BY SHAI LAGARDE
MOSCOW—A Brown Company Inc. (PSE:BRN) has entered into a cooperation agreement with private institution Rusatom International Network (RAIN) on June 20, 2017 at the International Forum ATOMEXPO 2017 in Gostiny Dvor. The parties plan to develop economic, scientific and technical cooperation in the field of peaceful use of atomic energy, as well as to jointly explore possible areas of application of radiation technologies in industry, agriculture, and medicine.
The parties also intend to implement a series of activities for enhancing public awareness about nuclear technologies and their application in the Philippines.
Roel Z. Castro, President and CEO of A Brown, signed the bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) along with Alexander Merten, President of RAIN, during ATOMEXPO’s official program. The parties expressed their confidence that the strategic nature of cooperation creates possibilities for the implementation of joint projects in the peaceful use of atomic energy, and for enhancing public awareness about nuclear technologies and their applications and impact, particularly in the Philippines and neighboring ASEAN economies.
“A Brown welcomes this new opportunity to come up with more diverse solutions toward the improvement of the lives and livelihoods of Filipinos,” Castro said. “This cooperation agreement with RAIN is very much in alignment with President Rodrigo Duterte’s government platforms, as well as our company’s commitment to constantly explore business avenues that would facilitate nation-building.” With A Brown’s latest undertaking, Castro added, “we can look forward to developing various projects for a stronger, more economically robust Philippines.”
Likewise, Merten stated that the MOU is one of the first steps in implementing the agreements reached between the two countries during the meeting of President Duterte and Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 25, 2017. “It opens up great prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation in the development of innovative technologies in the nuclear field,” he said.
A Brown is a key player in real estate and agribusiness in Southern Philippines with investments in mining, infrastructure, and energy, including the 2x135MW coal-fired Palm Concepcion Power Corp. (PCPC) in Iloilo and the 55MW bunker-fired Peakpower Energy Inc. serving various electric utilities in General Santos, Agusan del Sur, and part of Bukidnon. Hydro Link Projects Corp. is developing a hydropower plant in Surigao del Sur. AB Bulk Water Company, Inc. is a bulk water supply project in Opol, Misamis Oriental in partnership with the local government.
Last November, A Brown entered into an MOU with Malaysia’s AlloyMTD for the proposed PNR East-West Rail Project through East West Rail Transit Corp., the Consortium formed by A Brown with Systra Philippines (of France’s Systra Group) and Private Equity Investment and Development (PEID) Corp.
Rusatom International Network is a non-commercial organization in the control loop of Rosatom State Corporation, which decides on the creation, development and management of a network of regional centers. The company’s structure consists of 11 regional centers, the main goals of which are to search new possibilities for business expansion and promote products and services offered by Russian organizations in the nuclear sector. One of the company’s main functions is to coordinate foreign economic activity of organizations included in the control pool of Rosatom State Corporation.