US firm eager to make Thailand an ethanol hub

 After meeting with the firm's executives, Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot said yesterday Coskata wanted to see Thailand rich in fuel crops and an ethanol production base for E85 vehicles.

 "The firm is studying the possibility and advantage of investing here. If the government has a concrete policy on investment, General Motors should decide to invest in Thailand soon," said Alongkorn.

 Coskata plans to cooperate with General Motors in ethanol production and has called on the Thai government to promote fuel crop plantations in support of alternative-energy, environment-friendly production. The firm wants clear-cut tax regulations, lower import tariffs for machines, and support in establishing investment.

The company has conducted a roadshow seeking local business partners for ethanol production in countries China, Australia and now Thailand.

Yesterday Coskata executives visited PTT to discuss expansion of ethanol production.

Wes Bolsen, chief marketing officer, said the parent company planned to set up full-scale manufacturing in 2012, with an expected total production capacity of 200 million litres per year.

Bolsen said the company's low-cost manufacturing would allow substantial profits for its partners. For instance, the company could produce ethanol at a competitive price, without any subsidy, when the oil price stood at US$70 (Bt 2,477) per barrel. Even now, with oil prices at US$40, its partners can enjoy real benefits.

"It would take three to four years to achieve the break-even point," Bolsen said.

 Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak Sabhavasu has ordered an immediate suspension of corn bidding by the government, fearing heavy losses and the vagueness of the bidding procedure.

 He called for the government's sub-committee on corn-releasing to reconsider recent bidding results.

 The sub-committee had early this week approved the selling of 450,000 tonnes of corn from the government's pledging project to three exporters.

 However, since the bidding resulted in a loss of more than Bt2 billion, Korbsak wants to reconsider selling to the winning bidders. The three winners had offered a price much lower than the government's guaranteed price.

 Under the pledging project,the guarantee price was Bt8.50 a kilogram. The price offered by the three winners was quoted at between Bt3.50-Bt7 a kg, or an average of Bt4 a kg.

 However, Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai said the government must shoulder the loss, as the high guarantee price resulted from the previous government's policy.

 "The ministry will insist on releasing the stockpiles to all bidding winners. The bidding process followed the government's regulation, which is transparency," she said.

 Porntiva added that previously Korbsak understood the bidding would create some losses for the government. Korbsak had also ordered the ministry to approve the bidding to exporters, but only in order to avoid a dramatic price fall in the domestic market.

 She said the Deputy Prime Minister must have misunderstood or been confused when ordering the immediate suspension of the bidding.