Briefs

The Finance Ministry will submit for the Cabinet’s consideration next month a plan to grant financial support of almost Bt68 billion via 79,000 village funds nationwide to help ease the living burdens of low-income people.
Krisda Chinavicharana, director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office, said the measure included the joint provision of soft loans totalling Bt43 billion with interest rates not exceeding 5 per cent by the Government Savings Bank and the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives to 53,000 good-performing (Grade A and B) village funds.
Another measure is the second-round allocation of Bt1 million each to 25,500 village funds, totalling Bt25.5 billion. Of that total, 5,000 funds are ready to receive money this month.

IMPACT INVESTMENT
Impact Exhibition Management plans to invest Bt4 billion in the development of an Ibis hotel, a car park and a shopping mall.
Managing director Paul Kanjanapas said the company will also increase its rental fees by 9 per cent in April, and try to be more active in attracting event organisers. It targets Bt2.17 billion in revenue this year.
Of the Bt4-billion investment, about Bt1 billion will be for construction of an Ibis hotel. Another Bt800 million will be for construction of a parking building, which will start within three months and be able to hold 4,000 vehicles once completed.
The company will also invest Bt2 billion on the expansion of a shopping mall and another Bt200 million each for the expansion of lobby space at Impact Exhibition Hall and the food-court area. It’s ready to discuss with the board of Bangkok Mass Transit System a Skytrain connection to the Impact complex, which would cost about Bt600 million.

TOURISM EVENT
Tourism-product buyers from 28 countries are next week scheduled to meet with Thai sellers, who will promote tourist destinations in the wake of last year’s political crisis.
 Suparerk Soorangura, president of the Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA), said buyers from Southeast Asia, East Asia, and parts of Europe would meet with operators in Thailand from February 25 to March 1 at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in Bangkok. The association predicts that inbound tourism will increase dramatically this year thanks to political stability, while outbound business should also grow significantly.