Corporate Briefs

The Commerce Ministry proposal to cut valueadded tax from 7 per cent to 3 per cent was impossible in the current situation, Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee insisted yesterday.

After several tax measures, a cut in VAT would further deplete government revenue. Surapong instead urged manufacturers to control their costs and adjust to higher efficiency, while the government would prevent stagflation low demand amid high inflation.

He also believed inflation pressure in the second half would weaken, due to the fall in global oil prices. - The Nation

More firms to use backhaul scheme

Three pairs of companies have joined hands to reduce logistics costs, aiming to reduce truck space on return trips socalled "backhaul".

In the trial period, the firms will see 18 backhaul trucks filled each month, saving Bt1.1 million in fuel costs a year.

Launched in 2007, the backhaul programme will expand to cover more industries, aiming to reduce fuel costs by Bt10 million per year. The Nation

Big increase in KTB deposits

Krung Thai Bank said yesterday 2008 firsthalf deposits grew by Bt100 billion, about a third up on expectations. Of this, about Bt26 billion was buoyed by 3month fixedrate deposits.

The bank reported that its retail lending for the first six months also expanded, causing its outstanding lending to stand at Bt65 billion. - The Nation

Diamond roof tiles popular in Oz

Diamond Roofing Tiles has boosted the market for "Diamond" roof tiles in Australia, aided by the ThailandAustralia freetrade pact.

Satid Sudbuntad, deputy managing director for sales and marketing, said the company was enjoying export growth of 12 per cent to Bt2.8 billion this year. Initially, it planned to export its roofing tiles to Australia through large home¬building firms. In addition, the company plans to establish a distributor of its "Jiaranai" roof¬ing tile in Australia over the next few years.

Satid said the company also plans to expand exports to other countries such as India, Japan, and Korea. - The Nation

PTTEP starts oil and gas production

PTT Exploration and Production reported that its subsidiary PTTEP Hoan Vu, which acquired a 25 per cent stake in the Vietnam 92 proj¬ect, commenced crude oil and natural gas production from Ca Ngu Vang (CNV) oil field on July 25. The company's sub¬sidiary can produce 8,000 bar¬rels of crude oil per day and 20 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of natural gas. The production of the two prod¬ucts is expected to reach a tar¬get of 20,000 barrels per day and 50 MMSCFD by the end of this year.

The petroleum products will be delivered and processed at the nearby Bach Ho production platform, operated by Vietsopetro. It will sell gas to the stateowned enterprise Vietnam Oil and Gas Group.

Correction:

An article yesterday referring to the Manulife Asset Management had an error. Only CEO Alan Kam will leave the company, not the marketing team.