Briefs

Asia’s steel industry shows a negative outlook, due to weak regional demand, said Moody’s Investors Service.
Asian steel manufacturers will report historically low profits over the next 12 months, as demand for steel is expected to weaken in the second half of this year, owing to destocking and slower economic growth, particularly in China.
Demand in Asia will increase only by around 2-3 per cent in the 12 months to June 2014, because of the Chinese government’s shift in emphasis from infrastructure spending to consumption and the country’s slower growth, said Moody’s.

THAI offers special fares to
celebrate Queen’s birthday
Thai Airways International is offering special fares to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s birthday and Mother’s Day on domestic flights operated by THAI and THAI Smile.
THAI’s round-trip fare for economy class from Bangkok to Chiang Mai is only Bt4,100, while Bt4,900 is on offer for Phuket and Bt3,550 for Khon Kaen.
THAI Smile offers special fares on the Bangkok-Udon Thani, Bangkok-Ubon Ratchathani, Bangkok-Surat Thani and Chiang Mai-Phuket routes.

Eight listed Thai firms make
Forbes ‘Under a Billion’ list
Seven listed companies in the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and one in the Market for Alternative (MAI) feature in the “Asia’s 200 Best Under a Billion” 2013 list of Forbes Asia magazine, up from two Thai companies last year.
The list covers 200 small and medium-sized enterprises in Asia-Pacific.
The seven SET-listed firms are Aikchol Hospital, BEC World, Malee Sampran, Premier Marketing, Robison Department Store, Sahamit Machinery, and Workpoint Entertainment.
The MAI-listed firm making the list is Master Ad.
Chanitr Charnchainarong, SET executive vice president, said the selection of eight Thai firms by the magazine indicated the strong growth of the businesses in the consumer and investment sectors, plus their efficient cost management.
 
Bumrungrad’s Q2 revenue
up 10%, earnings rise 16%
Bumrungrad Hospital has reported second-quarter revenue of Bt3.59 billion, 10 per cent higher than in the same period last year.
Net profit for the quarter grew by 16 per cent to Bt579 million.
For the first half, revenue increased to Bt7.15 billion, representing 10.1-per-cent growth, while net profit advanced to Bt1.19 billion from Bt1.08 billion over the same period last year.

Thai AirAsia load factor
improves to 82% in Q2
Thai AirAsia had an average load factor of 82 per cent in the second quarter, 3 percentage points higher than in the same period a year ago.
The number of passengers carried increased by 25 per cent to about 2.4 million, while the increase in capacity was 20 per cent.
During the quarter, the carrier took in additional aircraft, which brought the fleet to 29 at the end of June. AirAsia group recorded a strong load factor of 80 per cent in the period, an increase of 1 percentage point from the same period last year, according to its operating results for the second quarter.
The total number of passengers carried for the whole group increased by 20 per cent year on year to about 9.99 million, in line with the increase in capacity, which stood at 18 per cent.
 
Senior management changes
at RBS’s Asian operations
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has appointed Brijesh Mehra as the head of international banking for India and Southeast Asia, and Charly Madan as the head of capital and portfolio management in Asia-Pacific.
Mehra is currently the head of international banking for India and will expand his portfolio to include the Southeast Asian countries of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. He will have oversight of RBS’s international banking business across all four markets.