Asia Energy aims to list in Bangladesh

DHAKA, March 19 (Reuters) UK-based coal miner Asia Energy Plc said it planned a listing on the Bangladesh stock market by floating primary shares worth about million for two projects it hopes to launch in the country.

They are the Phulbari coal mine project and a 500 megawatt (mw) coal-fired power plant, both in the country's north.

Asia Energy had signed a letter of intent with Equity Partners Limited, a majority foreign owned local merchant bank, for an initial public offering, a company statement said late on Saturday.

''The decision is part of Asia Energy's commitment to giving investors in Bangladesh an opportunity to share in this major development project,'' Gary Lye, Asia Energy's chief executive officer in Bangladesh, said in the statement.

Asia Energy already submitted its development plan to the government involving billion of investment at Phulbari coal mine project over the next 30 years.

The local share placement will take place as soon as practical following the approval, the company said.

Pre-mining activity is scheduled to start later this year with coal expected by 2008 and annual production increasing rapidly to full capacity of 15 million tonnes by 2013.

It has also submitted a 6 million investment proposal to install a 500 mw coal-fired power plant alongside its planned Phulbari coal mine at Dinajpur, with production capacity of 15 million tonnes of coal per annum.

Bangladesh has a high quality coal reserve of more than 2 billion tonnes, which is equivalent to 53 trillion cubic feet of gas, energy officials said.

Reuters SB VP1218