Myanmar turns to small Russian nuclear reactors for energy solution

Myanmar's military leaders are moving forward with a plan to adopt Russian-built small modular nuclear reactors as the country grapples with an energy cliff caused by dwindling output from natural gas reserves.

The Ministry of Electric Power and Rosatom, Russia's state-owned nuclear energy company, outlined a joint feasibility study on SMRs, in a memorandum of understanding signed late November. A typical nuclear reactor has an output of around 1,000 megawatts, while the maximum output of an SMR stands at several hundreds MW. Russia is considered a pioneer in that technology, ahead of the U.S. and the U.K.

The signing of the memorandum took place on the sidelines of this year's Atomexpo international forum for the nuclear industry in Sochi, Russia. Myanmar's electricity minister and the minister of science and technology both military appointees attended the forum. Before attending Atomexpo, Myanmar's delegation also visited nuclear plants and research facilities in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In mid-November, Myanmar and Rosatom agreed to establish a nuclear technology information center in Yangon, Myanmar's commercial capital. Whether a nuclear reactor will indeed be built in Myanmar remains to be seen. But the military appears aggressive in promoting this vision. "We expect construction of a small-scale nuclear reactor to start within a few years," Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson for Myanmar's military, told reporters in September. Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar's commander in chief, visited Russia for a week in July and September, attending the signing of memorandums with Rosatom on both occasions. The July agreement concerned personnel training and public awareness campaigns, while the September memorandum contained a road map toward cooperation on the civilian use of nuclear energy.

Myanmar is suffering from widespread power shortages and blackouts due to aging hydroelectric power stations and electrical grids. This comes at a time when Min Aung Hlaing has expressed interest in putting more electric vehicles and buses on the roads, and developing an electrified rail network. Half of Myanmar's electricity comes from thermal plants fueled by domestically produced natural gas. The volumes from existing gas fields are on track to diminish. France's TotalEnergies said in July that it had exited completely from the Yadana gas field off Myanmar's southern coast, while Australia's Woodside Energy group has announced it is withdrawing from development plans in Myanmar. Companies from South Korea and Thailand are expected to continue gas field operations, but the current political instability caused by the military takeover of a civilian government in February 2021 has raised the risk for new investments.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Myanmar-Crisis/Myanmar-turns-to-small-Russian-nuclear-reactors-for-energy-solution

Japan’s Inflation Speeds Up, Raising Risk of More BOJ Shocks

Japan’s key inflation gauge further accelerated to the fastest pace since 1981, an outcome that will continue to fuel speculation the Bank of Japan will surprise markets again with policy change down the line.

Consumer prices excluding fresh food climbed 3.7% in November from a year ago, the internal affairs ministry reported Friday. The result for the core index targeted by the BOJ matched an estimate by economists. The gain in overall inflation was a touch weaker than expected. Higher processed food prices were the biggest driver behind the acceleration as they further outstripped the impact of higher energy costs from a year earlier. A wide range of government measures including travel subsidies helped keep price growth below 4%. Japan’s bond markets showed little immediate response to the data, with benchmark 10-year notes yet to trade while five-year securities advanced to drive the yield down one basis point to 0.205% as of 10:05 a.m. in Tokyo. Swap rates for 10-year contracts rose four basis points to 0.84%, still shy of the nine-year peak of 0.9% reached on Tuesday. Still, following this week’s shock decision by BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s policy board to allow bond yields to move higher, the faster pace of inflation will keep speculation smoldering that the central bank is getting nearer to a policy pivot-(Never gonna happen-why when you can just "widen the band" you purchase all JGBs at and dump US Treasuries to boot)

Core inflation has exceeded the BOJ’s 2% price target for eight straight months. Inflation excluding fresh food and energy has now reached 2.8%, pointing to strength in the underlying trend. “A policy change may happen in the spring after the new governor takes the helm and wage negotiation results,” said Koya Miyamae, senior economist at SMBC Nikko Securities. Miyamae said the market doesn’t rule out change coming earlier, flagging that Kuroda has a record of suddenly changing his stance by 180 degrees. “Kuroda can say something completely different from what he had been saying until just before the meeting, so the market tends to be skeptical,” he said.

Kuroda jolted markets around the world Tuesday by announcing the central bank will widen the 10-year bond yield target to around 0.5% either side of 0%, double the previous limit of 0.25%. The governor said this wasn’t a tightening move, but it also led to speculation it’s a step toward exiting from a decade of massive monetary easing. Kuroda reiterated after the decision that he sees prices slowing next year, and more wage growth is needed for sustainable price gains.

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/japan-s-inflation-speeds-up-raising-risk-of-more-boj-shocks-1.1862814

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evening

good as can be

have a good rest of the night