Udomsak Chakreyavanich, managing director of Asia Plus Plc, Demco's financial adviser, said Demco had already submitted the appropriate filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He said he expected the company's listing plan to be approved within the next two months, at which point it would hold an IPO, probably in the third or fourth quarter.

Demco's five key sources of income are electrical engineering, electricity and machinery, telecommunications, power conservation, and producing and distributing iron poles. The company has Bt215 million of registered capital at a par value of Bt1, and paid-up capital of Bt160 million.

Pradej Kitti-itsaranon, managing director of Demco, said the listing would give the company an alternative source of funding. He said that listing on the exchange would make the company's management system more transparent, which would improve its chances when bidding on projects.

Last year, Democo reported Bt1.53 billion in revenues, up 151 per cent on year. It recorded a net profit of Bt44 million last year, up 390 per cent on year.

Udomsak said market sentiment would be better in the third or fourth quarter, because the political situation would be improved.

Udomsak said market sentiment in the first half was not favourable for listing, adding that Asia Plus' income from investment banking had fallen from last year. He said his company expected to list only two new companies this year, one of them Demco.

Siriporn Chanjindamanee

The Nation