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New Mercedes CEO served in Romania
Michael Grewe, on July 1, assumed the position of president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz (Thailand), succeeding Alexander Paufler, who has completed his assignment in Thailand.
Grewe has been working in sales and marketing for more than 26 years. He started his first assignment with Daimler in 1987. His last assignment was CEO and president of sales and marketing at Mercedes-Benz Romania and Daimler’s corporate representative in Romania.
True sets up Telecom Asset Management Co
True Corp’s wholly owned subsidiary Telecom Holding Co (TH) will establish a subsidiary called Telecom Asset Management Co (TAM) this month to provide outsourcing services for asset management. Its registered capital is Bt10 million and issued and paid-up capital is Bt2.5 million.
Fitch rates SCB’s bond programme ‘F1+(tha)’
Fitch Ratings has assigned Siam Commercial Bank Plc’s unsubordinated unsecured short-term debenture programme of up to Bt50 billion a National Short-Term rating of “F1+(tha)”.
This programme replaces the bank’s existing Bt50 billion debenture programme, which expires next Monday. The debentures will have a maturity of up to 270 days and will be issued in several tranches within a year. The proceeds will be used for the bank’s general corporate purposes.
BBL rated ‘Best Bond House’
Bangkok Bank was chosen as Thailand’s Best Bond House by FinanceAsia, Asia’s leading financial magazine, for its outstanding performance in the Thai bond market and its strength as the country’s leading bond distributor.
It received special praise for its achievements in issuing the Finance Ministry’s government amortising bonds and inflation-linked bonds along with the debentures of many Thai companies over the past year.
Surabhan Purnagupta, senior vice president for corporate finance, said yesterday that Bangkok Bank topped the league tables and demonstrated its leadership in a number of major bond deals. Bangkok Bank was the only domestic arranger for the 25-year bonds issued by the Finance Ministry, which raised Bt30 billion – the largest and longest-tenor local currency amortised bonds to be issued in an Asean country.
While Deutsche Bank and HSBC structured the deal, Bangkok Bank proved its distribution strength, helping to place the bonds to onshore pension funds and life insurers, and broadening the Finance Ministry’s investor base for long-dated bonds.
For the inflation-linked bonds, Bangkok Bank was one of two local banks, alongside Krungthai Bank. It also acted as sole arranger for bond issues for Easy Buy and Bangkok Dusit Medical Services. On a joint basis, it has arranged substantial bond issues for major companies including PTT and Siam Cement.
Diesel input to Oil Fund to drop
Energy Minister Pongsak Ruktapongpisal revealed after meeting with the Energy Policy Administration Committee that it had decided to reduce the contribution from diesel retail sales to the Oil Fund by 40 satang per litre to only Bt1.30 as the political turmoil in Egypt has pushed up the oil price in the world market.
The move is meant to maintain the diesel price at service stations at Bt29.99 per litre.
The oil price in Dubai surged by US$2.74 per barrel to $101.76 because of the political crisis in Egypt, which has affected oil shipments through the Suez Canal. The world price is anticipated to stand at between $100 and $150 per barrel thanks to the stability of oil production around the world. In the current second half of the year, the price is expected not to exceed $105 per barrel.
The reduction of the diesel contribution to the Oil Fund will result in an overall contribution of only Bt94 million per day, down from Bt118 million previously. The fund now enjoys a Bt4.1-billion surplus.
Banks thrive
Banks are expected to post a 25-per-cent rise in net profit for the first half of this year, based on the likely rise in net interest income on the back of higher loan growth, according to a brokerage house.
Ten commercial banks are expected to see combined net profit of Bt107 billion, up 25.3 per cent year on year, Asia Plus Securities’ research noted.
Their combined operating profit is forecast to increase 22.8 per cent to Bt128 billion.
The securities firm estimated growth in net interest income of 11.2 per cent year on year and estimated net loan growth of 12.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2013 for higher profitability.
Net loan growth is projected at 12.8 per cent for the whole of 2013. Net interest margin will likely remain steady at 2.95 per cent in the second quarter of 2013. The NIM is estimated at 2.99 per cent for 2013.
Thaksin eyes Bumi
Thaksin Shinawatra, former Thai prime minister, is considering to buy a stake in Indonesia-focused coal-mining firm, Bumi, reported The Sunday Times.
The UK daily said in the July 7 report that Thaksin is in talks to buy the 23.8 per cent stake owned by the Bakrie family, who co-founded Bumi three years ago with Nat Rothschild. He is understood to have hired UBS. It is unclear how much Thaksin would pay. But his arrival will raise concerns about a new power struggle at the stricken miner.
