Firebird and SEPCOIII Execute Joint Development Agreement for the Tevshiin Gobi Coal Mine and 600 Megawatt Power Plant Project

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia, Sept. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Firebird Mongolia Fund, Ltd. ("Firebird"), a fund managed by an affiliate of New York-based Firebird Management LLC ("Firebird"), via two of its subsidiary holding companies and SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Corporation ("SEPCOIII"), a Chinese State-Owned Enterprise, are pleased to announce to have executed a Joint Development Agreement ("JDA") for the development and financing of the Tevshiin Gobi coal mine and mine-mouth coal-fired 600 Megawatt power plant project.

The signing ceremony took place during the World Economic Forum in Dalian, People's Republic of China, following the receipt of the Power Construction Corporation of China ("POWERCHINA"), the parent company of SEPCOIII, delegation by His Excellency Prime Minister Ch. Saikhanbileg, the Prime Minister of Mongolia. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Mr. D. Zorigt, Minister of Energy; Mr. Ts. Sukhbaatar, Mongolian Ambassador to China; several Members of Parliament; and Mr. Zeng Xingliang, Assistant to Group President and Executive President of Overseas Business Unit of POWERCHINA. Mr. Wang Lujun, the Chairman of SEPCOIII, and Mr. James Passin of Firebird executed the JDA on behalf of SEPCOIII and the Firebird entities, respectively.

Under the terms of the JDA, SEPCOIII will acquire a controlling equity stake in both the Tevshiin Gobi coal mine and power plant, which have a capital requirement of approximately USD 1 billion. The Tevshiin Gobi project is located in Saintsagaan Sum, Dundgobi Aimag, Mongolia. The power plant feasibility study was completed by American energy engineering firm, Burns and Roe Enterprises Inc. and approved by the Mongolian Ministry of Energy in 2013. The project has received a permit to construct from the Mongolian Energy Regulatory Commission and is on the Mongolian Government concession list as a preferred power project.

SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Corporation, founded in 1985 is an international EPC power contractor and a leading subsidiary of China's energy services corporation, Power Construction Corporation of China ("POWERCHINA"). SEPCOIII, has broad experience in the international power sector - including gas and coal power plants, wind, solar, hydro, nuclear, biomass as well as substations and transmission lines. With a long list of awards and nominations, SEPCOIII has completed high quality works worldwide on over 39,600 MW of capacity as of 2014 and reached a revenue of RMB 13.89 billion ($2.18 billion) in 2014. Since 2013, SEPCOIII's strategy has broadened to include the Independent Power Producer business sector, hence SEPCOIII is now actively seeking power project investment opportunities internationally, including Mongolia in particular.

Based in New York, Firebird started investing in Mongolia in 2006 and is the largest foreign institutional investor operating on the Mongolian Stock Exchange.

James Passin, Principal at Firebird, stated, "This is an historic day for our project, which we created over four years ago. We are delighted to partner with one of the world's leading EPCs and believe that the project will benefit from SEPCOIII's operational expertise and financial resources." 

Mr. Lai Chen, President of SEPCOIII Investment Company stated, "We are very excited about the progress of the 600 MW Tevshiin Gobi mine-mouth coal-fired power project in Mongolia and are happy to be working with Mongolia's largest foreign institutional investor, Firebird and its affiliates. Under the "One Road One Belt" initiative and with the support of the Mongolian government, we are confident to bring this project to success and contribute to the growth of the Mongolian economy."

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SOURCE Firebird Mongolia Fund, Ltd