实康（SALCON，8567，主板贸服组）宣佈以4千750万令吉，收购中国达阔水技术股份有限公司60%股权，积极进军中国市场，並通过在中国设立更多的水务及废水处理厂，放眼成为中国主要水务供应公司。
实康首席营运员黄清瑞表示，他们希望未来两年里，透过自然增长和併购，让公司在中国每天水生产能力达到30亿公升。
其中80%收购资金是由银行贷款融资。
黄清瑞表示，收购达阔后，实康成为中国境內主要水务供应者的目标已迈进一大步。
“收购不仅是扩展中国业务，更要藉此向中国境內主要水务供应者的目标迈进。”
实康通过收购达阔60%股权后，因此而拥有达阔位於中国武康和乾元地区的两个废水处理厂。
黄清瑞表示，武康和乾元两间废水处理厂分別拥有25年及22年的经营权，预计可为公司带来8亿4千252万令吉的长期总收入。
“完成上述收购后，我们在中国的废水处理厂及相关水务厂房將达13间，每天水生产量更达13亿公升。”
以上两间废水处理厂，每天可分別供应当地6千万及1亿公升的饮用水。
此外，黄清瑞表示，公司会利用达阔在工业废水处理的专业技术与经验，进一步扩大在中国工业废水处理的市场。
洽提升武康废水处理厂产量
另一方面，达阔首席执行员戴锦明指出，当地政府也与他们洽谈武康废水处理厂提升产量的问题，希望武康厂房饮用水供应量可从目前每天6千万公升，提高至1亿2千万公升。
“预计此议案可在未来12个月內敲定，目前，我们已注入5千万人民幣（约2千460万）在相关公司里。”
达阔曾於10年前在新加坡交易所上市，除了中国，业务遍佈新加坡、大马、台湾、菲律宾以及印尼。
此外，达阔还在中国探索有潜力发展项目的地区，公司现已锁定在山东、福建、浙江、江苏以及安徽等区。
（星洲日报／財经）Salcon Bhd is looking at mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to grow itself in a bid to fast track its listing plan for its China water and waste water concessions within the next two years.
Salcon chief operating officer Ooi Cheng Swee told reporters that the company aimed to have a combined plant capacity of 3,000 million litres per day (MLD) in China and was targeting to achieve this via a combination of organic growth and M&As with existing plant operators who have sizable assets in China.
“We do have parties talking to us, and it is maybe too early to disclose them,” he said after signing an agreement to acquire a 60% stake in Darco Environmental Pte Ltd, a unit of Darco Water Technologies Ltd, for RM47.5mil.
Darko Environmental is an integrated engineering and knowledge-based water treatment solutions provider.
Darco Environmental runs two water treatment plants in Deqing country in the Zhejian province in China, namely Wukang and Qian Yuan, which have a 60 MLD and 100 MLD capacity respectively. The company expects to fund 80% of the acquisition via bank borrowing and the balance from internal funds.
The Wukang and Qian Yuan plants have a 25-year and 22-year concession period respectively, and is estimated to generate total revenue of RMB1.7bil (RM842.5mil) throughout the entire concession. “Both plants have a second phase which would ensure the water supply for the next 25 years, and we are now talking to the government to upgrade the Wukang plant’s facility. We are looking at implementing the phase two of an additional 60 MLD in the next 12 months,” he said.
With the acquisition, Salcon now have a combined capacity of 1,300 MLD and now owns and operate a total of 11 water and wastewater concessions in Shandong, Zhejiang, Fujian and Jiangsu provinces in China.
Ooi said the company is still exploring opportunities for other projects in China, mainly in coastal areas and areas the company do not have a current presence in like Anhui and Guizhou.
The deal marks the first cooperation between Salcon and Darco, which entails further cooperation with Darco in other water-related ventures, principally in the industrial wastewater sector which is Darco’s core strength and area of expertise.
Darco Water chief executive officer Thye Kim Meng said Darco sold its stake to Salcon due to what the company is offering and also the decent price the company offered, while Darco itself is also doing some financial consolidation.
“We are impressed by Salcon’s aggressive attitude towards developing the China market and its intention to expand its water concessions. The two plants have a virtual monopoly for the county and with two more phases that need to be completed, that would take care of the area’s total water requirement in the future,” he said.
He also said Darco had invited Salcon to explore business possibilities in Taiwan for the installation of a sewage plant and concession and also a project in Indonesia for the supply of drinking water and to upgrade the existing facilities in the island of Bangka.
Listed on the SGX in 2002, Darco is involved in the design, fabrication, assembly, installation, commission and service engineered water systems for industrial use in Singapore and Malaysia, and has since expanded into air management system, soil remediation and solid-waste recycling.
The group, which has operations in Singapore, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Philippines and Indonesia, serves companies across diverse industries – electronics, semiconductor, textile, food and beverage, printed circuit board, solar-energy and pharmaceuticals, and takes on municipal water and wastewater projects.
SOURCE: The Star
