Briefs
HK investors snap up 17% of Pattaya condo
Hong Kong firm Purple Link Investment has bought 87 units at the South Point Pattaya condominium, worth about 17 per cent of the project value of Bt2.3 billion.
Kingdom Property, the project’s developer, expects residential demand in Pattaya from Hong Kong investors to continue to grow.
GMM to sell stake in Post Publishing
GMM Grammy’s board has approved the sale of a 15-per-cent stake in The Post Publishing.
The sale of 75,000,000 shares at Bt8.25 apiece results in a transaction value of Bt618.75 million.
The company plans to use the proceeds from the sale as working capital in the group and/or for strategic investment, chief investment officer Jiraporn Rungsrithong reported to the Stock Exchange of Thailand late on Thursday.
Joint push for mutual funds continues
The Stock Exchange of Thailand continues to invite the public to invest in mutual funds through its cooperation with the Association of Investment Management Companies (AIMC) and leading asset-management firms in the “Let’s Invest in Mutual Funds” campaign.
During the 10 years of collaboration, the national value of mutual funds has more than quadrupled, and AIMC chairman Somjin Sornpaisarn said investing through mutual funds was now an important alternative for Thais in managing their savings.
The formats of the funds have continuously evolved to meet the objectives and demands of the public, who need more tools for savings or efficient financial management, he said. As a result, mutual funds have become increasingly popular among savers and investors.
Since 2003, when the project began, the value of mutual funds in Thailand had risen from Bt681.35 billion to Bt2.78 trillion, as of June.
Meanwhile, the number of mutual-fund accounts has surged more than 450 per cent from 628,000 accounts to 3,554,000, and there are now more than 1,400 funds for investors to choose from, he said.
Investors have become more concerned about how the funds are managed, closely following the news, monitoring economic trends and focusing on fund allocation, he added.
Capital Research ups Nok stake to 5%
Nok Airlines has announced that Capital Research and Management recently increased its shareholding in the listed carrier from 1.3 per cent to 5.22 per cent.
The move makes Capital Research and Management the third-largest shareholder of Nok, after Thai Airways and Aviation Investment International, which hold 39.2 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively.
Patee Sarasin, chief executive officer of Nok, said the carrier was a leader in the low-cost airline industry with strong growth potential and investment highlights, resulting in increasing demand for its shares by foreign institutional investors.
After the company announces its second-quarter financial results next month, Nok will meet with foreign institutional investors on management roadshows in Singapore in order to build confidence in Nok Airlines as a sound investment option, he said.
Capital Research and Management is a large investment-management firm within the Capital Group.
Established more than 80 years ago and headquartered in the US, the Capital Group’s investment portfolio spans the globe and is worth more than US$1.14 trillion (Bt35.6 trillion).
Capital Research and Management has previously invested in the Thai bourse.
Different factors at play in Thai, Indonesian rate decisions
The Bank of Thailand yesterday explained why economic conditions in Indonesia had resulted in the authorities there hiking the policy interest rate, whereas the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had decided this week that no change was necessary in the Thai rate.
BOT Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul said Indonesia’s central bank had increased the policy rate by 0.5 percentage point to 6.5 per cent in order to control inflation after the removal of energy-sector subsidies, and the fact that the country’s massive current-account deficit had resulted in an outflow of capital.
The MPC, which maintained the policy rate at 2.5 per cent on Wednesday, sees a domestic slowdown in the key economic sectors of consumption and exports, caused partly by high household debt and the gradual conclusion of the government’s economic stimulus package, he said.
However, the committee expects to see an economic recovery because employment and income rates remain at a good level, and a relaxed financial policy is reflected in continuing loan expansion, he said.
Finansia sees good year for IPOs
Finansia Syrus Securities expects this year’s capital-raising via initial public offering (IPO) to be the highest for three years, with the biggest-ever number of companies trading on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
Many companies had prepared for IPO launches one to two years ago, but did not in the end set IPO prices due to the short-term volatility of stock prices.
As some of these businesses now revive their listing plans, Finansia hopes to sell the IPO shares of Communications & Systems Solutions next month, with the company’s stock trading on the bourse in the current quarter.
Capital-raising of about Bt300 million is expected at Finansia, with Union Auction selling its shares early next month and BJC Heavy Industries preparing to submit an IPO filing.
Finansia expects the IPO market to continue to be busy over the remainder of the year with participation from large companies, reflecting the fact that IPOs continue to be the preferred method of capital-raising for the private sector, while IPOs are still in demand from investors.
First-half ad spending edges up
Advertising expenditure in the first half is estimated to have come in at Bt55.6 billion, some 1.38 per cent higher than in same period last year, according to the latest media survey by Nielsen (Thailand).
Ad spending via free-TV channels remained strong with year-on year growth of 3.71 per cent to Bt34.2 billion during the period, while spending via Internet, transit and in-store media also rose, the company said.
However, the survey found that expenditure via newspapers, magazines, cinemas and outdoor media had declined.
An industry insider believes the slight overall growth during the first half partly results from weak purchasing power amid concern over high household debts.
