Italian-Thai meets with analysts today on Dawei

Italian-Thai Development is holding an urgent meeting with stock analysts today - the first in two years - at which the analysts expect to be briefed on the progress of the huge Dawei port project and to learn who the giant construction company's partners will be.


An analyst at Globlex Securities said yesterday that ITD executives were also expected to reveal a recapitalisation plan.

An analyst at Trinity Securities said the meeting comes after the government started playing a clearer role in supporting the project, so ITD executives should reveal their clear plan to proceed with it.

The company is expected to divulge the plans of its new partners, while the capital-increase plan is expected to be known soon. The brokerages believe there is a good chance that ITD will consider tapping the equity market because it already has a high debt-to-equity ratio while there are mega-projects to be handled.

"We think the capital increase will materialise because ITD has major investments but the high D/E ratio is a barrier for investment. Therefore, a capital increase is the choice for them," the analyst at Trinity Securities said. "ITD's stock price has also gradually improved, which is good timing for company, but the [capital-mobilisation] plan depends on the board of directors."

The analyst also recommends "buy" for ITD stock because its price is regarded as moving slowly compared with rivals such as Ch Karnchang and Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction.

Investors can expect an upside from buying ITD shares because the company has advanced the opening of some Dawei projects to 2014 from 2015, such as the Bt62-billion deep-sea port and the Bt31-billion cross-border road.

An analyst at Krungsri Securities said ITD should unveil the companies that will become partners in joint ventures or hold stakes in a special-purpose vehicle to manage the project. Japanese investors are expected join the SPV.

ITD stock yesterday closed down 0.51 per cent to Bt3.92 from Bt3.94 on Monday.