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Baht/$ 33.49/53
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14,000
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IN Brief
TRADE :Thailand plans to resume free trade talks with the United States, which were put on hold after the military coup that ousted Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006, a government spokesman said yesterday.
A senior Commerce Ministry official "recently had a meeting with a US trade representative in Washington DC on resuming the Thai-US free trade agreement talks", spokesman Wichianchote Sukchotrat said.
He gave no timeframe, saying only that Thailand and the US were setting up an unofficial mechanism to work on sticking points.
"The discussions will lead to FTA talks ... and will lead to increase in investment and trade," said Mr Wichianchote.
Trade talks with the United States began in 2003, but have been dogged by controversy, particularly over complaints that Thai regulations threaten patent protection for US pharmaceutical products.AFP
Lower prices sought
COMMODITIES : Malaysia's sole rice importer will wait until prices drop below US$600 per tonne before buying more of the grain, a company executive said yesterday.
Padiberas Nasional Bhd, or Bernas, expects rice prices to drop further from the current US$720 per tonne for benchmark Thai white rice because exporters such as Thailand, Vietnam and India anticipate bumper harvests in August and September.
"We think the price of rice will soften and are cautious about the government entering the market now to buy a big block," The Star quoted Bernas managing director Bakry Hamzah as saying. "It's not a matter of time but price. ... At high prices, Bernas will make a loss."
Rice prices have been declining steadily from a record above $1,000 a tonne in May when several countries had curbed exports.
Last month, Bernas bought 200,000 tonnes of Thai rice, of which 80,000 tonnes have been delivered. It is looking to buy 300,000 more tonnes, but no agreements have been signed yet, a spokesman said.
But Bernas has agreed with a rice mill in Thailand to buy paddy and supply it to the mill for processing before purchasing it at a fixed price, The Star said.AP
PTTEP gas sales
ENERGY :PTT Exploration & Production Plc said yesterday that its joint venture in Burma had agreed to sell more natural gas to parent PTT Plc.
PTTEP International Ltd and Myanma Oil & Gas Enterprise, a state-owned agency, would supply 300 million cubic feet a day from Block M9, PTTEP said in a statement to the Stock Exchange of Thailand. A final gas sale contract would be completed by the end of this year, the majority state-owned company said.
Thailand has increased purchases of natural gas and electricity from Burma and Laos to tap neighbouring countries' natural resources as prices and demand increase. Burma is Thailand's biggest supplier of natural gas, used mainly for power production.
PTTEP shares closed yesterday at 184 baht, up two baht, in trade worth 1.8 billion baht.BLOOMBERG
BoI fraud warning
INVESTMENT :The Board of Investment (BoI) is warning businesses to avoid media outlets claiming an affiliation with the state agency and seeking payment for "advertorials".
The BoI said any claims by publications to have been assigned by the board to collect payment for advertorials were strictly unauthorised and illegal. Complaints or reports of such activity can be made to the BoI at 0-2537-8111, ext 2112, 1101 to 1108.
CIMB affirmed
BANKING :Moody's Investors Service has affirmed the ratings of CIMB Berhad following the agreement by CIMB Group Sdn Bhd to acquire a 42.13% stake in BankThai.
The affirmation applies to CIMB Bank's A3/P-1 deposit rating, its Baa1 subordinated debt rating and D+ bank financial strength rating. The Baa3 rating on its backed-preference stock issued by subsidiary SBB Capital Corp is also affirmed. The outlook is stable.
Moody's analyst Christine Kuo said CIMB Bank's financial profile would be negatively affected by the BankThai investment, but "not sufficiently to warrant a ratings change".
14-day yield 3.23%
DEBT MARKET :The Bank of Thailand yesterday sold 75 billion baht worth of 14-day bills for a weighted average accepted yield of 3.23052%. Accepted bid yields ranged from 3.22% to 3.237%, with the bid coverage ratio 1.43 times.
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