The company says demand is particularly strong in Vietnam, with broader Asean demand for plastic pellets showing a sustained increase. It plans to set up sales offices in Indonesia and Myanmar in order to boost the sales contribution from overseas.

Supattanapong Punmeechaow, chief executive officer and president of PTTGC, said that the company sold 200,000 tonnes of plastic pellets, representing 20 per cent of Vietnam’s demand for about 1 million tonnes a year. The company expects the country’s use of plastic pellets to reach 2 million tonnes a year in the next five years, Supattanapong said.

Under the company’s growth goals, the sales offices in Indonesia and Myanmar will be opened from late this year to early next year, taking advantage of the rising demand for plastic pellets in both countries, he said.

Earlier, the company established a sales office in Vietnam to meet the strong demand for plastic pellets.

In the United States, PTTGC expects to see a clear investment plan with a South Korean partner, a subsidiary of Daelim Industrial Co Ltd, while seeking a contractor for construction and financing and awaiting a clearer view on US government policy, Supattanapong said. Each would hold a 50 per cent stake in a new joint venture.

In regard to a record loss of Bt2 billion relating to the raw material inventory of subsidiary Global Green Chemical Plc (GGC), PTTGC’s results will be slightly affected in the second quarter of this year, given its holding of 72 per cent in GGC, Supattanapong said.

On Wednesday, PTTGC and its subsidiaries signed a contract to directly and indirectly acquire a 74 per cent stake in Siam Mitsui PTA Co Ltd (SMPC), a purified terephthalic acid (PTA) operator, and a 74 per cent stake of Thai PET Resin Co Ltd (TPRC), a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) operator, from SCG Chemicals Co Ltd and Mitsui Chemicals. The deal was worth US$125 million (Bt4.148 billion).

The acquisition will help PTTGC, which produces paraxylene – the raw material of PTA – and PTTGC’s subsidiary, which makes monoethylene (MEG) – the raw material of PET – to strengthen its raw material management.

The deals are expected to be completed within the fourth quarter of this year.

Yesterday, Energy Minister Siri Jirapongphan chaired the opening ceremony for PTTGC’s Customer Solution Centre by GC, which will promote and support the development of the business operations of customers and startups in the plastics industry.

Yesterday, PTTGC reported total revenue of Bt128.92 billion for the second quarter of this year, up 7 per cent from the same period of last year. Net profit jumped 63 per cent from the year-earlier quarter to Bt10.82 billion.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Corporate/30351846