WHA UTILITIES PLANS IP0 NEXT YEAR
WHA Utilities and Power Plc is expecting to make its trading debut on the Stock Exchange of Thailand early next year after filing its application to the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of 229.50 million shares.
The company will offer no more than 125 million new shares and no more than 104.50 million shares held by its shareholder H-International (SG), Jareeporn Jarukornsakul, chief executive officer of WHA Corporation Plc, said yesterday.
The provider of raw, processed and clarified water, wastewater treatment and maintenance services is majority-owned by WHA Corporation through its subsidiary Hemaraj Land and Development Plc.
Siam Commercial Bank acts as the financial adviser and SCB Securities as the underwriter for the IPO.
The proceeds from the IPO will be used to finance future projects in utilities and power businesses, repay borrowings to financial institutions and replenish working capital.
WHA Utilities will be the sole provider of utilities services for manufacturers in Hemaraj’s industrial estates and industrial zones for 50 years, starting on March 30 this year, while producing and distributing water for those in the Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate for 25 years, starting on July 1, 2008.
The company has been involved in 12 small commercial power-generation projects with total capacity of 1.65 gigawatts.
GOVT SURE OF MEETING REVENUE TARGET
The government is confident that it can meet the revenue target for fiscal 2016, as it could collect more than the revenue target in the first 11 months to August.
Krisda Chinavicharana director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office, said yesterday that the government collected revenue of Bt2.181 trillion during the first 11 months of fiscal 2016, up 9.1 per cent from the same period last year.
The rise was attributed to the transfer of Bt56.27 billion by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission to state coffers that it collected in upfront fees from 900MHz and 1,800MHz licence-holders.
KBank launches ‘Small Business Booster
Package’ to increase liquidity for small traders
Kasikornbank has introduced a “Micro Loan with Small Business Booster Package” to boost liquidity for small businesses with annual sales turnover of up to Bt10 million.
The package includes loans of up to Bt3 million for an repayment period of five years at low interest rates, plus K-PowerP@y (mPOS) for convenient card acceptance, and a special SME package from Advanced Info Service to help customers reduce calling costs.
Applications are being accepted until December 30.
Boonchan Kulvatunyou, KBank first senior vice president, said the package was specifically designed for small business customers in need of working capital or funding for business expansion.
Applicants for this loan package during the promotion period will be given a Bt1,000 Central gift voucher.
KBank expects to extend Bt7 billion in micro-loans by the end of the year, and that this scheme will account for around Bt200 million of that.
Krungsri posts 1.2 % growth in lending,
1.6% increase in deposits for August
Krungsri (Bank of Ayudhya and its business units) reported 1.2-per-cent growth in lending and 1.6-per-cent expansion in deposits month-on-month in August.
Krungsri director and chief financial officer Duangdao Wongpanitkrit said the increase in loans last month was broad-based, covering the corporate, SME and retail segments, with mortgages and auto loans being the key contributors.
In the first eight months, total loans expanded by 5 per cent compared with the full-year growth target of 5-6 per cent, she said.
“For the first eight months, our deposits grew by 3.6 per cent, corresponding to the pick-up in loan demand. In the previous period, deposit competition in the system remained modest, while in August, our deposit increase was due to savings accounts.
“In mid-August, we successfully issued Bt10 billion in Tier II subordinated debentures, which will strengthen our capital position and provide more flexibility to continue growing our business.”
TISI drops in August on concerns over
forex volatility, recovery of purchasing power
The Thai Industries Sentiment Index dropped to 83.3 in August from 84.7 in July, because of business operators’ concerns on whether purchasing power will recover and on foreign-exchange volatility, according to a survey by the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).
The three-month advance index rose to 101.6 from 100.7 in July, partly on business-sector confidence in government stimulus.
Domestic vehicle sales in August rose 2.6 per cent year on year to 63,609 units, attributed to a gradual recovery of consumption and vehicle orders at the “Bangkok International Grand Motor Sales” event last month, according to the FTI Auto Club.
Total domestic auto sales from January to August were 492,874 units, up 0.2 per cent year on year.
The country exported 94,183 vehicles in August, down 7.65 per cent year on year because of the declining economies of its trading partners. Export value dropped 3.43 per cent year on year to Bt51.047 billion.
InterContinental signs management deal
with Hotel Property for resort in Maldives
InterContinental Hotels Group has signed a management agreement with Singapore-based Hotel Properties Ltd to open the first InterContinental resort in Maldives.
To open within three to five years, the InterContinental Maldives Maamunagu Resort is the IHG’s third resort in partnership with HPL. |The other two are Holiday Inn|Resort Kandooma Maldives and Holiday Inn Resort Vanuatu.
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