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Britain offers to barter weapons for farm goods
Thailand’s Prime Minister revealed that Britain offered
to barter weapons for agricultural products with Thailand during his recent
visit to the UK.
Commenting on reports in the British media saying
Thailand would buy weapons from Britain by bartering farm goods, the Thai PM
said the matter had been discussed during the trip, but no agreement has yet
been made.
He stressed the barter had been proposed by the British
government. The proposal is under consideration by his government.
The Thai leader said more discussions are taking place
between officials of the two countries. Whether the barter trade will
materialize depends on the need for weapons, and their quality. He said,
“I want to confirm we’ve not yet reached any agreement on the barter
trade. It is just a memorandum of understanding for further discussion on
the possible deal. I concede we need to procure new weapons because the
Royal Armed Forces must be ready to defend the nation. But we also have to
consider whether our weapons are obsolete or sufficient. It is the duty of
the military to estimate that need.” (TNA)
People urged to buy goods through Thaitambon.com website
The government is asking for public cooperation and wants
people to purchase goods through the Thaitambon.com website for New Year
gifts to support the One-Village-One Product campaign introduced by the
government to boost the nation’s economy at the grass roots level.
The website has been initiated and financially supported
by Thailand’s Prime Minister. With more than 60,000 web pages, the website
features a list of over 1,500 product items from 6,000 villages nationwide.
Each web page is being translated from Thai into 8
foreign languages to offer foreign customers access to the website.
Information Technology and Communication Minister
Surapong Seubwonglee has proposed the website be improved and updated
regularly to promote sales and a list of best-selling products should be
included similar to the way other commercial websites operate. (TNA)
SET chief upbeat about investment return in bourse
The SET chief recently stated that the Stock Exchange of
Thailand is one of the stock markets in the region which has provided
impressive return rates.
SET president Kittirat na Ranong said the local bourse
has given investors a return rate of around 20% over the past year. Prices
of many listed firms on the SET are relatively low since they hover close to
the same level as before the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in
the United States on September 11 last year.
Kittirat pointed out that fundamentals of listed
companies have now improved significantly as could be witnessed by the
combined net profits of around 100 billion baht in the first half of this
year.
“It is expected the combined profits will reach 200
billion baht for the whole year. That means the price/earning ratio of the
local bourse will be below 10 times. So, I believe that Thai stocks have an
opportunity to rally considerably,” Kittirat said.
He said many companies continued to list on the market.
Since early this year, 15 firms have gone public with their stocks being
traded on the SET and the Market for Alternative Investment. As well, 29
more are planning to list on the market either before this year is over or
early next year.
Kittirat said the country’s economy has recovered and
is showing positive growth. The economy is expected to continue growing in
the future given the increase in international reserves to a present US$37
billion compared with $27 billion in 1998.
He added that foreign debt burdens have decreased to
$64.4 billion from $109 billion in 1997. This reflects the country’s
competence in generating high revenue. He said the excessive liquidity in
the financial sector will keep interest rates low. (TNA)
German Chamber of Commerce meets at the “Stammtisch” again
Elfi Seitz
Every two months the members of the German-Thai Chamber
of Commerce meet at their “Stammtisch” at the Moon River Pub.
GTCC
business development guru Stefan Burkle (R) chats with business and economic
leaders.
This month is started when Stefan Brkle gave a
short welcome speech in English, for all the non-Germans to understand. That
was the formal part of the evening, because the members and their friends
really like to enjoy themselves during an event such as this.
Most of the people know each other and therefore it is
always a lot of fun for them, business is only of secondary importance and
the networking is more based on a social togetherness.
Rene Pisters, the general manager of the Thai Garden
Resort, and his team did a marvelous job again. The cooks provided a
fantastic buffet, while the whole staff of the Moon River Pub was eager to
fulfill the wishes of the guests.
After dinner, the Moon River Pub’s house band “Get
Set” started playing and one could see many of the guests dancing to their
hot rhythm. The huge beer tanks on the tables were refilled several times
and some wine bottles were emptied.
Special nice guests from Bangkok were Alfred W. Reichert, secretary of
the German Embassy and his charming wife, Dr. Beatrice Gorawantschy, the
resident representative of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in Bangkok.
Bangkok Bank opens another Micro Branch in Amata City Rayong
Vice president of Bangkok Bank Deja Julanant, Sriracha
chief Banjob Rungrot, and Chavalit Yodmanee, executive director of Amata
City Rayong jointly presided over the opening of the Bangkok Bank Micro
Branch in Amata City Rayong. The opening was well attended by many
dignitaries and guests.
Vice
president of Bangkok Bank Deja Julanant, Sriracha chief Banjob Rungrot, and
Chavalit Yodmanee, executive director of Amata City Rayong jointly presided
over the opening of the Bangkok Bank Micro Branch in Amata City Rayong.
The sub branch was set up in Bo Win Industrial Estate
with an aim to provide more convenience to customers in the area.
The self-service machine operates from 8.30 a.m. to 5
p.m. Monday to Friday. Services include deposits, withdrawals, money
transfers via ATM, payment and check transfers via express deposit box, and
passbook updating.
Complete services will begin on the 18th of November and
will include account opening, draft and cashier’s check sales, gift
voucher, and employee payment services as well as foreign money exchange and
Transfer.
Tyrolit Thai Diamon holds Grand Opening at Hemaraj
Franz
Richter (2nd right) managing director of Tyrolit Thai Diamond Co., Ltd.
presided over the grand opening ceremony of the company, a part of Tyrolit
Group in Austria, at Hemaraj’s Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate
(Rayong). The new plant will produce Diamond Cutting Blades with a capacity
of 400,000 pieces per year. Also seen in the picture, Jakop A. Mosser (4th
left) chief executive officer of Schteifmittelwerke Swarovski K.G. and David
Nardone (2nd left) Hemaraj’s president & CEO.
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