THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

At A Glance

At A Glance

BGRIM, XUAN CAU JOIN FOR LARGEST PLANT IN ASEAN

The plan to set up the largest solar power house in Southeast Asia has advanced towards realisation with two sponsors - Thailand's B Grimm Power and Xuan Cau of Vietnam - signed a partnership accord.
The landmark agreement for the 420-megawatt facility in Tay Ninh, south-west of Vietnam, was concluded by executives of the companies in Bangkok and witnessed by Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc.The accord underscores the joint venture partners' commitment to start commercial operation from the Tay Ninh project next year.
The project got off to a good start and we are on track to meet the COD (commercial operation date) in June 2019," said Preeyanart Soontornwata, CEO of SET-listed B Grimm Power Plc (BGRIM).
The joint venture has recently finalised a deal with a contractor to perform engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) for the project.
Talks are also underway with several local and international financial institutes for project funding, she said. For BGRIM, the Vietnamese solar power venture will contribute significantly to the group’s revenue and earnings growth.
In particular, it will help driving revenues from its overseas power projects committed by BGRIM to account for 30 per cent of its overall income in 2022 from 6 per cent currently. The Tay Ninh scheme is a robust collaboration between BGRIM, a leading private power producer in Thailand, and Xuan Cau Co Ltd, one of the largest conglomerates in Vietnam, whose diverse businesses range from real estate to trading and service, and from energy to infrastructure.

THAILAND POST, SELF-MADE MILLIONAIRES HOST MEET 
Thailand Post Co Ltd, in collaboration with a group of young, self-made millionaires, recently hosted the “Shift online business to hundred million” seminar for young people who are interested in being entrepreneurs. 
Samorn Terdtampiboon, managing director of Thailand Post Co Ltd, said more young people have now become “self-made millionaire” “We (Thailand Post) sees the importance of entrepreneurs. We are helping both new and existing entrepreneurs in coping with with current market changes including online and social media tools,” 
At the seminar, participants were educated on techniques and tools as well as in-depth knowledge of the online world, including how to inspire oneself, using technology to grow business, digital tools to ease the business, and how to distribute merchandises effectively to consumers. Thailand Post also provided knowledge to support e-commerce via its e-logistic services, coming up with new delivery services to respond to the needs of individual entrepreneurs. 

INSURER ON WAY TO YEAR’S TARGET AFTER STRONG Q1 
Allianz Ayudhya Assurance has reported a strong performance for the first quarter of 2018, with revenue from total premium of Bt8 billion, a 3.7 per cent increase. The company aims at becoming No 1 in life and health protection insurance while achieving revenue from total premium of Bt34 billion as targeted by the end of this year.
Bryan Smith, president and chief executive officer, Allianz Ayudhya Assurance Public Company Limited, stated that “In the first quarter of 2018, Allianz Ayudhya was able to show strong performance. The total premiums from all channels reached Bt8 billion, up 3.7 per cent from the same period last year despite the slowdown economy. Agency channel remains the most important channel with the total premiums of Bt3 billion, a 3 per cent increase. Bank Assurance channel grows continuously as it generated premiums of up to Bt2.7 billion, 6.2 per cent increase. Direct marketing channel still ranked first in the market with a combined premium of Bt1.2 billion, 0.5 per cent increase.”
Allianz Group had a good start into 2018, posting a 6.8 per cent rise in net income attributable to shareholders. Internal revenue growth, which adjusts for currency and consolidation effects, was 4.9 per cent with positive contributions from all business segments. 
Total revenues increased 0.7 per cent to 36.5 (first quarter of 2017: 36.2) billion euros. Operating profit decreased 6.0 per cent or 176 million euros to 2.8 (2.9) billion euros. 
The main drivers for the decrease were 142 million euros currency translations and 148 million euros benefit in the prior year related to our corporate pension administration. Operating performance for the quarter is precisely at 25 per cent of the group’s full-year operating profit target, signaling that results are well on track.
 

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