THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Briefs

Briefs

NO DUPLICATION IN LAND TAXES, SAYS MINISTRY

The Finance Ministry has denied claims by developers that a proposed windfall tax would duplicate the land and building tax being vetted by the National Legislative Assembly.
Pornchai Thiraveja, an adviser to the Fiscal Policy Office, said yesterday that the ministry intended to impose the windfall tax on landowners and developers whose properties go up in value because of government infrastructure projects. 
There would be no double taxation, as developers have suggested, he said. 
Windfall taxes have initially been proposed for land within 2.5 kilometres of railway stations and 5km of airports, as well as any property changing hands, he said. The proposed tax would apply only to land affected by new infrastructure projects.

TAX HEARING EXTENDED

The Finance Ministry has extended the first public hearing for the land and building tax, which was to close this week, for another 60 days.
Krisada Chinavicharana, director-general of the Finance Ministry’s Fiscal Policy Office, said yesterday that the extension was needed as the legislation for the proposed tax was complex and the new levy would affect a lot of people. Therefore the National Legislative Assembly committee overseeing the legislation decided that more ideas and proposals from the public were needed before the new law could be enacted. 

3,000 SMES SEEK LOANS

More than 3,000 small and medium-sized enterprises have applied for a total of Bt14 billion worth of loans from the Pracha Rath SMEs Fund and the SMEs Transformation Loan facility. 
Industry Minister Utama Savanayon said yesterday that the fund had already approved Bt2.47 billion worth of loans to 1,308 SMEs. More will be approved by next quarter.
The Cabinet has approved Bt20 billion for the Pracha Rath SMEs Fund and Bt15 billion for SMEs Transformation Loans. 
Both offer lower interest rates for SMEs, and are managed by the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank. 

BOND TRADING LICENCES 

The Bank of Thailand has invited financial institutions to apply for primary dealer’s licences for trading its bonds. Interested financial institutions can apply until June 30. 
The BOT will publicise the names of the new licence holders at the end of this year, it reported yesterday.

ELECTRIC BUS ROLL-OUT 

Three PTT Group electric buses are being tested for public use, including one equipped with features for disabled passengers.
Energy Minister Anantaporn Kanchanarat presided at the unveiling this week, where he was greeted by Tevin Vongvanich, president and chief executive officer of PTT. The prototype buses were developed by the group’s subsidiaries PTT Exploration and Production, IRPC, PTT Global Chemicals, and the Thai Oil Energy Complex.

Major Development plans10 new projects

Listed property firm Major Development plans to launch 10 new residential projects worth Bt15 billion in the second half of this year, executive director Petrada Poolvoralaks told a news conference yesterday.
Currently, the company has more than 30 condominium projects. They include M Thonglor 10, M Silom, M Ladprao, Maestro 39 Sukhumvit 39 and Maestro 02 Ruamrudee. Under construction are M Jatujak, Maestro 07 Victory Monument, Maestro 03 Ratchada-Rama 9, Maestro 14 Siam-Ratchathewi, and Maestro 01 Sathorn-Yenakat. 
The company’s total project value is about Bt50 billion.

Airline passenger demand surged in April

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said global passenger traffic data for April showed that demand (measured in revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs) rose by 10.7 per cent compared with April 2016, which was the fastest pace in six years. 
April capacity (available seat kilometres or ASKs) increased by 7.1 per cent, and load factor climbed 2.7 percentage points to 82 per cent, a record for the month of April.
The strong performance is supported by a pick-up in global economic activity and lower air fares. After adjusting for inflation, the price of air travel in the first quarter was around 10 per cent lower than in the year-ago period. IATA estimated that falling air fares accounted for around half the demand growth in April. 
However, the cabin ban on large portable electronic devices (PEDs) from 10 Middle Eastern and African airports to the United States appears to have weighed down Middle East-North America passenger traffic.
“April showed us that demand for air travel remains at very strong levels. Nevertheless, there are indications that passengers are avoiding routes where the large-PED ban is in place,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director-general and chief executive officer. 
“As the US Department of Homeland Security considers expanding the ban, the need to find alternative measures to keep flying secure is critical. If the ban were extended to Europe-to-US flights, for example, we estimate a US$1.4-billion hit on productivity. And an IATA-commissioned survey of business travellers indicated that 15 per cent would seek to reduce their travel in the face of a ban.” 

Justice League cards offered by TBank

Thanachart Bank aims to grow its debit-card base by focusing on younger people, first-jobbers, and superhero fans across the country. Therefore, the bank has decided to launch limited-edition Justice League Chibi character cards in three designs: Wonder Woman, Batman and The Flash. 
The bank also aims to provide functional benefits and premium gifts when new customers apply for these debit cards. A special “soft case” premium (valued at Bt790) will be given away with every application of the Justice League Chibi debit card, said Teranuj Koomsap, the bank’s executive vice president, head of retail and small business product development.

Indorama completes Glanzstoff acquisition 

Indorama Ventures reported to the Stock Exchange of Thailand that it had completed acquisition of a 100-per-cent stake in Glanzstoff Industries’ tyre-cord businesses, comprising three locations in Europe (Luxembourg, Italy and the Czech Republic) and a new single-end tyre-cord plant under construction in Qingdao, China.

Austria’s Andritz to
purchase Paperchine 

Austria-based technology group Andritz has signed a contract for acquisition of Paperchine Inc, owned by AstenJohnson Holdings, headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina. 
Paperchine and its subsidiaries have around 180 employees in total and manufacturing facilities in the United States (Rockton, Illinois; Springfield, Massachusetts; and Tucker, Georgia), Canada (Vancouver), Thailand (Bangkok), and Germany (Maintal). 
The purchase is subject to approval by US antitrust authorities and is expected to be closed by the end of this month. 
Paperchine is a global supplier of highly engineered equipment and services to the paper industry’s leading manufacturers. 
Andritz says the acquisition of Paperchine strengthens its presence in North America and adds new products for its international clients. 

IH Digital named Sina Weibo’s official SE Asian agency 

Chinese microblogging website Sina Weibo has appointed IH Digital as its official agency in Southeast Asia.
The partnership allows IH Digital to provide Sina Weibo with advertising solutions and Weibo account verification services to businesses outside China. These services will be provided via IH’s offices throughout Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. 
With more than 600 million users, Sina Weibo is one of China’s largest social-media platforms. 

Techno Medical eyes |Bt600m revenue

Techno Medical has forecast revenue of Bt600 million this year thanks to the launch of new equipment for testing blood-sugar levels and expanding its online customer portfolio. Chief executive officer Suntree Janlongbutr said revenue was expected to rise from Bt555 million (Bt26.9 million profit) last year to nearly Bt600 million in 2017.
“This year we plan to expand our medical-product line-up as well as grow online business,” she said.
Techno Medical’s customer base includes 500 state hospitals, 200 private hospitals and more than 100 clinics and pharmacies. The company is building a new head office and showroom to prepare for future growth.
During the first quarter of this year, Techno Medical recorded revenue of Bt148.83 million, up 9.14 per cent from the same period last year, while profits rose by 4.22 per cent to Bt7.9 million.

AIS upgrades to next
version of Netcracker

Netcracker Technology has announced that Advanced Info Service is upgrading to Netcracker 12 to deliver a better digital customer experience and meet myriad internal business objectives. 
As part of the engagement, AIS has also extended its use of Netcracker’s professional services in order to ensure the long-term success of the platform. 
Netcracker’s revenue-management solution is expected to help AIS’s marketing and information-technology teams meet their sophisticated business and technical requirements, enabling more efficient and agile internal operations. “We are committed to being the country’s leading digital service provider, offering our customers and partners the innovative capabilities they require in a world that demands constant connectivity,” said Kriengsak Wanichnatee, chief technology officer at AIS. 
 

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