SET-listed Ratch Group, the power generation arm of Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, is funnelling 15 billion baht into power generation capacity expansion this year, steering away from new investment in non-power businesses.
The company will focus on electricity generation and power infrastructure development projects after observing business uncertainties in its non-power businesses, said chief executive Nitus Voraphonpiput.
He did not specify which businesses will encounter risks, saying only the company will maintain investment in non-power businesses without buying more shares.
Ratch said earlier it holds a 10% share in each of two motorway projects -- a route between Ayutthaya's Bang Pa-in and Nakhon Ratchasima and the Bangkok-Kanchanaburi route.
The company also invests in the Pink and Yellow electric rail lines, as well as a hospital business.
In the power business, Ratch is allocating 10 billion baht of the budget to develop new electricity generation facilities and acquire new assets in the sector.
Mr Nitus declined to provide details of the asset acquisitions, but noted they are all renewable assets.
Ratch's new power plant projects include the 355-megawatt Xekong hydropower plant in Laos, in which the company holds a 60% share, and the 75MW Si Bun Dong hydropower plant in Indonesia, in which the company holds a 40% stake.
The company is in talks with Indonesian authorities on a power purchase from the plant, which is located in northern Sumatra.
The remaining 5 billion baht of the budget is for projects previously initiated by the company, including five solar farms in Thailand and four wind farms -- two in Vietnam and two in the Philippines.
Mr Nitus said the company needs to develop new power plants to increase revenue as its existing facilities will reach the end of service life between 2025 and 2027.
Ratch expects to have additional power generation capacity of 522MW this year from two gas-fired power plants -- Hin Kong and Navanakorn -- in Thailand, the NPSI solar farm in the Philippines and Song Giang hydropower plant in Vietnam.