Asia's largest independent coal group, Bangkok, Thailand-based Banpu Public Company Limited, has announced that in the next five years it will invest AU$589 million (US$624 million) to raise the annual coal production of its Australian subsidiary Centennial Coal Co. from 16 million mt to 19.6 million mt.
In 2010, Banpu acquired all shares in Centennial at a cost of AU$2 billion (US$1.7 billion). This is the largest overseas transaction carried out by a Thai company.
Banpu also stated that it expects that the international coal price will rise from $75/mt to $90/mt this year.