The Bank of Thailand has urged commercial banks to provide customers with information about the real rate they will have to pay for mortgages following the expiry of zero-interest periods, or those offering a low interest rate for the first year.
Assistant Governor Salinee Wangtal yesterday said the BOT had met representatives of the Thai Bankers’ Association, requesting that commercial banks spell out the actual interest rate that customers have to pay throughout the term of their home loan, as many currently only show the rate during the promotional period.
This will enable each customer to make a more informed decision when applying for a home loan, she said.
"And it is not only the real interest rate, as banks should provide details of other fees that customers have to pay. That will ensure that they are aware of interest rates and all fee costs when applying," she added.
Berli Jucker sets up wholly
owned subsidiary in HK
Berli Jucker has established a subsidiary in Hong Kong – BJC-Mpoint (Hong Kong) – with a registered capital of US$4.3 million (Bt134 million).
The listed company will hold 100 per cent of the new firm, which will provide services and management consulting on franchise and trading business.
Thai tourism ‘less seasonal’
now China is largest market
The Thai tourism industry should be less seasonal now that visitors from China have become the Kingdom’s largest market, since they tend to travel on a year-round basis, according to research by Siam Commercial Bank.
The large numbers of Chinese visitors should increasingly benefit mid-range hotels, because Chinese travellers are more experienced and demand a higher-quality holiday.
Hotels and resorts catering to Chinese tourists should, therefore, consider adapting their facilities to better cater to Chinese tastes, said the bank.
The research shows that last year, outbound Chinese travellers totalled 83.2 million, an 18-per-cent increase from the year before, and the rate is forecast to increase by another 15 per cent this year to about 94 million.
Some 90 per cent of outbound Chinese travellers travel within Asia, and in Thailand the number of Chinese visitors almost doubled in the first quarter when compared to the same period in 2012 – the year in which China trumped Malaysia as the largest supplier of tourists to the Kingdom.
Fitch affirms ratings of TMB
Asset money-market funds
Fitch Ratings (Thailand) has affirmed two Thailand-based funds – TMB Treasury Money Fund and TMB Money Fund – at "AAAmmf(tha)".
Both money-market funds are managed by TMB Asset Management (TMBAM).
The main drivers of the affirmations are the portfolios’ overall credit quality and diversification, minimal exposure to interest-rate and spread risks, high level of daily and weekly liquidity consistent with their investors’ profile and concentration, and the capabilities and resources of TMBAM as investment manager, said Fitch.
Ministry to release 10m tonnes of tapioca to meet traders' demand
The Commerce Ministry plans to release gradually about 10 million tonnes of tapioca from its stockpiles this month to serve high demand among traders during the out-of-harvest season.
Deputy Commerce Minister Yanyong Phuangrach said the ministry was considering a plan to sell tapioca stocks to domestic traders and exporters.
The tapioca will be gradually released at an appropriate price so that it will not affect the market price.
Tapioca traders had called on the government to release its stocks as the government holds most of the country’s tapioca under its pledging scheme.
A trade source said the market had high demand for tapioca. The government should stop its price intervention and pledging scheme for the commodity because of the high price of fresh cassava in the market. The cassava price increased to more than Bt3 a kilogram early this month.
Fitch places Bank of Ayuthaya issues on Watch Positive
Fitch Ratings has placed Bank of Ayudhya’s long-term issuer default rating (IDR) of “BBB”, short-term IDR of “F3”, national long-term rating of “AA-(tha)”, and support rating (SR) of “3” on Rating Watch Positive.
The RWP follows the announcement on Tuesday by the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ that it is planning to buy a majority stake of up to 75 per cent in BAY, and Fitch expects that such ownership would result in high probability of extraordinary support from BTMU for BAY. BAY’s ratings and its viability rating reflect its standalone credit fundamentals and factor in only ordinary support from BAY’s existing 25-per-cent shareholder, GE Capital International Holdings Corporation.
Yong Thai parts with land plots in bid to boost liquidity, ease debt burden
Chemical firm Yong Thai has sold three pieces of land in tambon Na Di of Muang district, Samut Sakhon province, to increase liquidity, relieve its financial burden, and improve working capital.
The total area of these unused plots is more than 19 rai (about 3 hectares) and they sold for Bt62.35 million to an unrelated party.
Fitch affirms ratings of ING Bank’s unsecured bonds
Fitch Ratings (Thailand) affirmed ING Bank’s Bt5.74-billion and Bt4.26-billion senior unsecured bonds due in 2014 and 2016 respectively at “AAA(tha)”.
The rating of the bonds is based on ING Bank’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating of “A+/Negative” (last affirmed on April 11), which is higher than Thailand’s long-term local currency (LTLC) IDR of “A-/Stable” and hence aligned with “AAA(tha)”, the highest rating on Thailand’s national rating scale.
BOT calls on banks to be more forthcoming on home-loan rates
The Bank of Thailand has urged commercial banks to provide customers with information about the real rate they will have to pay for mortgages following the expiry of zero-interest periods, or those offering a low interest rate for the first year.
Assistant Governor Salinee Wangtal yesterday said the BOT had met representatives of the Thai Bankers’ Association, requesting that commercial banks spell out the actual interest rate that customers have to pay throughout the term of their home loan, as many currently only show the rate during the promotional period.
This will enable each customer to make a more informed decision when applying for a home loan, she said.
“And it is not only the real interest rate, as banks should provide details of other fees that customers have to pay. That will ensure that they are aware of interest rates and all fee costs when applying,” she added.
Berli Jucker sets up subsidiary in HK
Berli Jucker has established a subsidiary in Hong Kong – BJC-Mpoint (Hong Kong) – with a registered capital of US$4.3 million (Bt134 million).
The listed company will hold 100 per cent of the new firm, which will provide services and management consulting on franchise and trading business.
Thai tourism now ‘less seasonal’
The Thai tourism industry should be less seasonal now that visitors from China have become the Kingdom’s largest market, since they tend to travel on a year-round basis, according to research by Siam Commercial Bank.
The large numbers of Chinese visitors should increasingly benefit mid-range hotels, because Chinese travellers are more experienced and demand a higher-quality holiday.
Hotels and resorts catering to Chinese tourists should, therefore, consider adapting their facilities to better cater to Chinese tastes, said the bank.
The research shows that last year, outbound Chinese travellers totalled 83.2 million, an 18-per-cent increase from the year before, and the rate is forecast to increase by another 15 per cent this year to about 94 million.
Some 90 per cent of outbod Chinese travellers travel within Asia, and in Thailand the number of Chinese visitors almost doubled in the first quarter when compared to the same period in 2012 – the year in which China trumped Malaysia as the largest supplier of tourists to the Kingdom.
