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Thailand recovers millions of baht by selling assets of fugitive former BBC bankers
An asset management body of a Thai bank that collapsed
after a massive fraud scheme in 1996 claimed it recovered nearly one billion
baht by selling seized assets in Switzerland of fugitive bankers behind the
bank’s fall. Banyong Visetmongkolchai, chief executive of Bangkok Bank of
Commerce (BBC) Asset Management Company, told journalists that the money
would be handed to the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF).
‘’We got the money by selling off 59,000 shares in
Claire Finanze Holiding-AG, a Swiss asset company. We are working on selling
off an apartment in Cannes, which is worth around 600 million baht, and
another 59,000 shares in a company involved in hotel and catering service,
worth around 700 million baht. I expect it all done by January next
year,’’ Banyong said.
The BBC collapsed eight years ago after a massive
embezzlement by a group of its former executives. Among the executives
implicated is an Indian-born Thai banker, Rakesh Saxena, who has been
fighting an extradition lawsuit in Canada. The Thai government alleges that
Saxena was the mastermind of the bank fraud. He was arrested in 1996 in a
luxury hotel north of Vancouver.
Banyong said his asset restructuring team expects to recover less than
half amount of the money embezzled from the bank, or around 4 billion baht.
‘’That is more money than we thought we could recover. It is quite
satisfying because it is not an easy debt case. We got help from the Bank of
Thailand, the Office of Attorney General and related law enforcement
agencies,’’ he said. (TNA)
BOI puts weight behind movie industry
The Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI) is throwing its
weight behind investment in Thailand’s burgeoning movie sector with new
concessions to encourage foreign movie companies to shoot films in the
kingdom, revealing ambitious aims of boosting revenue from the industry to
14 billion baht within the next four years.
Minister of Industry Pinij Jarusombat, said that the new
measures would boost Thailand’s competitiveness in the movie industry and
related services and attract more foreign movie companies to shoot in
Thailand.
Under the new proposals, a fund will be created to
promote the domestic movie industry, with legislation on its establishment
already being prepared by the Ministry of Culture. Measures will also be
taken to develop more specialist personnel for the movie sector, with the
private sector, educational institutions and the Thai Cinematic Association
cooperating to develop new study curricula for screen writers, technicians,
subtitle writers and other industry workers. In terms of taxation, the BOI
will propose that the Ministry of Finance slashes import taxes on
movie-making equipment and raw materials used in the movie industry.
Foreign movie companies will be lured to Thailand by a
new one-stop service center established by the Ministry of Tourism and
Sports, which will facilitate foreign companies wishing to shoot films in
Thailand.
New criteria will also speed the process to gain permission to shoot in
the kingdom, while various government agencies will cooperate to ensure that
work permits and visas are issued promptly to each movie team. Most
importantly, foreign companies will be offered special tax breaks and public
relations packages. (TNA)
Thai car makers to
research energy efficient autos
High tax on new cars could kill golden goose
A historic hike in prices of world crude oil is driving
Thai car makers to think about manufacturing automobiles that can reduce oil
consumption. Adisak Rohitasoon, vice executive chairman of Asian Honda
Motors Company said even though the government’s oil price subsidy program
could save aid consumers on big fuel bills, it could not solve the problem.
‘’A rise in petrol prices doesn’t affect car sales. People still buy
cars. In fact, we have sold 20-30 percent more cars this year. We expect to
sell around 600,000 cars, and at least 2 million motorcycles by the end of
this year,’’ he said.
Adisak said that because demand for cars and motorcycles
is rising, the government should find ways to reduce demand for fuel.
‘’Several car makers are looking into making cars more energy efficient
- a car that consumes 1 liter of fuel for every 12-13 kilometers,’’ he
said.
He criticized the government’s plan to impose tax burdens on owners of
new cars, saying it would negatively affect the national dream of becoming
the Detroit of Asia, a regional production hub for automobiles. ‘’If you
want to be a regional major automobile producer, why would you want impose
more tax burdens on car buyers when that would only restrict people from
buying a new car?’’ he asked. He pointed out that one in every 10 Thais
owns a car, while one in every 2 Americans or Japanese is a car owner. (TNA)
Alcohol market slumps as gas prices soar
In what will come as welcome news for anti drunk-driving
campaigners, the public appears to be reducing its expenditure on alcohol in
response to skyrocketing fuel prices, according to a report published
recently by a leading think tank.
The report by the Kasikorn Research Center suggests that
2004 will prove a bad year for producers of alcoholic beverages, despite the
healthy growth rate of the Thai economy. The report cites figures showing
that the amount of alcohol purchased by Thais during the first half of 2004
stood at 1.163 billion liters, up a mere 3.7 percent from the same period
last year, when the level of alcohol purchased expanded by 16.4 percent.
While attributing the sluggish growth rate in part to the
success of the government’s ‘social order’ policies, which have seen a
crackdown on underage drinking and a more rigorous enforcement of licensing
laws, as well as a successful campaign to reduce alcohol consumption, the
report also blames the rising price of fuel.
With the price of petrol up 28.3 percent from January
this year, consumers are becoming increasingly wary about spending on items
perceived as non-essential, particularly entertainment.
However, while liquor, wine and the more expensive beers have seen
moribund growth in sales, lower priced alcoholic drinks have benefited from
more frugal spending habits, especially among middle income consumers.
Nonetheless, the report forecasts a return to high sales growth at the
beginning of next year, when general elections – and the large number of
campaign parties any election entails - will fuel alcohol consumption. (TNA)
Thailand to host international OTOP summit
The Thai government plans to host a One Tambon One Product (OTOP)
summit involving more than twenty countries in the northern province of Chiang
Mai. Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, will deliver a key note address at the
summit on September 16.
According to Director-General of the Department of Export
Promotion, Chantra Purnariksha, the OTOP Summit aims to promote trade and
technical co-operation, product development, sales and marketing of the
products, and promotional activities with the participating countries. These
include Japan, China, and member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN), African countries, Canada, and member countries of the European
Union (EU), which are already involved in promoting the local Thai products.
The Department of Export Promotion also plans to open OTOP
product centers on Ratchada Road in Bangkok and in Chiang Mai to promote and
sell selected OTOP products which have good export potential. The department has
also signed agreements with some department stores overseas in the United
Kingdom, South Korea and the United States to display and sell OTOP products in
their stores.
Other promotional campaigns conducted by the government include OTOP product
exhibitions in Japan, Germany and the Middle-East. Among the OTOP products of
interest to foreign importers are foodstuffs, with tamarind being in high demand
in the Middle-East, hand-woven cloths, silk, garments, scarves, jewelry,
households products and decorative items, ceramic and small gifts. Orders are
usually high between the period from October until Christmas and New Year. (TNA)
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