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PTT ready to offload 27% stake in Bangchak
PTT said yesterday that it would accelerate a plan to sell its 27-per-cent stake in oil refiner Bangchak Petroleum, as it looks to reduce criticism about its monopoly.
Several investors, including oil retailers Susco and PTG Energy and Thai businessman Prayudh Mahagitsiri, are keen to buy the stake, PTT chairman Piyasvasti Amranand said.
Pricing will be based on the share price in the stock market, Piyasvasti said.
State-controlled PTT has interests in five of Thailand’s six oil refineries. It has long planned to dilute its 36-per-cent holding in Star Petroleum Refining Co via a public offering to be listed in the second half of 2015.
Star, 64 per cent owned by Chevron, runs a 160,000-barrels-per-day refinery. – Reuters
New PTT debentures
PTT is set to launch the latest additions to the PTT Bond Loyalty Programme by issuing new debentures worth Bt10 billion with greenshoe amounts of up to Bt2 billion, maturing on November 15, 2021 (six years and 11 months), offering a coupon rate of 4 per cent per annum.
There will be two subscription periods for two groups of investors – first from December 1-3 for holders of PTT debentures due on December 14, and the second on December 9, 11 and 12 to retail investors – PTT chief financial officer Wirat Uanarumit said.
SSI profits surge 204%
Sahaviriya Steel Industries reported sales and service revenue of Bt26.61 billion in the first nine months of this year, dropping 27 per cent from the same period of last year.
But the company’s net profit of Bt410 million was up 204 per cent from the same period of last year, company CEO and president Win Viriyaprapaikit said.
WHA to raise Bt5 bn
WHA Corp, a warehouse and factory developer, said yesterday that it planned to raise up to Bt5 billion through an initial public offering for a real estate investment trust early next month.
The offer will be from December 1-4 and the REIT is expected to be traded on the Thai bourse in mid-December, the company said in a statement.
The company also aimed to increase the size of the REIT to Bt50 billion over the next five years by transferring about Bt4 billion to Bt5 billion of assets per year to the REIT, it said. – Reuters
Slump in advertising
Advertising investment in the first 10 months suffered an almost 10-per-cent drop from the same period last year as top advertisers continue to cut their budgets, a survey by Nielsen (Thailand) found.
From January to October, overall advertising spending via all key media witnessed a 9.7-per-cent drop to Bt84.9 billion from Bt94 billion in the same period last year.
Mainstream media such as TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, cinema, and outdoor and in-store media saw declines in ad revenue, while only spending via transit and the Internet saw growth with 4.83 per cent to Bt3 billion and 5.46 per cent to Bt772 million respectively.
