Briefs

The Finance Ministry is conducting a feasibility study on setting up an organisation to oversee mortgage insurance in an effort to help guarantee low-income people access to mortgages.
The organisation will be similar to the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation, which offers loan guarantees to small and medium-sized enterprises in case they don’t have enough collateral, Banthornchome Kaewsa-ard, a fiscal policy adviser, said yesterday.
The ministry has asked the Asian Development Bank to study mortgage insurance.
The ministry considers that mortgage insurance will help reduce risk to financial institutions. Then they will feel more comfortable with extending bigger loans to borrowers, she said.

Huawei eyes growth 
Huawei Technologies (Thailand) expects about 20-per-cent growth in revenue this year.
Managing director Wang Yifan said yesterday that one of the company’s main business groups – consumer business – was on a fast track.
The Chinese telecom-equipment manufacturer will also launch a Customer Solution Innovation and Integration Experience Centre in Thailand in May to showcase its latest wireless and wired telecom technologies, said David Liu, director of government and media affairs for Huawei Technologies’ Southeast Asia region.
It will be its first centre in this region, which covers Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh.

Power plant for Dawei 
Thai company United Power of Asia and Myanmar’s Ministry of Electric Power on Monday signed the power purchase agreement for the company’s 220-megawatt power plant in the Dawei Special Economic Zone.
The project is supported by the Myanmar government in the form of a free supply of natural gas to generate electricity. UPA will be compensated by electricity sales at Bt1.18 per unit, which is considered the highest offered by the Myanmar government. The concession is for 30 years and the investment is about Bt10 billion.

MPI shrinkage eases 

The Manufacturing Production Index in February contracted 1.6 per cent year on year, less than the previous month’s shrinkage of 3.5 per cent, reflecting signs of the country’s economic improvement. February’s deepest drops included 7.1 per cent year on year in the production of automobiles, 12.8 per cent for iron and steel, and 12.7 per cent for garments, Siriruj Chulakaratana, director-general of the Industrial Economics Office, said yesterday.

Central Embassy maps out plans

Central Embassy yesterday announced its 2016 business strategy, designed to underline its position as Bangkok’s finest lifestyle destination with distinctive features in the Thai retail market – a complete mix of fashion, art, culture and dining.
The company has announced three major additions, plus the Park Hyatt Bangkok hotel, to boost visitor traffic by 25 per cent over last year’s, with tourist traffic rising to 35 per cent of the total, said managing director Barom Bhicharnchitr.
Meanwhile, Central Pattana has affirmed its readiness for the opening of its 30th lifestyle shopping centre, CentralPlaza Nakhon Si Thammarat, at an investment cost of Bt3.5 billion on 50 rai (8 hectares). It will have 125,000 square metres of gross floor area.

Boosting ties with Brunei

Thirty booths will be prepared to showcase various Thai products including halal food, decorative items and apparel and accessories at this year’s Thailand Grand Fair – a part of the Asean Consumer Fair since 2009.
It will also mark Thailand’s ninth consecutive year of participating in the event, said the charge d’affaires of the Thai Embassy in Brunei, Siriporn Chaimongkol.
“We want to promote our products and to seek distributors from Brunei,” said Siriporn, adding that Thailand is keen to expand into more markets for the distribution of its products.
“The focus is not only on the trade fair, as we are also looking at establishing long-term cooperation,” she said.
Siriporn said she hoped the fair would create an avenue for small and medium-sized enterprises from both countries to promote each other’s products and share their best practices.
The fair will be held for five days in May. – The Brunei Times

VN investment in Laos

The two governments will improve policies to accelerate investment flows from Vietnam to Laos, a conference was told in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang on Sunday.
Vietnam’s investments in Laos now total US$5.3 billion in registered capital, with annual growth rates averaging 30 per cent over the last five years, said Tran Bac Ha, chairman of the Association of Vietnam Investors to Laos (AVIL).
About 42 per cent of the amount, or $2.2 billion, has been disbursed.
More than 350 Vietnamese businesses have invested in sectors such as energy, mining, agriculture, forestry and banking in Laos. Investments registered in Laos account for roughly one quarter of Vietnam’s overseas investments of $20.2 billion. . – Viet Nam News