Quick news
Play
CPF's bonds 1.5 times oversubscribed
Charoen Pokphand Foods' Bt10 billion bonds are 1.5 times oversubscribed, said TMB Bank, an underwriter.
The bank underwrites half of the bonds.
In a statement, TMB said overwhelming interest is attributable to the company's strong financial performance.
UK's Costa Coffee to open outlet in Siam Paragon
Long-established British coffee chain Costa Coffee is to open the first branch in Thailand on August 15, at Siam Paragon.
According to the website of JobsDB.com, the branch will be operated by the Thai unit of Express Food, an international group operating international franchised restaurants in Southeast Asia. In the job-placement ad, Express Food Group said it was opening outlets of Costa Coffee, which has close to 2,500 stores worldwide in more than 30 countries, in Thailand and Cambodia.
Rohm Mechatech in Saraburi
Rohm Mechatech (Thailand), a subsidiary of Rohm Mechatech of Japan, recently celebrated the grand opening of its new factory in Hemaraj Saraburi Industrial Land. Headquartered in Kyoto, Rohm Mechatech is a pioneer manufacturer of lead frames and moulding dies used for semiconductors.
Equipped with the most advanced technology, the 26-rai (4-hectare) plant in Thailand is intended to enable the company to meet the requirements and demands of the region’s growing market.
Toshiaki Kawabata is the president of the Thai unit, which was established in 2001. The Japanese firm also has units in the Philippines and Tianjin, China.
Italian-Thai inks condo deal
Italian-Thai Development has signed a Bt700-million contract with property developer Siralai for the construction of the Than Living Condominium project.
The 823-unit project will consist of six buildings. The construction contract will last 24 months.
New property fund on SET
The Sri Panwa Hotel Property Fund (SPWPF) worth Bt2.001 billion will start trading on the Stock Exchange of Thailand tomorrow, as the fourth property fund to list this year.
The SPWPF offered 200.183 million investment units to the public from July 17 to 26 at par value of Bt10 apiece. SCB Asset Management is the fund manager.
The Sri Panwa is a luxury hotel in Phuket.
CAT to serve Vanilla Moon
Development Bangkok signed a deal this week with CAT Telecom for the state agency to provide comprehensive telecommunication and Internet services to the Vanilla Moon community mall project on Chan Road, Sathon district, Bangkok.
Coke can for Mum
Coca-Cola has launched a special-edition can that carries the words “Share a Coke with Mum” in Thai. The new 325-millilitre can marks Mother’s Day, which is next Monday in Thailand. Coca-Cola has also announced the launch in Thailand of its global “Share a Coke” campaign. The campaign is a part of the brand’s “Be Fizzy, Be Bold – Coke Is It” platform.
HD tennis channel
TrueVisions, the country’s leading pay-TV operator, yesterday launched a new high-definition channel for tennis, True Tennis HD, along with five sports channels newly upgraded to HD from standard definition for all paid packages.
Managing director Anat Mekpaiboonvatana said the company hoped that world-class tennis games would attract more subscribers who craved this kind of sport.
To make this channel different, the company signed a five-year exclusive deal to broadcast live matches of the ATP World Tour.
Sansiri presales hit Bt34 bn
Sansiri recorded presales of Bt34 billion from January 1 through August 5 thanks to growing demand in all market segments, company president Srettha Thavisin said. Last month alone, the company recorded presales of Bt5 billion after the positive feedback from its “Sansiri Life Comes Home” event, which recorded sales worth Bt1.7 billion.
Mandala opens Surabaya-Bangkok route
Privately owned Indonesian airline Tigerair Mandala recently opened a route from Surabaya to Bangkok.Mandala said it decided to link Indonesia’s second-largest city and the Thai capital to the take advantage of the increase in air traffic between the two.
Meanwhile, national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has opened a new route from Jakarta to Tanjung Pinang, capital of the Riau Islands.
Garuda vice president of communications Pujobroto said the airline would fly to Tanjung Pinang’s Raja Haji Fisabilillah Airport once a day with a Boeing B737-500 with a capacity of 96 passengers.
“This will make trips easier for passengers between the two cities, and also stimulate tourism growth and investment in Tanjung Pinang,” Pujobroto said. – The Jakarta Post/ANN
Central bank mulls relaxing rules on sending money abroad
The Bank of Thailand is considering legal amendments to ease overseas fund transfers for some transactions, a central bank source said yesterday.
The central bank will soon discuss the matter with the Thai Bankers’ Association, the Finance Ministry and other state agencies.
Some of the rules are outdated, the source said, such as the limit of US$1 million (Bt31 million) on annual inheritance transfers, and the limit on money transfers to overseas Thais at $1 million per annum.
Oil spill compensation
Oil spill-affected fishermen will receive compensation of Bt1,000 per head per day for a 30-day period, said Rayong Governor Vichit Chatpaisit.
Vichit said he would soon send the initial framework for remedial measures to PTT Global Chemical. He said so far there were 600 such fishermen registered for help. Vichit said that if the affected people weren't happy with the compensation, they could appeal for a higher sum.
MCOT gets nod to join auction
The Cabinet has approved in principle MCOT’s plan to join the upcoming commercial terrestrial digital-TV licence bidding, for which the listed company is preparing to spend Bt5 billion in the auction.
MCOT president Anek Permwongseni yesterday said the company could seek an additional Bt11 billion in bank loans for the auction.
MCOT will need to prepare human resources and undertake an organisational restructuring for the production of new programmes.
The company hopes to secure three digital-TV licences: for standard-definition variety and children’s channels, and a high-definition variety or news channel.
Airport to run at capacity
The Airport Division of the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) will have Krabi Airport operating at full capacity 24 hours a day in October in order to cater to high-season tourists.
The move is also aimed at easing the congestion at Phuket Airport, deputy director-general Seree Chitsopa said yesterday. Krabi Airport serves 1 million passengers per year, but has a capacity to serve three times that number. The airport normally operates from 6am to 8.30pm daily. The CAD also plans to construct a third terminal building to increase the airport’s annual capacity to 5 million.
Bid to up foreign shareholding
Bank of Ayudhya’s request to increase its foreign shareholding ratio to above 49 per cent has been forwarded to the Finance Ministry for approval, Bank of Thailand Deputy Governor Krirk Vanikkul said yesterday.
Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group secured a deal to acquire 1.54 billion BAY shares, a 25.33-per-cent stake, from GE Capital International Holding Corp. It also plans a tender offer for an additional 50 per cent, if the shareholding limit is extended.
Krirk said it would require some time before the deal could go through. He does not know when the ministry will be able to approve the first request.
