Holcim Thai unit to sell bonds

A Thai unit of Switzerland-based Holcim Ltd, Holcim Capital (Thailand) Ltd, will likely sell up to THB8 billion of senior secured bonds with three-year, five-year, and seven-year maturities by early next month, said a fund manager familiar with the deal Tuesday.  The roadshow for the bonds, which will be offered to institutional investors, will be held Wednesday.  The bonds will be fully-guaranteed by Holcim. The proceeds will be used to repay debts of other Thai units, Holcim Capital said in a filing to the Securities & Exchange Commission.  Holcim holds a major stake in Thailand’s second-largest cement maker Siam City Cement PCL. 

Standard Chartered Bank (Thai) PCL, and Bank of Ayudhya PCL are the underwriters for the issue, the company said.  Fitch Ratings Tuesday assigned expected national long-term ratings of ’AA(tha)’ to the bonds given the irrevocable and unconditional guarantee to be provided by Swiss-based Holcim.  The Holcim’s bonds are expected to be sold close to the THB4 billion three-year secured bonds to be issued by Mitsubishi Motors (Thailand) Ltd, guaranteed by Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.