SEC to approve hedge funds before year-end
THE SECURITIES and Exchange Commission expects to approve the establishment of hedge funds before the end of the year, and to have relevant regulations in place.
“Hedge funds are suitable for advanced, big investors, given the funds’ higher risks,” SEC secretary-general Rapee Sucharitakul said. “Now we have to ask asset-management companies whether they are ready to issue this type of fund.”
MINT to buy 8 Tivoli hotels
Minor International aims to acquire Tivoli Hotel and Resorts’ remaining eight hotels, all of which are in Portugal, as part of an aggressive plan to expand overseas, the Thai hotel group said yesterday.
The company announced this year that it wanted to have 190 hotels by 2019, up from around 133 currently. In January, it said it was acquiring four hotels in Portugal and two in Brazil from Tivoli for around US$200 million (Bt7.2 billion).
MINT declined to comment on potential financial terms.
“Despite a weak domestic economic outlook, our investment and acquisitions will drive our revenue and net profit growth in the future,” Chaiyapat Paitoon, vice president for strategic planning, said during a quarterly earnings presentation.
Minor International, which also runs Burger King and Dairy Queen outlets across Asia, reported a 12-per-cent drop in second-quarter net profit to Bt541 million from a year earlier on slower restaurant earnings in Thailand and Singapore.
It reiterated its target of annual growth in net profit of 15-20 per cent over the next five years.
Revenue exceeds target
The Excise Department collected revenue of Bt36.8 billion in August, about 7 per cent higher than targeted.
Excise collection on fuel exceeded the target by 121 per cent or Bt6.7 billion on tax increases and higher usage from much cheaper fuel prices.
However, because of the economic slowdown, tax collections on liquor was 23 per cent or Bt1.4 billion lower than expected, on beer 3 per cent or Bt179 million lower than expected, and on tobacco 2 per cent or Bt131 million less than projected.
The excise tax on automobiles was lower than targeted by 30 per cent or Bt2.6 billion, while tax on motorcycles was 16 per cent or Bt42 million less than estimated. In the first 11 months of this fiscal year, excise tax collection totalled Bt403 billion, 4 per cent or Bt16.9 billion higher than targeted on higher-than-expected revenue from fuel and beverage taxes.
Spa franchise in China
Wiboon Utshajit, chief executive officer of Siam Wellness Group, said the company had entered a franchise agreement with Kunming Tailai Spa Management Co under which the franchisee will be authorised to operate Let’s Relax spas in the Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan and in the city of Chongqing. The first Let’s Relax branch is expected to open in the fourth quarter of this year.
Siam Wellness Group operates 19 spas under three brands: RarinJinda Wellness Spa (three branches), Let’s Relax (12 branches) and Baan Suan Massage (four branches). It also operates RarinJinda Wellness Spa Resort in Chiang Mai.
Auto parts expansion
Germany’s ZF Friedrichshafen AG|is expanding its range of spare parts in original equipment manufacturer (OEM) quality throughout Asean and Taiwan. By 2017, the full range of shock absorbers, tie rod ends, tie rod axle joints, ball joints, track control arms and link stabilisers will be available for Asian car brands including Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi, Proton, Subaru and Suzuki and others.
The expanded product portfolio will extend ZF Service’s lead as a single-source supplier of high-quality spare parts covering the top 100 Asian car models on the road in each country across Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
“Market estimates show that there are approximately 34 million passenger cars that are aged three years and above on the roads in Asean and Taiwan. We expect demand for maintenance products to continue to grow across the markets,” said Andre Scholle, Regional General Manager for Aftermarket at ZF Asia Pacific.
