Chinese investment
secures thousands of oil refinery jobs
See also
Panda bonanza expected for Scots economy
Jane Bradley and Scott MacNab - Scotsman - 11th January 2011
Business leaders have heralded a "step change" in the relationship between Scotland and China following a key trade deal that will safeguard thousands of jobs in Grangemouth, coupled with news that Edinburgh will become home to a pair of giant pandas.
It is believed that the impending arrival of Tian Tian and Yangguang at Edinburgh Zoo could generate tens of millions of pounds every year for Scotland's economy as the rare animals draw hundreds of thousands of extra tourists to the capital.
Meanwhile, Grangemouth oil refinery owner Ineos announced a memorandum of understanding with China's biggest oil and gas producer, PetroChina. The deal will see Chinese investment into Ineos's refining operations at Grangemouth, which will also share oil-refining technology with the China National Petroleum Corporation.
Chinese vice-premier Li Keqiang, who is on a four-day trade visit to the UK, on Sunday announced a £6.4 million licensing deal to introduce Scottish renewable enegry technology to China.
The agreement between the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), which owns Edinburgh Zoo, and the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Society was signed yesterday in London, witnessed by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Mr Li.
Business leaders said tens of thousands of visitors each year were likely to choose Scotland as a holiday destination specifically to catch a glimpse of the pandas, which will make their home in a specially adapted enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo within the coming year.
Edinburgh will be the first UK zoo to host pandas for 17 years and will be one of only four in Europe that has the endangered animals. Just seven countries worldwide hold loan agreements for pandas from China.
Zoo officials believe the arrival of the pandas - which are likely to stay in Scotland for about four or five years as part of a breeding programme - could double visitor numbers at the attraction, which has suffered from declining revenues amid the economic downturn.
Last year it revealed plans to reduce its full-time staff of 200 by 50 to save money.
Scottish companies are also likely to vie for the chance to link their names to the zoo's newest attraction, which business chiefs say could offer them trade links with China, the world's fastest-growing economy.
"The number of people who come to Edinburgh specifically for the zoo will change completely," said Graham Birse, managing director of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce.
"Hundreds of thousands of extra people are likely to visit the city every year specifically to see the pandas - some from elsewhere in Scotland and some from very far away.
"I would expect the income that will generate in terms of tourism will run well into the tens of millions and I wouldn't be surprised if it was as high as £100 million."
Giant pandas exist in the wild only in China. There are believed to be just 1,600 left in the wild.
VisitScotland chairman Mike Cantlay pointed to a 70 per cent rise in visitor numbers at Adelaide Zoo in Australia after a pair of pandas arrived in 2008.
He said: "With Edinburgh set to become the only city in the UK that is home to giant pandas, we expect that there will be a considerable surge in interest among potential visitors."
At present, only 2 per cent of Edinburgh's European tourists go to the zoo - instead heading to historic attractions such as Edinburgh Castle - and most of its revenue comes from Scottish visitors. But zoo officials believe the arrival of the pandas will change that. Only zoos in Berlin, Madrid and Vienna currently boast pandas among their attractions.
Scottish Tourism Forum chairman Iain Herbert said he did not think the bears would overshadow Edinburgh's other attractions.
"I am sure the marketing experts will use the panda to attract visitors to the city who would have perhaps not otherwise thought of visiting, but whether we'll big it up as home of the panda, I'm not sure."
Staff at Edinburgh Zoo will work with Chinese experts to settle the animals into their new enclosure, formerly inhabited by gorillas. The pair are to be kept separately, apart from three days a year when zoo workers hope they will mate. Any cubs produced will remain the property of China.
Culture and external affairs minister Fiona Hyslop said Edinburgh Zoo had a world-leading reputation for conservation.
"As well as supporting China's work to protect these animals, the arrival of the pandas is expected to bring significant economic benefits for Scotland in terms of tourism," she added.
Gary Wilson, RZSS chief operating officer, said the pandas' arrival was a catalyst for a major overhaul.
"We will need to put in new ticketing facilities and allow online booking," he said. "It is the way the zoo has to go anyway, to move forward."
It is understood China usually charges foreign nations £500,000 a year to lease a panda, but the zoo refused to comment on how much the project would cost.
Four years ago, officials at Atlanta Zoo in the United States warned that the charges were too high and they may have to return the pandas to China.
"There are no figures we can discuss at the moment," said RZSS deputy chairman Manus Fullerton. "A lot of the funds we have earmarked for this project are going into the conservation work of pandas."
Mr Birse added that the deal would forge links between China and Scottish businesses - especially those that financially associated themselves with the new panda enclosure.
"The real benefit is for companies which will be able to build a relationship with China off the back of this collaboration," he said, adding that golf businesses would be likely to be first in line for sponsorship, hoping to cash in on the burgeoning industry in China, where more golf courses are under construction than exist in the whole of the United States.
Pandas are seen as iconic and politically important animals in China - and the loan deals are of high diplomatic, cultural and political significance.
Liu Xiaoming, China's ambassador to the UK, said yesterday: "This historical agreement is a gift to the people of the UK from China. It will represent an important symbol of our friendship and will bring our two people closer together."
The names of the pandas, Tian Tian and Yangguang, mean "Sweet" and "Sunshine".Chinese consul Xiutian Tan said the names were a "good omen" for Scotland.
Chinese investment secures thousands of oil refinery jobs
Brian Currie - Herald Scotland - 11th January 2011
The jobs of more than 2000 workers have been secured after the owners of the Grangemouth oil refinery, Ineos, signed a partnership deal with PetroChina – the biggest company in the world by stock market value.
The Chinese giant yesterday confirmed details of a joint venture with Ineos which will help protect the long-term profitability of the refinery and petro-chemical plant on the Forth.
Around 1400 workers are employed at the site and Ineos chairman Jim Ratcliffe said another 7000 jobs at other firms, particularly in central Scotland, were dependent on the plant.
He claimed the deal would be “hugely beneficial”, adding there would be further mutual benefits through an agreement on sharing technology.
Finance Secretary John Swinney said the joint venture enhanced security of supply for customers as well as retaining the jobs and skills that had been built up over many years at Grangemouth.
The refinery has direct access to crude oil and gas from the North Sea and processes 210,000 barrels of crude oil a day – the equivalent of nine million litres of clean fuel. It supplies petrol and diesel to Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland.
The signing of the agreement yesterday was witnessed by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and the Chinese Vice-Premier, Li Ke Qiang. Both men said it represented a strengthening of links between the UK and China.
Following just 24 hours after the conclusion of a £6.4 million green energy deal between Scottish and Sino-Scottish firms, concluded when Mr Li visited Edinburgh on Sunday, Mr Swinney said it was further evidence of the strengthening ties between Scotland and China.
He said: “Scotland has unrivalled energy resources and expertise and the Scottish Government is committed to working with China across this sector.
“The Grangemouth refinery is a strategic asset for Scotland and this announcement represents good news for Scotland and Scottish jobs.
“It further embeds the successful relationship and excellent links that Ineos has with the local and Scottish communities.”
As The Herald reported last month, there have been long-running negotiations about the deal which will see investment both at Grangemouth and another Ineos refinery at Lavera in France. Although no details have emerged about the finances surrounding the deal, it’s believed the negotiations were complicated by the difficulty of agreeing a valuation for the refinery. Two years ago Ineos was given £7.6m by the Scottish Government as part of a £110m upgrading plan.
PetroChina, the largest oil and gas producer and distributor in China and one of the largest oil companies in the world, has a trillion dollar market capitalisation, employs 540,000 people and has a turnover of around £157 billion. Its acquisitions strategy has involved buying a number of refineries and oil-related businesses across the globe including Canada, Singapore, Argentina and Japan.
Calum MacLean, chief executive officer of Ineos Refining, said the new deal was the start of a long-term relationship which presented the opportunity for the company to progress its aim of forming strategic partnerships to help grow and strengthen its business.
He added: “The agreements will provide further investment in our refineries, securing their competitiveness in European markets, and will secure jobs and skills in the UK and France.”
Si Bingjun, general manager of PetroChina International London, said the agreement was consistent with the company’s strategy of building a broader business platform in Europe and of becoming a leading inter-national energy company.
Mr Ki and Mr Clegg also witnessed a number of other trade agreements, totalling £2.6bn, between British and Chinese companies.
BP and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation signed an agreement on deep-water exploration in the South China Sea, while Jaguar Land Rover committed to sell 40,000 Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles, valued at more than £1bn, in China this year.
The long road from Beijing to Edinburgh
First the Pope started his visit to the UK in Scotland. Then the Chinese vice-premier, tipped as the next leader of the global economic superpower, touched down in Edinburgh to be glad-handed by Alex Salmond before heading down to London.
It is small wonder the First Minister’s aides, ever ambitious to see Scotland appear a player on the international stage, are rubbing their hands at this week’s developments.
While the Salmond administration is becoming adept at rolling out the red carpet, the wooing of China as a big source of future inward investment and overseas sales was already well under way before the SNP came to power at Holyrood.
Previous First Minister Jack McConnell spent five days in China in 2004 to build educational links with Scotland, recognising that China had become an economic force to be courted.
The following year plans were announced to establish the Confucius Institute for Scotland within the former principal’s residence at Edinburgh University.
This was so successful that last year the Scottish institute was named Institute of the Year for the fourth year in a row out of more than 300 of these bodies around the world.
All of which points to a long lead in to the current wooing of China.
In 2006 the outgoing Labour administration summed up its aims with the words of Finance Minister Tom McCabe: “The speed and scale of China’s growth means that the stakes are rising: the benefits will be higher if we get our response right; the costs greater if we do not, particularly in terms of missed opportunities.”
The Salmond Government resolved to ensure this was one part of the previous administration’s legacy that it adopted, drawing up its own revised “China plan” which aimed to engage culturally, educationally and above all economically with the emergent superpower.
Scottish exports to China amounted to £250 million in 2007, making it the 17th ranked export destination. The following year the value had risen to £335m, ranking China at 14th on the list, while in 2009 with the recession beginning to bite the value stalled at £325m but the ranking rose again to 15th.
In 2000 the whisky export market to China was worth £1.5m, by 2009 this was £44m, and allowing for shipments via Hong Kong and Singapore may be worth double that. China also agreed to protect the branding of Scotch.
See also:
Let young Scots learn Mandarin, Confucius say
China gives whisky legal protection and is ready to invest £100m
Great Britain, the Opium Trade and China
Opium magnate castle wins funding
See also
Panda bonanza expected for Scots economy
Jane Bradley and Scott MacNab - Scotsman - 11th January 2011
Business leaders have heralded a "step change" in the relationship between Scotland and China following a key trade deal that will safeguard thousands of jobs in Grangemouth, coupled with news that Edinburgh will become home to a pair of giant pandas.
It is believed that the impending arrival of Tian Tian and Yangguang at Edinburgh Zoo could generate tens of millions of pounds every year for Scotland's economy as the rare animals draw hundreds of thousands of extra tourists to the capital.
Meanwhile, Grangemouth oil refinery owner Ineos announced a memorandum of understanding with China's biggest oil and gas producer, PetroChina. The deal will see Chinese investment into Ineos's refining operations at Grangemouth, which will also share oil-refining technology with the China National Petroleum Corporation.
Chinese vice-premier Li Keqiang, who is on a four-day trade visit to the UK, on Sunday announced a £6.4 million licensing deal to introduce Scottish renewable enegry technology to China.
The agreement between the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), which owns Edinburgh Zoo, and the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Society was signed yesterday in London, witnessed by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Mr Li.
Business leaders said tens of thousands of visitors each year were likely to choose Scotland as a holiday destination specifically to catch a glimpse of the pandas, which will make their home in a specially adapted enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo within the coming year.
Edinburgh will be the first UK zoo to host pandas for 17 years and will be one of only four in Europe that has the endangered animals. Just seven countries worldwide hold loan agreements for pandas from China.
Zoo officials believe the arrival of the pandas - which are likely to stay in Scotland for about four or five years as part of a breeding programme - could double visitor numbers at the attraction, which has suffered from declining revenues amid the economic downturn.
Last year it revealed plans to reduce its full-time staff of 200 by 50 to save money.
Scottish companies are also likely to vie for the chance to link their names to the zoo's newest attraction, which business chiefs say could offer them trade links with China, the world's fastest-growing economy.
"The number of people who come to Edinburgh specifically for the zoo will change completely," said Graham Birse, managing director of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce.
"Hundreds of thousands of extra people are likely to visit the city every year specifically to see the pandas - some from elsewhere in Scotland and some from very far away.
"I would expect the income that will generate in terms of tourism will run well into the tens of millions and I wouldn't be surprised if it was as high as £100 million."
Giant pandas exist in the wild only in China. There are believed to be just 1,600 left in the wild.
VisitScotland chairman Mike Cantlay pointed to a 70 per cent rise in visitor numbers at Adelaide Zoo in Australia after a pair of pandas arrived in 2008.
He said: "With Edinburgh set to become the only city in the UK that is home to giant pandas, we expect that there will be a considerable surge in interest among potential visitors."
At present, only 2 per cent of Edinburgh's European tourists go to the zoo - instead heading to historic attractions such as Edinburgh Castle - and most of its revenue comes from Scottish visitors. But zoo officials believe the arrival of the pandas will change that. Only zoos in Berlin, Madrid and Vienna currently boast pandas among their attractions.
Scottish Tourism Forum chairman Iain Herbert said he did not think the bears would overshadow Edinburgh's other attractions.
"I am sure the marketing experts will use the panda to attract visitors to the city who would have perhaps not otherwise thought of visiting, but whether we'll big it up as home of the panda, I'm not sure."
Staff at Edinburgh Zoo will work with Chinese experts to settle the animals into their new enclosure, formerly inhabited by gorillas. The pair are to be kept separately, apart from three days a year when zoo workers hope they will mate. Any cubs produced will remain the property of China.
Culture and external affairs minister Fiona Hyslop said Edinburgh Zoo had a world-leading reputation for conservation.
"As well as supporting China's work to protect these animals, the arrival of the pandas is expected to bring significant economic benefits for Scotland in terms of tourism," she added.
Gary Wilson, RZSS chief operating officer, said the pandas' arrival was a catalyst for a major overhaul.
"We will need to put in new ticketing facilities and allow online booking," he said. "It is the way the zoo has to go anyway, to move forward."
It is understood China usually charges foreign nations £500,000 a year to lease a panda, but the zoo refused to comment on how much the project would cost.
Four years ago, officials at Atlanta Zoo in the United States warned that the charges were too high and they may have to return the pandas to China.
"There are no figures we can discuss at the moment," said RZSS deputy chairman Manus Fullerton. "A lot of the funds we have earmarked for this project are going into the conservation work of pandas."
Mr Birse added that the deal would forge links between China and Scottish businesses - especially those that financially associated themselves with the new panda enclosure.
"The real benefit is for companies which will be able to build a relationship with China off the back of this collaboration," he said, adding that golf businesses would be likely to be first in line for sponsorship, hoping to cash in on the burgeoning industry in China, where more golf courses are under construction than exist in the whole of the United States.
Pandas are seen as iconic and politically important animals in China - and the loan deals are of high diplomatic, cultural and political significance.
Liu Xiaoming, China's ambassador to the UK, said yesterday: "This historical agreement is a gift to the people of the UK from China. It will represent an important symbol of our friendship and will bring our two people closer together."
The names of the pandas, Tian Tian and Yangguang, mean "Sweet" and "Sunshine".Chinese consul Xiutian Tan said the names were a "good omen" for Scotland.
Chinese investment secures thousands of oil refinery jobs
Brian Currie - Herald Scotland - 11th January 2011
The jobs of more than 2000 workers have been secured after the owners of the Grangemouth oil refinery, Ineos, signed a partnership deal with PetroChina – the biggest company in the world by stock market value.
The Chinese giant yesterday confirmed details of a joint venture with Ineos which will help protect the long-term profitability of the refinery and petro-chemical plant on the Forth.
Around 1400 workers are employed at the site and Ineos chairman Jim Ratcliffe said another 7000 jobs at other firms, particularly in central Scotland, were dependent on the plant.
He claimed the deal would be “hugely beneficial”, adding there would be further mutual benefits through an agreement on sharing technology.
Finance Secretary John Swinney said the joint venture enhanced security of supply for customers as well as retaining the jobs and skills that had been built up over many years at Grangemouth.
The refinery has direct access to crude oil and gas from the North Sea and processes 210,000 barrels of crude oil a day – the equivalent of nine million litres of clean fuel. It supplies petrol and diesel to Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland.
The signing of the agreement yesterday was witnessed by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and the Chinese Vice-Premier, Li Ke Qiang. Both men said it represented a strengthening of links between the UK and China.
Following just 24 hours after the conclusion of a £6.4 million green energy deal between Scottish and Sino-Scottish firms, concluded when Mr Li visited Edinburgh on Sunday, Mr Swinney said it was further evidence of the strengthening ties between Scotland and China.
He said: “Scotland has unrivalled energy resources and expertise and the Scottish Government is committed to working with China across this sector.
“The Grangemouth refinery is a strategic asset for Scotland and this announcement represents good news for Scotland and Scottish jobs.
“It further embeds the successful relationship and excellent links that Ineos has with the local and Scottish communities.”
As The Herald reported last month, there have been long-running negotiations about the deal which will see investment both at Grangemouth and another Ineos refinery at Lavera in France. Although no details have emerged about the finances surrounding the deal, it’s believed the negotiations were complicated by the difficulty of agreeing a valuation for the refinery. Two years ago Ineos was given £7.6m by the Scottish Government as part of a £110m upgrading plan.
PetroChina, the largest oil and gas producer and distributor in China and one of the largest oil companies in the world, has a trillion dollar market capitalisation, employs 540,000 people and has a turnover of around £157 billion. Its acquisitions strategy has involved buying a number of refineries and oil-related businesses across the globe including Canada, Singapore, Argentina and Japan.
Calum MacLean, chief executive officer of Ineos Refining, said the new deal was the start of a long-term relationship which presented the opportunity for the company to progress its aim of forming strategic partnerships to help grow and strengthen its business.
He added: “The agreements will provide further investment in our refineries, securing their competitiveness in European markets, and will secure jobs and skills in the UK and France.”
Si Bingjun, general manager of PetroChina International London, said the agreement was consistent with the company’s strategy of building a broader business platform in Europe and of becoming a leading inter-national energy company.
Mr Ki and Mr Clegg also witnessed a number of other trade agreements, totalling £2.6bn, between British and Chinese companies.
BP and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation signed an agreement on deep-water exploration in the South China Sea, while Jaguar Land Rover committed to sell 40,000 Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles, valued at more than £1bn, in China this year.
The long road from Beijing to Edinburgh
First the Pope started his visit to the UK in Scotland. Then the Chinese vice-premier, tipped as the next leader of the global economic superpower, touched down in Edinburgh to be glad-handed by Alex Salmond before heading down to London.
It is small wonder the First Minister’s aides, ever ambitious to see Scotland appear a player on the international stage, are rubbing their hands at this week’s developments.
While the Salmond administration is becoming adept at rolling out the red carpet, the wooing of China as a big source of future inward investment and overseas sales was already well under way before the SNP came to power at Holyrood.
Previous First Minister Jack McConnell spent five days in China in 2004 to build educational links with Scotland, recognising that China had become an economic force to be courted.
The following year plans were announced to establish the Confucius Institute for Scotland within the former principal’s residence at Edinburgh University.
This was so successful that last year the Scottish institute was named Institute of the Year for the fourth year in a row out of more than 300 of these bodies around the world.
All of which points to a long lead in to the current wooing of China.
In 2006 the outgoing Labour administration summed up its aims with the words of Finance Minister Tom McCabe: “The speed and scale of China’s growth means that the stakes are rising: the benefits will be higher if we get our response right; the costs greater if we do not, particularly in terms of missed opportunities.”
The Salmond Government resolved to ensure this was one part of the previous administration’s legacy that it adopted, drawing up its own revised “China plan” which aimed to engage culturally, educationally and above all economically with the emergent superpower.
Scottish exports to China amounted to £250 million in 2007, making it the 17th ranked export destination. The following year the value had risen to £335m, ranking China at 14th on the list, while in 2009 with the recession beginning to bite the value stalled at £325m but the ranking rose again to 15th.
In 2000 the whisky export market to China was worth £1.5m, by 2009 this was £44m, and allowing for shipments via Hong Kong and Singapore may be worth double that. China also agreed to protect the branding of Scotch.
See also:
Let young Scots learn Mandarin, Confucius say
China gives whisky legal protection and is ready to invest £100m
Great Britain, the Opium Trade and China
Opium magnate castle wins funding
|
Readers
please
email
comments to: editorial AT
martinfrost.ws including full name
Return to Home Page |
||
| Note: martinfrost.ws contains copyrighted material, the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must request permission from the copyright owner. |
