Reuters: Hot Stocks: STOCKS NEWS THAILAND-Bank of Ayudhya hits 15-year high on GE stake sale report

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STOCKS NEWS THAILAND-Bank of Ayudhya hits 15-year high on GE stake sale report Sep 13th 2012, 04:59 Thu Sep 13, 2012 12:59am EDT Bank of Ayudhya gained more than 2 percent to 35.25 baht, its highest in 15 years, on reports that General Electric Co is considering selling its $2.2 billion stake in the Thai bank. "The news that GE wants to sell its stake in Bank of Ayudhya had been ongoing ever since the US financial crisis. We see a high possibility to this news since 2007, when GE became a major shareholder of Bank of Ayudhya, GE had received over 4.6 billion baht in dividend," Kiatnakin Securities said in a research note. "However, this deal won't happen easily, since the person who wants to acquire the shares in Bank of Ayudhya will need approval from the Bank of Thailand and the Ministry of Finance first," Kiatnakin added. The broker also noted that the interested party will need to prepare around 68 billion baht ($2.20 billion), along with another 140 billion baht ($4.53 billion) in tender offer, if shares are acquired at 34 baht for each. Kiatnakin gave the shares 'buy' rating with target price at 36.75 baht. At 0439 GMT, shares in Bank of Ayudhya were up 1.47 percent at 34.50 baht, while the banking subindex fell 0.19 percent. 1140 (0440 GMT) (Reporting by Sinsiri Tiwutanond in Bangkok; sinsiri.tiwutanond@thomsonreuters.com) ($1 = 30.93 Baht) ********************************************************** 10:48 STOCKS NEWS THAILAND-BTS hits 10-day high after subsidiary sale Shares in Bangkok's skytrain operator BTS Group Holdings Pcl surged 5.6 percent to their h ighest in 10 days at 5.65 baht, while brokers expect its second-quarter earnings to gain from the recent disposal of its real estate subsidiary. BTS said on Wednesday that Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Co Ltd (BTSC), a direct subsidiary in which BTS holds a 96.44 percent stake, had disposed of its entire investment in its real estate subsidiary Kamala Beach Resort & Hotel Management Co Ltd. BTSC received a total of 1.64 billion baht ($53.02 million) from sale. DBS Vickers Securities rated the shares at 'buy' with a target price of 6.24 baht, saying that the sale will boost the company's second-quarter net profit. "[The deal] is positive. We expect BTS to gain a net profit of 298 million baht in its combined budget due to the 96.44 percent stake in BTSC," DBS said in a research note. Thanachart Securities also rated BTS at 'buy' with a target price of 6.30 baht. "We still like BTS as a long-term investment due to its strong cash flow from its skytrain and media businesses. Meanwhile, our concerns over its real estate business had eased since the company decided to slow down its investment," Thanachart said. At 0346 GMT, BTS shares were up 4.67 percent at 5.60 baht, while the main Thai index rose 0.07 percent. (Reporting by Sinsiri Tiwutanond in Bangkok; sinsiri.tiwutanond@thomsonreuters.com) ($1 = 30.93 Baht) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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