Infrastructure fund will likely be popular
INVESTORS are expected to be very interested in the 100-billion-baht Infrastructure Fund which the government will likely launch at yearend, Thai News Agency quoted Asia Wealth Securities as saying today.
This is because bank interest rates are currently very low and investing in this type of a fund yields higher returns, especially cash return in the form of dividend and the difference in the trading price of the unit similar to ordinary funds, this securities company said.
The government is introducing this fund to reduce the burden on the national budget in developing infrastructure with the return to be 2-3% a year. This will be a closed-end fund and will be traded on the stock market once launched similar to the Vayupak Fund which the Thaksin government had set up.
The first three projects this fund will invest in are Bangkok-Bang Chang motorway, Bangkok’s outer ring road and an expressway linking Rama 3 and Dao Kanong-Kanchanapisek roads.
In keeping with the government’s basic structure a state enterprise is usually in charge of an infrastructure project and earlier when any such project was to be implemented a budget had to be requested from the government or borrowed from overseas sources which delayed implementation, the Securities and Exchange Commission explained.
By launching an infrastructure fund such projects can be quickly implemented without increasing public debt.
PHOTO:
More impressive infrastructure are to be built similar to this motorway stretch near Suvarnabhumi Airport. Photo: Jo Sau
By Nanthida Kumari
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