Guangken to list Thai rubber producer

Guangdong Guangken Rubber Group Co expects to list its operation in Thailand on stock exchanges in Thailand and Hong Kong in two years after its acquisition of Thai Hua Rubbr Public Co, the world's third largest natural rubber group.

One of the largest natural rubber companies in China, with a full business chain, including seedlings, farming, processing and sales, Guangken completed its acquisition of a 60 percent stake of Thai Hua at a price of 1.2 billion yuan ($174 million) in August. It plans to invest an additional 600 million yuan. Including the acquisition, Guangken has annual natural rubber processing capacity of 1.5 million metric tons and rubber farms of 2 million mu (133,330 hectares).

Before the acquisition, it was already running rubber processing plants in Thailand and Indonesia, farms in Malaysia and Cambodia, and a trading company in Singapore, said Xiong Yinzhong, a board director of the group.