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Thailand has extended its anti-dumping duties imposed on three steel products from South Korea, China, Vietnam and Taiwan, in order to protect its domestic industry.
Bangjongjit Angsusingh, deputy director-general to the Foreign Trade Department, said the government needed to continue imposing high tariffs on steel from those countries as the domestic industry was not ready to compete with them.
The tariff will be between 8.76-58.85 per cent, depending on the country and type of steel. – The Nation

GH Bank to provide house renovation loans
The Finance Ministry has assigned the Government Housing Bank (GH Bank) to launch loans for residents who require financing to make renovations, rather than buying new houses, Deputy Finance Minister Thanusak Lek-uthai said.
The programme is in addition to the first-house buyer scheme, which attracted many people to buy into the scheme’s housing, priced at only Bt1 million per unit, well below the market price. Demand for financing to renovate housing also remains strong, Thanusak said.
GH Bank has set a credit line of Bt10 billion for the scheme and customers will be able to borrow loans of up to Bt300,000 with an interest rate of 3-4 per cent. The term of the loan will be limited to 10 years.
GH Bank will launch the programme on September 28.– The Nation

Bangkok Bank envisages economic slowdown in China
Bangkok Bank (China) anticipates that China will experience a slower rate of growth due to sluggish exports and slower domestic consumption, according to Suwatchai Songwanich, the bank’s CEO and director.
However, he said the bank would continue to focus on providing support to its core client base including foreign investors from Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and China, with whom it had developed strong relationships over the past few years.
The bank has been monitoring developments in the local market closely and regularly communicates with its clients to provide advice and support.
“We have also introduced new products and services to help clients mitigate foreign exchange risks based on the growth achieved in the first half of this year.
The bank has maintained a loan growth target of around 10 per cent for 2013, but puts more emphasis on credit considerations and approvals,” Songwanich said.