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MINT to join the S.E.T.’s Food & Beverage Sector index
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (S.E.T.) has informed
Minor International (MINT) of its plan to include MINT as part of its Food
and Beverage Sector index to better reflect the company’s business profile
and large food and beverage business. From July 1, 2005, MINT will be
included in the SET’s Agro and Food Industry Group’s Food and Beverage
Sector index rather than the Service Industry Group’s Hotel and Travel
Sector index.
MINT is pleased with the SET’s decision and believes
that it reflects the relative size and strength of its food and beverage
business which accounts for a majority of its total revenue. In 2004,
MINT’s branded food service operations with nearly 500 restaurants
accounted for 4,479 million baht, or 55% of total revenue. MINT’s food and
beverage business was listed on the SET as the Minor Food Group (MFG) and
was de-listed in January 2005 after MINT acquired a 100% stake in MFG
following a successful tender offer.
Despite joining the SET’s food and beverage sector
index, MINT remains committed to expanding all of its businesses including
its hotel, retail property, and spa businesses which accounted for 3,450
million baht or 42% of total sales in 2004.
Minor International is Thailand’s largest food service operator with
over 500 outlets system wide under The Pizza Company, Swensen’s, Sizzler,
Dairy Queen and Burger King. It is one of Thailand’s leading hotel
operators with a portfolio of ten hotels and nearly 2,100 rooms under the
Marriott, Four Seasons, Anantara and Royal Garden brands in Thailand and
Vietnam. Through a joint venture with Marriott International, it has
developed the 144 room Marriott Vacation Club Time Share in Phuket. It is
also one of the largest spa operators in the Asia Pacific region with 15
spas in Thailand and China under the Mandara, Anantara and other spa brands.
Noble laureate still upbeat about Thai economy
The Thai economy has not deteriorated to a worrying level
although it has been affected by rising oil prices, according to a Nobel
laureate.
Prof. Edward C. Prescott, who was awarded the 2004 Noble
Prize in Economics, said hefty fuel prices in the world market had not yet
reached a critical point.
At present, economies in the United States and West
Europe still have potential for growth and those in Southeast Asia, except
that of Japan, continue to expand.
He said the Thai economy would not be adversely affected
by the oil price surge if market mechanisms were adopted properly. The
government’s decision to float local fuel prices was justifiable.
He added the trade deficit incurred by the US remained
not of concern although debts were huge.
Naturally, the well-off could incur huge debts because
they have strong financial status.
At present, the debt/earning ratio of the US remains at
28% of gross domestic product. The huge debts incurred by the US are
considered a red in the account only.
He projected the global economy in the second half of
this year would still be affected by the fuel price rise. (TNA)
WB and ADB ready
to finance mega projects
The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have
shown interest in giving loan supports for Thailand’s mega-projects since
they view the schemes are worth investment, according to a leading fund
manager.
Pichit Akarathit, president of MFC Asset Management Plc,
who is also an advisor to investment projects, including Bangkok’s
seven-route skytrain extension project, said that many financial
institutions and fund managers had been keen on financing the government’s
large-scale infrastructure projects.
Included are the World Bank, the ADB, International
Finance Company, and foreign funds keen on investment in the basic
infrastructure.
As a result, the amount needed for investment in the
projects should not be a concern, and he expects them to get off the ground
in the fourth quarter of this year.
He said details of the mega-projects would be presented
to foreign fund managers who are due to participate in the next Thailand
Focus Forum, to be held here at the end of this month.
He believes the presentation would give investors proper
understanding of the projects, which could attract a large amount foreign
investment.
It would also help boost investment sentiment in the Thai
stock market, he noted.
In the past, most investors remained uncertain since
information they obtained was ambiguous and they had the opinion that the
projects would experience delays. (TNA)
3 “big players” suspected of leading share manipulation
Three “key players” have been found leading groups of
individual and juristic persons suspected of having being involved in share
manipulation on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, according to the Anti-Money
Laundering Office.
Pol Maj Gen Peeraphan Premputhi, the AMLO’s
secretary-general, said the Securities and Exchange Commission had asked
AMLO to examine the financial transactions and sources of one major share
trader on the stock market.
He said AMLO had examined the case and found there are
three core players leading groups of 10-15 individual persons and 10-20
juristic persons whose financial sources are linked.
The trio would play a key role in providing margin
accounts to the groups so that they could bring in money to purchase stocks
of one listed firm and then push up its prices to the level that attracts
small investors.
He stated the groups would accumulate the stocks in a bid
to manipulate the prices. But the accumulation would not exceed 5% of the
total shares available in the market in order to avoid reporting the share
transaction to SEC.
Once the stock prices increased to a certain level, they
would dump the shares to gain profits from the difference. The dumping would
make small investors unable to sell off the shares in time. Eventually, they
need to hold the shares at very high prices.
He said such manipulation resulted in the fortune gains
of hundreds of millions of baht.
“We will give our information on the examination of
financial sources through the computer system to SEC so that it can use it
for the final decision on whether such behavior is considered share
manipulation.
“Should share manipulation be found and persons
involved be executives of companies, they will be subject to a 5-10 year
sentence in prison and a fine of 500,000 baht or both under the Securities
Act B.E. 2535. As well, SEC is authorized to freeze their assets for 180
days,” he said. (TNA)
BOT chief satisfied
with current baht movement
Bank of Thailand (BOT)’s Governor M.R. Pridiyathorn
Devakula has expressed satisfaction with the currency movement following the
bank’s move to curb speculation on the money market.
He said on Wednesday that the market condition and the
baht were rather stable with no speculation found after the bank instructed
securities companies to limit lending in baht through non-resident accounts
early this week.
“The speculation on the Thai currency has eased
significantly after we sought cooperation with securities companies. Now we
haven’t found any attempt to speculate on the baht. But we will closely
monitor it and make a move immediately if we witness any signs of
speculation,” he said.
The BOT chief conceded that only one securities company
was found to have been involved in baht speculation.
Even so, the central bank needs to issue measures to curb
this quickly in order to prevent other securities firms from following suit,
which could lead to baht volatility.
He disclosed that the involved company is a securities
arm of a foreign firm registered in Thailand.
It made a baht-denominated loan contract with a foreign
bank, which is under the umbrella of the foreign firm.
Such behavior is seen as tantamount to seeking money for
baht speculation, he said.
On the currency movement last week, the baht weakened by
0.27 percent to 40.89 baht to the US dollar, but strengthened by 0.06
percent against the euro. (TNA)
IMF unconcerned over
Thai growth rates
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has fallen behind
the Bank of Thailand (BOT)’s assessment that the nation’s projected
failure to meet its 5 percent growth target for the year is not a matter of
concern, BOT Governor Pridiyathorn Devakula revealed this past week.
The governor of the central bank, where IMF officials
recently collected Thailand’s latest economic figures, told reporters that
the IMF opinion was broadly similar to the BOT’s; that is, Thailand is
unlikely to meet its 5 percent economic growth target for 2005, but this is
not worrying when the whole world is also experiencing economic slowdown.
And while the IMF expressed unease over Thailand’s
incipient current account deficit, it predicted that over the second half of
this year the current account deficit would ease, and that the nation’s
economic stability would remain solid.
Compared to many other nations, Thailand’s current
account deficit is relatively low, while its foreign reserves are high,
putting its economy in a much stronger position.
The main warning from the IMF concerns large-scale
government infrastructure development projects.
While conceding that the projects are necessary for
economic growth and would help stimulate economic expansion by around 0.5
percent in 2006, the IMF cautioned that the investments would need to
produce clear economic returns, and that they should not lead to a rise in
the current account deficit, currently valued at around USD3 billion. (TNA)
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