Mr. Surayut Thavikulwat, Chief Financial Officer of BTS Group Holdings PCL said during the investor roadshow of BTSG Green Bond organized at Eastin Grand Hotel Sathorn on April 30, 2019 that with BTSG's vision and commitment to operate businesses that embrace the social and environmental sustainability, BTSG is now offering BTSG Green Bond to institutional and high-net-worth investors in Thailand. The Bond will be the first Thai Green Bond issued under the new Thai SEC's Green Bond Notification. BTSG Green Bond has five series with tenors of 2 years, 3 years, 5 years, 7 years and 10 years, with fixed rate, semi-annual coupon payment. The Bond's proceeds will be used to refinance the Pink line (Khae Rai-Min Buri) and the Yellow line (Lad Prao-Sam Rong), the anchor projects that will elevate Bangkok's electric mass transit infrastructure which will in turn help reduce the use of fossil-fueled vehicles and carbon emission in Bangkok. BTSG has already filed the Registration Statement with the Office of the SEC, and the Bond's subscription period will be from 21 May to 23 May 2019.
Representatives from the joint lead arrangers of the BTSG Green Bond, Mr. Prasert Deejongkit, Senior Vice President and Manager, Corporate Finance Department, Bangkok Bank PCL, and Mr. Tanik Tarawisid, Executive Vice President, Head of Capital Markets Function, Siam Commercial Bank PCL, said that the BTSG Green Bond will be the first Thai Green Bond issued under the new Thai SEC's Green Bond Notification. The Bond also complies with the International Capital Market Association (ICMA)'s Green Bond Principles (ICMA's GBP), as well as the ASEAN Green Bond Standards (AGBS). Sustainalytics, a leading independent research facility of ESG and corporate governance, has verified and issued the second party opinion (SPO) which concluded that the BTSG Green Bond is in compliance with both the ICMA's GBP and the AGBS. Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) has also certified that the BTSG Green Bond complies with the Climate Bonds Standard, the low carbon transport criteria. BTSG Green Bond offers Thai institutional and high-net-worth investors the first opportunity to contribute to the environment conservation by investing in the securities that finance the low carbon transport projects. In addition, this landmark transaction will be an important step of Thai debt capital market to move towards sustainable financing, in line with the global green and sustainable financing trends.