some of the largest Chinese solar panel makers are setting up shop in the United States thanks to new clean energy manufacturing subsidies contained in President Joe Biden's 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Here is a list of Chinese companies investing in U.S. solar equipment factories: ILLUMINATE USA Illuminate is a joint venture between Chinese solar equipment maker Longi (601012.SS) , opens new tab and U.S. clean energy project developer Invenergy. The company started producing solar panels at a five-gigawatt plant in Pataskala, Ohio in February. It aims to be at full capacity by the end of 2024 and will employ 1,000 workers. Illuminate said it is investing $600 million in equipment, raw materials, salaries and staff training and is evaluating whether to expand into cell manufacturing. TRINA SOLAR Trina (688599.SS) , opens new tab is spending $200 million on a five-GW solar module plant in Wilmer, Texas that will start production this year. The factory will create 1,500 jobs. Trina, which has been supplying panels to the U.S. market for nearly two decades, is also in the final stages of selecting a location for a five-GW U.S. cell factory that would supply its Texas plant. JINKO SOLAR Jinko (JKS.N) , opens new tab opened a 400-megawatt panel factory in Jacksonville, Florida in 2018. The company told city officials last year that it planned to spend $52 million to triple its current capacity and create an additional 250 jobs by the end of 2026. Jinko held an expansion ceremony in April, at which company executives announced that the plant would soon employ 600 people. JA SOLAR JA Solar (002459.SZ) , opens new tab is spending $60 million on a two-GW panel plant in Phoenix, Arizona, the company said last year. The factory is expected to create more than 600 jobs and start production this year. RUNERGY Runergy is building a five-GW solar module plant in Huntsville, Alabama in a factory previously occupied by a DVD manufacturer. The company said the factory will create 800 jobs and will begin shipping products to customers this summer. Runergy is considering additional manufacturing investments in the United States that would add an additional 1,500 jobs. BOVIET SOLAR Boviet will invest $294 million in solar cell and module factories in Greenville, North Carolina. The two-GW module plant is expected to start production in the first quarter of 2025 in a plant formerly used to make automotive components. Boviet plans to build a new factory to produce two GW of cells that will start production in 2026. The investments are expected to create 908 jobs. Founded in Vietnam in 2013, Boviet was acquired by China's Boway Alloy (601137.SS) , opens new tab in 2016. HOUNEN SOLAR Hounen Solar is investing $33 million in a one-GW factory in Orangeburg, South Carolina that will create 200 jobs. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chinese-owned-solar-factories-united-states-2024-07-17/

2024-07-17 09:07

TOKYO, July 17 (Reuters) - Japan's top currency diplomat Masato Kanda said on Wednesday he would have to respond if speculators cause excessive moves in the currency market and that there was no limit to how often authorities could intervene, Kyodo News reported. "I have no choice but to respond appropriately if there are excessive moves caused by speculators," the vice finance minister for international affairs told Kyodo in an interview. The dollar fell about 1.2% to 156.34 yen on Wednesday, with traders suspecting another round OF official buying from Tokyo, after Japanese authorities last week likely stepped in to haul the currency away from 38-year lows. The Ministry of Finance was not immediately available for comment. Bank of Japan data released a day earlier suggested Tokyo may have intervened to prop up the yen over two straight days last week - on Thursday and Friday - spending an estimated 6 trillion yen ($38.38 billion). The government has said it would not confirm whether authorities had intervened in the market. Kyodo also quoted Kanda as saying that while there were various factors behind currency moves, "the biggest is speculation." In comments that appeared to be a tacit confirmation of authorities' action, he added: "We are communicating very closely with the authorities of each country and complying with international agreements, so there has been no criticism from other countries." ($1 = 156.3300 yen) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/japans-kanda-says-officials-need-respond-if-speculators-cause-excessive-fx-moves-2024-07-17/

2024-07-17 07:56

SEOUL, July 17 (Reuters) - North Korean soldiers have been installing landmines and barriers and creating wasteland along the front line for months despite accidents, South Korea's military said on Wednesday. North Korea's military has continued its work forcibly despite multiple casualties caused by some 10 accidents involving landmine explosions and heat illness, according to a statement provided by the defence ministry citing the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). Female soldiers were also deployed for the work in some areas, the ministry added. In a meeting held on the same day on North Korea's "provocations," South Korea's Defence Minister Shin Won-sik said the military faces a "complex crisis" further complicated by unpredictable natural disasters, according to a separate statement released by the ministry. Heavy rain battered Seoul and surrounding areas on Wednesday with downpours expected for North Korea, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. South Korea's military was preparing to respond to the possibility of surprise dam water releases by the North during heavy rain and landmines being washed away, the statement read. It was also preparing for the possibility of North Korean soldiers accidentally defecting amid poor working conditions, as well as crossing the Military Demarcation Line running through the middle of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) while working, the statement added. Last month, South Korea's military fired warning shots after several North Korean soldiers crossed the border then retreated after the shots were fired. Although deadly clashes have occasionally occurred over the decades since open fighting between the countries stopped at the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War, the recent incidents mark a rare uptick in activity close to the demarcation line. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/north-korea-installing-more-landmines-despite-accidents-south-korea-says-2024-07-17/

2024-07-17 07:48

JAKARTA, July 17 (Reuters) - Indonesia's central bank held its benchmark interest rate steady on Wednesday, as expected, saying the current level remained consistent to manage inflation through to 2025 and stabilise the rupiah, while eyeing room for easing in the fourth quarter. The seven-day reverse repurchase rate, known as the Bank Indonesia (BI) Rate (IDCBRR=ECI) , opens new tab, was maintained at 6.25%, where it has been since April, as expected by all 35 economists polled by Reuters. BI also kept other policy rates unchanged. Governor Perry Warjiyo said the decision would ensure inflation remained within the target range in 2024 and 2025, while the short-term policy focus was directed at strengthening the rupiah currency and attracting inflows. BI has been focusing on managing the rupiah's volatility, including by intervening in the currency and bond markets, with inflation already within its target range since the middle of last year. The rupiah has seen bouts of weakness this year due to a resilient U.S. dollar as well as investors' concerns regarding Jakarta's fiscal prudence under an incoming government that is set to take office in October. The currency has recovered by around 2% in recent weeks since hitting a four-year low last month. The rupiah was among the biggest gainers on Wednesday in emerging Asia as market participants bets on earlier monetary easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve. It strengthened further to as much as 16,090 per dollar after BI's rate decision versus 16,125 before the announcement. Warjiyo said there is rising possibility of Fed cutting rates in November, compared to BI's earlier estimate in December, which may lead to a more stable or strengthening rupiah, giving room for BI to ease its own policy rates. Warjiyo said earlier this month BI would assess the possibility of reducing borrowing costs in Southeast Asia's largest economy in the fourth quarter. "We still see room for BI rate to ease in the fourth quarter. Even with the Fed expected to ease earlier ... everything would still be data-dependent," he said, when asked whether BI would also move forward its outlook on policy easing. Bank Permata economist Josua Pardede maintained his forecast that BI will keep its policy rate unchanged throughout 2024 and may cut in the first quarter next year. While inflation remains low, there is an emerging risk from a potentially wider fiscal deficit on the domestic front and rising political uncertainties in Europe and the U.S., he added. "Such issues trigger risk-off sentiment, potentially limiting capital inflows and jeopardising rupiah stability," Pardede said in a note. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/indonesia-central-bank-holds-interest-rates-steady-expected-2024-07-17/

2024-07-17 07:31

SINGAPORE, July 17 (Reuters) - Dutch tank storage firm Vopak (VOPA.AS) , opens new tab has opened a new office in Tokyo, Japan, to provide terminal infrastructure solutions for a variety of products to be used in the country's energy transition, it said on Wednesday. Vopak has been working on strategic partnerships to explore the development and operation of ammonia terminals in Japan, and to bring global practices for industrial terminal management to the country, Chris Robblee, Vopak's president of Asia and Middle East, said in a statement. The Tokyo office will focus on the safe handling and storage of hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives, such as ammonia, which is an alternative to fossil fuels in thermal power generation, Vopak said. The company will also provide infrastructure solutions for carbon dioxide, liquefied natural gas, long-duration energy storage, and low-carbon fuels and feedstock - fuels that will be used to meet Japan's 2050 decarbonisation goals. ($1 = 0.9176 euros) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/vopak-starts-office-japan-storage-energy-transition-fuels-2024-07-17/

2024-07-17 07:25

TAIPEI, July 17 (Reuters) - Taiwan should pay the U.S. for its defence as it does not give the country anything, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told Bloomberg Businessweek, sending shares of Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC (2330.TW) , opens new tab lower on Wednesday. "I know the people very well, respect them greatly. They did take about 100% of our chip business. I think, Taiwan should pay us for defence," Trump said in interview on June 25 that was published on Tuesday. "You know, we're no different than an insurance company. Taiwan doesn't give us anything." The United States is Taiwan's most important international supporter and arms supplier, but they have no formal defence agreement, unlike what Washington has with South Korea and Japan. The U.S. is, however, bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. Taiwan's government has made defence modernisation a priority, including developing its own submarines, and has said many times the island's security rests in its own hands. Taiwan Premier Cho Jung-tai, responding to Trump's comments, said Taiwan and the U.S. have good relations despite the lack of formal ties, and is dedicated to bolstering its own defences. "Taiwan has steadily strengthened its defence budget and demonstrated its responsibility to the international community," he told reporters in Taipei. "We are willing to take on more responsibility; we are defending ourselves and ensuring our security." Taiwan's foreign ministry declined to comment on Trump's remarks. Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has complained of repeated Chinese military activity over the past four years as Beijing seeks to pressure the democratically governed island which rejects China's sovereignty claims. U.S. President Joe Biden has upset the Chinese government with comments that appeared to suggest the U.S. would defend Taiwan if it were attacked, a deviation from a long-held U.S. position of "strategic ambiguity". Washington and Taipei have had no official diplomatic or military relationship since 1979, when the U.S. switched recognition to Beijing and terminated a mutual defence treaty. TSMC is the dominant maker of advanced chips used in everything from AI applications to smartphones and fighter jets, and analysts believe any conflict over Taiwan would decimate the world economy. There was no immediate reaction from TSMC which is currently in its quiet period ahead of its second quarter earnings report on Thursday. TSMC SHARES DOWN Shares in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) , the world's largest contract chipmaker and a major Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab and Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab supplier, closed down 2.4% on Wednesday. The broader market (.TWII) , opens new tab ended down 1%. "Trump's comments were plainly blunt. We see it as political rhetoric," said Allen Huang, a vice president at Mega International Investment Service. "TSMC is an excellent company, and it has won out in the market over many rival companies in the United States." TSMC is spending billions building new factories overseas, including $65 billion on three plants in the U.S. state of Arizona, though it says most manufacturing will remain in Taiwan. Taiwan also has a backlog worth some $19 billion of arms deliveries from the United States, which U.S. officials and politicians have repeatedly pledged to speed up. Since 2022, Taiwan has complained of delays in deliveries of U.S. weapons such as Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, as manufacturers focused on supplying Ukraine to help it battle invading Russian forces. In April, the U.S. Congress had passed a sweeping foreign aid package which includes arms support for the island, after House Republican leaders abruptly switched course and allowed a vote on the $95 billion in mostly military aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and U.S. partners in the Indo-Pacific. China held two days of war games around the island shortly after President Lai Ching-te took office in May, saying it was "punishment" for his inauguration speech, which Beijing denounced as being full of separatist content. China has also been using grey zone warfare against Taiwan, wielding irregular tactics to exhaust a foe by keeping them continually on alert without resorting to open combat. This includes sending balloons over the island and almost daily air force missions into the skies near Taiwan. Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. Lai, who says only the Taiwanese people can decide their future, has repeatedly offered talks but been rebuffed. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/tsmc-shares-fall-more-than-2-after-trump-says-taiwan-should-pay-defence-2024-07-17/