New billion-dollar family emerges from Thailand power industry
Biomass power specialist Absolute Clean Energy Pcl listed in Bangkok on Wednesday, an initial public offering that reveals the founding Songmetta family as among the wealthiest in the Asian nation.
Wirachai Songmetta — who is also a senior police official — and his kin have a net worth of $1.2 billion based on their shareholdings in the firm, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The initial public offering raised about 4.45 billion baht ($147 million) from the sale of a 10 per cent stake. Market reaction has been downbeat for recent Thai listings but Absolute Clean Energy fared better as investors seek defensive plays amid an economic slowdown. The shares rose as much as 15 per cent and were up 10 per cent as of 10:55 a.m. in Bangkok.
