Thailand Business Roundup

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Thailand Business Roundup

Vietnam draws Thai investors

 

Figures released by the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) of Vietnam reveal that Thai firms have injected the equivalent of around US$7 billion in Vietnam’s processing industry.

 

Overall, Thai companies have 428 investments in Vietnam. The number of processing projects accounted for only 46.7 percent but the value made up 88 percent of their total investments.

 

The average size of an investment from a Thai company was US$18.4

 

million, which is almost one-third higher than the average of all investments into Vietnam.

 

The most valuable investments centre on the southern Ba Ria – Vung Tau province while Ho Chi Minh City saw a total of 162 projects. Most Thai companies have invested by way of joint venture.

 

Medical equipment supplier to launch IPO

 

The Bangkok-based medical equipment supplier Business Alignment (BA) announced in mid-March that it planned to offer 100 million shares, equivalent to 25 percent of its registered capital, through an initial public offering (IPO).

 

The returns from the IPO will be used to expand its business and import advance technology for cancer-related equipment.

 

The company claims Thailand has a shortage of cancer-related treatment equipment compared with the United States, for example, and sees a huge potential for growth in this sector.

 

As a mid-to-long term plan, Business Alignment aims to increase the number of products it retails to meet customer demand, especially in the area of homecare equipment.

 

The company, which started in 2001, generates 90 percent of its revenue from public hospitals and the remainder from private hospitals. It expects revenue after the listing will grow at least 10 percent per year.

 

Renewable energy firm launches in Australia

 

The fastest fast-growing renewable energy company in Thailand, Wind Energy Holding (WEH), announced in early March that it had agreed to invest in CWP Renewables Pty Ltd, a leading renewable energy developer and asset manager in Australia.

 

This investment marks WEH’s first international foray. As part of the deal, WEH will purchase 50 percent of CWP’s Australian business, including its 800-MW development pipeline, with construction slated to begin this year.

 

KPN Group purchased all the shares in Renewable Energy Corp, which held a majority shareholding (59.5 percent) in WEH, in September last year.

 

The move into Australia is part of the company’s plan to expand from its base in Thailand into what they consider attractive renewable markets, both in the region and globally.

 

CWP Renewables, which is a joint venture between two leading renewable energy developers, (Continental Wind Partners and Wind Prospect Group) has more than 20 years experience in developing and managing 4,200 MW of installed capacity across 20 countries.

 

WEH is the only company which has built commercial scale wind farms in Thailand, and accounts for 93 percent of existing wind contracted capacity in the country.