Esso in talks about listing on stock exchange by end of year
Esso (Thailand), the second-largest oil company in the country, is set on following an Energy Ministry directive by listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand this year, but the plan depends on many factors.
"I do not want to talk about this at the moment because it has yet to be finalised," director Mongkolnimit Auacherdkul said yesterday. He confirmed Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand's statement that Esso was in talks with both the Energy and Finance ministries about the possibility of listing on the bourse by the end of the year. Mongkolnimit said the company was waiting for "an appropriate time" because the move also depended on other considerations, such as stock-market sentiment. The stock exchange is eager to find new products to draw more investment. While Total Access Communication is expected to be the largest stock to debut this year, many energy companies are being wooed for their rosy growth potential amid rising oil prices. Due to their high stock prices, energy firms now account for 30 per cent of the exchange's market capitalisation. The Energy Ministry's regulations, citing exploitation natural resources by oil refineries, stipulate that they have to enter the SET to verify their transparency in running their business. Esso has delayed going public because it claimed its operating results were hit by the economic crisis of 1997. The company posted revenue of Bt210 billion last year, an increase of 10.5 per cent from the previous year. But its net profit declined about 70 per cent because of thin oil margins. Its operations, however, have shown profits for at least three straight years. Mongkolnimit said Esso's gasohol sales in the first half had increased because of its promotion of consumption of 95 gasohol instead of 95 octane. The company was also affected by the current price spread of Bt3.3 per litre. It has no plans to produce more 91 gasohol until the government clarifies its policy to stimulate demand for this alternative fuel, he said. It would focus more on the non-oil business this year by expanding and renovating more than 10 branches of Tiger Mart, its brand of mini-stores at its petrol stations. It has Tiger Marts in 270 stations, with 600 pumps. Tiger Marts will not open in stations that already have Tesco Lotus Express stores. It will focus more on non-oil business because of higher margins but still generates more than half of revenue from oil distribution. Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul, The Nation
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