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Government savings
bonds with 4.00%
interest available at
Bangkok Bank branches
Bangkok Bank is distributing the seventh tranche of three-year government
savings bonds worth 500 million baht, at an interest rate of 4.00 percent
per annum. The bonds are issued by the Public Debt Management Office of the
Ministry of Finance and are available to the public via Bangkok Bank’s
nationwide branch network (excluding Micro branches) from May 15-27.
The first seven tranches of government savings bonds offered since October
2007 have received strong public interest.
Bangkok Bank is distributing the bonds every month over a 12-month period
until September 2008. The bonds are being offered for sale for eight working
days, starting from the 15th day of each month.
The interest rate which will be offered on each tranche of bonds will be
announced two days prior to the date of sale. The rate for each month will
be based on the average yield of three-year government bonds during the five
working days prior to the date of fixing the interest rate, and a spread of
not more than 15 percent will be added on top of the average rate.
Interest on the bonds will be paid twice a year, and the bonds will mature
three years after the date of sale (October 15, 2010-September 15, 2011).
Investors interested in these bonds can contact a Bangkok Bank branch or
find further information at www. bangkokbank.com.
World growth patterns could keep emerging market economies strong
While record-high oil prices and a U.S. recession are causing
a slowdown in most industrial countries and in the global economy, record-high
commodity prices and the shifts in world growth patterns are likely to keep most
emerging markets on the rise, said Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services in a
special report.
The article, entitled “Growing Emerging Markets reduce the global impact of the
U.S. Recession,” examines the trade and financial flows between industrial and
emerging markets and shows that the world’s economies are more tightly entwined
than they have ever been.
“High commodity prices are a problem for the industrial countries, almost all of
which are commodity importers, but a boon to the many emerging economies that
are net exporters of commodities,” said Standard & Poor’s chief economist David
Wyss. “While Latin America and the OPEC countries are the greatest
beneficiaries, sub-Saharan Africa is also a winner, averaging 5.4% real growth
over the past five years, perhaps its best performance in history. Although we
think commodity prices will moderate from current levels, they will remain high
enough to keep these economies strong,” he added.
Wyss also noted that the talk of decoupling in the world economy is misplaced.
“Trade and financial flows show that the world economies are more tightly
entwined than they have ever been. The world’s economic train has more engines
attached to it than in the past,” he said.
In 2006, the last year for which there is full data, the U.S. accounted for only
12% of world growth - barely one-third its share a decade earlier. China’s share
has expanded to 30% of world growth, and India and Eastern Europe each account
for 11%. While the U.S. remains the largest economy, others are moving faster
than the U.S. and are contributing more to growth.
Standard & Poor’s expects world growth to slow to 3.9% this year from 4.8% last
year (International Monetary Fund purchasing power weights), still healthy by
historical standards (to 3.1% from 3.9% weighted by nominal exchange rates).
(S & P Media Release)
Multinational manufacturer in Thailand charged with copyright infringement
A successful multinational machine-tools manufacturer
operating in Thailand was recently charged with copyright infringement on
software worth an estimated 12 million baht.
The company, which supplies international manufacturers of automobiles, home
electronics, office equipment and other precision products, allegedly used
unlicensed CAD software to design tools and moulds and also used unlicensed word
processing, accounting and dictionary software.
Thai Police officials raided the company based on a tip. This represents one of
the largest software copyright infringement cases ever brought against a
corporate end-user in Thailand.
The company was raided after a one-month investigation and the issuing of a
court order, said Pol. Maj. Gen Visut Vanichbut, Commander of the Economic and
Technical Crimes Suppression Division (ECOTEC).
At least 38 of the company’s PCs are suspected of containing unlicensed
software.
“We believe this company has broken Thailand’s intellectual property laws. Such
acts undermine the economy of Thailand and the country’s IT sector,” said ECOTEC
Pol. Col. Sarayut Pultunya. “Our enforcement team is dedicated to protecting the
intellectual property rights of innovators in Thailand. Business people who
knowingly or unknowingly use unlicensed software face fines and business
disruptions.”
Businesses that want to certify that their software is fully licensed should
firstly perform a software audit to identify software that has been installed in
their computers. They should then check their list of software against the
software licenses that they had previously purchased. Businesses are recommended
to implement a Software Asset management (SAM) practice in their organization so
that the use of software can be closely monitored. The Business Software
Alliance (www. bsa.org) offers resources for companies that want to implement
SAM.
“This is a significant case and we congratulate Pol. Maj. Gen Visut Vanichbut
and Pol. Col. Sarayut Pultunya of ECOTEC for a job well done,” said Tarun
Sawney, Director of Antipiracy in the Asia region for the Business Software
Alliance (BSA). “We encourage companies to ensure they use legal software in
order to avoid enforcement actions.” (Vero PR)
Thai bourse holds its 2nd online stock investment game
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and Settrade. Com are
running an online investment simulation game SET Click2Win 2008 to expand the
investor base. Both novice and experienced investors are invited to compete for
more than THB 2 million in prizes, by applying during April 30 to September 30,
2008 at www. settrade.com/click2win.
More than 17,000 applicants from all over Thailand participated in last year’s
event. This year, the project will offer bigger prizes and more awards, SET
Executive Vice President Vichate Tantiwanich said.
“SET Click2Win 2008 will familiarize investors with internet trading and give
members of the public the opportunity to execute bids and offers in real-time
and with real information. Therefore, it is important that they become familiar
with the stock analyses, covering about 240 listed stocks, distributed through
www.settrade .com. We expect 20,000 applicants this year,” Vichate said.
There are two types of contestants: 1) professional investors, who have trading
accounts with marketing representatives or currently trade stocks through the
internet, and 2) interested individuals, who have no experience in stock trading
but wish to take part in the game to learn and practice.
The prizes for winners in SET Click2Win 2008 include more than THB 2 million in
investments in ThaiDEX SET50 ETF, an equity Exchange Traded Fund.
The winner in the professional investor category will receive a prize worth THB
300,000, while the first-time category winner will receive a prize worth
THB100,000. There will be 100 special prizes, each worth THB 5,000, for the
first 500 contestants with the highest monthly scores and the top scorer
overall. There will be special prizes for each month’s winner and the five
contestants who have brought the most friends into the program. (SET)
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