[PHNOM PENH POST]
A fertiliser company that has been approved to do billions of dollars’
worth of business in Cambodia, and is presumed to be based in the United
Kingdom, is in fact affiliated with domestic conglomerate Royal Group,
an insider has confirmed.
Nitrogen Chemicals and Fertiliser
(Cambodia) Ltd would produce urea fertiliser for both the Cambodian and
regional markets, Vinojit Ambalavaner, the managing director of Royal
Group’s oil, gas and chemicals operations, said. The company plans to
later control the distribution, shipping and export of the product as
well.
“The intention is to have the whole value chain,” Ambalavaner, who alo serves as a director of Nitrogen Chemicals, said.
The
Council for the Development of Cambodia this year approved a US$2.22
billion potential investment by Nitrogen Chemicals, although CDC
documents list the company’s home country as England.
CDC
officials yesterday pointed to Nitrogen Chemicals’ incorporation in the
Cayman Islands, a British overseas territory, as a reason for
attributing the investment to England. The Cayman Islands are a
well-known offshore tax shelter for businesses.
The $2.22 billion
figure, which is the only approved investment from Europe so far this
year, is greater than all the approved investments from ASEAN, China,
South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, North Korea and Japan
combined, according to CDC statistics up to September.
Although
Ambalavaner would not disclose the company’s investors, he did say the
Royal Group was “involved in a substantial way in this process as a
joint venture”.
“There are investors who like publicity, and
investors who don’t. In this particular case, this investor is not ready
yet until everything is in line. And then, obviously, the investor will
come out,” he said.
A copy of Nitrogen Chemicals’ business
registration from the Ministry of Commerce, obtained by the Post, names
Royal Group chairman Kith Meng as chairman of the fertiliser company’s
board of directors.
The document states that Kith Meng has
invested $1 million in capital and owns 1,000 shares in the company.
Nitrogen Chemicals is listed at the same address as Royal Group’s
offices, in Monivong Boulevard.
Kith Meng, reached late yesterday, declined to comment.
Vinojit Ambalavaner is also listed on the form as a director, but holds no capital or shares in the company.
He worked for 10 years, until April of this year, for embattled Australian fertiliser company Burrup.
Ambalavaner
said Nitrogen Chemicals aimed to launch its manufacturing plant in
2016, as this type of facility took 39 to 42 months to build.
The
company was trying to capture a “huge opportunity”, as the temporary
surpluses of fertiliser held by countries such as China and Vietnam
would last no longer than five years, he said.
Ambalavaner said
Nitrogen Chemicals would be able to take advantage of those eventual
shortfalls, in addition to those seen in Australia and New Zealand,
saying there were “regional advantages” to being located in Cambodia.
That focus on exports was a large part of the business plan, he said,
adding that whatever would be produced would be far in excess of what
Cambodia needed.
“You could flood the domestic market and still have sufficient [supply] to export,” he said.
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