موانع ورود به بازار برای سرمایه گذاری مستقیم خارجی و سرمایه گذاران خصوصی: درسهایی از بازار برق چین

Energy market Integration (EMI) is one of the priorities of regional cooperation identified by leaders from the East Asian Summit (EAS) region. The countries in the region have made great efforts to push for the electricity sector reform so as to boost the participation of private investment. However, a review of these reform experiences suggests that there is significant disparity between the expected and actual outcomes of reform. China has implemented its reform program since the 1990s, and a major reform was introduced in 2002, with the corporatization and unbundling of electricity being achieved. But, a competitive market has not yet been established due to both political and technical difficulties. Motivated by the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), the participation of private investment in China was expanded in the 1990s. Paradoxically, after the introduction of a major reform in 2002 which created more favorable conditions for the private sector, foreign investors retreated from China. Among other things, the authors identified the fragmented regulatory system, unpredictable pricing mechanism, limited access to transmissions, fuel and financing, and unchecked expansion of the state-owned sector as major barriers that impeded the participation of the private sector. The policy responses and implications of China's experience for the region are also discussed.

In the fifth East Asian Summit, leaders cross the region emphasized the need for greater regional cooperation on energy and welcomed the efforts to address market barriers and promoted more transparent energy trade and investments [1]. Clearly, market liberalization is an important part of EMI in the East Asia Summit region. However, for the electricity sector, once dominated by publicly owned monopolies over the full range of sector activities from production to distribution, market liberalization is a hard nut to crack. Since the 1980s, electricity sector reform has been implemented across the region in hope to break the monopoly and in turn to attract private investment. A review of these reform experiences suggests a significant disparity between the expected and actual outcomes of reform [2]. The World Bank attributed the disparity to the political nature of electricity tariff setting and the huge stake of investments and assets involved [3]. To better understand the barriers of private participation specific to the region, this study will examine China's experience in electricity sector reform and private participation in the electricity sector. Since the introduction of economic reform in 1978, China has implemented a profound reform in the electricity sector, paving the path for private and foreign investor entry. Paradoxically, after a major liberalization reform in 2002, private and foreign investment in the electricity sector receded, revealing that breaking the entry barrier is much more than a one-strike effort. The study is aimed to systematically examine the barriers that hinder the participation of private and foreign investors in China's electricity sector and shed light on policy measures to address this problem.

There has been big fluctuation of private and foreign investment in China's electricity sector. The initial boom of private investment, especially foreign investment was induced by government incentive schemes. The major reform introduced in 2002 set the legal framework for private participation and made competition possible by unbundling the vertically integrated state power companies. However, on the other hand, the reform scrapped PPA that gave the super-national treatment to the foreign investors. The reform therefore remains unfinished due to technical and political difficulties, leaving the private investor uncertain. The private sector is also troubled by electric tariff regulation that is not only unpredictable but also often succumbs to other government policy objectives. The limited access of private sector to fuel, transmission and financing, and the key resources required to permit power producers to grow constitute further barriers to entry. Last, but not least, the unlimited expansion of big SOEs has suffocated the private sector. As the barriers multiply and extend far beyond the electricity sector, it is necessary to take a holistic approach to deal with this issue. Electricity reform needs to be continued so that a competitive electricity market can take over price-setting from the government. Electricity sector reform should be accompanied by the further reforms of SOEs, the financial system, energy markets and infrastructural service. These reforms would encourage the private sector to play a role in the electricity sector.