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Jones Lang LaSalle promotes riverside London condo project in Bangkok
Jones Lang LaSalle Thailand in association with leading British developer St James is promoting in Bangkok the launch of a condominium development in London.
The Corniche comprises three towers on the south side of the River Thames developed by St James, part of the Berkeley Group. A sales exhibition will be held today and tomorrow at The Bangkok Club, Sathorn City Tower, South Sathorn Road.
Suphin Mechuchep, managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle Thailand, said the company had seen continued interest among wealthy Thais looking for opportunities to purchase residential properties in London. Some of them are parents who have sent or plan to send their children to schools or universities in the British capital and want to purchase a condominium as a residence for their children and where the parents can stay when they visit.
These Thai purchasers also expect some capital gains when they sell the property after their children finish their education and move back to Thailand.
“Other Thai purchasers are ultra-high-net-worth individuals who seek opportunities to invest in the world’s best-established property market of London that offers good risk-adjusted returns and has no restriction on foreign ownership,” she said.
Upon completion in 2017, The Corniche will comprise 168 suites, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, and a few penthouses.
Food exports expected to increase in Q4
Export of food and agricultural-industry products is expected to pick up in the final quarter of the year but full-year growth of this export segment is likely to be only 1-2 per cent, versus the target of 5 per cent,because of the declining export of shrimps and rice, according to Pornsilp Patcharintanakul, vice chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.
The high price of Thai rice means it has lost its competitiveness to rivals, while the shrimp disease that has hurt supplies has yet to completely abated, Pornsilp noted.
TrueMove, DPC customers reassured by NBTC
Settapong Malisuwan, chairman of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission’s telecom committee, yesterday reiterated that the more than 17 million subscribers of TrueMove and Digital Phone Co (DPC) would be served throughout the one-year interim period after the two firms’ concessions expired on Sunday.
It will also make sure both cellular operators strictly follow the consumer-protection plans they submitted to the regulator.
NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasit said customers could make complaints at the commission’s 1200 call-centre number if they feel they are treated unfairly during this interim period.
Power supply assured despite gas shutdown
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) has given its assurance that the decline in power-production capacity by 3,000 megawatts due to the interim shutdown of Myanmar’s Yetagun gas field from December 25 to January 8 would not affect Thailand.
Egat governor Soonchai Kumnoonsate said electricity demand during that time, which is winter and a festive period, was the lowest of the year and demand was expected to be 23,000MW versus the peak of 26,598.14MW that was seen in May.
Egat has also prepared bunker oil to drive two of its power plants – 26 million litres for the Ratchaburi plant and 3 million litres for Bang Pakong plant in Chachoengsao province – to offset any shortfall during the shutdown.
The maintenance of Yetagun field will see gas supply decline by 1,100 cubic feet per day.
Suntory launches drink in Kingdom
Suntory, a leader in Japan’s ready-to-drink-tea market, has joined forces with Thai fruit-juice company Tipco to launch Suntory Oolong Tea Plus.
This innovative product marks Suntory’s entry to Thailand’s tea market. This drink offers the refreshing taste of Oolong tea along with its fragrance and mellowness.
More than Bt250 million will be spent on an integrated marketing campaign for the product.
Bangladesh-Thai Chamber elects top officials
Sajjatuz Jumma has been elected president of the Bangladesh-Thai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BTCCI) for two years, the chamber said.
Mohammad Shahjahan Khan was elected senior vice president and Mohammed Ali vice president, along with Abu Rushd Tarek as director of administration, and Mohammad Enayet Husain as director of finance for the same period.
Jumma is the owner of Desh Electronics, Milling Engineers Ltd and Desh Landmark Ltd, and founder chairman of Shahjalal Islami Bank, Prime University and the Prime Foundation.
The BTCCI election was conducted by its former president, Rashed Maksud Khan.
Madurapochana Ittarong, Thai ambassador to Bangladesh, attended the lunch following the BTCCI’s annual general meeting. – The Daily Star/ANN
Three ministers to defend loan bill while Cabinet in Lop Buri
Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong, PM’s Office Minister Varathep Ratanakorn and Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt have been appointed the government’s representatives to defend the Bt2-trillion borrowing bill.
The second and third readings of the bill are scheduled for Thursday and Friday, when a mobile Cabinet meeting will be held in Lop Buri.
Varathep said yesterday that though the schedules clashed, there should be no problem in defending the bill, given that the text is clear.
He is more concerned that the opposition will resort to the same old arguments discussed at great length in the first reading, he said.
Complaint centre for e-commerce
The Electronic Transaction Development Agency plans to establish Thailand’s first centre for receiving complaints regarding e-commerce and e-transactions to protect consumers engaging in online transactions. The agency hired Thammasat University to study the problems of the transactions and also the related legal issues as part of its planned establishment if the centre.
Inbound tourists up 20.4% in Jan-July
The number of inbound tourists from January-July rose 20.4 per cent year on year to 14.97 million, while outbound tourists were up 7.10 per cent to 4.71 million, according to the Tourism Ministry.
The top 10 tourist sources were China, Malaysia, Russia, Japan, South Korea, India, Britain, Laos, Australia and Germany.
The ministry will report the number of tourists in the period for Cabinet acknowledgement today.
Egg farmers petition court over freeze
Egg farmers filed a petition against Deputy Commerce Minister Yanyong Phuangrach and Wiboonlasana Ruamraksa, director-general of the Internal Trade Department, for the policy to freeze egg prices.
In the petition filed to the Administrative Court, the farmers said both officials had the authority to freeze ex-factory prices at Bt3.50 per egg for three weeks from September 12.
They said they suffered from the policy besides the Commerce Ministry’s offering of eggs at a subsidised price of Bt3.30 each.
MOU with South Korea on IP rights
The Commerce Ministry today will ask the Cabinet to approve the Department of Intellectual Property’s signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Copyright Office to promote collaboration on copyright protection and the suppression of copyright violations.
The MoU will take effect immediately once it is signed and will be valid for three years, according to a Cabinet source.
The MoU can be renewed automatically except when either party gives six months’ notice before the MoU expires that it wants to terminate it.
