Thai water firm delays IPO to Q2 in weak market

(For IPO news, data and diary, click <TH/IPOMENU)

BANGKOK Jan 22 (Reuters) - Thai Tap Water Supply (TTW) has postponed a plan to sell a 25 percent stake in an initial public offering to the second quarter of 2008 from the first quarter due to poor market sentiment, an adviser said on Tuesday. "The share sale should be in the second quarter. Market sentiment has to be more favourable for the listing," Kasikorn Securities Chairman Rapee Sucharitakul told reporters.

The share sale delay would not affect TTW's business plan, Rapee said.

TTW, majority owned by construction firm Ch Karnchang CK.BK, delayed the IPO several times last year due to weak market sentiment and its own restructuring plan.

Several Thai firms, including SF Cinema City, the second biggest cinema operator, have put listing plans on hold as they waited for the market to improve.

Kasikorn, the adviser on the listing plan, said in August TTW would raise 3-4 billion baht ($90-120 million) from the IPO.

It plans to sell one billion shares, 700 million newly issued and 300 million from existing shareholders, which also include Mitsui Water Holding (Thailand), Bangkok Expressway BECL.BK, Bangkok Bank BBL.BK and TMB Bank TMB.BK.

The proceeds would be used to repay debt, the company said in a filing to the SEC.

TTW has a 30-year contract to supply tap water to Nakhon Pathom and Samut Sakorn provinces near Bangkok. Subsidiary Pathum Thani Water has a 25-year contract to supply tap water to Pathum Thani province, north of the capital.

TTW has said it plans to increase daily production capacity to 320,000 cubic metres by mid-2008 and spend 1.6-1.7 billion baht over the next two years on expanding capacity. ($1 = 33.18 Baht) (Reporting by Wirat Buranakanokthanasan; Writing by Viparat Jantraprap; Editing by Michael Battye)