Hong Kong-listed Panva Gas Holdings Ltd is poised to secure three gas projects on the Chinese mainland by July that could expand its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) business by up to 40 percent.

 

The projects would be in Wuhan, the capital city of Central China's Hubei Province, Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province and another city in Northeast China, a senior Panva official told China Daily yesterday.

 

"The three projects are likely to be finalized in June or July," the official said, declining to be identified.

 

The Wuhan and Hangzhou projects will be for the LPG business, where Panva's rival China Gas Co Ltd has most of the market share for piped natural gas (PNG), according to a second Panva official.

 

A company official surnamed Xie from China Gas yesterday said she was not aware of the possible move by Panva, and declined to comment whether Panva's thrust would menace China Gas' strong presence in that region.

 

Panva's projects in Wuhan and Hangzhou would involve a combined investment of 50-70 million yuan (US$6.2-8.6 million), the second Panva official said.

 

Together they will add 800,000 new customers to Panva's current LPG segment, which now serves 2 million households across China.

 

"That will be a 40 percent increase, a significant move to boost our LPG business," he said.

 

Meanwhile, Panva's third project in northeastern China will be for the PNG business and may involve an investment of more than 100 million yuan (US$12.3 million), the first Panva source told China Daily.

 

Panva hopes to see the three projects come to fruition by acquiring shares in local firms instead of building new ventures, the second source said.

 

Formerly a LPG distributor, Panva ventured into the piped-gas business in 2001 and has established itself as one of the top players in China's fledging gas market. Its major rivals include China Gas and XinAo Gas, which have also floated their shares in Hong Kong.

 

Partly owned by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, Panva plans to raise at least US$200 million in the second half of this year to fuel its ambitious growth plans, Yuan Fei, senior vice-president of Panva, said in Hong Kong in February.

 

The company would probably issue new shares in order to introduce new strategic partners, Yuan said.

 

Apart from the three gas projects, Panva is also in talks to do similar work with local firms in Northwest China, Sichuan Province in the southwest and a slew of coastal cities in the east, the second source told China Daily yesterday.

 

Yesterday Panva also announced a partnership with the Beijing Institute of Technology so the firm's senior managers and professionals can study for EMBAs (Executive MBAs).

 

The partnership aims to sharpen Panva's competitive edge in China's growing city gas industry by improving its operations and management, the company said.

 

(China Daily May 11, 2006)