Dhanin Gears Up for $1.6 Billion Thai IPO
Telecommunications Trust's December Listing Set to be Thailand's Second-Biggest in 2013
Thailand's richest man, Dhanin Chearavanont, is gearing up to launch an initial public offering of some of his telecommunications assets in a nearly $1.6 billion deal this week, people with knowledge of the matter said Monday, in what is set to be the country's second-biggest IPO this year. Mr. Dhanin's bankers have already started talking to institutional investors interested in buying units in the IPO of True Telecommunications Growth Infrastructure Fund, the people said. True Telecommunications, which will be a trust listing, will be carved out of Mr. Dhanin's telecom firm True Corp., which is one of the country's top three telecom operators providing broadband Internet, mobile phone, and pay-TV services. True Telecommunications will officially start taking orders once Thai regulators approve the listing plan, the people said, adding that they expect True Telecommunications to get the green light this week. When it goes public, True Telecommunications' IPO will be Thailand's second-largest IPO this year after Bangkok elevated skytrain operator BTS Infrastructure Growth Fund's $2.1 billion IPO in April. True Telecommunications is planning its listing even though the Thai stock market is currently one of the worst performing in Southeast Asia, as protests against Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra hurt sentiment toward Thai stocks. As a trust listing, True Telecommunications will attract investors seeking yields at a time of low interest rates. The prospect of the Federal Reserve tapering its bond-buying programwill affect demand for trust assets, say analysts. Thailand's stock market is down 1% Monday, bringing it 2.6% lower for the year.