27 February 2015

To drive its strategy to become the leading independent wind energy producer in South East Asia, Singapore-based company The Blue Circle has appointed two new directors to its board - the banking executive Philippe Damas and one of Thailand's respected energy engineers Buranawong Sowaprux.

The appointments expand the company's board to five members, in addition to Andrew Affleck, Jean-Francois Peron and Olivier Duguet.

"We are pleased to welcome Philippe Damas and Buranawong Sowaprux to our Board of Directors" said Olivier Duguet, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Blue Circle. "Both bring their extensive working experience in Asia and their special relationship with energy and finance in Thailand and Singapore. We highly value the additional and complementary perspectives they bring to our board."

Philippe Damas has been the Chief Executive Officer of ING Group Retail and Private Banking for Asia until 2009 and is board member and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the TMB Bank since 2008. Having subsequently worked for JP Morgan Securities as Managing Director in Tokyo, London, Hong Kong, and for the Bruxelles Lambert Bank in Brussels, Philippe joined the ING Group in 2000 and served as Chief Executive Officer of ING Baring in London before heading the ING Private Banking Unit in Amsterdam and ING Retail and Private Banking Asia in Singapore from July 2005 to November 2009. Philippe is also member of the Board of different asset managers based in Singapore beside his position at the TMB Bank in Bangkok. Philippe has a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University and an Engineering degree from Ecole Nationale de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace in Toulouse.

Buranawong Sowaprux has over 28 years of experience in the energy sector, having served in various management roles for ExxonMobil Corporation. Buranawong joined Esso (Thailand) Public Company Limited in 1985 to become Finance Manager in 1989. In 1995, he led a project team to transform Esso (Thailand) PLC to become a public company listed on the Bangkok Stock Exchange. After serving in the USA and Singapore for the ExxonMobil Group, Buranawong returned to Thailand in 2002 to become Esso (Thailand) PLC Controller. He retired in 2013 after holding a management position in ExxonMobil Global Services Company in Houston and being Director of ExxonMobil Limited. Buranawong is graduated from the Chulalongkorn University and holds a Doctorate in Industrial Engineering from the Texas A&M University.
 
About The Blue Circle

The Blue Circle is a developer of wind and solar energy projects in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. The Singapore based company looks to bridge the gap in project development in the Mekong Region by bringing international project development experience, financial expertise and capabilities together with local market understanding. Its growth strategy is twofold: through the development of its own projects and through acquisition or partnership with local developers. By being vertically integrated, The Blue Circle can identify greenfield sites, pursue project development milestones up until financing and operating of the generating assets.
 www.thebluecircle.sg
 
In October 2014, The Blue Circle announced it installed its first 100 meters meteorological mast in Ninh Thuan province, Southern Vietnam, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under its regional Private Financing Advisory Network-Asia programme (PFAN-Asia). This is the first meteorological campaign to measure wind energy potential in Southern Vietnam supported by USAID.

In May 2014, The Blue Circle announced the signing of a partnership with Armstrong Asset Management, which has agreed to commit up to US$40 million in equity to fund the construction of wind and solar projects in South East Asia developed or acquired by The Blue Circle. In July, the company announced a partnership with Annex Power, a leading renewable energy group in South East Asia, to jointly develop wind power plants in Thailand.
 
 
For further information, please contact:
 
The Blue Circle
Olivier Duguet   Tel:  +65 62594921         olivier.duguet@thebluecircle.sg
 
Sustain Ability Showcase Asia
Ken Hickson   Tel: +65 81397472      Kenhickson@sustain-ability-showcase.com