PROPERTY
Though political uncertainty is hurting the tourism industry, Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi's property arm TCC Land Leisure Co has been selectively investing in hotel ventures, said senior executive vice-president Paisit Kaenchan.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand has lost 300 billion baht in value over the past six months, largely due to poor investor sentiment about politics, says SET president Patareeya Benjapolchai.
CAMBODIA-THAI RELATIONS
The approval of Cambodia's request to register Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site has drawn a mixed reaction from Thai businesses.
CAMBODIATHAI RELATIONS
The government's planned massive investment in infrastructure should not be affected even if the People Power Party (PPP) is dissolved, a senior Transport Ministry official said yesterday. Chaisawat Kittipornpaibul, the ministry's permanent secretary, said the construction of mass transit rail lines would proceed as planned. As global oil prices continue to rise, Thailand needs to speed up the development of transport infrastructure to reduce oil consumption and lower travel expenses for consumers.
THE WEEKLY Link
Continuing our preparation for a discussion panel at the Supply Chain Asia Forum in Singapore, which will focus on the topic: "Supply Chain Excellence: The most misquoted concept in SCM?", we wish to be clear about our views on this topic.
MARKETS
Pannee Sathavarodom, Somchai Kuvijitsuwan and Pol Maj Gen Pornpat Suyanan have been formally appointed directors of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
ACL Bank, one of the country's smallest banks, is moving away from traditional deposits to focus on bills of exchange as a vehicle to raise funds.
BANKING
Loan refinancing was the main factor helping Kasikornbank meet its first-half small business loan targets, according to bank executives.
The energy and commodities sectors are expected to be the main source of loan demand in the second half, as other sectors have delayed investment plans due to the slowing economy.
TRADE
CHENNAI, INDIA : Thailand hopes to ratify a full free-trade agreement with India within this year if the political situations in the two countries don't change, according to Deputy Commerce Minister Wiroon Techapaiboon.
BY INVITATION
In the first part of our article yesterday, we looked at the overall change in the source of counterfeit goods in Thailand and related reasons for this; today we focus more on the Thai end of operations. While the actual sale of counterfeit products in the Thai market is still high, the amount of goods in possession of any one infringer at any one time is much smaller than in the past because the turnover rate of counterfeit products is higher.
The Energy Ministry is considering requiring major liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) traders to raise their reserves in order to prevent a repeat of the supply shortage that occurred two weeks ago.
The Netherlands-based logistics group TNT has tripled its express service capacity in Thailand to tap into fast-growing demand for air freight in Asia. TNT yesterday inaugurated its new hub in Lam Luk Ka district, Pathum Thani. It is three times larger in terms of capacity than its previous hub in Klong Toey, which could handle 40 tonnes or 4,500 consignments per day.
INSURANCE
Thai Life Insurance, the country's second-largest life insurer, said it produced healthy premiums in the first half, as a slow economy reinforced the importance of savings for Thai consumers.
TRAVEL
Outdoor Innovation, a distributor of camping gear, is moving towards more innovative products and product diversification after hurting its margins and image from entering into a price war over the past few years. The company plans to introduce waterproof and welded products such as jackets, backpacks, laptops, cameras and dry bags. They are now under development and expected to be launched in the last quarter of the year.
AVIATION
Thai Airways International is resuming non-stop flights from Tokyo to Phuket, which were suspended after the tsunami devastated the Thai coast in December 2004.
AUTOMOBILES
Local one-ton pickup truck sales fell to the lowest level of the year last month as record-breaking diesel prices hurt consumer sentiment. According to preliminary figures compiled by Toyota Motor Thailand, pickup truck sales in June dropped 23.2% to 25,268 units from 32,904 last year, and were also down 3,865 units from May.
RETAILING
Boots Retail (Thailand) Co says that it will spend 100 million baht to increase the number of its health and beauty stores in Thailand from 143 to 160 by mid-next year. Managing director Ian Hunter said the expansion was in line with the company's vision to be the best and biggest pharmacy in Thailand.
ADVERTISING
Lowe Limited, a local advertising agency, is raising its profile in the local advertising scene after winning prestigious international awards to attract clients and talented ad people, according to CEO Tony Prehn.
IN Brief
FINANCE : Minor International Plc (MINT), the country's largest listed hotelier and restaurant operator, said yesterday it had delayed a 10-billion-baht bond issue to 2009 due to unfavourable market conditions.
TRADE
Thailand's exports are expected to grow at a slower pace in the second half of this year mainly because of a global economic slowdown and higher costs influenced by rising oil prices, inflation and interest rates.
