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304 Park, NPS ready to cope with power shortage
Prachin Buri’s 304 Industrial Park is joining with National Power Supply (NPS), its long-term provider of electricity, in planning ways to ensure that its customers will not be hit by any power shortage resulting from the maintenance of a gas platform in Myanmar next month.
Poolsak Sutanthavibul, executive vice president of the industrial estate, said yesterday that it was working closely with NPS to secure an adequate supply of electricity for the 110 factories on its site in Prachin Buri.
Normally, the park would take about 150 megawatts while the onsite power generator, NPS, can provide a lot more than the demand, with its maximum power-production capacity of 436MW. Whenever the suspension of gas supply occurs, the site will be ready and production and operations will not at all be at risk.
Apichai Sawpitiporn, senior executive vice president of NPS, said the company’s five power plants in the park distributed electricity to the factories onsite and about 215MW to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat).
Since the company has been using two types of fuel, biomass and high-grade clean coal, it will undoubtedly give maximum electricity to the factories as well as Egat without interruption, Apichai said.
It is also planning to expand capacity by 125MW from palm-oil cake, tapioca rootstocks, bagasse and other agricultural wastes to respond to rising power demand. This biomass power plant is expected to start operating by next year.
The 304 Industrial Park covers 22.4 square kilometres and is 110km from Suvarnabhumi Airport and 130km from Laem Chabang Port.
Ratch opens new office in Nonthaburi
Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding has inaugurated its office on Ngarmwongwan Road in Nonthaburi.
The new office will be the main base to extend its business in Thailand and the region and to enhance its leadership as an independent power producer (IPP) in the region.
Ratch operates three core businesses – electricity generating, renewable energy and power generating-related businesses in Thailand and overseas. It is the country’s leading IPP with 6.3 gigawatts.
Cooperatives expected to report 2012 profit up 16.9%
The Cooperative Auditing Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives estimates that cooperatives nationwide will report total net profit of Bt55 billion for 2012, up 16.9 per cent from the year before, department director-general Vijak Arkubkriay said.
The country has 10,631 cooperatives with 11.5 million members, or 17.9 per cent of the country’s population. They had combined capital worth Bt1.8 trillion and business value of Bt2.2 trillion, or 16.4 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product last year.
TQM eyes Bt7.5 bn
TQM Insurance Broker Co targets the first-year premiums of Bt7.5 billion this year based on market growth due to expanded investment by both the government and the private sector.
Company president Anchalin Pannipa said it saw demand for insurance from both industry and individuals who took advantage of last year’s first-car scheme. This is expected to help boost its first-year premiums from Bt6.05 billion last year to Bt7.5 billion in 2013.
Of last year’s premium income, 77 per cent was from auto insurance, 17 per cent from non-auto general insurance, and 6 per cent from life insurance, he said.
More Sharp fridges
Sharp Appliances (Thailand) has budgeted Bt1 billion over the next five years for expansion of refrigerator production capacity at its two plants in Thailand to a total 20 of million units over the period.
The combined annual production capacity is expected to reach 1.8 million units this year, up from 1.5 million.
The company just marked total production of 10 million units this year.
Mazda prototype
Mazda Sales (Thailand) plans to lure visitors to its display at the Bangkok International Motor Show with a new booth design and a prototype of the Mazda CX-5, the first model
to feature the “Kodo” eco-friendly design theme first applied in the Mazda Shinari concept car.
At the event to start on March 27, the CX-5 prototype will be unveiled for the first time in Thailand, before the commercial launch later this year.
“Because of the strong customer interest, we are unable to keep our best products under our sleeves until the scheduled launch period,” said Choichi Yuki, managing director of Mazda Sales (Thailand).
“We are unable to withstand those calls [to see the new cars], and we have decided to present a future model to the Thai people now, with the Thailand debut of the Mazda CX-5 prototype, which comes with a large number of new technologies in design and engineering.”
Baggage service
Starting tomorrow, Bangkok Airways will offer a new prepaid baggage service for passengers who would like to pay for overweight baggage in advance.
Prepaid packages start from just Bt300 per 5 kilograms for domestic routes and Bt1,000 per 5kg for international routes – depending on destinations.
The tickets must be purchased at least 24 hours before travelling time.
Staffing seminar
The Stock Exchange of Thailand and the Association of Securities Companies are jointly hosting a human-resource seminar on the theme “Rising Asia”.
The seminar on March 19 will feature prominent speakers who will share their insights on human-resource development to CEOs of listed companies, to prepare them for overseas expansion.
Seat reservations can be made at 02-264-0909, extension 113 or 141.
PTT switches to biodegradable
From the middle of this month, PTT will use biodegradable cups at all 780 coffee shops at its fuel stations, which will mean a reduction of 200 tonnes of plastic-cup use per year.
The company’s Cafe Amazon chain currently consumes 60 million plastic cups per annum.
Saran Rangkasiri, PTT senior executive vice president for oil business, yesterday said the introduction of the Amazon Bio Cup at all shops was expected to encourage other beverage companies to follow suit.
Currently, plastic cups used at coffee shops are coated with LDPE film, which cannot be naturally disposed of.
KAsset/KPN fund
Kasikorn Asset Management (KAsset) has joined with KPN Group Corp for this month’s launch of the KPN Property Fund, with a size of Bt1.8 billion.
The fund will invest in the freehold right to the land and in the KPN Tower office building on Rama IX Road, which KAsset believes is an outstanding property project in a prime location – and one that will generate sustainable revenue. KPN will invest in 30 per cent of the fund, which will pay dividends on a quarterly basis.
Land-use order
New provincial land-use plans to be launched across the country this year will have to be delayed as some provinces, especially in the East, still face problems with them, Interior Minister Charupong Ruangsuwan said yesterday.
He has ordered all provincial governors to speed up their plans and urgently try to solve problems arising from disputes among interested parties, as the drafting process began six years ago.
First-car impacts
The first-car scheme will have impacts on people’s ability to buy a first home, according to a property expert.
Thai Condominium Association president Thamrong Panyasakulwong said the first-car scheme would affect demand for housing costing less than Bt1 million among those with salaries of up to Bt20,000 per month, as they would not have sufficient income to buy a home while also making car payments.
Dutch plant planned
S Khonkaen Foods, a leading food processor, will this year form a joint venture to set up a plant in the Netherlands.
Meanwhile, the company has also been negotiating with a local investor to establish a plant in Vietnam this year, as well as appointing distributors in Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia.
