(Yicai) July 29 -- Shares of Zhuoyue New Energy continued falling despite the Chinese biodiesel producer's fresh investment plans in Singapore and Saudi Arabia to avoid paying new anti-dumping duties on exports to Europe.

Zhuoyue [SHA: 688196] closed 2.4 percent lower at CNY19.90 (USD2.70) in Shanghai today, representing a more than 40 percent decline since the beginning of this year.

In addition to appealing against the preliminary ruling of the European Union in the anti-dumping case to plead for lower tariffs, Zhuoyue will also hedge against the impact by cutting its production costs, expanding into non-EU markets, and increasing the application of biodiesel in the marine fuel market, the Fujian province-based company that turns waste oils into biodiesel announced recently.

Zhuoyue exported over 90 percent of its biodiesel products to Europe last year so the added duties would put pressure on operations in the second half, it admitted.

The European Commission pre-disclosed its preliminary ruling on July 19 to impose a provisional anti-dumping duty of 25.4 percent on biodiesel products made by Zhuoyue and its subsidiaries. The policy is expected to come into effect after the formal documents are published on Aug. 16 but the final ruling is slated to be released only next February.

To cope with changes in the market environment, Zhuoyue plans to invest SGD50 million (USD37.3 million) to build a new biodiesel plant in Singapore with an annual production capacity of 200,000 tons of biodiesel, the firm said the same day. Initially, the factory will be able to make 100,000 tons of biodiesel per year, starting from the first quarter of next year.

Moreover, the firm will set up a Saudi Arabian joint venture, of which its local partners will own 70 percent, to build a production base for biofuels, such as hydrotreated vegetable oil, sustainable aviation fuel, and biodiesel for ships, as well as carry out international business, the firm said in another statement the same day.

Singapore, the world’s largest port for marine refueling, is planning to cut the emissions of the local shipping industry so the local demand for green biofuel has the potential to grow significantly, Zhuoyue said. In addition, most exports from Singapore to the world’s major economies enjoy zero tariffs so building a local plant could help the firm avert such taxes.

Saudi Arabia is a global investment powerhouse, and a hub connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa, with a wide range of energy customers. The Middle Eastern country shows great growth potential in the global transition to green energy, per Zhuoyue.

Editor: Emmi Laine