The money will be used to expand the company's network and redeem other debentures that will come due soon, the company said in a filing with the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) yesterday.

The board has approved an investment of US$200 million (Bt7.5 billion) for expansion of its GSM network in order to increase service capacity AIS subscribers and improve traffic and signalling efficiency.

"The meeting considered and approved the authorisation of the executive committee or a person (the "Attorney") delegated by the executive committee and/or the board of directors to make a decision on whether the company shall procure the aforementioned funds by borrowing money or by issuing and offering debentures, or a combination of both," the filing stated.

The plan is subject to approval from the company's shareholders who will meet on August 8.

The stock yesterday closed at Bt86, 1.15 per cent lower than the close on Wednesday.

Kim Eng Securities (Thailand) said in a note that AIS, Thailand's largest mobile-phone operator, had made the right decision to seriously focus on network quality since that had been its strength in the past.

Furthermore, the company is likely to gain billions of baht a year after full implementation of the interconnection regime, which should be concluded by the end of the year, the brokerage reported.

The brokerage added that AIS would launch a less aggressive promotional campaign to get its customers to buy shorter, rather than longer usage periods.

The broker has maintained its "buy" rating on the stock with a fair value of Bt114 each.

Meanwhile, Seamico Securities said that the company also had a "buy" recommendation on AIS stock in anticipation that it will benefit from being a net receiver from interconnection charges.

The broker has set a fair value for the stock at Bt115.