Briefs

Charoen Pokphand Foods’ board of directors has approved an increase in its registered capital from Bt7.74 billion to Bt9.29 billion by issuing 1,548,588,386 new ordinary shares with a par value of Bt1 each.
CPF will offer the new shares to its existing shareholders under the allocation ratio of five existing ordinary shares to 1 new ordinary share at the price of Bt25 per share.
The increased capital will be used for business expansion this year and next, the company reported to the Stock Exchange of Thailand yesterday.
CPF reported net profit of Bt3.95 billion in the first quarter, up 5 per cent from Bt3.76 billion in the same period of last year.

Korea King tops ad spending

Cooking-pan company Korea King had the highest advertising expenditure in Thailand in April, at Bt198.44 million, up 39.46 per cent from April last year, Nielsen Co reported yesterday.
The next highest advertising spend was for Toyota passenger cars, at Bt73.27 million, which was down 16 per cent from April last year. Third was Coca-Cola soft drinks with Bt73.15 million, down 27 per cent from April 2016.
Total advertising spending last month was Bt8.6 billion, down 9.94 per cent from April last year.
In the four-month period from January to April, advertising expenditure totalled Bt34.77 billion, down 5.8 per cent year on year. 
Analog television is still the market leader, attracting ad spending worth Bt15.15 billion in the first four months of the year, for a 43.61-per-cent share, but still dropped by 11.06 per cent from the same period of last year. 
Digital TV recorded advertising spending of Bt7.35 billion in the period, up 6.32 per cent year on year, followed by newspapers with Bt2.64 billion, down 19.59 per cent, the Nielsen survey found.

Alibaba reaches out to US businesses

Jack Ma, founder and chairman of Alibaba Group Holding, is planning to host a summit in Detroit aimed at attracting Americans who have an interest in selling to the world’s largest consumer market: China.
The decision to hold the summit looks to be a step in fulfilling his job-creation pledge, a topic that was discussed during his meeting with Donald Trump, then US president-elect, in New York in January.
In a widely circulated video, Ma talked about how China’s rising middle class and their exploding purchasing power would fuel business growth and spell job opportunities in the US.
“By next year, China’s online spending will be greater than the rest of the world combined. At Alibaba, we want to help you take advantage of this appetite for consumption through our e-commerce marketplaces,” he said, referring to the slew of online shopping portals under its brand. – China Daily

 

Sepo mulling folding failing IBank

The State Enterprise Policy Office (Sepo) may consider shutting down the Islamic Bank of Thailand if the bank cannot find an equity partner to prop it up.
However, the bank’s management has reported to Sepo that they are negotiating with four interested parties about investment, director-general Ekniti Nitithanprapas said yesterday.
The bank also is in the process of cutting costs and planning how to recover business when it raises its registered capital to Bt18 billion, with Bt2 billion coming from the government’s budget and the rest from its new partner or borrowing from state-owned banks, he said.

MCOT calls meeting over Korea King ads
 
Kematat Paladech, president of MCOT Public Co Ltd, said the company has invited executives of Korea King to a meeting on Tuesday following controversy linked to Korea King on social media.
The company said the meeting will involve a discussion of the guidelines for the airing of Korea King advertising on 9 MCOT HD. 
“This is part of our accountability to ensure the appropriateness and compliance of Korea King’s ads. MCOT is ready to take any action to ensure the provision of quality content to our audience,” Kematat said.

Telenor strengthens ownership in Asia

Telenor has entered into an agreement with Schibsted regarding its joint ventures within online classifieds, whereby Telenor exits the Latin American JV (SnT) and acquires Schibsted’s stake in the JVs in Malaysia, Vietnam and Myanmar (701 Search). 
Net proceeds to Telenor from the transaction with Schibsted will be US$406 million (Bt14.1 billion). 
Telenor has also entered into an agreement with Singapore Press Holdings to acquire its share in the online classifieds sites in Malaysia, Vietnam and Myanmar for $110 million.
Following these transactions, Telenor will own 100 per cent of the leading online classifieds services Mudah (Malaysia), Chotot (Vietnam), OneKyat (Myanmar) and ImSold (Malaysia and Vietnam). 
Telenor, Schibsted, Naspers and Singapore Press Holdings will remain partners in the online classifieds assets in Thailand and Indonesia.

Airlines’ share prices rise on optimism

Global airline share prices rose 2.5 per cent last month, partly reflecting expectations that the squeeze on margins will diminish. 
The year-on-year increase was driven by European airlines, with modest increases in Asia-Pacific and North America, IATA reported yesterday.
The initial financial results for the first quarter of this year highlight the extent that airline profit margins were squeezed in the opening months of the year by higher costs and weak yields.
Passenger and freight demand has made a strong start. The passenger load factor remains steady close to record high levels, while the freight load factor has recovered to levels last seen in early 2015.
Premium airfares continue to hold up better than those of the economy cabin, supporting airline finances.