HK Tycoon Li Ka-shing Wins New Zealand Battle

(Businessweek) The battle for Vector's Wellington electricity network has been won by Li's Cheung Kong Infrastructure with a $614 million bidCheung Kong Infrastructure will buy the Wellington electricity network currently owned by Vector in New Zealand for NZ$785 million ($614 million).

Goldman Sachs JBWere conducted an auction of the assets on behalf of Vector, putting the investment bank on the other side of the table from a Li Ka-Shing company and one of its key Hong Kong relationships. Media has speculated that other parties bidding for the asset included: China's power grid operator, State Grid Corp; Westpac Banking Corp's Hasting Funds Management; and Macquarie.

The Wellington electricity network serves customers in Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Porirua and Wellington City. It was acquired by Vector in 2002 from Aquila, an American company. Prior to that, it was owned by Transalta, a Canadian company.

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Rockefellers Supports CEO, Board Chairman Split At Exxon

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- The descendants of oil magnate John D. Rockefeller have thrown their support behind a shareholder resolution to split the role of chief executive and board chairman at Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM).

The campaign by the Rockefeller family is putting added pressure on traditional oil and natural gas companies, which are grappling with how to deal with climate change and the move toward alternative fuels. Many of those companies, used to operating within explicit laws to maximize profits, are taking voluntary steps to address the public's concerns in the absence of any legislation in the U.S.

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ADB provides $105 mln loan for projects in China's Xinjiang

BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a loan of 105 million U.S. dollars for infrastructure development in China's northwest Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The project focuses on three areas in Xinjiang: Alashankou, a major trade and transport hub on the border with Kazakhstan, the Kanas scenic region and Yining City, ADB officials said on Monday.

"We aim to strengthen cross-border trade, tourism development and economic growth to raise living standards while protecting the environment of the poorest, most remote parts of the country," said Amy Leung, Principal Urban Development Specialist of the ADB's East Asia Department.

The project cost is estimated at 190.9 million U.S. dollars. Local authorities will supply the balance beyond the ADB loan. The Manila-based bank will also provide a 150,000 U.S. dollar grant to support tourism development and hygiene instruction in Kanas.

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The Manitowoc Company Continues to Deliver Record Sales

MANITOWOC, Wis., April 28, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- The Manitowoc Company (NYSE: MTW) today reported its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2008. For the quarter, the company once again set records for net sales and earnings per share as each of the company's three business segments showed solid improvements in net sales and operating earnings from the first quarter of 2007. For the latest quarter, net sales totaled $1.08 billion, an increase of 25 percent from the first quarter of 2007. Reported earnings per diluted share were $0.78 for the first quarter of 2008 compared to $0.50 for the first quarter of 2007. There were no unusual charges recorded during the first quarter of 2008 or 2007.

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China: Building on the Games

(Businessweek) BEIJING - As he wraps up work on Beijing's Olympic stadium, Liu Longhua is looking ahead to his next challenge. The chairman of Beijing Urban Construction Group has spent nearly five years on 19 Olympics-related facilities. Now he's hoping the skills and reputation his company have gained will give him an edge in winning big contracts abroad. "After all these projects, are there any other jobs in the world that we don't dare to take? We say none!" Liu says.

Like the rest of the mainland, BUCG and other big Chinese builders see the Beijing Olympics as a coming-out party. The three-dozen-plus construction projects and work related to the Games, such as expanding Beijing's subway, have given Chinese contractors a forum to showcase the techniques they've learned from the cutting-edge designs of Western architects. "The [Olympic] projects have won worldwide recognition," says Diao Chunhe, chairman of China International Contractors Assn. "When people marvel at the results, they naturally ask who built them." Last year, Diao says, Chinese construction companies won international contracts worth $78 billion, up 17.6% from 2006.

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Oil tops $119 after report of Iranian boat firing

AP: NEW YORK - Oil prices rose sharply Friday on news that a ship under contract to the U.S. Defense Department fired warning shots at two Iranian boats. Retail gas prices as expected rose further into record territory, nearing $3.60 a gallon.

Word that a U.S. ship had fired on the boats in the Persian Gulf raised concerns that a conflict between U.S. and Iranian forces could cut oil supplies from the region. Light, sweet crude for June delivery jumped as high as $119.50 on the news before retreating to trade up $2.70 at $118.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Prices were already up before the report on news of a pipeline attack in Nigeria and a looming refinery strike in Scotland.

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NYTimes: China Eases Trading Rules and Markets Soar

By David Barboza

SHANGHAI — Stock prices soared in China on Thursday, gaining over 9 percent after the government moved to restore confidence in the market by reducing taxes on trades.

The price surge was one of the biggest ever recorded in Shanghai and came after a similar rally on Wednesday, producing a two-day gain of nearly 14 percent.

The massive rally was fueled by Beijing’s efforts to stabilize a market that has plummeted in recent months, falling as much as 50 percent from its high in October.

Even though China’s economy is booming, worries about soaring inflation at home and a global slowdown tied to the subprime mortgage crisis have largely crushed a more than two-year long bull market that peaked late last year.

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Kazakhstan's hydrocarbon expansion will need large infrastructure outlays - S&P

Thomson Financial News

MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said Kazakhstan will have to make major investments to develop new fields and create the pipeline infrastructure to increase its oil and gas production and strengthen its presence in the country's hydrocarbon sector.

Given Kazakhstan's remote, land-locked location, transportation issues are critical and oil exports from land-locked Kazakhstan have historically depended heavily on transit across Russia but projects and high oil prices have eased oil transit pressures somewhat.

The ratings agency said when Kashagan -- an oil field located in the Caspian sea -- comes on stream and TengizChevrOil -- 50 percent owned by Chevron, which is developing the Tengiz oilfield in the west of Kazakhstan -- has expanded, Kazakhstan's pipeline capacity will still be clearly insufficient to meet the country's growing production.

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Germany Falls Behind U.S. as Biggest Market for Wind Generators

By Nicholas Comfort

April 22 (Bloomberg) -- Germany ceded its rank as the world's biggest market for new wind turbines to the U.S. last year as costlier raw materials and lower subsidies crimped demand.

Germany, Europe's biggest power market, installed 1.7 gigawatts of wind-energy capacity in 2007, falling into fifth place behind China, India, Spain and the U.S., according to Hermann Albers, president of the German Wind Energy Association. The U.S. installed turbines capable of generating 5.2 megawatts, Albers said at a press conference in Hanover.

Demand for turbines fell in Germany as subsidies failed to counter higher prices for materials such as copper semiconductors. Unless funding reflects increased costs, Germany's wind-turbine market will come to a standstill in 2010 and threaten the country's climate-change prevention goals, Albers said.

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Canada scores high on infrastructure, trade

April 22, 2008

Economist magazine says this is the fourth-best place in the world in which to do business

Canada can add a new lure to its sales pitches for more foreign investment.

It now ranks fourth among the best places on the planet in which to conduct business during the next five years.

That's the word from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), part of the same company that publishes The Economist, which ranks 82 countries based on an analysis of such typical areas of interest to business as the political and economic environment, taxes, labour, market potential and trade and investment policies.

The much smaller economies of Denmark, Finland and Singapore hold the top three spots.

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BNA: Norman F. Anderson on LATAM Infrastructure Challenges

Only a couple of weeks before the CG/LA's 6th Annual Latin American Leadership Forum in Miami, we spoke with the organization's chairman Norman Anderson to learn about his experience in organizing this event.

Anderson spoke about some of the changes currently faced by Latin American countries and the challenges of infrastructure development in the face of the US economic slowdown.

He also hinted at some of the issues to be discussed at the meeting and mentioned a few of the most attractive projects to be presented in Miami.

BNamericas: How do you think the US economic slowdown might affect infrastructure investment in Latin America?

Anderson: That is a tough question because some of the projects will be more affected than others. What we see is that the real driver is commodity pricing and, as a result, you have a lot of port and logistic projects, a lot of highway projects, a lot of electricity generation projects, and just because the economies are growing pretty fast, mostly because of increased levels of commodity exports.

In that sense I think you have a lot of very serious projects with good financing. According to our numbers, there is like US$58.9bn in investment projects, which is much higher than the amount we have seen in previous years.

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The Top 500 Design Firms: Watching for Signs of a Market Slowdown

04/16/2008
By Gary J. Tulacz

For large design firms in the U.S., 2007 was a strong year. But many firms increasingly worry that 2008 will be less robust as the U.S. economy teeters toward recession and as financial institutions, bloodied by the subprime housing mortgage meltdown, look to be more careful in financing new projects. Still, many large designers continue to view the future with optimism as they brace themselves for a few short-term bumps in the road.

The strength of the 2007 construction market is clear in the volume numbers for for ENR’s list of the Top 500 Design Firms. As a group, they generated a total of $80.62 billion in revenue last year, up 15.8% from $69.61 billion in 2006. This growth was reflected in domestic and international markets, with U.S. projects yielding revenue of $60.95 billion in 2007, up 11.4% from 2006. Revenue from projects outside the U.S. grew 32% for the Top 500, to $19.67 billion.

In the face of troubling economic news and talk of recession in the U.S., top design firms are giving the next 12 months a mixed forecast, according to 195 respondents to a poll incorporated into ENR’s online Top 100/400/500 survey. Of this group, 51 companies (26.3%) say they expect the U.S. construction market will improve, 64 firms (33.0%) believe the market will decline, while the remaining 79 firms (40.7%) believe it will stay the same.

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Booming Brazil could be world power soon

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Brazil's booming economy is shifting into overdrive, with biofuels and deep-water oil providing energy independence and the government collecting enough cash to irrigate the desert and pave highways across the Amazon.

The country's currency is strong, its exports are booming and its foreign debt is gone. The economy is growing at more than 5 percent a year and millions of people with new access to credit are buying homes and cars. Topping off all the good news, an energy official said this week that a newly discovered oil field could be the world's third-largest.

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3i raises $1.2 bln in India infra fund

MUMBAI, April 16 (Reuters) - U.K.-based private equity fund 3i Group said on Wednesday it has raised $1.2 billion for its 3i India Infrastructure Fund, about 20 percent higher than its initial $1 billion target.

The money has been raised from 16 investors spread across 10 countries including 3i Infrastructure Ltd and 3i, which have commited $250 million each, it said in a statement. The fund will target around 10 investments, it said.

It has already invested $227 million in power producer Adani Power and $101 million in infrastructure developer Soma Enterprise, the fund said in the statement.

(Reporting by Kaustav Roy; Editing by Ramya Venugopal)

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Bush Sets Goal of Halting Emissions Growth by 2025

By Roger Runningen and Holly Rosenkrantz

"April 16 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush today set a goal for the U.S. to stop the growth of greenhouse-gas emissions by 2025, as he tries to head off more stringent measures from Congress and in international negotiations..."

"While the president's speech marks a shift in dealing with climate change by acknowledging the need to put curbs on heat- trapping gases, he isn't offering specific proposals for how to achieve the goals. Bush said any effort to cut emissions will depend on accelerating technological development."

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Oil, Gasoline Climb to Records as Investors Move to Commodities

By Mark Shenk

April 15 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil and gasoline rose to records as investors purchased commodities because their returns have outpaced stocks, bonds and other financial instruments.

Oil climbed to $113.99 a barrel in New York, the highest since futures began trading in 1983. Rising global demand for raw materials and a weakening dollar have led to record prices this year for commodities including corn, rice and gold. China said today diesel imports surged 49 percent in March.

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Dubai and $500M to $1B... heading for China infrastructure

Dubai International Capital and Chinese private equity First Eastern Investment Group have announced a new joint fund, China Dubai Capital.

The fund will focus on China's growing economy in sectors such as infrastructure, health care, and resources and will attempt to capitalize on the growing ties between the UAE and China. Companies with strong growth possibilities and the potential to eventually trade on Dubai national securities markets will be primary recipients of the fund. The first closing of the fund will tag at least $500 million and will close this May. By the final closing expected in October, the fund is expected to reach $1 billion.

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AP: US Water Pipelines Are Breaking

By COLLEEN LONG

NEW YORK (AP) — Two hours north of New York City, a mile-long stream and a marsh the size of a football field have mysteriously formed along a country road. They are such a marvel that people come from miles around to drink the crystal-clear water, believing it is bubbling up from a hidden natural spring.

The truth is far less romantic: The water is coming from a cracked 70-year-old tunnel hundreds of feet below ground, scientists say.

The tunnel is leaking up to 36 million gallons a day as it carries drinking water from a reservoir to the big city. It is a powerful warning sign of a larger problem around the country: The infrastructure that delivers water to the nation's cities is badly aging and in need of repairs.

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IMF head gives food price warning

The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that hundreds of thousands of people will face starvation if food prices keep rising.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn said that social unrest from continuing food price inflation could cause conflict. There have been food riots recently in a number of countries, including Haiti, the Philippines and Egypt. Meeting in Washington, the IMF called for strong action on food prices and the international financial crisis.

Market turmoil
Although the problems in global credit markets were the main focus of the meeting of the IMF's steering committee of finance ministers from 24 countries, Mr Strauss-Kahn warned of dire consequences from continued food price rises.

"Thousands, hundreds of thousands of people will be starving. Children will be suffering from malnutrition, with consequences for all their lives," he told reporters. He said the problem could lead to trade imbalances that may eventually affect developed nations, "so it is not only a humanitarian question". Food prices have risen sharply in recent months, driven by increased demand, poor weather in some countries and an increase in the use of land to grow crops for transport fuels.

The steering committee also called for "strong action" among its 185 members to deal with "the still unfolding financial market turmoil and... the potential worsening" of housing markets and the credit crunch. The finance ministers did not dissent from the IMF's previous forecast that only a moderate slowdown in world economic growth is the most likely outcome over the next year or two.

See more related articles:
World Bank tackles food emergency

6th Latin American Leadership Forum & CG/LA Infrastructure: An International Success

A week has passed since the 6th Latin American Leadership Forum took place in Miami, and the International Press took notice. Reputable news sources such as Reuters, ABC.es, Latin Business Chronicles and America Economia covered the event and Government entities such as Presidencia de La República de Mexico were also amongst the many Institutions that supported our event.

On the Frontlines: Global Infrastructure

Jim Busche, CEO of KHD Humboldt Wedag, a concrete company headquartered in Hong Kong, is seeing opportunities in India, Russia and Eastern Europe. Watch the interview courtesy of CNBC.

Dubai Prepares to Build Record-Breaking Arch Structure

By Peter Reina

Already home to the world's tallest building, Dubai is preparing for a
record-breaking arch bridge. Inspired by desert dunes, the flowing structure of Dubai Creek's new bridge will include a 667-m span, outreaching by 125-m China's current record holder, the Chaotianmen Yangtze River crossing.

Dubai's Sixth Bridge will ease chronic congestion over the creek that cuts through the Gulf city. But, with its 205-m-tall main steelwork bifurcated arch, the bridge will also be an "iconic" structure, says Sudhir Jambhekar, Senior Partner at New York-based architect FXFowle International.

FXFowle led the team of consultants which won a design competition held by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) this February. Now ending negotiations with the RTA, Jambhekar hopes soon to sign a design contract for the bridge, estimated to cost $680 million (Dh2.5b).
Structural input for the competition came from the New York City office of Germany's Schlaich Bergermann and Partner, Stuttgart. But the Dubai office of Parson Transportation, RTA's adviser, will likely lead structural design with Schlaich Bergermann advising, says Jambhekar.

Rather than have a single structure, the winning design calls for two arched spans. The structure will touch down on a proposed artificial island next to the planned opera house. The smaller arch will span 560-m.

Whether the main structure will be a pure arch is unclear at this stage. Local observers suggest the structure resembles the difficult "hybrid" arches of Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed to the mainland.

With steep sides and tightly curved crowns, Abu Dhabi's arches must withstand high bending stresses, contributing to fabrication difficulties. However, Jambhekar says the Dubai bridge's buildability has been studied.

The Dubai bridge will be the first element in a $820 million (3bn) route including 12-km of new highways, according to Mattar Al Tayer, RTA's Chairman and Executive Director. The 12-lane crossing will include central tracks for Dubai's new metro. Reportedly due for opening in 2012, the bridge is part of rush program to increase capacity across the creek and cut chronic congestion.

The 10 Pieces of U.S. Infrastructure We Must Fix Now

Popular Mechanics published an article regarding domestic infrastructure in dire need of an overhaul. No surprises here, just a reinforcement of what most of us already knew.

The winners are...

1. Circle Interchange - Chicago
2. Brooklyn Bridge - New York
3. Canal Lock - New Orleans
4. Water System - Atlanta
5. Alaskan Way Viaduct - Seattle
6. Lake Okeechobee - Florida
7. Dover Bridge - Bonner Country, Idaho
8. Wolf Creek Dam - Kentucky
9. Sacramento River Levees - California
10. O'Hare International Airport - Chicago

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IMF slashes world growth forecast

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that the world economy will grow much more slowly in the next two years as a result of the credit crunch.

In its latest economic forecast, the IMF says that world economic growth will slow to 3.7% in 2008 and 2009, 1.25% lower than growth in 2007.

The downturn will be led by the US, which the IMF believes will go into a "mild recession" this year.

Growth in the UK will slow sharply to 1.6% in both 2008 and 2009.

It said that the UK economy would be affected by a weakening housing market, the contraction of the financial sector, and the impact on UK exports of weaker growth in the US and Europe.

Its UK forecast is substantially below the Treasury forecast of around 2% growth this year and 2.5% next year made at the time of the March Budget. more...