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Bangkok Post – Troubled Thai firm Energy Absolute gets approval for bond extension
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Bangkok Post – Troubled Thai firm Energy Absolute gets approval for bond extension

Energy Absolute has received approval to extend the maturity of 4 billion baht of green bonds. (Photo: Energy Absolute Facebook)

Energy Absolute has received approval to extend the maturity of 4 billion baht of green bonds. (Photo: Energy Absolute Facebook)

Energy Absolute Public Company Limited received approval to extend 4 billion baht (US$116.5 million) of green bonds, providing some relief for the Thai renewable energy company under investigation for fraud. Shares rose by the most in more than a decade.

Holders of the notes agreed Friday to extend the maturity by nine months to June 30, 2025, the company said in a stock exchange filing Friday. Along with the extension, Energy Absolute also received approval to pay an additional 1.8% interest on the notes, payable every six months. The bonds originally offered a coupon of 3.2%.

The company, whose businesses range from power generation to assembling trains, ferries and buses, is struggling with a cash shortage after the market regulator last month accused its top executives of fraud. Its market value has fallen more than 80 percent this year as the local mutual fund industry has banned new investments in its securities, posing a major hurdle to raising capital.

Energy Absolute has since revamped its board, appointing a new CEO and CFO as part of a broader effort to shore up investor confidence. It also signed a loan agreement worth more than 8 billion baht earlier this month to ease a short-term liquidity crunch.

The company said it is also taking steps to strengthen its financial stability by negotiating with new strategic partners and is considering selling some assets to an infrastructure fund.

The bondholders’ approval came two weeks after the company received a similar agreement to extend the maturity of 1.5 billion baht of bonds.

Shares of Energy Absolute rose as much as 29% on Friday, the biggest one-day gain since 2013. This week, gains have soared to 76%.