FW: Media Inquiries (Japan) & Reactive Statement

fyi, reactive statement for Japan...

-----Original Message-----
From: Watanabe, Mika
Sent: Thursday, November 22, 2001 3:51 AM
To: Gentle, Jackie
Cc: O'Day, Nicholas; Denne, Karen
Subject: Media Inquiries (Japan) & Reactive Statement

Handled inquiries from METI, Kyodo, AP, DJ, Asahi, Toho Nippo, Denki, Reuters, Mainichi, Yamaguchi, Yomiuri, Sankei, (Power in Asia, Platt's by Nick) on Japan's operations on Thursday.

Enron's Japan subsidiary reviewing its business
11/22/2001
Associated Press Newswires
Copyright 2001. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

TOKYO (AP) - The Japanese subsidiary of Enron Corp., the beleaguered U.S. energy trading company, is reviewing its business here and hopes to conclude its findings in the next few weeks, a company spokeswoman said Thursday.

Earlier this month, rival Dynegy said it plans to acquire Enron. Enron has begun an assessment of its global operations.

Enron Japan Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Houston-based company, began its own assessment about a week ago, said spokeswoman Mika Watanabe.

Enron Japan's business includes E Power Corp., a venture set up in Japan by Enron and Orix Corp., a leasing company, which had been studying possible electric power plants.

Enron Japan was established in April 2000 and employs about 60 people, and had hoped to eventually break into Japan's power industry, which is gradually growing more open.

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Enron To Determine Fate Of Japan Ops Within A Few Weeks
11/21/2001
Dow Jones Energy Service
(Copyright © 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- Enron Corp. (ENE), the struggling U.S. energy trading company, will determine the fate of its Japanese operations within the next few weeks following a review of its global operations, an Enron official said Thursday.

The move follows an announcement earlier this month that Dynegy Inc. (DYN) plans to purchase Enron in a stock swap deal valued at about $10 billion. Dynegy, which is owned 26% by ChevronTexaco Corp. (CVX), has said the new entity will focus on the core businesses of North American and European wholesale energy markets and commercial and industrial energy users.

Enron Japan Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Houston-based company, is currently reviewing all of its operations in Japan, including those handled by E Power Corp., a Japanese power venture set up by Enron and Orix Corp. (IX).

"We are discussing either retaining all Japanese operations, or the sale of all or part of the operations (to a third party). We are considering all possible options," the official said. "It will be determined in a few weeks."

Enron established Enron Japan in April 2000, to cut into Japan's Y15 trillion-a-year power industry, as the power industry continues to deregulate here. Since then, Enron has been a vocal advocate of bringing more competition into Japan's long-protected power market to push down the country's relatively high power rates.

Deregulation Far Lags Initial Expectations

Since establishment, Enron Japan has introduced electricity trading and
marketing, as well as other financial instruments such as weather derivatives.

E Power plans to build a 2,000-megawatt LNG-fired power plant in northern
Japan, for commercial operation in 2007 or later. The company is considering
other sites on which it can build power plants.

Since March 2000, the retail power market for high-volume, large-lot
industrial and commercial users - or roughly 28% of total demand - has been
open to competition from non-power companies.

However, the pace of the deregulation has far lagged initial expectations of
newcomers such as Enron. Power sales by independent power providers (IPPs)
account for only 0.4% of the market now exposed to free competition, due
largely to the high transmission and back-up charges IPPs must pay to power
utilities.

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JAPAN: U.S.'s Enron says reviewing operations in Japan.
11/21/2001
Reuters English News Service
(C) Reuters Limited 2001.

TOKYO, Nov 22 (Reuters) - U.S. energy giant Enron Corp, which has seen its share price fall to a decade low, is reviewing its operations in Japan, including an option to sell the business to a third party, a spokeswoman at Enron's Japanese unit said on Thursday.

Japanese media said the Enron group, facing financial difficulties and frustrated by the slow progress of Japan's liberalisation of its power market, was considering withdrawing from the local market.

Japanese energy companies have also been hurt by increased competition and slow demand due to the weak economy.

"Enron Corp is reviewing its operations in Japan...considering every possibility including retaining the operations or selling a part of it," the spokeswoman said.

The company will likely finalise its plans within five or six weeks, she said.

Enron gained its first foothold in Japan in 1999, when it established affiliate E Power Corp, hoping to benefit from Japan's deregulation of the retail power market.

In April last year, it set up Enron Japan Corp, which has so far introduced electricity trading and marketing and other financial instruments.

E Power plans to build a 2,000-megawatt power plant fuelled by liquefied natural gas (LNG) in northern Japan, for commercial operations in 2007. E Power is also studying other sites on which it can build power plants.

Enron's Japan operations has 70 employees.

Japan is in the process of opening up its power market, but there have been few entrants so far because of high transmission fees, industry sources say.