EDL-Gen marks success of debenture issuance in Thailand
EDL-Gen marks success of debenture issuance in Thailand
EDL-Gen Public Company on Saturday celebrated the success of the issuance and offering of its corporate debenture to finance the company's business expansion.
The ceremony held in Vientiane was attended by Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines, Dr Khammany Inthirath, Bank of the Lao PDR Vice Governor, Ms Vattana Dalaloy and officials from the Lao Securities Exchange and Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Also present were representatives from the three arrangers in Thailand - Standard Chartered Bank Public Co., Ltd., Bank of Ayudhya Public Co., Ltd., and TMB Bank Public Co., Ltd.
As EDL-Gen wishes to maintain its position as a leading power supplier in Laos, the company has stepped up its efforts to source funding from domestic and foreign investors for the purposes of development, EDL-Gen Public Company Managing Director, Mr Boun-oum Syvanpheng, said at the ceremony.
At the beginning of 2014, the company decided to study the feasibility of sourcing financing for business expansion through cooperation with the Twin Pine Consulting Company Limited, which has a lot of experience in acting as a consultant for the Lao government, Mr Boun-oum said.
The company has also had support from various government organisations and the private sector in both Laos and Thailand.
EDL-Gen then considered sourcing funds through Thailand's capital market using 6,500 million baht for debenture issuance.
As EDL-Gen is the first company to seek financing in Thailand through unsubordinated unsecured bonds, they spent almost one year in preparing and getting approval for the scheme along with obtaining the necessary documentation both domestically and overseas, Mr Boun-oum said.
At the beginning of December, 2014, the company opened debenture booking, which saw demand reach 12,490 million baht, a figure that represented an oversubscription of twice the offered amount of 5,990 million baht, he explained.
Until December 12, 2014, the company officially issued debentures which the Thailand Standard Chartered Bank Public Co., Ltd., Bank of Ayudhya Public Co., Ltd. and TMB Bank Public Co., Ltd. sold on behalf of EDL-Gen.
The bonds were offered through private placement methods to high net worth investors and institutional investors including banks, mutual funds, asset management funds, and insurance companies.
The bonds are divided into three tranches - five years, seven years and 10 years. The coupon rate is 4.95 percent, 5.20 percent, and 5.45 percent per year.
The success of this bond issuance reflects and affirms the confidence and trust of Thai investors in EDL-Gen's business operation capacity and its business expansion plan for the next 10 years.
EDL-Gen has become the first energy company in the region to raise funds through corporate debenture issuance in Thailand with an overwhelming success.
Its experience has become a model for companies in the new Asean member countries of Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam as well as for Asean itself in making a tangible step forward to Asean economic integration, especially in making a contribution to the realisation of the Asean Economic Community.
