PTT to delay listing of fuel retail business

Thailand’s PTT Plc announced that it has delayed its plan to spin off its fuel retail business and listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) due to the complex bureaucratic process involved.

PTT shareholders last week approved a proposal to transfer its fuel retail assets to a subsidiary, PTT Oil and Retail Co. (PTTOR).

Auttaphol Rerkpiboon, senior executive vice-president of the oil business unit, said that while shareholders approved the transfer of oil retail assets worth BHT122 billion (USD3.52 billion) to its wholly owned subsidiary, the transfer needs to be done through several state agencies, which could take up to a year.

PTT already has received approval from the central government and the National Energy Policy Council to do so.

Financial advisers for PTTOR’s initial public offering will be selected soon after the asset transfer is completed, according to Rerkpiboon.

PTTOR is PTT’s sixth core business to list on the SET after PTT Exploration and Production, PTT Global Chemical, Thai Oil, IRPC and GPSC.

The main assets to be transferred to PTTOR include subsidiary firms in oil retail and non-oil units in Thailand and overseas, oil pipelines and jet fuel services, cooking gas and lubricating oil depots.

PTTOR has a registered capital of BHT8.78 billion (USD253.27 million), with a par value per unit of BHT100 (USD2.88).

Tevin Vongvanich, PTT’s president and chief executive, said PTT will remain the major shareholder of PTTOR, holding 45-49% of shares, while 51-55% will be floated on the SET.

PTTOR’s business plan calls for 1,800 petrol stations by 2021, up from 1,500. The company also plans to expand its Cafe Amazon branches to 2,700 locations. For its overseas oil retail business, PTTOR plans to expand from the current 170 stations to 500 by 2020, in Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and the Philippines.

The company said it expects China and India to provide global sourcing for PTT-branded products and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) lubricant products.

PTTOR reported total sales of BHT484.3 billion (USD13.97 billion) in 2016, down from BHT510.74 billion (USD14.73 billion) in 2015. Net profit recorded in 2016 was BHT16.13 billion (USD465.3 million), up from BHT9.9 billion (USD285.5 million) in 2016.