Significant switch to long-term govt bond
Holders of government short-term bonds have switched securities worth Bt63.96 billion for long-term bonds, seen as indicating institutional investors' confidence in the country's economic outlook.
According to the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO), short-term bonds in the LB15DA series, which will expire in six months, have been switched to government bonds with maturities ranging from three to 23 years.
About 27 per cent of the switched value has been poured into bonds with a maturity of 22 years and six months.
Theerat Attanavanij, deputy director-general of the PDMO, said about 55 per cent of the value belonged to local long-term investors, 40 per cent to local financial institutions, and 5 per cent to foreign institutional investors.
In a related development, Laos has helped develop the baht-denominated bond market through the issuance of four series of bonds, with the latest completed in April.
The bonds, together worth Bt12 billion, will help fulfil the Finance Ministry’s aim to turn Thailand into a leading bond market in the region.
Bhutan and Myanmar, meanwhile, are conducting feasibility studies into the issuance of baht bonds.
'Slow pace' irks PM
Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, who is also head of the military’s National Council for Peace and Order, yesterday urged ministries to speed up disbursement of their budgets.
He said he was unhappy with the slow process of disbursement so far this financial year.
Prayut also said it was time to look at the underlying factors causing delays in disbursing the state budgets, such as whether the current rules and regulations were too stringent, or perhaps they had been lax in the past, allowing spending to take place relatively faster.
Together with tourism income, public spending is seen as the only engine capable of driving the economy this year.
TRUEMOVE H issue
TrueMove H Universal Communication, a subsidiary of True Corp, is preparing to offer unsubordinated and unsecured three-year debentures totalling Bt7.5 billion, together with a greenshoe portion of Bt2.5 billion in the event of oversubscription.
The company is offering a fixed coupon rate of 4.2 per cent per annum, with interest payments made every quarter until maturity.
The debentures are priced at Bt1,000 per unit, with a minimum subscription of Bt100,000, and in multiples of Bt100,000.
They can be subscribed to through Bangkok Bank, Krungthai Bank and Siam Commercial Bank on July 23, 24, 27 and 28.
Proceeds from the issuance will be used to support business operations and/or investment.
