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Sun-drenched Australian miners look to the skies to cut fuel costs in half

29/8/2015

According to The Australian Financial Review today, the DeGrussa copper and gold mine in the sun-scorched outback is getting a solar farm, the latest example of the mining industry embracing clean energy.

The plant will replace about 5 million litres of diesel a year, a fifth of the mine's energy needs. Energy generated by the system may eventually cost about half that of diesel-generated power, according to Sandfire Resources, the deposit's owner.

Miners including Rio Tinto are installing new solar plants from Chile to South Africa, betting they'll deliver long-term savings even as tumbling oil prices cut power costs. The global solar-power market for mining companies may grow to about $US2 billion ($2.8 billion) a year by 2022 from about $US42 million in 2013, according to Navigant Consulting.

Rio Tinto, the second-largest mining company, is completing the construction of a demonstration solar farm at its Weipa bauxite operation in Queensland with US companies First Solar and Ingenero.

"We've got an amazing opportunity with the sun power that's generated," Sandfire chief Karl Simich said in an interview. The 20-hectare, 10.6 megawatt solar farm, will have 34,000 modules when installed by February at the site 900 kilometres north of Perth.

Both Sandfire and Rio's solar installations are being aided by government funding, while the cost of developing solar farms means it's probably not suitable for smaller mines, according to gold producer Doray Minerals.

"With the capital investments up front, a short mine life doesn't really pay it back," Doray Managing Director Allan Kelly said. "If we had a 10-year mine life, we'd definitely look at it. The technology is improving."

At DeGrussa, where there's a daily average of 9 to 10 hours of sunshine a day, Sandfire sees its solar farm cutting carbon dioxide emissions by about 12,000 metric tons a year, as it also delivers savings to energy costs.

Ref: http://www.afr.com/business/energy/solar-energy/sundrenched-miners-look-to-the-skies-to-cut-fuel-costs-in-half-20150827-gj96tj

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/80

Japanese major companies developed smartphone-based audio guide aimed at visually impaired

27/8/2015

According to The Asahi Shimbun, Shimizu Corp. and IBM Japan Ltd. jointly developed a smartphone app to help visually impaired people navigate stairs, corridors, doors and other obstacles in buildings and underground shopping complexes.

They anticipate making the technology commercially available by 2018.

The system receives location and other information from radio beacons and converts it into audio data through an IBM-developed smartphone app.

Shimizu, a leading general contractor, said it will encourage public facilities, medical centres and commercial complexes to introduce the system so that people with impaired vision can move around more easily.

IBM said it plans to offer the service in a number of languages. Chieko Asakawa, a senior IBM researcher who herself is visually impaired, is part of the project.

To get started, users first need to register their destination. The app then gives instructions on which direction to take, such as “go right, in a two o'clock direction.”

If the number of steps, size of handrails and other data are inputted in advance, the system will tell the user such things as “there is a mat in front of the entrance” and “the stairway is straight and has 34 steps.”

Shimizu plans to call on operators of new buildings as well as owners of existing structures to install beacons and other necessary accessories.

Ref: http://ajw.asahi.com/article/business/AJ201508260023

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/ibm

Japanese industrial giant Mitsubishi eyes rail deals in NSW, Victoria, reveals partnership

27/8/2015

According to The Australian, Japanese industrial giant Mitsubishi has declared its interest in looming rail projects in Victoria and NSW.

Mitsubishi has also unveiled a new partnership with constructor CIMIC (formerly Leighton) which began in bidding for the $800m Canberra light rail project and could be replicated for future projects.

“We are keenly interested in the Victorian High Capacity Metro Train Project and various upcoming NSW rail projects,” Mitsubishi’s local CEO Mike Takada said.

“The landmark JAEPA (JAFTA) has created an environment conducive to such partnerships by making it easier for Japanese firms to invest in Australia and promoting more competitive Australian goods and services into Japan,” he said.

“Relations between our two countries are at their strongest ever. Australia and Japan are both on the doorstep of the world’s fastest-growing economies.

“Through collaborations such as these we can offer competitive and innovative solutions to public infrastructure projects through a world-leading PPP model into Asia.”

Mr Takada said the PPP model could be exported to Japan, but also deployed in rapidly growing Southeast Asia and beyond.

Global chairman Yorihiko Kojima said the bilateral relationship was “absolutely critical to the stability and economic wellbeing of the Asia Pacific region” and would deepen with the implementation of the FTA.

“The JAEPA will play a major role in further strengthening and deepening an already strong bilateral relationship by facilitating various types of technical and commercial collaboration, including making it easier for the Japanese and Australian business communities to forge strategic partnerships,” he said.

Ref: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/companies/mitsubishi-eyes-rail-deals-in-nsw-victoria-reveals-partnership/story-fn91v9q3-1227495509485

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/79

A major Japanese railway company, Odakyu, eyes up to US$ 325 million in acquisitions through fiscal 2020

26/8/2015

According to The Nikkei Asian Review today, Odakyu Electric Railway plans to spend as much as 40 billion yen (US$325 million) on acquisitions through the year ending March 2021, aiming to diversify earnings sources by strengthening businesses beyond core railway operations.

This marks the company's first-ever target for such spending. Odakyu operates hotels, including the Hyatt Regency Tokyo, and such restaurants as a soba noodle chain.

Real estate operations are also part of the mix. This past spring, the company acquired a planner and developer of hotel and commercial facilities. The newly targeted spending on acquisitions will likely include real estate along rail service routes. Offices and commercial facilities will be considered, as well as land for redevelopment.

Odakyu bought the headquarters building of Fuji Heavy Industries in Tokyo's Shinjuku area for about 30 billion yen in 2011 as part of efforts to strengthen real estate investment.

For the current year ending March 2016, operating profit is seen rising 2% on the year to 51 billion yen. The transport business, which includes railways, will account for 59% of the profit -- down 8 points from fiscal 2011 but still a majority.

With populations along railway routes expected to decline over the long term, the company does not expect much earnings growth in the rail business and so is working to cultivate other areas.

Ref: http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Deals/Odakyu-eyes-up-to-40bn-yen-in-acquisitions-through-fiscal-2020

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/-ma400

Japanese companies eye algae for green energy

25/8/2015

According to The Nikkei Asian Review, decades of research into green energy by Japanese companies is beginning to bear fruit. Autoparts manufacturer Denso plans to undertake testing this autumn of a biofuel made from algae extracts.

The organism is an ideal resource for clean energy and is attracting growing attention as a possible alternative to fossil fuels. There are more than 50,000 varieties of algae. They absorb carbon dioxide from the air during photosynthesis, during which they produce oil and nutrients.

Japan's transportation and industry ministries together launched a working group in July for using biofuels to fly aircraft, with a target of achieving the goal by the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Algae-based fuels are one high-potential option.

Denso, a Toyota Motor affiliate, is currently cultivating a huge amount of algae known as Pseudochoricystis, at its Zenmyo Plant in Aichi Prefecture. It will later dry those algae, extract their oil, and produce several dozen liters of light fuel. The algae-based substance will then be blended with gas oil made from petroleum.

Feasibility testing of the blended fuel will begin in autumn for use in passenger vehicles. During testing, the company will also experiment with suitable mixing proportions of conventional and algae-based oils.

Denso developed algae cultivation facilities in 2010. The idea initially came from studying how the company could cut carbon emissions. As part of its efforts, carbon dioxide emitted by the plant is directed to a pond to help algae photosynthesize. Denso has been trying to create an optimal environment for the cultivation pond.

"We had focused on cultivation until recently," said Kinya Atsumi, who oversees the company's new business promotion department. "And this spring we entered the next stage, where we will extract the algae oil and check the capability of the substance by actually using it in vehicles." he said.

The company will focus on the testing phase of green energy to be used for diesel and jet fuels in the future. But it has hurdles to clear for commercialization. Currently, 3kg of dried Pseudochoricystis can only produce 800 milliliters of gas oil. To be a viable option, efficient production, cheaper and faster cultivation as well as higher oil content algae are needed.

The capacity of the pond in the Zenmyo Plant is currently 33,000 liters. As part of the company's plan to have a total surface of 1-2 hectares for cultivation, it is preparing to launch a site in Kyushu region. By the year ending March 2019, it aims to be technically ready for commercialization of a large-scale plant.

Meanwhile, Japan's heavy industry group IHI in December 2013 registered the name of its algae-based oil, Mobura, as a trademark.

Consigned by the country's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, IHI in March began large-scale algae growing at its newly constructed cultivation pool in Kagoshima Prefecture. By May, it had reached its harvest target.

The pool, the largest in the country with a surface area of 1,500 sq. meters, is about 15 times the size that of a facility previously run by the company.

"We were first concerned that the algae might not grow evenly in a larger environment, but so far, it has grown fine," said Tsutomu Narikiyo, deputy manager of the company's new business promotions.

The success of the plant's mass cultivation will be an important step toward the company's commercialization of Mobura oil. It is looking to leverage the technology gained at the site to achieve a mass production of the oil as a biofuel of the future.

IHI is experimenting with cultivation in several sites including Southeast Asia. It aims to establish a technology base, by the year ending March 2021, for large-scale commercial plants consisting of several hundred hectares.

The company in 2011 began to mass cultivate an algae known as Botryococcus, from which hydrocarbon oil is extracted. The extracted substance has a similar structure to petroleum, so it is easy to be distilled into kerosene, which is used for jet fuel.

Commercializing a home-grown biofuel by the 2020 Tokyo Olympics could be a big promotion for Japanese technology. The use of biofuels is expected to be indispensable in the near future, as aviation continues to grow worldwide. It can offset increasing carbon emissions by absorbing carbon dioxide during fuel production. Major Western airlines are hoping to use greener fuels.

Japanese bioventure euglena has set up a production technology research center to examine Euglena, or freshwater unicellular organisms, in March. It is focusing on the microalgae at its site on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa Prefecture. The company is studying the organisms to search for varieties and growing methods suitable for producing biofuels.

Euglena is a rare type of algae that does not have cell walls. It could die when the soft membrane around the cell breaks. For cultivation of the microalgae, high skills are required in providing sunlight evenly across the delicate surface of the organisms, as well as for providing the nutrition necessary to hold oil.

The company, by the end of 2015, plans to extract oil from Euglena and to test whether it can be used for biofuel.

"We are looking to establish a stable cultivation system in a capacity of 3,000 sq. meters by around 2020," said Ryohei Nakano, who heads the research center.

The biggest bottleneck facing all biofuel development is the high cost of production. The expense is several times that for kerosene, which is now about 100 yen (US 80 cents) per liter.

Ref: http://asia.nikkei.com/Tech-Science/Tech/Japanese-companies-eye-algae-for-green-energy

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/78

A leading Japanese clothing chain, Uniqlo, to introduce optional 4-day work week

21/8/2015

According to The Asahi Shimbun today, Fast Retailing Co. will allow employees at its Uniqlo casual clothing chain in Japan to shift to a four-day work week starting in October.

Employees who choose the four-day schedule will be required to work on Saturdays and Sundays, the peak retail days, and take three days off during the five weekdays.

By offering alternative work schedules, Fast Retailing said it hopes to retain talented employees.

Those who opt for the system will work 10 hours a day instead of the usual eight. Their wages will remain unchanged as they will still be putting in a 40-hour week.

About 10,000 "local regular employees" who work in specified areas without transfers will be eligible for the four-day work week. Initially, Fast Retailing expects about 2,000 of them to choose the new system.

Fast Retailing is also considering expanding the system to its head office and its G.U. discount casual wear chain.

Fast Retailing plans to increase the number of local regular employees at Uniqlo stores from the current 10,000 to 16,000.

However, more than 30 percent of employees who started work at Uniqlo stores in 2012 immediately after graduating from universities or other educational institutions quit the company within three years.

Given a growing labour shortage, the company said it wants to retain capable employees by offering various work styles.

Fast Retailing has about 50,000 employees in Japan, including part-time workers.

The new four-day schedule is based on the “transformed working hour system,” which is an exception to the eight-hour workday stipulated by law.

The transformed system is used mostly by restaurants that operate longer hours on Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays, which are their busiest periods.

It is also used by accounting divisions whose workloads dramatically increase ahead of companies announcing their financial statements.

Ref: http://ajw.asahi.com/article/business/AJ201508200061

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/-3-10

Japanese department store turns to high-tech fashion advice for shoppers

20/8/2015

According to The Nikkei Asian Review today, Japanese department store, Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, plans to bring its fashion business into the digital age, introducing technology in its department stores to let shoppers digitally try on clothing and receive style suggestions from artificial intelligence.

Customers at Isetan's Shinjuku flagship in Tokyo will be able to sample new fashions virtually starting on 26 Aug. After having their picture taken with a camera atop a large display screen, shoppers will be able to alter the colour and style of their clothing with simple, intuitive controls. Pictures of favourite outfits can be sent to users' smartphones and other devices.

After feedback from customers is gathered during a two-week trial period, Isetan Mitsukoshi will begin to introduce the device more widely, with the eventual aim of bringing the technology to stores across Japan.

Starting in September, Isetan will also bring to its Shinjuku store an artificial intelligence system that suggests clothing and accessories to shoppers. Customers will input their favourite styles, colours and other fashion preferences via tablet. After crunching the data and comparing it to that of other shoppers, the system will return fashions and products that it thinks will be a match.

The AI system will eventually be able to tease out shoppers' latent preferences to present them with something new and exciting, hitting the mark more often as it amasses user data. The company hopes that the unique tech offerings will help it draw in a new wave of Japanese customers.

Isetan Mitsukoshi is already an industry leader in the use of technology to improve the shopping experience. The Shinjuku store contains some 560 devices that interact with an in-store navigation app on customers' smartphones to direct them to the section of their choice and offer other information. The company's latest efforts are one step further in the direction of using tech to push sales.

But the department store operator is not the only tech-conscious player in the fashion world. The Japan Fashion Industry Council is exploring the possibility of using radio frequency identification tags attached to product labels to promote the goods certified under its "J-Quality" scheme.

Only products made in Japan of Japanese cloth can earn the J-Quality certification. The trade group hopes to install in-store terminals capable of showing customers a video explaining a certified piece's origin when the associated RFID tag is scanned -- just one step in a plan to push Japanese craftsmanship with the latest tools.

Ref: http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Consumers/Japanese-department-store-turns-to-high-tech-fashion-advice-for-shoppers

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/hdit

One of the country's most successful private equity executives plans to set up his own private equity fund in Australia

19/8/2015

According to The Australian Financial Review today, one of the country's most successful private equity executives, TPG managing partner Ben Gray, is preparing to set up his own firm focused on investment opportunities in an already crowded Australian market, industry sources told The Australian Financial Review.

Mr Gray, who has been joint head of TPG's Asian operations since November 2013, is expected to leave TPG once the current Asian fund is fully invested and start an Australian and New Zealand-focused private equity firm in mid-to-late 2017, sources said.

The Harvard-educated son of former Tasmanian Liberal premier Robin Gray, Mr Gray joined TPG in 2004 and has been a key player in some of Australia's highest-profile private equity deals, including the $3 billion purchase of hospital group Healthscope, the profitable $1.4 billion acquisition of department store chain Myer in 2006.

Mr Gray and his family had been based in Singapore since 2011 but he moved back to Melbourne in early 2014.

Mr Gray's track record means he would probably attract strong backing from investors if and when he sets up his own independent private equity house. There is already solid competition among Australian private equity firms such as PEP, Anchorage Capital Partners and Quadrant Private Equity.

Ref: http://www.afr.com/business/banking-and-finance/new-shades-of-gray-as-tpg-boss-plans-exit-20150818-gj1rhq

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/77

Japanese automakers speeding up development of 'personal mobility vehicles' for urban car-sharing

18/8/2015

According to The Asahi Shimbun today, a trial car-sharing service that could drastically transform Japan's urban scenery is already making its mark in the central Tokyo area.

Since April, eye-catching three-wheeled electric vehicles have offered convenient alternative transportation for commuters.

The service uses the "i-Road" ultra-compact vehicle made by Toyota Motor Corp. The so-called personal mobility vehicle is advertised as combining the ease-of-handling of a motorcycle and the comfort of a four-wheel car.

The joint trial venture through the end of September is managed by Toyota and Park24 Co., which operates hourly parking facilities around Japan, to gather usage data and user feedback.

An underground parking facility managed by Park21 in the Yurakucho shopping district in central Tokyo has five electric chargers that can provide power to i-Road vehicles used in the one-way car-sharing experiment.

Park24 is a leading provider in car-sharing, which allows members to use share cars at any time of day, and currently has 510,000 registered users.

Each i-Road car used in the trial, painted black and white, is only 2.3 meters long and 87 centimeters wide. This means that at least two of the vehicles can fit in the parking space for a regular car.

The one-seater, roofed vehicle has a maximum speed of 60 kph and can travel 50 km when fully charged.

The personal mobility vehicle is touted as offering ideal transportation in a car-sharing setting, because users primarily use rental vehicles for shopping in local areas and other short-distance hops.

Statistics also show that Japanese drivers primarily travel alone or with just one passenger and drive within a radius of 10 km in 60 percent of cases.

The personal mobility vehicle is also particularly eco-friendly as it consumes one-sixth of the energy used by regular cars.

The transportation ministry promotes the use of such vehicles in car-sharing services through subsidies for local governments and other entities that have introduced them.

To jump on the bandwagon, Japanese carmakers are rushing to develop ultra-compact electric vehicles and car-sharing systems that use their cars.

In a joint venture with Yokohama city, Nissan Motor Co. started a trial vehicle-sharing service, called "Choimobi Yokohama," in autumn 2013 using its New Mobility Concept ultra-compact electric vehicles. In an extended trial, 13,000 people used the service.

Toyota Auto Body Co., a Toyota subsidiary, also started providing its COMS one-seater electric vehicle to car-sharing services operated by Anjo city in Aichi Prefecture and other entities.

Honda Motor Co. has also conducted verification tests of its car-sharing service using the company’s MC-β personal mobility vehicle in Saitama city last fall.

Ref: http://ajw.asahi.com/article/business/AJ201508180010

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/76

Australian property markets particularly in Sydney and Melbourne have peaked or not?

17/8/2015

According to The Australian Financial Review, one of the major real estate agents in Australia, McGrath Real Estate, chief executive John McGrath has declared the Sydney property market "close to peak".

He said "I'd be concerned if Sydney sees another double-digit growth. I'm predicting 3 to 5 per cent more and then I think it's going to be plateauing. Melbourne is probably about the same".

"The rest of Australia … much of it is preparing for its next growth cycle. South-east Queensland is going to be the hottest market for the next three years. Perth is just totally depending on resources.

On the other hand, billionaire developer Lang Walker, whose company Walker Corporation just won two of the largest projects of the landmark Parramatta Square $2 billion development, did not agree with the view put forward by real estate agent John McGrath this week that house price rises in the two main Australian cities were coming to a close.

"He's a real estate agent, not a developer," Mr Walker said at a Property Council of Australia lunch on Friday.

"The markets are still very under-supplied. I think what we are going to see in the next 18 months to two years is a capacity shortage.

He also dismissed the idea of a "property bubble", particularly in Sydney, where demand would swallow up any "real oversupply".

"On the housing market on the fringes in Sydney such as the south-west and the north-west, for example, we are in a critical shortage," he said.

The state government's $8 billion investment in projects and infrastructure, including the light rail into Parramatta and faster train services to the Sydney CBD, would guarantee Parramatta's success at becoming Sydney's next big city, he said.

Ref: http://www.afr.com/real-estate/residential/sydney-property-close-to-peak-says-john-mcgrath-20150809-givbd0
http://www.afr.com/real-estate/developer-lang-walker-says-there-is-a-still-a-housing-shortage-20150814-gizf7u

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/75

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