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10 firms under rehab set to return to normal sector
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has said that 10
listed companies have been rehabilitated successfully and will be allowed to
return to the normal sector in the first quarter of this year. But Suthichai
Chitravanich, Senior Executive Vice President of the SET said that 35 other
troubled firms needed further work to restructure their debt.
The 10 rehabilitated companies were named as Eastern
Printing; Inter Far East; KC Property; Nakornthai Strip Mill; Power-P;
Preecha Group; Thai-German Product; Thai Petrochemical Industry; Thai Wire
Product; and Manager Media Group
Of the 35 companies still under scrutiny, 19 had already
undergone the debt-restructuring process, but still need to record a profit
for the three consecutive quarters. The debt restructuring of the other 16
companies has not been completed and their performance failed to meet the
criteria required by the SET.
“This year, companies in trouble need to speed the
debt-restructuring process and return to business as usual. We want to see
all companies return to their respective normal sectors. Since 2003, we have
liaised closely with the management and financial advisors of companies
under rehabilitation. At the same time, we want to tell investors that a
handful of listed firms will be de-listed because the rehabilitation sector
will be dissolved by the end of this year,” Suthichai said.
On NFC Fertilizer, Suthichai said the company was unable
to return to the normal sector despite the completion of the
debt-restructuring process. This is because its published net profit result
for 2004 did not stem from actual performance and was a product of the
debt-restructuring process itself. He said the SET would see whether this
year’s operating results reflected actual business performance. (TNA)
EXIM Bank launches value-added program to boost FTA trade
The Export and Import Bank of Thailand (EXIM) has
launched an export value-added program for exporters of products to trading
partners under the free trade area (FTA) agreement.
Sataporn Jinachitra, president of the EXIM Bank, said the
government has negotiated for the opening of FTAs with many trading partners
and so far managed to sign the FTA agreement with three countries including
China, India and Australia.
To support the government’s policy and boost
exporters’ confidence, the bank has inaugurated this program to add export
value with FTA trading partners.
Under the program, exporters of products and services to
the partners are entitled to a special 50% discount for the cost of analysis
on information about purchasers overseas when they count on the service of
appraisal for risks of the buyers and banks issuing the letter of credit.
As well, they will obtain free FTA information services
such as content of agreements, positive and negative impacts, and key
policies and measures.
For more information, interested exporters could contact
the Export Credit Insurance Department at Tel. 02-6172111 from now until the
end of December. (TNA)
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PTT launches ‘green globe’ environmental award
Thailand’s petroleum giant, PTT Public Company Limited
(PTT), is giving the ‘Green Globe’ Award for contributions to
environmental conservation for the seventh consecutive year.
The award scheme, under the theme of “people, waters,
forests, interdependence and co-relations”, is part of a bid on the part
of the country’s formerly state-owned petrol company to help salvage
Thailand’s environmental credentials.
According to Dr. Songkiert Tansamrit, PTT’s executive
vice-president for Corporate Strategy and Planning, the award this year -
when the country is facing its worst drought crisis for two decades - will
crucially focus on water and forest conservation.
Prizes totaling 3 million baht will be offered in six
categories, including a prize for the media for the first time, for
individuals, for local communities and for youth poetry.
An additional award for five years of sustainability will
be offered to communities with sustainable environmental conservation
programs.
“Applications for individuals, communities or groups
interested in the contests, will be opened until May 31, while those wanting
to submit their poetry works are allowed to do so until June 30”, Dr.
Songkiert disclosed. (TNA)
Regulations on temporary work ease
Thailand plans to ease regulations to allow government
employees to temporarily work in the private sector in order to acquire
valuable knowledge and experiences. The Office of the Civil Service
Commission (OCSC) will propose the idea to the government in the near
future, the Secretary-General of the OCSC, Sima Simananta said.
Under the current regulations, proposals for the
temporary leave are considered on a case-by-case basis. Most of the
government employees who were allowed the temporary leave of absence to work
in other countries or in the private sector and return to their original
posts were senior academics, especially university tutors invited to teach
or do research overseas, or high ranking officials who have been given
positions in international organizations, like the World Bank or the United
Nations.
The planned changes to the regulations will allow
non-academic or lower level officials to have a chance to work with private
companies, he said.
Under the planned scheme, the length of absence would be
clearly agreed between the government and the companies, and the companies
would pay the officials’ monthly salaries during the period and the
workers’ government posts would be held open.
However, the temporary leave of absence should only be
decided on the basis of the potential benefit to the government, Sima
emphasised. (TNA)
Ministry paves way for transport fare hikes
On March 22 The Transport Ministry indicated that it
would allow private sector transport companies to raise their fares in line
with the then current 3 per liter rise in the price of diesel.
Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit said that
details of the measures would be thrashed out during a meeting with
transport operators next week, but said that it was likely that operators
would be permitted to raise their fares to reflect higher fuel costs.
He also indicated that the ministry was likely to
accelerate plans to liberalize upcountry transport provision in order to
boost competition and ensure better passenger services. (TNA)
Minor plays major role
TTG Asia
Thailand’s Royal Garden Resort was recently re-branded
Minor International in line with its aim to grow internationally and expand
its scope beyond resorts into spas and restaurants.
 Bill
Heinecke established ‘Minor’ group 30 years ago.
The Minor name was established 30 years ago by a barely
18 year old Bill Heinecke, who is behind the Minor Group Company in Thailand
which owns and operates hotels, resorts, restaurants, spas and entertainment
concepts, among others.
Heinecke brought brands such as Ripleys Believe It or
Not! to Pattaya and sold pizzas (under The Pizza Company) when no one
thought Thais would trade chilies for cheese.
None of the hotels under Minor carry the Royal Garden
name anymore. Recently, Bill Heinecke successfully launched a new luxury
boutique resort line, Anantara, while several of Minor’s hotels are
operated under the Marriott, JW Marriott and Four Seasons brands.
Minor has also expanded to Vietnam and is building hotels
in the Maldives. Additionally, it operates more than 20 spas under the
Mandara or Anantara brands in Thailand, the Middle East and China. It also
franchises restaurant brands such as Sizzlers, Benihana, Burger King, Dairy
Queen and Swenson’s.
Minor International’s vice-president of development, Michel van der
Hoeven, said it would not be long before the name Minor would catch on in
the trade. In Berlin last week, it launched the new brand to the travel
trade and organized Minor awards to thank major supporters.
FTI urges government
to overhaul logistics system
A revamp of the nation’s logistics system is needed to
cushion the blow from rising transportation costs, the President of the
Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), Praphad Phodhivorakhun, warned
recently.
Shrugging off the projected 2 percent increase in
industrial production costs as a result of the recent 3 per liter baht rise
in the price of diesel as ‘not a major problem’, Mr. Praphad said the
government should turn its attention to reining in transportation costs.
To mitigate the impact, he said, the government should
accelerate the development of national logistics projects, including its
plans to invest 500 million baht into the development of the national rail
system.
Noting that a modern rail system would also facilitate
manufacturers to transport goods by rail at lower cost, he said that the
government should also address problems relating to shipping charges in
order to ensure Thailand’s export competitiveness. (TNA)
Bus and truck owners urged to use NGV
The Thai government has urged tour bus and truck
operators to switch to natural gas for vehicles (NGV) with government
support.
The government plans to support vehicle owners who use
NGV with long-term, low interest loans, as the cost of modifying a bus
engine is as high as 400,000 baht and around 60,000 baht for a passenger
sedan, according to Permanent Secretary for Energy Cherdpong Siriwit.
The country’s petroleum giant, PTT Public Company
Limited (PTT), is also expected to set up more NGV stations.
The senior Ministry of Energy official made his comments
after a meeting in Bangkok with Sujinda Cherdchai, the chairwoman of
Thailand’s bus operators association to encourage tour buses and truck
operators to convert their engines to use NGV, instead of diesel.
Sujinda rose the government proposal at the
association’s next meeting, at which more than 8,000 members attend.
“Many of the association’s members are worried about
the future diesel price. They also wanted to know whether the government
would allow them to increase their fares to cover increases in the cost of
diesel,” Sujinda said. (TNA)
Diesel sales surges
upon price hike
Sales of diesel at many service stations in Greater
Bangkok surged to almost double on March 23, as diesel users swamped to buy
the fuel as much as possible before its prices set to soar to a recorded
high level of 18.19 baht per liter on March 24.
A source said a lot of diesel users rushed to hoard the
fuel upon hearing of the news on the government’s decision to raise the
diesel price by 3 baht per liter. Some came with empty oil tanks of various
sizes to hoard the fuel as much as possible.
Worse still, staff of small service stations went with
200-liter tanks to buy and contain diesel from large stations; so they could
keep it for sale the following day.
The rush for the fuel hoarding led to the earlier
depletion of diesel supply at many service stations, said the source.
Apisit Rujikeatikamjorn, Senior Executive Vice President
of PTT Public Company Limited (PTT)’s Oil Business Group, said the sale of
diesel oil by the company on the morning of March 23 surged to 26 million
liters from the normal daily sale of around 15-16 million liters.
The company’s oil depots and service stations had been
instructed not to hoard fuel, he said, adding that they were asked to
provide full services to customers. However, Apisit conceded that PTT might
need to sell the diesel to oil jobbers first, as they were short of the fuel
supply because many refining plants, which have production capacity of 50%
of the total, had stopped operation for maintenance.
He also warned that global oil prices remained extremely
high, and that the further domestic gasoline price rises could be in the
pipeline.
“Now, global fuel prices continue to stay high.
Gasoline and diesel prices in Singapore are as high as US$60 and US$63-64
per barrel, resulting in a marketing margin reducing to less than 1 baht per
liter. So, local gasoline prices may be raised further,” he said.
Mr. Santi Vilassakdanont, the Vice President of the
Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), described the government’s decision
to raise diesel prices by Bt3 as a ‘brave move’, and urged the
government to keep careful checks on transportation prices and the market
price of goods.
The FTI has indicated, however, that it does not want
further caps on goods prices, and has suggested that businesses should be
able to raise the prices of their products in line with the higher fuel
costs. (TNA)
Emerson-Thailand produces their
4th millionth Copeland Scroll Compressor
Karen Roy
The Year of the Rooster is proving to be one of
Emerson-Thailand’s best years to date. Last January 13, Emerson celebrated
8 million hours worked without a lost time accident. On February 4, the
plant successfully started production on its third Copeland Scroll
Compressor assembly line. And just recently, Emerson-Thailand built its
four-millionth Copeland Scroll Compressor. Three unprecedented milestones
over a span of three months – Emerson-Thailand is definitely off to a good
start in the year 2005!
 Bruce
Hoppe signs his name on the 4 millionth Copeland Scroll compressor built in
Thailand.
The production of the four-millionth Copeland Scroll
Compressor in Thailand was celebrated on March 23. Bruce Hoppe, managing
director of Emerson-Thailand, opened the ceremony with the following
remarks: “Today marks another special day at Emerson. We are going to
complete our four-millionth Copeland Scroll Compressor, a little over 11
months after producing our three-millionth Scroll Compressor. We produced
our one-millionth in August 2000, the two-millionth in October 2002,
followed by the three-millionth in April 2004. This would not have been
possible without your help. I would like to take this opportunity to thank
everyone for all their hard work and contribution to the company.”
 The
4 millionth Thailand-built, Copeland Scroll compressor rolls down the
conveyor.
He continued by introducing some important visitors,
namely Steve Stewart - vice president/GM of Emerson Climate Technologies
Asia Operations; David Warth – general manager of the Emerson plant in
Suzhou, China; Terence Tan – manager for Copeland Refrigeration plant in
Shenyang, China; Kit Fan – VP of Human Resources for Emerson Climate
Technologies in Asia, and Rob Gillette – director of Emerson Asia
Procurement.
Shortly after Hoppe’s speech, the 4 millionth
compressor was rolled down the conveyor. It was placed on a special table
where Bruce Hoppe, Steve Stewart and other important guests proceeded with
signing their names on the commemorative compressor. Other employees were
invited to sign their names as well. Cakes that spelled out “4,000,000”
were then distributed to representatives of all departments. Employees and
important guests gathered around for group pictures. At the end of the day,
Bruce Hoppe and other members of the management team distributed chocolate
cupcakes to everyone as they headed for home.
Management
and staff gather for a group photo.
This four-millionth Copeland Scroll Compressor symbolizes the huge
success achieved by Emerson in Thailand, since they first broke ground in
Rayong in 1997. They initially offered only two Copeland Scroll Compressor
models. Emerson has since extended its product offering to over 300 models,
which includes the state-of-the-art Copeland Digital Scroll Compressor.
Sales has increased ten-fold beginning with only 41,000 units shipped to 5
customers in 1997, to over a million Thailand-built, Copeland Scroll
Compressors per year shipped to 150 customers today. Amidst these rapid
changes, Emerson has consistently produced world-class quality, Copland
Scroll Compressors. Emerson Electric (Thailand) serves the local Thailand
market and exports it products to Asia, US and Europe.
Bruce
Hoppe and Steve Stewart give cakes to the department representatives.
Amari flag will fly at verest base camp
Many famous mountain climbers frequently stay at the
Amari Airport Hotel and thus have become good friends with the Amari Airport
Hotel management and staff. The hotels HJB restaurant even features an
“Everest Corner” and mountaineers who reached the summit of Everest
enjoy a special “Everest rate” with free upgrading to the executive
floor.
Jim
Williams (left), Carrie Dagher (middle) and Robert Jaermann, GM of the Amari
Airport Hotel (right) unveil the Amari flag that will fly at the
mountaineers Everest base camp.
On May 23, 1997, Sherpa Tenzing’s grandson Tashi
unrolled the Amari Flag on the summit of Mt. Everest (8’848 m!) and since
then, the Amari Flag has travelled to several Himalayan mountains.
Well known professional mountain guides Jim Williams (Exploradus, LLC)
from Jackson/USA and his camp manager Carrie Dagher on their way to Nepal
once again stayed at the Amari Airport Hotel and will fly the Amari flag
over their tents at the Everest base camp. “So we will remember the
friendly service and nice facilities of your hotel and we will look forward
to coming back after our climbing adventure,” they said.
Largest containership to Thailand arrives at LCB1 Container Terminal
Laem Chabang Port is finally getting the long due
recognition as being a “World Class” port. This has now become possible
with LCB Container Terminal 1 Ltd. attracting the largest container ship
ever in Thailand. M.V. Karen Maersk, under the able command of Captain Weber
Henrik, docked at LCB1, with its 318 metre length and 6,000 TEU capacity,
making a new era for LCB1 and for Laem Chabang Port as a whole.
 M.V.
Karen Maersk docked at LCB Container Terminal 1, earning the distinction of
becoming the container ship ever to dock in Thailand.
Having state-of-the-art technology, LCB1 is confident of
providing Maersk Sealand vessels a fast turnaround with a high productivity
of 225 TEU (20-foot containers) per hour. Karen Maersk arrived at LCB1 to
exchange 5,600 TEU and stayed only a day in port before proceeding to US
West Coast on a direct 19 day service. “This gives our shippers and
exporters the cutting-edge in their business by ‘Just in Time’ delivery,
said Anil Singh, LCB1 general manager.
Maersk Sealand, the world’s largest shipping line, has
demonstrated their confidence in LCB1, paving the way for larger ships. This
confidence in Thailand’s port infrastructure will boost the export/import
trade. Laem Chabang is in the world’s “Top 20 League” of ports and can
handle the world’s biggest container ships.
Anil Singh proudly boasts of LCB1’s recent investment of over a billion
baht and ISO certification as achievements to make LCB1 a market leader in
port services. “Ships like Karen Maersk demonstrate global confidence in
Thailand’s potential in the Port Sector,” he added.
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