BUSINESS NEWS
HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]: 

Establishment of venture capital fund aims to help SMEs

MOC pushes for motorcycle insurance

National Environment Board gives nod to biodiversity ratification

BOT unveils financial institution’s master plan

UK’s Wastewater Company Limited inspects Saensuk Municipality water treatment plant as part of its investment plans for Thailand

Price war planned against pirate CDs

TT&T Plc. says company is making profit but finding a viable partner is proving more difficult

Establishment of venture capital fund aims to help SMEs

Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak recently met with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to discuss the establishment of a venture capital fund to help Thailand’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) launch their products in the international market. Since most lack capital, the government is talking with the SEC about setting up a venture capital fund to enable Thai SMEs to be listed on the stock market.

Present government policies aim to raise living standards of all Thai citizens, but achieving these targets will take time. Somkid said that policies such as the debt moratorium for farmers, the 30 baht healthcare scheme, the ‘One Tambon, One Product’ project, and the free trade in fruit and vegetables with China and India were only the first steps in bringing prosperity to the people.

Small and medium enterprises could become a key economic driver and government wants to strengthen them. More than 2,000 SMEs are being viewed as having enough potential to take their products to the global arena. (TNA)


MOC pushes for motorcycle insurance

The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) is heading up a campaign to ensure that 10 million uninsured motorcycles get insurance as required by the law, a move which would benefit local insurance companies.

Deputy Commerce Minister Wattana Muangsuk said the department of land transportation registered a total of 16.5 million motorcycles nationwide as of the end of last year. Of that, 2.3 million motorcycles were registered in Bangkok, while 14.2 million units were registered in the provinces. Of the total registered motorcycles, only 6.2 million have insurance policies, while the remaining have yet to be insured.

Under the scheme, the ministry will ask village headmen to act as agents selling vehicle insurance polices to their villagers and help residents renew vehicle registrations.

Regulations governing land transportation will be amended to enable the headmen to arrest and fine those failing to abide by the law from September 1, 2003 onwards.

As an incentive, village headmen will get a commission of 12 percent of the required insurance fee of 300 baht per unit for selling insurance policies to motorists in their villagers and 30 percent of the fines collected from offenders. (TNA)


National Environment Board gives nod to biodiversity ratification

After several years of delay, Environment Minister Prapat Panyachatraksa announced that the National Environment Board said it is ready to allow the ratification of the International Biodiversity Convention, which should be concluded by the end of the year.

Although Thailand is a signatory to the convention, it has not yet ratified it due to concerns that it could put the kingdom at a disadvantage. After months of wrangling, the Constitutional Court eventually ruled that Parliament would deliberate the issue.

Prapat said, “Presently, although Thailand is a signatory to the convention, it has no right to state its views in meetings. Once Thailand ratifies the convention it will be able to participate in international forums to protect biodiversity, and should receive full academic support. Now only Thailand, Brunei and the United States have yet to sign the convention.”

A committee will be established to make proposals to the Cabinet concerning amendments to legislation in biodiversity management and policies Thailand should adopt in the international arena. It will also draft a Bio-security Act to control biological research and the commercial use of biological and genetically modified organisms to ensure safety to the environment. (TNA)


BOT unveils financial institution’s master plan

The Ministry of Finance has given the green light to the Bank of Thailand’s (BOT) master plan, designed to clarify the role of financial institutions and overhaul the way loan decisions are made according to Tharisa Wattanaket, deputy secretary-general of the BOT’s financial institutions stability section.

Tharisa said that the plan detailed short term, medium term and long term measures. The short term measures would be enforced in the near future and would begin with offering improved financial services for people living in provinces, a role that was decreased during the financial crisis of the late 1990s.

The central bank’s plan will clearly define the work of each type of financial institution and detail the operations performed by specialist institutions. In terms of commercial banks, there will be an overhaul in the credit decision system, with loan decisions made not only on the basis of capital but on business capability and profit potential.

The master plan will also make the system of commissions levied by financial institutions more appropriate and systematic.

The plan warns that inflows of foreign capital will be carefully controlled to avoid an adverse impact on the economy as a whole. Regulations are being drawn up to control foreign currency transactions in the future. (TNA)


UK’s Wastewater Company Limited inspects Saensuk Municipality water treatment plant as part of its investment plans for Thailand

Songklod Kaewvisit

Wastewater treatment is big business around the world including Thailand. With much of the country now focusing on sustainable environmental conservation plans and waste treatment, Wastewater Company (Thailand) Ltd. is set to become an active part of the movement.

Brian Hill with Pornthep Leewiwat, and Nattapat Saiwan at the Bangsaen-Saensuk Municipality water treatment plant.

Representatives of the local subsidiary recently visited the Bangsaen-Saensuk Municipality water treatment plant on a fact-finding tour. Brian Hill, business development manager and Pornthep Leewiwat, business development manager for Thailand surveyed the plant’s operations as part a study in which the UK based company plans to invest in the construction and maintenance of 86 locations around Thailand.

The Saensuk facility is a joint project between the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment. Wastewater Operations Management Company’s general manager and project engineer Nattapat Saiwan led the group on the study tour.

Based out of the United Kingdom, Wastewater Company Ltd. is a subsidiary of the United Utilities Co. Ltd. United Utilities is involved in wastewater treatment, electricity, gas, telephone and other services. Wastewater is the largest contractor in the construction and management of sewerage treatment plants specializing large cities such as Manchester, England and other cities around the globe. The study of the Saensuk facility was made due to its complexity and current high standard of operation.

The two plants in Saesuk and Bangsaen process over 23,000 cubic meters of waste water per day with a combined sewer system of 139 kilometers of drainage pipes leading to the plants. A high level process enables the sewage to be treated via oxidation ditches allowing water to be released into the local environment with no adverse effects.

Further surveys and study tours will be done before the decision is made to make the major investment of building and running 86 similar high standard plants around Thailand.


Price war planned against pirate CDs

Music and movie companies are agreeing to reduce the retail price of CDs and VCDs to attract consumers to buy legal products. Wattana Muangsuk, Deputy Commerce Minister, said that the entertainment business owners had been satisfied with the stringent crackdown on pirate merchandise and music and film copyright violations.

Thai copyright holders are to reduce retail product prices from about 400 baht to 250 baht for music CDs. The music and movie producers will propose a final pricing scheme to the ministry this month.

International copyright-holding entertainment companies will also submit price guidelines by the end of this month. The Commerce Ministry will announce the prices of legal products in August. (TNA)


TT&T Plc. says company is making profit but finding a viable partner is proving more difficult

TT&T Plc said its total revenue for 2003 will be about seven billion baht, 500 million baht higher than its reported income last year, due to economic growth and greater demand for telephones from the business sector.

Pisit Leeahtam, president of the provincial fixed-line telephone operator sector, said the firm will have to wait and see whether the second half of 2003’s income will be affected by the government’s liberalized telecommunication policy, more intense competition and the recent long distance call rate cuts.

Asked about the problem of seeking new business partners, Pisit conceded that due to the current economic situation and the government’s policy to limit foreign ownership to not more than 25 percent has made it hard to find a viable partner. “If we can’t find a new business partner by March of 2004 as required by the company’s rehabilitation plan, TT&T will convert its group C’s 75 percent debt into capital, significantly reducing its major shareholders, Jasmine International Plc’s, stake from its current 35 percent,” Pisit said. (TNA)