The Public Debt Management Office (PDMO) aims to issue global bonds worth $1.1 billion to $1.5 billion over fiscal 2014 to help finance high-speed rail and water management projects.
But the issue's timing will hinge on when investment gets underway in the government's 2-trillion-baht infrastructure and 350-billion-baht water management projects, PDMO director-general Churarat Sutheethorn said yesterday.
Issuing Thai government bonds abroad is essential to widen funding channels and set a reference rate for local companies seeking to raise funds overseas, she added.
Separately, Ms Churarat said the PDMO is concerned about the soaring yields on government bonds in local markets.
On Wednesday, the office withdrew its offer of 15-year inflation-linked bonds worth 10 billion baht in the primary market after the yield on inflation-linked bonds in the secondary market surged by 115 basis points in one month to 2.71%.
At a meeting with the PDMO, 14 primary dealers said that rocketing yields on inflation-linked bonds reflects their view that, following recent hikes in food prices, the inflation rate is running higher than the consumer price index announced by the Commerce Ministry, she said.
In August, headline inflation was down year-on-year for the eighth straight month to 1.59%, although the figure rose from July by 0.01%.
Over the fiscal year starting on Oct 1, the PDMO plans to borrow 760 billion baht, including 9 billion baht for the water management project, 137 billion for infrastructure development, 250 billion for financing the 2014 fiscal budget, 231 billion for refinancing maturing bonds and 130 billion baht for refinancing the Financial Institutions Development Fund's maturing bonds.