SCB has high hopes for Egat fund
Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), the financial adviser to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand's North Bangkok Power Plant Block 1 Infrastructure Fund (EGATIF), expects the debut of the fund's units on the Stock Exchange of Thailand on July 13 to r
Artapong Porndhiti, executive vice president of SCB, said institutional investors, especially life-insurance companies, would be interested in buying EGATIF units because they offer stable returns. This fund is similar to government bonds, posing low risk but reasonable returns.
Individual investors whom the bank surveyed at its branches have paid attention to this fund. SCB expects the EGATIF initial public offering (IPO) from June 22-26 the price of Bt10 per unit might be oversubscribed. The minimum required investment is Bt50,000. The fund pays a dividend of 8.5 per cent per annum, based on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s calculation.
EGATIF has a dividend-pay-out policy of at least 90 per cent of its adjusted net profit and will distribute dividends at least twice a year.
The fund, which will run for a 20-year term, is valued at Bt20.025 billion to Bt20.085 billion and it expects to mobilise Bt20 billion from the IPO.
Artapong said Egat had more power-plant assets that could be added to the fund, but such additions would be based on the authority’s financing costs and the performance of the first infrastructure fund.Infrastructure funds are a way of mobilising money that can lessen the public debt as required by the Finance Ministry, he said.
