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SilkAir launches new
Singapore–Siem Reap–Danang–Singapore route
The service is operated with Airbus 320 aircraft on
Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, departing from Singapore at 14.25, from
Siem Reap at 16.20 and from Danang at 18.40, returning to Singapore at
22.55. SilkAir manager Cambodia, Samuel Lim, said cabin factors currently
hovered between 20 and 40 per cent on the route. “With promotional support
from our overseas offices and those of our partner, Singapore Airlines, we
expect improvement in cabin factors in the near future,” Lim said.
Last year, Bangkok Airways (PG) dropped Danang from its
circular, five-destination World Heritage Route originating in Bangkok. The
Thai carrier’s communications director Nandhika Varavarn, said although
the SilkAir route was a similar product, the origins for these routes,
Bangkok and Singapore, are very different cities, appealing to different
customers. (TTG Asia)
Housing loan rates to gradually rise this year
Housing loan rates are set to increase this year but in a
gradual manner, according to a veteran banker. Chatichai Payuhanaveechai,
senior director of Kasikornthai Bank Plc’s Consumer Loan Division, said
commercial banks will turn to float interest rates instead of fixed rates
for housing loans as they had offered in the past years. Because of this,
the banks will soon increase a minimum loan rate (MLR), which is a reference
interest rate for housing loans.
“Existing clients with the offering period of fixed
housing loan rates nearly ending will be affected first if the MLR is
adjusted upward. An increase in the MLR by 1% will immediately reduce
purchasing power by 5-6%. It means clients must attempt to increase their
incomes by 5-6% to offset rising spending,” Chatichai said.
Usually, clients are able to make an installment at 40%
of their incomes. Should the MLR increase to 10-11%, clients will definitely
experience difficulties and finally fail to service debts. Fortunately, the
MLR averages 5-6% at present.
In comparison, Chatichai said, the purchasing power would
drop by 5-6%, 3%, and 1.5% if the MLR increased by 1%, 0.5%, and 0.25%
respectively. However, he added the Bank of Thailand had estimated the MLR
will not reach 10-11% within the next ten years. (TNA)
Unocal to enter into joint investments with Thai government
The Thai government has entered into a massive investment
deal with US-based Unocal, which will see the two countries working on major
projects both at home and abroad, Energy Minister Prommin Lertsuridej
revealed.
The energy minister, who recently held talks with Unocal
CEO Chuck Williamson, said that the Thai government had agreed to enter into
a partnership with Unocal, which has been operating in Thailand since 1962.
The US company hopes to invest at least US$600 million in
natural gas exploration and petroleum production in Thailand, which will
require the government to extend its existing concessions for 10 years
following the existing expiry dates of 2010 and 2012.
Unocal also plans to sell Indonesian liquid petroleum gas
(LPG) in Thailand, in anticipation of a huge surge in demand for LPG in
Thailand over the next decade. (TNA)
Special economic zones
still a long way off
Special economic zones are still a long way from becoming
reality, despite the drafting of a new Act to put them on the drawing board,
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam recently stated.
Speaking in response to intense speculation over the
government’s decision to accelerate the Act’s passage through Parliament
before the end of the parliamentary session, the deputy prime minister
stressed that the government had no plans to create special economic zones
in the near future.
“People may think that this Act will be passed today or
tomorrow, but it won’t be,” he said. “First of all there will have to
be a royal decree on where the zones will be, in which district, and this
decree will have to be put before Parliament a second time.”
The deputy prime minister attributed the government’s
rush to put the drafting of the Act before Cabinet consideration to a desire
to demonstrate that the government was not simply sitting back and doing
nothing in the run-up to the general election. However, he admitted that the
government was not yet satisfied with all clauses of the Act, and called on
all agencies concerned to submit suggestions on how the draft might be
modified. The Act, he said, was based on similar legislation from abroad,
including Shanghai and Dubai.
While admitting that the new Act would supersede
legislation relating to the Industrial Estates Authority of Thailand, he
said that industrial estates would continue to operate until the Act became
law. (TNA)
MOE expects local
gas prices to fall further
Energy Minister Prommin Lertsuridej disclosed local
gasoline prices are like to drop since the current prices are higher than
they should be. He said hefty fuel prices at present have begun to ease and
are more stable because global crude prices continued to decline in the past
two weeks. Therefore, he called on oil traders to consider cutting local
gasoline prices at their discretion to reflect actual costs.
However, whether they decline or not depends on the
decisions of oil trading firms. Prommin explained that all the ministry can
do is keep an eye on the situation to ensure oil prices move in a proper
manner. He said the ministry is also discussing with oil trading companies
the planned floatation of local diesel prices by the end of the winter or
early March.
At present the State Oil Fund subsidizes diesel prices at
151.27 million baht per day. So far, it has spent 61.03 billion baht on
capping the prices. “We are confident last month’s tsunami attack on the
six southern Andaman coastal provinces won’t affect the electricity
generating costs and the strategy to make Thailand become a regional energy
hub in the future,” said Prommin. (TNA)
Engineers call for new buildings
to be made earthquake proof
Thailand’s Engineering Institute is calling for all new
buildings from the country’s northern province of Mae Hong Son to the
southern region to be made earthquake proof, while urging the Ministry of
Interior to ban the construction of all buildings within 100 meters of the
Andaman coastlines.
Speaking on behalf of the institute, the president,
Chadab Patamasut, said that the foundations of all new buildings had to be
reinforced to withstand future earthquake damages. This would put up
construction costs by no more than 5-10 percent, he said.
He also called on the Ministry of Interior to review
planning regulations in the country’s six southern provinces affected by
last month’s tsunamis - Phuket, Phang-nga, Krabi, Trang, Ranong and Satun
- by banning the construction of all buildings within 100 meters of the
shorelines.
The institute has also urged the creation of a national
disaster prevention center which will be able to issue disaster warnings and
order the evacuation of people in the event of a natural calamity, with the
installation of tsunami warning sirens in all the six provinces hit by the
giant waves.
The institute has promised to send engineers to the six
provinces to assess the extent of the damage and determine the safety of
existing structures. (TNA)
GPF to invest over
4 billion baht in TPI
The Government Pension Fund (GPF) is set to invest more
than four billion baht in Thai Petrochemical Industries Plc (TPI) to hold a
stake in the latter of not exceeding 20 percent. The GPF’s
secretary-general, Visit Tantisunthorn, said GPF will sign a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) with TPI for the joint investment, after which it will
make a due diligence on the financial status of TPI for proper share
purchase portion and prices.
Initially, GPF planned more than four billion baht for
the investment with a projection of return rates of 15 percent. Such
investment remains in the maximum investment proportion set at 20 percent.
Visit said GPF decided to purchase newly issued shares of
TPI because it viewed the company operates in the petrochemical industry,
which enjoys stable and promising growth. As well, the share purchase was
made in an alliance with the Government Savings Bank (GSB), PTT Public
Company Limited (PTT), and the Finance Ministry’s Vayupak Fund.
With the strong fundamentals of the partners, the joint
investment is expected to produce fruitful results. GPF is now in the
process of negotiating with the partners for the proper portion of shares
each deserves to be allocated. (TNA)
KBANK to help tsunami victims
Kasikorn Bank Plc. (KBANK), the country’s second
largest bank, has come up with various measures ranging from soft loan
extension, debt rescheduling and interest burden cuts to help its customers
affected by last month’s tsunami disaster.
Tongchai Charoensith, senior vice president of the bank,
disclosed that major, middle and small customers in tsunami-hit areas in the
country’s six southern Andaman coastal provinces had owed a total of 4.67
billion baht to the bank. Of this, around 2.2 billion baht are debts
incurred by customers who have been directly affected by the natural
disaster. Unless the bank issued a particular measure, he said, it was very
likely the debts would turn bad.
To ease the hardship of its customers, the bank has
issued various measures to help them. They range from the planned extension
of new loans of around 3 billion baht with special interest rates, and
reduction of lending rates by 3 percent. As well, the debt repayment period
will be rescheduled by seven years. Any particular debtors who are sill not
a position to repay loans in time will be given 3 more years to do so.
Tongchai said he expected damages incurred by the bank in
the affected areas would not exceed 720 million baht. He said tourism in the
six southern provinces, including Phuket, Phang-nga, Krabi, Trang, Ranong
and Satun, was expected to slow down due to the tsunami attack. But he
believes the situation will improve within one year if all parties
cooperated in launching public relations activities to welcome back
tourists. (TNA)
Thai shrimp farmers appeal
for soft loans
Thai shrimp farmers have appealed for immediate
government financial aid to help the industry, a key export earner, recover
from the devastating impact of last month’s tsunami. The December 26
catastrophe wiped out nearly two-thirds of the country’s shrimp farming
capacity and the industry urgently needs concessionary loans to rebuild,
Thai Shrimp Farming Association Chairman Somsak Paneetatyasai said.
Speaking to journalists after a tour of tsunami-ravaged
farms in the provinces of Phuket and Pang-nga, Somsak said the damage could
result in a nearly 20 billion baht loss in shrimp export revenue. Farms will
need an estimated one billion baht to rebuild damaged facilities. However,
he said the tsunami had an even more damaging impact on the crustacean’s
breeding cycle.
The waves struck just when newly hatched shrimps were due
to be sent to the farms. The hatchlings that perished accounted for about
two thirds of the total national output. It could take up to six months to
restore the facilities, and at least four months to hatch a new generation
of baby shrimps. This is likely to cause a 30 percent fall in Thai export
output for 2005, equivalent to an export revenue loss of 20 billion baht. To
remedy the situation the industry needs immediate access to a source of
low-interest loans.
One breeder, Vinai Mangcharoen, said his farm was ravaged
only a few days before he was due to deliver the hatchlings to farmers.
Apart from 10-million baht damage to farm property, he said he had lost
2,000 spawning females capable of producing 200 million baby shrimps a
month. He thinks it will take him up to nine months to restore the business.
(TNA)
Global community confident
in post-tsunami Thai economy
Several nations have expressed confidence that
Thailand’s economic growth rate will remain on track despite last
month’s tsunami, a senior official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
has revealed. Sorajak Kasemsuvan, vice-minister for foreign affairs who
represented Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra at the International Meeting
on Small Island Developing States (SIDS 2005), said from the meeting in
Mauritius that he had spoken to the foreign ministers from several nations,
including Greece and Fiji.
While pledging to help Thailand in the tsunami relief
effort, the foreign ministers dismissed concerns that the tsunami could deal
a blow to the kingdom’s economy, noting that the flexibility of
Thailand’s economic system meant that it could rapidly get back on its
feet following the disaster.
Sorajak said that he had also held face-to-face talks
with a representative of Cuban President Fidel Castro, with the Cuban
minister expressing a considerable level of interest in Thailand,
particularly its sugarcane cultivation. Cuba now hopes to exchange
information on sugarcane cultivation and sugar marketing with Thailand, as
well as forge bilateral links in other areas. (TNA)
Food inspection lab set up
at Phuket fish pier
The Thai government has announced the establishment of
temporary laboratories to inspect the fresh seafood catch at Phuket’s
fishing piers. The industry ministry has sent inspection teams down to the
resort island after widespread consumer panic that the seafood had been
contaminated in the aftermath of the tsunami. Seafood sales have plummeted
as a result.
Inspectors at these temporary laboratories will check the
catch from the fishing trawlers before it is transported to the restaurants
and processing factories, Minister for Industry Pongsak Raktapongpaisal told
reporters. “This inspection is intended to ensure to safety of consumers.
Seafood’s popularity has fallen dramatically for fear that the fish has
been contaminated and poisoned in the aftermath of the tsunami,” he said.
Pongsak explained that as part of the inspection
campaign, inspectors will collect over a hundred samples from the fresh
seafood loaded at the pier a week and test it in the lab facilities. Lab
technicians will monitor for food-poisoning bacteria and contaminated
substances including lead and petrochemicals. The industry ministry’s Food
Institute will award certificates to producers and seafood products which
pass the safety test. The Food Institute will also send experts to advise
factories on safety issues. (TNA)
SET index likely
to reach 800 in mid-year
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index is likely to
rally following the general election and reach 800 points in the middle of
this year, according to leading experts in the stock market.
Speaking at a seminar on “Thai Stock Market in the Year
of Cock: Rally after General Election,” held in the Securities Analyst
Forum on January 17, Supavuth Saichue, president of Phatara Securities Co.
said the result of the general election would be one of the key factors to
the direction of SET. Although the government might remain unchanged, it
must count on political support to put into practice many policies. Included
are the privatization of state enterprises, telecommunication contract
conversion, investment in mega-projects on transport and energy affairs,
reform on financial institutions regulation, and negotiation on free trade
areas.
Other influential factors to the stock market include the
general election, economic impact from the tsunami disaster, and diesel
price rise. For the target index at year-end, Phatara Securities continued
to maintain its projection of 780 points.
Piyasawadi Amaranand, president of Kasikornthai Asset
Management Co. said the overall picture of the local bourse had improved. He
believes the new government will help forge ahead the policy on state
enterprise privatization, which was postponed last year. Should state
enterprises with strong performance be listed, it would benefit the stock
market. He said his company expected the index would touch a 770-800 points
in the middle of this year.
Kongkiat Opaswongkarn, president of the Securities
Analysts’ Association, said the policies of the new government would be
close to those of the existing one. He suggested investors closely monitor
the global economic development. In his views, China will not put a brake on
economic growth as the United States would continue to adopt the
weaken-dollar policy to facilitate investment. Under the circumstance, he
said, the baht would strengthen, which could tap foreign investors into the
stock market. (TNA)
Tsunami disaster dampens consumer confidence
Last month’s tsunami disaster has adversely affected
consumer confidence in the future economy, causing the index to stay below
that in the current state of the economy for the first time in six years.
Thanawat Polvichai, director of the University of Thai
Chamber of Commerce’s Economic and Business Forecasting Center, disclosed
a survey on consumer confidence in the Thai economy in December that showed
the confidence index on the current state of the economy dropped slightly to
91.7 points while that on the future economy stayed at 87.
It reflected consumers are uncertain about the economy in
the future in a wake of the deadly massive waves. More importantly, Thanawat
said the confidence index on the future economy had never stayed below that
on the current state of the economy since 1998 when the survey on the
consumer confidence was made for the first time.
Other confidence indexes also declined accordingly in
December. For instance, the index on the overall economy stayed at 89.3
compared with 90.3 in November, that on job opportunities at 86 versus 87.5,
and that on future incomes at 103.1 versus 106.
The decrease in the confidence indexes was mostly
attributable to the impacts from last month’s fatal tidal waves. Thanawat
said people worry about job uncertainties when they feel the economy will be
worse in the future.
Although the tsunamis will have short-term impacts, most
people remained concerned how the economy will be in the future. Such
circumstances undermine consumer confidence. Because of this, he said, state
agencies concerned need to provide news and information on impacts from
tsunamis in a clear manner.
Thanawat said the economic direction in 2005 depended on
the impacts from the tidal waves, fuel prices, bird flu outbreak, southern
violence, interest rate hike, and currency volatility, plus how the
government can use a 50 billion baht budget to stimulate the economy in the
six southern provinces affected by the tsunamis. (TNA)
Krabi in desperate bid to attract tourists
Tourism operators in Thailand’s southern resort
province of Krabi are today preparing to slash their prices in a desperate
bid to attract visitors back to this province ravaged by last month’s
tsunamis.
According to Ithirit Kinglek, president of the Krabi
Tourism Association, tourists have been steadily leaving the province since
the massive waves slammed into the country’s southern Andaman coast on
December 26, leaving a trail of death and destruction.
Unless urgent measures are drawn up to pull visitors back
to the province, local tourism operators fear that staff lay-offs are
inevitable, particularly in the hotel trade.
Apart from its most famous tourist island of Koh Phi Phi,
Krabi in fact received less damage from the tsunamis than other Andaman
provinces, but images of destruction broadcast around the world have
deterred visitors.
Ithirit also blames the government for trying to
undertake a comprehensive post-tsunami clean-up which does not take into
account the fact that some destinations were relatively undamaged and are
now ready to welcome back tourists.
Local tourism operators are now drawing up special
packages with cut-price rates for air fares, accommodation and tourism
destinations. One of hotels to be affected by the tsunamis is the Grand
Tower Hotel in central Krabi. Sakaorat Maneerat, who works at the hotel’s
tour counter, says that only three of the hotel’s rooms are currently
occupied, whereas normally the hotel expects to be fully booked. The hotel
is now considering lowering its room rates in the hope of attracting more
visitors. (TNA)
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