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From 21 bidders, Italian-Thai Development has won a US$3-billion (Bt95 billion) contract to build a railway and port in Mozambique, which will increase the southern African nation’s coal export capacity from the current level of 4.5 million tonnes, according to Bloomberg.
 The project calls for a 525-kilometre line from Tete province to Macuse district in the central Zambezia province, and a port able to handle about 20 million tonnes of coal a year.
 Other bidders included UK-based Rio Tinto Group and India’s Patel Engineering.

FITCH SEES GENERAL STABILITY IN THAI CORPORATE BOND RATINGS
Fitch Ratings (Thailand) expects corporate bond ratings to remain generally stable this year, despite challenging factors for the Thai economy – the deceleration of domestic demand, lower exports and a fragile global economy, particularly the slowdown in China.
 Eighty-five per cent of the ratings were unchanged last year.
 Since the rating agency began the service in Thailand in 2001, no defaults have been recorded due to limited issuance of lower-rated bonds, the relatively brief rating history, and the limited size of the Thai bond market.

DSM PROJECTS ENABLE EGAT TO CUT ENERGY USE AND EMISSIONS
Through 35 demand-side management (DSM) projects, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) says it has saved 3,000 megawatts in electricity usage and reduced carbon emission by 10.7 million tonnes over the past 20 years.
 DSM is carried out through the replacement of inefficient tools and equipment, the introduction of clean energy and the promotion of energy-saving awareness, said the state enterprise. It also promotes the use of energy-saving electrical appliances, through No-5 labelling.
 Egat governor Soonchai Kumnoonsate said that to date, 215 electrical appliances had been made part of the labelling project, for 21 types of products. More than 236 million labels have been issued, with microwave ovens and induction hob stoves two new products to have been labelled.
 Meanwhile, more than 400 building owners have joined the energy-saving project, while over 2 million students from some 900 schools have been enrolled to its green classroom, said Soonchai.

BASF SHOWCASES ITS INNOVATIONS IN BANGKOK
BASF, the world’s largest chemical company, is showcasing its innovations at the “BASF Technology Day” today and tomorrow in Bangkok to more than 1,000 invited guests, including key players from Thailand’s fastest-growing industries as well as other key stakeholders.
 They will witness how the Germany-based company lives its corporate purpose – “We create chemistry for a sustainable future” – in Thailand.