There is an ad in the Bangkok Post:

New Investment Opportunity with PTT (the company that has all those gasoline stations, K.)

Eight Years Investment Period

Semi-annual Interest Payment

5.00% p.a. for year 1-5 and

6.20% p.a. for year 6-8

Then YOU make your own choice, at the end of Year 8, between

1.Get Your Money Back OR

2. Invest for another 7 years

with semi-annual interest payment of 6.80% p.a.

and Get your money back at maturity

Investments contains risks. Investors should study

information carefully before making a decision to invest.

I am not contemplating to buy into this myself, but I am just curious about what you financial wizards think of this. How safe would this investment be?

All those gas/petrol stations are only about 25% of PTT's business. It is a massive company and PTT and its subsidiaries make up about half the capitalization of the SET.

They have about 1,500,000 million baht in revenue. Unfortunately, 2008 was not a good year for them primarly due to the their Oil Unit having to write down the value of inventories purchased when oil was 100+ and is now is less then 40 causing them to have their first losing quarter in history.

PTT bonds all have BBB+ ratings or better from various agencies. I don’t think they ever have a problem selling them.

TH

One of PTT's subsidiaries, PTTEP, has a large investment in an Iranian natural gas project. I would wait until the Iranian nuclear controversy is resolved before investing in PTT stock or bonds.

I believe that PTTEP has deferred further development of an LNG plant for the Iranian Saveh Block, due to high cost caused by sanctions and has been pursuing other sources of LNG for the terminal now under construction in Map Ta Phut. They are still drilling exploration wells and still intend to make it a producing field, but that does not require investment at the level of an LNG plant.

In the oveall PTTEP investments, this is pretty small.

TH