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Kingdom to host 7th CSR summit, corporate responsibilities in focus
Thailand will host the seventh CSR Asia Summit from September 17-18 with the theme of “Responsible growth, Inclusive development”.
The summit will address a challenging question for businesses in Asia: “How is it possible to grow responsibly, ensure economic development is more inclusive and make essential products and services accessible for all?
More than 30 prominent speakers are already confirmed and will share their sustainability insights and experiences.
Among the many companies and NGOs planning to attend are Coca-Cola, Standard Chartered Bank, New Britain Palm Oil, Sompo Japan Insurance, Oxfam, Forest Peoples Programme, Shell, CLP Holdings, Sampran Riverside, VSO, Rio Tinto, The Asia Foundation, Novartis, Aviva Asia, Friends International, Telenor, Unicef, Levis, Transparency International, IUCN, REA Holdings, Unilever, Swire Pacific, GBCHealth, Becton Dickinson and Pfizer.
Registration is now open.
For information, including exhibitor or sponsorship opportunities, visit www.csr-asia.com/summit2013.
Stable outlook assigned to upcoming BAY issues
Fitch Ratings (Thailand) has assigned Bank of Ayudhya’s (BAY; AA-(tha)/Stable) upcoming senior unsecured debentures of up to Bt8 billion a National Long-Term Rating of “AA-(tha)”.
The debentures will be issued in two tranches with maturities of two and three years.
The bank has the option to issue up to a further Bt4 billion of debentures.
The bank will use the proceeds for general corporate purposes.
SET drops 43.62 pts amid swings
Asian stocks swung between gains and losses as the US Federal Reserve prepares for a two-day policy meeting. Chinese developers’ stocks fell on concerns that gains in home prices will limit the scope for monetary easing.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand dropped 43.62 points, or 2.97 per cent, to close at 1,427.42, with trade value of Bt61.64 billion.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has declined by about 1.8 per cent so far this month amid concern that central banks are losing appetite for more economic stimulus. Japan’s Topix index closed 0.2 per cent higher, erasing a loss of as much as 0.5 per cent.
Govt gets poor marks on economy
The government failed in economic administration with 4.08 out of 10 points in the first half of its term, according to a recent survey of economists.
Bangkok Poll surveyed 60 economists at 30 leading local organisations between June 11 and 17 on the economic performance of the Thai government. The government’s score increased from a similar survey last year, which gave it just 3.83 out of 10.
On the performances of economic ministers, Minister of Tourism and Sports Somsak Purisrisak received the highest score at 4.67 out of 10, followed by Minister of Finance Kittiratt Na-Ranong with 3.86. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra received 3.05, and Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom received the lowest score of 2.50, for an average score of 3.77 for the four ministers.
The best area of the government’s economic administration was boosting economic growth, rated at 5.63 out of 10. Its poorest score was for public-debt administration at 3.05 points.
