CK Power (CKP) has issued debentures worth 4 billion baht as the company prepares to invest in new hydroelectric power plants in Laos.
The move is in line with the company's investment policies and expectations in terms of growth, said CKP managing director Thanawat Trivisvavet.
The company has already developed two hydroelectric power plants in Laos: the Nam Ngum 2 plant, which has installed capacity of 615 megawatts, and the Xayaburi plant, which has installed capacity of 1,285MW.
Mr Thanawat said the new debentures will also be used to pay off outstanding debentures, which are due to be paid in the first half of 2021.
This move would reduce the average financial costs of CKP and its subsidiaries, he said.
The 4 billion baht in debentures, defined as non-subordinated, unsecured with bond representative in terms of their type, were issued to large firms and investors.
The debentures were issued in three sets: debentures valued at 1 billion baht with a tenure of two years at an interest rate of 2.31% per year; debentures valued at 1.5 billion baht with a tenure of three years at an interest rate of 2.62% per year; and debentures valued at 1.5 billion baht with a tenure of seven years at an interest rate of 3.76% per year.
"The company's debentures drew a lot of attention from investors. We received pre-orders 3.9 times higher than the amount initially offered," said Mr Thanawat.
As of Nov 30 this year, CKP has issued a total of 10.5 billion baht in debentures.
With the inclusion of the latest issue of debentures, CKP will have a net interest-bearing debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, which is considered to be low. This figure reflects the financial strength of the company.
The company still has the capacity to issue additional debentures for a value of 9.5 billion baht to support future growth. However, it has yet to schedule a date for such an issuance.
The Nam Ngum 2 and Xayaburi facilities are among 13 power plants, with total capacity of 2,167MW, operated by CKP.
The company also owns two co-generation power plants with a capacity of 238MW, as well as nine solar power plants with a capacity of 29MW.