Thailand’s leading private power producer, B.Grimm
Power PCL (“BGRIM”), is
confident that its upcoming subordinated perpetual debentures (“Perps”), to
be offered during 19-21
November, will be well-received
by the public. The
company also confirms that the perps will not have any problem with the TAS 32
accounting standard coming into effect next year as they already comply with
the new standard to qualify as equity. The
perps, which proceeds will be used to fuel the company’s expansion of domestic
and international power plant portfolio, will pay a fixed coupon of 5.00% per
annum in the first five years. The
company believes that investors will find the perps attractive given BGRIM’s
proven performance, bright business prospects, and robust capital structure.
Ms. Preeyanart
Soontornwata, President of BGRIM, expressed her confidence that BGRIM’s perps,
to be offered in the total amount of up to THB 8 billion will be warmly
welcomed by both retail and institutional investors. She
cited positive factors including BBB+ for
issue rating and A/stable
for company rating by TRIS which are investment grade, a fixed coupon rate of 5.00% per
annum for the first five years, the company’s long-term
contracts with public-sector
entities, stable revenue flows from the contracts as well as the potential
growths from domestic and overseas demand for power consumption.
On the recent
concern about the forthcoming adoption of the new TAS 32 accounting standard,
she clarified that BGRIM had been aware of the impact of TAS 32 for quite some
time and that the company had already consulted with its auditor before coming
with this perp issuance. Therefore,
the investors can rest assured that BGRIM perps, to be offered during this 19-21
November, will not have any problem complying with the accounting criteria to
qualify as equity in accordance with the new standard.
“Electricity
is crucial for everyone, everywhere, now and certainly also in the future. So
there are always lots of potentials and opportunities in this business.” said
the President. “It is
also widely accepted that the business can generate highly stable cash flow due
to the long-term
power purchasing agreement with power-related
government enterprises, such as EGAT MEA and PEA, and with private industrial
users. That
is correct, but only if the company doing the business possesses extensive
experience and expertise in developing and operating the plants efficiently. Clearly,
BGRIM has proven that with our performance, track record, and trust received
from both public and private sectors. BGRIM
has also extended our expertise to cover various types of power plants as well,
so we are now ready for any incoming opportunities and future trend. This
is why we would like to issue the perps, to be most prepared for these
opportunities.”