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Toyo-Thai to build 2 power-plant blocks
Toyo-Thai Corporation reported to the Stock Exchange of Thailand that the company had received a letter of intent to build two blocks of power plants (120 megawatts each) owned by IRPC Clean Power Co worth Bt5.2 billion.
This project will be developed by a consortium consisting of Toyo-Thai and Mitsubishi Corporation. Construction will start in the current third quarter of the year and is to be complete by the second quarter of 2017, said Toyo-Thai’s general manager for finance and investor relations, Gobchai Tanasugarn.
New SEC chairman
Achaporn Charuchinda, secretary-general of the Council of State, has been named the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Deputy Government Spokesman Pakdeeharn Himathongkam said the Cabinet yesterday approved the appointment, as proposed by the Finance Ministry. Former chairman Chaikasem Nitisiri, a former attorney-general, resigned last month ahead of his appointment as new justice minister.
BPOs introduced
Bangkok Bank has introduced bank payment obligations (BPOs), a new electronic payment service for international trade designed to help importers and exporters by providing more efficiency, speed and flexibility.
This service guarantees sellers they will receive payments in compliance with the terms and conditions without needing to wait for documentary verification.
Executive vice president Pornnit Dunnvatanachit said that once both trade partners had submitted trade information to the banks providing the BPO service, the banks’ data-matching systems would recheck the information of each partner. If the information matches, issuing banks will issue the BPO as a guarantee that the buyer will make the payment to the seller via the advising bank once the foreign seller has successfully complied with the terms and conditions.
Bangkok Bank has an extensive trade-service network including 62 Trade Service Centres nationwide, 2,000 cooperating overseas banks, and 26 international branches and a representative office in major economies worldwide.
AIA rating affirmed
Fitch Ratings has affirmed the national insurer financial strength rating of AIA Co, Thailand Branch, at “AAA(tha)”. The outlook is stable.
The rating reflects AIA Thailand’s legal status as a branch of AIA Co Ltd and is based on AIACL’s strong credit profile. AIACL is the leading life insurer in Asia, with more than 25 million in-force polices, a 250,000-strong agency force, and an established presence in 16 markets across Asia. It has a solid market franchise and distribution platform, sustained strong financial performance, and sound capital levels.
The stable outlook is based on Fitch’s view that AIACL will maintain its strong credit profile in the medium to long term.
Thailand is one of AIACL’s core markets. AIA Thailand contributed 23 per cent of the group’s total operating profit before tax last year, and 19 per cent of AIACL’s embedded value.
THAI aims to cut aircraft purchases
Thai Airways International will propose that its board reduce the number of new aircraft required under the carrier’s second-phase replacement plan from 38 to just 21.
If approved, the revised purchase plan will be submitted to the Cabinet later this month, THAI president Sorajak Kasemsuvan said during an interview with Krungthep Turakij yesterday.
IPP deals ‘a worry’
Experts from the Foundation for Environment-Friendly Power Generation are concerned about a combined 5,000 megawatts of electricity that will be supplied by successful IPP (independent power producer) bidders Gulf Energy Development and Mitsui & Companies (Thailand), in the event that these companies fail to supply the power as obligated under their contracts.
The state must have a contingency plan to mitigate the potential risk associated with placing reliance solely on one or two IPPs, said Suwaporn Sirikul, director of the foundation.
Reshuffle at Toyota
Toyota Motor (Thailand) is reshuffling its marketing team by promoting Wuttikorn Suriyachantananond to the position of senior executive vice president for marketing.
He is replacing Nikorn Prasertsom, who is also the company’s executive vice president. Nikorn will switch to the management of product development, said a source in the auto industry.
Chuo shuts unit
Chuo Senko (Thailand) last month closed its 100 per cent-owned subsidiary in Malaysia, JM Chuo Senko, due to the unit’s continued losses. The dissolution of the subsidiary does not significantly affect the Thai business’s operations, the company said.
20% growth at RS
RS, which has weathered the stormy period in the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), has continued to grow at an exceptional rate, surpassing its target so far this year.
RS is estimated to have grown 20 per cent year on year during the first half, with the expansion supporting the entertainment company’s entry into the SET 100 index, which is a market capitalisation-weighted index of SET-listed companies. CEO Surachai Chetchotisak said: “Of all the years that we have been in business, this year is one of the best for RS because we have altered our business model, changing from a single content provider into a multi-content media network. We focus on branching out to other media and strengthening our network.”
