Siemens-rosatom Joint Venture Would Compete With Areva

摘要

Barely a month after Siemens announced its departure from the Areva NP joint venture, Siemens and Rosatom agreed formally March 3 to create a joint venture that would compete with Areva in both reactors and fuel supply.rnAreva issued a statement the next day saying the agreement represented a breach of contract by Siemens. It warned the German firm of "consequences" related to a no-competition clause in the Areva NP shareholders' agreement. The clause forbids Siemensrnfrom competing - for eight years after a split - with Areva NP in businesses it contributed to the joint venture.rnSergey Novikov, spokesman for Rosatom Director General Sergey Kirienko, said the new company would be incorporated by year-end and be in a position to sign its first contracts for nuclear power plants in 2010. Kirienko, in an interview with Paris daily Les Echos published March 5, said the company would not target Russia or Germany but would focus on third-rncountry markets. He mentioned Asia, central and eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. He said the new company aimed - like Areva - to capture a third of the world market for new nuclear power plants.