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Chances of RGD’s coal assets becoming stranded ‘very remote’, says CEO 

IEA projections show coal demand is expected to rise in South-east Asia as a result of the growing energy needs of the region’s economies

Janice Lim
Published Mon, Sep 22, 2025 · 07:00 AM
    • Coal handling company Resources Global Development CEO Francis Lee notes that fossil fuels still play a very substantial role, particularly for developing economies.
    • Coal handling company Resources Global Development CEO Francis Lee notes that fossil fuels still play a very substantial role, particularly for developing economies. PHOTO: TAY CHU YI, BT

    [SINGAPORE] The worldwide push towards transitioning the energy sector away from fossil fuels – in a bid to arrest the rise in global temperatures causing climate change – has resulted in a growing consensus in financial markets that coal assets are at a high risk of becoming stranded.

    However, the chief executive officer of coal handling company Resources Global Development (RGD), Francis Lee, said the chances of that happening to the company in the next few years is “very remote”. 

    “The risk is always there, but the probability of it happening is really quite remote – unless, suddenly, there’s a cliff drop on the demand of coal,” said Lee in an interview with The Business Times. 

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