Krungsri speeds up support for SMEs hit by new virus surge
CorporateJan 28. 2021Duangkamol Limpuangthip, head of Krungsri’s SME Banking Group
By The Nation
Krungsri (Bank of Ayudhya Plc) said it is accelerating rollout of relief measures for small and medium-sized enterprises, including retail businesses, affected by the new wave of Covid-19. Among them is the launch of an ad-hoc team of relationship managers to maintain regular contact with customers and offer appropriate measures.
These include debt restructuring, soft loans offered by the Bank of Thailand, and soft loans for tourism offered by the Government Savings Bank (GSB).
“To date, Krungsri has approved Bt21.5 billion in soft loans for over 7,000 SME customers,” said Duangkamol Limpuangthip, head of Krungsri’s SME Banking Group.
The bank said it has also suspended debt repayments on Bt110 billion of loans for more than 28,000 SME customers, and offered relief on outstanding loans of Bt42 billion.
SME customers can contact relationship managers or apply for relief programmes at Krungsri.com or by calling 1572.
PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) on Wednesday announced it signed an engineering, procurement and construction agreement for the Olefins 2 Modification Project on January 22.
This move allows PTTGC to boost the use of propane gas as feedstock and aligns with the company’s strategy to enhance feedstock flexibility and long-term competitiveness, said Pattaralada Sa-Ngasang, executive vice president for finance and accounting.
“So far, the environmental impact assessment [EIA] has been approved by the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning,” she said.
“The project should go into commercial operation within the first quarter of 2023. The total investment for this project is approximately [US]$165 million or Bt5.19 billion.”
She said the agreement was signed in line with the PTTGC board of directors’ resolution at a meeting in October last year.
THAI seeks second deadline extension for rehab plan
CorporateJan 27. 2021THAI’s acting president Chansin Treenuchagron
By The Nation
Thai Airways International (THAI) will this week ask the bankruptcy court to extend its deadline for submission of its rehabilitation plan by another one month, THAI’s acting president Chansin Treenuchagron said on Tuesday.
This is the second time the debt-ridden carrier has asked for a deadline extension. Previously, the court granted THAI’s request to postpone deadline from January 2 to February 4. By law, the carrier can postpone its submission only twice.
According to a THAI source, the airline will ask the court to extend the deadline to March 3. The company needs more time to forge a rehab plan that creditors can be confident in, said the source.
PTT Plc’s financial performance this year is improving as Thailand and the global economy recover from the impact of Covid-19 last year, said chief executive officer Auttapol Rerkpiboon.
Recovery following availability of vaccines will spur economic activity and boost oil demand, he said, adding the oil price in 2021 is expected to be more stable than in 2020.
However, economic recovery would be gradual and unstable until everyone was inoculated.
Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisit expects the Thai economy to expand by 4 to 5 per cent this year.
Auttapol added that logistics could become PTT’s new S-Curve business in the future.
The company is conducting a study on the logistics sector after joining hands with the Port Authority of Thailand to study ways to boost efficiency of goods transport at Laem Chabang deep-sea port.
The company’s existing S-curve businesses include life science, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, as well as digital.
Banpu NEXT has teamed up with the municipalities of Phuket City and Rawai, as well as the Phuket Old Town Community and Planet Communications Asia to drive forward the first phase of the “Phuket Liveable City, Smart and Safe” project.
By integrating smart data analytics solutions, this new move will help upgrade safety standards in the new normal in three key areas, namely disease, crime and environmental threats.
So far, safety systems have been installed in two neighbourhoods, namely Thalang Road connecting Rommanee Alley, and Rawai sub-district (Municipality Office and Promthep Cape).
This is the first development in Thailand to use AI-driven smart community platform and application for data collection, analysis and processing to give communities peace of mind.
Other solutions will also be introduced to turn Phuket into a model city with multidimensional smart city developments.
Somruedee Chaimongkol, chief executive officer of Banpu PCL and Banpu NEXT, said Banpu NEXT has developed five smart energy solutions, namely smart energy analytics, smart energy generation, smart energy storage, smart energy utilisation and smart circular economy to allow for tangible results.
“We started off by introducing smart energy utilisation solutions to e-ferries and charging stations for marine tourism in Phuket. More recently, we have partnered with government and private organisations as well as local communities in the ‘Phuket Liveable City, Smart and Safe’ project that uses ‘Smart Data Analytics Solution’ to analyse data of the locations and design safety systems that address the issues. The system installation, including hardware, software and IoT-based operating system, was completed by Planet.”
The smart community app allows 24/7 monitoring, inspection and proper control from anywhere. These systems will also increase Covid-19 monitoring and control efficiency on social distancing measures with five capabilities: limiting visitor traffic, monitoring occupancy density, body temperature screening; detection of non-maskers; and preliminary timeline analysis of visitors and inspection of potential Covid-19 patients.
Officials can use the application to track the data, send out real-time notifications if any risk is found.
Harald Link, chairman of B Grimm Power Group (BGRIM) has bought back 2 million company shares for Bt139 million at Bt69.50 per share, according to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) information.
BGRIM’s December share price was Bt48.50, down 1.52 per cent, after ranging between Bt47.25 and Bt53. This month it has risen 12.63 per cent to Bt53.50, ranging between Bt47.50 and Bt56.
On January 12, BGRIM announced it had invested 45 per cent in Univenture BGP (UVBGP), a subsidiary of SET-listed property developer Univentures Plc (UV), with the aim of investing, developing and operating energy projects together with UV.
BGRIM acquired 2.25 million newly issued ordinary shares in UVBGP at a subscription price of Bt10 per share, totalling Bt22.5 million.
BGRIM and UV now hold 45 per cent and 55 per cent, respectively, of the total number of voting shares in UVBGP.
BGRIM currently operates 48 power plants with total capacity of 3,058MW and plans to raise that figure to 7,200MW by 2025.
Krungsri posts 2020 net profit of Bt23.04bn, building strong provision buffer
CorporateJan 22. 2021Krungsri president and CEO Seiichiro Akita
By The Nation
Krungsri (Bank of Ayudhya and its business units) has announced net profits of Bt23.04 billion for 2020, representing a 14.5 per cent drop from its net profit in 2019. The bank attributed the sharp drop to provisioning for future uncertainties given the Covid-19 outbreak in mid-December and the fragile outlook for economic recovery.
Krungsi said its asset quality remains strong with a non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of 2 per cent and the coverage ratio at a record high of 175.12 per cent.
The bank cited achievements including the status conversion of its Cambodia subsidiary, Hattha Kaksekar Ltd, from a microfinance firm to a commercial bank named Hattha Bank; its Asean expansion by acquiring a 50 per cent stake in SB Finance Company, a subsidiary of Security Bank Corp (SBC) in the Philippines; investment in and strategic alliance with Grab; and the successful launch of Kept – an online savings management platform it said has been well-received by target groups.
Key highlights of Krungsri’s consolidated 2020 results:
· Net profit: Recorded at Bt23.04 billion, down 14.5 per cent from normalised net profit in 2019.
· Loan growth: Up 0.8 per cent or Bt15.058 billion from December 2019, driven by retail and SME loans which grew by 2.2 and 2 per cent, respectively. Corporate loans contracted by 1.5 per cent, mainly due to loan repayments made by Thai corporates.
· Deposit growth: Totalled Bt1.834,505 trillion, an increase of 17.1 per cent, or Bt267.62 billion, from December 2019, attributed to an increase in savings deposits.
· Net interest margin (NIM): Recorded a 3.47 per cent, from 3.60 per cent in 2019, driven by interest rate reductions following assistance measures for customers impacted by the pandemic.
· Non-interest income: Dropped Bt3.877 billion or 10.6 per cent from normalised non-interest income in 2019, resulting from lower fee and service income following the economic slowdown.
· Cost to income ratio: Improved to 42.52 per cent from 45.1 per cent in 2019.
· Non-performing loans (NPL) ratio: Recorded at 2 per cent, compared to 1.98 per cent in December 2019.
· Coverage ratio: New high of 175.12 per cent, from 163.82 per cent in December 2019.
· Capital adequacy ratio: At 17.92 per cent, compared to 16.56 per cent in December 2019.
Krungsri president and CEO Seiichiro Akita said the Thai economy would take at least two years before returning to its pre-pandemic level. Krungsri Research forecasts the Thai economy will grow by 2.5 per cent in 2021, from its low base of 6.4 per cent contraction in 2020 – barring heightened risk from the domestic outbreak.
As of December 31, 2020, Krungsri, Thailand’s fifth largest bank in terms of assets, loans and deposits, reported Bt1.83 trillion in loans, 1.83 trillion in deposits, and Bt2.61 trillion in total assets. The bank’s said its capital was strong at Bt276.26 billion, equivalent to 17.92 per cent of risk-weighted assets, with 12.85 per cent in common equity tier 1 capital.
Kasikornbank and its subsidiaries reported a net operating profit of Bt29.48 billion for 2020, with fourth-quarter net profit being Bt13.25 billion, the bank said in a press release.
KBank Chief Executive Officer Kattiya Indaravijaya said the overall economy contracted in 2020 amid the domestic and global impact by Covid-19. The crisis negatively impacted domestic spending, exports and tourism.
“The economy faces additional downside risks in 2021, particularly with the new wave of Covid-19. Therefore, economic recovery remains highly uncertain, while government expenditure and investment will remain key supportive factors,” she said.
“Since January 1, 2020, the bank and its subsidiaries have adopted TFRS related to financial instruments. Some items are not comparable with the financial statements and key financial ratios of previous years,” the press release said.
It added that KBank and its subsidiaries reported a 2020 net profit of Bt29.48 billion, a decrease of Bt9.24 billion, or 23.86 per cent compared to the previous year, mainly due to the fact that the bank and its subsidiaries complied with the prudent approach of setting aside a higher-than-expected credit loss from the preceding year of Bt9.53 billion, or 28.04 per cent, with reserves of Bt32.06 billion since the first half of 2020 due to high uncertainty from the Covid-19 pandemic.
With relief measures gradually ending in the second half of 2020, customers were still able to repay debts better than expected, and with the new wave of Covid-19 in late fourth quarter, the bank had revisited and assessed the adequacy of its reserves and found they were sufficient.
The bank expected a credit loss amounting to Bt43.54 billion for 2020 – a level that could cover potential damages occurring in line with the situation, the statement said, adding that net interest income increased by Bt6.33 billion, or 6.17 per cent, mainly due to a decrease in interest expenses as a result of a drop in the average interest rate and a decrease in contributions to the Financial Institutions Development Fund, resulting in NIM that stood at 3.27 per cent.
Meanwhile, non-interest income was down by Bt11.93 billion, or 20.65 per cent, mainly due to a decrease in revenue from securities sales and fees income related to loans, which changed to reflect interest income, it said.
In addition, other operating expenses dropped by Bt2.73 billion, or 3.76 per cent, mainly due to a decrease in estimated employee and marketing expenses, while those for debt management increased.
“In the quarter, other operating expenses increased by Bt3.82 billion, or 23.26 per cent, due mainly to the increase in IT-related expenses in order to support customers’ needs, marketing expenses due to seasonality and activities with business partners, resulting in a cost-to-income ratio that stood at 45.19 per cent,” the release said.
“As of December 31, 2020, the total assets of KBank and its subsidiaries were Bt3,658,798 million, an increase of Bt364,909 million, or 11.08 per cent, compared to the end of 2019. The majority came from loans, while NPL gross-to-total loans stood at 3.93 per cent,” it said. “The bank has provided support and assured customers impacted by Covid-19 of credit quality, while at the end of 2019 this stood at 3.65 per cent.”
The coverage ratio as of December 31 stood at 149.19 per cent, while at the end of 2019 this stood at 148.60 per cent, the statement said.
In addition, as of December 31, Kasikornbank Financial Conglomorate’s capital adequacy ratio, according to the Basel III Accord, was 18.80 per cent, with a Tier-1 Capital ratio of 16.13 per cent, the bank added.
PTT Oil and Retail Business has set aside a budget of Bt74.6 billion for the 2021-2025 expansion of its three core businesses, said acting CEO Jiraphon Kawswat.
Of the total budget, 34.6 per cent will be invested in its oil business, 28.6 per cent in its non-oil business and 21.8 per cent in international business. The remaining 15 per cent will be spent on other businesses and on exploring new business opportunities.
For its oil business, the company aims to increase the number of PTT filling stations in Thailand from the current 1,986 to 3,100 by 2025, Jiraphon said.
For its non-oil business, the firm has targeted expansion of its Cafe Amazon chain in Thailand from 3,186 to 5,800 outlets by 2025.
For its international business, it will focus on expansion of filling stations and Cafe Amazon branches in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam (CLMV), plus the Philippines. It will also open more Cafe Amazon branches in China.
PTT currently has 329 petrol stations in overseas markets.
Jiraphon said the company would also open more charging stations for electric vehicles on main routes throughout Thailand. It is currently piloting the service in 25 PTT filling stations.
Reinsurance broker TQR Co Ltd is expected to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in the Market for Alternative Investment (Mai) in this first quarter, according to its financial adviser, Jay Capital Advisory Ltd.
Jay Capital president Jirayong Anuman-Rajadhon said that the Securities and Exchange Commission has already accepted the TQR filing to launch the IPO of 60 million shares.
TQR chief executive officer Chanaphan Piriyaphan said that part of the funds raised from the IPO would be invested in an information and communications technology system to boost the company’s operating efficiency.
Duangkamol Limpuangthip, head of Krungsri’s SME Banking Group
THAI’s acting president Chansin Treenuchagron
CEO Auttapol Rerkpiboon
Harald Link
Krungsri president and CEO Seiichiro Akita
KBank Chief Executive Officer Kattiya Indaravijaya
TQR chief executive officer Chanaphan Piriyaphan
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