Quick news
Toyo-Thai Corporation sets up solar-farm unit in Singapore with initial capital of Bt93.7 million
Toyo-Thai Corporation has set up its solar-farm business as Toyo Thai Solar Power Pte Ltd, registering it in Singapore with the initial capital of US$3 million (Bt93.7 million).
It is wholly owned by one of Toyo-Thai’s subsidiaries, Toyo Thai Power Holdings Pte Ltd.
The Toyo-Thai board approved investing in this business in August.
Nippon Steel plant starts up commercial production of high-quaity products
Nippon Steel & Sumikin Galvanizing (Thailand) Co (NSGT), a unit of Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC) set up in June 2011, began commercial operation on Tuesday.
NSGT manufactures and markets hot-dip galvanised and galvannealed steel sheets. It was established with an investment budget of US$300 million (Bt9.37 billion).
NSGT, with state-of-the-art equipment equivalent to that of NSSMC’s latest facility in Japan, is capable of producing high-grade, high-quality products, including automotive outer panels and high-strength steel, the company says.
As it is located adjoining Siam United Steel (1995) Co, a consolidated subsidiary for the manufacture and sale of cold-rolled sheet, an integrated production and quality-control set-up, from cold rolling down, has been structured.
The production plant will have total capacity 360,000 tonnes per year.
UACJ ‘s new integrated factoy to commence operation in Jan, catering to regional demand
UACJ Group’s new integrated factory in Thailand will start to operate in January, catering to the growing Southeast Asian demand for aluminium products.
A great number of beverage-can manufacturers, automotive manufacturers, and other industries have expanded into Southeast Asia, especially Thailand.
With its high quality and technology, the UACJ Group says it can offer these companies a significant competitive advantage. Initially, the new Thai factory will supply products such as can-end and automotive heat-exchanger materials.
Work on the new factory began in March last year. Construction and installation is now in the final stage for the primary line, which will handle processes from cold rolling to finishing.
Preparations for operation of this line are also moving forward smoothly, towards a scheduled start date in January.
This includes training in Japan of the local staff who will be directly responsible for carrying out the work.
Construction on the secondary line has also been under way since February. This line is scheduled to handle processes ranging from casting to hot rolling when it begins operation in March 2015.
The facility is expected to have a total production capacity of up to 180,000 tonnes per year. UACJ says this volume will give it a clear edge in cost over its competitors, including Chinese and Korean manufacturers that have grown in market strength in recent years.
The new factory in Thailand will maintain a core position in the UACJ Group’s global network.
Livestock chief denies existence of bird flu in Thailand
Tristsadee Chaosuancharoen, director-general of the Livestock Development Department, insisted yesterday that there is no bird flu in the country.
“Thailand has been free from bird flu for four years,” he said.
MP Supatcharee Tummapetch from Phattalung had claimed authorities had concealed the discovery of avian influenza at a farm.
Tristsadee said there was no such report from anywhere in the country. The department is also working closely with the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry to monitor unnatural deaths of migratory birds.
All farms are now operating as a closed system and inspection is mandatory before shipment to prevent the spread of diseases to nearby farms. An outbreak cannot be concealed, he said.
Social media was abuzz recently with rumours that bird flu was detected at Charoen Pokphand Group’s chicken farms and that workers at CP Tower were infected.
Teerasak Urunanon, an executive vice president at CPF, said the company’s chicken products were safe for human consumption because the company managed through a compartment system.
“Our chicken products are safe and also exported to Europe. The target is to achieve 100,000 tonnes this year,” he said.
DTAC, CAT in talks for 4G service
Total Access Communication (DTAC) is in negotiations with CAT Telecom to launch a 4G service on 24.5MHZ of unused bandwidth from its 1800MHz frequency band by using a wholesale and resale business model similar to the contracts that CAT had signed with another operator.
“We will fully explore this business model and work with CAT and other stakeholders to confirm if such a model can work in a 4G scenario,” Jon Eddy Abdullah, CEO of DTAC, said in a release yesterday.
DTAC also confirmed it is willing to return this unused frequency for auction if requested by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC). DTAC is proceeding on both options given the accelerated development and consumer need for 4G technology.
“In either case, DTAC is ready and committed to bringing the most advanced 4G LTE technology to Thailand and thus will proceed in parallel,” he said.
According to DTAC’s estimate, based on the reserve price of the 2100MHz spectrum, the 24.5MHz unused band is valued at more than Bt22 billion. If it is pooled with 25.2MHz from Digital Phone Co (DPC) and TrueMove and 20MHz from Advanced Info Service’s 900MHz, the overall frequencies ready for auction next year could generate more than Bt62.73 billion in state revenue.
Kitisak Sriprasert, CEO of CAT, said separately that if DTAC proposed its plan to use the wholesale and resale business model, CAT would submit it to its board for consideration. CAT granted 50MHz of bandwidth from the 1800Mz spectrum to DTAC, which uses half of it to serve its 2G customers.
The NBTC plans to auction the 1800MHz bands of TrueMove and DPC, whose concessions expired last month, next September.
