Thai Ratchaburi buys IPO shares in Lao power firm

Thai Ratchaburi buys IPO shares in Lao power firm

Thailand's Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Pcl said on Friday that subsidiaries would spend $43.4 million to buy IPO shares in Lao power producer Electricite du Laos-Generation Plc (EDL Gen).

EDL-Generation shares will be the first security to be traded on Lao's new stock exchange on Jan. 11 and the transaction is in line with Ratchaburi's foreign investment expansion and plans for long-term investment in Laos, the Thai firm said in a statement.

Ratchaburi units RATCH-Lao Service Co Ltd and RH International (Singapore) Corp Pte were allotted a combined 81.112 million IPO shares for $43.4 million and it would use its capital to finance the purchase.

EDL-Generation is 75 percent owned by state-owned Electricite de Laos and has a policy of paying out not less than 50 percent of its net profit in dividends.

IFR Asia has reported that EDL-Generation would offer up to 217.1 million shares in its IPO, around 25 percent of its capital.

Ratchaburi, Thailand's largest private power producer, said last week it planned to invest 16 billion baht ($529 million) in 2011.

With limited growth at home, Ratchaburi, like other major Thai power producers, is looking for growth opportunities abroad to boost capacity, especially in Asia.

Ratchaburi, 45 percent owned by state-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), has generating capacity of 4,300 megawatts, about 15 percent of Thailand's total.

At 0407 GMT on Friday, Ratchaburi shares were up 3.2 percent at 40.75 baht, while the main index .SETI was down 0.2 percent. ($1=30.26 Baht)

Reuters Africa