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Published on March 10, 2008

GMM Grammy plans to embark on an overseas roadshow for the first time in a move to boost investor confidence, and is seeking a financial adviser to create stock liquidity.

Chairman Paiboon Damrongchaitham said GMM would join the Stock Exchange of Thailand's roadshow of Thai listed firms in Singapore next month.

This is the major entertainment house's first such activity since its listing in 1995.

Paiboon said the company was also seeking a financial adviser to devise a plan to boost GMM's stock liquidity, in order to promote the trading of its shares in the market.

Paiboon owns 54.42 per cent of GMM, which floats about 35 per cent of its shares in the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

GMM's stock price once peaked at more than Bt40, when the par value was Bt10 per share. It has since undertaken a share split to Bt1 apiece, following which the stock price hit a low of Bt6. Last Friday, it closed at Bt10.70, up 2.88 per cent on the day.

Paiboon admitted that he is not a stock expert and so it is time for the company to seek expert help in managing its stock performance.

He said last year had been the best to date for the com-pany, given its high net profit due to the deployment of digital technology to support its sales channel, which reduced operating costs.

Last year, the GMM group posted revenue of Bt7.32 billion, 14 per cent higher than in 2006. Net profit was Bt502.2 million, Bt293.54 million higher than the year before.

Paiboon added that the company was also studying new business opportunities presented by the implementation of the Broadcasting Act. One highlight of the new law is that it permits pay-TV operators to run commercials during their programmes.

This year, GMM will also aggressively expand its overseas market for music album sales and concerts, which only generated 5 per cent of its revenue last year. Paiboon said GMM would soon need strategic partners to support its overseas business.

"Strategic partnership is very important. The intense competition and the fast-changing nature of the industry prompted by the advent of digital technology means we have to be ready all the time to cope with changing situations. That means we have to have strong financial status and strong partners," he added.

Siriporn Chanjindamanee

The Nation