Siam City Bank has suspended the public auction of stock in Pacific Assets and Sansiri that was pledged as collateral, as Natural Park has now agreed to repay a Bt1.3-billion loan in three instalments.

Sermsin Samalapa, CEO of the embattled developer, reported to the Stock Exchange of Thailand yesterday that the company would pay the first instalment of at least Bt30 million plus Bt641,850 in fees and expenses by today.

"After receiving the letter from Siam City Bank, Natural Park has complied with the first condition by immediately repaying debt to Siam City Bank. The company prepared cash by selling shares in Finansa from June 7-12, 2007 totalling 4.77 million shares at the average price per share of Bt9.50, amounting to Bt45.39 million," he said.

Natural Park will make the next instalment by July 16, paying at least Bt615 million in debt but not less than the net selling price and/or not less than the 90-day average share price up to three working days before the share redemption day, whichever is higher, to redeem 205 million Sansiri shares.

The company will repay the remaining loan balance to the bank by October 15, together with the redemption of all shares in Pacific Assets.

Siam City Bank recently said it would sell 177 million shares of Pacific Assets and 205 million shares of Sansiri after both parties failed to agree on debt restructuring.

Under the agreement, Natural Park has to pay interest at the bank's minimum lending rate on a monthly basis from next month until the loan is paid off.

After the company completes repayment of the loan without default, the bank will waive the interest penalty as of June 6 in the amount of Bt235.64 million and other penalty for this month.

However, Natural Park has to repay the loan in full without any waiver and the default interest as in the bank's announcement and will immediately enforce the public auction of shares to repay the loan in case of default. Natural Park said it had received a letter from Grant Thornton, which has found an investor that is considering purchasing the Sansiri shares, informing it that the interested group has completed its review of preliminary information and is preparing to make a final offer to the company by the end of the month.

Natural Park's consolidated first quarter saw a net loss of Bt296.79 million against a Bt249.13-million net loss in the corresponding quarter last year.

"The success of solving the debt problem between the company and Siam City Bank depends on a fair offer from a group of interested investors arranged by Grant Thornton. If the company cannot agree on the sale of shares in Sansiri, the company requires other alternatives to solve the problem," he said.

Natural Park is also negotiating with Krung Thai Bank to reschedule its debt repayment.

Natural Park, in a bid to survive its debt load, has divested several assets, including a significant stake in subway operator Bangkok Metro, hotels and property.