Thai conglomerate wants to take over US$5.4-billion Long Son petrochemical complex
By Bao Binh
January 23, 2018 | 09:35 AM GMT+7
Siam Cement Group has expressed interest in acquiring the remaining 21 percent stake currently held by PetroVietnam in the Long Son petrochemical complex.
The detailed planning scaled 1/500 of Long Son petrochemical complex.
Long Son petrochemical complex project in southern Ba Ria - Vung Tau province was licensed in 2008 to a joint venture of PetroVietnam, Vinachem and Siam Cement Group (SCG) with investment capital of US$3.7 billion.
After facing many difficulties, Vinachem withdrew from this joint-venture by selling its shareholding to Qatar Petroleum International (QPI). However, earlier in March 2017, SCG completed the purchase of a 25 per cent stake in the project from QPI, raising its shareholding from 46 per cent to 71 per cent.
Initially, the project’s investment capital was estimated at US$3.7 billion, then has been raised to US$5.4 billion to the date of which SCG and PetroVietnam are the two largest shareholders, holding 71 per cent and 29 per cent, respectively.
According to PetroVietnam, the biggest obstacles in the project which PetroVietnam has recently faced with are the mobilization of capital used for the project and the procedures on approving the packages, which directly affected the progress of signing the EPC (engineering procurement and construction) contract and project implementation.
Due to the current status of the project, SCG has sent a letter to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asking to buy all 29 per cent of PetroVietnam’s stake in the complex with some conditions to implement this project smoothly. If this proposal is approved, SCG will own wholly this US$5.4 billion petrochemical complex project.
At the annual review meeting in 2017 of PetroVietnam, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung stated that PetroVietnam’s withdrawal from important projects including Long Son complex should be carefully considered.
Under the plan, Long Son petrochemical complex project is expected to be completed in four and a half years and to come into operation in the first half of 2022.
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