Briefs

The Board of Investment has approved 78 projects with combined agricultural-related investment of Bt27.04 billion in the first quarter of this year.
This should boost domestic raw-material use to Bt84.4 billion a year and generate exports of Bt62.6 billion a year.
Businesses have established ties with research institutes and educational institutions to develop production technology and innovations to enhance the competitiveness the agricultural sector and support the Food Innopolis policy, Hirunya Suchinai, secretary-general of the BOI, said yesterday.
Many of the promoted projects emphasise the use of modern technology and innovations to boost output and improve the quality of products, such as frozen coconut milk and various sauces.

NEW POWER PEAK
Electricity consumption hit a record high of 28.35 gigawatts yesterday.
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand recorded the new peak at 2.17pm, when the temperature and humidity were high.
Power demand from industry and the service and household sectors increased.
It is the second power peak this year. The first was measured at 27.64GW on April 6.

QTC EYES JAPAN SOLAR
QTC Energy is studying a 35-megawatt solar-farm project worth Bt3.96 billion in Japan on expectation of investing in it from June 2016 to December 2017.
Poonphiphat Tantanasin, managing director and chief executive officer, said yesterday that the initial investment would be Bt180 million.
The company’s board of directors resolved to sell 70 million new shares at Bt4.70 apiece in a private placement to raise capital to make joint investment in alternative energy power plants in the future.

THANACHART NET RISES
Thanachart Bank, the market leader in instalment lending, reported an increase of 11.1 per cent year on year in net profit to Bt2.84 billion in the first quarter, thanks to management of its non-performing loans.
However, its loans in the first quarter declined by 1.9 per cent from the end of last year because of slower car sales in the country.
As of March 31, the bank’s loan portfolio had reached Bt675.29 billion.
Somjate Somjate Moosirilert, president and CEO, said yesterday that the bank was able to manage bad loans, improving its NPL ratio to 2.7 per cent. Its coverage ratio also rose to 130.10 per cent.
The bank plans to add more products, including its first in mobile banking, this quarter with the goal to drive its growth and ride the digital trend.

TMB Q1 PROFIT UP 28%
TMB Bank reported robust growth in net profit for the first quarter at Bt2.09 billion, an increase of 28 per cent year on year.
The bank has maintained its conservative provisioning and booked provisions at a relatively high Bt1.87 billion this quarter to maintain its high coverage ratio of 140 per cent.
“Loan growth was moderate at 1 per cent, driven mainly by growth of mortgage lending,” said Boontuck Wungcharoen, CEO of TMB Bank.
Net interest income grew by 4 per cent from same quarter last year and non-interest income also increased by 10 per cent, driven mainly by fee income from bancassurance.
Non-performing loans increased slightly from 2.99 per cent to 3.11 per cent, which was in line with the bank’s expectations.