Saif Powertec to enter gas, oil exploration business as first private firm

Saif Powertec Limited wants to enter the gas and oil exploration business by investing Tk473 crore as the first local private company in this industry.

The board of the company, which got listed on the capital market in 2014, decided on 12 December.

The project cost will come from bank loans.

According to its website, Saif Powertec's principal activities are to carry on the business of infrastructure-support service.

It is also engaged in importing, trading, assembling and installing generators, sub-stations, electrical equipment and gridlines, installation of power plants, producing batteries as well as acting as a terminal operator for handling containers at the Chattogram Port.

Company Secretary FM Salehin told The Business Standard that Saif Powertec has sufficient ability to operate the exploration business as it has skilled manpower and necessary experience.

"Once the project is implemented, the company will provide logistical support to the government's oil and gas exploration," he added.

At present, the Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company (Bapex), the state-owned oil and gas exploration and development entity, is the only local organisation operating in the sector.

Foreign entities such as Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Equinor, Gazprom and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) dominate the sector while Chevron alone produces 50% of the natural gas in the country.

FM Salehin said, "If all the conditions are met in the open tender application of the government for exploration and extraction of oil and gas, we will get the job."

Besides, Saif Powertec said in its price-sensitive information that after the completion of the project, the company will earn a revenue of Tk516 crore and the net profit will be Tk86 crore annually.

At the end of fiscal 2020-21, it earned Tk62 crore from its existing businesses.

Meanwhile, the company also decided to start an information technology and telecommunication business by establishing a new subsidiary named 88 Innovations Engineering Limited.

It will acquire 55% shares of the subsidiary company by investing Tk11 crore, while the total project cost is Tk75 crore. The rest of the amount will come from bank loans.

The new project will add Tk100 crore to its revenue and Tk24 crore to its profit annually.

Earlier, in October this year, Saif Powertec's subsidiary Saif Logistics Alliance signed an agreement with the Container Company of Bangladesh Limited (CCBL), a subsidiary of the Bangladesh Railway, to build a new container terminal at Halishahar in the port city, with an estimated cost of Tk308 crore to boost the capacity of the Chattogram Port.

The container terminal will generate Tk3,482 crore revenue in 20 years. Saif Powertec Ltd will invest 80% of the construction cost.

Its share price jumped over 120% to Tk48 between June and October at the Dhaka Stock Exchange. At the end of Monday's trading session, its share closed at Tk43.40.