It was a tough year for Thailand’s crop of domestic securities houses. Tepid volumes in the early part of the year, and delays to some benchmark IPOs, meant meaningful deals were few and far between. The passing of King Bhumibol put the country into a period of mourning that gave domestic corporations further reason for pause.
It was not, then, an easy time for any of Thailand’s securities houses. But Bualuang Securities, a subsidiary of Bangkok Bank, had far fewer difficulties than some of its rivals.
The highlight of Bualuang’s year was undoubtedly a crucial mandate on the Bt13.6 billion ($394 million) listing of Banpu Power in October 2016, the biggest ECM deal in the country all year.
Deal
The execution of the deal was textbook. It was priced just days after the death of the king, but the lead managers were able to convince investors to shut out the bad news, focusing instead on the individual strength of Banpu Power, part of largest coal mining group in Thailand. The pitch was a clear success and the deal closed at the top of the price range.
That is not all Bualuang can point to when trumpeting its success. It is consistently one of the busiest brokers on Thailand’s stock exchange. Between June and September 2017, the firm was ranked third, behind KGI Securities and Phatra Securities, boasting 7.29% of the market.
But it was the Banpu Power deal that really clinched this award win for the firm. The deal helped put the market on the right path at a time when it was under threat of derailing in an already disappointing year. For that, even Bualuang’s rivals would agree that it deserves respect.