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ICBC (Thai) appointed
The People’s Bank of China has appointed the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Thai) as the renminbi clearing bank in Thailand with respect to a memorandum of understanding signed by the Bank of Thailand and the PBC in Beijing on December 22.
The clearing bank will provide an alternative channel for financial institutions in Thailand in conducting yuan settlements. This will also improve access to the Chinese onshore foreign-exchange market, the BOT said.
Bus fares to be lowered
The Ministry of Transport and The Transport Co have resolved to lower public bus fares to reflect the decline in the diesel-fuel price to Bt26.39 per litre. Fares will be lowered by 2 satang per kilometre, effective as of January 16, said Transport Minister Air Chief Marshal Prajin Juntong.
The Transport Ministry will help the public bus operators by rearranging their service routes in line with lower passenger volume and ask insurance firms to lower the third-class insurance premiums for the operators.
After the fare cuts, the Bangkok-Chiang Mai bus route, for example, will be about Bt20-Bt45 cheaper per trip, depending on the type of bus.
Responding to concerns that the Energy Ministry’s decision to raise the price of natural gas for vehicles could adversely affect taxi operating costs, Prajin said the Transport Ministry had approved a fare increase for metered cabs.
Cemex closes Holcim deals
Cemex has announced that it has closed a series of transactions with Switzerland’s Holcim, originally announced on August 28, 2013, and supplemented last October 30.
As part of these transactions, Cemex paid 45 million euros (Bt1.76 billion) in cash to Holcim.
Cemex, a Mexico-based company that has operations around the world, including Thailand, expects a recurring improvement in its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation), including synergies, of between US$20 million and $30 million (Bt660 million to Bt1 billion).
IVL Myanmar investment
Indorama Ventures subsidiary IVL Singapore has approved an investment in Indorama Ventures Packaging (Myanmar) Ltd.
The company has registered capital of 4.7 billion kyat (Bt150 million) and is held 100 per cent by IVL Singapore.
The investment budget is from the company’s working capital, secretary Souvik Roy Chowdhury reported to the Stock Exchange of Thailand yesterday.
