Belt And Road Weekly Investor Intelligence #72    

It’s all about Caspian logistics as supply chains look south to bypass Russian and Belarus European port sanctions. Meanwhile, Russia’s sanctioned banks begin offering RMB yuan deposit accounts.   

Southern, Russia-Avoiding Belt & Road Multimodal Route Receives First China Blockchain Rail Cargo In Azerbaijan For Dispersal To Turkey, Bulgaria And Romania 

With Russia now under sanctions and ports inaccessible, the main rail route from China to the European Union has shifted south to the multi-modal route provided by using the Caspian Sea. There are still inefficiencies along this route, which exits Kazakhstan at its Caspian Aqtau Port and then ships across the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan’s Baku Port, where it can then rejoin rail networks to Turkey and the Black Sea, with additional onward port access to the southern EU with Bulgaria and Romania. Solving these is already underway, with the EU and China working together to construct improved rail connections between Turkey and the EU, a sign of what may be a more common example of the EU’s ‘Global Gateway’ partnering with Beijing’s BRI rather than competing with it.     

Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia To Establish ‘Eurasian Rail Alliance’ Joint Venture 

New JV will smooth over transit rail/maritime cargo between Europe and Asia via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route while avoiding Russian transit to the EU.   

Unblocking Caucasus Transport Corridors Between Russia & Azerbaijan  

Russia needs to open up new supply chain routes in the wake of the massive wave of sanctions that has enveloped much of its European potential and start to improve transport and logistics to the East. That includes routes from Russia and the Caucasus, no easy feat in that the significant Caucasus mountain ranges divide the two regions. Russia needs to develop better access especially through to Baku, Azerbaijan’s major Caspian Sea Port.  

New Digital Logistics Platform Investments for Singapore  

Haulio Singapore has raised US$7 million in a Series A round led by Temasek’s Heliconia Capital, with new investors such as Ondine Capital and XA Network. The Haulio platform connects last-mile container haulers with shippers and has transacted about 2.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) since 2017, with over 50 percent of the TEUs transacted in 2021 alone. Haulio expects to triple its revenue numbers by the end of 2022 riding on the recovery of the global supply chain. Revenue numbers have grown from US$1.6 million in 2018 to US$4.1 million in 2019 to US$5.8 million in 2020.   

Russian Bank Begins To Offer Chinese RMB Deposit Accounts With 8% Interest  

Russia’s state-run VTB Bank, which is now under US sanctions, has offered its clients the opportunity to open Chinese yuan savings accounts that stipulate a maximum interest rate of 8%. VTB said in a statement that “in light of the rising dollar and euro exchange rates, many clients are showing interest in investing in other currencies, and the yuan is one of the most affordable and promising options for investing funds”.   

Inconsistent Sanctions Legislation Affecting Legitimate Russian Oligarchs & Businesses Will Find Their Way To International Courts & Tribunals   

There may be avenues open for impacted individuals and companies to reclaim and unfreeze assets, while the West is embarking on a dangerous slippery slope in terms of placing possibility over actuality when imposing legally endorsed punishments.      

China’s Belt And Road & Beyond

All the latest international news headlines about China’s Belt & Road Initiative, with special emphasis on the China-Ukraine-EU supply chain issue.       

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