Category: Business

Wärtsilä strengthens its presence in Turkey with another major power plant order

Wärtsilä strengthens its presence in Turkey with another major power plant order

* Reuters is not responsible for the content in this press release.

Wed Oct 12, 2011 6:15am EDT

Wärtsilä Corporation, Trade &Technical Press release, 12 October 2011

Wärtsilä is a major supplier of electrical generating capacity to Turkey with more than 3 GW of output either in operation or awaiting installation. Approximately 85 percent of these plants are running on natural gas.

Wärtsilä, a leading global supplier of flexible power plants and services to the power generation market, has received a major order for a power plant to be installed in Turkey. The contract has been placed by Yesilyurt Enerji Elektrik Uretim A.S., an independent power producer (IPP).The power plant will supply electricity for the company’s steel mill in Samsun, on the Black Sea coast of Turkey. Any surplus energy generated by the plant, will be sold to the national grid.

The intermediate load power plant is expected to be running for more than 6000 hours per year, and will feature eight 18-cylinder Wärtsilä 50SG engines running on natural gas. The output will be more than 145 MW. However, together with a steam turbine in combined cycle operation, the output will reach 160 MW at full load. The plant is scheduled to be operational by October 2012. The order is included in Wärtsilä’s third quarter order book.

The 18-cylinder Wärtsilä 50SG spark-ignited gas engine is the largest gas powered combustion engine generating set in the world. It reaches an exceptionally high net efficiency rating of more than 50 percent in combined cycle mode. The engine was introduced in the latter part of 2010, and the very first installation was also in Turkey.

Samsun lies on Turkey’s Black Sea coast and is an area where environmental conservation is considered to be of prime importance. For this reason, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) ‘A’ category certificate was required before the power plant project could be approved. The Wärtsilä 50SG gas engines, which feature very low levels of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, fulfilled all the requirements of this ‘A’ category certification.

“This power plant will demand fast start-ups and shut-downs with high part-load efficiency. Wärtsilä’s technology is well proven and fully capable of meeting these requirements. High efficiency with a minimal environmental footprint were prime considerations in designing this project,” says Hikmet Yesilyurt, Executive Member of the Board, Yesilyurt Enerji Elektrik Uretim A.S.

“Wärtsilä’s already strong presence in Turkey is further enhanced with this important order. Smart Power Generation is a key element in meeting the needs of today’s energy markets, and our broad portfolio of gas and dual-fuel engines is central to this concept. We have an unmatched track record in Turkey, and this together with the local sales and service support that we provide, was a major reason for our being awarded this contract,” says Ufuk Berk, Managing Director of Wärtsilä in Turkey.

Wärtsilä has been present in Turkey since 1994 when the first units were delivered. Today, some 330 Wärtsilä engines are already in operation or awaiting installation, producing well in excess of 3 GW of generating capacity. Customers are supported with a strong local sales and service organisation. Wärtsilä operates from two locations in Turkey and employs 128 people. A third service workshop is planned to be opened early in 2012, and this will increase the number of personnel to around 160.

Smart Power Generation

Wärtsilä has pioneered a Smart Power Generation approach to meeting the future needs of the global energy market. In order to provide a reliable and secure delivery of electricity and to balance supply with demand, flexibility in fuel choice and operational requirements is essential. Wärtsilä is a market leader in providing flexible, efficient, and dynamic power generating capacity.

As at the end of 2010, Wärtsilä had delivered 4500 power plants to 168 countries, providing a total of over 47 GW of energy capacity.

via Wärtsilä strengthens its presence in Turkey with another major power plant order | Reuters.

October 13, 2011
Turkish immigrants sue Dutch over integration policy

By Anna Holligan BBC News, The Netherlands

Turks make up a significant immigrant community in the Netherlands

The Dutch government is facing a huge compensation claim after forcing Turkish immigrants to pay for integration courses.

A campaign group says 30,000 Turks took the courses, which have since been ruled to be in violation of an agreement between the EU and Turkey.

The interior ministry says most of them are not entitled to their money back.

But the Foundation for Victims of Integration is suing to reclaim their costs, of more than 100m euros (£87m).

The courses were introduced under the 2007 Civic Integration Act and meant that anyone who wished to emigrate to the Netherlands had to pass an exam first.

However, two months ago the Dutch Interior Minister, Piet Hein Donner, was forced to cancel the courses after the Netherlands Court of Appeals ruled they were in violation of an agreement between Turkey and the European Union which stipulates there can be no discrimination between Turkish and EU citizens.

The association agreement was designed to strengthen relations between Turkey and the EU.

Anyone who sat the exams after 16 August 2011 will be entitled to a refund.

But, speaking in parliament on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the interior minister said that: “The costs incurred by the Turkish people before that date were legitimate. Therefore those people who sat the exam before that date are not entitled to get their money back.”

The individual claims range from 1,000 to 5,000 euros for costs including travel, study expenses and exam fees.

Bilal Coskun, the lawyer representing the Turkish claimants, told the BBC: “This old law kept families apart. People had to stay in Turkey until they had passed the exam, some husbands didn’t see their wives for years.

“Our people suffered under the rule of the old integration policy – not just financially but emotionally too – and they are entitled to compensation for this.”

Mr Coskun says they are hoping to agree on a settlement before the case reaches court. But, on Tuesday, the government rejected that option saying: “The Turkish people are free to go to court and we will wait until the judges verdict.”

via BBC News – Turkish immigrants sue Dutch over integration policy.

October 12, 2011
Local Wind Energy Industry Emerges In Turkey

Turkey has used wind energy for more than ten years now, but never from locally developed and produced wind turbines. That’s about to change.

In what Turkish newspapers are calling “the biggest project in the history of the republic,” the Turkish government recently announced the country’s first National Wind Energy System. The project, which is led by a team of experts from top Turkish universities and scientific unions, has been ongoing — in secret — for the past two and a half years.

Late next year, expect the unveiling of the first stage in this ambitious energy project: a 500-KW wind turbine built entirely locally, using only parts produced in Turkey.

Moving quickly

By 2014, the government expects to follow up this 500-KW model with a 2,500-KW wind turbine, also completely locally produced. While these two turbines will constitute a 3-MW drop in the bucket of Turkey’s approximately 1,500-MW installed wind capacity, they indicate that the government is serious about laying the foundation for a local wind energy infrastructure in the country.

The National Wind Energy System has cost TRY 50 million ($27 million) so far. Over the next five years, the Turkish government hopes the System will “match the automotive industry’s contribution to to the country’s economy.” By using entirely locally sourced machinery and labor, the System will also bring Turkey closer to its goal of energy independence.

Turkish energy officials have previously declared that they expect wind capacity to reach 5,000 MW by 2015 and an astounding 20,000 MW by 2023 (Turkey’s centennial). The government expects the latter goal to require $30 billion in investment capital, of which it hopes to procure $7.5 billion locally.

Great Potential

If Turkey can manage to meet its ambitious goals, it will join European countries such as Spain and Germany in the ranks of the top wind energy-users worldwide. With 90,000 MW of potential wind capacity, the biggest mystery is why Turkey hasn’t yet harnessed more than 2 percent of it.

Efforts to spur local investment in wind power before now were hindered in Turkey by a botched auction of tenders for wind project licenses in 2008. In that year, Turkey’s Energy Market Regulatory Authority awarded 80,000 MW-worth of tenders that overlapped at grid connection points, requiring the whole set to be re-auctioned.

Hopefully, the National Wind Energy System marks the government’s serious intent to realize a large-scale wind industry in Turkey. The country’s actual installed wind capacity in 2015, however, will be the best indicator of its success.

via Local Wind Energy Industry Emerges In Turkey | Green Prophet.

October 12, 2011
Dexia, NBG’s Turkish Banks Surge on Bets Owners Will Sell

By Benjamin Harvey

(Closes share prices in second paragraph.)

Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) — The Turkish units of crisis-hit Dexia SA and National Bank of Greece SA surged in Istanbul amid speculation the banks will be sold under plans to rescue their European parents.

Denizbank AS, bought by Dexia in 2006, climbed 8.7 percent to 11 liras at 5:30 p.m. in Istanbul, valuing the bank at more than twice that of its owner. Finansbank AS, controlled by National Bank of Greece, jumped 7.7 percent to 3.66 liras. The gains helped Turkey’s banking index rise 0.9 percent.

A decision to dismantle Dexia at the weekend coincides with a vow by Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel to outline a plan this month to recapitalize European banks as investors hesitate to extend short-term funding to banks. Meanwhile Turkish banks are among the most valuable of emerging market assets owned by European lenders as loan growth in the country surges almost 40 percent annually amid an economic boom. OAO Sberbank of Russia is among banks that have expressed an interest.

“Both of them will be sold,” said Bali Ekin, head of equity trading at Credit Europe Bank NV in Amsterdam. “Denizbank may go quicker than Finansbank.”

‘Rock Solid’

The banks could be sold for as much as 2.5 times book value, and possibly higher if the macro environment stabilizes, as “Turkish banks are rock solid,” Ekin said.

Denizbank was trading at 1.95 times book value and Finansbank 1.64 times book value, according to Bloomberg data. Dexia owns more than 99.8 percent of Denizbank, with the rest traded on the Istanbul Stock Exchange. Similarly, National Bank of Greece owns 99.8 percent of Finansbank, according to shareholder data on Finansbank’s website.

European owners’ need to raise capital makes a sale conceivable even though National Bank of Greece and Dexia would be getting rid of some of their most profitable assets, said Claude Tiramani, head of the emerging markets fund at Lucretia Capital, a Paris-based asset manager.

“Historically when a bank needs to be recapitalized it tends to focus its activity in its home market,” Tiramani said. “That means it sells its non-domestic assets as part of its strategy. From the seller’s point of view, it is a situation of sell what you can and not what you want.”

OAO Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, is studying the possibility of acquiring Denizbank, Sberbank Chief Executive Officer German Gref told reporters in Moscow today. The Russian lender hired Deutsche Bank AG and Troika Dialog Group Ltd. to advise on a possible offer, Kommersant newspaper reported on Oct. 8.

Denizbank’s three-day advance of 34 percent values the lender at 7.8 billion liras ($4.3 billion) compared with Dexia’s market capitalization of 1.6 billion euros ($2.1 billion). Dexia rose 0.8 percent to 81 cents in Brussels trading today. Finansbank’s share price values the company at 8.5 billion liras ($4.6 billion), about $2.5 billion more than its parent.

Dexia’s board met two days ago to review a plan under which the lender would set up a bad bank for its troubled assets, hive off its French municipal loan book and seek buyers for remaining units.

The bank is the “crown jewel,” among Dexia’s assets, Denizbank Chief Executive Officer Hakan Ates said in an interview in Istanbul today. He said there were currently no plans to sell the bank, and he would be flying to Belgium tomorrow to discuss Dexia’s restructuring with management there.

“The key thing in this business, especially at this time, is profitable growth, and we have it,” he said.

National Bank of Greece will wait to evaluate developments before assessing any opportunities for mergers and acquisitions, Deputy Chief Executive Anthimos Thomopoulos said Aug. 30.

–Editor: Mark Bentley, Aydan Eksin

To contact the reporter on this story: Benjamin Harvey in Istanbul at [email protected]

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at [email protected]

via Dexia, NBG’s Turkish Banks Surge on Bets Owners Will Sell – Businessweek.

October 12, 2011
BlackBerry services collapse again

BlackBerry users have been cut off from online services again today, after RIM, the Canadian firm behind the smartphone brand, said it had fixed the problems that caused an outage on Monday that lasted up to 20 hours.

Users have once again taken to Twitter to vent their frustration, with many pledging to switch to an iPhone or Android device.

A spokesman for RIM declined to comment on the latest technical failure, which struck at around 1PM.

It followed a statement by the firm on its official Twitter account this morning that said “BlackBerry services have been restored”.

Once again users across Europe, the Middle East and Africa have been affected. All three regions are served by a RIM data centre in Slough, Berkshire.

A spokesman for the mobile network O2 said its BlackBerry users were unable to access the internet, or sent emails or BBM instant messages.

The Bahraini network Batelco confirmed the renewed problems via Twitter.

“Bahrain is experiencing service difficulties with Blackberry,” it said.

“RIM is currently working on solving the issue. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

Bob Collymore, of the Kenyan network Safaricom, said: “RIM has advised us that the BlackBerry service in EMEA is down again.

“They are working to fix it but not sure when solution will be found.”

The latest crash appeared to be the last straw for many users.

Rob Flello, the Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent South, said: “Blackberry stopped working again – looks like I will be trading it in for an iPhone!!”

RIM has also been criticised for its public response to the failures. It only acknowledged the yesterday’s crash after users had been without services for several hours and it has made no statement on the cause.

The Telegraph

October 11, 2011
Turkish jewelry sector world’s second biggest in 2010

Turkish manufacturers exported jewelery worth of 1.5 billion USD to more than 70 countries last year, according to reports by IMF, gold research and consultancy center GFMS and Istanbul Chamber of Jewelers.

Turkey placed second in the global jewelry manufacturing sector in 2010 after India to sell the largest amount of gold and gemstone jewelry.

Turkish manufacturers exported jewelery worth of 1.5 billion USD to more than 70 countries last year, according to reports by IMF, gold research and consultancy center GFMS and Istanbul Chamber of Jewelers.

Turkey’s demand for gold last year was 114.6 tons as Turkey ranked third in the world to buy gold with over one gram annually per capita after Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong.

Turkish jewelry sector employs 250 thousand people and its annual turnover is estimated around 10 billion USD.

AA

October 11, 2011