Ep34 Solar energy and China: the past, present and future, ft Frank Haugwitz

06/28/23 • 64 min

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The development of China's solar industry is key to the nation’s as well as the world’s net zero ambitions. Installed capacity was 392 GW in 2022 and is set to continue to grow further. In this episode, we speak to Frank Haugwitz who has been involved in the sector for over two decades. He is a Senior Advisor and China Representative of Apricum, a transaction advisory and strategy consulting company. We first briefly look at the history and background of the industry and identify the reasons behind the massive growth. We then look at the current state of the industry. Finally, we evaluate the future opportunities and challenges in the industry.

ABOUT FRANK. Frank Haugwitz is Senior Advisor and China Representative of Apricum, a Berlin-based globally active transaction advisory and strategy consulting company dedicated to the cleantech industry. He is an industrial mechanic by profession and obtained a degree in Applied Business Languages (Sinology) and International Business Management. Frank worked in Beijing for over two decades through 2022. Originally from Germany, he has been working as a long-term expert on photovoltaic and renewable energy projects in China. He was supported by the German government and the European Union between 2002 and 2009 and in 2009 he jointly founded the Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association (APVIA) headquartered in Singapore. Since late 2009 he has been an independent solar energy consultant running a consultancy he founded, Asia Europe Clean Energy (Solar) Advisory Co. Ltd. (AECEA), from 2012 to 2022. He was Head of Intersolar's Global Conference Development, from 2010 to 2021. He also was the Vice-Chairman of the Renewable Energy Working Group of the European Chamber of Commerce in China from 2013 through 2016.

FEEDBACK: Email Host | HOST, PRODUCTION, ARTWORK: Joseph Jacobelli | MUSIC: Ep0-29 The Open Goldberg Variations, Kimiko Ishizaka Ep30-50 Orchestra Gli Armonici – Tomaso Albinoni, Op.07, Concerto 04 per archi in Sol - III. Allegro. | Ep51 – Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G, Movement I (Allegro), BWV 1049 Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

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Ep33 Sustainability advisory: driving strategies and green finance solutions, ft Wee Boon Siong.

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Sustainability and green finance can be highly complex subjects as they comprise a multitude of disciplines. Recent years have seen the creation of a variety of advisor and consulting firms specialising on sustainability. In this episode, Wee Boon Siong, CEO of RHT Green which specialises in advising on sustainability and green finance, discusses how RHT Green helps corporates in their sustainability journey, something increasingly key to their operations and fund raising. Boon Siong provides insights on two aspects. He first discusses, the actual nuts and bolts of advising organisations in sustainable value creation strategies and also the partnering with clients to capture sustainability opportunities. He then focuses on the green finance aspect of the work, especially capital raising such as a Singapore-based green fund focused on SMEs.
ABOUT BOON SIONG. Wee Boon Siong has over 30 years’ experience in various industries, holding different responsibilities in research departments, user organizations and vendor service providers. In particular, he spent many years in insurance companies and is still closely associated with the industry as a partner. He is familiar with the regional markets having been in charge of the whole Asia Pacific region when he was with CallidusCloud, and has intimate knowledge of China, Indonesia, and Vietnam markets as he had direct responsibilities to set up offices and manage the operation there to support the regional expansion. In addition, he has some knowledge of several Asian languages. He spent several years in government service and hence understand both public and private sectors well. Boon Siong read mathematics at Cambridge University and graduated with triple first class honours in 1990. He also holds a diploma in auctorial science from the Institute of Actuaries.

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Ep35 Financing Asia’s decarbonisation and energy transition: an infrastructure finance view, ft Andrew Kinloch

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Asia will account for 50% or more of global energy transition investments in the next three plus decades. Financing is of primary importance and is a challenge. In this episode, Andrew Kinloch, a leading infrastructure finance expert, discusses some of these challenges. He looks at financing renewable energy projects in general and then he discusses in detail some of the challenges such as how to address Asia’s young coal fired power plants fleet. He also has interesting thoughts about the role of multilateral banks financial institutions.
ABOUT ANDREW. Andrew Kinloch is a consultant on infrastructure finance in Asia and founder of the Logie Group. He has been Lead Arranging and advising on infrastructure finance for over 30 years. In 2003, he set up in business as Logie Group to advise across the whole investment cycle namely: governments and public sector on policy; institutional investors on strategy; transaction preparation and advisory; and acting as an expert witness in arbitrations. Andrew is a member of the UNECE roster of PPP experts; acts as a peer reviewer for them; and is on IFC’s Nominee Directors database. He is a Fellow of the HKICPA, ICAEW and HKIoD; and a member of the HKSI, HKIB and APIEx. Andrew worked originally with KPMG then PWC in London, Hong Kong, and Sydney; he then switched to investment banking with Westpac in Sydney and project finance at Mizuho then UBS in London; he returned to Asia in 1998 as Head of Global Structured Finance, Asia Pacific for WestLB when it was a top five Lead Arranger of project finance globally.