The province of Guangdong, southern China, has blacklisted 50 industrial companies, including petrochemical firms, breweries, and operators of sewage treatment facilities, for failing to meet environmental standards. The companies have been given formal warnings and ordered to upgrade waste treatment facilities, to avoid being closed by the provincial government.
The blacklist is the result of a review by the Guangdong Environmental Protection Bureau (Guangzhou) of 164 polluting companies in the province between the fourth quarter of 2006 and the third quarter of 2007. The review covered pollution control, legal awareness, and public monitoring, as well as other areas of concern. Guangdong is one of the most heavily industrialized provinces of China.
The 50 blacklisted companies will be further monitored and inspected by the provincial environmental authorities and fined for discharging excessive amounts of pollutants. They will be allowed a specific period of time to upgrade their waste treatment operations, the bureau says. Companies that fail to meet the bureau’s deadline will be ordered to halt production or be closed by the provincial government, the bureau says.
The Guangdong environmental authorities plan to urge the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC; Beijing), the country’s stock market regulator, not to approve initial public offerings (IPO) or refinancing applications by any of the offending companies.
The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA; Beijing), China’s environmental protection agency, recently passed a regulation that requires highly polluting companies in China to undergo an environmental inspection when applying for an IPO or for refinancing, reports say. Companies that operate in only one Chinese province must approach the provincial authorities for the environmental assessment, and companies that operate in more than one province require an assessment from SEPA, under terms of the regulation, reports say.
CSRC confirmed in a recent announcement that companies planning IPOs must include an environmental assessment with their application. Listed companies are also required to disclose information on environmental protection to investors, and SEPA will inform CSRC which companies have failed to provide sufficient information, reports add.
SEPA’s regulation is part of the Chinese government’s “green security policy,” which
is attempting to tackle China’s environmental challenges through economic measures. Recently announced plans to promote “green insurance,” which will cover industrial companies against the costs of pollution accidents, form part of the policy (CW, Feb. 25, p. 18). SEPA also started in July 2007 to compile a list of high energy consuming and polluting firms, from which some companies will be banned from obtaining bank loans (CW, Aug. 1/8 2007, p. 12).
—deepti ramesh
Daelim Industrial has been awarded a $513-million contract by JG Summit Petrochemical Corp. (JGSPC; Mandaluyong, Philippines), a subsidiary of JG Summit Holdings (Pasig, Philippines), to build a previously announced naphtha cracker in the Philippines, reports say. JG Summit has previously said that the cracker would be built at Batangas, located 125 km south of Manila, and cost $600 million.
JG Summit is also reportedly in talks with refining company PTT Philippines Corp. (Makati, Philippines) on joint petchem projects in the Philippines. —dr
10 Free Issues
Chemweek’s Business Daily is the best resource you’ll find for the latest relevant chemical industry business news and intelligence sent right to your desktop.
10 FREE issues, call 800-777-5006 or + 1 301-354-2101 and ask for offer GCe143. Or go to http://www.chemweek.com/cbdtrial and reference GCe143 to get your free issues.
12947
References:
mailto:clientservices@accessintel.com
Archives