Thailand
Thailand: B50bn govt savings bonds sold-out
Total government savings bonds worth 50 billion baht have already sold out after their launch early this month, said Patricia Mongkhonvanit, director-general of the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO).
She said the bonds are attractive to elderly investors, who like to invest in the asset, which does not have too long or too short a maturity. Their interest rates are also attractive to elderly investors, who like to invest in secure assets.
The proceeds from the 50-billion-baht bonds under the name “Ying Aom Ying Dai” (the more you save, the more you earn), will be used to finance state projects to ease the impact of the pandemic.
The bonds were available via two channels. The first tranche of 10 billion was available on the “Sasom Bond Mung Kung” e-wallet, abbreviated to “Sor Bor Mor” in Thai on Krungthai Bank’s Pao Tang mobile app.
The remaining 40 billion were on offer via four dealer banks — KTB, Bangkok Bank, Kasikornbank and Siam Commercial Bank.
The bonds, which were on offer on Pao Tang mobile application, were fully subscribed to within less than three hours on the first day of subscription on July 5.
The bonds offer a three-year term and a step-up on annual interest rates with an average of 1.8%.
The bonds offered through the dealer banks were fully subscribed yesterday after the launch on July 12.
PDMO split the bonds made available via banks into two tranches. The first tranche of 35 billion baht is for individual investors and carries a four-year term, with a step-up average interest of 1.9% per year.
The second tranche of 5 billion baht is for non-profit organisations. The 10-year bonds offer a fixed annual interest rate of 2.2%.
Mrs Patricia added that after this the government will not launch additional savings bonds within the 2021 fiscal year, ending in September, as all of the bonds were fully launched as planned.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2148215/b50bn-govt-savings-bonds-sold-out