quot;Making natural resources work for the people of Bangladesh," is Asia Energy's corporate c
Published by MAC on 2006-09-01"Making natural resources work for the people of Bangladesh," is Asia Energy's corporate catchline. Not all Bangladeshis see it that way. A crowd of 30,000 protested at the weekend about the company's plans to mine a huge coal deposit in the Phulbari district. Six died as paramilitaries allegedly fired into the crowd.
The Bangladeshi government, according to local reports, now wants to cancel all agreements with Asia Energy. The company says it has had no notification, but it doesn't look good. The shares crashed 60% before trading was halted.
Some big names will be embarrassed if the worst materialises. Asia Energy, worth £350m not long ago, was not supposed to be a speculative punt.
There's a former senior executive from Rio Tinto at the top and the brokers are the very smart folk of JP Morgan Cazenove.
From: Guardian Buinessline online, September 1 2006