Discover Thainess campaign boosts tourist arrivals
Acting 2nd Lieutenant Arnupap Gaesornsuwan, director general of the Tourism Department, said that the "Discover Thainess" campaign had triggered a consistent growth of tourist arrivals so far this year.
Just in the month of January, some 2.6 million visitors arrived in Thailand, marking a strong 16.3 per cent increase from the same period last year.
In February, the number of arrivals hit 2.6 million, marking 29.6 per cent rise from same time last year.
Latest statistics show that as many as a million visitors arrived in the Kingdom in the first 13 days of this month, marking an increase of 27.6 per cent from the same period last year.
SAHA GOES AHEAD WITH JV DESPITE SLOWDOWN
Though people’s purchasing power is not back to normal yet, Saha Group will go ahead with its expansion plans by joining hands with a Japanese partner to explore e-commerce business this year.
Saha Group recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Transcosmos, a leading e-business in Japan, which also runs call centres, to operate similar businesses in the Kingdom. In the joint venture, Saha Group will hold a 30 per cent stake, while Transcosmos will have the majority.
Thitiphum Chokwatana, son of Saha Group chairman Boonsithi Chokwatana and managing director of the new venture Transcosmos (Thailand) Co, said the group was also negotiating partnership possibilities with two or three other Japanese firms.
Boonsithi admitted that there were no positive signs showing that the economy will rebound at the moment, as the government has not been able to ease export problems by depreciating the baht.
Also, many Japanese factories have decided to move their production facilities from Thailand to other Asean countries.
AIRA CAPITAL HOOKS
UP WITH SUPER RICH
Aira Capital Plc yesterday signed a primary agreement with Thailand’s leading foreign currency exchange operator, Super Rich International Exchange (1965), for cooperation ahead of the Asean Economic Community, which will go into effect by the end of this year.
“Cooperation of the two companies will give Aira Capital more financial tools and help us achieve our goal of becoming the top five non-bank backed brokerages soon,” chief executive officer Nalinee Ngamsettamas said.
She added that Aira group this year planned to invest in both finance and non-finance related businesses in a bid to diversify its risks.
Meanwhile, Piya Tantivachyanon, chairman of Super Rich International Exchange (1965), believes that Aira Capital will also strengthen the foreign currency exchange business with a strong base of customers.
Sunsweet appoints financial adviser ahead of MAI listing
Sweet-corn producer and exporter Sunsweet Co has appointed Asset Pro Management as its financial adviser for its plan to list on the Market for Alternative Investment, Sunsweet chairman Ongart Kittikhunchai said.
The company will increase its annual production capacity to 140,000 tonnes this year from 90,000 tonnes last year. It expects revenue of Bt2 billion, up 30 per cent from 2014.
Ongart said overseas markets continued to demand sweet corn. Japan imports more of the product from Thailand than from other countries.
Metro Systems to
expand in CLMV
Metro Systems plans to expand into Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. The company sees potential revenue and business growth as the CLMV market has a combined population of more than 300 million, said deputy managing director Kitti Techataveekijkul.
Metro Systems plans to establish a business alliance in Vietnam after commencing activities (distributing software for hotels) in Myanmar last year, he said.
The company projects 14-per-cent gross profit growth this year, compared with 13.8 per cent in 2014, and 3-per-cent net profit growth compared with 2.5 per cent in 2014. Metro System Corp will focus more on software distribution and provision of services due to the good gross and net margins, Kitti said.
He said Metro Systems targeted 8-per-cent revenue growth from last year’s Bt7.04 billion, based on increased purchase orders following the improved political and economic situation in third and fourth quarters of 2014.
In the current quarter of 2015, the company expects revenue to exceed the Bt1.27 billion earned in the first three months of last year because of a sharp rise in purchase orders.
SEZ meeting with
Cambodia this month
The Commerce Ministry will push for cooperation with Cambodia centring on a special economic zone (SEZ) in Sa Kaew province, Deputy Minister Apiradee Tantraporn said.
Ministry officials will meet with Cambodia’s deputy commerce minister from March 25-27 to discuss a joint SEZ project based on Thailand’s earlier successful collaborations with Myanmar, Laos and Malaysia.
Initially the goal is to boost Thailand-Cambodia trade by 20-25 per cent, to about US$6 billion this year, as preparation for the Asean Economic Community that takes full effect at the end of 2015, Apiradee said.
The meeting next week will include the signing of memoranda of understanding between Thai private-sector entities and their Cambodian counterparts.
These will include MoUs on cooperation between the Thai and Cambodian Chambers of Commerce and between the Sa Kaew and Banteay Meanchey provincial chambers; joint-venture agreements on rice mills and logistics; and establishing a Bt2.5-billion goods distribution centre in the Poipet O’Neang SEZ in Cambodia’s Banteay Meanchey province.
The joint venture on rice mills should help boost Cambodia’s rice productivity and help it develop markets for its rice output.
SEC revokes
supervisory approval
The Securities and Exchange Commission has revoked the approval of a financial-advisory supervisor, Tanate Kasemsarn of KPMG Phoomchai Business Advisory, for wilfully imparting false statements and concealing information.
The SEC also filed a criminal complaint against Tanate with the Royal Thai Police for imparting a false statement to a competent officer.
The moves follow an SEC investigation to gather information in a case of using inside information to purchase shares of a listed company in violation of the Securities and Exchange Act (SEA).
KPMG Phoomchai Business Advisory was appointed as a financial adviser for business valuation and preparation of a tender offer for de-listing of a company’s shares.
Tanate prepared and submitted incomplete and inaccurate information. The said information was material for identifying persons who had taken benefits from having access to or learning of inside information to purchase shares.
