POTENTIAL BIDDERS EYE SCB LIFE ASSURANCE
AIA Group and Britain’s Prudential are among insurers considering bids for at least 49 per cent of the US$3-billion (Bt107 billion) insurance unit of Thailand’s third-largest bank by assets, Siam Commercial Bank, according to Reuters.
The report noted that a successful stake sale in SCB Life Assurance, the fifth-largest non-life insurance provider in Thailand, would make it one of Southeast Asia’s biggest insurance transactions ever. The deal would also allow the new partner to distribute insurance products through SCB’s network of 1,200 bank branches.
While the sale process is only expected to begin in the third quarter this year, the insurers have started preliminary discussions with potential advisers for prospective bids, sources told Reuters. The list of interested insurers also includes Switzerland’s ACE Group and Canada’s Manulife Financial Corp, they said.
SCB is working with Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse on the sale process, Reuters’ sources said.
In 2014, SCB sold its 60.9-per-cent stake in non-life insurer Siam Commercial Samaggi Insurance to ACE, a global insurance firm. The Nation, Reuters
GOVT TO SELL 780,000 TONNES OF RICE
The Rice Policy Management Committee has agreed to sell 780,000 tonnes of rice to 23 traders, from which the country should earn more than Bt7 billion.
Duangporn Rodphaya, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, said that with rising demand for rice, the government could garner good prices from this auction.
The average price for this lot is Bt11,050-Bt11,500 per tonne for 5-per-cent white rice. It will be the third auction of the year, and will result in a total of 1.2 million tonnes released so far in 2016.
Altogether, the government has been able to sell 5.48 million tonnes of rice worth Bt58 billion in auctions in the past two years.
MILESTONE FOR MAZDA3
Mazda Motor Corporation has announced that the total production volume of the Mazda3 (known as Mazda Axela in Japan) reached 5 million units at the end of April, the second Mazda to reach that production figure after the Mazda Familia.
The Mazda3 sets a new record for the company by achieving the milestone figure in only 12 years and 10 months since production of the model commenced in June 2003.
The Mazda3 is a core model for the carmaker, accounting for about one-third of the company’s annual sales volume. It is manufactured at the Hofu Plant in Japan, Changan Mazda Automobile Co in China, AutoAlliance (Thailand) and Mazda de Mexico Vehicle Operation in Mexico. It is also assembled in Malaysia and Vietnam.
POTENTIAL BIDDERS EYE SCB’S LIFE ASSURANCE UNIT
AIA Group and Britain’s Prudential are among insurers considering bids for at least 49 per cent of the US$3-billion (Bt107 billion) insurance unit of Thailand’s third-largest bank by assets, Siam Commercial Bank, according to Reuters.
The report noted that a successful stake sale in SCB Life Assurance, the fifth-largest non-life insurance provider in Thailand, would make it one of Southeast Asia’s biggest insurance transactions ever. The deal would also allow the new partner to distribute insurance products through SCB’s network of 1,200 bank branches.
While the sale process is only expected to begin in the third quarter this year, the insurers have started preliminary discussions with potential advisers for prospective bids, sources told Reuters. The list of interested insurers also includes Switzerland’s ACE Group and Canada’s Manulife Financial Corp, they said.
SCB is working with Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse on the sale process, Reuters’ sources said.
In 2014, SCB sold its 60.9-per-cent stake in non-life insurer Siam Commercial Samaggi Insurance to ACE, a global insurance firm. –The Nation, Reuters
PANEL NODS TO SALES OF 780,000 TONNES OF RICE
The Rice Policy Management Committee has agreed to sell 780,000 tonnes of rice to 23 traders from an auction two weeks ago, from which the country should earn more than Bt7 billion.
The approved sale is from a total of 1.2 million tonnes made available in the third rice auction of the year.
Duangporn Rodphaya, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, said that with rising demand for rice, the government was able to garner good prices from this auction. The average price for this lot was Bt11,050-Bt11,500 per tonne for 5-per-cent white rice.
Altogether, the government has been able to sell 5.48 million tonnes of rice worth Bt58 billion in auctions in the past two years.
MILESTONE FOR MAZDA3
Mazda Motor Corporation has announced that the total production volume of the Mazda3 (known as Mazda Axela in Japan) reached 5 million units at the end of April, the second Mazda to reach that production figure after the Mazda Familia.
The Mazda3 sets a new record for the company by achieving the milestone figure in only 12 years and 10 months since production of the model commenced in June 2003.
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