(Yicai) July 9 -- Chinese leading biodiesel supplier Zhuoyue New Energy plans to invest CNY700 million (USD97.6 million) to build a biofuel production base in Thailand.

Located in Chonburi province, the project will be built in two phases, Zhuoyue announced yesterday. The first phase, with an annual production capacity of 300,000 tons of biodiesel will have a construction period of 12 months, while the second one will have an annual output capacity of 100,000 tons for either hydrotreated vegetable oil or sustainable aviation fuel.

Zhuoyue has already completed the Chinese government’s offshore investment registration, obtained the approval certificate from Thailand’s Board of Investment, and signed a land lease agreement for the factory, the Fujian province-based company noted.

Zhuoyue was China’s first firm to industrialize biodiesel production using waste oils. It has consistently ranked first in the country in terms of biodiesel production, sales, and exports for years and has established a stable waste oil procurement network in China and Southeast Asia.

Last year, the company sold 376,000 tons of biodiesel, generating sales revenue of CNY3.3 billion (USD462 million), accounting for about 93 percent of its total annual revenue. Among them, exports neared CNY3.2 billion.

Zhuoyue is building a biodiesel production facility in Singapore, with an annual capacity of 100,000 tons, scheduled to come on stream this year. The products from this plant will be mainly used to meet the demand for low-carbon fuels in Singapore, the world’s largest bunkering port, according to the firm’s 2024 earnings report.

In February, the European Union announced anti-dumping duties ranging from 10 percent to 35.6 percent on Chinese biodiesel products, excluding sustainable aviation fuel. Zhuoyue was subjected to tariffs of 23.4 percent, effective for five years.

Zhuoyue’s shares [SHA: 688196] were trading down 0.6 percent at CNY47.48 (USD6.61) as of lunch break in Shanghai today.

Editor: Futura Costaglione