The Public Debt Management Office (PDMO) will offer the final batch of government savings bonds worth 21 billion baht later this month, of which 20 billion baht's worth will be offered on a "small lot first" basis to provide an opportunity to as many individual investors as possible to snap up the bonds, said director-general Patricia Mongkhonvanit.
The offer is part of the PDMO's plan to launch savings bonds worth a total of 185 billion baht this year.
Of the total bonds available in this final batch, the bonds -- worth 20 billion baht -- will be allocated to the general public, with the remainder alloted for non-profit organisations.
Referring to the new offering of bonds, Mrs Patricia said it is the first time the office has employed the small lot first method to issue bonds to the public.
This caps the value of the bonds the public can subscribe to under this 20-billion-baht offering at 2 million baht, down from 10 million in the tranche issued in June, to enable as many people as possible to obtain the bonds.
Under the small lot first method, buyers can subscribe for a minimum 1,000 baht but not over 2 million baht in total when combining use of the four banks.
The bonds worth 1,000 baht will be allocated to each of the buyers in the first allocation round. If there are still bonds left over, the system will allocate additional bonds worth 1,000 baht for them in the following round.
The allocation round will continue until the bonds are sold out. This method means that not all subscribers will receive all the bonds they subscribe for. The subscription period for these bonds for the public will run from Aug 22-24.
The tranche of 20-billion-baht bonds is split into two lots. The first lot carries a term of five years with a step-up interest rate at an average of 2.90% per year.
The second lot carries a term of 10 years with a step-up rate at an average of 3.60% per year. Both lots pay the interest every three months.
These bonds will be up for grabs via the counters, websites and mobile banking channels of the four dealer banks -- Bangkok Bank, Krungthai Bank, Kasikornbank and Siam Commercial Bank.
Subscribers will be informed by many related channels on Aug 25 regarding the final result in terms of how many bonds they have been allocated.
For those who fail to get all the bonds they subscribe for, on Aug 26 the dealer banks will return the money to them with respect to the part of the bonds they failed to get following the subscription.
The bonds earmarked for non-profit organisations carry a term of 10 years with a step-up interest rate at an average of 3.30% per year. The bonds will pay the interest every six months.
The bonds will be on offer on a "first come, first served" basis during Aug 29-30 at the four dealer banks.
