KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 — The head of a local research house has warned that the nation faces a possible power crunch in 2017 if gas subsidies are not removed.

OSK Research Sdn Bhd's head of research Chris Eng said that Petronas could decline to extend the gas supply agreements (GSA) with independent power producers (IPPs) if gas subsidies are not removed, potentially causing IPPs to stop operation and removing 4,105 MW worth of electricity from the system and dropping reserve margins to as low as 13 per cent.

Petronas spent RM19.7 billion on natural gas subsidies in 2008 of which subsidies for IPPs amounted to RM13.8 billion, a 17.9 per cent increase from the previous year.

Eng noted that even if Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and MMC Corporation Berhad expand their power plants at Janamanjung and Tanjung Bin by 2,000 MW and 800 MW, it would be insufficient to cover the shortfall.

“The nation’s reserve margin would fall below 30 per cent in TNB in the financial year 2014 and would fall below 20 per cent in 2017 which would be disastrous,” said  Eng in a report today.

He added that if subsidies were removed however, Petronas could construct a regasification plant to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) and renew its GSA with the IPPs.

Together with the plant expansions at Janamanjung and Tanjung Bin, Eng said that TNB’s reserve margin would dip below 30 per cent in 2014 and 2015 but climb back up above 30 per cent in 2016.

He added that given the strong electricity demand over the next seven years and the looming expiry of the GSAs and the power purchase agreements between IPPs and TNB, it was imperative for gas subsidies to be removed to incentivise Petronas to import LNG to make up for shortages.

Figures provided by OSK Research show that IPPs possess about 47 per cent of the electricity generation capacity in Peninsular Malaysia and natural gas was the dominant fuel source — accounting for 55 per cent of electricity generation capacity.

Eng noted however that the non-removal of subsidies was a worst case scenario and it was more likely that a long term schedule for gas subsidy reduction would be announced and gas subsidies would drop to zero over 10 to 15 years, similar to what was announced in 2008 but was not enforced after March 2009.

He added that he was upbeat on the power sector given the likelihood of an electricity tariff hike and subsidy removal as utility companies stood to benefit.

The cabinet is meeting this week in a bid to slash subsidy spending that has more than doubled since 2006 and last year helped push the country to its biggest budget deficit in over 20 years.

According to official government figures, subsidy spending rose to RM24.5 billion in 2009, 15.3 per cent of total federal government spending and more than double the RM10.1 billion it spent in 2006.

Malaysia can move faster towards the much sought target of a high-income economy under the New Economic Model if current cheap electricity rates, linked to subsidised gas, can come to an end sooner than later, analysts said.

They said a prolonged dependency on inexpensive power will do more harm than good as domestic industries are relying too heavily on low production cost, made possible by subsidised gas so as to compete in the world market.

With the country's gas reserves reportedly to deplete by 2016-2019, there was a more compelling reason for a gradual removal of subsidy on gas as soon as possible.

"There is no escape from winding down the subsidies as we have limited resources which need to be preserved and maximised for future generations," said Jupiter Securities' Head of Research Pong Teng Siew.
Another analyst opined that low tariff rates made possible by subsidised gas prices do not reflect the country's true competitiveness.

"Just picture ourselves nine years down the road when we have to depend on imported gas.

"That is why there has to be a commitment to move domestic gas price to the market price and raise electric tariff rates accordingly," he told Bernama recently.

Domestic electricity tariffs are currently reviewed every six months.

In the last tariff adjustment in March 2009, the average electricity tariff was cut by 3.7 per cent in line with a 25 per cent reduction in gas price to RM10.70 from RM14.31 per MMBTU.

In July 2008, the government implemented a 24 per cent hike in tariff as a result of a 123 per cent increase in gas price.

OSK Research's Head of Research Chris Eng said if Malaysia was to be viewed in the context of a trading country in a globalised world, "one cannot expect the subsidies to last forever. We need to discard the subsidy mentality."

Pong believed pressure groups lobbying to keep cost artificially low through cheap power would always be around but this needs to be handled delicately so as to ensure the best interest of the country going forward.

"Private entrepreneurs, particularly the bigger ones who employ inexpensive foreign labour to produce goods using cheap imported materials, frequently oppose tariff hikes as they benefitted substantially from cheap power.

"That basically means that they continue to make extraordinary profits at the expense of future generations," he said.

As to the possible repercussions of higher power tariff on manufacturers, Eng said if tariffs were increased by five per cent, their earnings would not be affected.

However, should the government decide to raise tariffs by 20 per cent, the impact on earnings would be substantial.

"But then again, why are we subsidising industries at the expense of public interest?," he asked.

A senior analyst, who requested anonymity, said the delayed tariff increase did not augur well for the local bourse and shares of utility service providers especially Tenaga Nasional Berhad.

Prices of TNB shares had been weekly traded over the past few weeks, as market investors were disappointed by the deferment of a decision on tariff hikes.

She pointed out that foreign investors holding stakes in Tenaga currently stands at only nine per cent compared with a peak of 28 per cent sometime back.

"There is a need for clarity in the electricity tariff through a more transparent tariff pass-through formula.

"With the economy gradually recovering, uncertainty (in the market) is the last thing that investors want to deal with," she added.

She noted that coal prices have somewhat stabilised at the moment but gas prices were trending upwards.

Gas price in Malaysia is tied to Medium Fuel Oil (MFO).
The daily average price of MFO in Singapore has risen to around US$72 per barrel in December 2009 from US$37 per barrel in March 2009.

At present, the power sector's fuel mix comprise of 65 per cent gas, 28 per cent coal, almost seven per cent hydro and less than 0.1 per cent diesel.

Should the government decide on a cut in subsidy for gas prices, the national utility company has no choice but to pass the extra costs to consumers.

"Tenaga is already heavily burdened by high capacity payments to independent power producers (IPPs) and rising costs of supply. It cannot absorb additional cost," said the analyst.

Total IPP and fuel costs represent 65 per cent of TNB's total operating costs for the financial year ended Aug 31, 2009.

The national utility corporation paid over RM14 billion to IPPs for the 2009 financial year.

Eng added compared with its global peers, Tenaga's return on assets was very low.

"If you want to make Tenaga more attractive and viable to investors a tariff hike is very important," he said.

Pong believed the best time to review tariffs was when the economy was on a strong footing but a strong political will was also necessary to institute change.

"Equally important is for Malaysians to willingly accept a mindset change. Bite the bullet for the removal of gas subsidy and correspondingly for higher tariff rates.

Although this would surely cause "a hole in our pockets" everyone needs to sacrifice for the long-term benefits of future generations, added Pong. - Bernama

Read more: 'End low power tariff from subsidised gas' http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIM...l#ixzz0ppymIlb4

By Mathew Carr and Eduard Gismatullin

June 9 (Bloomberg) -- Coal’s share of global energy consumption rose last year to its highest level since 1970 as use of natural gas fell the most on record, a tendency that may continue, BP Plc said in a report.

Coal accounted for 29 percent of world energy use, BP said today in its annual Statistical Review of World Energy. The report measures consumption of oil, gas, coal, nuclear energy and hydroelectricity. Global consumption dropped 1.3 percent in 2009 to 11.16 billion metric tons of oil equivalent, the first decline since 1982, BP said.

The United Nations is seeking to curb fossil-fuel consumption, which produces greenhouse gases linked to climate change. Coal releases about double the emissions of natural gas for each unit of electricity produced. Carbon-dioxide emissions probably dropped for the first time since 1998, the BP report said, based on energy-consumption data.

“China became a large-scale coal importer, which prevented global coal consumption from falling,” Tony Hayward, BP’s chief executive officer, said today in an introduction to the review. “Given the OPEC cuts, the world’s largest increase in oil production by far came from the U.S., mainly from the Gulf of Mexico. This is not an excuse for anything but a piece of the reality in which we all live.”

The share of coal consumption in developing countries such as China and India will continue to grow in the overall energy mix, BP Chief Economist Christof Ruehl said today in an interview in London.

“That’s what electricity production is based on and that’s necessary for economic growth,” he said.

Economic Stimulus

China’s and India’s respective coal consumption rose by 10 percent and 7 percent last year, exceeding gross domestic product growth, Ruehl said. In late 2008, the Chinese government started major infrastructure projects that have boosted demand for energy-intensive products, such as steel and cement, and therefore demand for coal.

BP shares fell for a third day in London as President Barack Obama stepped up pressure on Hayward to stop the worst oil leak in U.S. history. The shares fell 4.2 percent to 391.55 pence, the lowest price since October 2008 after a 5 percent drop yesterday. The stock has fallen 40 percent since April 20, when an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig triggered the spill.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries announced production cuts in late 2008. Global oil consumption in 2009 fell 2 percent to 3.88 billion metric tons, BP said.

While use of coal dropped last year, oil and natural gas consumption dropped more, meaning coal’s share of overall energy consumption rose. Coal consumption fell 0.2 percent to 3.28 billion metric tons of oil equivalent while gas declined 2.4 percent to 2.65 billion tons.

Nuclear Power Plant Will Cost US$2.5-US$4 Billion

KUALA LUMPUR, June 7 (Bernama) -- A 1,000 megawatts (MW) nuclear power plant will cost US$2.5-US$4 billion (RM8.3-RM13.3 billion) to build, Dewan Rakyat heard today.

Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui said the amount did not include research and development in soft infrastructure like human capital development and improvements to support the nuclear plant.

"The cost of operating a nuclear plant is lower than that using oil, coal and natural gas," he told Lim Guan Eng (DAP-Bagan) who asked about the plant planned for 2021 and its impact on the environment.

Chin said the nuclear plant's exact location had yet to be determined but it would be built in peninsula to meet rising demand for electricity post 2020.

The government would use international standards when choosing the location by considering factors like population density, environment, hydrology, seismic, teutonic and geomography.

He said as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the government would ensure that all safety regulations would be adhered to.

"Licence for the plant project site will only be issued after all studies including environmental impact assessment and radiation are done."

Chin allayed public fears over safety concerns as nuclear technology had improved in recent years.

"The reactor will stop quickly, in several seconds, in case of unforeseen incidents," he added.

Radiation from nuclear plants were also lower than those at background radiation areas as they had five safety layers to prevent radiation.

I think both opinions are valid from both points of view.

Been holding YTLPOWER for more than 2 years already. It's like a buy and forget type of stock, won't give heart attack one no matter the market condition unless directly affecting their bottomline. Since it's like a rock, can't expect any significant capital returns which turns off a lot of investors. So the decision to buy really depends on the portfolio of each individual investor.

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Added on June 16, 2010, 11:30 am

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Added on June 19, 2010, 11:46 amWiMAX成敗左右前景‧楊忠禮電力具投資風險

    * 大馬財經
    * 業績評論

2010-06-15 19:20

（吉隆坡）楊忠禮電力（YTLPOWR, 6742, 主板基建計劃組）手握逾66億令吉現金，使它在尋求新投資及併購活動占有利地位，但耗資龐大的WiMAX計劃成敗左右未來前景表現。

英國水供受匯率左右

這間公司業務面對隱憂，新加坡電力業務雖受看好，但英國水供業務受貨幣匯率左右，而大馬業務則胥視其5年耗資25億令吉的WiMAX計劃成敗而定。

興業研究表示，目前市場將密切關注其WiMAX計劃的發展與策略。因旗下的楊忠禮通訊計劃在未來5年裡投資25億令吉，以推行這計劃网絡。

市場關注焦點之一，包括這間公司可能決定選擇積極價格策略以贏取訂戶，特別是在一個全國大部份尚未未應用网絡的市場。
Exclusive FIFA merchandise only at Giant!  Rollover to view!

這間公司的投資風險，包括不討好的貨幣外匯走勢影響外匯賺利、能源計劃下的良好經營環境優勢潛在變化和WiMAX計劃的執行風險及差勁的用戶人數等。

興業將這間公司2010/13年淨利預測削減3.5%至4.3%，主要是反映投資控股及其他部門的潛在虧損、以及假設有效稅率調高至25%（之前為24%），2010年淨利為11億3360萬令吉、2011年為11億7650萬令吉、以及2012年為12億1570萬令吉。

股息仍受看好

黃氏唯高達表示，這間公司的股息依然受看好，主要受到新加坡西拉雅電力及水供及電力業務的強勁營運現金流所支撐。預料2010年及2011年淨每股股息保持在13.5仙水平。

MIMB研究表示，截至2010年3月，這間公司資產負債表擁有66億4000萬令吉現金，擁有尋求受困管制資產的機會，不過，卻對WiMAX投資持謹慎態度，預料將繼續尋找有素質的公用事業資產。

達證券看好新加坡西拉雅電力業務，主要是隨著經濟好轉而走高，特別是新的兩座賭場休閑中心開業後推動電力需求。新的800MW混合發電廠將進一步改善效率與賺幅。

不過，英國韋塞克斯業務表現，將受到英鎊匯率走弱的負面影響。英鎊每跌10仙，將減少這間公司淨利1.4%。
WiMAX成敗左右前景‧楊忠禮電力具投資風險

    * 大馬財經
    * 業績評論

2010-06-15 19:20

（吉隆坡）楊忠禮電力（YTLPOWR, 6742, 主板基建計劃組）手握逾66億令吉現金，使它在尋求新投資及併購活動占有利地位，但耗資龐大的WiMAX計劃成敗左右未來前景表現。

英國水供受匯率左右

這間公司業務面對隱憂，新加坡電力業務雖受看好，但英國水供業務受貨幣匯率左右，而大馬業務則胥視其5年耗資25億令吉的WiMAX計劃成敗而定。

興業研究表示，目前市場將密切關注其WiMAX計劃的發展與策略。因旗下的楊忠禮通訊計劃在未來5年裡投資25億令吉，以推行這計劃网絡。

市場關注焦點之一，包括這間公司可能決定選擇積極價格策略以贏取訂戶，特別是在一個全國大部份尚未未應用网絡的市場。


這間公司的投資風險，包括不討好的貨幣外匯走勢影響外匯賺利、能源計劃下的良好經營環境優勢潛在變化和WiMAX計劃的執行風險及差勁的用戶人數等。

興業將這間公司2010/13年淨利預測削減3.5%至4.3%，主要是反映投資控股及其他部門的潛在虧損、以及假設有效稅率調高至25%（之前為24%），2010年淨利為11億3360萬令吉、2011年為11億7650萬令吉、以及2012年為12億1570萬令吉。

股息仍受看好

黃氏唯高達表示，這間公司的股息依然受看好，主要受到新加坡西拉雅電力及水供及電力業務的強勁營運現金流所支撐。預料2010年及2011年淨每股股息保持在13.5仙水平。

MIMB研究表示，截至2010年3月，這間公司資產負債表擁有66億4000萬令吉現金，擁有尋求受困管制資產的機會，不過，卻對WiMAX投資持謹慎態度，預料將繼續尋找有素質的公用事業資產。

達證券看好新加坡西拉雅電力業務，主要是隨著經濟好轉而走高，特別是新的兩座賭場休閑中心開業後推動電力需求。新的800MW混合發電廠將進一步改善效率與賺幅。

不過，英國韋塞克斯業務表現，將受到英鎊匯率走弱的負面影響。英鎊每跌10仙，將減少這間公司淨利1.4%。

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Green Technology, Green Economy: More Than Meets The Eye

Posted on June 23, 2010. Filed under: Ecology |

- Bernama-

By Melati Mohd Ariff

This six-part article dwells on several environmental issues namely global warming, water vitality, ecosystems, biodiversity and Green Economy. This is last of the series.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 23 (BERNAMA) — The colour green has always been associated with nature and when it is added to technology and economy, it signifies great hope and expectation.

And jumping into the green bandwagon is becoming a trend these days with companies and oganisations stepping forward and disclosing their so-called ‘green initiatives’.

S. Piarapakaran, the Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations’ (Fomca) Senior Manager for Environment, Energy and Water shared his observation on this green subject with Bernama in a recent interview.

MORE THAN MERE COLOUR

Being ‘green’ is not just about the colour. That is just the surface, said Piarapakaran, stressing it is actually challenging to go green.

“Environmental friendly technology is what green technology is all about. It reduces impact to the environment due to development process and consumption pattern,” he explained.

“In essence, green technology is inter-related in every aspect of our daily life and behaviour,” he explained.

Anthony Tan, the Executive Director of Centre for Environment, Technology and Development (Cetdem) concurred that green technology is any technology that helps to reduce the threat to the environment.

“It goes beyond electricity generation. How we construct our buildings and the material used. What kind of industries we are bringing to Malaysia, whether they are energy intensive. Those are also green technologies,” he said providing examples to Bernama during an interview at Cetdem’s office in Petaling Jaya recently.

According to Tan, green technology also involves technologies that are locally developed for instance technologies related to the palm oil industry.

“When it comes to the least polluting way or running an oil palm mill or even an oil palm estate, those are actually local technologies that we actually can export to countries like Indonesia or Thailand,” he explained.

GREEN ECONOMY

Moving on to ‘green economy’, Piarapakaran identified three major components namely the government, industrial and commercial entities, and domestic consumers where all have an important role to play.

He said change in government procurement, buildings, practices and habits of their officers would definitely give a huge impact.

“We cannot green a township or an agency. We need to first green the people there. This creates the first wave in green economy.

“As for the industrial and commercial sectors, can they change their operations to be green? They will always refer to their Return of Investment (ROI) when it comes to changing operating methods.

“This requires top management commitment. More often, changing to green practices involve investment but usually it saves a lot of expenditure in longer run.

“Domestic consumers also need to go green and being environmentally friendly can be done with thousands of simple practices,” he pointed out.

Piarapakaran cited some examples here, namely purchasing energy efficient and water efficient products would reduce consumers’ impact to environment as well as reduce their bills.

He, however, cautioned that developing the demand for green products is not easy and more often than not, there would be misleading claims and in the process consumers would be cheated.

GREEN RESOURCES

Green economy should encompass green elements in all stages of development and the final objective is to achieve green growth. This is the opinion of Asfaazam Kasbani, assistant resident representative of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) office in Malaysia.

“Our current economy is mainly dependent on fossil fuel, often referred as brown or black economy.

“The renewable or green fuel on the other hand largely contributes to green economy and it will take time. It will not happen tomorrow or even 10 or 20 years down the road.

“We are talking about a longer time frame, probably 30 to 50 years or more, Malaysia could to take a leaf from some developed countries for example that have managed to energise their ‘energy guzzling industries’ and reduce impact on the environment.

Germany and Denmark, he said generate around 15 per cent of their electricity from renewable sources such as wind turbine and solar PV (photovoltaic).

“It takes 50 years down the road for these developed countries to come to this level. One good thing is the lessons learnt are already available for other countries. We should learn from them,” stressed Asfaazam who is also UNDP’s senior programme manager for environment and energy.

CHECK TRANSPORTATION

Malaysia should have initiated green economy several years back despite the fact that the country is blessed with abundant natural resources including petroleum.

“Our oil reserves can last about 10 to 15 years. This calls for prudent usage. By 2015 or 2020, Malaysia would be a net importer of oil. We have no choice but to do it now,” Asfaazam said with reference to green economy.

He argued that one of the pillars for green economy is the transportation sector, where the number of motor vehicles on the road should be reduced.

“Here we still use our own transport to go to work. In developed countries, the people largely commute by public transport,” he said, adding that much improvement is needed for the country’s policies and services related to public transportation.

EXPLORE ALTERNATIVES

Dr Loh Chi Leong, Executive Director of Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) said one of the alternatives to petrol for motor vehicles would be natural gas because it pollutes less. Electrical vehicles including the ones using batteries are also an option.

While admitting that the initial investment for such a venture would be costly, there would be savings in the long term.

“For this you need initial commitment from the top decision makers. Again this will involve political will. It can be done. In New Delhi they did it overnight. They made a declaration that all the buses must run on natural gas.

“Other countries are doing it even in Los Angeles. They did not react until it is too late, until they got so much problem with air pollution they were forced to take action,” said Dr Loh.

He said energy saving devices could be used and would help save money for the country in the long term but they were costly for the average person.

One such device, is the Solar Photovoltaics (PVs). They are arrays of cells containing solar photovoltaic material that converts solar radiation into direct current.

He said studies have shown that Solar PVs actually produce more energy than even needed for a house that eventually contributes to storage problem.

“This is green, it is renewable energy and it is quite a feasible solution provided we can solve the storage problem for the electricity generated,” said Dr Loh.

Dr Loh also spoke about the light saving bulbs that cost more than the ordinary light bulbs but still not given due consideration by the consumers.

“If the government can subsidise that, and everybody buys it, the energy consumption will drop way below the initial investment,” he said.

WASTED ENERGY

The usage of fossil fuel to generate electricity in Malaysia remains high, so said Piarapakaran who is also the secretary general of the Water and Energy Consumer Association of Malaysia (WECAM).

Due to unavailability of other alternatives, consumers are directly affected every time when there is a price hike in the international petroleum price.

He quoted a study by the International Energy Agency (IEA) which said about 48 per cent of the energy is wasted in its journey to reach end users.

“Energy wastage in Malaysia is due to unplanned development. Fossil fuel is wasted due to traffic congestion. Electrical appliances that waste energy is sold without control and policies that promote wastage.

“For example, the National Automotive Policy that helps Malaysians to possess car easily but on the contrary the public has to shift to public transportation to reduce high fuel consumption,” said Piarapakaran.

He further urged the unification of energy sector under one ministry for policy work as well as one regulatory agency. Without unified policy development and regulatory framework, Malaysia is deemed to face severe impact from energy crisis.

GOING NUCLEAR?

Much have been discussed on Malaysia’s intention to turn to nuclear power ever since the government made the announcement in early May.

Minister for Energy, Green Technology and Water Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui said Malaysia’s first 1,000-megawatt nuclear plant costing US$3.1 billion could be ready by 2021.

Electricity usage in Malaysia currently amounts to 14,000 megawatts while total capacity is 23,000 MW.

The minister said Malaysia would hit critical level by 2017.

“We have mentioned in many platforms that uranium, plutonium and thorium (possible fuel for nuclear reactor) are non renewable resources and they will deplete one day.

“Nuclear is actually not the solution. It may assist Malaysia in short-term energy mix management.

“The location of a nuclear plant and the nuclear waste disposal are equally critical issues. We must always remember that nuclear waste will be kept for a long period of time. If we keep them for long, leakages may occur and cause disaster,” said Piarapakaran.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Tan of Cetdem concurred that Malaysia does not need a nuclear plant and that the resources proposed could be diverted for other investments such as the solar PV system.

Installing solar PV unfortunately is still costly in Malaysia, he said.

However, in Denmark and Germany, solar PV has become part of house installation and lifestyle.

“If you have more and more people generating electricity from home, you don’t really need extra power station, not even a nuclear power station.

“Energy efficiency is something that Cetdem has been pushing for the government to consider,” he added.

Dr Loh of MNS told Bernama, what is needed at this point in time is an integrated power plan that the government had to put forward for public scrutiny.

“We hear some people asking for a nuclear power plant. Others are saying we need more coal-powered plants. Another group wanted more hydro-powered plants.

“We need one government document that says what is best for Malaysia, which one will give us the best returns and cause the least damage,” he said.

President says nuclear power plant not a priority
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Bogor, West Java | Sat, 06/19/2010 11:58 AM | Headlines

Despite the country's heavy dependence on fossil fuel, the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is in no hurry to construct a nuclear power generator.
Yudhoyono said Friday there was no definitive plan to set up such a power plant under his administration although there was a discussion for setting one up on the coast of Jepara in Central Java.
"Maybe the next administration will consider such a plan should there be an urgent need for an alternative energy source," he said.
Yudhoyono reiterated that construction of a nuclear power plant would require meticulous planning as any mistake would have devastating consequences.
"Looking at alternatives to fossil fuels, the administration would focus more on developing power plants fueled by geothermal energy, wind, solar and biofuels," he said.
The administration of Megawati Soekarnoputri in early 2004 had initiated the construction of a nuclear generator, which was slated for completion by 2020.
Early in his first tenure, Yudhoyono had pledged to continue with the plan and made trips to several nuclear power plant contractors in South Korea in 2006.
The government also signed a deal with South Korea, Russia and the US to supply Indonesia with uranium for peaceful purposes.
However, neighboring countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Australia have reportedly raised concerns over the plan, saying that once Indonesia managed to construct the plant, the nation would be a step closer to producing nuclear weapons.
The government has also faced criticism from local NGOs and Greenpeace, which staged a rally in the middle of 2007 in Central Java, calling for the termination of the nuclear reactor plan.
With the power plant plans likely to be shelved indefinitely, the government has yet to prepare any serious efforts to accelerate the development of alternative energy.
Analysts have partly blamed bureaucracy problems and energy subsidies for discouraging efforts to develop alternative energy, providing no incentives to use energy in an efficient way as well as failing to make energy conservation a habit in society.
There are also restrictions on the state budget to finance other sectors, including the construction of energy infrastructure, which is a higher priority.
The government this year will spend more than US$5.8 billion on subsidizing electricity, more than half of which will go to diesel for fueling power plants.
Diesel accounts for only around 23 percent of the fuel to run power plants.

Vietnam plans eight nuclear power plants by 2030

HANOI: Energy-short Vietnam announced an expansion of its nuclear power programme on Tuesday, with eight plants planned for operation over the next 20 years.

Atomic power will become one of the nation's key energy sources, according to the decision posted on the government website.

Initial plans called for four reactors but the notice said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung had approved eight nuclear facilities, each with at least four reactors, by 2030.

The eight plants will generate a total of 15,000-16,000 megawatts of electricity, the document said.

The government previously announced that a Russian firm had won the contract for Vietnam's first nuclear power station, which is to begin operation in 2020.

Experts estimated the cost of Vietnam's initial 4,000-megawatt facility at 11 billion to 18 billion dollars.

The government's plan calls for "efficient and safe exploitation of nuclear power plants" and aims to increase participation of domestic industries in the projects gradually, with a view to "self reliance in design, building, installation, operation and maintenance of nuclear power plants."

At an international conference in Hanoi last week, experts said Vietnam must now start to implement safety measures including public oversight for its first nuclear plant.

More than a third of the country's energy currently comes from hydropower.

Vietnam had a shortage of two billion kilowatt-hours in the first five months of the year, according to a state electricity body.

Foreign businesses have expressed concern about a lack of energy and other infrastructure in Vietnam.

"Consumption of electricity keeps on growing by 15 percent annually, thereby substantially surpassing the economic growth rates," the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam wrote last month.

Other Southeast Asian countries are exploring the possibility of nuclear power, despite what detractors say is the area's lack of experience with the technology, and safety concerns in a region prone to natural disasters.

I believe you get the wrong info.

If not mistaken, YTLpower underwent 1:1 bonus issue before, so you see NAV down form Rm2.xx to now RM1.xx

NAV will only go down if company report a loss in their P&L.

Depreciation will eat into your profit one aka, the profit reported already taking in account of depreciation issue. It is impossible to see company report profit every year and NAV goes down (if there is no dilution of share issue occur or bonus issue etc).

Profit = Sales - cost - depreciation - expenses - any write-off

Nope I don't think so. Unless you start seeing some share buyback announcements almost every week like what we used to see, there will be no share dividends.

The last share dividend given was 1:40 to clear up their remaining treasury shares before the warrant issue and subsequent acquisition of Seraya Power. 

FYI, to give a 1:25 dividend, the company needs to buy up to 250 mil shares from the open market. That means, they have to by an average of 680k shares from the market EVERYDAY for 365 days to get to that amount. So meaning you'll get a strong hint from the Bursa announcements if the company decides to start accumulating for the share dividends.