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Marine Dept to dredge rivers, inlets to lower risk of floods or drought
The Marine Department of the Transport Ministry will spend Bt1.975 billion this year on dredging the country’s 92 main rivers and their tributaries in an effort to prevent floods and drought. It will also dredge the coastal inlets in Pattani and Narathiwat provinces, on an initial budget of Bt151 million.
It will focus on linking waterborne logistics systems with other transport systems. In addition, it says it will improve the capacity and safety of its own logistics system, deploy information and communications technology to strengthen its operations, and improve its management capacity.
Economists gloomy, survey finds
Economists’ confidence in the Thai economy plunged to the lowest level in 18 months, amid anticipation that the outlook would improve in the next 36 months thanks to public and private spending, according to a poll by Bangkok University.
The poll, questioning 72 economists from 32 organisations from January 17-24, found that the confidence level stood at 28.41, pressured by uncertainties on exports, private investment and tourism in the aftermath of floods.
The outlook for the next three and six months is more positive, as the expectation confidence rankings were 63.41 and 72.19 respectively.
Economists were convinced that public and private investment would significantly boost the economy in the coming months. They were of the view that compared with other factors, exports would play the least influential role in boosting the economy.
Commerce Ministry centralised
Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom has centralised the ministry’s key agencies, wanting to manage directly the cost of living and rice pledging, which involve large budgets.
Boonsong will directly oversee the Internal Trade, Foreign Trade and Trade Negotiations departments as well as the Public Warehouse Organisation. Those units were the responsibility of deputy ministers during Kittiratt Na-Ranong’s tenure as head of the ministry.
Deputy Commerce Minister Poom Sarapol has been assigned to regulate the departments of International Trade Promotion and Intellectual Property. Another deputy minister, Siriwat Kajornprasart, has been assigned to regulate the Business Development Department, the Gem and Jewellery Institute of Thailand, and the Support Arts and Crafts International Centre of Thailand.
Hearing sought on Phuket’s AEC role
A public hearing has been proposed on Phuket’s regional position upon implementation of the Asean Economic Community in 2015.
The proposal was floated by Phuket MP Anchalee Vanit Thepbut. She said the province should be prepared when the AEC takes shape, as eight professions – engineers, dentists, nurses, architects, surveyors, doctors, accountants and tour agents – would be subject to liberalisation. She said a “Phuket model” was necessary to ensure sustainability.
“We’ll gather opinions from all parties to plot development strategies for the short and long terms. Initially, key issues in focus concern transport and logistics, education and the city’s identity. Now, competition is within the borders, but we will have to compete against Asean countries. We also need preparation in many areas. This requires cooperation from all parties,” she said.
She referred to the previous Democrat-led government’s plan to turn Phuket into a global tourism hub, with proposals to connect the city with other parts of the island, including the airport, by a monorail to ease traffic problems. Languages used in other Asean countries are being taught at Phuket schools.
Fitch rates KBank debentures
Fitch Ratings (Thailand) has assigned a national long-term rating of AA-(tha) to Kasikornbank unsecured subordinated debentures of up to Bt22 billion, with a maturity of 10 years. The proceeds will be used for liquidity management.
The rating of subordinated debentures is consistent with Fitch’s approach of rating such performing instruments at one notch below the issuer’s national long-term rating, which in this case is AA(tha), given no loss-absorption feature.
KBank’s ratings reflect its solid profitability and asset quality, as well as its adequate capital and strong domestic banking franchise in the small-medium enterprise, corporate and retail banking segments, Fitch said. It believes KBank’s overall financial position is sufficiently robust to absorb severe credit stress.
Big spending at Mobile Expo
The four-day Thailand Mobile Expo 2012, which ended on Sunday, saw consumers spend about Bt1.6 billion, 10 per cent higher than the target, according to the fair organiser M Vision.
