Bangkok--24 Sep--KASIKORN ASSET MANAGEMENT KAsset finalized the offering of the “CENTARA Hotels and Resorts Leasehold Property Fund” (CENTARA) in light of full subscription from investors. "The fund units have been allocated to investors already and the fund will be listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand on October 13. Dr. Asoke Wongcha-um, Senior Executive Vice President, KASIKORN ASSET MANAGEMENT (KAsset) said in a recent interview that the “CENTARA Hotels and Resorts Leasehold Property Fund” worth a total of THB3.2 billion which was opened for subscription between September 8-18, has been fully subscribed. Allocation of the units is underway and the fund is scheduled to be listed on SET on October 13. Dr. Asoke Wongcha-um added that the higher-than-expected subscription reflects investors’ confidence with the management of the Central Plaza Hotel and their trust in KAsset’s fund management service. KAsset also received strong support from KASIKORNBANK and other sales agents which have provided knowledge and understanding about the property fund as well as useful information on CENTARA to interested investors. KAsset wishes to thank both investors and sales agents for their support. Mr. Thiti Tantikulanan, Head of Capital Markets Business, KASIKORNBANK — the underwriter of CENTARA said that after assessing the situation, KBank and CENTEL decided to go ahead with the fund offering as scheduled despite the unfavorable economic condition and political tension. Several property funds, scheduled for subscription during the same period as CENTEL, delayed their subscription plan indefinitely, he added. The offering of CENTARA received satisfactory response from general investors. CENTARA will invest in leasehold properties of the five-star Centara Grand Beach Resort Samui Hotel for a period of 30 years. The hotel, located at Hat Chaweng, Ko Samui, Surat Thani has been operational for more than 13 years and has shown good operating performance. As an investor, CENTEL will hold a minimum stake of 25 percent in the fund which will guarantee an annual rent income of at least 9 percent for four years. The Centara Grand Beach Resort Samui will be the first hotel in which the fund will invest. The fund will expand their investment to other hotels and resorts both inside and outside the Central Group to ensure better risk diversification for the fund and to secure income for unitholders. Mr. Ronnachit Mahattanapreut, Senior Vice-President of Finance for the Centara Hotels & Resorts announced that the establishment of the Centara Hotels & Resorts Leasehold Property Fund will enable the Central Plaza Hotel PCL. to have new capital to finance its new projects under construction, including, the Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort, Pattaya and the Centara Grand Beach Resort, Phuket. With the launch of this fund, CENTEL will not need to resort to capital increase, which will reduce investors’ concern about the ‘Dilution Effect’. Meanwhile, the establishment of a property fund will reduce the debt to equity ratio (D/E ratio) of the Central Group while boosting the ROE (Return on Equity). Moreover, the company will use a mutual fund as a financial vehicle for enhancing business capability in the future. KASIKORN ASSET MANAGEMENT Co., Ltd. was licensed as a mutual fund management company on March 18, 1992 by the Ministry of Finance. At present, KAsset is a subsidiary under KASIKORNBANKGROUP. As of August 29, 2008, the company’s net asset under management (AUM) totaled THB333,027.70 million (Source: Association of Investment Management Companies).