The programme for the 2007 fiscal year will be divided into Bt500-million tranches with one tranche sold every month, starting on October 16, until next September.

The coupon rate of each tranche will be announced two working days before subscriptions open.

The Public Debt Management Office will sign a contract today with Bangkok Bank to act as the sole distributor of the savings bonds.

Pannee Sathawarodom, director of the Public Debt Management Office, said yesterday that the savings bond programme would help keep the FIDF afloat and encourage the public to save more. In the last fiscal year, the ministry sold Bt15.34 billion of savings bonds.

"Those who are interested in getting the savings bonds can buy them at all branches of Bangkok Bank, except its micro-branches," Pannee said.

Thai citizens, residents of Thailand, foundations and the Thai Red Cross Society are eligible to buy between Bt10,000 and Bt500,000 of the bonds, paying by cash, personal cheque, cashier's cheque or a withdrawal from their Bangkok Bank deposit account.

The coupon rate will be calculated from the yield on three-year government bonds averaged over the five days before the coupon rate announcement date, plus a margin of not more than 15 per cent of the return.

Meanwhile, Dhanarak Asset Development, a unit of the Finance Ministry's Treasury Department, said the company would offer the second tranche of bonds worth Bt8.2 billion under its securitisation project after issuing the first tranche worth Bt10.3 billion.

Both tranches are part of the total planned bond issuance of Bt24 billion, which will pay for construction of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's new administrative centre.

The bonds will be offered to the public on October 12, 13 and 16 at branches of TMB Bank and Bangkok Bank.

The second tranche will be divided into Bt2.2 billion of 14-year bonds carrying a 6.05-per-cent coupon rate and Bt6 billion of 19-year bonds carrying a 6.5-per-cent coupon rate.