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Ethos Asset Management, which recently announced its push into Southeast Asia, has announced a new long-term financing partnership with Thai-Sing Potash Trading Pte Ltd, (Singapore), with a $50 million capital infusion. Up to $1 billion of capital may eventually be deployed, the organization said in a statement late last week.

The investment comes at a time when availability of fertilizer has become less certain due to supply-chain disruptions caused by the pandemic, green transition policies that arguably have squeezed forms of fertilizer production, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (both nations are important fertilzer producers). 

The partnership will enable a mine to be developed within three years, supplying potash to Thailand. The remaining volume will be exported to fertilizer producers and traders worldwide, Ethos said.

Ethos said Thailand sources about 5 million tonnes of fertilizer each year from Asia and Europe, particularly Belarus and Russia. Despite the substantial demand, Thailand can only meet a small percentage of its domestic requirement. The development of a potash mine has the “potential to substantially reduce the nation's present dependence on imported fertilizers, while also possibly creating extra revenue through surplus quantities,” it said.

The project realization will involve two entities – TSPT and APPC. TSPT will obtain financing from Ethos, supported by product off-take agreements from end users and global trading companies. APPC, the project developer under a concession from the Thai government, will hire Italian-Thai Development (ITD) to be the EPC contractor whose works will be funded by product sales to TSPT.