The Thai Bond Market Association (ThaiBMA) stated that the trajectory of corporate debenture defaults among companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) remains unclear for the remainder of the year, as the domestic economy continues to recover at a sluggish pace, while uncertainty surrounding the effectiveness of stimulus measures from the new administration also clouds the outlook.
In relation to Energy Absolute Public Company Limited (SET: EA), ThaiBMA noted there are currently no new developments regarding its corporate debenture restructuring. EA has resumed its regular debt servicing, and the upcoming debentureholder meeting is simply a continuation of discussions from the previous session, focusing on restructuring terms with commercial banks.
The meeting’s agenda includes a clause permitting debenture issuers to restructure their debt or conduct certain financial transactions with other creditors without this being considered a default to debentureholders.
Following a series of defaults across multiple sectors, the association emphasized the necessity of amending the Bankruptcy Act to bolster protection and fairness for debentureholders.
ThaiBMA has submitted three key recommendations to the Ministry of Justice: clarifying and enhancing the transparency of debentureholder representative appointments; authorizing representatives to act on behalf of debentureholders in debt recovery; and amending debentureholder meeting requirements so that decisions pass by a simple majority.
ThaiBMA indicated that “the association has submitted these proposals to the Ministry of Justice, but they have yet to be placed on the formal agenda. We anticipate the issues will be considered in the next ministry meeting.” Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to announce new guidelines on its website, enabling debentureholders to appropriately commence initial actions against debtors.
For 2025, overall debenture issuance is expected to align with prior forecasts despite the target being revised down to approximately THB 800 billion. However, the association noted there is potential for issuance to reach as high as THB 910 billion.
October, in particular, is projected to see combined new issuance and debenture rollover exceed THB 100 billion. Companies already filing for debenture issuance include BTS Group Holdings (SET: BTS) (THB 12 billion), The Siam Cement (SET: SCC) (THB 25 billion), Gulf Development (SET: GULF) (THB 30 billion), and CPN Retail Growth Leasehold REIT (SET: CPNREIT) (THB 6 billion).
