ELECTRICITY TARIFF TO RISE IN LAST QUARTER

DUSIT INKS MANAGEMENT DEAL IN BAHRAIN

Global hospitality company Dusit International has signed a hotel management agreement with Al Manzil Hospitality Group (AMHG) to operate the dusitD2 Seef Bahrain, a leisure and business hotel scheduled to open in Manama next year.
In line with the Thailand-based company’s strategy for sustainable and profitable growth, which includes balancing its portfolio to include half of its operations outside Thailand by 2022, the new hotel will be the company’s first in Bahrain.
Dusit said the opening would help position it for further expansion within the Gulf Cooperation Council region, where it operates five hotels, with a further five properties confirmed to be in the pipeline.
The dusitD2 Seef Bahrain is near Bahrain International Airport and other major flagship developments concentrated along the King Faisal and Sheikh bin Salman highways, which connect the Saudi Causeway with central Manama.
Dusit International operates 29 properties in key destinations around the globe with a further 51 projects in the pipeline. Alongside dusitD2, other brands in the company’s international portfolio include Dusit Thani, Dusit Devarana and DusitPrincess.
A member of Al Fadhel Business Group, AMHG was formed in 2009 and owns and manages three hotels, three restaurant chains and a food truck concept in Bahrain.
Hospitality Business has consistently ranked AMHG and its affiliates among the top hospitality management companies in the kingdom.

ESTIMATE CUT ON HOME LOAN GROWTH 

Kasikorn Research Centre (KResearch) slashed its estimate for residential loan growth this year to 5.0-6.0 per cent from an earlier forecast of 6.0-8.0 per cent following the slowing housing market and cautious credit extension policy.
In the first half of this year, commercial banks and specialised financial institutions have seen dull residential loan extension, it said. research house said.
It expected the first-half residential loan extended by financial institutions to net rise less than 6 per cent year-on-year or Bt50 billion, the lowest in several years.
High rate of disapproval on residential loan, limited demand for residential units as a result of their higher prices, and last year's high residential-loan base from stimulus measure for the property market were cited for the residential-loan slowdown in the first half of 2017. 
Also, as a seasonal factor, the first quarter usually sees more loan repayment than other quarters.
Given contraction in house ownership transfer and cautious credit extension policy for accelerating non-performing loans (NPLs) for residential purpose, KResearch cuts its forecast for commercial banks' residential loan growth this year to 5.0-6.0 per cent or net increase of Bt98.5-Bt118.5 billion from the previous year-end.
Last year, the residential loan growth was 6.9 per cent.
Commercial banks' NPLs for residential purpose rose to 3.23 per cent of total residential loan in the first quarter of this year from 2.93 per cent at the end of 2016.
Due mainly to commercial banks' strict credit extension policy, the NPLs for the residential purpose is expected to be around the first-quarter figure.
Meanwhile, KResearch expected big and medium-sized commercial banks' minimum retail rate (MRR) cuts by 25-50 basis points in mid-May of this year to give some positive impacts, reducing interest expense and gaining access into bigger amount of loans. 
Based on the MRR cuts, monthly interest expense (floating rate) of Bt200 will be reduced for every Bt1 million worth of residential loan, the research house said