Briefs Column

By The Nation
Published on August 2, 2008

Jasmine rice push in Yasothon, Surin

The Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry has encouraged farmers in Yasothon and Surin to grow more organic jasmine rice to serve rising demand, particu¬larly from Uganda.

Anant Phusitthikul, secre¬tarygeneral of the Agricultural Land Reform Office, said yes¬terday that the plan would cover 3,500 rai. About 500 farmers are expected to partic¬ipate.

The office forecast that organicrice production in the promoted areas would hit 1,875 tonnes by 2010. - The Nation

Tax fund mulled for foreign investment

The Department of Export Promotion has urged the Finance Ministry to set up a tax fund to support Thai busi¬nessmen investing overseas.

Rachane Potjanasuntorn, directorgeneral of the depart¬ment, said yesterday that busi¬nesses should have an incen¬tive to invest abroad.

In particular, the govern¬ment should consider a tax waiver as well as providing a source of soft loans for such investment.

The department has pro¬posed a Bt5billion tax fund, but the Finance Ministry is likely to take about two years to consider the plan, said Rachane.

"The ministry can impose conditions for businessmen wishing enjoy such tax privi¬leges, such as having to repa¬triate foreignexchange income back to Thailand," he added. - The Nation

CEO buys $11.3m of Merrill stock

Merrill Lynch chief executive officer John Thain bought US$11.3 million (Bt379 mil¬lion) of stock in the firm's record public offering this week, regulatory filings show.

Thain, a former Goldman Sachs Group president who joined New Yorkbased Merrill as CEO last December, bought 500,000 shares at $22.50 apiece, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Merrill Lynch president Greg Fleming and brokerage head Robert McCann each bought 100,000 shares, according to separate filings.

Merrill, the thirdlargest US securities firm, sold $9.8 bil¬lion of stock in the July 29 sale, the biggest socalled sec¬ondary offering in US history. The stock has since climbed, closing at $26.65 in Thursday's New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

At that price, Thain's paper profit on the new shares is $2.08 million.

The purchase increased his stake in the firm to 1.04 mil¬lion shares, with a market value of $27.7 million. - Bloomberg

PTT in talks to buy 1m tonnes of LNG

PTT is in talks to buy 1 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas a year from the United Kingdom's BP to meet rising local demand.

The negotiations are expected to conclude in two months and the fuel should be supplied in 2011, PTT senior executive vice president Chitrapongse Kwangsukstith said yesterday.

Stateowned PTT is in talks with companies, including Indonesia's Pertamina and suppliers in Qatar, to secure longterm gas contracts. It plans to buy as much as 1.5 million tonnes of LNG a year for at least a decade.

PTT and its unit PTT Exploration and Production are in discussions with Pertamina to buy a stake in a naturalgas project in the Natuna Sea, said Chitrapongse.

"There is a possibility that we will get the stake because we are one of the biggest gas users in this region," he said. - Bloomberg

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Briefs Column

Jasmine rice push in Yasothon, Surin

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