Airport Of Thailand Sets IPO Price At THB42.00

Tuesday March 2, 2004 

Airport Of Thailand Sets IPO Price At THB42.00 
Yahoo News


BANGKOK (Dow Jones)--Airports of Thailand has set the
price of its initial public offer of shares at 42 baht
($1=THB39.256) apiece, a source close to the deal said
Tuesday. 

The IPO is expected to raise as much as THB17.33
billion, the source said. 

The company's acting managing director, Bancha
Pattanaporn, also confirmed the IPO price when
contacted by Dow Jones Newswires. 

The price is at the high end of the THB37-THB42
indicative range, which was expected given the strong
demand during the subscription period last week. 

The IPO shares were sold out within hours after the
subscription started Thursday. 

Airports of Thailand said it sold 358.8 million new
shares to local and foreign investors. The IPO is part
the partial privatization plan for the company. 

The source said the company also decided to sell an
additional 53.8 million shares under a greenshoe
option due to the strong demand from both local and
foreign investors. 

Of the total offer, 58.7% was allotted for local
investors, while the remaining 41.3% was sold to
foreign investors, the source said. 

The portion for local retail investors was
oversubscribed 8.5 times, while the portion for local
and foreign institutional investors was oversubscribed
as much as 18 times, the source added. 

Analysts said investors could count on Airports of
Thailand's solid revenue stream from airport fees at
its existing five main airports across Thailand. 

Its growth prospects are also supported by its new
airport in Bangkok. 

There has also been a pent-up demand for IPOs after a
long lull in Thai state-enterprise IPOs. Airports of
Thailand is the first state enterprise to be listed on
the bourse since late 2002, when PTT PCL (PTT.TH), the
country's largest oil and gas conglomerate, offered
shares to the public. 

Proceeds from Airports of Thailand's public offer will
be used to fund the construction of Bangkok's new
international airport, scheduled for completion in
September 2005. 

The company's shares will debut on the Stock Exchange
of Thailand March 11. 

The IPO shares comprise around 30% of Airports of
Thailand's equity after the offer. 

The company will hold a press conference at 0400 GMT
on its IPO plans. 

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