(Thailand) – State owned BankThai says it is on track to deliver its first dividend next year after completing a US$168 million share placement.The placement will cut the Government’s stake in the bank from 96 percent to 48 percent and paves the way for a dividend payment in the third quarter of 2003. The placement has been made to institutional and retail investors, at an 8 percent discount to the current share price.
BankThai, Thailand’s seventh largest bank, was formed in 1998 from the merger of state owned Union Bank of Bangkok with 13 financial institutions which failed during the economic crisis.
BankThai has assets of US$6.3 billion, and made a US$15 million profit for the first six months of this year.