Pakistan coal developer earns uptick on new partner

Oracle said it had finished with Sichuan Provincial Investment Group as partner and signed an agreement Beijing Jingneng Power Company for the US$1.6 billion mine and power plant project. 

The new firm will keep the previous arrangement and eventually take a 78% share of the thermal coal project under the new memorandum of understanding. 

Oracle's share price was up over 50% on the news, to 58p (US73.5c). 

Despite the major jump, this is a return to last month's levels. 

The company's price was £1.83/share at the beginning of 2018 and had fallen steadily until this uptick. 

Oracle said PowerChina would remain involved in the project, and still take a 9.9% stake, leaving the AIM company with 12.1%. 

CEO Shahrukh Khan said the deal had taken time but was worth it. 

"We are mindful that this transaction has taken longer than many envisaged to complete and would like to thank our shareholders for their patience," he said.

"After a frustrating period of inactivity in terms of newsflow, we believe that the company is firmly in a position to press forward with the Project and we look forward to updating shareholders in due course."

Oracle now has to turn the MoU into a formal agreement.