Thai Oil Public Company Limited is set to raise about US$1.1 billion from the sale of a stake in a local power producer and a new share offering to repay short-term loans and fund its business expansion.
The refiner will sell about 11% stake in Global Power Synergy Pcl for 22.4 billion baht ($697 million) to its parent PTT Pcl, according to an exchange filing Friday. The company will also issue 275 million new shares to its shareholders and other investors, it said. The new share sale can raise 14.6 billion baht based on Thai Oil’s closing price of 53.25 baht on Thursday.
Thai Oil expanding its business overseas, joining PTT and its other affiliates, to tap growing demand for energy and petrochemicals products in neighbouring countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia. The company last year agreed to invest $1.18 billion for a stake in Indonesia's PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical, its first major overseas investment.
The proceeds from the sale of Global Power stake will go toward repaying short-term bank loans used to finance its investment in Chandra Asri, Thai Oil said. The new share offering is part of its long-term financial restructuring, the company said.