Thai Solar Energy starts stock trading
Thai Solar Energy Pcl, or TSE, started stock trading on the SET’s MAI (Market for Alternative Investment) on Oct 30th, confident following a positive investors’ response backed by the company’s business potential. With significant demand at the subscription price of 3.90 Bath/share, the shares closed on the first trading day at 7.55 Bath/share.
Executives emphasized strengthening Thai Solar Energy, aiming for more government-sponsored solar energy projects. Bualuang Securities Pcl, TSE’s financial advisor, suggested a bright future for the energy sector, supported by Thai government’s plan to generate additional solar power production of 3,000 MW by 2021.
Dr. Cathleen Maleenont, President and CEO, Thai Solar Energy, stated, “We are highly confident in the growth potential of our company. Our capability to expand in the solar power business following the new government policies will place us at the top of the renewable energy industry both in Thailand and Asia.”
TSE’s vision is to be the leader in renewable energy with emphasis on solar power plants using the right technology at the proper locations to ensure high and sustainable returns. It also aims to expand into other types of renewable energy, such as wind power, biomass, biogas, and waste-to-energy, and expand its investment in solar power plants to other regional countries in the forms of solar farms and solar rooftops in order to put itself at the forefront of the renewable energy business both in Thailand and Asia region.
TSE is a solar-based electricity producer and distributor with 25 projects in operation, totaling 98.5 MW. The projects are divided into 2 categories: solar thermal energy (STE) plants and photovoltaic (PV) plants. One STE plant, with its electricity production capacity and sale volume of 4.5 MW, has commercially operated. For PV plants, the company co-invested with Global Power Synergy Co., Ltd. (GSPC), a company specialized in electricity production in the PTT Group, to construct 10 PV projects with total capacity of 80 MW in Kanchanaburi province and Suphanburi province. All 10 projects have now commercially operated.
TSE also co-developed 14 commercial rooftop PV solar projects with its business alliances, HomePro Group and The Mall Group. The projects, each producing 1 MW and totaling 14 MW of electricity generated, have started to commercially operate and are expected to reach CODs within this year. This results in the company being the biggest solar rooftop producer and distributor in Thailand.
The capital raised from IPO at around 1,755 MB will be used to expand TSE’s business both in Thailand and abroad, such as investment in solar power plants and other renewable energy plants and EPC business for solar power plants. Part of the funds will also be used to repay TSE’s existing long-term debts and to support the company’s working capital needs.
Mr. Pichet Sithi-Amnuai, President of Bualuang Securities, and TSE’s financial advisor and underwriter, stated that the renewable energy business in Thailand is looking at a bright future supported by the Thai government’s policies to encourage participation from the private sector in the production of renewable energy. The Thai government increased the production target of renewable energy in its Alternative Energy Development Plan 2012-2021 to 25% of total electricity generation, and recently gave approval to increase the production target of renewable energy in 2021 by 4,726 MW to 13,927 MW. This will benefit the solar-based electricity sector, which currently has a target production of 3,000 MW by 2021, as it is expected that the government may raise its solar electricity purchases from private producers.
TSE’s solid foundation in the solar power business in Thailand and its plan to expand into the Asian region clearly reflect its unmatched potential and unequivocal determination to seize the leading position in renewable energy business both in Thailand and Asia. This will secure investors’ trust and assure the company’s business direction, performance and future growth.
About Thai Solar Energy Pcl
Thai Solar Energy Public Company Limited (“TSE”) was established in 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand. TSE is the first company in Southeast Asia to have effectively applied solar energy commercially. The Company supplies electricity to the government following the policies of Energy Policy and Planning Office, Ministry of Energy to encourage production and consumption of renewable energy, and distributes electricity to Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) and Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA).
TSE was established by Thai national shareholders who together share a common goal of pushing the technological envelope for clean renewable energy, and harnessing it for the benefit of those communities that surrounds us. It was listed on the SET’s MAI (Market for Alternative Investment) on Oct 30, 2014, as SET:TSE. For more information please visit www.thaisolarenergy.com.
