Chinese CNBM will not invest in Ukraine’s solar energy until the problems with its existing SPPs are resolved

The Chinese group of corporations CNBM, which has a large portfolio of solar power plants in Ukraine, will refrain from further investments in the sector until the problematic issues around its Ukrainian assets are resolved.

It was announced by the Deputy Director General of SNBM in Ukraine Tian Vei in an interview with the Internet portal Energoreforma.

“We are ready and want to work further in Ukraine, the company's capabilities are huge – we have many promising areas of activity and huge resources for the implementation of projects. But until we finally resolve the situation with our current assets, it’s too early to talk about further steps. The issue of investment security is extremely important for us, regardless of their size”, said a representative of Chinese investors.

According to T. Vei, at present, the company CNBM supplies fiberglass to Ukraine, the company “feels an interest in it in Ukraine, especially fiberglass cloth”, and plans to develop in this direction. But as for the global plans, the company is waiting.

“In addition to resolving issues with our assets, it is necessary to understand the prospects for economic development in the medium term. The political situation in Ukraine is changing, investors need time to understand how the economy will develop after these changes”, he explained.

It is known that in April 2019, the CNBM secured the cancellation of the decision of the Pechersk court on arrest the assets of its subsidiary LLC Sunrise Solar, which operates solar stations in the Mykolaiv region with a capacity of about 53 MW. On April 12, the Kyiv Court of Appeal granted the CNBM appeal and confirmed the fact that the company did not transfer the same solar panels as collateral to different banks. The company was able to re-connect the SPP to the network, but continues litigation in order to remove the arrests from the accounts.

The trial between Sunrise Solar and Activ Bank has been going on since 2015. The next meeting of the Court of Appeal in the case of recognizing the offset of the obligations of Sunrise Solar to return the loan to Activ Bank in the amount of about $10 million and funds placed on the deposit in the same bank of Sunrise Solar for $9.6 million has not yet been appointed.

In December 2018, despite the incompleteness of the courts and an unspecified amount of debt, in December last year, the Deposit Guarantee Fund of individuals sold the right to claim the loan to the financial company Vesta, after which the National Police of Ukraine, on the basis of Vesta’s statement to the SBU, opened a criminal case against Sunrise Solar. In March, law enforcement agencies demanded to stop the plant. СNBM found the grounds for initiating a criminal case to be false and appealed to the court.

The Chinese investor regards the actions of law enforcement agencies as an unlawful interference with his business activities and in early April of this year it appealed to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine with a notice of a settlement of the investment dispute around Sunrise Solar LLC. The appeal notes that “the company Sunrise Solar became the object of corporate raiding and forceful seizure by the private financial company Vesta, with the support or indulgence of the Ukrainian government bodies, government agencies and the legal system."

Today, in Ukraine, CNBM owns 10 solar power plants with a total installed capacity of 267 MW in the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions. СNBM gained control over a number of Ukrainian SPPs as a repayment of the Active-Solar company debt in 2014. The deal was approved by Ukrainian government agencies in 2016. A loan at Activ Bank was raised by Sunrise Solar with the previous owners of the stations.

 

Source: interfax.com.ua

 

Follow us on: Telegram   Facebook   Twitter

Tags: renewable energy, solar energy

Read also

An Eye for an Eye: Ukrainian Power Engineers Demand Compensation from Russians for Destroyed Property
The Security Service of Ukraine issues suspicion notice to Russian billionaire for exporting raw materials for Rosatom from Ukraine.
ZELENSKY: Russian authorities are planning to blow up the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant to destabilize Ukraine