December 03, 2008

AGE expects rise in coal imports

A coal importer controlled by the Kok Huad Group of the Kuansataporn family Asia Green Energy Co in Thailand expects bituminous coal import sales to rise at least 50% this year to 1.56 billion baht. It also expects coal trading revenue to grow by 40% in the year ahead/

It signed a coal purchasing contract last week with CIF Trading Pte, an Indonesian coal mine operator and trader, for 3 million tonnes delivered from the beginning of 2008 through to 2010 from the mine in East Kalimantan. The deliveries are worth THB 7 billion in total. The contract gives the company enough coal to supply its clients within two to three months. Last month AGE signed another coal purchasing contract for 1.5 million tonnes.

Mr Panom Kuansataporn MD of AGE said that the group decided to shift from biomass as the market has been saturated for the past few years and suffers from raw material constraints. He said that “AGE is Thailand's fourth largest coal importer. It has a market share of 2%; Banpu, Lanna group and Unique Mining together import about 98% of the country's coal.”

Since 2004, the group has diversified away from biomass, in which it has 40 years of experience, into coal trading managed via wholly owned AGE.