Posted on 06 Jun 2016
Bangkok Metal Sheet Pcl (BM), the listed manufacturer of cable ducts, is selling 20-25 per cent stake to a Japanese company as part of its strategy to expand the business through the latter’s network. “The partner that we are talking to is one of the top five electrical companies in Japan. However, it will only acquire the shares but will not intervene in the management. We are in talks and expect to seal the deal by the third quarter,” managing director Tirawat Amornthatri said.
After it raised around 288 million baht ($8.11 million) from an initial public offering and started trading on the Market of Alternative Investment last month, it has pushed forward its investment project in Myanmar – the company’s first overseas investment.
“There is a huge number of migrant workers from Myanmar in Thailand. While they will [eventually] go back to work in their home country, they will keep good working relations with Thai companies that expand their facilities into Myanmar. Hence, we have been talking to a few construction material companies there for making a joint venture,” he said.
The move is also aimed at benefiting from the rapid-growth of construction and infrastructure development in Myanmar and to cash in on the country’s more open-market environment.
It is also planning to invest around 100 million baht to set up a new manufacturing plant near Dawei Special Economic Zone’s deep-sea port to lower its logistic cost to customers and enjoy the tax incentives in the neighbouring country, he said.
“We produce bulky products [such as wire ways, cable trays and cable ladders], which require local manufacturing when we are expanding abroad. We can buy local raw materials, especially steel plates, in Myanmar at a lower price than in Thailand. Myanmar imports steel plates directly from China at a lower import duty than Thailand,” he explained. It targets the revenue will grow 20-25 per cent this year, however, it also depends how fast the economy will recover.
