Ratchaburi dressed up as a bond to attract Thai investors

The initial public offering of a 40% stake in Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding - the first major new listing in Thailand since the outbreak of the Asian economic crisis in 1997 - offers little in the way of risk and, consequently, limited scope for strong returns. Indeed, the brokers arranging the issue, primarily SCB Securities and Global Thai Finance & Securities, are doing their best to portray Ratchaburi’s shares as something closer to a high-yield bond than a traditional equity investment.