8 สิงหาคม 2546
Jasmine Debt.Court backs huge debt write-off. Telecom firm to repay only Bt2.95 billion under approved plan.
Jasmine International Plc will receive a 70-percent haircut on its Bt11.8-billion debt under a rehabilitation plan approved by the bankruptcy court, the telecom firm said yesterday.
The plan was approved by most of Jasmine's creditors on March 6 last year, but was delayed by objections from some group of lenders.
Jasmine, founded by Commerce Minister Adisai Bodharamik, said in a filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand that billion after completion of the debt-restructuring plan.
The company's major creditors include a group led by its subsidiary, Acumen, which it owes Bt2.2 billion, Bangkok Bank, which it owes Bt1.8 billion, and a group of local and foreign creditors which are owed Bt5.3d6 billion.
Under the approved plan, only Bangkok Bank will be repaid fully, over a nine-year span, while the Acumen-led group will be repaid 18 per cent of its debt within 10 years. The third group of creditors will be repaid 19.5 percent of its debt over four years.
Sources close to Jasmine said the company had had good ties with Bangkok Bank for a long time since the bank has helped finance many of its projects, especially during the 1997 economic crisis.
Besides outright repayment, Jasmine will also buy back debt from various holders at steep discounts, swap some debt for equity, and sell some assets.
An official at Jasmine's administrator, Chaengwattana Planner, said the plan would take around three to six months to be implemented.
Jasmine will issue 68 million shares for debt-to-equity conversion and to fund the debt-buy-back programme, the company said in its statement to the exchange.
Of the total, 18 million shares will be issued for a mandatory debt-to-equity swap at Bt25 a share, the statement said.
The Bodharamik family currently holds almost 50 per cent of Jasmine.
The family's major shareholder is Pete, Adisai's only son, with a 34.21 per-cent stake.
The company suffered an accumulated loss of Bt9.4 billion in the first quarter the year.
Jasmine shares closed at Bt10.10 yesterday, down 5.6 per cent from Wednesday.
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