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104,000 new graduates join ranks of jobless
The number of newly jobless people last month totalled 260,000, according to a survey by the National Statistical Office.
The NSO said 104,000 of the newly unemployed were new university graduates, with those leaving high school and secondary school being the next highest categories.
Meanwhile, unemployment rates in Bangkok and the central and southern parts of the country remained high at 0.8 per cent, followed by 0.6 per cent in the Northeast and 0.3 per cent in the North.
The NSO also found that there were 2.85 unemployed people in the labour market, translating to about 0.7 per cent of the potential workforce in the Kingdom.
GMM denies board rift after director resigns
GMM Grammy, the music and entertainment giant, denied yesterday that there was any conflict among its board members, following Takonkiet Viravan resignation as a director on Tuesday.
A source at the company said Takonkiat would remain the leader in terms of the development and running of GMM Grammy’s coming commercial digital terrestrial-TV project.
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission will begin the spectrum auction of 24 commercial digital-TV licences in December. GMM Grammy units hope to secure at least one licence to run a variety channel in either standard or high definition.
Takonkiat, meanwhile, yesterday posted a personal Instagram message saying that he still served as managing director of Scenario and Exact units.
He also explained that he had resigned from the GMM Grammy board as he wanted to focus more on his responsibilities for the company’s digital-TV project.
Northeast SMEs’ business confidence sharply down
The E-Saan Centre Business and Economic Research, part of Khon Kaen University’s Faculty of Management Sciences, yesterday announced the results of its latest poll on the business confidence among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Northeast.
The survey – conducted between August 5 and September 6 – found a big drop in the SME confidence index in the third quarter.
The sharpest decline was in the chemicals sector, followed by foods and beverages, metal products, and household goods.
The poll was conducted on 680 SMEs in the provinces of Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, Nakhon Ratchasima,and Ubon Ratchathani.
The confidence index of SMEs in the Northeast slumped from 45.3 points in the second quarter to 41.6 points in the third. The base value is set at 50 points.
However, the index for the current quarter is expected to be about 47.9 points.
Fitch confirms rating for PTT debentures
Fitch Ratings (Thailand) has confirmed the national long-term rating on PTT’s new senior unsecured debentures, due to mature in 2020, at “AAA(tha)”. The confirmation follows an increase in the issue size from Bt20 billion to Bt22 billion.
Fitch had assigned the rating to the original size of the debentures on October 11.
Fitch affirms SVI ratings
Fitch Ratings (Thailand) has affirmed SVI’s national long-term rating at “BBB+(tha)” with stable outlook and its national short-term rating at “F2(tha)”.
The electronics manufacturer’s operations have recovered strongly after the disruption from the severe flooding in late 2011, with output returning to pre-flood levels in the second quarter of this year. Revenue rose 16.5 per cent in the second quarter compared with the same period of last year.
Fitch believes SVI is likely to maintain its business and financial profile commensurate with the current rating over the medium term.
