TOT and CAT face joint operation

CAT has proposed buying all 58 per cent of the shares held by TOT in Thai Mobile worth Bt3.3 billion, while TOT has proposed buying CAT's 42-per-cent share worth Bt2.4 billion.

The boards of TOT and CAT will convene to make a final decision on which will sell the shares today and tomorrow, respectively.

Crackdown on firms evading tax

The Revenue Department will take tough measures against multinational firms and car-repair shops suspected of tax evasion, Deputy Finance Minster Pradit Phatraprasit said yesterday.

He said the Revenue Department had found that many multinational firms did not pay taxes properly as they took advantage of a loophole in the Revenue Code. He said the department would amend the code to close the loophole.

Tax collected from large companies accounts for about 50 per cent of receipts of corporate income tax, he said.

Meanwhile, Sanit Rangnoi, director-general of the Revenue Department, said tax officials would closely examine car-repair shops that provide retrofitting of engines powered by natural gas for vehicles. Several shops have evaded tax payments, he said.

    The Revenue Code is being tightened up to strengthen tax collections from multinational companies, which have exploited legal loopholes in doing business here.

APCO gets Bt1m research grant

The Agricultural Research Development Agency has granted Bt1 million to Asian Phytoceuticals' Thai Mangosteen Research and Development Centre to research and develop extracts from mangosteen for commercial use.

Established in 1977, the centre has developed extracts from mangosteen for use in the pharmaceutical industry. Researchers have found that these can heal some diseases safely and without side effects.