Key Highlights:

• (Figure 1) As of September 30, 2024, the outstanding value of corporate long-term bonds stood at 4.35 trillion baht, a decrease of 0.46% YoY compared to the same period last year. Currently, there are bonds maturing in 2024 with an outstanding value of 0.21 trillion baht, out of a total maturity value for the year of 0.89 trillion baht, accounting for 4.8% of the total outstanding long-term bonds.

Figure 1 : Outstanding Value of Long-term Bond with Maturity

(Source : FynnCorp IAS’s compilation from SEC and ThaiBMA)

• In September, NWR and EP requested to postpone their bond payments, impacting the overall bond market situation in the first nine months of 2024. The total number of bond issuers requesting payment deferrals reached 12. Meanwhile, the number of bonds with default payments (DP) for the year remained at 3, despite WTX being flagged with a DP marker in September. However, the company managed to pay the interest within the same month.
• From the aforementioned bond market situation, investors have lost confidence, making it more challenging for companies to raise funds through bonds, particularly for new players and companies issuing high-yield bonds. We believe this has contributed to a 32.85% YoY decline in the value of bonds offered for sale in September.
• (Figure 2) The energy (ENERG), financial (FIN), and property development (PROP) sectors remain the top industries with the highest outstanding bonds in the current market. Among these, the financial and securities sector holds the largest proportion of bonds maturing within the year, valued at 45.6 billion baht, or 8.5% of the sector’s total outstanding bonds. Following closely is the property development sector, with bonds maturing within the year valued at 39.1 billion baht, accounting for 8% of the sector’s total outstanding bonds.

Figure 2 : Outstanding Value of Long-term Bond with Maturity by Sector

(Source : FynnCorp IAS’s compilation from SEC and ThaiBMA)

Bonds Offered in September 2024

• In September 2024, a total of 37 issues of corporate long-term bonds were registered with ThaiBMA, representing 18 companies and a combined value of 62.89 billion baht. This marks a decrease of 22.61% (MoM) and 32.85% (YoY). We believe that part of this decline is due to issuers closely monitoring interest rate trends ahead of the upcoming meeting scheduled for October 16, 2024.

• The major issuers in September were GULF and BJC, with a combined bond issuance value of 38.0 billion baht, accounting for 60.42% of the total bond issuance value for this month.
• Excluding financial institutions, the total fundraising amount stood at 61.8 billion baht, reflecting that financial institutions issued fewer bonds compared to previous months of this year.
• The corporate long-term bonds offered in September 2024 included 22 issues in the investment-grade category (Issue rating), from companies such as BJC, GULF, NOBLE, BGRIM, BEM, SJWD, PRIN, UNIQ, and KTX.
• Meanwhile, 15 issues with no credit rating (Issue rating) were offered by FSX, NUSA, CHAYO, GRAND, RML, DTP, NCH, FPT, and PTTC.
• FSX (FINANSIA X PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED) was a new issuer of long-term bonds in September 2024.
• (Table 2) Among the corporate long-term bonds registered in September 2024, we found that most issuers were able to raise funds according to their targets, except for 6 issuers out of the 18 issuers. One factor we see is that investors had options from Major bond issuers with high fundraising amounts, and they remained cautious in their investments.

Figure 3 :Long- Term Corporate Bonds for Sales Registered in September 2024