Briefs

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday presided over the Energy Ministry’s launch of the energy credit card scheme.
The credit cards, to be issued to public-vehicle drivers ahead of increases in the price of natural gas for vehicles (NGV), have attracted little support from drivers, who are fearful that the subsidy will not completely compensate for the higher cost of fuel.
The ministry aims to raise the price of NGV next month to reflect the actual cost. PTT, the sole provider of the gas, claims that it has lost tens of billions of baht each year from having to market the gas below actual cost. To win more support for the scheme, the ministry on Wednesday agreed to raise the eligible monthly purchase value from Bt6,000 to Bt9,000. With the cards, each driver will be given Bt3,000 credit per month and a discount of Bt0.50-Bt2 per kilogram, but their monthly purchases must not exceed Bt9,000. |– The Nation

Hydrotek enjoys |good MAI debut
Hydrotek, a waste-treatment engineering firm, witnessed an impressive debut on the Market of Alternative Investment, despite a sharp market swing.
The stock closed at Bt4.76, or 40.4 per cent higher than the initial public offering price of Bt3.39.
It opened at Bt5.60 and peaked at Bt5.80 on the first trading day.
The performance was impressive as the stock market yesterday opened lower on internal and external concerns, before ending the day with a slight gain. – The Nation

CP Foods plans sale |of 6 billion bonds
Charoen Pokphand Foods, Thailand’s biggest producer of meat and animal feed, will sell up to 6 billion baht-denominated bonds, according to a person familiar with the deal. Bangkok Bank will manage the offer, the person said.
The notes are rated AA- according to a release yesterday from Tris Rating Co, the Bangkok-based rating company. – Bloomberg

Thai floods delay Japan car-sale forecast
Japan’s auto-makers’ group delayed its forecast for domestic sales next year pending an assessment of the impact of floods in Thailand and details of a subsidy plan.
Demand for cars, trucks and buses in Japan may drop 14 per cent this year to 4.25 million vehicles, Toshiyuki Shiga, chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufac-turers Association, said at a briefing in Tokyo yesterday.
That would be the biggest decline on record based on the group’s data stretching back to 1989. – Bloomberg