Sime Darby Bhd today it would buy Thailand's Laem Chabang Power Co (LCP) from Finnish energy group Fortum for RM115.3 million (US$30.35 million).

"We have always expressed a keen interest to expand our power business within Malaysia and the region and this acquisition provides us an excellent opportunity to do so," Sime Darby finance director Martin Manen said in a statement.

The power business accounted for about 10 percent of the firm's pre-tax profits in the last financial year and it is aiming to become a "significant player" in the industry, he added.

Laem Chabang has a 103 megawatt gas turbine power plant. Sime Darby currently owns 60 percent of Port Dickson Power Bhd, which operates an 440 megawatt power plant in the southern Malaysian state of Negri Sembilan. AFP