Briefs

The office also plans to issue inflation-linked US-dollar-denominated bonds worth about Bt40 billion and zero-coupon bonds, said Churarat Sutheethorn, director-general of the PDMO.

 

The first tranche of amortised bonds will repay its principal in the last five years of its 25-year maturity.

 

An amortised bond is one that repays part of the principal (face value) along with the coupon payments.

 

Foreign holdings up on SET

 

Foreign holdings on the Stock Exchange of Thailand hit Bt3.6 trillion at the end of September or 36.76 per cent of total market value, the highest since 2010. Half of that belonged to investors in Europe.

 

Data from the bourse’s "SET Note" showed that it continued to attract foreign investment in the first nine months of this year. Their net buys, the net purchases against sale, totalled Bt65.77 billion. In 2011, they were net sellers, with a net-sell position of Bt5.29 billion.

 

No tax cuts yet

 

The Finance Ministry has no plan in sight to restructure the individual-income-tax structure, pending clarity on the impact of the corporate tax cut.

 

Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said that despite some amendments, individual income tax would not be cut for now. Rather, the Revenue Department has been assigned to explore opportunities to lower tax rates but also to enlarge the tax base, as well as to increase rebates on donations to social activities.

 

Tax rebates are capped at 10 per cent of taxable income. If they were fully exploited, the government would lose about Bt10 billion per annum in return for donations of more than Bt20 billion to education and sports. Kittiratt said the revenue loss would be minimal and should not hurt the country’s fiscal position, thanks to continued growth in gross domestic product.

 

 

 

BEC enjoys Q3 surge

 

Bangkok Entertainment Company, the operator of ThaiTV3, recorded a new high in third-quarter profits with Bt1.27 billion, a year-on-year surge of almost 30 per cent.

 

The company said the increased profit was mainly driven by higher advertising fees for selected programmes and the extension of airtime slots in the highly rated programmes since early this year.

 

In the first nine months, the company enjoyed 11 per cent growth in revenue to Bt11 billion from Bt9.89 billion last year.

 

 

 

DKSH plans Myanmar warehouse

 

DKSH (Thailand) Co, a distributor of consumer products including milk power, diapers and stationery, plans to open a second warehouse in Myanmar next year after seeing demand grow in that market.

 

Asia accounts for 95 per cent of its revenue, including 36.4 per cent from Thailand, 25.4 per cent from China, and 21.9 per cent from Malaysia and Singapore. Just 5 per cent comes from the United States and Europe, company president Somboon Prasitjutrakul said.

 

Rayong Purifier to buy stake in KP Energy

 

Rayong Purifier’s board of directors approved acquiring a stake in KP Energy Group Co, a very small power plant (VSPP), in an investment worth Bt8.04 billion or about 26 per cent of its registered capital of Bt18.41 million.

 

The company supplies electricity to the government and private |sectors.

 

KP Energy Group has total assets of Bt14.66 million and reported a net loss of Bt3.78 million in 2011.

 

TUF reports record quarter

 

Thai Union Frozen Products (TUF) yesterday announced that its third-quarter operating results set new highs in both profit and sales, with net profit of Bt1.613 billion and sales revenue of Bt28.32 billion.

 

The results reflected the continuing overall growth of the company despite higher costs of such raw materials as tuna and shrimp. TUF is confident that 2012 growth will not be less than 12 per cent.

 

The company also posted total net profit of Bt4.08 billion for the first three quarters, an increase of 13.8 per cent year on year. In US |dollar terms, sales during the nine months were $2.58 billion, an increase of 7.7 per cent. Sales in baht terms were Bt80.38 billion, up |by 10.6 per cent.

 

Nusasiri launches My Ozone in Khao Yai

 

Nusasiri has launched a residential project called My Ozone, worth Bt6 billion, at Khao Yai in Nakhon Ratchasima province.

 

The project will have homes, a golf course, a hotel and a hospital. Its grand opening will be on December 12.

 

New cola takes off in a big way

 

Serm Suk’s new est cola sold a million cases in just five days after its launch last Friday, company president Dhitivute Bulsook announced.

 

This is the first time in Serm Suk’s 59-year history that a million cases of a new product have been sold so quickly.

 

Serm Suk expects the rapid sales growth to continue as it expands the availability of est cola through modern trade channels nationwide.

 

Degree further branches into Laos, VN

 

Degree Lighting Store is expanding its lighting-distribution business into Laos and Vietnam, after the opening of one outlet in Myanmar in December and four in Thailand this year.

 

Sirin Lertvorapreecha, managing director, said the expansion would cash in on the integration under the Asean Economic Community.

 

The outlet in Yangon, next to the Thai Embassy, has been opened to attract local consumers as well as foreigners who are flocking into the country.

 

Since last year, the company has invested Bt300 million to open four outlets in Khon Kaen, Phuket and Bangkok (Ngarmwongwan and Phromphong roads). – The Nation