briefs
Cebu Pacific eyes latest jetliners for long-haul flights
Philippine budget carrier Cebu Pacific is looking into purchasing one of today’s most advanced passenger jetliners, as it expands its fleet by buying new planes capable of longer flights to new markets.
Alex Reyes, head of Cebu Pacific’s newly established long-haul operations division, said the Gokongwei-led firm may add either the Boeing 787 Dreamliner or the brand new Airbus A350 to the list of plane models in its expanding fleet.
Last week, Cebu Pacific took delivery of its first wide-body aircraft, the 436-seater Airbus A330-300.
The new plane will allow the company to mount long-haul flights to points in the Middle East, Australia, Eastern Europe and the United States.
Prior to the A330’s arrival, all of Cebu Pacific’s planes were Airbus A320s, which carry fewer passengers and are capable only of short-haul flights. – Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
SEC re-launches ‘Start-to-Invest’
The Securities and Exchange Commission has reintroduced its “start-to-invest” mobile application providing more information on new products, an inflation-adjusted investment calculator and business operator quick contact.
Secretary-general Vorapol Socatiyanurak said yesterday that the SEC has developed “Start-to-invest II”, a ready-to-download mobile app for investors and interested people after its predecessor, launched in May last year, was well received.
The latest version adds financial products and facilitates users with more information for efficient investment decision-making. It also offers an inflation-adjusted investment formula for reasonable results and furnishes a business operator quick contact.
The mobile app with a variety of enhancements is now downloadable through IOS and Android stores at no expense.
Additional types of new products – saving bonds and alternative investment products investing in gold, oil and infrastructure projects – have also been added to the “New Offering” menu.
Fitch assigns ‘AAA(thai)’ to PTT’s upcoming issue
Fitch Ratings (Thailand) has assigned PTT’s (PTT; AAA(tha)/Stable/F1+(tha)) upcoming Bt10-billion senior unsecured debentures due 2023 a National Long-Term rating of “AAA(tha)”.
The proceeds will be used for debt-refinancing and future capital expenditures.
The notes are rated at the same level of PTT’s National Long-Term rating as they constitute direct, unsecured, unconditional and unsubordinated obligations of the company.
Green growth in greater Mekong subregion
Government officials, business leaders and representatives from the Asian Development Bank were gathering yesterday in Bangkok for a four-day conference to discuss ways to make the economies of the Greater Mekong Subregion more environmentally friendly.
According to a report issued by WWF last month, the GMS faces grave threats to critical natural resources, including losing more than a third of its remaining forest cover over the next two decades, and the possible collapse of the Mekong River’s ecosystems.
“A low-carbon and socially inclusive development future is essential to protect the subregion’s natural resources, and ultimately to sustain long-term economic growth,” said Javed Mir, director of the Environment and Natural Resources Division in ADB’s Southeast Asia Department.
Around 100 participants are attending the “Opportunities for Natural Wealth Management” conference that will address clean technology, approaches for valuing natural capital, and financial instruments to trigger environmentally friendly investments.
The event is an initiative of the Offering Sustainable Land-Use Options Consortium and is organised by ADB’s GMS Core Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organisation, Global Mechanism of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Poverty Environment Initiative of the United Nations Environment and Development programmes and WWF-Greater Mekong with the support of the government of Norway and the Economics of Land Degradation Initiative.
Water investment framework reached
The Strategic Committee for Reconstruction and Future Development yesterday agreed on the investment framework, worth Bt10 billion, allocated by the act on the authorisation of the Finance Ministry to seek loans for the water-management scheme and the country’s reconstruction and future development, worth about Bt350 billion in total, Payungsak Chartsutipol, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, said yesterday.
The committee is chaired by Virabongsa Ramangura, who is also the chairman of the Bank of Thailand.
The investment covers seven modules – development and zoning of agricultural areas worth about Bt3.6 billion, power security worth Bt1.2 billion, tourism development worth Bt2.3 billion, water management for industry in the East worth Bt1.7 billion, human-resource development in line with labour demand and the private sector worth Bt1.5 billion, waste and pollution management worth Bt1 billion, and research and development for improving industrial production capacity worth Bt700 million.
The plan will be submitted to the Cabinet today.
NBTC salaries
The Cabinet will today consider the proposed salaries for the 11 members of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission and the proposal to upgrade their status to the equivalent of a minister from the present permanent-secretary status. The proposed salary for the chairman is Bt330,000 per month and for the other 10 commissioners Bt260,00 per month.
BOI foreign roadshow to focus on B2-trillion transport plan
The Board of Investment will go on roadshows to eight countries in the rest of this year with the focus on promoting the government’s Bt2 trillion transport infrastructure investment plan.
The destinations are Poland, Turkey, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda.
The agency expects Bt700 billion worth of applications for investment support in the first half of this year versus the target of over Bt1 trillion for the whole year. Project value reached Bt1.48 trillion last year.
Maybank keen on overseas expansion
Malayan Banking (Maybank) remains interested in expanding its presence overseas, according to chief financial officer Mohamed Rafique Merican.
“We have always said we would like to focus on Asean countries,” he said last week on the sidelines of Invest Malaysia 2013.
Rafique is the officer-in-charge until the appointment of a new president and chief executive officer, following Abdul Wahid Omar’s appointment as minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.
He said Maybank would like to further establish its presence in Thailand.
“It is not a new market per se. We don’t have full banking presence in Thailand.
“At the right time, right entity and right price ... it would be something we would explore,” Rafique said.
Maybank has a presence in Thailand via Maybank Kim Eng Securities (Thailand) at present. In Indonesia, it has a 97-per-cent stake in PT Bank Internasional Indonesia Tbk (BII).
It also has operations in several countries such as Singapore, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Cambodia. The banking group had in the past said that it intended to have a complete banking presence in Asean by 2015.
Meanwhile, Rafique said the bank’s first quarter was typically a slow quarter due to the festive season.
“The third quarter would be a proper indication of where 2013 would be,” he said.
On its operations in Indonesia, Rafique said Maybank continued to engage with the policymakers in that country.
“We continue to engage with them,” he replied when asked if Maybank needed to reduce its stake in BII. – The Star/ ANN
Giffarine targets 10% growth in sales
Giffarine Skyline Unity Co targets to expand its sales 10 per cent to Bt6.5 billion this year. It will spend Bt100 million on marketing activities in the second half.
Thanachart falls in line
Thanachart Bank has selected Wolters Kluwer Financial Services’s IFRS solution to comply with the Bank of Thailand’s requirements for international accounting standards through an automated and certified system.
“We decided to implement the Wolters Kluwer Financial Services’ IFRS solution to achieve compliance with IAS 39, from transaction to disclosure,” Anuwat Luengtawekul, executive vice president of finance at the bank, said yesterday.
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