The Thailand Future Fund (TFF), an infrastructure fund to finance transport projects, is expected to go public by next March, though the labour union of the Expressway Authority of Thailand (Exat) has filed a petition with the Supreme Administrative Court to revoke the cabinet resolution for the fund's launch.
If the TFF IPO process cannot take place this year, there is still time until next March to match fund usage to construct expressway projects, said finance permanent secretary Somchai Sujjapongse.
The cabinet in May approved a proposal to use two expressways as underlying assets for the TFF. Under the proposal, 45% of future revenue from the Chalong Rat Expressway (Ram Intra-At Narong) and Burapha Withi Expressway (Bang Na-Chon Buri), owned by Exat, will be backed by TFF units.
The State Enterprise Policy Office has estimated 45 billion baht will be raised from offering the first batch of TFF units to the public, but the exact amount of proceeds from the IPO depends on investors valuation of the expressways. The office has also tentatively scheduled the fund's IPO for the fourth quarter.
Proceeds from the first lot of TFF's IPO will be used to finance construction of the expressway linking Rama III Road-Dao Khanong and the Western Outer Ring Road, worth 30.4 billion baht, and the third stage of the long-delayed northern expressway linking the Kasetsart intersection and Nawamin Road, also known as the N2 section, valued at 14.4 billion.
Meanwhile, Mr Somchai said that a package to promote savings among people will be proposed to Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong this month.
The package entails upgrading the financial literacy of people at all levels, strengthening institutions related to savings through an efficient supervisory system, launching new savings products and measures to cut spending on luxury goods and adding conditions to enhance retirement savings in order to brace for the ageing society.
Mr Somchai said the Finance Ministry wants to raise its members' pension age to 60, up from 55.
The Finance Ministry predicts that measures to enhance savings could help prevent financial crisis down the road, he said.
Measures to care for the growing ranks of the elderly are among the government's top priorities. The goal is to let seniors live comfortably in post-retirement life while alleviating the state's financial burden. In 2015, the government successfully pushed for the establishment of the NSF, a voluntary retirement safety net for 25 million non-formal workers.