Finance Ministry offers
6.4 percent return
on new bond issue
The Finance Ministry has offered an annual interest rate
of 6.4 percent for its seven-year saving bonds to be issued for the 2006
fiscal year, saying general interest rates are trending higher.
Pannee Sathavarodom, director of the Public Debt
Management Office, said the ministry had issued two lots of saving bonds
worth five billion baht each for fiscal 2005. One, issued in August, had a
maturity of seven years and an annual interest rate of 5.4 percent, while
the other had a maturity of five years and was issued in September at 5.25
percent.
The ministry’s new seven-year, 6.4 percent bond issue
will be worth two billion baht and is expected to be attractive to investors
because of the higher rate on offer. The bonds will go on sale at every
branch of the Kasikorn Bank nationwide from October 14-25. She conceded
interest rates were trending upwards, making it possible for the ministry to
offer higher returns on its next bond issue.
The director advised interested investors not to hesitate
and miss the opportunity to buy because no one knows what the Bank of
Thailand will do to control interest rate movements. The timing, return and
other details of new bond issues depend on market conditions, inflation and
short-term interest rates, she said. Higher inflation would mean higher
interest rates, but she said interest rates would not be raised too high
because it would affect lending for new investments. (TNA)
Government will not allow new bus fare hike until year-end
The government will not allow a new bus fare rise until
the end of this year, Deputy Transport Minister Gen. Chainant Charoensiri
announced.
A new hike on public bus fares would only add more
burdens to passengers already suffering higher costs of living and rising
inflation, Gen. Chainant said.
“The Ministry of Transport has a clear policy not to
allow fare increases of all public buses until the end of this year to ease
passengers’ burdens,” he told journalists.
Representatives of private bus operators met the deputy
transport minister Monday afternoon to submit a demand for the new fare
rise, citing higher fuel costs as the reason for the need to do so. They
asked that the fare for non-air conditioned city buses be raised by Bt 1,
from the current Bt. 7 to Bt. 8 throughout a route, while that of
air-conditioned buses be raised by Bt. 2 for a fixed distance and van buses
by Bt. 5 throughout a route.
Private bus operators threatened to raise their fares
unilaterally from October 19 unless the Ministry of Transport officially
approves their demand for the new fare rise.
Earlier, operators of cross-province bus services also
asked for a new fare increase, citing the same reason. (TNA)
Thailand selected as first
‘partner country’ of ANUGA world fair
Thailand has been selected as the first ‘Partner
Country’ of KoelnMesse, the Cologne Exhibition Center in Germany, which is
the organizer of ‘ANUGA’ fair, the world’s most important trade fair
for food and beverages.
Director-General of the Department of Export Promotion
Chantra Purnariksha on Tuesday signed an agreement with KoelnMesse’s top
executive in Cologne on the designation of Thailand as the first ‘Partner
Country’ of the ANUGA bi-annual fair.
The agreement followed last year’s deal between the
Department of Export Promotion and KoelnMesse in Bangkok, in which the
Cologne Exhibition Center was designated as an allied partner of THAIFEX
& HALFEX fair.
With this agreement, Thai food and beverage products and
Thai tourism and investment will be specially promoted at the next ANUGA
fair in 2007, according to Chantra.
Privileges on exhibition spaces and publicity would also
be provided to Thai booths at the ANUGA fair, she noted.
“KoelnMesse cooperates with several countries; so the
selection of Thailand as its first ‘Partner Country’ for the ANUGA fair
is pleasant news for the Thai kingdom indeed,” she told TNA after signing
the agreement.
Chantra said entrepreneurs of 112 Thai food and beverage
businesses participated in this year’s ANUGA fair, with total trade value
expected to reach Bt14 billion. About Bt 4 billion were products sold or
orders already placed by foreign food and beverage importers during the fair
and the rest are in the process of negotiations. (TNA)
Top banker warns of economic volatility next year
The Thai economy will be able to maintain its growth of 4
percent next year, but will remain volatile amidst inflationary pressure,
according to a top banker.
Kosit Panpiemras, Bangkok Bank’s executive chairman
said on Sunday that the country’s economy would continue to grow in the
next 8-9 months, or through the first half of next year.
The Thai economy would manage to expand at 4 percent, but
its stability would remain fragile due to high inflation rates, he
projected.
At present, he said, economies of major countries such as
the United States and China are still growing satisfactorily. However, the
US needs to raise interest rates further to prevent a possible economic
bubble burst. This could affect economies around the world and dampen
private consumption and investment.
“Despite uncertainties, the Thai economy will be able
to sustain growth. The country’s economic growth this year will be lower
than that of last year, but enjoy more stability,” he said.
On interest rates, Dr. Kosit said, commercial banks had
raised interest rates immediately after the Bank of Thailand (BOT) recently
gave a signal on an upward interest adjustment. He projected that the
interest rates would gradually increase upon the adjustment of monetary
measures to put a brake on the economy.
He shared a comment made recently by Phatra Securities
Public Company Limited’s President Supavuth Saicheu, saying that lending
rates next year would stay at 7-8 percent, while deposit rates would be
around 3-4 percent. (TNA)
94% of Northern Thais affected by bloodstream toxins
Clinical studies show that 94 percent of Thailand’s
northern villagers have toxins in their blood due to the unhygienic foods
which they have consumed.
Often idealized as hardy and healthy, the vast majority
of northern country folk carry many debilitating chemical residues. Dr.
Supakorn Buasai, manager of Thailand Health Promotion Foundation, cited a
Disease Control Department survey of almost 1,700 Chiang Mai residents
between August 2004 and September 2005 showing that the blood in their
bloodstreams was contaminated with varied toxins at alarming levels. In most
cases, the villagers were believed to have consumed vegetables and fruit
that retained chemical pesticide residues or other contaminants. In
addition, more than 100,000 children nationwide were found to have suffered
from diarrhea and food poisoning which continues to occur at an alarming
rate. Of the cases reported, 51 percent of the patients were in the
Northeast, followed by 24 percent in the North, 19 percent in the Central
region and four percent in the South.
Dr. Sopon Mekthon, deputy director general of the Health
Department, said that foods such as meat could be contaminated by bleach,
formalene, anti-fungal preparations and overuse of cooking oil, but such
incidents had declined in domestic markets nationwide. However, a high
degree of pesticides remained in kale and long-stemmed beans, vegetables
that are a common part of the daily diet.
The Fund for Health-Building Promotion has not only
contributed to the Thai Food for World Kitchen campaign, but also launched a
food safety project, nutritional foods, and stability in food supplies
programs.
The Foundation has allocated a Bt 300 million (US$ 7.5
million) budget to be used for several years on its food projects.
The World Health Organization has set Oct 16 as World
Food Day, also observed by Thailand and 183 other WHO member countries.
(TNA)
Budget for state energy saving campaigns in 2006 set at Bt 2 billion
The government has earmarked an initial budget of Bt 2
billion for state energy saving campaigns in the new 2006 fiscal year.
The budget is part of the government’s total Bt 8
billion energy conservation promotional fund, according to Deputy Prime
Minister Wissanu Krea-Ngam.
The planned energy conservation campaigns for this 2006
fiscal year, which began on October 1, include advertisements on the local
media and rewards to energy saving winners, namely students, janitors and
agencies.
A government panel overseeing the fund, chaired by
Wissanu, has also agreed to provide a Bt 2 billion loan to the country’s
petroleum giant, PTT Public Company Limited (PTT), to be used for the
promotion of natural gas vehicles (NGV) among local motorists. (TNA)
Thailand tops list of foreign investors in Lao PDR
Thailand was the largest-scale foreign investor in the
Lao People’s Democratic Republic for the first nine months of this year.
Chalermpon Pongchabubnapa, Thai commercial counselor in Vientiane said that
from January to September this year, Thailand topped the list of foreign
investors in Laos, with its approved investment in 25 of the country’s
major projects amounting to US$ 450 million (Bt 18,430 million), or 36
percent of total investment. Ranking after Thailand on the list are France,
Vietnam, Australia and South Korea.
Promotions for foreign investment has mostly been made in
generating electricity, which accounts for 85 percent of total investment,
while the balance of investments have gone into mining, agriculture,
handicraft, hotels, restaurants, wood industry, construction, and textiles.
This year’s total foreign investment has increased 133
percent, compared to last year’s total foreign investment of US$ 533
million (Bt.21.3 billion) (TNA)
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