The Nation (Thailand) articles from February 2007

The Nation (Thailand) archives from February 2007

Niche marketeers.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Bucking the trend of bad times in the local auto industry, two companies have made their mark catering to a specific clientele The Thai automotive market may not be experiencing...

Bangkok Metro puts off train purchase.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Executive cites low consumer confidence, political situation Bangkok Metro (BMCL) has changed its plans for the use of money raised in a recent capital-increase share issue. It...

GE Money restructures to boost efficiency.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. GE Money Thailand, a non-bank consumer-finance company, plans to grow 10 per cent this year, as the company has restructured its business to boost efficiency. President Piriyah...

Preuksa Real Estate.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Phatra Securities has a "neutral" recommendation on Preuksa Real Estate, having cut the company's estimated earnings by 10 per cent for 2007 and 8 per cent for 2008. The revision...

Company reports.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. BANGKOK FIRST INVESTMENT & TRUST announced a consolidated net profit of Bt296.89 million for 2006, compared with Bt265.72 million the year before. G STEEL posted a net profit of...

TUF forecasts return to profit growth.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Thai Union Frozen Products (TUF) expects its net profit to grow more than 10 per cent this year after experiencing a 6-per-cent contraction to Bt1.96 billion last year, due to...

Credit cards out of favour.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Applications for credit cards have fallen because of political uncertainty and consumers' caution about spending, said Kasikornbank. In January, the bank's number of applicants...

Vayupak Fund 2 could ease mass transit debt burden.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. The government should consider setting up a Vayupak Fund 2 as an option to lower its financial burden for mass-transit construction, MFC Asset Management president Pichit Akrathit...

Why are resources still being wasted'.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. When meeting with reporters on Monday, Shin Satellite vice president for finance Tanadit Charoenchan admitted that shareholders and all others involved were concerned about the...

Big C to spend Bt3 bn on four new stores.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Big C Supercentre will invest more than Bt4.5 billion this year in new stores as well as renovating existing branches, despite political and economic uncertainties and the upcoming...

Ministry calls for big cut by BOT.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Finance urges 50-basis-point reduction The Finance Ministry took the unusual step yesterday of urging the Bank of Thailand to slash its policy interest rate by half a percentage...

US brands slam Thai piracy record.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Leading American brands Levi, Marlboro and LM, the Cable Broadcasting Satellite Association of Asia and the American Apparel and Footwear Association have urged the US government to...

Shin Corp posts 60% plunge in profit.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Thailand's largest telecom holding firm Shin Corp has posted a 60.47-per-cent slump in net profit for last year, due to a fall in the net earnings of its subsidiaries. In its...

Two Japanese firms 'showing strong will on eco-car project'.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Two out of the six auto-makers that have shown interest in a environmentally friendly car project are likely to put money into eventual production, Industry Ministry permanent ...

HomePro races against retail law to expand.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Operator also determined to boost average customer purchase via higher marketing budget Home Product Centre, operator of HomePro stores, has set aside a Bt350-million marketing...

Astina to introduce kitchen equipment to its product line.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Astina (Thailand) hopes to achieve Bt1 billion in sales of home appliances within a few years by entering more product categories and the international market, as well as expanding its...

In brief:BankThai signs $40m notes deal.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Phirasilp Subhapholsiri, president of BankThai, yesterday signed an agreement for distribution of the bank's 10-year subordinated floating-rate notes worth US$40 million (Bt1.42...

Octane-95 sales won't be scrapped.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. The Energy Ministry will not scrap octane-95 petrol distribution despite ethanol producers' requests, saying there are over 200,000 vehicles that cannot be driven by ethanol-mixed...

Gloomy prospects for all four regions.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Strong baht, low investment, political uncertainty combine for pessimistic forecast Thailand's regional economies all show a slowing-down trend resulting from the strengthening...

Mounting troubles hit tourism sector.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Travel operators and a credit-card company have voiced concerns that the tourism industry will face fierce pressure this year due to negative political news and an economic slowdown...

Late news: Pioneer to up Thai production.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Pioneer plans a dramatic expansion in production capacity for auto electronic products at two manufacturing bases in China and Thailand this year, in response to rapid growth in...

McDonald's tries out a trendy new look.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. McDonald's yesterday emerged from its time-honoured mould to introduce a new restaurant concept it hopes will provide a popular meeting place for teenagers and young adults, to...

Ice-skating rink to target youngsters.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. The Major Bowl Group, a subsidiary of the Major Cineplex Group, has set aside more than Bt50 million this year to build its new brand of lifestyle ice-skating rink, the first in the...

Prinsiri to open five new property projects worth Bt5.1 bn.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Property firm Prinsiri will expand into new five projects worth Bt5.1 billion as part of its plan to achieve sales revenues of Bt4 billion this year, says deputy managing director...

Video on demand from iPSTAR Australia.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Shin Satellite subsidiary iPSTAR Australia has launched the region's first video-on-demand service via the iPSTAR broadband-satellite network. Provided by Australia's national...

Diamond Roofing scores 56% profit rise.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Diamond Roofing Tiles plans to boost its revenues 10 per cent this year, after yesterday announcing a 56-per-cent rise in its net profit for last year and a dividend payment of 60...

Becks is hot stuff in the US.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Former England captain David Beckham might have been turned down by his homeland but in the United States he is one of the "most wanted stars". Hello Magazine reported that the...

Health groups plan more compulsory licensing moves.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Major health advocacy groups joined hands yesterday with three networks of patients with high-cost chronic diseases in a bid to encourage the government to press for cheaper drugs. ...

Bid to find way out of costly deal.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Apirak and Aree hold talks over ending Bt6.7-bn Austrian contract Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin is set to discuss with Interior Minister Aree Wongsearaya whether to scrap the...

Father charged for beating son, 14, to death.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. A construction worker in Bangkok's Klong Toei district beat his 14-year-old son to death with a metal pipe and then claimed he had to kill the boy because he could not afford to raise...

Complete Tripitaka reading in honour of HM the King.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. All 84,000 chapters of the 100-year-old Tripitaka are being recited for the first time in Thailand during the Makha Bucha festival that started yesterday at Sanam Luang as part of...

Phrae villagers rally against dam.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Some 700 villagers from Tambon Sa Eiab in Phrae's Song district protested yesterday against the plans to proceed with the Kaeng Sua Ten Dam as a long-term solution to droughts and...

Lao girl, 16, critical with bird-flu virus.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Test results have found that a 16-year-old Lao girl in Nong Khai Hospital has the deadly H5N1 virus. Nong Khai public-health chief Dr Itthipol Sungkhaeng yesterday revealed the...

Compensation pay-outs to rise.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. A wide variety of social-welfare benefits will soon increase after an ongoing legal amendment is approved, Social Security Office (SSO) secretary-general Surin Jirawisit said...

iTV's fall puts dream of independent TV back at square one.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Wanted: free-minded journalists to provide quality content for a reborn "independent" television news station. Must be objective, neutral and hard working. Eagerness to embrace...

Court's muddled ruling does little for survivors of Srebrenica massacre.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. The judgement of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concerning Serbia's involvement in the massacre of Bosnian Muslims at Srebrenica in 1995 should be greeted with considerable...

The invisible costs of the Salween dam project.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. The Salween River is set to become a new source of energy for Thailand. The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat), has been touting at least five dam projects on the...

Allowing foreigners to invest in property would push prices beyond the reach of locals.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Re: "No harm in foreigners investing in property", Letters, February 27. I am sorry but what the letter writer is proposing would lead to a swarm of real estate investors...

Soul-searching time for iTV.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. In the future, station must find a way to balance its role as an independent voice with financial viability The day of reckoning is looming for iTV Plc, the television...

LIVING DANGEROUSLY.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Danai fends off challenge from American Kendrick Danai Udomchoke survived two set points in the tie-break to beat American Robert Kendrick and advance to the group stages of the...

FUTURE IN BALANCE.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Victory the 'only option'for against North Korea: Kasem Thailand top players will be putting their futures on the line when they take on North Korea in the Olympic qualifying round...

AEC to charge 46 over 2- and 3-digit lotteries.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. The Assets Examination Committee (AEC) yesterday moved to incriminate 30 political office-holders and 16 officials for causing the state to lose Bt15 billion in taxes from the two- and...

Inheritance tax proposed.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. The Constitution Drafting Subcommittee yesterday floated an ambitious proposal to impose an inheritance tax and land tax as part of an effort to bridge income disparity. Krikkiat...

Bomber's lost arm'.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. The left arm of a man discovered yesterday behind a petrol station mini-mart in Yala town might have been blown off by a bomb that exploded prematurely, police said. The victim...

Malls plan grand fashion week.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. In a move to stimulate the fashion industry after the government discontinued a number of big projects under the "Bangkok Fashion City" umbrella, leading shopping mall operators...

Sondhi drops controversial show from Channel 11 as PTV row heats up.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Media Mogul Sondhi Limthong-kul yesterday announced he will withdraw his programme "Yam Fao Paendin" from Channel 11 following the government's dispute with the new cable TV station...

Panel will be set up to control embattled iTV.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Govt moves to protect workers' jobs in case licence is revoked on March 7 The PM's Office will today form a panel to supervise iTV Plc if its licence is revoked as a result of it...

One flew over the uckoo's nest'.
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Dr Prakitpao Thomthitchong, who owns a lucrative tutorial business, maintains that he is not insane and is doing his best to stay out of a mental institution. On his side is a...

Your Help Is Needed!!!
February 28, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. The Nation website would like solicit your opinion and comment on the issue of public safety in Pattaya following the shooting death of two Russian women -- Tatiana Tsimfer, 30, and...

Your Help Is Needed!!!
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. The Nation website would like solicit your opinion and comment on the issue of public safety in Pattaya following the shooting death of two Russian women -- Tatiana Tsimfer, 30, and...

Foreign thieves target travellers.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Police urge passengers to be careful with baggage after surge in thefts Police yesterday warned passengers at Suvarnab-humi Airport not to leave their baggage unattended as a...

Priceless royal ceremonial arms found in palace's rubbish dump.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Several ceremonial weapons belonging to the Terengganu state's royal household were found amid heaps of rubbish in the Melawati Palace grounds here - about 24 hours after they were...

New big chip on the block.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. It took Silicon Craft Technology CEO Manop Thamsirianunt six rounds of experimentation, but his IC chips have gained global recognition The dream to build an integrated-circuit...

Vehicles tagged by RFID.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. The National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) is co-operating with the Department of Land Transport to launch a national radio frequency identification (RFID) project...

Software assists tourism businesses.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. To encourage local tourism businesses to enhance competitiveness, Max Saving, a local software company, has developed eCombot as a technology tool to help local tourism companies move...

In brief :Thai promotion for Kyushu food.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. The Bangkok branch of the Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) recently held the "Kyushu, Japan Food Promotion 2007" at the Anoma Hotel to promote high-quality food from the...

Adding further polish to Thai diving and spa tourism.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. The Tourism and Sports Ministry is hosting a meeting in Bangkok with representatives of 23 countries, aimed at improving services in the diving and spa industries to meet international...

Bt1-billion penthouse bonanza.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Harrison has high hopes for upcoming auction of top-floor units in 25 projects Property agent Harrison will hold an auction for 25 pent-house projects at an event called...

Warning over public piglet slaughter.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. The Commerce Ministry and the Livestock Development Department are to conduct a campaign urging swine-breeders to stop killing piglets in public, a practice which is against the law....

Special rates for medical pros.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Bangkok Bank is looking to expand its mortgage-loan business to cover more medical professionals, who will be offered two tiers of discount with a combined value of one percentage...

Seminars on Tafta benefits.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. The Australian Trade Com-mission (Austrade) is organising a series of free seminars this year to help Thai importers benefit from lower import tariffs under the Thailand-Australia...

Late news :Currency Act goes to Cabinet.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula yesterday said his ministry would submit a proposed amendment of the Currency Act to the Cabinet today, allowing...

New-look TOT designed to 'rub out' its old image.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. TOT plans to reposition itself as Thailand's "national telecom operator" as part of a new strategy to foster its image and improve operations. Spokesman Wuttipong Piebjriyawat...

Mama sets aggressive sales target.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Noodle firm looks for growth of 10% Sahapathanapibul, distributor of Mama instant noodles, will allocate a marketing budget of Bt500 million to stimulate demand. The overall...

Huge oversupply of ethanol.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Khon Kaen Alcohol, an ethanol producer, has suspended production, to avoid a risk from the huge oversupply of the chemical. "We stopped producing ethanol last month because of the...

Central market mulled for Asean gem trade.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. The Tak Chamber of Commerce and Tak municipality are jointly pursuing a goal of developing the province's border area with Burma as Asean's central market for gem trading. They...

Q4 economic growth 'to decrease'.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Bangkok Bank predicted Thai economic growth in last year's fourth quarter would slow to 4.3 per cent, down from 4.7 per cent in the previous quarter, due to a steady reduction of...

Villagers up in arms over Trang estate.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. A group opposing a plan to set up an industrial estate in Tong Kai in the southern province of Trang yesterday protested a lack of public participation in the process to select the...

Has Oscar really lost the plot'.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Ah, the Oscars! The champagne, the red carpet, the pecks on the cheek, the exclusive chi-chi parties and of course the stars and paparazzi. If only I could make it to the Vanity...

Murders damage Thailand's image.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. The Tourism and Sports Ministry yesterday urged the Tourist Police to catch the murderer of two Russian tourists as soon as possible in order to restore visitor confidence, while the...

ShinSat shrugs off political woes.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Shin Satellite says it may swing back to net profit and increase revenue this year, despite problems associated with politics. Vice president for finance Tanadit Charoenchan said...

Policy rate could even drop by 50 basis points.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Thailand is expected to make a further cut to its policy interest rate tomorrow of at least 25 basis points to 4.5 per cent. ...

Khao Lak stricken by staff, water shortages.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. 'Salary war' raging among area's resorts More than two years after having been wiped out by the devastating tsunami of December 26, 2004, hotels and resorts at Khao Lak, in Phang...

Thai jewellery market growth set to be slashed in half.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Growth in the Thai jewellery market this year is likely to drop by half from the original target, because of the world's economic slow-down and the recent appreciation of the baht, say...

PTT.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Kim Eng Securities (Thailand) has maintained its "long-term buy" recommendation on PTT shares, with an estimated fair value of Bt272 apiece. PTT reported a 2006 net profit of...

CORRECTION.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. On page 3B of yesterday's newspaper, Rayong Purifier was reported to have posted an 11-per-cent rise in its earnings last year. Rayong Purifier yesterday told the Stock Exchange of...

Rasa reviewing its listing allocation.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Property developer may restructure its allotment plan and offer all 20 million shares only to retail investors Rasa Property Development is proposing to allot its entire initial...

Flat year for Padaeng.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Little change expected in sales, profits but political situation could hit demand Padaeng Industry, Thailand's sole zinc producer, forecasts that its net profits this year will be...

Major sees 'solid profit growth'.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Major Cineplex chalked up a net profit of Bt695.18 million last year, a rise of almost 30 per cent over the Bt534.99 million it made in 2005. The company said in a filing with...

Former Picnic execs' travel bid rejected.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Picnic shareholders Theeratchanon and Supaporn Lapvisuthisin yesterday failed to win approval from the Criminal Court to have their travel bans revoked, although they did win their...

Western allies form an 'Axis of Aggression' as bad as their enemies.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Re: "Cheney's visit Down Under sure to test the strength of Australia-US alliance", February 26. This points up the continuing existence of the Anglo-American-Australian Axis of...

Time to clean up Pattaya.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. The murder of two Russian tourists should serve as a catalyst to improve the town's reputation The brutal shooting of two Russian tourists on Saturday morning in Pattaya was...

Surayud has power and clout, now he needs the will.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. We can be sure that Thirayuth Boonmi is not going to be the last of General Surayud Chulanont's supporters-turned-critics to give the interim leader a public bashing if his...

Understanding the 'Korean wave'.
February 27, 2007... (From The Nation (Thailand)) Byline: The Nation. Visitors can feel that the Koreans have changed. They have more self-esteem and confidence. They know that their culture is making waves everywhere. Their football players are...