Following the necessary approvals and an overwhelmingly
positive shareholder vote at the company’s Annual General Meeting last
week, the company previously known as BHP Steel Limited has changed its name
to BlueScope Steel Limited.
Chairman Graham Kraehe said that the adoption of the
BlueScope Steel name marked the start of a new chapter in the history of the
company.
“This is an exciting time. It is very pleasing that the
reception for the new name has been so positive amongst our shareholders,
customers and employees. BlueScope Steel is a name to take us forward with
vision, innovation and the ability to grow and develop in new directions,”
said Kraehe.
One of the objectives was to find a name that reflected
the dynamic environment and potential that has been unleashed as a result of
the company’s public listing last year.
Managing Director and CEO, Kirby Adams said, “BlueScope
Steel is a great choice for a company whose products add color to the
community. Blue is the company’s corporate color and is retained in our
logo. Scope suggests opportunity, innovation and the potential of the
company.”
Adams further explained, “The change of company name
marks a new chapter in the history of our organization. BlueScope Steel is a
company focused on the future, looking ahead, providing inspired steel
solutions for our customers and strength and color to our communities. Our
change of name represents an important and significant step in the evolution
of our company.”
BlueScope Steel was publicly listed on the Australian
Stock Exchange on 15 July 2002 as BHP Steel. As a condition of its de-merger
from BHP Billiton, the company was required to change its name by 30 June
2004.
About BlueScope Steel Limited
BlueScope Steel Limited is the leading steel producer in
Australia and New Zealand, supplying some 80 percent of the flat steel
products sold in these markets. BlueScope Steel’s principal customers are
in the building and construction, automotive, packaging and general
manufacturing industries. The company’s steelworks at Port Kembla is
Australia’s largest and one of the world’s lowest cost producers of hot
rolled coil. Steel rolling, coating and painting plants are located in
Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, and the company
has a network of roll-forming facilities across the Asia Pacific region that
is unmatched by any other steel company.
About BlueScope Steel in Thailand
BlueScope Steel’s businesses in Thailand, BlueScope
Steel Thailand and BlueScope Lysaght Thailand are a manufacturers of quality
flat steel products. BlueScope Steel Thailand was established in 1995
through a joint venture between BHP Steel Limited and Loxley Public Company
Limited. Its manufacturing facility at Mabtaput produces premium quality
flat steel products such as Clean COLORBOND and ZINCALUME steels for the
construction and manufacturing industry. The Company’s roll-forming
business, BlueScope Lysaght Thailand, is a market leading supplier of
innovative building and construction solutions. For further information
about BlueScope Steel Limited: www.bluescopesteel.com
In order to facilitate the transition to a knowledge-base
economy, the Board of Investment (BOI), chaired by Deputy Prime Minister
Somkid Jatusripitak, recently announced that projects investing in skills,
technology and innovation (STI) will be eligible to receive maximum tax
incentives from the BOI, and that corporatized state-owned enterprises
(SOEs) would be eligible for investment promotion.
STI Policy
Recognizing that skills, technology and innovation are
critical to Thailand’s continued development; the Board of Investment has
adopted a series of measures to stimulate investment in STI.
Under this policy, the Board will offer additional tax
incentives to specific activities in three target industries (fashion,
automotive and ICT) that need to innovate in order to remain competitive in
the increasingly-global markets of the 21st century.
For fashion, the BOI will consider both upstream and
downstream textile projects to support the entire garment industry value
chain, as well as projects in leather and jewelry.
For the automotive industry, the BOI will include the
manufacture of machinery and equipment, vehicle parts, electric-powered
vehicles or parts, 4-stroke motorcycle engines, automobile engines and
multi-purpose engines.
For the ICT industry, the BOI will include the
manufacture of electronic products, the manufacture part or supplies used
for electronic apparatus, and the manufacture of material for
micro-processors.
The STI criteria that will be used for projects that have
not yet received investment promotion approval include the following:
* R&D or design expenditures of not less than 1-2
percent of annual total sales in the first 3 years.
* Recruitment of not less than 1-5 percent of total
workforce within the first 3 years of S&T personnel with a minimum of a
bachelor’s degree in science, engineering or other technology, R&D or
design-related fields.
* Training of staff of not less than 1 percent of payroll
within the first 3 years
* Cost of developing vendors or costs of supporting
related educational institutes must be not less than 1 percent of annual
total sales within the first 3 years.
* Projects that meet each of these criteria will receive
one additional year’s corporate income tax holiday, which will not be
subject to the cap on benefits, with the total available corporate income
tax holiday not to exceed eight years. In addition, machinery imported for
use in these projects will be exempt from import duty.
Under this policy, projects in 7 activities that directly
support the development of STI in the Kingdom will be treated as priority
activities and will receive maximum incentives, regardless of location.
Benefits for these projects will not be subject to the cap on incentives,
and imports of machinery will be duty-free.
1.-Manufacture of medical supplies or medical equipment
2.-Manufacture of scientific instruments
3.-Electronic design
4.-Research and development (R&D)
5.-Scientific laboratories
6.-Calibration services
7.-Human resources development (HRD)
In order to promote STI infrastructure and support
facilities, science park projects will be treated as priority activities,
and will receive maximum incentives, including: 8-year corporate income tax
holiday, with no cap on benefits, 50% reduction of corporate income tax for
an additional five years after expiry of the income tax holiday, and
duty-free import of machinery.
These projects must include: incubation center,
international-standard telecommunications systems, backup electricity
generators and other facilities as specified by the Board of Investment.
Projects locating within science centers that are
involved in electronic design, R&D, scientific laboratories, calibration
services and educational institutes and training centers will receive the
same benefits as the science park.
The Board also announced that corporatized state-owned enterprises would
be eligible to receive BOI investment incentives on any new investments.
Thailand will be ready to make its first giant leap as a
regional energy hub in mid-December, when it will begin acting as a regional
exporter of oil.
Speaking during a ceremony held on November 17 to mark
the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between PTT Public
Company Limited (PTT), Thai Oil Ltd. and Bang Chak Petroleum Plc., Energy
Minister Prommin Lertsuridej said operations would begin in the middle of
next month, adding that the Energy Ministry would declare Sriracha in the
eastern province of Chonburi Province as a regional oil export hub.
The Sriracha oil export center consists of PTT’s oil
storage facilities with a capacity of 500 million liters, oil storage
facilities belonging to Si Chang Thong Terminal with a capacity of 300
million liters, an oil refinery belonging to Thai Oil with a capacity to
process 220,000 barrels per day, and an oil refinery belonging to Esso with
a capacity to process 180,000 barrels per day.
The Customs Department will declare Sriracha a duty free
zone for exports; thus facilitating both exports and imports.
Prasert Bunsumpun, Senior Executive Vice President of PTT
said, “The declaration of Sriracha as a duty free zone will enable the
Thai Oil refinery to mix different blends of oil to meet the different needs
of its customers, both foreign and domestic. At the same time, it will be
able to offer services to marine oil tankers requiring low quality cooking
oil.”
The MOU signed by the PTT, Thai Oil and Bang Chak will
see the three companies enjoy joint benefits of no less than 800 million
baht and save over USD10 million each year in foreign revenue.
Under the government’s policy of using more domestic
crude oil, Bang Chak will cooperate in using the Sriracha distribution
system to boost the use of PTT’s oil storage facilities.
PTT, meanwhile, will accept an additional 5 million liters of oil
products each day from Bang Chak for distribution to Bangkok and the
surrounding provinces. PTT will also procure crude diamond oil for Bang Chak
for use as a raw material in the production of low sulfur cooking oil, as
well as procuring government-to-government crude oil procurement deals.
(TNA)
