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The electric membership corporations (EMCs) in Georgia observed the first anniversary of legislation to bring harsher penalties to those charged with metals theft. "Metals theft is not a victimless crime," says Bill Verner, vice president, government relations, communications and member services with Georgia EMC. "Consumers foot the bill for replacing and repairing the damage left by a wire thief." In 2007, the EMCs and Georgia EMC led an industry effort to craft legislation aimed at toughening the existing law. The new law, which took effect July 1, 2007, forces the defendant to make full restitution to the lawful owner of the stolen metal and allows the prosecutor to prosecute based on how much it will cost to return the affected property to its original condition and not just the salvage value of the stolen metal. According to Verner

It is believed that a cash crunch is reducing orders in the Chinese power sector, which accounts for 60% of the country's copper demand. Analysts predicted strong copper demand in H1 as the country was eager to repair the damages to power networks caused by the heavy snow in the early part of the year. However, repairs have so far mainly been made to aluminium and fibre-optic cables. Cash flow problems at copper rod and wire plants have occurred following the government's tight credit policy and high copper prices. Some 30% of copper wirerod production capacity is being reported idle. The cash shortages have also delayed copper buying from active copper fabricators, further dampening consumption of the metal. China, a net importer of copper, exported 31,000 tonnes of refined copper in April, up 227% year-on-year, with the possibility that the country might have been re-exporting the metal since late February. China's General Administration of Customs reported that 14,000 tonnes were exported to South Korea, six times that from the same period last year. This perhaps confirms that traders were re-exporting copper it has imported to LME-approved warehouses to take advantage of the discount between Shanghai and LME copper prices.

Neans focuses on "priority markets"

In the past few days world leading cablemaker Nexans has announced one acquisition, one new joint venture and one asset disposal. On the 30th May, Nexans acquired Intercond a leading Italian manufacturer of special cables for industrial equipment and subsea applications. The company had sales of €90m and employs 150. "This [€90m] acquisition fits totally in the Group's strategy by increasing the proportion of its business in high value-added special cables", said Gerard Hauser, Chairman and CEO of Nexans. On the 2nd June, Nexans released a press report confirming that it has formed a joint venture to create a wire and cable plant in Qatar, the country's first manufacturing facility. Qatar International Cable Company (QICC) is owned 29% by Nexans with the balance being owned by Special Projects Company and Al Neama Industrial Co. The new plant in the industrial city of Mesaleed, 40km from Doha, and will employ 210 people. By the end of 2009 it will begin manufacturing low and medium voltage cables for buildings and energy infrastructure as well as special cables for the oil and gas industry. This JV will generate sales of $150m per year by 2010 at current copper prices. Finally, Nexans confirmed that it has completed the pre-announced sale of its copper telecom cable plant at Santander in Spain to the British company B3 Cable Solutions for €17m. These three actions continue to refocus the group's strategy on priority market segments.

Li Yihuang said Jiangxi Copper, which produced nearly 20 percent of China's refined copper output last year, would be able to meet its 2009 output target of 800,000 tonnes of refined copper despite the repair, which started in late December.

Yazaki Corp., the Japan-based cablemaker, has implemented plans to begin exporting low voltage XLPE cables from Japan to Thailand beginning in February for a duration of two to three months. This comes as a result of increased demand from Thailand's industrial sector, as factory owners look to repair, rebuild or relocate water-damaged factories. Yazaki has a local production subsidiary for power cables called Thai-Yazaki Electric Wire, but Thai-Yazaki cannot meet the current strong demand independently. Yazaki's two building wire plants in Japan are currently in full production (including Saturdays) and those cables which are ready for shipment are undergoing final checks to ensure that they meet Thailand's electrical standards.

Kia Motors, South Korea's second largest automotive manufacturer, announced that it is recalling 35,000 Souls and Sorentos because of a fire hazard. The auto maker said that its 2010 Soul with the Advanced Lighting Speakers and the 2011 Sorento with the Interior Accent Illumination have a defect with the wiring harness that could cause an electrical short and possibly a fire. Until a repair could be made, Kia advised drivers to turn off the lights. The company sold more than 1.6 million cars in 2009.

Japanese rolled copper product output fell by 3.7%y-o-y to 68,620t in March. This was mainly attributed to disruption to automotive supply chains following the March 11 disaster. The full impact of the decline of Japanese carmakers is expected to hit copper producers in the forthcoming months due to the expected two month time lag in copper demand. There is, however, optimism about the medium term demand outlook due to growing demand in air conditioner and housing utensil production in addition to the positive effects of the country's forthcoming rebuilding work. Company operations are expected to ramp up after factory repairs are anticipated to be completed towards the summer.