The Board of Investment says Huawei Technologies (Thailand) will go ahead with its investment in Thailand as planned earlier.
The BOI said a high-level Huawei executive Technologies had insisted that its projects accurately abided by regulations and procedures and were given approval by the BOI, the Immigration Bureau and the Ministry of Labour.

US REVIEWS GSP

The Commerce Ministry’s Department of Foreign Trade does not expect Thailand to be affected by the US review of its Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) for the 2016-17 fiscal year.
The United States Trade Representative’s review on GSP is a yearly process involving all countries trading with the US, said Duangporn Rodphaya, director-general of the department.
The department is in the process of preparing petitions to include more products under the GSP by December 2. The USTR will announce the results of its consideration of requested additional items by January.
Duangporn said there was concern over trade with the United States after Donald Trump, who has stated a protectionist trade policy, won the presidential election early this month, but it is too early to worry about whether that will affect Thailand.

7-ELEVEN NFC PAYMENT

PAX Global Technology, a provider of point-of-sale terminals for electronic fund transfers, has joined forces with Thai Smart Card Company to deploy secure contactless-enabled payment systems in 7-Eleven stores across Thailand.
The convenience stores will be deploying PAX terminals with secure software that support NFC (near field communication) payment, credit, debit and gift card transactions, said Eric Li, regional sales director at PAX.
Chalermchai Chatchaiganan, chief commercial officer and chief operations officer at Thai Smart Card Co, said PAX was the leading terminal supplier in terms of its innovative product road map.

The Finance Ministry will open for applications for licences permitting pico-finance business from December 1.
Spokesman Krisda Chinavicharana, who is also director-general for the Fiscal Policy Office, which will oversee and supervise pico-finance business, said juristic persons could submit applications for licences at the ministry’s head office in Bangkok or at Government Savings Bank and Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives branches nationwide.
Pico-finance allows operators to collect interest on small loans at no more than 36 per cent per annum.
The licensing of such operators is aimed at providing an additional means for the poor to gain access to capital, while protecting them from and helping to solve the underground-debt problem.

TREASURY, PROPERTY PERFECT INK
TRAT SEZ DEVELOPMENT CONTRACT

The Treasury Department of the Finance Ministry signed a long-lease contract with Property Perfect yesterday for the listed company to develop land in the Trat Special Economic Zone (SEZ) under the “Golden Gateway” concept, aiming to make the zone a gateway for tourism, food safety and trade in the region.
The investment cost of the project is Bt3 billion, excluding the leasing fee.
“We will also speed up the process to open bids in other special economic zones, such as in Tak, Nong Khai, Si Sa Kaeo and Mukdahan,” said the Treasury Department’s director-general, Chakkrit Parapantakul.

GRASS-ROOTS SENTIMENT RISES
SHARPLY IN THIRD QUARTER

The Grass-roots Economic Sentiment Index (GSI) rose to 49 points in the third quarter from 44.1 in the previous three months, reflecting more confidence in the economic, social and political situations and the expectation of more state spending on economic stimulus and public investment, according to the Grass-roots Economic Research Centre.
Chatchai Payuhanaveechai, president of the Government Savings Bank, which runs the centre, also said the six-month index had increased to 51.8 points for the first time this year, from 45.9 in the second quarter, on expectations of the government focusing on spending for investment and stimulus in the final three months.
The third-quarter GSI survey was conducted nationwide among 1,526 people who earn no more than Bt15,000 a month.
These grass-roots people spend mainly on food and beverages, residential expenses (mortgage instalments or rent), electricity and water, and travel.
The centre expects people’s consumption to stage a gradual recovery in the first quarter of next year on the back of government spending and investment, provided that global economic uncertainties ease and the government’s spending and investment proceeds efficiently and consistently.

Singaporean real-estate firm CapitaLand will open eight shopping malls next year in three Asian countries.
With a combined retail gross floor area of close to a million square metres, it will be CapitaLand’s largest ever retail-space offering in a single year, the company said yesterday.
Of the eight malls, six will be retail components of integrated developments in China, and there will be one each in Malaysia and India.
The Chinese malls are Raffles City Changning, CapitaLand’s second Raffles City project in Shanghai; LuOne, also in Shanghai; Raffles City Shenzhen; Raffles City Hangzhou; Suzhou Center Mall; and CapitaMall Westgate in Wuhan.
The other two are Melawati Mall in Kuala Lumpur and Forum Mall in Mysore, India, said Jason Leow, CEO of CapitaLand Mall Asia. – The Straits Times

True-China Mobile pact

True Corporation yesterday signed a deal with its 18 per cent strategic partner China Mobile for a cooperation framework agreement, aiming to strengthen their ties, which commenced on September 11, 2014.
The signing, which took place in Thailand, will result in the development of services that will be in line with the industry development and satisfy customers’ demands.

‘Corruption’ in IPO case

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a case against Chupong Tanasettakorn, managing director for investment banking at Country Group Securities, accusing him of corruption.
The move followed the SEC’s investigation of Takuni Group’s and CCN-Tech’s initial public offerings in late 2014. It was found that Chupong, then an executive at Country Group Securities, which was the underwriter for the IPOs, breached the Securities and Exchange Act that prohibits sales or allocation of securities to directors, executives and those relevant to the underwriter of the securities.

The Cabinet yesterday gave the green light to two measures to lessen the rice growing area, with a combined budget estimated at Bt487.25 million.
Nattaporn Jatusripitak, an adviser to the commerce minister, said the measures came under the policy on integrated agricultural promotion for the sufficient economy.
The first measure involves green manure cropping which will be implemented in 200,000 rais in 19 provinces along the Chao Phraya River by the Land Development Department, with an estimated budget of Bt383.49 million. This measure will be executed during October 2016-May 2017.
The second concerns promotion for the production of field corn in 2 million rais at 35 provinces by the Department of Agricultural Extension, with an estimated budget of Bt103.76 million. It will be implemented during October 2016-June 2017.

THAI CHAMBER SETS OUT
FOCUS OF ANNUAL SEMINAR

The Thai Chamber of Commerce will this year organise its 34th annual seminar on Thailand Trade and Service aiming to increase trade while the country changes its base from agro-industry to innovation.
Isara Vongkusolkit, chairman to the chamber, said this year’s event will be hosted by the Thai Chamber of Commerce in Ayutthaya.
“The theme of the seminar on “Executing Innovation toward Thailand 4.0” has been set to serve the 20 year national agenda. Thai producers will be supported to be smart producers and provide smart services through adopting technology and innovation,” he said.
Each province will be promoted to become a regional value link to supporting the bridging of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand.

NEW COMPANY IS LARGEST
CRANE FIRM IN THAILAND

Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) and its wholly owned subsidiary Nikken Corporation (RN) have joined forces with TSK Crane Service Co Ltd (TSK), one of Thailand’s largest crane rental companies, to establish a new crane rental company in Thailand.
The new venture, TSK Diamond Rental Co Ltd. (TSKDR), was established at the end of June this year, and has now fully entered the domestic mobile crane rental business in Thailand. In terms of shareholder participation, TSK will hold 60 per cent, MC 35 per cent, and RN 5 per cent of shares. With about 300 units, TSKDR will own the largest number of mobile cranes in Thailand. It will also focus on expanding in Asean countries in the future, the company’s press release said.

The Cabinet yesterday approved extending free fares on public buses and trains from November 1 to April 30, with a total subsidy of Bt2.27 billion, while assigning the Transport Ministry to expedite co-ticketing for an integrated public transport system.
Nattaporn Jatusripitak, an adviser to the commerce minister, said the free fares on public buses and trains would be extended for another six months as a way to lower people’s cost of living.
The Budget Bureau has been assigned to set aside a budget for this measure.
The government will cover the cost for 800 public buses on 73 routes serving people free of charge.
The total expense is forecast at Bt1.78 billion.
About 152 standard economy-class trains and eight economy-class long-distance trains will offer free services, with the government spending an estimated Bt585 million.

CABINET APPROVES
MEASURE IN SUPPORT
OF MAIZE PRICE

Feed-meal manufacturers must purchase 4 tonnes of domestic maize for every tonne of wheat they import, according to a measure approved by the Cabinet yesterday.
Feed-meal producers must report their wheat imports to the Foreign Trade Department to ensure their compliance with the measure.
needs to report their import amount of wheat to the country, while they also have to buy maize in domestic in case they have imported wheat from overseas under a one tonne of wheat per four tonnes of maize portion, according to the Cabinet’s approval measure to solve maize price falling in current.
Deputy Commerce Minister Suvit Maesincee said yesterday that the measure would ensure that the domestic price of maize price would not fall too much during the current harvest season.
The measure was imposed after the government previously failed to persuade feed-meal producers to suspend their wheat imports temporarily.
The producers should pay maize farmers Bt8 per kilogram, Suvit said.
This measure will be imposed until the supply of maize gets low, after which the Cabinet will consider to relieving it. If this measure does not succeed in keeping the maize price up, the government may consider more stringent measures, he said.

LARGEST INDONESIAN
COAL MINER EYES
THAILAND DEAL

Publicly listed Adaro Energy, Indonesia’s largest coal miner by market value, aims to penetrate deeper into the Thai market as it seeks to secure a long-term shipment contract with the Kingdom.
Adaro Energy is negotiating the sale of 12 per cent of shares of its subsidiary Adaro Indonesia to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) in a deal that has an estimated value of US$325 million.
Adaro Energy president director Garibaldi “Boy” Thohir expects to reach financial closure before year-end.
“They plan to build a big coal-fired power plant in southern Thailand, which is geographically close to Indonesia. So this is going to be a positive move for Adaro Energy as we could secure a long-term supply to Thailand,” Boy said.
“There aren’t too many companies like us in Indonesia that could supply the right specification of coal … that is needed by the Egat.”
The deal will also see Adaro Energy |ship coal with calorific values between 4,500 and 4,800 kilocalorie per kilogram within a period of 25 to 30 years. |– The Jakarta Post/ANN