Bangkok Dusit Medical Services, Thailand's biggest hospital firm, said on Friday that it would sell five billion baht ($148 million) of bonds to refinance debt in February 2008.
The bonds were part of its recently-announced plan to sell up to 7 billion baht in bonds to refinance debt and increase its cash for future funding, president Wallop Adhikomprapa told reporters.
"The proceeds will be used to refinance our existing debts, which are at around 7 billion baht," he said, adding that the refinancing should help reduce the company's interest expenses by 1 percentage point. BGH, valued at $1.2 billion, is Thailand's biggest hospital firm by market value, ahead of Bumrungrad Hospital and Bangkok Chain Hospital.
BGH, which specialises in heart diseases and cancer, had a 50 percent share of the one million foreigners who came to Thailand for medical treatment last year. At the midday break, BGH shares were unchanged at 32.25 baht, while the main Thai index was up 0.19 percent.