New models buoy battery company

The three new models already on the market were expected to increase sales by 10 per cent from the current rate of 50,000 units per month. The less powerful models will come later.
Weerawat Kohpaiboon, senior vice president, said yesterday that the new products would help stimulate market demand in the rest of the year.
Weerawan Kohpaiboon, another senior vice president, said sales in the first half reached nearly Bt3 billion as targeted. Since then, the market has become brighter because of the growing economy, political stability and harvest season of many crops.

More jobless seen
Unemployment could rise to 1.1-1.3 per cent next year from 0.8 per cent now when the new minimum wage takes effect nationwide and hurts small businesses, Siam Commercial Bank predicts.
However, the higher wage would force businesses to boost productivity and this would reduce their need for workers amid the tight labour market, the bank’s Economic Intelligence Centre said yesterday.
“Still, this is not an easy task, as SMEs have their own limitations. Plus, they would be hit the hardest as only a few can take advantage of the corporate-tax cut.
“The government should come up with special programmes to help them enhance productivity, which could include a soft loan for machinery purchases or tax incentives for training courses,” the bank said.
Despite the predicted increase in joblessness, the unemployment rate here is still lower than in other countries, thanks to the tight labour market. – The Nation