True to issue Bt6bn
True Corporation announced plans to raise Bt6 billion through the issue of four-year unsubordinated and unsecured debentures to fund the group's expansion, including preparing for the upcoming 3G on 2.1 megahertz auction.
The debentures will offer a fixed interest rate of 6 per cent per annum and will pay interest every three months until maturity.
Meanwhile, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) will call for bids for the 2.1MHz spectrum on October 16. Ten companies from five groups, including True Corp, so far have picked up application forms to join the bidding.
NBTC will announce the qualified bidders on October 10. The commission plans to announce the bid winners on October 22. It will invite bids for nine spectrum slots, each containing 5MHz of bandwidth, with a reserve price of Bt4.5 billion. Each participant can bid for a maximum of 15MHz.
True Corporation’s chief financial officer, Noppadol Dej-Udom, said that funds raised from the debenture issue will be used to finance business operations and investment expansion at True Group’s businesses and will also strengthen the company’s financial position at a time when the telecommunications industry is entering a new growth period.
Meanwhile, the debentures have been assigned a BBB- rating with a "stable" outlook from TRIS Rating. The company is in the filing process with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and expects the SEC to announce the effective date for filing by the end of September before the debenture subscription period.
