Chinese Miners Are Finding Relocation Difficult in Southeast Asia

According to a recent report, cryptocurrency miners from China have been flocking to regions in Southeast Asia like Vietnam, Myanmar, and Cambodia. However, a relocated Chinese miner based in Cambodia says miners trying to find safe havens in other Southeast Asian countries are having difficulties, and losing money every month due to residents complaining and unreliable power.

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Chinese Miners Who Relocate Are Finding Other Regions Located in Southeast Asia More Difficult

Mining in China is still allowed but there have been rumors of government crackdowns, and because of this speculation many mining operations based in the country have begun to relocate. Some operations who still seek out cheaper Chinese electricity tariffs moved to the border towns in Yunnan, but lots of Chinese miners have relocated to other areas in Southeast Asia like South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar. Although government officials and residents living in these regions have been giving miners a hard time according to a relocated miner named Zhang Han.

Zhang relocated to Cambodia from China and found that local rent is quite cheap, a 500 square-meter large shack only charges 500,000 riel ($100) per month, and you can hire two local young labors at the cost of only $100. But Cambodian mining operations have posed other problems for Chinese miners.

Zhang says that he had miner friends that already “occupied” the suburbs of Cambodia and Myanmar. He did the math and found areas in Southeast Asia still offer much cheaper electricity than other countries worldwide. However, the miner explains he is not too happy with the move and states “I really regret it.” At first, Zhang found that Cambodia was expensive in some areas of operations, but less expensive in other areas when compared to other regions.   

“Compared with other miners who choose Vietnam and Myanmar, the electricity in Cambodia is slightly more expensive, but it costs less in other expenses,” Zhang explains in his recent interview.

It costs almost the same in Cambodia as industrial electricity price in China, 1.3 yuan ($20 cents) per kilowatt-hour (kWh), but you can take advantage of electricity theft from streetlamp facility with the help of some insiders.

Accessory costs and maintenance is much more expensive than China. Some things can be 3X the price says Zhang.

Accessories Costs and Operations Maintenance is More Expensive Abroad for Relocated Chinese Miners

The accessories costs and operations maintenance is what gave his mining operation headaches, Zhang explains. “Maintenance and accessories are very big problems, and it can also be said that the cost of supplies is very high,” Zhang details. “But hardware maintenance is a challenge, it would cost you a great sum – at least 3 times higher than the cost back in China, especially in hot days when entering March. Buying parts here is really a big headache, we have no choice but to purchase them from China, which would take days or even weeks to have it available in operation here.”

At times we turn to local miners for help, while they would seize the opportunity to ask for unfairly high price for a tiny fitting. 

Many areas in Southeast Asia experience lots of power outages and Zhang’s operation deals with electrical outages frequently. However, Zhang says you can take advantage of electricity theft from streetlamp facility with the help of some “insiders.”

Chinese Miners Also Face Unfriendly Local Competitors and Residents Who Might Report Electrical Theft

Zhang further realized that Cambodia suffered from significant power outages where there is no electricity for a whole day or even longer. The miner says in order to mitigate the problem, if an operation happens to have a connection with a power company “insider,” they can steal power from a nearby streetlight. However, local residents may report this method to the authorities, and Zhang says residents are not too friendly towards Chinese miners right now. Additionally, local miners and financial institutions backed by Western countries are also not pleased with Chinese miners relocating to these countries.

“Apart from the local residents and miners, institutions funded by western countries are also unfriendly to us — They are all trying to squeeze us out of here — And I’m considering that,” Zhang concludes.

What do you think about relocated Chinese miners having issues in other areas of Southeast Asia? Let us know your thoughts on this subject in the comments below. 

Images via Shutterstock, and SOHO.com

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