The State Enterprise Policy Office (Sepo) plans to hold roadshows to rally support for an initial public offering (IPO) of the Thailand Future Fund (TFF) after the infrastructure fund secures approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The Office of the Attorney-General is vetting a draft on the revenue transfer agreement, allowing for the shift of 45% of future revenue from the Chalong Rat Expressway (Ram Intra-At Narong) and Burapha Withi Expressway (Bang Na-Chon Buri) to the TFF for 30 years, said Charnwit Nakburi, deputy director-general of Sepo.
The office requested that Sepo provide additional details, including the planned toll hikes of both expressways and routes to be used to back TFF.
If the draft wins approval from the attorney-general, Sepo will submit the IPO filing to the SEC, Mr Charnwit said.
Roadshows will be conducted both at home and abroad, he said.
Countries where investors are interested in Thailand will be Sepo's focus for the roadshows. Most of them will be European.
The subscription period is expected in the first quarter at the earliest, though it will depend on market conditions, Mr Charnwit said.
He said TFF's IPO units will be sold to both local institutional and retail investors.
As retail investors will be the first priority for the infrastructure fund's unit offering, educating them is important because all investment carries risks, Mr Charnwit said.
Last May, the cabinet approved a proposal to use two expressways as underlying assets for the TFF.
Sepo has estimated that 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.
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, as well as the third stage of the long-delayed northern expressway linking the Kasetsart intersection and Nawamin Road, also known as the N2 section, valued at 14.3 billion.
Sepo said the TFF will help boost investor confidence by showing the continuity of the government's big-ticket infrastructure plans.
After the fund's IPO, additional assets are expected to be added to the TFF to attract investors, Mr Charnwit said.