BURSA Malaysia Bhd main board-listed Sumatec Resources Bhd plans to expand its coastal tanker business to Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, company officials said yesterday.

Sumatec shareholders approved yesterday the purchase of four Miri-based shipping companies involved in the oil and gas-related industry for RM50 million.

The group signed an agreement on June 21 last year to buy Semado Maritime Sdn Bhd, Semua Shipping Sdn Bhd, Tubau Oil Supply Sdn Bhd and Mini Tanker Chartering Sdn Bhd.

Sumatec managing director James Chan said that although expansion plans are not yet finalised, these countries have great potential due to their longer coastlines and large population.

“Unlike other marine vessel operations which depend on offshore oil development contracts, the (coastal tanker) sector is a growth area as activities rise in tandem with population growth, which makes our business more stable,” he told reporters after the company’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) in Kuala Lumpur.

Chan said the coastal tanker business has few competitors because of the high entry cost, such as the high prices of ships and safety requirement standards of oil companies.

The acquired companies currently have a total fleet of six coastal oil tankers, all of which are on short- and long-term charter.

“By 2006, this fleet will increase by two ships with the capacity of 10,000 tonnes and 5,000 tonnes to serve the Petroliam Nasional Bhd market.

“There will be another two ships having 10,000 tonnes and 15,000 tonnes capacity that will be used to serve the regional market,” Chan added.

The acquisition is part of the group’s plans to broaden its earnings base to include four related areas of the energy sector: marine transportation and logistics, hazardous waste management, oil storage and terminal link, and renewable energy.

“We want to strengthen and generate a relatively stable income stream to stabilise and smoothen our earnings, expand our businesses into ancillary services of the oil and gas industry.” said Chan.

The four acquired companies have more than 20 years experience in transporting petroleum products such as motor petrol, diesel and aviation fuels from refineries to terminals.