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The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) yesterday issued a written order to terrestrial digital TV operator Thai TV to pay the second instalment of the licence upfront fee within 15 days.

According to the order, if Thai TV declines to pay, the licensing body will ask Bangkok Bank, which issued the guarantee to Thai TV, to pay the second instalment for Thai TV.

All the digital TV licence winners nominated the bank as a guarantee after paying the first instalment. The guarantee is worth the remaining five annual instalment payments.

 

Prasern denies job

Prasarn Trairatvorakul, governor of the Bank of Thailand, has denied rumours that he was approached by the government to become the deputy prime minister in charge of the economy instead of deputy prime minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula.

“My role after retiring from the governor position at the Bank of Thailand is to provide moral support to others who are working during this tough economic time. I have just read the news this morning [about the replacement] and I do not know who wrote it as no one has approached me on the matter,” he said.

Regarding the public debt restructuring, the sale of the Finance Ministry’s shareholdings in non-listed companies and the issuing of new in-demand bonds to restructure the Bt720 billion public debt, Prasarn said it was something that needed to be done since this is a short-term debt that needs to be extended to long-term status in order to lower the government debt burden and expand its investment capability.

Cabinet approves bor

The Cabinet has given the green light to a Bt1.11-billion border logistics centre project in Nakhon Phanom province with a construction period of four years ending in 2019.

Deputy government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the Cabinet agreed in principle for the Department of Land Transport to go ahead with the one-stop-service border logistics centre project.

Project details are required to complete for proper joint investment between the public and private sectors to gain the highest benefits and efficiency.`

 

Thaibev woos vietnam’s

Vietnam's biggest brewer Sabeco said nine companies have submitted applications to buy a stake in the state-owned company, as it reported an expected 8 per cent rise in net profit this year.

The government has put 53 per cent of Sabeco's shares on the market and foreign interest is strong as Vietnam is Asia's third-biggest beer market after China and Japan, with consumption of about 3 billion litres a year.

Sabeco Chairman Phan Dang Tuat said Thai Beverage, Thailand's leading beverage conglomerate has expressed interested in the sale. State media has also named Heineken, Asahi and SABMiller.

“Sabeco is a beautiful girl, you are one of the families coming to ask for a marriage. I think you look quite handsome, but you have to talk to the authorities for the deal to be made," he told a shareholder meeting in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday about his meeting with ThaiBev.--Reuters

 SEC makes some cross-border regulations more flexible

The Securities and Exchange Commission has revised regulations for more flexibility to promote cross-border offerings of debt securities and collective investment schemes.

The revision aims to increase opportunities and alternatives for fundraisers and investors as well as to enhance the Thai capital market’s readiness for international linkages.

The revised regulations will become effective by next quarter.

The Capital Market Supervisory Board approved the revision of regulations concerning cross-border offerings of debt securities and collective investment schemes (CIS) in line with the Asean Capital Markets Forum’s cooperative framework to enhance the Thai market’s attractiveness and competitive edge.

Foreign issuers will be allowed to issue sukuks in Thailand. The appointment of a single bondholder representative will be permitted if the home jurisdiction is a signatory of the ACMF MoU, comprising Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Thai issuers planning to offer debt securities in various jurisdictions can submit their filing under Asean disclosure standards. In case of private placement to institutional and high net worth investors, they can submit the English version of a single filing form.

For cross-border offerings of CIS under the Asean CIS framework, the SEC may grant a waiver of compliance with Thai regulations for Thai asset-management companies’ offshore offerings to promote the efficiency of fund establishment.

The waiver may be granted if there is no effect on Thai investors and no conflict with host-jurisdiction regulations for investor protection, such as the determination of a minimum subscription over Bt50,000 for offshore offerings.

AirAsia sees rare net loss

AirAsia’s rapid network expansion and huge plane orders aimed at meeting what CEO Tony Fernandes once described as “amazing” demand are in the spotlight after the carrier fell into the red for the first time since 2008.

Malaysia-based AirAsia, Asia’s biggest budget airline by passenger volume, posted a net loss for October-December due to a weaker ringgit and higher costs despite lower fuel prices.

It hasn’t helped that a jet operated by its Indonesia affiliate crashed in December, killing 162 people on board.

In one sign of AirAsia’s increasingly inefficient deployment of its assets in its expansion across Southeast Asia, return on assets has fallen over the past decade. ROA, which measures how well assets are used to generate profit, was almost zero towards the end of last year, the worst since returns turned negative after the 2008 global crisis. – Reuters

Supalai luxury condos

Supalai has announced two new luxury condominium projects worth Bt5 billion help reach its presales target of Bt23 billion this year.

They are among the 28 residential projects worth Bt31.12 billion being launched this year.

The two projects are Supalai Elite @ Surawong worth Bt2.2 billion and Supalai Loft @ Talad Pool Plu Station worth Bt2.8 billion.

Both projects will be open for booking from June 10-14 at CentralWorld in Bangkok.