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Tokio Marine Thailand gets new president
Tokio Marine Insurance (Thailand) has promoted managing director Yasutoshi Konnai to the post of president.
Konnai has worked for Tokio Marine, one of the biggest insurance groups in Japan, for 32 years. With his broad and successful experiences in many countries, the company says it is assured of his leadership further accelerating the success of Tokio Marine in Thailand.
PTTEP bonds
PTT Exploration and Production will issue bonds worth US$1 billion (Bt29 billion) this year.
CEO Tevin Vongvanich said the bonds would be entirely denominated in US dollars and offered in a single batch to foreign investors.
The long-term bonds will raise funds for business expansion and debt refinancing.
Funds for studios
Matching Maximise Solution, a production house and media and publishing business, will launch a public offering of 210 million shares shortly to raise funds to build a comprehensive studio complex, said managing director Somboon Chewasutthanon.
The company, which is staging a roadshow to individual and institutional investors, is expected to finalise the share price and launch the PO early next month.
Construction of the studio complex is expected to begin late this year. The company is looking for a suitable location for the facility, which will occupy 50 rai (8 hectares).
Match targets revenue growth of 20 per cent this year to Bt700 million.
Mc to list on SET
Mc Group, the manufacturer of Thai jeans under the Mc brand, has submitted a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission on preparing to list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
Thanachart Securities is financial adviser to Mc Group. The company plans to float 200 new shares in its initial public offering.
Suvabha Charoenying, managing director of Thanachart Securities, said the funds from the IPO would be used for investing in warehouses, and distribution centres, repaying debt to financial institutions, and working capital.
PTTGC takes 40% of PTT Phenol
PTT’s board of directors has approved the disposal of a 40-per-cent stake in PTT Phenol to another subsidiary, PTT Global Chemical, as part of the group’s shareholding restructuring. After the transaction estimated at Bt4.976 billion, PTTGC will own all shares in PTT Phenol.
The divestment of PTT’s stake in PPCL aligns with PTT Group restructuring policy aiming to create value enhancement and synergy, along with strengthening PTTGC’s position as “petrochemical flagship” of PTT Group, said CEO and president Pailin Chuchottaworn.
New portal targets foreign buyers
ArisingLand.com will be launched in China in June, as the emerging-markets property portal site targeting high-net-worth individuals in Asia.
“Our mission is to showcase investment properties in rising markets to buyers looking for property outside their home countries for investment or lifestyle purposes,” said Clara Yeung, a founding partner of ArisingLand.com.
The main target audiences are Asians including Chinese, as they are the fastest-growing category globally, as affirmed by the US National Association of Realtors, which revealed that in 2012, property valued at more than US$7 billion (Bt205 billion) in the United States had been purchased by Chinese nationals.
PTTEP casts eye far afield
PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) is keen on acquiring more onshore and offshore petroleum concessions when Myanmar opens applications in the middle of this year.
PTTEP is also looking for opportunities to acquire stakes in petroleum exploration and production firms in Africa and Latin America, chief executive officer Tevin Vongvanich said yesterday.
Costs reviewed
Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd, an Australian gold producer that mines in Thailand, will review its capital spending and operating plans after the slump in gold prices this month, it said in a statement.
Gold output for the year ending June 30 is estimated at the low end of annual guidance of 200,000-220,000 ounces, Sydney-based Kingsgate said in its quarterly review.
Rail EIA expected
Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt announced yesterday that investment in the high-speed-rail project was proceeding as planned, with the environmental impact assessment for three routes (Bangkok-Chiang Mai, Bangkok-Nong Khai and Bangkok-Hua Hin) expected by June.
He said construction of the Chiang Mai and Nong Khai routes would take place first, initially to Phitsanulok and Nakhon Ratchasima.
Shrimp rivalry
Ekapoj Yodpinit, vice president of the Thai Shrimp Association, foresees greater competition from Malaysia, India and Vietnam as investors may be drawn into the business to cash in on the Asean Economic Community. High shrimp prices will be a major magnet, he said.
Aside from competition from newcomers, he said Thai shrimp farmers were also faced with higher production and logistics costs, aside from diseases and price volatility.
Refinishing hub
Nippon Paint Group has promoted its Thai subsidiary Nippon Paint Thailand to be the hub of its auto-refinish business in Asia in three strategic areas: the research-and-development centre, the colour-base production centre, and the training centre.
Suebphongse Poonsatha, president of the Thai unit, said that with a budget of about Bt40 million to Bt50 million, the company had expanded its new training centre building in Phra Pradaeng district, Samut Prakan, to improve both local and international technicians’ skills. As a result, Nippon Paint Thailand is ready to expand its market to Asean in the next two years, and ultimately elsewhere in Asia.
