It is not the blue blood of his grandfather, the 51st son of King Rama IV, that makes MR Sasiprin Chandratat feel like a warrior with a mission, he believes he must win business battles to be accountable to his company's shareholders.

As chief executive of Ayudhya Securities Plc, Sasiprin, 42, said he has to make the securities firm a key element in the rise of its parent bank, the Bank of Ayudhya, to become an outstanding universal-banking group. And his experience over the past 16 years, from investment banking to integrated financial consulting services, has led him into regular business battles.

After graduating with a master's degree in business administration from the University of Central Oklahoma, his first job was with the now-defunct One Securities, one of the financial arms of the well-known Finance One group.

He did not set out to be a banker, but a One Securities executive, Charn Srivikorn, impressed Sasiprin greatly during their regular talks and made him want to join the Finance One group. It was his first introduction to the banking industry.

He soon learned that being a financial adviser is an art form. Sasiprin believes that an investment banker needs to be able to achieve a good combination of all aspects of a deal, including business owners, debtors, customers, investors, and authorities such as the Stock Exchange

of Thailand and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Having a good combination finally adds value to a deal, which is the only way to win over customers.

"Investment banking is a charming job," Sasiprin said. "Those involved in it don't feel that they're doing routine work. They have to learn different things all the time. They learn different aspects and views of various people, and they must combine them all within a short period of time, amid a dynamic situation."

He finds the battles of investment banking getting tougher all the time, as more people become involved, with more complications. He believes initial public offerings are not a panacea for all business problems and ambitions, and investment bankers must offer good solutions that employ other financial tools to business owners.

The first "joyful" deal he did was for Abico Holding, a palm-oil producer. He faced the need to merge three companies before leading Abico to list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

Ratchburi Holding Plc was another tough case. It needed not only financial advice on conducting its initial public offering, but it also needed to borrow funds in addition to going public. The total sum involved was about Bt64 billion, of which Bt44 billion was borrowed. The IPO was a large one, shortly after a financial crisis, and because the opportunity to borrow from overseas sources was no longer available, it had to shift to domestic borrowing.

But a tough deal for Sasiprin - one that also built his reputation - was the issue of convertible debentures worth US$100 million (Bt3.7 billion) for PTT Exploration and Production Plc. It was the first issue of its kind in Thailand that used a company's cash flow as a basis for calculating its future performance. Book value and price-to-earnings per share were then more popular methods for such a calculations. The deal needed a lot of work to enable retail investors to comprehend the untried procedure.

After a decade in investment banking, Sasiprin resigned from One Securities after the 1997 financial crisis gripped the country. He looked into asset management, but finally shifted back to investment banking, this time with SCB Securities, looking after mostly large deals.

However, large projects were not to his liking. With smaller deals there is flexibility, simplicity, and a chance to become a real deal-maker, he said. More importantly, smaller deals can be achieved more easily. So he set up the Ploenchit Advisory Co Ltd.

After two years running his own business, the Bank of Ayudhya group convinced him to join them to build up the group's performance.

Now, he sees his job as giving total solutions to customers who turn out to be good teachers, providing him with experience and unlimited development.

"People believe investment banking is a business based on transactions, but I think it is based on ongoing relationships. To survive in investment banking, you need to have a good relationship with your customers and you need to be diligent about knowledge. You need to be experienced, able to analyse problems and read people's minds. Then you'll be successful," he said.

Siriporn Chanjindamanee

The Nation