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Published on March 28, 2008

Tisco's Agricultural Euro Fund will hold its initial public offering (IPO) from today to April 9. Initial minimum investment is Bt20,000.

The fund will invest in the DB Platinum Agriculture Euro Fund managed by Deutsche Bank affiliate DB Platinum Advisers.

The DB Platinum Agriculture Euro Fund's stated policy is to invest in agricultural commodities based on the DB Agriculture Euro Index, which focuses on corn, sugar cane, cotton, coffee beans, soybeans and cocoa.

ING's Thai Game Enhanced Linked Fund invests in structured notes issued by foreign institutions and is rated by a credit-rating agency accredited by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The return on structured notes is based on the weighted average return of gold based on London Gold Market Fixing's PM (price) Fix in London.

The fund also includes agricultural commodities based on the Standard & Poor's (S&P) GSCI Agriculture Excess Return Index and Middle East equities based on assets under management by JPMorgan Middle East Equity Fund.

The week-long IPO period for the fund ends next Monday.

ING Funds (Thailand) said the fund yielded a maximum annualised return of 6.8 per cent.

For those who are risk-averse, investment in bonds is another option for hedging against inflation.

KTB Asset Management will launch an IPO for its KTFIF1Y2 from today to next Friday, said the company's chief executive officer, Somchai Boonnamsiri.

The Bt1.86-billion fund, which has an 11-month maturity period, will allocate at least 80 per cent of its overall assets for South Korean government bonds and the rest for domestic debt instruments with investment-grade credit ratings.

The fund will fully hedge against foreign-currency risk.

S&P has assigned South Korea a sovereign credit rating of "A", compared with Thailand's sovereign rating of "BBB+".

Bualuang Asset Management will launch an IPO for three foreign-investment funds (FIFs), with a policy of investing in South Korean bonds, from next Monday to April 8. Initial minimum requirement is Bt10,000.

The three FIFs are the Thanasarn Plus 2/08, carrying a 10-12-month maturity and giving an automatic redemption when the return reaches 3.4 per cent per annum; the Thanasarn Plus 3/08, with a 16-18-month maturity; and the Thanasarn Plus 4/08, with a 22-24-month maturity and which will make automatic redemption when returns stand at not less than 4 per cent per annum

Meanwhile, Kasikorn Asset Management said investors interested in putting money into its KKG1YE and KKG1YF unit trusts could subscribe to them until next Monday and next Thursday, respectively.

Executive vice president Wiwan Tharahirunchote said its KKG1YB Fund offered a return of 3.52 per cent per annum, compared with an expected return of 3.25 per cent per annum, thanks to higher bond prices and the weakened currency-swap rate.

Similarly, the KKG1YC and KKG1YD funds provide a return of 3.6 per cent per annum, compared with an expected return of 3.4 per cent.

All of the funds invest in South Korean government bonds.

The Nation