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A total of 136,715 eco-cars were sold in Thailand in the first nine months of this year, up 39 per cent from the same period last year, according to Toyota Motor Thailand.
In this segment, Nissan was the best-selling brand, selling 48,707 units in January-September. However, this is 20 per cent lower than the same period last year.
Trailing it was Mitsubishi (35,211 units, up 88 per cent), Suzuki (28,596, up 219 per cent) and Honda (24,201, up 102 per cent).
Toyota launched the Yaris eco-car on October 22. Aiming to sell 4,000 a month, the company has attracted bookings for 8,000 units, according to a company director, Suwat Sangchai-ampai.

CARGO BOOST FOR SUVARNABHUMI
Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt plans to increase Suvarnabhumi Airport’s cargo capacity to turn it into a regional hub.
The airport’s warehouse area could be expanded to accommodate 3 million tonnes of cargo per year in three years, up from 1.7 million tonnes, he said. Transport permanent secretary Somchai Siriwathanachoke will be in charge of the project.
The minister said about 1.3 million tonnes of cargo was cleared through the airport each year. Without expansion, the airport will hit full capacity by 2017.
He said that to make this plan viable, connectivity with Asean through road and rail must be boosted. This will encourage inbound cargo. In 2012, Suvarnabhumi handled 1.36 million tonnes of cargo. Most of it took the form of electronic parts, flowers and fruits.
To boost demand, Airports of Thailand must finalise within this year how to relax relevant rules, Somchai said.

PTT SEEKS NEW HQ AMID RENT DISPUTE
PTT is considering buying a new land plot to house its headquarters after a dispute over the rent at the existing location.
PTT president Pailin Chuchottaworn said the construction budget had been set, while a team had been set up to look for a new location.
PTT’s headquarters is on land owned by the State Railway of Thailand. Though the lease will end this year, the two sides have not yet agreed on new terms. PTT has offered Bt800 million for a 30-year deal, but SRT wants Bt1.792 billion.
Meanwhile, Pailin noted that the anti-amnesty protests had not yet affected PTT financially, as only transport is affected, while the company’s revenue from overseas business has increased.

GLOBAL SECURITIES INVESTMENT UP 11% LAST YEAR
Cross-border holdings of securities increased by 10.7 per cent in 2012 to US$43.6 trillion (Bt1,376 trillion) from $39.3 trillion in 2011, according to the International Monetary Fund’s 2012 Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey (CPIS).
The preliminary result showed increases in the values of holdings of equity securities (17.7 per cent) and of long-term debt securities (8 per cent). The higher value of equities reflects a recovery in prices observed in some economies in 2012. Holdings of short-term debt securities declined by 2.9 per cent in 2012.

MEGA LIFESCIENCES IPO RAISES BT2.27 BN
Mega Lifesciences’ initial public offering of ordinary shares on November 11-13 at Bt17.50 per share received an overwhelming response from investors, the consumer healthcare and pharmaceuticals firm said.
The company raised Bt2.27 billion from the 129.8 million newly issued shares offered. Mega Lifesciences shares will begin trading in the Stock Exchange of Thailand on TuesdayNovember 19 under the ticker symbol MEGA.

CMO’S Q3 INCOME UP 17.3% TO
CMO, an event organiser, posted 17.3-per-cent year-on-year income growth to Bt207.95 million in the third quarter despite weak purchasing power.
Chief executive officer Sermkhun Kunawong said yesterday that third-quarter revenue was up from Bt177.16 million last year. From January to September, total income was solid at Bt708.9 million with net profit of Bt5.83 million.
In the current quarter, some events have been postponed or cancelled by clients because of the continuing economic slowdown and political uncertainty. But Sermkhun believed the firm would be able to achieve its revenue target of Bt1.2 billion as planned.