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  • Coal
17 April 2019

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  • Vietnam

SINGAPORE • Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd (OCBC), South-East Asia’s second-largest lender, said two Vietnamese coal-fired power plants will be the last it finances as it increases funding for renewable projects.

“We won’t do any new coal-fired power generation plants in any countries, except for the power projects that we are already in, or we have committed to,” CEO Samuel Tsien (picture) said in an interview at its Singapore headquarters on Monday.

“We hope that by doing this, we are encouraging the governments to do facilitating, arrangements for the countries to move from coal to renewable.”

At least 100 major lenders have put restrictions in the past five years on mines that produce coal and power plants that burn it, according to a February report from the Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis.

Their decisions reflect the rising recognition of coal’s role in climate change, and the potential for the fuel and facilities that rely on it to become obsolete before investments in them are paid off.

OCBC can’t backtrack from its earlier commitment to two projects in Vietnam, said Tsien, who declined to identify the developments.

OCBC was among lenders for the 1.2GW Nghi Son 2 power station in Vietnam, the Straits Times reported in April last year.

The lender also co-funds the Van Phong 1 project, according to Market Forces, a climate advocacy group.

The bank, which decided on the financing strategy this quarter, hasn’t engaged in discussions on coal-fired power plants over the last two years, according to Tsien.

Meanwhile, OCBC is stepping up efforts to finance renewable energy (RE) projects, an area the bank sees as a profitable business, Tsien said.

It’s currently funding more than 20 solar farms in Malaysia, as well as wind projects in Australia and Taiwan.

Falling costs for RE mean that building new solar plants may become cheaper than continuing to operate existing coal projects by 2027 in Vietnam, 2028 in Indonesia and 2029 in the Philippines, according to an October study by Carbon Tracker, a London-based non-profit think tank funded by several groups and charities, including Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Renewable generation capacity will rise to about 100GW in South-East Asia in 20 years from 8GW currently, consultancy Wood Mackenzie Ltd said in October.

OCBC understands its financing policies can be “a counterweight against which we can encourage the countries to go for REs”, Tsien said. — Bloomberg

  • Renewables
17 April 2019

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  • Vietnam

Hanoi (VNA) – Over 1,000 clients installed solar panels with a total capacity of nearly 2.5 million kWh on rooftops in 21 southern cities and provinces as of April 15, according to the Electricity Vietnam’s Southern Power Corporation (EVNSPC).

The activity is meant to realise the government’s policy of encouraging and promoting the development of renewable energy.

The EVNSPC said it will install electricity meters in houses to measure extra rooftop solar power and buy it from customers who are willing to sell.

Under the Circular No.05 issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on March 11, the price of rooftop solar power will stand at 2,134 VND (0,09 USD) per kWh.

Those interested could call the hotline 19001006 and 19009000 or visit the website www.cskh.evnspc.vn for consultation and support.

The EVNSPC affirmed that the use of solar power will not only ease pressure on the national grid, ensure power supply for socio-economic development but also protect the environment and save costs.

According to experts, Vietnam’s solar system has a potential to reach 35,000MW by 2030.-VNA

  • Bioenergy
17 April 2019

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  • Indonesia

The Indonesian Biodiesel Producers Association (APROBI) expects the trial of 30 percent biofuel ( B30 ) on vehicles will be completed by October.

APROBI chairman Paulus Tjakrawan said in Jakarta that the association had begun the trial of B30 biofuel with the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, state energy holding company Pertamina, the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology, the Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers and the Bandung Institute of Technology.

“We expect the B30 trial to be completed in October,” he said as quoted by Antara.

So far, 40,000 kilometers test drives have been carried out to ensure biofuel does not affect the engines of vehicles.

The trial also tested biofuel’s emissions and efficiency as compared to fossil fuels.

Paulus expressed hope that after the trial was completed, the widespread use of B30 could be implemented in 2020. B30 has been used to fuel power plants since January 2016.

“Sixty percent of the biodiesel would be used for transportation, while the remainder is for heavy equipment, plants and other industrial uses,” he said.

In September 2018, the government issued a policy to begin the widespread use of 20 percent biodiesel ( B20 ) and soon after campaigned for the use of B30 to boost domestic consumption of crude palm oil (CPO), given the campaign against the commodity from the European Union.

By using B30, Paulus said domestic use of CPO could reach 7.8 million tons. As for B20, domestic use is expected to reach 5.4 million tons.

The Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association recorded that the use of CPO in biodiesel stood at 1.2 million tons in the first two months of this year. (ars)

  • Bioenergy
16 April 2019

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  • Malaysia

THE aviation sector can play a crucial role in boosting Malaysian palm oil, which has been saddled with discrimination in the West, low prices and high inventory.

As debates are still ongoing on palm oil fuel for vehicles, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) suggests that the commodity can be mixed into biojet fuel — a composition to be blended with the fossil-based aviation fuel.

MPOB DG Datuk Dr Ahmad Kushairi Din said there are technologies currently available to produce biojet fuel, through conversion of biological resources such as oil, fats, palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD), algae and biomass.

“These technologies are different from the conversion of oils or fats into biodiesel that is used in the transportation sector. The biojet fuel is to be blended with the fossil-based aviation fuel,” he told The Malaysian Reserve (TMR) via an email reply.

While PFAD has been accepted as feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel, works are underway for palm oil to be accepted as well.

Ahmad Kushairi said MPOB has conducted a collaborative study with an American company to identify and screen the suitable feedstock from palm for biojet fuel production.

“PFAD and palm oil have been tested under this study in Chicago, US, for pilot plant trials.

“Based on the study, both have shown good conversion into biojet fuel with by-products such as diesel, naphtha, propane and others. The study showed that PFAD and palm oil are suitable feedstock for biojet fuel,” he said.

“But what we can affirm is that Malaysian palm oil industry’s commitment in participating in the CORSIA implementation (reduce carbon dioxide, or CO2, emission from international aviation), by developing sustainable aviation fuel using PFAD, used cooking oil, oil palm biomass and algae,” he said.

The usage of palm oil in biojet fuel mix can reduce palm oil stocks which put a pinch on prices. Recent data from MPOB showed that in March 2019, end-stocks dropped 4.6% to 2.92 million tonnes from February 2019.

According to Ahmad Kushairi, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has adopted the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) to reduce greenhouse gas emission for the aviation sector.

One of the carbon offsetting measures is to use sustainable biojet fuel accredited under CORSIA.

“With the commitment of CORSIA, the minimum blending of biojet fuel is 2% starting 2027, and the approved blending could be up to 50%,” he highlighted.

Under CORSIA, all airline operators with annual emissions greater than 10,000 tonnes of CO2 are required to report their emissions on an annual basis, with monitoring starting in January 2019.

The CO2 offsetting requirements in CORSIA will be implemented in 2021 in phases with mandatory implementation to begin in 2027.

Ahmad Kushairi said MPOB is currently conducting a feasibility study on aviation fuel for the economy and its impact to airline operators, bearing in mind that any effort to protect the environment comes with a cost.

“For example, a Malaysia-based airline would require 60,000 tonnes per year of biojet fuel to meet the 2% blending ratio requirement,” he said.

Currently, there are more than 80 airlines operating to and from Malaysian airports nationwide.

Ahmad Kushairi said in the Asean region, there is no biojet fuel production plant at the moment.

Currently, European firm Neste Corp is producing green diesel (hydro-treated vegetable oil) from waste oil and vegetable oils at one million tonnes per year capacity. The company has also announced to invest an additional €1.4 billion (RM6.51 billion) for setting up the second bio-refinery plant in Singapore by 2023 for biojet fuel and green diesel production with a capacity of 1.3 million tonnes per year.

Indonesia and Malaysia, the world’s top two producers of the vegetable oil, have threatened to challenge the European Union in the World Trade Organisation over the economic bloc’s plan to ban palm oil-based biofuel by 2030.

To minimise impact and reduce stocks, Malaysia started rolling out the B10 biodiesel (a blend of 10% palm oil in diesel) for the transportation sector last month, while Indonesia has introduced B20 since 2016.

An industry player told TMR that the government should demand ICAO to accept palm oil as part of the biojet fuel blend.

“We could lose this competitive market to our neighbours if we do not address this now. Alternatively, we could mandate the use of biojet fuel domestically using palm oil as feedstock.

“This initiative will help to increase usage of palm oil without subject to the ICAO regulations,” the person said.

  • Energy Economy
  • Renewables
16 April 2019

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  • Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) will soon mark its international foray into renewable energy once it completes the acquisition of Amplus Energy Solutions Pte Ltd, better known as M+ later this month.

The state-owned oil and gas (O&G) giant has entered into an agreement with I Squared Capital to acquire a 100% interest in M+, a leading Singapore-based company with a portfolio of distributed, renewable energy assets in Asia.

M+ specialises in end-to-end solutions for rooftop and ground-mounted solar power projects, catering to commercial and industrial customers.

The company, which was established 2013, has a cumulative capacity of over 500MW under operation and development, serving more than 150 commercial and industrial customers in over 200 locations across India, the Middle East and South-East Asia.

Petronas president and Group CEO Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said the acquisition reflects Petronas’ strategy to grow in the renewable energy space as part of its strategy to step out beyond O&G into the new energy business.

“This also represents our first international solar venture and we look forward to providing energy solutions to our customers in these high-growth energy markets,” he said in a statement yesterday.

I Squared Capital founding partner Gautam Bhandari said M+ has grown by over 400% annually under I Squared Capital to become a world-class, end-to-end company serving the corporates in Asia to reduce their greenhouse gases and combat climate change.

Meanwhile, Petronas is also working on a number of clean energy initiatives in Malaysia such as the joint development of large-scale solar photovoltaic power plants and on-campus energy optimisation and solar rooftop projects.

This will be done in collaboration with UiTM Holdings Sdn Bhd, the investment arm of Universiti Teknologi Mara.

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2019/04/16/petronas-to-acquire-renewable-energy-firm/#imbqMcKRy8Px3Vgp.99

  • Electricity/Power Grid
16 April 2019

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  • Myanmar

A wharf on Made Island, the starting point of the China-Myanmar crude oil and gas pipeline, awaits giant oil tankers. Courtesy: China-Myanmar crude oil and gas pipeline project

It was completely dark outside at night when this Global Times reporter visited Kyaukpyu county, Myanmar eight years ago. Now, the city has witnessed tremendous changes thanks to the China-Myanmar crude oil and gas pipeline, a pioneer project of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, local citizens told the Global Times.

The pipeline project serves as the fourth energy import channel after the China-Central Asia pipelines, China-Russia oil pipeline, and the Middle East. As a result, the project has a strategic significance for China’s energy diversification and security, said Zhang Qiang, manager of the project of Sino-Pipeline International Company. He noted Myanmar also benefits a great deal from the project.

Filling up

An oil tanker stops at a western Myanmar port in Kyaukpyu county. Three oil delivery pipes are lowered down to unload oil into its 100,000-ton oil storage tank.

That oil will go through the 771-kilometer-long China-Myanmar crude oil pipeline and head to China from Namhkam, Shan State in eastern Myanmar.

In the same way, the natural gas gathered from southwestern Myanmar will go through the China-Myanmar gas pipeline.

“The China-Myanmar crude oil and gas pipeline allows crude oil from the Middle East to bypass the Malacca Straits and go ashore on Made Island, which faces the Andaman Sea in the Indian Ocean. The oil will eventually arrive in China’s southwestern region,” Zhang told the Global Times.

He noted that Myanmar requires less than 2 million tons of crude oil and 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas to promote local economic development and raise people’s standard of living.

Every day, about 602,700 cubic meters of natural gas are supplied from the starting station in Kyaukpyu county and transferred to the local power station.

Inh Malh owns the tallest building in the county. At least half of the 40 rooms in the eight-floor hotel are usually booked, according to him.

“Nobody wanted to visit Kyaukpyu county in the past, because it used to be totally dark at night. Locals didn’t want to go outside either. The electricity provided by the government could only be used for two to three hours per day. Private electric lamps cost $30 per month,” he said, “Now, the county’s economy has improved a lot thanks to the China-Myanmar gas pipeline, because the electricity generated in the power station came from the natural gas transferred via the pipeline.”

About 60 percent of the townships and regions in Myanmar are unable to guarantee uninterrupted power supplies. Forty days after the pipeline project went into operation in September 2013, the Kyaukpyu station started supplying natural gas to local power stations. The daily power supply increased from three hours to 24 hours, and electricity charges were also reduced.

“With the natural gas provided by the China-Myanmar gas pipeline, Kyaukpyu becomes the first county in Rakhine State to generate power with natural gas and realize a 24-hour power supply,” the head of Kyaukpyu county said.

In addition to Kyaukpyu, the northern Mandalay and central Yenangyaung gas stations can provide about 2.7 million cubic meters during peak hours to ease energy demand.

The 793-kilometer China-Myanmar natural gas pipeline has six stations, and aims to transfer 12 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually. Myanmar’s usage comes to less than 20 percent of the total traffic amount.

According to Yuan Yundong, head of the project’s production and operation team, the China-Myanmar natural gas pipeline helped Myanmar collect 3.1 billion cubic meters of natural gas as of February, which goes to power stations in Kyaukpyu, Taneekarn and Mandalay.

The pipeline started operating in May 2, 2017. As of February, it has transferred 17.53 million tons of oil to China. The potential traffic amount at the five stations is 22 million tons.

Chinese and Myanmar workers operate the machines at the Sinkontai pump station. Photo: Sun Guangyong

Bringing jobs

According to the Asian Development Bank, Myanmar’s economic growth looks set to be first among the Southeast Asian nations. The China-Myanmar pipeline project solves the problem of Myanmar’s downstream market, earns foreign exchange through exports and brings in national revenue.

In terms of employment, statistics show the pipeline project hired more than 2.9 million people and more than 6,000 local people were employed during the construction peak.

What’s more, the project provides training for around 800 Myanmar workers, accounting for 80 percent of total employees, in positions ranging from installation worker to welders.

Hn Um, who graduated from the department of mechanics at the University of Yangon, is now a technician at Mandalay station. He previously studied in China’s Southwest Petroleum University.

“We learned advanced technology from the training, which is needed not only for running the pipeline but also for our country,” he said.

  • Electricity/Power Grid
16 April 2019

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  • Thailand

California-based Enevate Corp., whose innovative battery technology is addressing extreme-fast charge times for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, announced that Thai energy giant Bangchak, through its Bangchak Initiative and Innovation Center (BiiC), has invested in the company.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190416005308/en/

Enevate aims to make EV charging as fast and easy as pumping gas/petrol (Graphic: Business Wire)

“This is a significant investment for us, not only from a financial perspective but as further indication of the energy industry’s strong interest in our groundbreaking solutions as EV demand grows and consumers demand vastly shorter battery charging times,” said Enevate CEO Robert A. Rango. “With this investment, Bangchak becomes an important partner in our mission to provide advanced battery technology that will help drive the growth of global EV markets with as little as five-minute charging times.”

Rango added: “We see a day in the not-too-distant future when EV drivers will be able to pull up to drive-thru charging stations that will look much like today’s gas stations, charge up and be back on the road in five minutes.”

“Bangchak’s investment in Enevate reflects our mission to seed innovative technologies and support continuous development of solutions in pursuit of environmental stewardship and sustainability in the energy business,” said Chaiwat Kovavisarach, President and CEO, Bangchak Corporation Public Company Limited. “Enevate is renowned for its expertise in the development of innovative extreme-fast charging lithium-ion batteries for EVs, with an ability to charge 10 times faster than current conventional batteries. We are excited to be a part of their pioneering work.”

The companies did not disclose the investment amount.

Enevate’s HD-Energy® Technology for EVs features five-minute fast charging with high energy density and long driving range with added focus on low-temperature operation for cold climates, low cost and safety benefits. This short charging time is superior to any other Li-ion technology available today.

Enevate licenses its silicon-dominant HD-Energy Technology to battery and EV automotive manufacturers and suppliers worldwide to quickly achieve production volume and accelerate adoption of next-generation features that take EVs to the next level.

ABOUT ENEVATE

Enevate Corporation, with global headquarters in Irvine, Calif., develops and licenses advanced silicon-dominant Li-ion battery technology that revolutionizes the electric vehicle (EV) market by breaking down barriers to EV adoption. Enevate’s pioneering work on silicon-dominant anodes and cells has resulted in its breakthrough HD-Energy Technology featuring extreme-fast charging with high energy density, excellent low-temperature operation for cold climates, low cost, and safety advantages over conventional graphite Li-ion batteries.

Investors include Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi (Alliance Ventures), LG Chem, Samsung, Mission Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Tsing Capital, Infinite Potential Technologies, Presidio Ventures – a Sumitomo Corporation company, Lenovo and CEC Capital. To learn more about, or to license, Enevate’s industry-defining battery technology, visit www.enevate.com. Enevate®, the Enevate logo, HD-Energy, and eBoost® are registered trademarks of the Enevate Corporation.

ABOUT BANGCHAK

Bangchak Corporation Public Company Limited is a Thai energy company engaging in business alongside social and environmental stewardship. Bangchak is committed to bringing disruptive and Greenovation, founded on good corporate governance, through inclusiveness and sustainability, for industrial transformation. Its core businesses include petroleum refining, gas service stations, green power plants and bio-based business. The Bangchak Initiative and Innovation Center (BiiC), with a focus on New S-Curves Businesses, comprises three divisions: Research & Development, Corporate Venture Capital, and Ecosystem & Incubation.

  • Oil & Gas
16 April 2019

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  • Cambodia

A new set of international companies are optimistic about Cambodia’s nascent oil and gas industry, but they are investing in an extractive business that has proven costly and yielded only delays, not yet profit.

The Canadian-listed gold mining company Angkor Gold announced this year that it would start exploring oil and gas blocks onshore in Cambodia, expanding out from its gold and copper endeavors which have yet to deliver any profit for the company. Angkor Gold would not disclose any details on which location they may choose to explore, but their website explains the company is negotiating with the government for 7,000 square kilometers, with particular interest in the Kampong Som basin, an area southwest of Phnom Penh where thermal conditions indicate a possibility for oil or dry gas.

The exploration comes off the back of KrisEnergy’s pledge to extract Cambodia’s first drops of oil later this year. The Singapore-based oil and gas company announced that it would begin production in 2019 from a reserve holding an estimated 400 million barrels. If successful, they will finally reap the long-awaited rewards of a reserve that’s stymied oil-and-gas giant Chevron for more than a decade, and perhaps turn around the company’s piling net losses and declining stock performance.

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Among KrisEnergy’s explorations in the region, the publicly-traded company has deferred its exploration where it could, due to downturns in the commodity cycle and volatile oil prices. The company’s 2018 unaudited capital expenditure was at $56.3 million, down from a projected $96.8 million, said KrisEnergy’s VP for Investor Relations and Corporate Communications Tanya Pang in an email. The company relinquished three exploration blocks in 2017 in favor of pursuing the development project in Cambodia’s Block A and other assets off the Thai coast, she continued.

In contrast to KrisEnergy’s positive outlook toward Cambodia, the companies exploring onshore and offshore oil and gas reserves in Cambodia have been more likely to pull out of their investment than strike black gold.

Onshore explorations have proven particularly difficult. Angkor Gold is the only company that’s currently exploring any of Cambodia’s 19 onshore blocks, but they’re not the first to take interest. Vietnam’s state-owned oil and gas firm PetroVietnam was the previous holder of an exploration license for Block XV – a stretch covering nearly 7,000 sq km just north of the massive Tonle Sap lake. Cheap Sour, director general for the Ministry of Mines and Energy, said the company lost its license due to noncompliance with the government’s contract, without providing any specifics.

At the most basic level, the Cambodian government has never conducted an official survey of the land to determine the greatest potential reserves, said Mout Chantheany, social and environmental network coordinator for DPA Cambodia. The nation’s onshore block offerings span almost the entire country, so companies enter oil and gas exploration agreements without specific details on which section could hold the highest potential and embark on a costly endeavor.

For Angkor Gold – which is changing its name to Angkor Resources given the exploration – the enabling factor is improved oil prices from five years ago, said John-Paul (JP) Dau, president for Angkor Gold. The company has been eyeing Cambodia’s oil and gas industry for the last five to six years, Dau said, and multiple executives had previous experience in oil and a desire to re-enter the industry. In that same time span, Cambodia’s authority for oil and gas transferred from a separate state entity, the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority, to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, with which was Angkor Resources already familiar from its mineral projects.

“If you don’t have the financials and you don’t have the background, don’t bother, because I would say the ministry will not really entertain you as a possible option to get involved,” Dau explained. “But if you have the financial background, if you have the technical expertise to do it, I would say yeah, you should look [to Cambodia].”

KrisEnergy is not the first to promise Cambodia oil. Chevron’s local subsidiary once aspired to begin production in 2009 after discovering deposits in Block A in 2004. The company entered the exploration with a 55 percent stake in the investment, with the beleaguered (and now defunct) Cambodian National Petroleum Authority holding a 5 percent stake. When production stalled, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen threatened to take the U.S. company’s license. With production stuck and the company refusing to agree to the Cambodian government’s demand for 70-80 percent of the revenue share, Chevron sold 30 percent of its stake at the end of 2009, and then its remaining 25 percent in 2014, to KrisEnergy. The company sunk more than $160 million into exploration, and reportedly damaged relations with the government, all without extracting a drop of oil, much less any profit.

Another high-potential block has been similarly passed between multiple companies. The Singapore-listed Mirach Energy last held the exploration license for Block D through an association with China Petroleum Holdings Limited, but they quietly divested in the company in 2016 after the partnership lost their $7.5 million investment and incurred another $5.1 million in losses, according to their 2017 Annual Report. Mirach could not be reached for comment.

Since deals with Chevron, Mirach, and China Petroleum Holdings Limited failed, the Cambodian government’s outlook toward oil has been rosier. At this month’s Extractive Industry Governance Forum the Mine and Energy Ministry signaled they see great potential in Cambodian oil and gas. The lack of legislation and infrastructure put that enthusiasm on edge.

A petroleum law that would establish taxation requirements has long been in the making, Chantheany explained, but the government has been slow to jumpstart these efforts since it restructured the presiding ministry after the 2013 national election and changed jurisdiction of the state’s petroleum company. Chantheany said her organization is also concerned that the government has not factored in crucial costs involved in the industry – namely, operations and management as well as how to tamp down contracts when reserves inevitably deplete.  The draft law is still underway, and probably slowed by the government’s overarching need to overhaul its taxation structure in a way that adds transparency needed for international business.

Dau said Angkor Gold would have to explore first and verify there is even oil or gas in Cambodia before the company could seriously discuss to how share production profits with the government. To Dau, frontier markets like Cambodia are ideal for exploration because investors are less conservative than those in Alberta, Canada, where he entered the industry. Cambodia’s extractive industries have been plagued by illegal mining, over which authorities have slowly tried to gain control. But Dau defends the lax regulation at the moment, which he says allows his company to utilize best practices from Canada without facing increasing restrictions on pipeline drilling that grew as Canada grew into a global player.

But revenue share could be a deal-breaker. The company has more than $32 million in accumulated deficit in Cambodia, but Dau said they would have no choice but to pull out if they don’t feel they would make much after production costs.

“The most important thing is the revenue share,” Dau said. “The government has to look at it as a whole: what the companies get, what the government gets. That’s still being ironed out, and at that point [when it’s established], we’ll decide whether to stay.”

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