Daily News
Thailand’s Banpu To Sell Indonesian Coal Mine
25 November 2006 at 10:42:08
Banpu PCL, Thailand’s largest coal miner, said on Thursday it expected to sell its Barasentosa coal mine in Indonesia this year due to rising costs and a low investment return.
“We are in talks with two or three interested buyers. The negotiations should be concluded within this year,” chief executive Chanin Vongkusolkit told reporters. He did not name the potential buyers.
Banpu owns 95 percent of the Barasentosa on Sumatra.
Banpu, the world’s seventh-largest coal exporter with reserves of 364 million tonnes, has six mines in Indonesia, two in China and two in Thailand.
The company has said it plans to invest $484 million over the next three years, $236 million of it to be spent this year on coal mines and power plants. Last month, Banpu agreed to buy four power plants in China for about $84 million.
At the midday break, Banpu shares were up 1.5 percent at 135 baht, while the Thai overall stock market was 1 percent higher. ($1 = 39.21 Baht)