Cement producer angles for third Lao stock exchange listing

The Souksomboon Group has appointed APM (Lao) Securities Co., Ltd. as a financial consultant to restructure cement operations with a view to being the third company listed on the Lao stock exchange, local daily reported Wednesday. Currently the only two companies listed on the Lao stock exchange are EDL Generation-Public Company, a subsidiary of state- owned energy company Electricite du Laos and Banque Pour Le Commerce Exterieur Lao, also known as BCEL, Laos' biggest bank. The Souksomboon group has two cement companies in Laos and two in Thailand as well as interests in cement transportation, logistics, petrol stations, wood products, construction and real estate, according to state run daily Vientiane Times on Wednesday. Cement factories in Laos currently produce about 1.7 million tonnes annually but demand has skyrocketed to some 3.5 million tonnes due to a rapidly growing economy. According to Vientiane Times, construction projects have to import cement because of insufficient domestic supply. Souksomboon Group has the capacity to produce approximately 5,000 tonnes of cement daily but aims to increase this number to 10,000 tonnes with the construction of more factories over the next few years. The group would use their factories as the lynchpin of a planned expansion into the Lao and Thai markets as well as the markets of other ASEAN countries. With a fleet of over 200 trucks in service already, the group has a capacity to expand its transport and logistics holdings even further. Due to the rapid development of the Lao economy and preparation for the ASEAN single market in 2015 the demand for cement is continuing to rise. The resurfacing of roads and maintenance and repair of 60 hydropower plants require an increasing amount of material.