Investors likely to quit potash deal

Post by **lee** » April 22, 2006, 10:39 am

Investors likely to quit potash deal

Lack of clear govt policy, protests cited

PREEYANAT PHANAYANGGOOR

Canadian investors are expected to pull out of investing in the Thai-Canadian joint venture, Asia Pacific Potash Corporation (APPC), which is contracted to develop potash resources in Udon Thani.

A source at the APPC said the Canadian stake in APPC will be taken over by the giant Thai construction firm Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD) in a deal expected to be announced by the stock market on Monday.

The four-billion-baht takeover deal will change the firm's shareholding structure in which ITD will hold 90% of the shares while the remainder will be held by the Finance Ministry.

The source said the main reasons for Canadian investors, who originally held 75% of the shares, selling their stake was because they were discouraged by an unclear government policy towards potash mining, the delay in the issuance of a mining licence in Udon Thani and the strong opposition from local people.

With the departure of the Canadian shareholders, opponents of the project could no longer claim APPC was selling off national resources now that the company would be owned completely by Thai investors, the source said.

The decision by the Canadian investors to withdraw from the project was understandable. Non-stop protests by its opponents and the government's indecisiveness over potash mining policy would do more harm than good to the country, particularity in the area of foreign investment promotion, the source said.

Lertsak Kumkongsak, co-ordinator of the Udon Thani Conservation Group, expressed concern that ITD would expand its potash mining interests from Udon Thani to other potash sources and related industries in the Northeast and in neighbouring countries such as Laos.

The Mining Industry Council yesterday called off its annual meeting on potash mining entitled "Potash mining and the country's development" after opponents staged a protest in front of a Bangkok hotel where the meeting was held.

About 100 opponents of potash mining in Udon Thani gathered in front of the hotel to distribute posters and leaflets about the impact of potash mines on local villages.

They waved banners reading "Udon Thani people do not want potash mines" and "Stop potash mining in Udon Thani" to passers-by around the Pratunam area.

Later, they moved to the Industry Ministry to submit a protest letter to Anusorn Neungpolmak, director-general of the Department of Primary Industries and Mines, calling on it to terminate the potash mining projects in Udon Thani. They also accused caretaker Industry Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit of being one of the project's supporters because he did not respond to their demand, made three month ago, to abort it. Instead, the minister chose to participate in the seminar on potash mining, said the letter.

Post by **arjay** » April 22, 2006, 7:38 pm

would do more harm than good to the country, particularity in the area of foreign investment promotion, the source said.

I don't have an Oxford English dictionary here, but if I did I can't believe that particularity would be in it!

Particularly - OK.

Post by **rickfarang** » April 22, 2006, 10:14 pm

" particularity"; What a great word. I wish I had invented it!

Notice that the local protest and lack of government action has only scared off the Canadian investors, not stopped the project. Quite likely, Italian-Thai Development Plc has the political muscle to get the miing permit.