Sansiri is set to launch Sansiri i-Easy bonds, worth 500 million baht, through Siam Commercial Bank's (SCB) investment application SCB Easy on Sept 16-20, with the aim of providing retail investors greater access to corporate bonds.
Sansiri i-Easy bonds will be the first corporate bonds launched through an application that allows investors to easily buy corporate bonds with just mobile phones, an SCB account and the SCB Easy application, said Srettha Thavisin, president and chief executive of Sansiri.
The bonds have received a credit rating of BBB+ from Tris Rating with a stable outlook and are targeted towards individual investors with a minimum subscription of only 10,000 baht, 10 times lower than regular bonds. The interest rate is also as high as 3% per annum and it is paid every three months throughout the term of two years and six months.
"We believe that Sansiri bonds will attract many investors thanks to the high return of up to 3% compared to the fixed deposit interest of about 1% at the present. The investment period is also not too long. It is an investment grade bond and very convenient to buy. Investors can easily make transactions via mobile phone without having to travel," said Mr Srettha.
Since the beginning of the year, Sansiri has issued 9.7 billion baht in bonds. Combined with the upcoming 500 million baht of i-Easy, the company will have issued a total of about 20 billion baht in bonds.
The company's debt to equity ratio currently stands at 1.4 times, he said.
Sansiri currently has a huge amount of backlog sales waiting for transfer, including joint venture projects in condominiums worth around 25.9 billion baht.
The company has also generated total sales of 23.6 billion baht, representing 76% of the company's 31 billion baht sales target, with transferred projects worth up to 20.7 billion baht or 67% of the target.
With ample liquidity of 17 billion baht in hand, funds raised through the bond issuance will allow the company to grow strongly during the rest of this year with prospects in all possible situations.
"The issuance of bonds with a minimum subscription of only 10,000 baht is unprecedented in the Thai corporate bond industry. It will grant the general public the opportunity to access new investment options like never before," said Sarut Ratanaporn, co-president of SCB.
SCB, the debentures' underwriter, said the subscription of under 500 million baht of the bonds will be available via the SCB Easy application.