New rules may ease China pollution, won't solve steel overcapacity

New rules aimed at making China's sprawling steel sector greener will do little to tackle rampant overcapacity or help Beijing protect its big state-owned mills from smaller, nimbler rivals. China's environment ministry has said it will impose "special emissions restrictions" from next month on major industries from steel and petrochemicals to cement, non-ferrous metals and coal-fired power. Environmental inspections have already started in big steel producing regions. But when it comes to steel, it's more than just pollution. Many in the industry hope the curbs will help tackle overproduction, slash the number of privately-owned mills and boost the market share of state-owned giants such as Baoshan Iron and Steel (Baosteel), Wuhan Iron and Steel and Angang Steel. "If we are to solve the emissions problem more effectively, reducing capacity is a part of it," said He Wenbo, Baosteel's chairman, on the sidelines of China's parliament session last week. "We approve of any effort to strengthen the laws, and no enterprise in the steel sector that has reached a certain standard will oppose it," he said, noting the implementation of environmental standards would help create a level playing field. Wang Yifang, head of China's biggest steel firm, the Hebei Iron and Steel Group, also said China needs to use environmental controls to rein in overcapacity. Big mills have seen their profits eaten into by smaller rivals, and the government has sought to boost the giants' competitive position by raising industry standards and thresholds. It wants its top 10 mills to control 60 percent of total capacity by 2015, up from around half now, and is likely to use "administrative measures" like pollution and resource-use standards to meet that goal. "I think the government is sincere in its efforts to curb pollution but at the same time, it is of course trying to increase its control over the steel sector. Cleaner air and a more orderly steel industry is a win-win for China," said a government policy researcher who didn't want to be named. WISHFUL THINKING Still, many analysts suggest the government is again guilty of wishful thinking. While the costs of the industry minnows could increase as a result of the new pollution guidelines, the big mills could suffer just as much. "Currently, many of the big steel mills also fail to meet environmental standards," said Cheng Xubao, an analyst at Custeel, an industry consultancy. The new measures are part of China's response to the hazardous smog that choked Beijing in late January. While much of the smog came from vehicles and coal burning, around a fifth drifted into Beijing from surrounding regions, especially the steel producing province of Hebei, according to a study by the China Academy of Sciences. Steel is one of the biggest polluters, largely due to the use of coking coal in the production process. China's total crude steel output of 716 million metric tons (789.25 million tons) last year would have required the combustion of some 430 million metric tons of coke. But industry officials insist most steel firms already have the necessary equipment, including dust extractors, desulphurising "scrubbers" and protective screens. CISA Secretary General Zhang Changfu said earlier this year steel had been branded an "arch-criminal" even though it was now essentially a "green industry". "The environmental requirements for Hebei steel enterprises ... are already basically in place. Currently, the operating conditions of the whole steel sector are very tough," said Jiang Feitao, a steel policy researcher with the China Academy of Social Sciences. The problem is often one of oversight. Many mills turn off their equipment when inspectors aren't looking in order to cut costs, and officials tend to turn a blind eye. "The issue is whether the machinery is running, and whether the local government has the determination to enforce it," said Henry Liu, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities in Hong Kong, noting the problem is still fundamentally an economic one: that the local government is reluctant to strike too hard against a sector that provides thousands of jobs and millions of yuan in tax revenues. Beijing would also be reluctant to damage Hebei's economic lifeline and risk a wave of migration into the capital. STATE VS PRIVATE The governor of Hebei, Zhang Qingwei, said last week that while the province was committed to restructuring its massive steel sector and improving its green credentials, it was not focusing its attention on private players. "We will support those companies that do well, whether they are state- or privately-owned," he said. On a purely economic basis, the small and private firms have performed best under tough conditions over the last two years. It's likely they are also better placed to survive any hike in environmental costs. The CISA complained in January that profits at its member mills - mostly large-scale and state-owned - slumped 98 percent last year on weak demand and chronic overcapacity, exacerbated by the small "rampantly expanding" mills. But the CISA has always been reluctant to acknowledge that those private mills have remained more profitable than their lumbering state counterparts. "2012 was not as bad as the media said for the steel industry, because private firms' profitability was generally better than the state-owned enterprises (SOEs)," said a steel industry official who asked not to be named. "They are able to react faster to the market. That's because private firms control their own production; they can stop producing if they are operating at a loss, but SOEs still sell, even if they lose money on every sale." (Additional reporting by Lucy Hornby and Coco Li; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

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Auf der ITB warben 188 Länder um Touristen

Berlin (dapd). Die Tourismusbranche zeigt sich für die Zukunft trotz eingetrübter wirtschaftlicher Aussichten optimistisch. Die Reisefreude der Menschen "ist und bleibt ungebrochen", sagte der Präsident des Bundesverbands der Deutschen Tourismuswirtschaft (BTW), Michael Frenzel, am Sonntag zum Abschluss der internationalen Tourismusmesse ITB Berlin. Von Mittwoch bis Sonntag präsentierten sich nach Veranstalterangaben 10.086 Aussteller aus 188 Ländern auf der voll belegten Ausstellungsfläche unter dem Berliner Funkturm. Die Zahl der Aussteller ging damit um rund 550 zurück. 2012 waren 187 Länder in Berlin präsent. Insgesamt wurden mit rund 110.000 Fachbesuchern etwa 3.000 weniger als im Vorjahr gezählt, wie die Messe Berlin weiter mitteilte. 43 Prozent der Experten seien aus dem Ausland gekommen. Nachdem die fünftägige Branchenschau zunächst nur den Fachbesuchern vorbehalten war, stand sie am Wochenende allen Interessenten offen. Die Veranstalter zählten mehr als 60.000 Privatbesucher, die erstmals auch Reisen gleich auf der Messe buchen konnten. Die Gesamtzahl der Besucher blieb mit 170.000 auf dem Niveau des Vorjahres. Das Umsatzvolumen lag wie 2012 bei von rund sechs Milliarden Euro. Die ITB Berlin sei weiterhin der wichtigste Marktplatz für die globale Reiseindustrie, sagte der Geschäftsführer der Messe Berlin, Christian Göke. Die Veranstalter seien mit dem Verlauf der diesjährigen Messe zufrieden. Partnerland war in diesem Jahr Indonesien. Dessen Präsident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono hatte die weltgrößte Branchenschau gemeinsam mit Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel eröffnet. Die ITB hat sich nach auch den Worten des Präsidenten des Deutschen ReiseVerbands (DRV), Jürgen Büchy, als unverzichtbarer internationaler Treffpunkt für Touristiker behauptet. Die Tourismusbranche sei gut ins neue Reisejahr 2013 gestartet, sagte Büchy. Die positive Stimmung während der vergangenen Messetage sei dafür ebenso ein Indiz wie die bereits eingegangenen Reisebuchungen in den ersten Monaten. Die nächste ITB Berlin findet von 5. März bis 9. März 2014 statt.

 

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Arkansas bans abortion at 12 weeks, earliest in nation

LITTLE ROCK, Ark (Reuters) - The nation's most restrictive abortion law is set to take effect in Arkansas later this year, after the state's House of Representatives on Wednesday overrode Governor Mike Beebe's veto of legislation mostly banning the procedure after 12 weeks of pregnancy. The Republican-controlled House voted 56-33 to override the veto by Democrat Beebe, which followed the state Senate's override on Tuesday. In Arkansas, lawmakers can override a veto with a simple majority vote. The law, the Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act, will go into effect 90 days after the formal adjournment of the legislative session, scheduled for May 17. Arkansas will have the earliest abortion ban in the country, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights. The measure prohibits most abortions at about 12 weeks of pregnancy, once a fetal heartbeat can be detected by a standard ultrasound. It includes exemptions for rape, incest, danger to the life of the mother and major fetal conditions. Doctors who violate the prohibition would have their licenses revoked by the state medical board. Battles over abortion in the United States have largely shifted from the federal courts to statehouses. States in 2011 passed a record-breaking number of new abortion restrictions, 92, and in 2012 passed the second-highest number, 43, according to Guttmacher. This year, for example, the Indiana Senate passed a bill that would make the state the ninth to require an ultrasound prior to an abortion. In Arkansas, the fetal heartbeat bill was one of one of several bills introduced by Republicans this year seeking to restrict abortion. This is the first time the party has controlled both chambers since the Reconstruction era following the Civil War. Beebe said in his veto letter the heartbeat bill "blatantly contradicts" the U.S. Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court, and he questioned the potential cost to taxpayers of defending it against legal challenges. The ACLU of Arkansas was expected to challenge the 12-week ban in court. (Reporting by Suzi Parker; Editing by Corrie MacLaggan, Gary Hill, Leslie Adler and Steve Orlofky)

 

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Vattenfall streicht 1.500 Jobs in Deutschland

Stockholm/Berlin (dapd). Nach den Konkurrenten E.on, RWE und EnBW plant nun auch der vierte große Stromerzeuger auf dem deutschen Markt, Vattenfall, spürbare Einschnitte beim Personal. Allein in Deutschland sollen rund 1.500 von derzeit etwa 20.000 Jobs wegfallen, teilte das Unternehmen am Mittwoch in Stockholm mit. Betroffen seien die Standorte Berlin, Hamburg und Cottbus. Konzernweit sollten demnach insgesamt 2.500 Stellen wegfallen. "Die Welt hat sich verändert, und wir haben unsere Strategie an die neue Realität angepasst", sagte Konzernchef Oystein Loseth. Der Konzern geht nach seinen Worten davon aus, dass höhere Energieeffizienz und ein langsameres Wirtschaftswachstum in den kommenden Jahren zu einer dauerhaft schwachen Nachfrage führen werden. Vattenfall erwarte deshalb in der absehbaren Zukunft "gleichbleibend niedrige Großhandelsstrompreise und Margen". Der Personalabbau werde aber "sozialverträglich in einem engen Dialog mit den Mitbestimmungsgremien" ablaufen, versicherte Loseth. Die großen Energiekonzerne in Deutschland leiden zurzeit unter einer schleichenden Erosion ihres Geschäftsmodells. Der Boom der erneuerbaren Energien lässt die Gewinne aus der konventionellen Stromproduktion schrumpfen. Außerdem machen die Auswirkungen des beschleunigten Atomausstiegs den Konzernen weiter zu schaffen. Alle Konzerne wollen deshalb den Gürtel enger schnallen. Deutschlands größter Energieversorger E.on hat sich in seinem Effizienzsteigerungsprogramm "E.on 2.0" vorgenommen, die Zahl der Arbeitsplätze im Konzern um 11.000 zu verringern. Beim Essener Rivalen RWE sollten bis zu 10.400 Arbeitsplätze dem Rotstift zum Opfer fallen. Der drittgrößte deutsche Energiekonzern EnBW kündigte erst im Dezember den Abbau von 1.350 Stellen an.

 

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