Latest news with #GulfDevelopment
Business Times
31-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Richest Thai sees US$10 billion hydro, LNG projects driving growth
[BANGKOK] Thailand's richest person, Sarath Ratanavadi, expects US$10 billion investments in hydropower projects in neighbouring Laos and a new domestic liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal to drive his business empire's growth. Sarath's flagship company, Gulf Development, and partners are working with banks on a roughly US$9 billion funding plan for three hydro plants with a total generating capacity of 3,100 megawatts, he said. Construction on a US$1 billion LNG import terminal project, Thailand's third, will start later this year before commercial operations are scheduled in 2029. 'We are turning our focus more on projects in Thailand and the region because of their lower risk relative to most other overseas projects,' Sarath said on Wednesday (Jul 30). 'Our strength and profile have offered better leverage.' Gulf Development, created earlier this year by combining Sarath's operations in sectors including power, seaports, tollways and telecommunications, has accelerated its expansion in renewables and data centres to meet rising demand for clean energy and artificial intelligence. The company is also expanding into digital banking after being granted a license in June. The investments in hydro and LNG will be in addition to US$1.75 billion announced in March for data centres. The hydro projects will start from 2031 to 2033. The conglomerate seeks to boost total power generating capacity by 34 per cent over the next decade from about 9,000 megawatts currently, Sarath said. Most of that will be solar, wind and hydro in a bid to increase green energy capacity to 40 per cent of the total from around 13 per cent now. The tycoon this week reclaimed his position as the nation's richest person, with a net worth of about US$13 billion, as Gulf Development's stock has gained more than 20 per cent since sinking to a record low in June. BLOOMBERG
Nikkei Asia
28-07-2025
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
Thai company to build $2bn LNG terminal as energy deficit looms
Energy Gulf Development plans to open country's 3rd facility of its kind in 2029 The new LNG terminal will be built on reclaimed land at Thailand's Map Ta Phut Port. (Gulf Development) KOKI IZUMI BANGKOK -- Thai power provider Gulf Development looks to open an import terminal for liquefied natural gas in 2029 at a cost of up to 60 billion baht ($1.85 billion) as a solution to the country's dwindling native supply of natural gas. The new LNG terminal will be built at Map Ta Phut Port, southeast of the capital Bangkok. Thai energy giant PTT already operates two LNG terminals at the port, and a pipeline to deliver gas to urban areas has been built.
Bangkok Post
23-07-2025
- Business
- Bangkok Post
Gulf acquires hydropower project in Laos for $128m
SET-listed Gulf Development, a telecom operator and Thailand's largest energy company by market value, has purchased the entire shareholding of the Pak Lay hydropower project in Laos for US$128 million to boost its renewable power generation and revenue by supplying electricity to Thailand. The company earlier invested in the project by holding a 40% stake in Pak Lay Power Co, a joint venture, with 60% of the investment funded by Sinohydro (Hong Kong) Holding Co. It decided to purchase all the shares held by Sinohydro in order to wholly own the project, which will supply electricity to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand under a 29-year power purchase agreement, said Gulf chief financial officer Yupapin Wangviwat. The Pak Lay hydropower plant, with an electricity generation capacity of 770 megawatts, is scheduled to commence commercial operations in 2032. The facility, located on a stretch of the Mekong River in Pak Lay district in Xayaburi province, is a run-of-the-river hydropower plant that generates electricity by using the natural water flow, with no large reservoir. The development cost of the Pak Lay project, which was not revealed, is part of Gulf's 90-billion-baht investment budget for 2025-2029. Up to 80% of the budget will support the company's renewable energy development, while the remainder will go to gas-fired power plant and gas businesses as well as digital and infrastructure businesses. 'The Pak Lay investment is aligned with Gulf's strategy to increase the proportion of power generation from renewable energy sources in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,' said Ms Yupapin.
Forbes
23-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Billionaire Sarath Ratanavadi's Gulf Takes Over Lao Hydro Power Project In $128 Million Deal
Water rushing out of open gates of a hydro electric power station A wholly-owned unit of Gulf Development—an energy-to-telecommunications conglomerate controlled by billionaire Sarath Ratanavadi—has agreed to buy out its partner's stake in a hydro power project in Laos as the Bangkok-listed company steps up investments in clean energy facilities. Gulf Hydropower Holdings is acquiring 60% of the 770-megawatt Pak Lay Power—which is building a hydroelectric power plant in the Mekong region—for $128 million from Sinohydro (Hong Kong) Holding, a Chinese state-linked company. The deal raises its stake in Pak Lay Power to 100%, Gulf Development said in a filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand. Pak Lay Power will supply all its electricity output to Thailand when it starts commercial operations in 2032 under a 29-year contract with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand. Gulf has been increasing investments in renewable energy facilities to reduce the group's greenhouse gas emissions, moving it closer to its net zero target by 2050. In recent months, the company announced total investments of 102 billion baht ($3.2 billion) in solar and wind energy projects with a total capacity of 746.6 megawatts, as well as in a liquefied natural gas terminal project at the Map Ta Phut industrial port in eastern Thailand. Gulf—one of Thailand's biggest power producers—has been diversifying in recent years and has become one of the country's largest conglomerates with interests in data centers, telecommunications, and digital infrastructures. It was founded in 2007 by Sarath, one of the nation's wealthiest tycoons with a net worth of $12 billion.
Bangkok Post
15-07-2025
- Business
- Bangkok Post
Gulf acquires renewable power projects for B1.1bn
SET-listed Gulf Development, Thailand's largest energy company by market value, is continuing to boost its renewable power generation capacity by spending 1.1 billion baht to acquire waste-to-energy power plants and refuse-derived fuel production projects held by two companies. Earth Tech Environment Plc, which owns shares in 12 waste-to-energy power plant projects, and Better World Green Plc, a major shareholder in three refuse-derived fuel production projects, have decided to sell their entire shareholdings in the projects to Gulf. The transactions were carried out by Gulf's wholly owned subsidiary Gulf Waste to Energy Holdings, which previously held some shares in these projects but wanted to increase its stakes. "We are confident the increase in our shareholding will help enhance the flexibility of project management," said Yupapin Wangviwat, Gulf's chief financial officer. "These projects have a long-term growth potential." The 12 waste-to-energy power plant projects, with a combined electricity generation capacity of 96 megawatts, are under power purchase agreements (PPAs) made with the Provincial Electricity Authority. They are scheduled to commence commercial operations in 2027. The three fuel production projects, also set to start operating in 2027, focus on turning industrial waste into solid recovered fuel, a high-quality fuel in the refuse-derived fuel category. Also known as SRF, solid recovered fuel has to undergo rigorous treatment to meet specific standards for industrial use. Gulf's buyout of the shares in these projects follows the National Energy Policy Council's approval of the state's plan to purchase electricity from waste-to-energy power plants under the 2018 power development plan, said Ms Yupapin. The purchase is based on a feed-in tariff, the state's guarantee to purchase electricity from renewable plants at fixed prices throughout the whole period of the PPAs. Gulf's investment in the projects aligns with its commitment to a higher proportion of power generation from renewable sources, part of the company's campaign to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The investment also supports better management of industrial waste through value-added creation from waste, Ms Yupapin added. Gulf earlier spent 704 million baht acquiring a 50% share in Gunkul Solar Powergen Co and another 50% share in Gunkul One Energy 2 Co. The two firms, subsidiaries of SET-listed Gunkul Engineering, an integrated clean energy developer, are preparing to develop nine solar farms with a combined capacity of 461MW.
