The scrapped Siam Commercial Bank (SCB)-Bitkub investment deal has not deterred Gulf Energy Development from its decision to venture into the digital asset business, with the company saying it was determined to benefit from the latest trend in new technology.
"We will keep going on," Sarath Ratanavadi, chief executive of Gulf, told the Bangkok Post when asked about Gulf's new business venture after the unsuccessful deal between SCB and Bitkub hit the headlines.
A statement issued by SCB in late August said the company and Bitkub agreed to terminate the investment plan, leading to speculation over other investments in cryptocurrency and digital asset-related businesses, given the uncertainty.
"I don't think we'll face a risk if we work with a trustworthy company," said Mr Sarath.
Earlier this year Gulf, Thailand's biggest private power producer by market value, signed a deal to invest in a digital asset exchange service from US-based Binance through seed funding.
Binance is the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume.
Gulf said earlier it was waiting for a brokerage licence to be granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission in order to run a digital asset exchange service, which will be operated by Gulf Binance, a new company with 51% investment from Gulf and the remainder from Binance.
During a recent panel discussion on sustainable growth in the business sector, Mr Sarath stressed the need to familiarise Gulf with blockchain technology, which is a core part of digital asset transaction management.
"We believe blockchain technology will play a significant role in technological development in the future, although we don't know what it is going to be," he said. "Technology changes rapidly. We have to seek opportunities from the changes."
Yupapin Wangviwat, chief financial officer at Gulf, said the company increased its 2022-2026 capital spending by 20% to 120 billion baht, and part of the budget would be for digital asset investments.
The previous capital expenditure was set at 100 billion baht.
Ms Yupapin said the increase in capital spending would not lead to budget overspending because the company has a low debt burden, with a debt-to-equity ratio standing at around 1.8 times.
Up to 60% of the capital expenditure will go to clean energy business, she said. Some 20% is needed to support fossil fuel-fired power plants, while the remaining 20% will be allocated for gas shipping business, digital asset investments and infrastructure development projects.