News Feed

At a press briefing yesterday, he said the Bank of Thailand could maintain the policy rate, now at 2.50 per cent, until the second quarter of next year.

In the face of intensifying risks to the US economy, the rate hike in that country may also be delayed to late 2015 or end-2016, he said. The three main risks now are the tapering of quantitative easing, the debt-ceiling negotiations and the partial government shutdown.

Because of the political wrangling over fiscal policy, de Silva is convinced the Federal Reserve will delay the tapering, potentially until the first quarter of next year. This would draw some foreign funds back to Thai bonds, amid the current exodus from emerging bond markets, particularly those with current-account deficits, such as India, Indonesia, Brazil, Turkey and Mexico.

PTTGC, TOP added to indices

Thai companies PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) and Thai Oil (TOP) have been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI).

Their inclusion increases the number of Thai companies included in the highly regarded global sustainability indices to four. The others are Siam Cement Group (SCG) and PTT.

According to a recent announcement by S&P Dow Jones and RobecoSAM, which track the financial performances of the world’s leading sustainability-driven companies, SCG, PTT and PTTGC will be included in the DJSI World Index, while TOP is listed in the new DJSI Emerging Markets index.

“Being selected as DJSI components boosts the attractiveness of these companies among domestic and international investors and firms up their confidence that the companies operate businesses with social and environmental concerns, together with making good returns, resulting in sustainable growth and long-term benefits for investors,” said Bordin Unakul, Stock Exchange of Thailand executive vice president and CSRI director.

 

1,450 forced to shutter in Sept

A total of 1,450 companies closed down in September, up 5 per cent from the same month last year, according to the Commerce Ministry’s figures.

However, in the first nine months of this year, 9,488 companies shut down – a 2-per-cent decline from the same period last year, Deputy Commerce Minister Nuttawut Saikuar said. He attributed the shutdowns mostly to financial losses.

Meanwhile, the number of newly registered companies hit 5,622 in September, showing a 3-per-cent increase year on year. They control combined capital of Bt18.33 billion, up 8 per cent. The number of firms and their combined capital were down 11 per cent and 41 per cent respectively from August this year.

The top five categories of newly registered firms were: construction; property development; machinery trading; travel agents; and medical equipment.

TAT campaign seeks Q4 boost

The Tourism Authority of Thailand is launching a “Thailand Season Greeting” campaign to boost spending among Thai and foreign travellers in the last quarter.

Shops participating in the campaign, which runs from November 15 to January 15 and was organised in cooperation with Visa International, promise discounts of up to 50 per cent on services and products. TAT is also seeking cooperation from Airports of Thailand to host public relations events at Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports. All 26 TAT offices overseas will promote the shopping season.

The agency and department stores are also designing a special New Year basket for online sale. An e-commerce website will be launched to take overseas orders, which will be available for pick-up at Thai airports.

Otop exports under AEC eyed

The Commerce Ministry will promote One Tambon One Product goods for export to Asean countries when the Asean Economic Community takes effect in 2015, said Pongpun Gearaviriyapun, director-general of the ministry’s Business Development Department.

The department will select 3,000 products to promote for export to the neighbouring countries, she said.

 

 

Malaysian hotel to come under Onyx Hospitality

Thailand-based Onyx Hospitality Group has been selected to manage a 207-room hotel in the southern Malaysian town of Johor Bahru.

The Amari Johor Bahru is owned by Exquisite Mode, a subsidiary of United Malayan Land, and will carry Onyx’s upscale Amari brand.

It is scheduled to open in 2015 as part of the Suasana Iskandar Malaysia development, which also offers serviced apartments for sale and a retail podium.

Johor Bahru is becoming a popular weekend escape for families and leisure travellers. Singapore is Johor’s top source of international arrivals, followed by Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, Macau, the Philippines and India.

Johor’s tourism department is aiming for 24.2 million arrivals this year, having recorded 12.6 million as of July. The state of Johor offers popular attractions, including Johor Premium Outlets, Legoland Malaysia, Danga World theme park and Angry Birds Activity Park.

“We are very excited to be in a position to announce our second hotel development in Malaysia, so soon after the first. As a Thai company, having a presence in one of our closest neighbouring countries has always been a priority for us.

“We are excited to be joining forces with Exquisite Mode and bringing the first Amari to Malaysia with Amari Johor Bahru. Amari has become a household name in Thailand and we look forward to building that level of brand recognition in Malaysia,” Peter Henley, president and CEO of Onyx, said yesterday.

Onyx disclosed their first property in Malaysia earlier this year for select service brand OZO. OZO Penang is scheduled to welcome its first guests in 2016. There are six OZO properties under development in Malaysia, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

PT operator to start up

eighth depot in Phitsanulok

PTG Energy, operator of PT petrol stations, will open its eighth oil depot in Phitsanulok.

Pitak Ratchakijpakarn, president and CEO of PTG, said yesterday that the depot is expected to start commercial operation in January with storage capacity of 7 million litres to serve its operations in the eastern zone of the North.

PTG runs over 700 service stations nationwide. It plans to add 155 stations this year, of which 142 have already been opened.

1,631 TV, radio stations

face NBTC?legal action

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission has so far taken legal action against 1,631 radio and TV stations for alleged possession of radio equipment, installation of radio stations and the use of radio frequencies without its permits.

State enterprises had complained that these stations jammed radio signals, Takorn Tantasit, secretary-general of the NBTC, said yesterday.

The NBTC has urged unlicensed stations to apply for permits to run on a trial basis. It had approved permits for 2,844 stations as of September 30.

Sansiri expects to reach

Bt48-bn presales target

Sansiri Plc plans to launch seven new projects worth Bt7.9 billion in the last quarter of this year to boost its presales to Bt48 billion by the end of this year.

Presales totalled Bt37 billion in the first nine months of this year.

Company president Srettha Thavisin said four of the seven projects will be condominiums worth Bt5.7 billion – one of which, dCondo, will be located in Chiang Rai – and the other three will be single-detached housing projects worth Bt2.2 billion.