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Autor: Redacția DeFapt

38 articole
Redacția DeFapt

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China General Nuclear Power Group

China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN), formerly China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group (established in 1940), is an energy corporation under the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council of China. CGN operates nuclear plants in four locations, with five new nuclear power stations under construction and another two planned. China General Nuclear Power Group's foreign assets The Chinese company's overseas business includes the purchase of three wind farms in the UK from the British energy company EDF Energy, for a fee of £100 million. In 2016, the US charged CGN with stealing nuclear secrets from the United States. The US Justice Department and the FBI had discovered evidence that China General Nuclear Power (CGN) had been spying and stealing US nuclear secrets for almost two decades. Also read: No social-democrats in power, no success for China CGN has been charged with conspiring to help the Chinese government develop nuclear material in a manner that was in breach of US law. The US accusations In 2019, the US Department of Commerce added CGN to its "entity list", barring US companies from selling products to CGN. The US Department of Commerce explained that CGN attempted to acquire advanced US nuclear technology to divert to military uses in China. CGN's first nuclear station used reactors designed and built by the French National Company, Framatome. Then it has developed an improved self-designed reactor called CPR-1000 based on the French type. In 2014, Nuclearelectrica launched an investor selection procedure for the construction of reactors 3 and 4 at the Cernavodă plant. In the same year, China General Nuclear Power Corporation was approved as investor by Romanian authorities in charge of the process. The Romanian nuclear stake Several years of negotiations and signing of agreements followed. In 2019, under the Dăncilă (social-democrat) Cabinet, Nuclearelectrica (the operator of the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant, its shares being held by the Ministry of Energy) and the Chinese state giant China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) signed officially the preliminary agreement. For, of course, the continuation of the project for the construction and operation of reactors 3 and 4 at the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant. JVCO was supposed to be a joint stock company, established under Law 31/1990 on companies and would have had an initial duration of two years. CGN's participation in the project company would have been of 51% and that of SN Nuclearelectrica SA, of 49%. The investment would have been about $ 8 billion. Dead end At the beginning of 2020, though, Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said it was "very clear" that the partnership with China General Nuclear Power Corporation, that was supposed to build reactors 3 and 4 at the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant, would not be completed. The Government is looking now for another partner for the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant. Prime Minister Orban did not offer any explanation for leaving the partnership with the Chinese company, saying only that, from now on, all new projects in Romania's energy industry would depend on the EU's Environmental Agreement, an initiative aimed at reducing CO2 emissions in the EU.

China General Nuclear Power Group board (source: en.cgnpc.com.cn/)
China Energy Company CEFC (source: cnn.com)
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China Energy Company the private conglomerate

China Energy Company is a private conglomerate with a turnover of over $ 42 billion and is among the top ten private companies in China. The company's main businesses are related to oil, gas and financial services, but it also has in its portfolio a wide range of other sectors like transport infrastructure, forestry, asset management, hotel management, warehousing services, real estate development and logistics services. China Energy Company, the private conglomerate Most of the company is owned by Shanghai Energy Fund Investment Ltd (SEFI), which is registered under Ye Jianming, the chairman of CEFC. The company had close business with the People's Liberation Army, and the company's president had close ties to members of the Communist Party. Czech President Miloš Zeman himself has appointed CEFC's founder Ye Jianming as his economic adviser. Also read: No social-democrats in power, no success for China But, as of 2018, the Chinese giant has started to have big problems. Ye's relations with high Chinese officials have generated many acts of corruption. This angered President Xi Jinping, who ordered China Development Bank to withdraw its credit lines for CEFC. This was followed by Ye's arrest and investigation for involvement in bribery in Chad and Uganda where CEFC was engaged in the oil business. And so, a game of dominoes has been triggered resulting in the collapse of several important businesses of the Chinese company and the takeover of parts of the company by the Chinese state. KazMunayGas failure Before the scandal broke, China Energy Company also tried to take over the majority stake in KMG International, formerly Rompetrol, from KazMunayGas, Kazakhstan's national oil and gas company. After several years of negotiations, when the transaction was close to completion, in 2018, CEFC China Energy had to pay a $ 50 million guarantee to maintain the on-going transaction. But the Chinese company could not pay before the deadline due to Ye's problems and the business collapsed. The largest investments in Europe were made by CEFC in the Czech Republic, whose government the company was close to. The Czech success In 2015, the company acquired multiple assets in the Czech Republic - 5% in J&T Finance, a majority stake in the Pivovary Lobkowicz Group brewery, a 10% stake in Travel Service, 60% in SK Slavia Prague football club and real estate assets in Prague - the building of the former Živnostenská Banka on Na příkopě Street and Le Palais Art Hotel in Prague. CEFC also bought a package of 50 to 90% from the Invia Online Travel Agency. After CEFC China Energy invested in the Czech Empresa Media company, the owner of the nationwide television channel TV Barrandov and Týden news magazine, changed its critical tone towards China, being replaced only by positive news. In addition to other major CEFC deals, a $ 9.1 billion acquisition of a stake in the Rosneft Russian energy giant failed.

China Development Bank (source: chinadaily.com)
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China Development Bank in Romania

China Development Bank is a Chinese state-owned development bank established in 1994 and led by a cabinet minister at the Governor level, under the direct jurisdiction of the State Council. Since the beginning of the 2000s, China Development Bank has been interested in the Romanian banking market and has analyzed the possibility of opening a branch in Romania. especially since the Chinese bank prefers to grant long-term loans and especially for infrastructure projects. China Development Bank in Romania Then, in 2013, Romania's ambassador to Beijing at the time, Doru Costea, said the Chinese bank could open a branch in Bucharest. The idea of opening such a branch came from the need for Chinese investments in some important objectives for Romania. And here we refer to pending projects such as the Rovinari Thermal Power Plant, the Tarnița Hydroelectric Power Plant and the Craiova-Pitești Highway. Also read: No social-democrats in power, no success for China Other years of silence but good intentions followed. Only in 2019, a cooperation agreement was signed between China Development Bank and Eximbank Romania on credit guarantee. But nothing actually happened yet. Wind money However, a business with the Chinese bank's money was eventually developed. Goldwind International Limited, a division of Xinjian Goldwind Science & Technology Co., has installed 20 of its GW109/2500 turbines in the Mireasa wind farm, near Constanța. The final beneficiary was Mireasa Energies SRL, part of the Monsson Group, controlled by the Swedish businessman Emanuel Muntmark, one of the largest wind farm developers in Romania. For the 50 MW Mireasa 1 Wind Farm in Dobrogea, Monsson Alma contracted a € 43 million loan from China Development Bank in 2015. Monsson Alma has also developed the 600 MW Fântânele-Cogealac Wind Farm, but not with Chinese money.

The Chinese multinational BYD Co Ltd (source: byd.com)
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Chinese multinational BYD Co Ltd

BYD Auto Co. Ltd. is an automotive subsidiary of the Chinese multinational BYD Co Ltd, which is based in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. It was founded in 2003, following the acquisition by the BYD Company of Tsinchuan Automobile Company. The Chinese multinational BYD Co Ltd The company produces automobiles, buses, electric bicycles, forklifts, rechargeable batteries and trucks. The Denza brand, a joint venture with Daimler AG, produces luxury electric cars. BYD Auto Company Ltd is the largest electric bus manufacturer in the world. Also read: No social-democrats in power, no success for China In 2016, it built a factory in the town of Komárom in north-western Hungary. BYD Co Ltd established in 2002 BYD Electronic (International) Company Limited, a subsidiary which produced handset components and assembled mobile phones for Nokia and Motorola, with production bases both inside and outside of China. There were three factories outside China: one in Cluj, Romania; a Komárom, Hungary, production base, that was open following the February 2008 purchase of Mirae Hungary Industrial Manufacturer Ltd; and a Chennai, India, base. Hungary and Romania In addition, BYD Electronic has production bases in Huizhou, Tianjin, and at Baolong Industrial Park, Longgang District, Shenzhen. The factory in Hungary has been closed and today the factory is producing electric buses instead of handset components. As for the factory in Romania, it was closed in 2009. BYD Electronics Romania was to invest € 60 million at Nokia Village, near Cluj and to hire, in the first instance, 500 people. Basically, the construction of the factory was not even completed. However, the Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD has also officially entered the Romanian market through the Israeli importer New Kopel Car Import, part of SIXT Group Romania.

Beijing Genomics Institute (source: Facebook/BGI Genomics
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Chinese Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI)

The Chinese Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) is one of the largest companies in the medical research area. BGI was founded in 1999 in Shenzhen, Guangdong, as a genetic research centre, specialized in genome sequencing. From its inception until now, the company has transformed from a research institute that decoded the DNA of pandas and rice into a company active in animal cloning and health testing. Also read: No social-democrats in power, no success for China BGI's breakthrough occurred at the beginning of 2020, when it announced that it would make genome decoding cheaper and would be capable of decoding the genomes of 100,000 people a year. The Chinese Beijing Genomics Institute, in Cluj? In 2017, the Chinese company showed interest in developing a bioinformatics hub in South-Eastern Europe and the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca was one of its main options. Some BGI representatives paid a visit to the Cluj County Council to see what support and facilities Cluj-Napoca provided, but the business did not materialize. BGI collaborates with famous names, such as Bill Gates (with whom it develops several projects in Africa) or with the scientist James Watson (who is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Chinese company).

Good pork for WH Group in Romania (source: smithfield.ro)
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Good pork for WH Group

Good pork for WH Group: the Chinese meat processing company, listed on the Stock Exchange, operates in Romania through Smithfield România SRL. The name of the company is given by the previous owner, the American group Smithfield Foods, purchased entirely by WH Group. The Americans have entered the Romanian market in 2004 through the Comtim acquisition, the biggest pork meat processing facility in the South-Eastern Europe in 1989, which went bankrupt in 1999. Good pork for WH Group in Romania Smithfield România SRL is currently held by two companies with head office in the Netherlands: Lavender Raven BV and Smithfield Europe BV. After the Chinese from WH Group entered the Romanian market, Smithfield România SA also purchased other local companies for meat processing or with connected objects of activity (Agroalim Logistic SA, Vericom 2001 SRL, Elit SRL, Maier Com SRL). In 2018, Smithfield România SRL registered revenues of RON 901 million (approx. EUR 200 million) and a net profit exceeding RON 28 million (approx. EUR 6.5 million) with 1,168 employees. Also read: No social-democrats in power, no success for China In the same fiscal year, Elit SRL registered revenues of RON 420 million (approx. EUR 93 million) and a net profit of almost RON 27 million (EUR 6 million) with 1,489 employees. Big money Also, in 2018, Vericom 2001 SRL registered revenues of RON 110 million (approx. EUR 25 million) and a net profit of RON 5.5 million (EUR 1.2 million), but the number of employees was never communicated. So all the companies owned by WH Group in Romania registered revenues of EUR 320 million, a net profit of almost EUR 14 million with at least 2,700 employees. WH Group Ltd, the largest pork meat processing company in China, reported an increase of profit by 32% in 2019 following an increase of pork meat prices on the Chinese market, according to Reuters.

No way for Huawei in Romania (source: huawei.com)
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No way for Huawei in Romania

No way for Huawei in Romania? The Chinese group Huawei operates in Romania through Huawei Technologies SRL, a company entirely owned by Huawei Technologies Cooperatief UA from the Netherlands. The company’s annual revenue increased during the last three years, according to data from the Ministry of Finances. 2016: RON 1.27 billion (over EUR 280 million) with a profit exceeding RON 36 million, approximately EUR 8 million. 2017: RON 1.4 billion (over EUR 310 million) with a profit exceeding RON 20 million, approx. EUR 4.5 million. 2018: RON 1.9 billion (over EUR 420 million) with a profit exceeding RON 36 million, approx. EUR 8 million. The Chinese therefore increased their revenues by 50% in two years. Paradoxically (or maybe not), this lead also to a drop in the number of employees: from 1,447 in 2016 to only 1,018 in 2018. The profit was in the margin under EUR 10 million every year during the last three years. No way for Huawei in Romania But the success of the company seems threatened by trans-Atlantic strategic movements that didn’t seem predictable with the take-over of the Prime-Minister Chair by Victor Ponta (PSD) back in 2012. In 2013, for example, the Minister of Communications from that time, Dan Nica, was signing a “Memorandum of Agreement” with Huawei through which the two entities “agreed to enter a strategic cooperation relationship”. Also read: No social-democrats in power, no success for China In the same year 2013, the Ministry of Communications was organizing a tender for the RO-NET project development, for building a high-speed internet network in 783 poor rural localities in Romania. The tender, financed by the European Union, amounting to RON 380 million (over EUR 85 million) was won in 2014 by Telekom, supported by Huawei (as equipment provider). After more than five years, in October 2019, only two of the seven project lots have been performed, according to a notice of the Ministry of Communications. Proxies all the time But Huawei Technologies SRL never attends a public tender as equipment provider on its own. Also, there is no won tender in the public procurement portal of Romania. But the Chinese equipment still reach the public institutions. Through other providers, as shown by a contract concluded by the Permanent Electoral Authority at the end of 2019 for the pieces of equipment necessary for the elections from 2019 – 2020. As information obtained by Hotnews show, “we are talking about Huawei equipment in regards to the hardware procurement equipment necessary to implement the computer system for centralizing the elections results and the computer system for monitoring the presence to vote in 2019”. HAINA is Romanian for "clothing" The Huawei offensive has another component in Romania: an educational one. In November 2018, the Technical University “Gh. Asachi” from Iași was announcing the launch of a training centre of the company called Huawei Authorized Information and Network Academy (HAINA). According to an article on the website of the Iasi Technical University, “Huawei donated, for the HAINA Training Center and the competition that started on Monday, November 5th, one of the laboratories of the Faculty of Automatics and Computers with an investment exceeding USD 50,000. The professors from the faculty were trained free of charge by the Huawei team to be able to perform the respective courses, and the representatives of the company visited the laboratory afterwards to see where the students will work”. The current objective for the Chinese company is the 5G network from Romania. Currently, the tender for attributing the 5G contracts is in stand-by. 5G, hard to get Huawei's name was invoked even by the president Klaus Iohannis in connection with this extremely important project. Asked by Europa Liberă (in December 2019) if he talked to PM Ludovic Orban about the Government adopting a Memorandum regarding the 5G network (agreed following a meeting at the White House between Iohannis and Donald Trump, in the summer of 2019), President Iohannis spoke his mind. He said (during an unofficial meeting with the journalists) that he told the Executive to wait regarding the tender and on adopting the 5G. „There is a single provider – Huawei, the others are relatively close, the ones from Europe and the United States. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Such tender will have such deep implications and the process is no longer reversible. If we have chosen a solution, it can no longer be reverted. Romania is going to develop this tender when ready”. So no way for Huawei in Romania. Huawei counter-attacked through advertising interviews in the economic media where it tried to empower the idea that the “exclusion of the Huawei equipment from the structure of the 5G network would generate additional EUR 2.6 billion costs for Romania, meaning nearly 1% of the PIB”, but without submitting clear arguments in this regard.

Tools and other devices (source: honest.ro)
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tools and other devices

Tools and other devices: Honest General Trading SRL, a company owned by two Chinese citizens (Zhang Dong & Chen Changhong), operates on the Romanian market for 25 years and its figures rise from one year to another. Tools and other devices for good money In 2018, the company had revenues exceeding RON 202 million (EUR 45 million) and a net profit of RON 22.5 million (EUR 5 million) with 351 employees. Also read: No social-democrats in power, no success for China Only one year before, in 2017, the revenues amounted to RON 193 million and in 2016, RON 163 million. Therefore, in only two years, the company registered an increase of 25% of revenues. According to the presentation on their own website, Honest General Trading SRL trades “manual or electrical tools and devices for constructions works, gardening and site survey; electrotechnical materials; sanitary objects and installations; protection equipment”.

Chinese-German bikes in Romania (source: dhsbikeparts.ro)
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Chinese-German bikes in Romania

Chinese-German bikes in Romania: Eurosport DHS SA is the Romanian company (Deva, Hunedoara) that manufactures both bicycle parts and electrical bicycles that ships mainly to Europe, according to their own website. The company is owned by the Chinese citizens Yang Xi & Yang Tianqi together with the German company Prophete GmbH & Co KG, a 100-year-old bicycle manufacturer, that joined the Romanian company in 2006. Chinese-German bikes in Romania Yang Xi is also the representative of the off shore company Dewell Investment Limited (Hong Kong), that owns the majority shares of DHSBaby SRL located in Deva, Hunedoara. Also read: No social-democrats in power, no success for China The same off shore company also owns Cerurim SRL in the same locality. According to the “Official Gazette”, “There is an economic interest between the companies Eurosport DHS SA and CERURIM SRL for the SA guaranteeing the loans contracted from Banca Transilvania by CERURIM SRL, in the sense that CERURIM SRL is the main bicycle wheels and rims provider and approx. 50% of CERURIM turnover is generated by the commercial relations with Eurosport DHS”. Profits were made In 2018, Eurosport DHS SA registered revenues amounting to RON 412 million (approx. EUR 92 million) and a net profit net of RON 15.7 million (approx. EUR 3.5 million) with 331 employees. In the same year, DHSBaby SRL, manufacturing strollers, car seats, tricycles, registered revenues of RON 16.5 million (approx. EUR 3.7 million) and a net profit of RON 2.7 million (approx. EUR 600,000). Cerurim SRL, that manufactures not only wheels and rims for Eurosport DHS SA, but also vehicles for people with disabilities, collected revenues of RON 10.8 million in 2018 (EUR 2.3 million) and had a net profit of RON million 2.4 (little over EUR 500,000) with 40 employees.

COSCO Shipping Line Romania vessel in Constanta (source: Facebook/COSCO Shipping Line Romania
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Constanța safe harbour for COSCO

Constanța, safe harbour for COSCO: the Chinese giant shipping corporation is represented by two companies in Romania. One of them is called COSCO Romanian Shipping and Trading SRL and its sole shareholder is the company COSCO Europe GmbH Hamburg. Constanța, safe harbour for COSCO In fact, the current name of the company is COSCO SHIPPING (Europe) GmbH, as explained by the Chinese group website: “COSCO SHIPPING (Europe) GmbH is the regional management company of the China COSCO SHIPPING Corporation in the European Region. The predecessor of this company, formerly known as 'COSCO Europe GmbH', was the representative office of COSCO in Hamburg and registered and founded on February 15th, 1989, by the original COSCO Group in Hamburg, Germany, with a registered capital of 500,000 DM. It was the first regional management company set up overseas by the COSCO Group. The company’s registered capital increased to 3.78 million Euros in 2009. On September 11th, 2017, its name was changed to the active name.” In 2018, COSCO Romanian Shipping and Trading SRL registered revenues amounting to RON 15.8 million (EUR 3.5 million) and a net profit of RON 3.6 million (EUR 800,000) with 14 employees. Two companies, more opportunities The other company is called COSCO Shipping Lines (Romania) Co. Ltd. SRL and is owned by COSCO Shipping Lines (Europe) GmbH & COSCO Shipping Lines (Belgium). According to the company’s website, “COSCO SHIPPING Lines (Europe) Company, which is based in Hamburg, Germany, has been established in February 1989 as one business section of COSCO Europe Company. On January 11th, 2017 the Name has been changed to COSCO SHIPPING Lines (Europe) Company”. The other company, according to the same source, has a strategic position – Antwerp: “COSCO SHIPPING Lines (Belgium) N.V. represents COSCO SHIPPING Lines CO. LTD., Shanghai in Belgium and Luxemburg and has main office in Antwerp and sub office in Zeebrugge. COSCO SHIPPING Lines CO. LTD is the leading container logistics company for China and offers its customers full coverage of Worldwide trade lanes, with many of the fastest transit times. We have regular services connecting Asia, North & South America, Europe, the Indian Sub-continent, the Middle East & Africa. Services to Australia and New Zealand complete coverage in Asia-Pacific. With an in-house team of forwarding specialists we can assist customers with a full logistics package. Antwerp's & Zeebrugge's excellent locations in North West Europe, enables Cosco Shipping Belgium to offer exporters and importers swift and made-to-measure logistic services”. COSCO Shipping Lines (Romania) Co. Ltd. SRL has better results compared to her sister COSCO Romanian Shipping and Trading SRL. Therefore, in 2018, it registered revenues exceeding RON 196 million (over EUR 43 million) and a net profit of almost RON 11 million (EUR 2.4 million) with 42 employees. Big plans for the future In an interview for a specialized magazine in 2019, Cătălin Petre, Deputy Manager of COSCO Shipping Lines România, makes an interesting forecast in the context of Chinese business in Romania and Europe in general: “Costs for shipping will rise and with them, the freight cost (editor’s note: cost of freight transportation on sea) and will lead, in my opinion, to reducing the differences in costs between sea and railroad shipping. Shipping on sea will remain cheaper than the railroad one still, but the difference between the two will be significantly lower. In this context, it is possible that part if the volumes shipped now on sea will be moved on railroad, the transit time being less in case of railroad transportation, especially if we talk about One Belt One Road, where we already have a lot of trains on the 2 corridors (North and Middle Corridor) with rising volumes every month, every year. We have several ongoing projects. Together with another partner we intend to launch a new service connecting the Black Sea-Constanţa Harbour with the West Mediterranean Sea and North of Africa. Also, another project we are working on is launching a container train that will connect the Piraeus Harbour to the centre of Romania.” Facilities around the Black Sea According to the publication “Intermodal & Logistics”, quoted previously, “COSCO SHIPPING Lines (Romania) is one of the leaders in the sea-shipping sector in Romania. The Company, as exclusive agent of the ship-owner COSCO SHIPPING Lines, provides integrated sea transportation and logistics services towards and from the main harbours in the Far East, Middle East, Europe, North America, Africa, Australia and New Zeelande. The company also operates in Moldova and Caucaz (Georgia, Armenia Azerbaijan), coordinating the activity with the help of its sub-agents from these areas. COSCO SHIPPING Lines (Romania) provides the only direct service from Asia to the Black Sea (Constanţa and Odessa), the clients benefiting from a competitive transit time. The service was launched in 2006, the ships’ capacity rising gradually from 2,500 TEU to 10,000 TEU (TEU stands for Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit which can be used to measure a ship's cargo carrying capacity. The dimensions of one TEU are equal to that of a standard 20′ shipping container. 20 feet long, 8 feet tall).” Conflict of interests? There are connections between COSCO Shipping Lines (Romania) Co. Ltd. SRL and the sister company COSCO Romanian Shipping and Trading SRL also regarding the human resources, not only shareholders. And one of these connections is Laurențiu Hornet, who works for both, according to his declaration of assets submitted by his wife, Lacrima Hornet. She works for the Romanian Naval Authority right in the premises of Constanța harbor, where the two companies held by the Chinese Giant COSCO also operate, and leads the Program Coordination Office. Hornet was mentioned on the website of “Breakbulk Caspian” since October 2018 (developed at Baku, Azerbaijan, where “participants discussed the transportation of heavy and oversized cargo by rail and water transport in the Caucasus and Caspian region”) as “operations manager” of COSCO Romanian Shipping and Trading SRL. The Ukrainian branch of COSCO is located in the Odessa port.

COFCO Intl employees in Geneva (source: Instagram/cofcointl)
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COFCO the billionaire grain trader

Until 2017, the company now called COFCO International România SRL was called Nidera România SRL. But one year before, the grain trader Nidera, owned by a Dutch family, became 100% the property of COFCO (prior, COFCO had bought 51% of Nidera for an amount estimated by the analysist for USD 2.4 billion). COFCO, the billionaire grain trader, is the largest grain trader in China and one of the most active world players on this market during the last years. COFCO, the billionaire grain trader from China COFCO expansion policy may be seen ongoing also in Romania, through COFCO International România SRL. The Romanian company is owned by CIL Agri Enterprises BV (former Nidera Agri Enterprises BV) & Concordia Trading BV – both subsidiaries of COFCO, the Chinese mother-company. In 2018, COFCO International România SRL's revenue was RON 3.9 billion (approximately EUR 900 million). But the net profit was a thousand times lower: RON 3.9 million (approximately EUR 900,000). The number of employees officially stated is 75. Also read: No social-democrats in power, no success for China As the grain market needs access to the most efficient means of transportation, by sea, the transaction between COFCO and Nidera was very useful for the Chinese also because it came together with a harbor operator in Constanța. Therefore, COFCO International România SRL and COFCO International Netherlands BV hold total ownership over the harbor operator from Constanta, United Shipping Agency SRL, a company previously held by Nidera. The largest storage facility in Constanța In 2018, the revenue of United Shipping Agency SRL amounted to RON 61.5 million (approx. EUR 12.5 million) and the net profit is over RON 10 million (over EUR 2.2 million) with 210 employees. According to local media, the harbor operator “holds storage capacities for grain of approx. 250,000 tons”. But Ziarul Financiar mentions a storage capacity of “only” 228,000 tons. Even so, United Shipping Agency SRL is the most important harbor operator in Constanța on this level. COFCO also (informally) got the control of the fluvial harbor operator SCAEP Giurgiu Port SA. According to the presentation on their own website, the river harbor operator ensures “services in harbors: Oltenița, Giurgiu, Zimnicea, Turnu Măgurele, Corabia and Bechet” and “has harbor platforms, warehouses for storing merchandise, as well as silos for storing grains”. How does COFCO International România SRL controls this fluvial harbor operator? With a loan of EUR 180,000 awarded in 2018, guaranteed by SCAEP Giurgiu Port SA with the Traian pusher boat, property of the harbor operator. According to a mention in the “Official Gazette”, “The loan is necessary to improve activities in the grain silos from the Company’s work points situated in Zimnicea harbor (increase of the grain acceptance capacity and delivery to barges from 80 t/h to 200 t/h)”.

Bank of China in Romania, a public event (source: profit.ro)
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Bank of China in Romania

Bank of China officially entered the Romanian market, as a branch of Bank of China Hungary, in December 2019, and marked the moment with a festive ceremony at the Bucharest Palace of the Parliament. According to data from the Ministry of Finances, the Romanian branch declared no activity in 2019. What's Bank of China in Romania supposed to do The Branch from Bucharest is supposed to develop corporate activities only, to work with big companies only and to finance possible infrastructure projects, should they become effective in the future. For the moment, no such important project was notified. The ceremony which took place at the Palace of the Parliament has a very relevant role in understanding the relation between the Romanian state and the Chinese one. Therefore, if China had some of the most important guests possible (Liu Liange, the president of the Bank of China’s Board of Directors and Jiang Yu, the Chinese Ambassador in Romania), Romania sent less important officials. So, the event was attended by Teodor Meleșcanu, the president of the Senate at the time (but with a very fragile political position, that also lead to his resignation from the head of the Parliament’s chamber shortly after), Antonel Tănase, General Secretary of the Government (a close acquaintance of the Prime-Minister Ludovic Orban, but only as his replacement) and Florin Georgescu, Prime-Vice-Governor of the Romanian National Bank (therefore no Mugur Isărescu, the NBR Governor). The sweet tongue in the ear The statements were, as expected, filled with superlatives. “We will direct the Chinese companies to invest in the region and in Romania. The Branch from Bucharest is a new starting point for the Bank of China. It’s the oldest bank in China, operating for 107 years. It has 320,000 employees today, over 11,000 work points, USD 3,200 billion in assets listed, USD 30 billion in net profit.”, said Liu Liange, the president of the Bank of China Board of Directors, according to profit.ro. Teodor Meleșcanu declared that “Bank of China opening a Branch in Bucharest is a very important moment for Romania and we should be grateful to those who had a big contribution in this important step for a smooth development of the Romanian-Chinese relations”. Meleșcanu wanted to personally give thanks especially to the Romanian National Bank and to the governor Mugur Isărescu “for the contribution to the cooperation extension and the dialogue with the People’s Republic of China“. Jiang Yu, the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in Romania wanted to underline the records: “It is not only the first bank that opens a branch in Bucharest, but also the biggest foreign bank to come to Romania and to break the barrier of financial cooperation between the two countries”. Yu said that China’s development is not a threat for anyone, but a clear cooperation opportunity. No Isărescu Florin Georgescu, Prime-Vice-Governor of NBR, sent the Chinese, in the name of Romania’s central bank “warm welcome wishes to Romania on opening the first branch”, then recalled the Romania-Chinese friendship is an old one, ever since the communism period. ”Romania was the third state that on October 3rd, 1949 acknowledged the People’s Republic of China. Until 1990, the Romanian-Chinese relations were regulated by bilateral agreements, that ensured a balance by compensating the receivables. After 1990, bilateral relations were made under the patronage of the new international environment, a tendency for draw-back. Friendship relations will be developed hereafter through the business environment and the opening of the Bank of China branch is a new step in a fruitful Romanian-Chinese cooperation”.

ZTE Romania's Facebook photos are as old as 2014 (source: Facebook/ZTE Romania)
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Huawei's very poor brother ZTE

Huawei's very poor brother, ZTE România SRL, is owned, according to “The Official Gazette”, by “ZHONGXING COMMUNICATION (also known as ZTE CORPORATION, in English transliteration)”, as sole shareholder. The telecommunications company has solid business relations with national data and voice operators (such as RCS RDS, for example) and a greater role in the region than other ZTE representatives. Also read: No social-democrats in power, no success for China According to an announcement made by the company, ZTE opened a service centre for monitoring the telecom networks of 23 European states and has invested, until the end of 2015, a total of 100 million euros in development.

Ilfov county, preferred by Chinese (source: gds.ro)
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Chinese trade is made in Ilfov

Chinese trade is made in Ilfov. Traditionally, Ilfov county is the base of Chinese companies having trading businesses in Romania: from clothing and footwear to sanitary equipment and machinery. Chinese trade is made in Ilfov In Afumați, a locality in Ilfov, ten companies had revenues of 287 million lei (64 million euros) in the fiscal year 2018, the most important being Everpro International Construction SRL (with revenues of 86.2 million lei – 19 million euros, which sells bathroom sanitary ware and installations) and Giant Star SRL (with revenues of 81 million lei – 18 million euros, which sells doors and accessories). Also read: No social-democrats in power, no success for China In Voluntari and Fundeni, other two localities in this county, six companies have had in 2018 total annual revenues of almost 117 million lei (26 million euros), the most important company being Plastic Recycling Export SRL, which operates in the field of sanitation, and which had revenues of 45.9 million lei (10 million euros). In Hunedoara, the county in which the Eurosport DHS bicycle factory is located, there are three wood processing companies (RO XI Wood Systems SRL and Ecowood Enterprises SRL in Orăștie, Damias AS SRL in Brad) owned by Chinese citizens. Together, they had total revenues of 53.7 million lei (12 million euros) in 2018.

NBHX Rolem plant in Brasov county (source: bizbrasov.ro)
Investigații

Chinese NBHX Rolem active in Romania

Chinese NBHX Rolem, active in Romania. NBHX Rolem SRL (Codlea, Brașov) is owned by the sole shareholder NBHX Automotive System GmbH Germany (represented, at least since 2018 until the present, by its manager, Fuqing Lin). Chinese NBHX Rolem, active in Romania NBHX Automotive System GmbH Germany is fully owned by Ningbo Huaxiang Electronic Co., Ltd. Shanghai. According to the website of the Chinese company, “As an international group corporation incorporated in 1988 and became a public listed company on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2005, we specialize in designing, developing, producing, selling and after selling services of medium and high-end passenger car parts. With the global headquarters located in China, we have several branches in North America, Europe and South Asia, and more than 60 manufacturing sites and 3 regional R&D centres around the world, as well as over 15,000 employees worldwide. Also read: No social-democrats in power, no success for China As one of the world's top 500 auto part companies, we provide vehicle interiors and exteriors, metal parts, automotive electronics and other related products and services for many world-famous auto brands. Our major clients include: Volkswagen, BMW, Ford, GM, Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Volvo, SAIC Motor, FAW Car, Dongfeng Nissan and so on.” Big brands for NBHX Rolem The managing director of the Romanian company, Tobias Engel, declared in 2019 for an economic publication that “Year 2018 brought the company a new client and a new project, namely Jaguar Land Rover, for which NBHX ROLEM SRL is currently manufacturing the L405 range. Through this project’s intermediary, the company aims to win the position of trustworthy supplier for the manufacture of decorative dashboard ornaments for the luxury vehicles of the Jaguar Land Rover corporation. Year 2018 was a good year for NBHX Rolem, being the year in which it launched its series production for classes A and B of the vehicle manufacturer Mercedes, in the most recently inaugurated factory, the one in Ghimbav.” Engel also showed that, in 2019, the company gained an IATF 16949 certification, which “for a company, firstly means a boost in credibility and image – if a client is looking for a supplier, the IATF 16949 certificate is the first requirement for its appointment”. NBHX Rolem SRL owns three different manufacturing spaces: Codlea, Cristian and Ghimbav. In fiscal year 2018, the company earned revenues of over 375 million lei (over 83 million euros) but had a loss of 26.5 million lei (6 million euros) with 841 employees.

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