Global Coal Management Plc (formerly Asia Energy PLC)



Overview

GCM Resources plc (GCM) is a London-based resource exploration and development company. Its principal asset is its undeveloped coal deposit in the Phulbari region of Bangladesh, the development of which is awaiting approval from the Government of Bangladesh. It also has investments in other companies with mining interests. The company's shares are quoted on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM). (Ticker code: GCM).

The Phulbari Coal Project is a substantial, world class coal resource that will support a long life, low cost mining operation. It is the only such deposit in Bangladesh that has been subjected to a full Feasibility Study and Environmental and Social Impact Assessment prepared to international standards. In partnership with the Bangladesh Government, civil society and the community, GCM is committed to developing the Phulbari Coal Project to the highest social and environmental standards. By doing this, GCM seeks to maximise the benefits of the Project for both the Company’s shareholders and the people of Bangladesh.

The Company (GCM) under its former name, Asia Energy PLC, was incorporated in England and Wales as a public limited company on 26 September 2003. Asia Energy PLC was admitted to the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange on 19 April 2004. Through seed capital raising and the subsequent placement of shares, some £14 million was raised.

In November 2005, following submission to the Government of Bangladesh of the Phulbari Coal Project's Feasibility Study and Scheme of Development, the Company placed an additional 7 million shares and raised a further £33 million.

GCM actively reviews investment opportunities in order to broaden its global investment portfolio.

Coal Project facts

■ Energy security and diversity – The Project has a unique role to play in addressing the country’s electricity shortfall as its development will provide the basis for a step change in the country’s electricity generating capacity.
■Regional development – The Project will provide 17,000 jobs (direct and indirect). In addition the development of new industries using the industrial mineral co-products from the mine will create thousands of more jobs. The living conditions of all affected people will be improved and their livelihoods will be restored and in many cases improved. As a result of year round irrigation, improved water quality, improved inputs and improved farming practices it will be possible to produce three crops per year with higher yields than at present.
■Huge economic impact – Phulbari will contribute 1% to Bangladesh’s GDP each year and pay US$7.0 billion in taxes, royalties and service charges to the Government over the life of the Project. The replacement of high sulphur imported coals and other hydrocarbons will have a positive effect on balance of payments and air quality.

In partnership with the Bangladesh Government, civil society and the community, GCM is committed to developing the Phulbari Coal Project to the highest national and international social and environmental standards. By doing this, GCM seeks to maximise the benefits of the Project for both the company’s shareholders and the people of Bangladesh.

Background

Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world with some 162 million people living in an area two thirds the size of the United Kingdom or about the size of New York State. Less than one third of its population live in cities while the majority live in rural areas relying on a predominantly subsistence lifestyle. GDP per capita is around US$1,700 (ppp) per annum compared with a world average of US$10,500. Less than half the population have access to electricity. Bangladesh is a country of enormous potential. It has the eighth largest work force in the world and is included in the “Next Eleven” countries that, after the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), were identified by Goldman Sachs as having the potential to become the world’s largest economies in the 21st century. It has enjoyed more than 6% economic growth in real terms over the last five years as well as substantial improvements in measures of human development. For example, between 1980 and 2006 life expectancy has improved from 48 years to 63 years and literacy rates have improved from 29% to 53%.

Bangladesh is one of the most climate vulnerable countries in the world with a significant proportion of the population living in remote or ecologically fragile areas such as river islands or cyclone prone coastal areas. Two thirds of the country is less than five metres above sea level making it vulnerable to the predicted effects of climate change.

Although Bangladesh is vulnerable to the effects of climate change, it is not itself a significant emitter of carbon dioxide. Per capita carbon dioxide emissions (0.3t/capita) are substantially below other countries in the region (Pakistan 0.9t/capita, India 1.4t/capita, China 4.9t/capita) which themselves are substantially less than emissions from developed countries (UK 8.9t/capita, USA 18.9t/capita). Even with the addition of the 4,000MW of electricity capacity which Phulbari coal could support, Bangladesh would still be one of the lowest emitters of carbon dioxide in the world, substantially less per capita than its neighbouring countries.


http://www.gcmplc.com/

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Global Coal Management PLC
25 July 2007

Global Coal Management Plc


Investment in CCEC Ltd


Following announcement RNS 7234W released on 16 May 2007, Global Coal Management
plc announces that after a successful due diligence program it has acquired
12,500 shares or 5.95% of the issued capital in CCEC Ltd at a cost of
USD4,166,625.



25 July 2007

Thanks Smiler, thought for a minute it was the 'biggy'. All positive stuff though.

No, THAT'S NEXT !!! :) ( i hope)

No, just sticking to OEX, have you seen the news ! :-)

NO, will have a look !

slow day in the office !!! up 2% on No trades ?

OK !! nobody buy (or sell) for 50 more days please and we'll be 100% up, :-)

Its a funny game this Darradev, just look at fogl and a few what have had good news in the past week ?

Aye. Up, down, up down, down, down.

Need to work out this 'shorting' lark, at least you (possibly) can make money on the down, down, bit. :-)

one of them days !!!! gcm has always been a risky punt but the rewards could be big !!, but even the oil Co have had a rough day ??

rumour has it that gcm will get the licenceing permits..and they'll be announcing the news this week

Fingers crossed !! if that rumour is true then should see some action in the SP This week !!

Good start !

Dhaka needs to open up economy
WB country director tells Ficci meet
Star Business Report

Improving investment climate is not enough for Bangladesh to survive in the changed era of post-MFA, rather it needs to open up its economy, World Bank Country Director Xian Zhu observed.
"Bangladesh is now the most protectionist economy in South Asia, so opening up of economy would benefit it" he told the Ficci (Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry) luncheon meeting yesterday.

The WB official said in today's highly competitive post-MFA world, there is no option but to strengthen export competitiveness through phase-wise and transparent liberalisation of trade regime.

Prolonged high protection breeds inefficiency, inhibits competition, and stifles productivity growth, Zhu said, making a remark that such protection brings no good for export competitiveness or for economic growth over a long term.

Held at a city hotel, the Ficci meet was chaired by Rafi Omar, the chamber's acting president, and attended, among others, by Hua Du, country director of Asian Development Bank (ADB), and representatives of the foreign investors in Bangladesh.

Referring to a recent World Bank report, Zhu said to join the ranks of middle-income countries by 2016 or soon thereafter, Bangladesh requires raising GDP growth to an ambitious 7.5 percent or more.

And to achieve such a growth, the country should increase its investment rate by more than five percentage points to 30percent of GDP, against the current 25percent and also employ its resources (labour and capital) more productively, and the bulk has to come from private sector, including FDI (Foreign Direct Investment), he suggested.

The WB official also pointed to the need for improving Bangladesh's attractiveness to FDI.

Zhu said FDI has recently picked up in extractive industries like coal and gas, telecommunications and energy production raising FDI's share in GDP to about 1 percent, but not yet in manufacturing, where the potential for productivity gains is significant.

Citing another survey result of the World Bank he said that firms with any level of foreign ownership are 10 percent more productive on an average than firms that are wholly domestically owned.

Some have argued that Bangladesh should first respond to the demand of its own domestic market before thinking about opening up and relying on exports. The benefits of having a large domestic market are clear, but that should not detract from the tremendous opportunities that access to global market offers, he said.

To win the fight against poverty and reduce the number of poor people, Bangladesh must grow stronger and faster, Zhu said.

"The world is moving quickly; so are countries in the region and Bangladesh needs to move faster just to stay in the same place and to catch up. Concrete, coherent and immediate actions to improve the investment climate are urgently needed," he went on.

Up over 6% today, may be news soon ??

Tata to wait for coal policy to invest in BD


Tuesday July 31 2007 10:24:52 PM BDT


Kayes M Sohel

Indias Tata group will wait until finalisation of the governments coal policy about its 3-billion-dollar investment plan in Bangladesh. ( The BD today )

"The Board of Investment (BoI) has told us that the coal policy will be finalised by the end of this month and we are waiting for the coal policy," Manzer Hossain, country representative of Tata, told The Bangladesh Today on Wednesday.

Asked whether Tata will shelve its investment proposal or not against the backdrop of delay in the finaliztion of the coal policy, he said, "we will take decision after discussion with the BoI.

About Tatas investment prospect in Vietnam, Manzer said, "We are carrying out a feasibility study for investments in the southeast Asian country."

Tata is keen to invest in Bangladesh as the country has immense potential. "We are keen to invest in Bangladesh as it is an investment friendly country and we are awaiting the governments nod," Manzer said.

Sources said the BoI could not take further steps relating to the Tata investment proposal for lack of necessary guidelines and clear instructions from higher authorities.

The Indian business conglomerates investment proposal has been pending with the BoI over the last three years.

The previous government had promised to make a decision on the Tata plan by June, 2006. However, it then put the investment proposal on hold, saying the new government would decide on the matter after the next parliamentary elections.

Through its investment proposal, Tata has sought to install a steel manufacturing plant, a fertiliser factory, an open pit coalmine , a coal-fired power plant at the mine mouth and a captive power plant for its industrial units.

It also offered a 10 per cent of equity of each of its projects to the Bangladesh government.

Tata signed the expression of interest (EoI) with its initial investment plan for $ 2.0 billion with the BoI in October 2004. It later revised its investment proposal to $3.0 billion in April 2006.

Draft policy suggests equal use of coal for exports, power generation


Tuesday July 31 2007 00:44:07 AM BDT


AZM Anas


An advisory committee, formed by the present caretaker administration, will meet today (Tuesday) to review the latest coal policy.( The Financial Express)

The eight-member committee headed by Abdul Motin Patwari, a former vice chancellor of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), has been tasked with finalising the draft policy to the energy and mineral resources division .

"This will be the first meeting of the committee formed by the caretaker government to review the draft. The committee, however, passed its mandated timeline of July 21 for sending final recommendations to the energy division," a well-placed source said.

The draft policy, formulated by the energy division, will place top priority on ensuring the domestic energy security for at least 50 years and mainly rely on the public sector in coal-mine development.

"Excess coals exports may be allowed only after ensuring the energy security of the country for 50 years under the Coal Sector Master Plan," says the new version of the policy, sixth of its kind.

"The amount of coal exports should not exceed the use of minerals in the mandatory mine mouth power plants. The ratio of coal exports and coal use in power plants will be 1:1," adds the draft partially leaked to the FE.

The draft has also made it clear that national interest will be given the topmost priority while attracting foreign direct investments in the coal sector.

"The public sector will be given priority in the coal policy. However, the government can take decision in the coal mine development by the private sector to avert potential energy crisis and ensure energy security in future," the policy maintained.

The World Bank, in an analysis on the first draft, said the policy should allow coal exports from the outset and be made flexible enough to woo private investors in the development of coal mines.

Although the mining method remains the stickiest point in regulations, the draft policy does not provide any preferred method and gives the percentage of coal to be extracted from both open pit and underground mining.

In terms of open pit mining, the maximum coal recovery will be 1050 million tonnes accounting for 90 per cent and coal-fired power plants will be able to generate electricity upto 2033.

By contrast, only 20 per cent of coal can be recovered through underground mining, thereby meeting the electricity demand of the country upto 2022.

Given the energy security, the policy notes that private sector power generation must be encouraged as coal fired independent power producers (IPPs) to set up coal based power stations in the vicinity of coal mines.

"The IPPs will get similar treatment as per the Bangladesh Private Power Generation Policy (Amended) 2004," according to the policy.

As far as the government royalty is concerned, it suggested that a lessee pay the fees on a quarterly basis, either as cash or in the form of mineral itself.

The policy has set a number of targets to be chased between July 2007 and June 2010.

The formulation of a Coal Sector Master Plan, identification of coal zones and strengthening the public agencies such as the Geological Survey of Bangladesh and the Bureau of Mineral Resources are among the plans stipulated in the policy.

The immediate past BNP-led coalition government had initiated a move to frame the first ever coal policy and the revised it several times, but the issues of mining method, exports, royalty, environment and licensing regime stood in the way of its approval.

The present caretaker administration, in a circular issued on June 21, constituted an eight-member advisory committee to give recommendations on the draft coal policy after necessary examination and scrutiny.

The advisory committee was supposed to submit the final proposal to the energy division by July 21.

But it failed to comply with the deadline as set in the circular.

Bangladesh has an estimated 2221 million tonnes of proven coal reserves in five mines, including Barapukuria and Phulbari.

morning Smiler, looks like TATA are putting the squeeze on the decision makers.

Morning Darradev, looks that way, Not sure when we will get an RNS !! Could be soon , but I would like to think it would be within the next 2 months !! with LUCK ;)

Mining with a vision for people's benefit, ecological safety
Bangladesh can learn a lot from German open pit coal extraction
Sharier Khan, back from Cologne, Germany

There is a lot that Bangladesh can learn from German experience in maximum utilisation of coal resources through maintaining environmental balance, efficiently handling human displacements, agricultural land replacement and maintaining political soundness.

With a tradition of more than 100 years of open pit coal mining, Germany produces 33,000 megawatt or one third of its power from lignite coal and another 25,000 megawatt from hard coal ensuring minimum damage to the environment, thanks to strict monitoring by the government and pressure groups.

A visit to the mines and coal-fired power plants in the North Rhine Westfalia zone around the German city of Cologne demonstrates that mining is just not a profit making business for a company, rather it is a national affair.

Mining in Germany is based on sensible politics and a vision to ensure benefit for its people and entrepreneurs, and minimise environmental hazards. A mining company cannot just do whatever it wishes but when it has a government nod, its mining plan cannot be hindered.

The Daily Star correspondent visited the mines and coal power plant installations near Cologne at the invitation of Asia Energy Bangladesh between July 25 and 28. The Daily Star covered the travel and hotel costs of its correspondent while Asia Energy that has stakes in the Phulbari Coal Mine facilitated the visit in collaboration with Germany's biggest mining and power company RWE.

Also one of the top European power and gas companies, RWE is a consultant company for Asia Energy for handling Phulbari project's most sensitive area-- water table.

Germany's vast "lignite" coal mines are mainly located in agricultural lands and villages near Cologne, and therefore, the home-grown mining companies work with the government and communities to ensure fair resettlement and compensation, according to executives of Germany's leading coal mine and power developer RWE GmbH.

From the fifties, about 50,000 people have been resettled to facilitate large scale open-pit mining. Of them, 10 per cent resisted resettlement. But relevant German laws demand that individuals must give up their lands for the greater benefit of the nation. Therefore, they lost legal battles and had to settle with their compensation.

The vast open-cast mining areas, where miners have completed mining and filled up 300 to 400 metre voids with soil, have now been converted into deep forests and agricultural lands.

The country annually produces 100,000 million tonnes of 'lignite' coal. Some of its open-cast mines can be as big as 20 square kilometers. The country still has a reserve of 50 billion tonnes of lignite, of which 10 billion tonnes can be commercially mined.

With an annual turnover of Euro 6574 million, RWE is 18,467-strong and it alone produces 11,000 megawatt power from lignite coal. It also generates power from hard coal, nuclear fuels, gas and renewables. In addition to Germany, RWE also sells power to UK and central and east European countries.