Asset Plus purchases Bt100 million worth of expired NMG bills of exchange

Repayment of the BOEs came due as the media company struggles with a vacuum in its top management structure after the Securities and Exchange Commission issued an order to ban eight NMG directors.
 Ratch Sodsatit, managing director of Asset Plus, said it had purchased Bt50 million worth of NMG’s BOEs from its Asset Plus Fixed Income Fund (ASP) and another Bt50 million from Asset Plus AI Fixed Income Fund 1 (ASP-AIF1) as a way to avoid adverse impacts on investors.
The two funds had earlier invested in the BOEs, which expired on Wednesday.
On October 6, eight former NMG board members were banned by the SEC from holding directorships or executive positions in any listed companies.
The ban has affected NMG’s business and routine operations, as most of the eight directors were also executives of the company.
Ratch said Asset Plus had purchased the BOEs that expired on October 12 to prevent impacts on investors arising from the vacuum in NMG’s top management structure. As a result of the move, neither the ASP nor ASP-AIF1 fund has exposure to these fixed-income instruments, which should ease investors’ concerns about a possible repayment default by NMG.

Extraordinary shareholders’ meeting
He said Asset Plus believed that NMG could expedite an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting to finalise the appointment of executive directors prior to the repayment deadline for another BOE issue that ASP AIF2 has invested in.
That repayment is due on March 8, 2017.
NMG has scheduled a special shareholders’ meeting for November 7.
Ratch said NMG was viewed as having healthy financial status with the ability to meet its debt obligations. However, the fund could see lower net asset value for a period in line with the SEC’s watch-and-see principle in a case of fixed income’s default by an issuer. Based on this principle, all funds that invest in such fixed income are required to book zero in its market value.
“In the NMG case, Asset Plus views this difficulty for inability for repayment as an impact from none of the authorised power only, given NMG’s strong financial status and ability for debt repayment,” Ratch said.
He said Asset Plus still adhered to good investment standards and principles with close monitoring of the financial status of the companies it invests in.
When an unexpected difficulty arises that affects the financial instruments Asset Plus funds invest in, the company prudently sets measures to cope with the case and stands ready to solve immediate problems instantly to relieve impacts on investors for their maximum benefit, he said.
After NMG informed the Stock Exchange of Exchange that the company would hold Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting No 1/2016 on November 7, the exchange cancelled suspension signs posted earlier on securities of NMG, Nation Broadcasting Corporation and Nation International Edutainment during yesterday’s morning session.
The meeting agenda includes the appointments of eight directors to replace those suspended by the SEC. and amendment of directors’ authorisation.