Asia Green Energy gets Bt342m loan for ships
Asia Green Energy (AGE), a logistics operator covering sea freight, inland logistics, ports and warehousing services, has ordered 16 ships in a move that will takes its fleet to 40 by next year.
Funding for the order was helped by a Bt342.4 million from the Import-Export Bank of Thailand (Exim Thailand). The company also plans port expansion works.
Panom Kuansataporn, director and executive chairman of the company’s executive committee, expects to see further growth in the coal business, with some 1 million tons of orders on schedule to be delivered The company’s total revenue is expected to reach Bt9 billion.
Panom said AGE distributes what the company calls high-quality bituminous clean coal, which will create value added for the company’s growth.
“The investment expansion plan in the logistics business will generate positive results to the company’s overall business operation,” Panom said. “The plan also helps increase the revenue proportion with financial strength, stability, and sustainability in the future. We aim for 10 per cent growth in the company’s logistics revenue in 2019 - to around Bt800 million to Bt1 billion of this year’s total revenue of Bt9 billion. This will consist of a 20 per cent contribution from overseas coal sales and 70 per cent from domestic coal sales. We expect this year’s coal sales to reach 4 million tons. While the revenue from the logistics business of sea freight and inland logistics, and the port and warehouse services is accounted for at 10 per cent.”
The planned 16 new ships will have a coal transport capacity of 41,600 tons per trip. The ships are expected to be fully delivered in 2020, raising the fleet size from the current 24 ships.
In addition, the company plans to triple its port capacity. A third port is under development and is expected to be completed by end of 2019 to serve the rising numbers of tow boats.
“The reason that the company has placed this emphasis on investment in logistics businesses is that we see the business opportunity from more integrated services on more than 300 rai in Nakhornluang district, Ayutthaya, where there are coal storage areas and ports that can serve the immense investment expansion,” Panom said. “Thailand is in need of tow boats for goods transport, especially the goods from agricultural products such as soybeans, cassava, and fertiliser, besides the coal trade. This year we expect sea freight imports of those products amounting to around 30 million tons.”
