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Investment applications

dropped 29.69 per cent to

Bt446.3 billion last year, the

Board of Investment said yes¬

terday.

 The number of projects also

declined, by 1.64 per cent to

1,262.

 Secretary-general Atchaka

Brimble said this year's target

would be maintained at Bt650

billion, if upstream steel proj¬

ects could be kicked off.

 Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva

would chair the BoI meeting

and the investment promotion

agency will host an investor

conference on January 19.

CAT president quits

CAT Telecom president Phisal

Jorphochaudom tendered his

resignation to the company's

board yesterday.

  It was approved by the board

and took effect immediately.

  Phisal reportedly cited health

problems plus concerns about a

possible conflict of interest. He

had been director of Asean

Telecom Holdings, 14-per-cent

owned by CAT, before assuming

CAT's top job but did not inform

the board about that until after¬

wards.

 

Six institutions to issue Bt24 bn baht bonds

Six international financial institutions will be allowed to issue a

combined Bt24-billion worth of

baht bonds in the first half of the

year, says the Public Debt

Management Office.

  They can issue no more than

Bt4 billion each. The issuers are

Agence Francaise de

Developpement, the

International Bank for

Reconstruction and

Development, International

Finance, Kommunalbanken

Norway, Nordic Investment Bank

and Swedish Export Credit.

 

Tesco Lotus's Royal Projects campaign

Tesco Lotus has kicked off its

"Royal Projects Festival" to

underscore that the company

buys more than Bt50 million

baht worth of fresh produce

from the projects annually, or 31

per cent of their output.

  Chairman Sunthorn

Arunanondchai said next year

the purchase volume would

increase to Bt120 million.

  He said the projects helped

farmers and provided Tesco cus¬

tomers with quality farm pro¬

duce at a reasonable price.

MJets expands fleet

MJets, a private-jet company

under the Minor umbrella, is set

to expand its fleet with the delivery of a Citation X next month.

  Nishita Shah, an MJet's director, said the Citation X was the

world's fastest non-military jet

and could fly eight passengers

between Bangkok and Dubai in

less than six hours.

  MJets offers private flights to

destinations in Thailand and

throughout Asia. - The Nation

 

JV gets loan for Rayong factory

PTT Asahi Chemical, a joint venture of PTT, Asahi Kasei and Marubeni, borrowed US$400 million (Bt13.97 billion) to help pay for a new petrochemical plant in Rayong provinc, according to Bloomberg.

The Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi-UFJ, Mizuho Corporate Bank, Norinchukin Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, Sumitomo Trust and Banking, HSBC Holdings and ING Bank provided the loan. - The Nation

 

Internet fair

CAT Telecom and the Thailand Internet Service Provider Association will co-host "Thailand Internet Expo 2009" from January 30 to February 1 at Siam Paragon, aimed at promoting Internet technology in life and business.

 More than 100 Internet service providers, hardware and software manufacturers and application developers will be showcased at the event. About 100,000 visitors are expected to spend more than Bt100 million. The event will also feature seminars on new trends in Internet technology, such as broadband.

 Thailand has 13 million Internet subscribers, more than a million of them using broadband. The market for Internet access services will be worth an estimated Bt15 billion this year, up 20 per cent from last year.

Biotechnology deal

The National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (Biotec) had reached a collaborative research, licensing and commercialisation agreement with Asia Star Animal Health.

 The agreement establishes the framework for Biotec and Asia Star to develop and market products commercially using Biotec's proprietary targets and technology in areas related to the production of locally made feed enzymes for use as an additive for land-based livestock. Biotec will receive technology-access fees, regulatory-milestone payments and royalties from sales. For the past decade, imports of enzymes into Thailand amounted to more than Bt1 billion a year. - The Nation

 

Sansiri launches Bt5-bn Quattro

Sansiri has launched its latest

condominium project worth Bt5

billion called Quattro on Soi

Thonglor.

 The project's twin towers will

accommodate 446 units. Pre-

sales have already reached Bt2

billion after the opening early

this week.

 Quattro is one of 16 residential

projects worth up to Bt20 bil¬

lion that are planned for this

year, president Srettha Thavisin

said yesterday.

Thai Ha postpones private placement

Thai Ha has delayed the private

placement of 27 million shares

due to unfavourable economic

conditions. The company

planned to use the sale pro¬

ceeds to expand capacity.

 CEO Somroek Tangphiruntham

said yesterday the company

still expected its revenue to rise

from Bt2.25 billion last year to

Bt2.4 billion, if the baht stays at

35 per US dollar, gross domes¬

tic product expands 3 per cent

and the global economy grows

2 per cent.

 He expects jasmine rice will

fetch US$1,000 per tonne this

year, up from $800 last year.

Logistics cluster launched

Siam Logistics Alliance, which

will be a cluster of 26 local

SMEs,

will be launched on January 16.

It aims at pooling their facilities

and services as well as sharing

their costs in a bid to compete

with large international firms.

 The establishment of SLA -

chaired by Piyanuch Samrith,

managing director of NIM See

Seng Transport 1988 - was

supported by the Business

Development Department after

the success in establishing Thai

Alliances Logistics a few years

ago.

 The firms participating in SLA

are from such fields as customs

clearance, warehousing and

transport. 

CI Group denies takeover rumours

CI Group denied

rumours of its takeover by a

leading air-conditioning firm,

saying that none of its major

shareholders have heard of the

move.

 Aree Poomsanoa, CEO and

managing director, said no

major stockholders have con¬

sidered selling their stakes.

 He also said the company had

secured a contract to supply

parts to Carrier and expects

more deals.

Etihad flies high

Etihad Airways flew more than 6 million passengers last year, up 34 per cent from 2007, while the average load factor rose from 68 per cent to 75 per cent.

  Etihad turned in a particularly strong performance in Thailand, with revenue up 42 per cent and passenger numbers up 21 per cent year on year. Etihad flights from Bangkok routinely fly more than 82-per-cent full. - The Nation

Nivea countersleadership claim

Referring to article

"Unilever smells more sales

from new Axe", Francom Asia,

the publicist of Nivea, coun

tered that Unilever is second in

the deodorant market after

Nivea.

 Nivea's market share was 38.4

per cent, according to the

Nielsen Panel survey released

in November. - The Nation