"Preliminary investigations show that rain caused floods and there is possibility that water seeps into the tanks through the seals," said PTT senior executive vice president Chaiwat Chooritti, who apologised for the damage. He added that PTT was ready to take responsibility.

He also insisted the quality of gasohol and other fuels at PTT stations were up to the standards set by the Energy Ministry and all cars should not be affected. He also asked  consumers who still have doubts about the fuel quality to contact the company at (02) 537 2538. - The Nation.

Rice : Ministry wins higher prices

The Commerce Ministry yesterday approved the sale of 281,272 tonnes of jasmine rice to 14 bidders and 200,000 tonnes of 5-per-cent white rice to four winners, after successfully negotiating price increases of Bt500 to Bt700 per tonne.

Apiradi Tantraporn, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, said yesterday the ministry would soon gradually open bidding to clear the government stockpiles once or twice per month.

The price gained for jasmine rice was at Bt10,000 to Bt14,850 per tonne, and Bt10,500 to Bt10,700 per one tonne of 5 per cent white rice from the 2004-05 harvest season. - The Nation.

Natural park : Bank forces sale of shares

Siam City Bank, as the creditor, has forced Natural Park, as the debtor, to sell 177 million shares of Pacific Assets and 205 million shares of Sansiri which had been pledged as collateral for a Bt1.3-billion loan after both parties failed to agree on debt restructuring. The bank yesterday announced the auction for shares of both firms.

Natural Park earlier said it could not make an agreement on the restructuring and it had asked the bank to extend the maturity, but the bank declined. - The Nation.

Suvarnabhumi : AOT set to talk with ministry 

Airports of Thailand (AOT) is ready to talk with the Transport Ministry to solve all problems that have affected operations at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

After a meeting with Transport Minister Admiral Theera Haocharoen yesterday, the company's chairman General Saprang Kalayanamitr said the minister had allowed AOT to change its board. The change will allow AOT to work on solving problems such as noise pollution and maintenance at the airport quicker than in the past.

Saprang added AOT was also willing to negotiate with King Power Duty Free and King Power Suvarnabhumi on the case that the companies had filed with the Civil Court seeking compensation of Bt68 billion for their business losses from the withdrawal of their agreement.

"We want to end the case as fast as we can to bring our operations back to normal," he said. - The Nation.

Vietnam : Investors flock to Laos border

The Lao Bao commercial zone in the Vietnam-Laos border area in central Quang Tri province has so far attracted 50 projects with total investment of 2 trillion dong (Bt4.32 billion), according to Viet Nam News Agency.

Investment has seen interest from both local and international businesses, notably those from China, Thailand and Singapore. A Chinese company has inaugurated the first stage of a project to build a US$4.5 million (Bt155.25 million) commercial complex. It will pour an additional $6 million into building a four-star hotel and $3.9 million into a transport service centre.

Among the big local investors in the area, Nam Hiep Thanh Construction stands out with an investment of 480 billion dong feeding construction of a 9.2-hectare commercial centre.

The centre will include two supermarkets costing 80 billion dong built on 32,000 square metres and a four-star hotel worth 150 billion dong.

The Lao Bao commercial zone was established in 1998 to take advantage of the East-West Economic Corridor running from India through Burma, Thailand and Laos to Vietnam. - The Nation.