Peabody Energy Establishes Asian Coal Trading Hub

During mid-September, Peabody Energy opened an office in Singapore that will serve as the new hub for Peabody COALTRADE International activities in Southeast Asia, further expanding the company's access to high-growth seaborne coal markets. “Singapore provides a central location to continue growing our leading coal trading and brokerage platform with prime access to the world’s fastest-growing markets,” said Peabody Chairman and CEO Gregory H. Boyce. “Our presence in Singapore will expand our sourcing and shipping capabilities to China, India, Indonesia and other key Asian markets. The expectation is that these markets will continue to expand at a 5% to 10% compounded annual growth rate, and Peabody is best positioned to capitalize on that growth.”

Pacific seaborne coal demand is very strong as Asian nations lead the world out of recession and drive sustained growth in coal consumption. China is the fastest-growing coal market in the world, and net coal imports are up nearly 150% in 2009. India is the fastest-growing coal importer and expects to be short by as much as 200 million tons of coal per year within five years. Australia and Indonesia are the top global coal exporters in the world and are expected to have the largest increases in exports in coming years. Peabody’s Singapore office will be headed by Phillip V. Smith, who has been named managing director of Asian Trading, overseeing international trading activities in Singapore and China.

As featured in Womp 2009 Vol 08 - www.womp-int.com