International law firm Allen & Overy’s Bangkok office has advised Thailand’s Ministry of Finance on the establishment and offering of the 100 billion baht ($3.5 billion) Vayupak Fund 1. The fund is being structured as a 10-year closed-end flexible portfolio fund, investing in securities issued by financial institutions, companies, and state enterprises currently held by the government including securities of state enterprises which are to be privatised.

The fund is the largest mutual fund ever set up in Thailand and is considered as a co-investment project between the government and the public since the Ministry of Finance will hold around 30 per cent of the units. The fund is designed to help provide investment options for the public by offering a risk-free vehicle offering higher returns than current bank deposit rates, while the Ministry of Finance can manage the government’s assets to obtain the greatest benefits.

Allen & Overy’s Bangkok-based team, which advised the Ministry of Finance, comprised partner and head of the Bangkok capital markets practice Pises Sethsathira and associates Somyod Suteerapornchai, Chitraporn Tachatawewat, and Patanaporn Kowpatanakit, from the capital markets and corporate groups of the Bangkok office. The team advised the Ministry of Finance on the structuring of the fund’s scheme and offering, which also involved advising on all legal and regulatory issues including the preparation of numerous relevant contracts.