ฺBriefs

The Independent Car Importer and Distributor Association has asked the Finance Ministry to reduce the import tax for cars from 328 per cent to 200 per cent to reduce tax avoidance.
Association president Somsak Srirattanprapas said after sending the proposal to the ministry yesterday that the group had 60 members.

BID TO BREAK IMPASSE

The Agricultural Land Reform Office (Alro) will hold talks with the Energy Ministry, the Council of State and Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krua-ngam on how to resolve an issue that has obliged the suspension of a petroleum project in an area earmarked for land-reform programmes.
This month, PTTEP Siam, a wholly owned subsidiary of PTT Exploration and Production and operator of the S1 onshore petroleum project, temporarily ceased all operations in those areas of the project under land reform. The cessation came after the Supreme Administrative Court’s revocation on June 1 of the Agricultural Land Reform Committee’s order to allow the use of natural resources in areas under land reform for any purposes other than agriculture. 
Alro secretary-general Sompong Inthong said the petroleum production could continue and the court order would apply only to newly submitted application for petroleum operations. 

SEZ RENT CUTS MOOTED

The Treasury Department tomorrow will propose to a committee overseeing policy on special economic zones that rental fees be reduced as a stimulus for new investment.
Patchara Anuntasilpa, director-general of the department, said the rent cut would be part of a planned investment-promotion package for the SEZs. The reduction would take effect on projects that have not yet been opened to tender. 
Meanwhile, the Pracha Rath Treasury Home, a low-cost housing project on department land in Soi Phahonyothin 11, is undergoing legal procedures including an environmental impact assessment. 

BBL TO OPEN MORE OUTLETS

Bangkok Bank will open 20 additional branches this year in potentially high-traffic locations, such as department stores or expanding communities, executive vice president Thaweelap Rittapirom said yesterday. Since early this year, the bank has opened seven new branches. 

Gold confidence down

The gold confidence index for June dropped from 62.23 points in May to 59.27 points on investor concern that the US Federal Open Market Committee will increase its benchmark interest rate at its meeting today, according to a survey by the Gold Research Centre yesterday.
Investors estimate that the gold price will be between US$1,221 and $1,320 per ounce, while the price in Thailand will be between Bt20,000 and Bt21,500 per gold baht, the centre’s director Dr Piboonrit Viriyapol said.
GSB, SET set up venture capital fund 

The Government Savings Bank (GSB) is collaborating with the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) to set up a venture capital fund, the “SMEs Private Equity Trust Fund”, worth Bt1.5 billion for investment in small and medium-sized enterprises.
The trust is separated into two funds. The first has an investment budget of Bt500 million, and the other Bt1 billion. The first fund worth Bt500 million was issued early this year, and has already invested Bt300 million in nine SMEs, GSB president Chatchai Payuhanaveechai told a news conference yesterday.
The investment will focus on SMEs selling innovative products and with potential to grow under the “Thailand 4.0” strategy, he said.

LifeStar marketing budget Bt30m

RS, an entertainment company listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, has set aside a marketing budget of Bt30 million to boost sales in the health and beauty segment under its subsidiary LifeStar Co. 
It targets Bt1.1 billion in sales this year after sales of Bt440 million in the first quarter.
RS chief operating officer Pornpan Techarungchaikul said yesterday in a press release that according to the business plan for the second half of the year, it would continue with its “synergise all dimensions” strategy and focus on telesales through its call centre 1781. 
Meanwhile, LifeStar will launch 15 new products under its three brands – Magique skincare, Revive hair care, and SOM (Science of Body & Mind) food supplements. 
It is also negotiating with new partners in Myanmar for doing business in that country. The deals are expected to be finalised by the end of this year, with operations to begin in 2018. 
 Dr Chakrit Pichyangkul, managing director of LifeStar Co, said the company had introduced SOM CMax instant coffee for men who want to live their lives to the max. The product is expected to generate Bt200 million by the end of the year.

B Grimm Power units to issue debentures

B Grimm Power subsidiaries Amata B Grimm Power (Rayong) 1 Co, Amata B Grimm Power (Rayong) 2 Co and Amata B Grimm Power 3 Co are issuing debentures worth Bt11.5 billion to support business expansion this year and next.
The debentures will be issued in 11 series. 
The three subsidiaries have been rated “A-” by Tris Rating Co.

Origin launches condo project

Listed real-estate firm Origin Property has announced a condominium project, Knightsbridge Phaholyothin Interchange, worth Bt2.1 billion, with units starting at Bt1.89 million.
The company targets presales of Bt4 billion in the first half of this year, chief executive officer Peerapong Jaroon-Ek said.
Management change at GM Thailand

General Motors has announced that Sumito Ishii, managing director of GM Vietnam, has also assumed leadership responsibility for GM Thailand and Chevrolet Sales Thailand as interim managing director. 
Wail Farghaly, previously managing director of GM Thailand and Chevrolet Sales Thailand, has resigned from General Motors. A permanent replacement will be announced later.
“When leadership changes occur, our priority is always to ensure a smooth and efficient business transition,” said Stefan Jacoby, executive vice president and president for GM International. 
“Ishii has the right experience and knowledge of our operations to step in immediately. With our Southeast Asian strategy focused on trucks and SUVs, we are confident that Ishii will drive further business success in Thailand, as he has done in Vietnam.”

Richy Place eyes double-digit growth

 Richy Place 2002 plans to launch three new residential projects worth Bt2.5 billion this year as it targets double-digit year-on-year revenue growth, chief executive officer Dr Apa Ataboonwongse said in a press release yesterday.
In 2016, the company reported revenue of Bt568.24 million and net profit of Bt9.26 million. In the first quarter of this year, it reported revenue of Bt174.36 million and net profit of Bt4.45 million.
The company has a total backlog of homes already sold and awaiting transfer to customers worth Bt3.2 billion. At least Bt1 billion worth will transfer to customers this year, she said.

AIA selects backup data centre provider

TCC Technology Co has been selected to provide backup data-centre services to AIA Thailand.
The services will be available promptly in case the primary site goes down.
Kitti Manakongtreecheep, chief information technology officer of AIA Thailand, said the AIA Group’s requirements for data-centre providers in Thailand were high, and therefore it was a challenge to find an appropriate vendor among providers in Thailand. Ultimately TCCtech was selected to be AIA Thailand’s secondary site.
TCCtech is a member of the TCC Group, one of the largest conglomerates in Thailand.