Briefs

The Information and Communications Technology Ministry yesterday asked cellular operators to improve the quality of their voice services within two weeks after consumer complaints.
ICT Minister Anudith Nakornthap said the poor service was partly the result of some operators declining to expand their networks, while some do not have enough bandwidth to serve rising customer numbers and some are in the process of improving their networks.
Takorn Tantasit, secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, said the watchdog was working on the problem but it would time.

TUF net soars in Q1
Thai Union Frozen Products announced its first-quarter results yesterday, reporting that net profit jumped by 95 per cent to Bt1.46 billion despite the fire at one of its shrimp-processing plants early in the year,
Quarterly sales were US$822 million (Bt25.3 billion), up 11 per cent from a year ago. Revenue for the quarter was Bt25.67 billion, up 12 per cent from the same period of last year.
President Thiraphong Chansiri said TUF would implement more aggressive strategies for its domestic market. Branding initiatives will cover both the corporate brand and product brands to enhance recognition among Thai consumers. In the past, the company’s strategies did not focus strongly on the domestic market because more than 90 per cent of its revenue was typically generated overseas.

Tesco explains fee review
Tesco Lotus yesterday released a statement disclosing the review of distribution fees imposed on its vendors.
The company said that like a number of other businesses, its operational costs had been affected by the rising cost of fuel. The company therefore recently contacted all of its vendors as part of a regular process of reviewing distribution fees, to ensure they continue to reflect market rates.
However, the company insisted it remained committed to keeping the prices of everyday products low for consumers, despite these cost increases. This is in line with the recent pledge that Tesco Lotus is “Number 1 for Price”.
Since launching its Rollback scheme, Tesco Lotus says it has helped customers save more than Bt4 billion, with recent in-store promotions including fresh products and back-to-school items. Moreover, the company ensures the prices of all essential products are within the range suggested by the Commerce Ministry. – The Nation