John Bel Edwards: “I want to associate my self with the concern expressed by the Senator from Arkansas. Panda Energy has a major gas-fired…”

“I want to associate my self with the concern expressed by the Senator from Arkansas. Panda Energy has a major gas-fired co-generator in northwestern North Carolina. That plant, in Roanoke Rapids, was the first project completed by this corporation and has been a significant supplier of electricity to the citizens of my state for the past ten years. I, too, have been briefed about the difficulties Panda has faced in their effort to improve China's electricity-generating infrastructure. The commitment to approve and issue a formal tariff to the Panda Project in Luannan County, that the municipal and provincial governments agreed to, is not being honored. By failing to honor their commitment to grant a reasonable tariff rate, these governments have precluded the commercial generation of power. If this continues, the U.S. bondholders will have no choice but to foreclose on what represents the first U.S. capital markets power project financing in China. This is a difficult situation for both sides, but the bottom line is that the international trading system breaks down if agreements are not honored, especially for large infrastructure projects like this one with long lead times. People invest money based on these agreements. They put their companies at risk.”