PTT UPSIZES BONDS TO THB 47 BILLION (US$1.4 B)

PTT Plc has announced it is increasing its debenture issuance to 47 billion baht following huge interest from investors as part of a plan to help boost the domestic economy and create more jobs.

The company successfully issued senior unsecured debentures under a medium-term note programme.

With an overwhelming order book of over 2.73 times or more than 95.61 billion baht, PTT decided to increase the issue size from the initial guidance of 35 billion baht to 47 billion, said PTT president and chief executive Auttapol Rerkpiboon.

The debentures offer a choice of secured investment to institutional investors and high net worth investors who are keen to search for yield enhancement.

“The debentures will promote and support the Thai capital market with local funding and, at the same time, help boost the domestic economy,” said Mr Auttapol.

Parts of this fundraising scheme will also be used for redemption of debentures that will mature this year.

Fitch Ratings (Thailand) rated PTT as AAA, which is considered the highest issuer rating.

Pannalin Mahawongtikul, chief financial officer at PTT, said the debentures have five tranches, including a one-year and six-month floating rate tranche, to match investor interest.

Bangkok Bank, Bank of Ayudhya, Kasikornbank and Siam Commercial Bank are jointly arranging the transactions.

PTT Group said it plans to allocate capital expenditure of 851 billion baht from this year to 2025.