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SRT's Bt47.68-bn loan request gets nod
The Cabinet yesterday approved a State Railway of Thailand proposal to borrow Bt47.68 billion for debt restructuring and investment.
Pakdiharn Himathongkam, deputy government spokesman, said the Finance Ministry would guarantee the loan.
The proceeds will be used to repay Bt13.2 billion that the SRT had borrowed for debt restructuring, Bt3.9 billion for operations, Bt3.3 billion for procuring 20 diesel trains and Bt770 million for buying 308 freight trains.
The STR also needs Bt26.48 billion for six projects, including the improvement of railroads and the procurement of new train models. The Cabinet also approved Bt190.7 million in aid to Laos to improve roads in Vientiane. Laos will host the ninth Asia-Europe Meeting on November 5-6.
CIMB buys Asia assets of RBS
CIMB Investment Bank has acquired most of the Asia-Pacific cash equities and associated investment banking businesses of Royal Bank of Scotland. The ¤173.9-million (Bt7.15 billion) deal will see CIMB emerge as the largest investment banking franchise based in Asia-Pacific ex-Japan.
“This is an excellent opportunity to complete the build-up of our capabilities in Asia-Pacific markets, and to do it quicker and less expensively than if we grew organically,” Nazir Razak, CEO of CIMB Group, said yesterday.
“This acquisition takes CIMB to the next level. We will have seats on nine exchanges and partnerships in three others. Our research will cover approximately 1,093 Asia-Pacific-based companies and we will see a big increase in global institutional investor relationships,” he said.
“While we are still finalising the full staff complement of the merged businesses, we are expecting between 350-400 RBS staff to join us,” the CEO said.
Joint panel to visit China with PM
The Joint Public-Private Standing Committee has agreed to join Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s official visit to China in the middle of this month.
Payungsak Chartsuthipol, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), said yesterday that a business matching day would be held in Beijing on April 18 and on the following day Thai companies would explore investment opportunities in the Tianjin special economic zone.
Besides the FTI, the committee also includes the Board of Trade of Thailand and Thai Bankers Association.
Payungsak said that on May 28, the FTI would lead a group of Thai businesspeople to the 22nd Japan-Thailand Joint Trade and Economic Committee meeting in Tokyo.
Bigger pensions for GPF members
The Finance Ministry has agreed to pay more pensions to members of the Government Pension Fund (GPF).
Rangsan Srivorasat, director-general of the Comptroller-General’s Department, said yesterday that the Finance Ministry may change the formula for calculating pensions or may give additional payments to pensioners.
Last week GPF members staged a street protest to demand bigger pensions.
Topspace eyes 30% growth
Topspace (Thailand) targets 30-per-cent growth in revenue this year from selling advertisements on Sanook.com and developing content for customers on social media sites.
The firm, which is a subsidiary of Sanook Online, the country’s leading website operator, offers online media planning and sales, consulting and management for online marketing campaigns, search engine marketing services, social media services and production and application services.
Tisco issues Bt1 bn debenture offering
Tisco Bank will issue unsubordinated debentures valued at Bt1 billion for a one-year term with an interest rate of 3.5 per cent per annum.
The company will pay interest every six months. The minimum subscription is Bt100,000 and additional subscriptions can be made for multiples of Bt100,000.
Interested customers and investors can subscribe for the debentures until today. Tris Rating has assigned an “A” rating to the debentures.
Communication consultancy
Akapol Sorasuchart plans to establish his own consultancy on marketing communication strategy, named Truly Believe, after his resignation as president of Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau last month.
Akapol served as the chief of meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions bureau for more than two years. He declined to comment on the details of his new business, but said his clients would be both foreign investors and local companies that want their brands well recognised in Southeast Asia.
He added that he would continue to support the government in competing for the right to host World Exposition 2020 through his connections with officials in the Bureau of International Expositions.
Philips names chairman
Philips Electronics (Thailand) has appointed Viroj Vithayaveroj as chairman and managing director, effective April 1. He is responsible for overseeing overall development and business operations of Philips Thailand in addition to his current role of general manger of Philips’ healthcare sector.
Viroj has worked for Philips since September 2000 as general manager for the healthcare sector.
NBTC master plans submitted
The spectrum-management, telecom and broadcasting master plans are expected to be published in the Royal Gazette early this month, said National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission secretary-general Takorn Tantasit.
He added that the watchdog expected to send the final drafts of the three master plans to the Cabinet secretariat today, which would forward them to be published in the gazette.
WEF in Kingdom end-May
Thailand will host the 21st World Economic Forum on East Asia on the theme “Shaping the Region’s Future through Connectivity” from May 30 to June 1 at Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok.
PTT and the Energy Ministry will also share their visions at the event, together with state and private leaders in the energy sector from other countries.
