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Privatization of Thai tobacco monopoly suspended
Bangkok, Thailand (Dow Jones/AP) The planned
privatization of Thailand Tobacco Monopoly has been suspended because of
concerns that aggressive marketing by its new owners would increase the
number of smokers in the country.
Thailand Tobacco Monopoly Company, which controls about
86 percent of the local market, was scheduled to launch an initial public
offering in November, but that has been postponed indefinitely, Deputy
Finance Minister Varathep Ratanakorn said.
He said a commission responsible for the agency’s
privatization has concluded that selling it to private companies would
make it difficult for the government to control cigarette advertising and
would compromise its anti-smoking campaign. Many social critics and health
activists have opposed the idea of privatizing the Tobacco Monopoly
altogether, saying it would increase the number of smokers, which
currently stands at 23.4 percent of the population.
Cigarette production was made a state monopoly in 1943,
giving Thailand Tobacco Monopoly full control of the market. The import of
foreign cigarettes was allowed subsequently but foreign companies are not
allowed to manufacture here. Still, the market share of foreign cigarettes
has grown from 3 percent in 1997 to about 14 percent now.
TTM operates three cigarette plants with a combined
output of 22 billion cigarettes a year and revenue of more than 20 billion
baht (US$ 500 million) annually.
Thailand recently stepped up its anti-smoking campaign,
using some of the toughest anti-smoking laws in the region. Tobacco
advertisements and images of cigarettes are banned in all media. Smoking
is banned in 16 categories of public places, including cinemas, buses,
elevators, public libraries, places of worship and many air conditioned
areas. Violators face fines of up to 2,000 baht (US$45). Air conditioned
restaurants will become smoke free from Oct. 1.
Ministry of Finance to launch economic data web site
In an attempt to put the nation’s economic data in
order, the Finance Ministry plans to launch a web site that will integrate
vital data from the agencies concerned to help build foreign investors’
confidence in the Thai economy.
Somchainuk Engtrakul, permanent secretary for Finance
Ministry said the Fiscal Policy Office, the Bureau of the Budget, the
National Economic and Social Development Board and Bank of Thailand will
jointly manage the economic database.
Information from each agency will be complied under the
Economic Management Information System (EMIS) scheme.
Somchainuk said that the time to pool resources and
establish an information base has come. He explained, “Unfortunately the
current economic assessment of each agency is quite different. There are
no unified reporting procedures. This causes confusion, misinterpretation
and wrong judgment among foreign investors and interested people.”
“If agencies concerned jointly prepare the economic
database foreign investors will receive accurate and reliable data. Such
information will be a factor in making a decision on whether to do
businesses in Thailand,” he said.
He added that from now on pertinent authorities will
jointly evaluate the Thai economic situation, its trends, give precise
figures of growth and analyze information in the same direction with an
aim to gain more credibility.
Sathit Limpongpan, director-general of the Fiscal
Policy Office said academics, analysts, and interested people can enter
the EMIS system via the office’s website at www.fpo.go.th
There are three levels of information; the first for
executives, second for analysts, and the third level is basic. The
database will consisted of five categories - finance, financial
institution and monetary system, macro-economic data, budget, and human
and society. (TNA)
Stronger baht won’t dampen export growth
Commerce Minister Adisai Bodharamik has reiterated the
strengthening of baht to an average of 42 to the US dollar will not dampen
the country’s export growth as many fear. He said the Bank of Thailand
is closely supervising the currency movement and is ready to take measures
to curb its adverse fluctuation.
Should the baht continue to appreciate, he conceded, it
would affect exports to a certain extent. However, the impact on exports
from the stronger baht would be very little if other regional currencies
strengthened in the same direction.
In fact, he said, the extent of export growth now
depends chiefly on purchasing power of consumers, particularly in main
destinations including the United States, Japan and European Union.
Purchase orders from the US and Japan have begun to increase. However, it
is expected the country’s export of high-value electronic products might
experience a decline of negative growth from the two-digit figure early
this year to one-digit in the near future. Dr Adisai said the ministry
would revise export figures at the end of this month.
The ministry will also task the Export Promotion
Department to work out a strategic plan to penetrate markets of 15 Middle
East countries with specific products. A list of importers in the
countries will be arranged to facilitate exporting procedures. Inroads
into these new markets will enhance opportunities in Thailand’s export
sector and should boost the market in the near future.
At present, Thailand’s export to these countries is
less than US$2 billion. It is projected the plan would help double the
export value in the one-year period.
Dr Adisai said what the ministry worries about now is
how to maintain the trade surplus. (TNA)
Seamico increases bandwidth by 300 percent
Seamico Securities Plc announced that Seamico.com has
substantially upgraded its Internet bandwidth in conjunction with CSCOMS.
Seamico has also located its Real Time Quote System, StockNet II, on
CSCOMS which will also enhance the speed of its real-time price reporting
system.
Seamico.com is Thailand’s leading online broking
system. It enables its clients to trade directly from their own PC to the
Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) at a rate 20% cheaper than normal trading
commission rates.
It provides updated, comprehensive investment
information to clients, including corporate reports, technical analysis,
company visit notes, chat rooms, top 20 stocks, industry studies,
graphics, details of upcoming IPO’s and a range of other relevant
investor information.
Due to the tremendous increase in traffic and new
visitors to Seamico.com this year (a clear reflection of the increased
interest in the Thai Stock market), Seamico upgraded its internet
bandwidth from 512kbps to 2mbps.
It has continued to develop, refine and upgrade its
service and this is another example of Seamico’s commitment to Online
Share Trading as the future for share trading. As a result of the upgrade,
clients will be able to download faster and have quicker access to all the
functions available on Seamico’s site.
Commenting on the upgrade, Seamico’s chief executive
officer, Robert W. McMillen said, “We have been closely monitoring our
on-line stock trading statistics and the efficiency of our information
system. Our on-line stock trading business is growing at a tremendous pace
and this demonstrates that investors are willing to trade stock
on-line.”
“Advantages such as convenience and, very
importantly, a 20% saving in the cost of commission are the main driving
factors. We believe that Seamico’s website is regarded as the best
on-line trading system in Thailand and we are focused on improving and
developing our site. Speed is critical on the web and the upgraded
bandwidth will ensure we hold our market position. Further new
developments will be announced soon,” McMillen said.
Seamico.com invites clients to visit the site and to
enjoy the wealth of investor information available. To apply for an online
trading account with Seamico, simply download an application form via
www.seamico.com, contact Seamico’s Online Center at 66-2-695-5082 -7 or
email onlinebroking@sea mico.co.th
TOT set to establish TOT Corporation Plc on August 1
Telephone Organization of Thailand (TOT) will set up
TOT Corporation Plc and list the firm on the Stock Exchange of Thailand in
October.
Deputy Prime Minister Pongpol Adireksarn, chairman of
the committee on State Enterprise Capital Policy, said the body agreed to
a guideline for the privatization of TOT.
It also approved a draft of the decree to be used for
rescinding TOT laws. The two issues will go before the Cabinet for
consideration and approval in July.
Upon approval, he said, TOT will establish TOT
Corporation with an initial registered capital of six billion baht by
issuing 600 million shares at a par value of 10 baht each.
TOT officials will be entitled to an allotment of share
issues. They will also receive special share issues and bonuses. Payment
will be made only when the corporation gains profits in its performance.
All properties of TOT will be transferred to the TOT
Corporation’s account. All 22,095 officials of the authority will then
become staff of the corporation with the same fringe benefits they
received from TOT.
The initial public offering of the shares will be made
by underwriters including J.P. Morgan, National Securities, SCB
Securities, Tisco Securities and Merrill Lynch Phatra Securities.
Sutham Malila, president of TOT said, “TOT
Corporation will apply for listing on the SET immediately upon registering
on August 1st and we expect procedures should take no more than two
months. So, it is likely TOT Corporation will be able to offer its shares
for sale to the public in the middle of October.”
Currently, TOT’s assets total 270 billion baht while
its liabilities are 83 billion baht. (TNA)
BOI sees promise for Thai entertainment industry
Board of Investment (BOI) is confident that the Thai
entertainment industry will be able to expand vigorously because its
cheaper services and advanced techniques can draw foreign filmmakers to
Thailand instead of Hong Kong.
Chutaporn Lambasara, BOI deputy secretary-general said
BOI foresees bright prospects for the sector. She estimated that the
industry could generate 1-2 billion baht annually for the Thai economy.
Chutaporn said BOI predicts expansion of the industry
because Thailand has surpassed Hong Kong and Singapore in terms of
services and technique.
“The advanced technique developed by Thai people such
as animation is equivalent to that of Hong Kong and Singapore which are
considered the best in Asia. The post production lab in Thailand is one of
the seven labs in the world that are accepted by Hollywood,” she said.
Due to outstanding developments in the filmmaking
industry in Thailand, BOI is allowing businesses to apply for investment
incentives, said the deputy director general. They will be granted
privileges such as tax exemption if they qualify.
Patima Tantikom, deputy managing director, Business
Development Coordination Department of Kantana Group Ltd., said that if
the government supports the building of large studios like Hollywood’s
Universal Studios, Thailand would earn more from the filmmaking industry.
She said Kantana is planning to build a studio with a
budget of 7,000 million baht and establish Kantana College to produce
specialists in film making. (TNA)
NESDB says economic conditions in every region are improving
Economic conditions in every region of the country have
improved in the same direction of the overall economy in the first quarter
of this year, according to the National Economic and Social Development
Board.
Deputy government spokesman Kuthep Saikrachang said the
NESDB said in its latest report that the unemployment rate in all regions
had dropped and inflation has stayed low. Household spending increased, as
did public spending and private investment. These trends are expected to
continue until the end of the year.
Kuthep cited the economic turnaround Thailand’s
northern region as an example. He said zinc and sugar output had increased
along with export value and the number of new factories in industrial
estates in the north has risen by 25.2%. (TNA)
Chicken exports improve as EU eases strict screening
Thailand’s chicken export business is returning to
normal since the European Union eased strict criteria for examination of
the product following the government’s ban on the import of 16 types of
chemicals.
An analysis report said that the country’s giant
exporter of chicken like Charoen Pokhaphan was not adversely affected by
the slowdown in the EU’s import of the product because the company still
enjoyed trust from existing and new importers in its standard of quality
control on exported chicken. However, small and medium-size exporters did
experience some considerable impact when the number of purchase orders
dropped.
Chicken exports in the first quarter of this year
increased by 15.4% and 28.53% in volume and value from those of the same
quarter last year.
Exports to Japan, one of the country’s main
destinations, rose to 61.6% in the first quarter from 49% in 2001, but the
shipment to EU declined to 23.8% from 34%. Exports to other markets
dropped to 14.6% from 19.6%.
The survey found that export volume picked up in May
and June and is expected to increase in the second half of this year. The
improvement in the export outlook was attributed to the EU’s decision to
stop checking exported chicken from Thailand in every container and return
to the practice of random sampling. (TNA)
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