Thai TUF Plans Up To USD 58 Million Bond Saleff

From Reuters

Thai Union Frozen (TUF) planned to sell up to 2 billion baht (USD 58 million) of 2-year bonds later this month for debt refinancing and a business expansion, fund managers said on Tuesday.

The unsecured bonds, rated “A+” by Thailand’s TRIS Rating, would be offered to institutional and high net worth investors, the firm said in a statement to Thailand’s Securities Exchange Commission.

“The amount of the issue is about 1-2 billion baht and it will be launched from late-October to early-November,” one of two fund managers close to the deal told Reuters.

TUF is among several Thai companies, including top oil and gas firm PTT PCL PTT.BK, which want to raise funds through the bond market where yields have fallen as investors favor government bonds as safe haven amid a global financial crisis.

More than 20 billion baht worth of bonds planned by Thai listed firms are expected to be sold this month.

Benchmark two-year government bonds yielded 3.64 percent on Monday, down from 3.98 percent in a week ago.

TUF, Thailand’s biggest canned tuna exporter, has said it might issue bonds later this year to refinance some of its 6.0 billion baht short-term debt.

HSBC’s Thai unit is the issue’s underwriter.

At 0816 GMT, shares in TUF were down 2.04 percent at 19.20 baht, while the overall Thai stock market .SETI was 2.68 percent lower.