Cement maker eyes Lao stock market
Cement maker eyes Lao stock market
The Souksomboon Group has appointed APM (Lao) Securities Co., Ltd. as a financial consultant to restructure its cement operations with a view to listing on the Lao Stock Exchange.
The appointment of APM (Lao) Securities was announced at a press conference in Vientiane on Saturday.
Cement production is the Souksomboon Group's main business. The group has four companies that run cement operations - two registered in Thailand and two in Laos, said Souksomboon Group President, Mr Chittakorn Souksomboon.
The group comprises seven companies in total with interests in cement transportation, logistics, petrol stations, wood products, construction and real estate. But it is the group's cement business that makes it an attractive contender for listing on the stock exchange, said Group Director Ms Malisa Souksomboon.
Cement factories in Laos currently produce about 1.7 million tonnes a year but demand has soared to 3.5 million tonnes a year as the economy powers ahead. The boom in infrastructure development requires vast amounts of concrete, she added.
Construction projects are having to import cement because they cannot source sufficient from local factories, Mr Chittakorn said.
Souksomboon Group has the capacity to produce about 5,000 tonnes of cement a day. It plans to increase this to 10,000 tonnes after building more cement factories in Khammuan province in the next few years, he added.
The group would then use these factories as the central focus for expansion of their market in Laos and Thailand as well as other Asean countries, said the Chief Executive Officer of APM (Lao) Securities, Mr Somphob Sakpunpanom.
The group also has potential for expansion in the transport and logistics industry, with more than 200 trucks in service to transport raw materials and products, he noted.
Revenue from Souksomboon Group's cement operations runs into hundreds of million baht a year. This is a able income and could position the group as a strong candidate for listing on the stock market, Mr Somphob said.
Due to rapid economic development in Laos, the demand for cement is on the rise especially for the construction and restoration of more than 60 hydropower plants nationwide, Mr Chittakorn said.
“The extension of Road No. 13 north and south by more than 1,000 km will also require more cement. This work is necessary if Laos is to actively participate in the Asean Economic Community in 2015,” he added.
Under the ownership of the Souksomboon Group, the BMC Cement Industry Factory (Lion Brand) in Thailand recently received the ISO 9001:2008 certificate from SGS Thailand Company Limited.
The Lao-Phatthana Cement Factory (Elephant Brand) also received the Lao Industry Standard 04-2010 certificate for Portland cement and the 05-2001 certificate for the production of mixed cement from the Lao Ministry of Science and Technology.
vientian times
