BBL to Take Half of MINT’s Bond Yield in Exchange for a Guarantor in a Risky Situation

Minor International Public Company Limited (MINT) has issued a perpetual bond at a size of $300 million on June 22, 2020, with a three-year noncallable maturity and a final guidance at 3.10%, guaranteed by Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited (BBL) for increasing liquidity for the company, stated reporters.

 

The bond will be sold through HSBC (The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation), ANZ (Australia and New Zealand Banking Group), BOfA (Bank of America), Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) for foreign investors with a fixed rate of 3.10% to be paid semi-annually until 2023. The issued perpetual bond had over $3.3 billion booking, which capped its size.

As a guarantor, BBL has Baa1, BBB+ and BBB by Moody’s, S&P and Fitch, respectively, with all stable outlooks. Meanwhile, the issue rating is expected to be Baa2 by Moody’s and BBB by Fitch.

 

However, a reliable source close to the matter stated earlier that the coupon rate from MINT’s perpetual bond is expected to be around 6% per annum. Thus, raised a notice on the differentiation by 2.9% when subtracting the final guidance of MINT’s perpetual bond at 3.10% with the report of 6% rate, in which the 2.9% amount could be an operating fee for BBL as a standby letter of credit (SBLC) in case of MINT’s default on the bond due to the current situation of its business.

The reporter stated that MINT will make an official announcement regarding the matter through the Stock Exchange of Thailand on June 23, 2020.