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PTT to review plan if oil price drops
PTT plans to review its investment plan if the price of crude oil drops below US$80 per barrel, chief financial officer Surong Bulakul said.
The price of crude has gradually dropped from $116 per barrel to $89, and if it goes lower than $80, the group will need to adjust its investment plan to deal with oil-price volatility.
However, PTT president and CEO Pilin Chuchottaworn has already cut management costs by 5-10 per cent and plans to refinance while interest rates are low.
The sinking oil price has also pressured profitability, with PTT’s net profit this year expected to be less than Bt100 billion, down from Bt125 billion last year, Surong said.
Drama for Surang
Television tycoon Surang Prempree, who recently left Channel 7, will become a drama-series content provider for Channel 3 as it seeks to capture more of the mass market.
Supol Wichienchai, an executive of BEC-Tero Entertainment, said the company would purchase drama series from Chan 25 Co, founded by Surang, to air in the evenings, the period BEC-Tero is in charge of.
The input of TV veteran Surang is expected to strengthen the ratings of evening drama series and draw mass audiences in Bangkok and the provinces.
Surang decided to produce dramas for BEC-Tero because of her strong relationship with Brian Marcar, managing director of the company, Supol said.
The first series produced by Surang will be broadcast in September.
KTB offers credit
Krung Thai Bank in collaboration with the Social Security Office will provide credit lines to enterprises that want to reinforce employment and working capital.
Sriprapha Pringpong, a senior executive vice president at KTB, said it was offering three years’ financial support with a special fixed interest rate of 3 per cent per annum to businesses that have asset collateral. The scheme will provide a credit line of Bt1 million to a maximum of Bt4 million in line according to the number of employees.
An enterprise that has no more than 50 employees will be eligible for a credit line of no more than Bt1 million, while Bt4 million will be available to businesses with more than 200 employees.
LPN gets big sales
LPN Development recorded sales of Bt5 billion from the recent four-day “Lumpini Big Shock” event at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in Bangkok.
This was higher than the Bt2.8 billion it had estimated, and will drive the firm’s presales over the first-half target of Bt10 billion to nearly Bt12 billion, managing director Opas Sripayak said.
