Speaking on an unrelated trip to the Lao capital, BMCL managing director Dr Sombat Kitjalaksana said the company would be listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand late this month and was interested in all of the government's mega-projects.

The company operates the existing underground train from Bang Sue to Hua Lamphong. The system carries 200,000 passengers a day, a figure that is expected to rise to 240,000 by the end of the year. Average revenue is Bt4 million a day.

In line with company's growth rate, BMCL is expected to start posting net profits from 2008, Sombat said.

He said the company planned to raise Bt5 billion from the Stock Exchange of Thailand at the end of this month and to trade on the market in the first week of July.

The company's financial advisers, Kim Eng Securities Plc and Credit Lyonnaise Securities, will conduct road shows in support of the offering in Hong Kong, Singa-pore, Tokyo and London this month before setting its share price following the book-building process.

BMCL expects to issue 2.86 billion shares to the public. Of those, 1.32 billion will be newly issued shares and the remainder existing ones. Another 300 million shares will be set aside for a greenshoe option, which allows underwriters of the initial public offering (IPO) to borrow shares from major shareholders to sell to the public if the demand is strong.

Proceeds from the share allocation will be used to buy five electric trains - adding to the 19 at present - to service debt and to reserve as working capital.

The firm currently shoulders a Bt12-billion debt and is expected to lower its debt-to-equity ratio from 2:1 to 1:1.

Following the share offering, Ch Karnchang's shareholding in BMCL will be diluted from 41.81 per cent to 24.85 per cent and Bangkok Expressway Plc's from 18.89 per cent to about 10 per cent.

Sombat was speaking on a visit to Laos in connection with Ch Karnchang's participation in the Nam Theun 2 Dam.

Somluck Srimalee

The Nation

VIENTIANE