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Cayman Islands-owned Mangakahia Forest lists harvest by 60%

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May 28 (BusinessDesk) Greenheart NZ Forestry, the Northland forester whose ultimate owner shifted from failed Sino-Forest Corp to a Cayman Islands based company this year, has lifted its annual harvest by 60 percent and sales by 35 percent, its 2012 accounts show.

Greenheart operates the 13,000 hectare Mangakahia Forest, which it acquired from former parent Sino-Forest in 2011 for US$73 million in shares and debt. It was among assets transferred from Sino-Forest to Cayman Islands incorporated Emerald Plantation Holdings as part of a Canadian deal with Sino-Forests creditors in January.

Greenheart NZs accounts show the group harvested about 558,550 cubic metres of wood in calendar 2012, up from 348,620 cu m in 2011. Total revenue climbed 35 percent to US$37.7 million, of which about US$34 million was in export sales.

Operating costs rose to US$34.2 million from US$23.6 million, of which the bulk was harvest and distribution costs. Net profit fell to US$977,000 from US$2.46 million a year earlier, once one-time accounting adjustments and interest costs are included.

Interest-bearing debt of about US$57 million included a US$40 million loan from former immediate parent Mega Harvest International

Sino-Forest filed for bankruptcy protection in Canada in March last year. Under a plan agreed by its creditors, its assets were transferred to Emerald, owned by the creditors. The transfer included 66.6 percent of Hong Kong-listed Greenheart Group, triggering a requirement for Emerald to make an offer for the remaining shares, which it did this year.

The Toronto Stock Exchange listed shares of Sino Forest tumbled in June 2011 after short-seller Carson Block of Muddy Waters Research alleged the company had been inflating its assets and earnings. The shares were subsequently suspended from trading by the Ontario Securities Commission.

Shareholders of Sino-Forest had included Richard Chandler Corp, the investment vehicle of kiwi-born investors Richard Chandler.

New Zealands total exports of logs and wood fell 1.2 percent to $3.16 billion in calendar2012, according to government figures.

(BusinessDesk)

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Cayman Islands-owned Mangakahia Forest lists harvest by 60%

Faroe Islands face trade sanctions over fishery quotas

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The Faroe Islands could become the first nation to suffer trade sanctions under new European fishery laws.

The tiny nation, a group of 18 islands in the North Atlantic between Scotland and Iceland, has repeatedly defied the European Union over herring and mackerel quotas and now faces economic retaliation. New laws were created by the EU last year to allow it to impose sanctions in the event of disputes over fish quotas and the Faroes have now been officially notified that trade penalties are being considered as part of the so-called herring war.

Ministers for the Faroes have been given a few weeks to respond but if they refuse to back down they face a range of sanctions that could include a ban on all fish products from the islands being imported or landed in the EU.

The UK led calls for economic retaliation this month at the Fisheries Council when European ministers agreed sanctions against the Faroes should be pursued by the European Commission.

Richard Benyon, the UK Fisheries Minister, welcomed the step: I support the commission in taking the first step towards applying trade sanctions, following the request I made to discuss this last week. I hope the Faroe Islands adopt a more reasonable position and I remain prepared to support trade sanctions if they continue to behave irresponsibly.

It is the first time the sanctions process has been invoked and, unless a compromise over quotas can be found, it is likely to hit the Faroe Islands especially hard.

Fishing is the main industry on the North Atlantic archipelago and accounts for more than 95 per cent of its exports about 20 per cent of the gross national product.

In a statement, the European Commission said the sustainability of the [herring] stock is highly compromised and its recovery possibilities largely diminished because of the Faroes. It said: The European Commission has notified the fisheries authorities of the Faroe Islands of its intention to adopt measures in support of the sustainability of herring fisheries shared with the Faroe Islands.

The measures may include restrictions in the imports of herring and associated species fished by Faroese interests and restrictions on the access of Faroese vessels in EU harbours except for safety reasons.

This commission action aims to ensure sustainability to avoid a collapse of the stock which would mean that many fishermen and their families would lose their income.

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Faroe Islands face trade sanctions over fishery quotas

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Street View to add Galapagos Islands

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By Jason Dearen

Few have explored the remote volcanic islands of the Galapagos archipelago, an otherworldly landscape inhabited by the world's largest tortoises and other fantastical creatures that inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

Soon it will take only the click of a mouse or finger swipe on a tablet to explore some of the Galapagos Islands' most remote areas, surrounding waters and unique creatures.

Mountain View, California,-based Google sent hikers to the Galapagos with Street View gear called "trekkers", 42-pound computer backpacks with large, soccer ball-like cameras mounted on a tower.

Each orb has 15 cameras inside it that have captured panoramic views of some of the most inaccessible places on the Galapagos. Crews from The Catlin Seaview Survey worked with Google to capture 360-degree views of selected underwater areas too.

"We spent 10 days there hiking over trails ... and even down the crater of an active volcano," Raleigh Seamster, the project's leader for Google Maps said. "And these are islands, so half of the life there is under the water surface. So (we brought) Street View underwater to swim with sea lions, sharks and other marine animals."

Google is processing the footage and is trying to stitch it together. It hopes to post it to Street View later this year.

The cameras captured the nesting sites of blue-footed boobies, the red-throated "magnificent frigatebirds", swimming hammerhead sharks and, of course, the island's giant tortoises.

Scientists working with Google are exploring the footage for other species and hope to update the pictures regularly throughout the years as they study the effects of invasive species, tourism and climate change on the island's ecosystems.

"We hope that children in classrooms around the world will be trying to discover what they can see in the images, even tiny creatures like insects," said Daniel Orellana, a scientist with the Charles Darwin Foundation.

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Street View to add Galapagos Islands

'Diaoyu Islands 'have never been Japan's territory': Chinese envoy

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Beijing (China Daily/ANN) - The 1945 Potsdam Proclamation, a statement of terms for the unconditional surrender of Japan issued in the names of the United States, China and the United Kingdom, determined that the terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out, including that China's northeast regions, Taiwan Island, Penghu Islands and its surrounding islands, should return to China.

The Diaoyu Islands are not within the Japanese sovereignty outlined by the declaration.

Mei Zhaorong, former Chinese ambassador to Germany, said this document is historical and legal evidence of China's ownership of the islands, while Li's presence there warns the Japanese right-wing forces not to try to deny the achievements of the world anti-fascist war.

Tokyo last September illegally "nationalised" the Diaoyu Islands, which have belonged to China - one of the victors of World War II - for centuries. Japan's relations with China and South Korea became further strained under the hawkish Abe administration, which vowed to hike defense spending and loosen restrictions of the 1947 pacifist constitution.

Meng Hong, an expert on German studies at Renmin University of China, said the venue highlighted a sharp contrast between Japan and Germany's self-reflection on its crimes during World War II.

"Germany has thoroughly repented while Japan is still messing around," she said. "But Japan cannot erase its crimes."

Meng said the Potsdam Proclamation also marked the beginning of China's participation of dealing with international affairs through negotiation. "China, now a major global power, aims to underline the importance of peaceful communication in the face of disputes," she added.

COPYRIGHT: ASIA NEWS NETWORK

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'Diaoyu Islands 'have never been Japan's territory': Chinese envoy


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