SPC Precious Metal to list
Move planned for next year in bid to expand presence to region
SPC Precious Metal Co plans to list on the stock exchange next year to raise capital for its project to grab more space in the precious metal industry in Thailand.
“We’d like to get everything ready before entering the stock market. We’re now considering which market [the Stock Exchange of Thailand or the Market for Alternative Investment],” Songkiat Watanavitaya, managing director of Capital Nomura Securities, the financial adviser for the listing, said last week.
He declined to go into the details of the new project.
SPC Precious Metal has started up its second plant, worth about Bt200 million, with annual capacity of 400-500 tonnes of silver and 100 tonnes of gold, in Amata City Industrial Estate.
“This refining plant is expected to reach full capacity in the third to fourth quarter of this year,” he said.
The first plant in Gemopolis, a specialised industrial estate in Bangkok, refines only silver with capacity of 500 kilograms per day.
SPC Precious Metal also needs to finish its network implementation, likely in the first half of this year.
The company refines gold and silver for customers, many of which are electronics manufacturers. It plans to reserve 80 per cent of refined gold for exports and the remainder for the domestic market, with a similar ratio for refined silver.
Gold refining
Its silver is 99.95 per cent pure, above the 99.9-per-cent international requirement.
“We are pushing for a targeted purity grade of 99.999 per cent for silver to meet the electronics industry’s requirements,” he said. About 90 per cent of silver is used in industries from electronics to solar cells.
Now, no corporation operates an internationally standardised gold refining plant in Southeast Asia. Most are in the hands of state agencies. Many in this region send materials to be refined in Australia, Switzerland, New Zealand or other countries.
“This gives us an opportunity to seek customers in this region,” he said.
The company also plans to obtain a certificate from the London Bullion Market Association as a green light for exports.
SPC Precious Metal posted total revenue of Bt7.2 billion last year and projects Bt12 billion this year. The company targets to boost its profit margin to 5 per cent this year from about 2 per cent currently.
It forecasts gold to reach US$1,850 an ounce this year.
“The trend is up for the long term. Price volatility is expected in a narrow range in this period,” he said.
Some risks are the euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis, which could spread to other countries, developments in Iran and demand from China, India and central banks.
If the gold price passes through the resistance level of $1,675, it could go up further, he added.
From the beginning of this year, gold has risen by about 6 per cent.
