Major creditors have agreed to inject new funds into financially troubled Italian-Thai Development (ITD) Plc to bolster the company’s operations, without necessitating a rehabilitation plan.
Chartsiri Sophonpanich, the president of Bangkok Bank (BBL) and a significant creditor of ITD, underscored the firm’s robust long-term prospects despite facing short-term liquidity constraints.
BBL, along with other major creditors, is poised to provide financial support to ITD, he stated.
“BBL is committed to assisting the customer by offering additional liquidity, working capital, and aiding in debt restructuring. Furthermore, every major creditor has supported ITD in its efforts to restructure debt, obviating the need for ITD to prepare any rehabilitation plans,” Mr. Chartsiri remarked following a recent bank shareholders’ meeting.
While BBL, the largest lender in the country by total assets and a principal creditor of ITD, did not disclose the precise amount of loans extended to the financially strapped contractor, it refrained from identifying its largest lender among the major creditors.
Apart from BBL, significant creditors of ITD include Kasikornbank, Krungthai Bank, and Siam Commercial Bank.
Last week, ITD notified the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) that it had been in discussions with major creditors to secure both short-term and long-term financial support to address its liquidity challenges.
Partial support has been garnered, with anticipation of finalizing loan agreements to sustain the company’s operations seamlessly.
Furthermore, creditors have initially agreed to waive ITD’s debt-to-equity ratio requirements due to the company’s inability to uphold the financial ratio condition.
Nevertheless, ITD is enacting changes to its operational and control systems to trim expenses and boost performance, ensuring its competitiveness and profitability.
Regarding the Dawei Special Economic Zone (DSEZ) full-phase investment project in Myanmar, ITD assured all stakeholders, in accordance with its statement to the SET, that its reimbursement rights for previous investments remain safeguarded under the Tripartite Memorandum.
Addressing the situation in Myanmar, Mr. Chartsiri affirmed that operations at BBL’s Yangon branch continue normally despite ongoing civil unrest, with contingency plans in place to ensure service continuity.
BBL’s Yangon branch exclusively serves corporate clients, including local, Thai, and international companies.
Mr. Chartsiri remarked that large Thai corporate entities still exhibit a positive trajectory in regional business expansion, aligning with the growth potential of ASEAN.
