The total investment scale of the third west east gas pipeline project may exceed 100 billion yuan

Accordingtopeoplefamiliarwiththesituation,oneofthemostimportantnaturalgaspipelinesinChina,westeastgaspipeline3(hereinafterreferredtoas"westeastgaspipeline3"),isexpectedtostartconstructionthisyear.ThewholeprojectwillprobablycovertenprovincesandcitiesinChina.ItsfirststationisstilllocatedinXinjiang,thesameasthefirstandsecondlinesofwesteastgaspipeline,andpartofthepipelinetrendisparalleltothesecondlineofwesteastgaspipeline.Thetotalinvestmentscaleofthewholeprojectislikelytoexceed100billionyuan,andthegassourceisstillinCentralAsia. Secondandthirdlineorparallel Atpresent,morethan100millionhouseholdsand400millionurbanresidentsinChinausenaturalgas. Atpresent,therearetwonaturalgaspipelinesinChina,i.e.westeastgastransmissionline(hereinafterreferredtoas"Westfirstline")andwesteastgastransmissionline2(hereinafterreferredtoas"WestSecondLine").Inthewestline,XinjiangTarimgasfieldisthemaingassource,andtheYangtzeRiverDeltaisthemaintargetmarket.ThepipelinestartsfromLunnan,Tarim,Xinjiang,intheWestandendsatBaiheTown,ShanghaiintheEast,withatotallengthofabout4000kilometers.Thegastransmissioncapacityofthewholepipelinehasreached17billioncubicmetersofitsdesignedgastransmissioncapacity. Thewesteastgaspipeline2isthefirststrategicchannelprojecttointroduceforeign(CentralAsia)naturalgasresourcesinChina,withatotallengthof4978kmandeightbranchlinesof3726km.OnJune30,2011,thewholelinewasputintooperation.AccordingtothedataobtainedfromPetroChina,thegastransmissionvolumeofthesecondwesteastgaspipelinewillbe17billioncubicmetersthisyearand30billioncubicmetersnextyear. Itisunderstoodthatthegassourceofwesteastgaspipeline3isstillfromCentralAsia,anditwillstartfromXinjiangaswellasthewesteastgaspipeline1andwesteastgaspipeline2.InXinjiang,theremaybe8compressorstationsinthewesteastgaspipeline3,whichisparalleltothewesteastgaspipeline2. Whytwolinesareparallel Thereasonwhypartofthewesteastgaspipeline3isparalleltothewesteastgaspipeline2isthatCNPCandotherinterestedpartiesconsideritconvenienttomanagethenaturalgaspipeline. Forexample,inHorgosstationofwesteastgaspipeline2,dozensofemployeesareresponsiblefortheoperationandpatrolofitselectricalandmechanicalfacilities.Oncethewesteastgaspipeline3iscompleted,itcanalsobemanagedbythesamegroupofemployees. Thewesteastgaspipeline2passesthroughvariouslandformssuchasdesert,Gobi,hills,mountainsandmarshes,andsomepipelinesarealsolocatedinthelifeforbiddenzonewherepeoplearerarelyseen.Theenvironmentiscomplexandtheconstructionisverydifficult.Moreover,inthecurrentsituationofdomesticlandresourcesshortage,transportationandconstructionconditionsareverydifficult,thedesign,construction,constructionsupervisionandlatermaintenanceofnaturalgaspipelineswillinvesthugehumanandmaterialresources.Therefore,ifthewesteastgaspipeline3andthewesteastgaspipeline2areparallel,thewholeinvestmentcostandsafetyriskwillalsobereduced. AccordingtoCNPC,partofthewesteastgaspipeline3willbedirectlydeliveredtothenaturalgaspipelineofwesteastgaspipeline1andwesteastgaspipeline2throughthe"connectingline".Thedesignedannualcapacityofthewesteastgaspipeline3isabout30billioncubicmeters. ItisrumoredthattheWestthirdlinemaybedividedintothewestsection(XinjiangHorgostoNingxiaZhongwei)andtheeastsection(NingxiaZhongweitoFujianProvince),involvingXinjiang,Gansu,Ningxia,Shaanxi,Henan,Hubei,Hunan,Fujianandotherprovincesandcities,buttheabovestatementhasnotbeenconfirmedbyPetroChina.AccordingtoamanagementofCNPC,thetrunklineofthewesternthirdlinemaycoveratotaloftenprovincesorautonomousregions. Theproductionofthewesteastgaspipeline3willprobablyalleviatethenaturalgasdemandofmanyprovincesandcitiesinChina.In2010,China'snaturalgasconsumptionhasreached110billioncubicmeters,andthedomesticnaturalgasproductionhasalsoreached95billioncubicmeters.Relevantexpertspredictthatthisyear'sdomesticnaturalgasconsumptionwillcontinuetoincreaseto130billioncubicmeters,"thesupplygapmaybearound20%to30%."ACNPCinsidersaid. Theconstructionandoperationofthewesteastgaspipeline3mayalsopromotethereformofnaturalgaspricesinChina.Atpresent,therearetwogassourcesofwesteastgaspipeline2andwesteastgaspipeline3inChina,whichcomefromCentralAsia.ThemanagementofCNPCWestPipelineCompanypointsoutthatthereisanobviouspricedifferencebetweendomesticandforeignnaturalgasprices.Atpresent,theexfactorypriceofnaturalgasinChinaisabout1.18yuan/m3,andXinjiangisthedomesticgassourcewithlowerprice. CentralAsia'snaturalgasislinkedtocrudeoilandotherproducts,andadjustedquarterlyorsemiannually.Assumingthatcrudeoilis60USdollarsperbarrel,thepriceofoverseasnaturalgastoHorgosis2.15yuanpercubicmeter.Ifthepipelinetransportationfeeisadded,accordingtothecurrentoilprice,itis1.7yuanpercubicmeterupsidedown.Sincethewesteastgaspipeline2wasputintooperation,PetroChinahasimported11.4billioncubicmetersofCentralAsiannaturalgas,withalossofmorethan10billionyuan.Ifthewesteastgaspipeline3isopened,thesupplyofdomesticnaturalgaswillbesupplementedandthepriceofdomesticnaturalgaswillbeadjusted.However,thelossofChina'soilimporttoCentralAsiawillalsobeincreased.

2019-02-27

Focus: manufacturing industry supports the future of Asian developing countries

ThefurtherupgradingofAsianmanufacturingindustryisfacingaseveretestundertheinfluenceofthesluggisheconomicoutlookoftheUSandEuropeandthepossibledeclineofexports.Recently,thepurchasingmanagers'index(PMI)ofglobalandnationalmanufacturingindustrypublishedcontinuouslyshowsthatglobalmanufacturingoutputandorderstendtodecline.JPMorgan'slatestglobalPMIindexfellto50.1%inAugustfrom50.7%inJuly.Byconvention,areadingabove50%indicatesanoverallexpansionofthemanufacturingsectorandviceversa.Obviously,theglobalmanufacturingindustryisinacriticalstageofcontinuousriseordecline. Increasingdomesticdemandisexpectedtooffsettheadverseimpactofexternalenvironment Asiaisthebaseofglobalmanufacturing.InmostAsiancountries,manufacturingismoredevelopedthanserviceindustry.ASEANandChina,JapanandSouthKorea(10+3)takemanufacturingastheirexportpillar.AccordingtothedataoftheAsianDevelopmentBank,in2009,Chinaaccountedfor13%oftheglobalexportsofmanufacturingproducts,ASEAN10countriesaccountedfor6.1%,Japan6%,SouthKorea3.7%,and"10+3"accountedfor29%intotal.Amongtheglobalmachineryandtransportationequipmentexports,"10+3"accountsfor31%. Accordingtotheanalysis,Asianmanufacturingindustrywasgreatlyimpactedbytheinternationalfinancialcrisisin2008.Sincethen,majorAsianmanufacturingcountrieshaveadjustedtheirexportstructureandfocusedondevelopingnewexportmarkets.ThedomesticdemandofAsiancountrieshasalsoincreasedrapidlyinrecentyears,whichhasincreasedtheabilityto"digest"manufacturingproductsintheregion.Accordingtotherecentlyreleasedpurchasingmanagers'indexofAsiancountries,althoughthenewexportorderdatahasdeclined,theoverallneworderandemploymentdataaregrowingatthesametime,whichshowsthatmoreneworderscomefromthelocalmarket,andtheimprovementofdomesticdemandisexpectedtooffsettheadverseimpactoftheexternalenvironment. ThedevelopmentofmanufacturingindustryhasbecomeanimportantreasontoimprovethelivingstandardsofpeopleinAsiancountries,andtheimprovementoflivingstandardsisconducivetotheexpansionofmanufacturingindustry.Inaninterviewwithourreporter,DUIjingguilang,asenioreconomistatthePhilippineNationalBureauoftheAsianDevelopmentBank,saidthatmanufacturingindustryisthepillarofacountry'seconomicdevelopment.ThemainwayformostdevelopingcountriesinAsiatoimprovetheireconomyandreducepovertyistorelyonthecontinuousdevelopmentofmanufacturingindustry. LargemultinationalcompaniesarelikelytoinvestmoreinAsia ZhuangJuzhong,deputychiefeconomistoftheAsianDevelopmentBank,toldourreporterthatcomparedwithLatinAmericancountries,Asianmanufacturingindustryhastheadvantagesoflowlaborprice,highquality,abundanthumancapital,stableoverallpoliticalandinvestmentenvironment.Inaddition,China,Indiaandothercountrieshavebroadmarkets,whichmakeAsiathemaininvestmenttargetofglobalmanufacturingenterprises. Accordingtotheworldinvestmentreport2011releasedrecentlybytheUnitedNationsConferenceonTradeanddevelopment,foreigndirectinvestmentintoSouthAsia,EastAsiaandSoutheastAsiaincreasedby24%in2010,reachingUS$300billion,accountingfornearlyaquarteroftheglobaltotal.In2010,FDIintoASEANmorethandoubledtoUS$79billion.ThereportpredictsthatAsianeconomieshavemadegreatprogressinregionaleconomicintegration,andthedevelopmentenvironmentofthewholeregionwillbemoreconducivetoattractingforeigninvestment. Accordingtotheanalysis,Asia'sadvantagesinthefieldofmanufacturingarehardtobereplacedbyotherregionsintheworld.Althoughdevelopedeconomieswillfocusonboostingtherecoveryofmanufacturingindustryinordertoincreaselocalemploymentrateinthefuture,largemultinationalcompaniesinthesecountriesareunlikelytomovebackfactoriesalreadyestablishedinAsiaandotherregionsoftheworld,especiallylabor-intensiveindustries.Onthecontrary,duetotheuncertaindomesticeconomicprospectandmoreprominentmanufacturingandmarketadvantagesinAsia,largemultinationalcompaniesarelikelytoincreaseinvestmentinAsia.Sincelastyear,thistrendhasbeenveryobvious. Onthewhole,theproblemsindevelopedeconomieshavenotweakenedtheprofitabilityoftheirenterprises.Inthefuture,theseenterpriseswillbemoreactiveintheglobalinvestmentandM&Aactivities,whichislikelytobeanopportunityforAsiancountrieswithmanufacturingadvantagestoattractmoreforeigninvestment. Inthesecondquarterofthisyear,U.S.enterprisescontinuedtoaccumulateprofitsandcutspending,withthetotalamountofcashandotherliquidassetsheldbyenterprisesincreasingto$2.047trillion,up4.5%fromthefirstquarter,accordingtotheFederalReserve'sexpressreportreleasedonthe16th.CorporatecashholdingsarethehighestsincetheFedbeganthesurveyin1945.Bloomberg'spreviousforecastshowedthatJapanesecompanieswithatotalof$2.4trillionincashwouldseektoacquireoverseastoimproveyields. ThedevelopmentofAsianmanufacturingindustryisalsoacceleratingtheinteractionwithintheregion,formingasituationofstrengtheningtheproductionchainthroughcompetitionandcomplementarity.Forexample,inthesamemanufacturingindustry,Vietnam,IndonesiaandothercountrieshavemorecostadvantagesthanChinaintheproductionofclothingandshoes,butrelevantmachineryandequipmentneedtobeimportedfromChina.About$35to$40ofevery$100ofChina'sprocessingandproductionexportstoEur

2019-02-27