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Published on March 1, 2008

Salya Sukhonthsub, retail manager of Shell Companies in Thailand, said the $2.95-a-barrel increase would raise domestic price 59 satang a litre. The $3.95 increase in diesel will raise the domestic diesel price 79 satang a litre. Shell, which lost Bt100 million last month from retail oil, will make a decision next week whether to raise prices after receiving the weekly closing price.

PTT senior executive Chaivat Churitti said it would be clear next Monday whether retail oil prices would be raised again. He said retailers now lost 40-50 satang a litre on all oil products.

Retail oil prices were already raised this week, sending diesel to a new record high of Bt29.94 a litre.

The Nation

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Blue Elephant

Blue Elephant International, owner of the Blue Elephant restaurant chain, will pay ¤1 million (Bt48.62 million) for a fast-food shop in France that will be transformed into a Thai fast-food stand. The first one is scheduled to open in the second half of next year.

Selling food priced at Bt160 to Bt480 a dish, compared with Bt320 for a hamburger, the fast-food shops are expected to receive a warm welcome in Europe and the US, said vice chairman Taweesert Putthawong.

The company will also open food counters in supermarkets, starting in Hong Kong, where average monthly sales should reach Bt1 million.

The Nation

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Profit increase

Hana Microelectronics, a Thai manufacturer of electronic components, recorded a 10.36-per-cent rise in its 2007 net profit, on higher sales, a one-time gain and foreign-exchange gains.

Its net profit was Bt2.45 billion, up from Bt2.22 billion a year earlier. Sales revenue climbed to Bt15.63 billion from Bt15 billion, while foreign-exchange gains rose to Bt179.7 million, from Bt100.1 million.

The Nation

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Gulf exploration

Horizon Oil has signed a farming-out arrangement with Pearl Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of UAE-based Aabar Energy, to acquire a 20-per-cent participating interest in three exploration concessions in the Gulf of Thailand, the company said in a statement.

Under the terms of the transaction, Horizon Oil will pay 40 per cent of the seismic and drilling costs of the initial three-year work programmes for blocks G1/48, G3/48 and G6/48, earning a 20-per-cent participating interest in each of the three concessions. 

The Nation