Nepal opening new gateway for Thai Buddhists, trekkers
Thai travellers will soon find it easier to visit the Buddha’s birthplace, thanks to new tourism cooperation between Nepal and Thailand.
Thai Ambassador Vosita Vorasaph recently hosted Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) chief Dhananjay Regmi at the Royal Thai Embassy in Kathmandu for talks on promoting post-Covid-19 tourism between the two countries.
The growing number of Thai tourists in Nepal has prompted the NTB to offer tour packages for Thai trekkers, mountaineers and pilgrims.
Regmi expressed excitement about the new international airport opening soon in Lumbini, with plans to offer travellers more direct flights to Nepal.
Lumbini is the Buddha’s birthplace and one of several pilgrimage sites in Nepal.
Regmi also expressed gratitude to the Thai government for building Buddhist monasteries that had drawn more pilgrims to Nepal.
The primary goal of Nepal’s plans for tourism collaboration is to develop marketing focused on Thai Buddhist pilgrims and mountain lovers.
Ambassador Vosita welcomed the push to strengthen Nepal’s long-lasting relationship with Thailand. He said he would liaise with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to help promote the campaign targeted at Thai travellers and Nepalis in Thailand.
Having experienced Nepal’s tourism riches himself, Vosita also suggested promoting lesser-known destinations and activities in Nepal like Chitwan, Chandragiri, Gokyo Lake, Bhaktapur Durbar Square, and helicopter rides to Namche.
Ralph Lauren Revolutionizes How the Fashion Industry Dyes Cotton Company to create the world’s first scalable zero waste water cotton dyeing system
NEW YORK, NY — MARCH 22, 2021 — Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) today introduces Color on Demand, a revolutionary dyeing platform that will transform how the fashion industry colors cotton – more sustainably, more effectively and faster than ever before. The Company has established Color on Demand, a multi-phased system, with a clear ambition to deliver the world’s first scalable zero wastewater cotton dyeing system.
Every year, trillions of liters of water are used for fabric dyeing alone,generating around 20% of the world’s wastewater.1,2 This untreated wastewater is incredibly polluting and traditionally required rigorous, lengthy and costly treatment to make the water reusable. Designed to help address water scarcity and pollution caused by cotton dyeing, Color on Demand is a new system composed of a set of technologies that will enable the recycling and reuse of all water from the dyeing process, establishing the world’s first scalable zero wastewater cotton dyeing system.
In addition to significant water savings, Color on Demand dramatically reduces the amount of chemicals, dye, time and energy used in the cotton dyeing process. Further, for the first time in the industry, Color on Demand also provides a more efficient and sustainable way to color cotton at any point in product manufacturing, rather than at the outset. This will enable significantly shorter lead times for making product color decisions.
“Traditional color dyeing is one of the most polluting practices in our industry and as a global brand, we recognized the need to create a scalable solution,” said Halide Alagöz, Chief Product and Sustainability Officer at Ralph Lauren. “Color on Demand significantly reduces the environmental impact of dyeing cotton, and as an added benefit, will enable us to better balance inventory and meet personalized consumer demands faster than ever before.”
To implement its groundbreaking approach, Ralph Lauren brought together four leading innovators in their respective fields, including Dow, a leader in materials science; Jeanologia, a leader in sustainable solutions for garment and fabric finishing, with high expertise in garment dyeing and close loop water treatment systems; Huntsman Textile Effects, a global chemicals company specializing in textile dyes and chemicals; and Corob, a global technology leader in dispensing and mixing solutions, to reimagine each stage of the coloring process and join this shared mission to create a more sustainable and efficient system for cotton dyeing.
As part of the first phase of Color on Demand, Ralph Lauren optimized the use of ECOFAST™ Pure Sustainable Textile Treatment, a pretreatment solution developed by Dow for cotton textiles.
When used with existing dyeing equipment, ECOFAST™ Pure enables the use of up to 40% less water, 85% fewer chemicals, 90% less energy and a 60% reduction in carbon footprint compared to traditional cotton dyeing processes3.
Ralph Lauren is integrating this process into its supply chain and will launch product using this technology later this year.
“Water scarcity and pollution are important issues for the fashion industry, and through our partnership with Ralph Lauren we are working towards addressing these challenges,” said Sheila Bonini, Senior Vice President, Private Sector Engagement at World Wildlife Fund.
“Technology has the ability to accelerate change at a scale that matters, so it’s exciting to see Ralph Lauren establishing innovative new models that transform outdated practices and can deliver measurable outcomes for people and planet. This is exactly the kind of leadership we need to see from the fashion industry.”
Color on Demand is yet another significant step in Ralph Lauren’s journey to address its environmental footprint, which includes eliminating hazardous chemical use in its supply chain and reducing water use across its operations and value chain by 2025. By 2025, Ralph Lauren aims to use the Color on Demand platform in more than 80% of the Company’s solid cotton products.
Lego billionaires plan new investment targeting plastic waste
The billionaire owners of Lego are set to shift more of their wealth into ventures that figure out how to reduce surplus plastic in environmentally friendly ways.
Kirkbi, which oversees about $20 billion in assets on behalf of the family behind toymaker Lego, is looking for at least one new plastic project to invest in this year. That’s after first testing the market in 2020 with its purchase of a stake in Quantafuel AS, a Norwegian company that transforms old plastic into energy.
In an interview, Chief Investment Officer Thomas Lau Schleicher singled out plastic waste as a key focus area for the fund. But it’s also looking at ideas such as “new technology for producing alternatives to plastic,” he said.
Kirkbi is chaired by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, the grandson of Lego’s founder and one of Denmark’s richest men with a fortune of $7.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. In recent years, he has handed more control of Kirkbi to his three children, Agnete Kirk Thinggaard, Sofie Kirk Kristiansen and Thomas Kirk Kristiansen, who have a personal fortune of about $7.1 billion each.
The Lego family fund is underscoring its commitment to fighting plastic waste with the creation of a new portfolio for such investments, called Circular Plastic.
Schleicher says there’s no connection between Kirkbi’s investments in the area and Lego’s own use of plastic in its production. The company, which makes almost 100,000 tons of plastic bricks each year, is trying to develop a product using renewable, plant-based materials, such as sugar cane.
Kirkbi’s investment in Quantafuel has already paid off, with the value of its stake almost doubling since its June investment of roughly $26 million. Schleicher said Kirkbi is open to supporting Quantafuel should it need to raise new capital.
Meanwhile, profit on overall investments at the fund dropped 62% last year. That’s despite record results at Lego, which generates the bulk of Kirkbi’s returns. But some of its other big investments lost money. Cleaning and office services provider ISS A/S, in which Kirkbi holds about 17%, sank 34% in 2020.
The fund is now keen to buy more clean assets, amid signs the sector also generates healthy returns. Schleicher says Kirkbi also wants to invest more in solar and wind power, adding to the $1.3 billion it’s already dedicated to the area. But prices have soared as more investors pile in.
Kirkbi is therefore looking into entering potential investments earlier on in the value chain, as it did with Adapture Renewables, which both develops, constructs and owns solar cell parks.
“We have often found it hard to get in at the auctions where these farms are sold at very high prices,” the CIO said. “A lot of capital is flowing into that world at the moment.”
Published : April 21, 2021
By : Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Christian Wienberg
THAI announces winning bid for sale of its Lak Si Office
The Central Bankruptcy Court has allowed Thai Airways International Pcl (THAI) to sell its Lak Si Crew Training Centre consisting of land, buildings, excluding properties which are not the land and buildings component parts and other chattels, the airline said.
The property has to be sold on “as is where is” condition, which means bidders may not request THAI to construct, modify, or demolish any building or chattel on its property.
The Laksi Office is located at 425 Kamphaeng Phet Road, in the Don Muang district of Bangkok, covering a total area of 19 rai (3.04 hectares), 3 ngan (1,200 square metres) and 26 square wa (104sqm).
THAI conducted the sale of the Laksi Office through a bidding process and allowed bidders to submit their envelope on April 1.
THAI set up a Property Management Committee to monitor the sale process and thoroughly considered the offers through the selection process as set out in the Terms of Reference, assuring that the sale of property would undergo transparent and verifiable processes.
The committee evaluated the qualifications of each bidder before considering price proposals of the qualified bidders, and announced the highest offered price without disclosing the top bidder’s name. Then, the bidders were allowed to alter their price and submit their final proposal on April 9.
After considering the final prices, THAI then negotiated the price, terms, and conditions with the winning bidder.
Energy Complex Co Ltd (EnCo), has won the bid at Bt1.81 billion and will enter into the property sale agreement and make a 10 per cent down payment within 15 days of the announcement. EnCo will also have to pay the remaining amount before or within the date of the ownership transfer and be responsible for fees relevant to the transfer registration, withholding tax, duty tax, and others (if any).
The Laksi Office is one of THAI’s assets which was allowed to be sold under the Business Reorganisation process by the Central Bankruptcy Court. The proceeds from the sale will be utilised for the airline business operation in order to generate revenue for the company in the future.
Worries over rising Covid-19 cases, falling oil price pressure SET
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index fell by 1.65 points or 0.10 per cent to 1,578.39 in the morning session on Wednesday. The volume of total transactions was Bt6.80 billion, with an index high of 1,579.42 points and a low of 1,575.56.
AKrungsri Securities said the index on Wednesday would fall to between 1,565 and 1,570 points, in line with the drop in regional indices due to uncertainty over rising Covid-19 cases worldwide, especially in India and South Africa.
It said this negative sentiment caused the oil price to fall and would impact shares related to energy.
“Besides, the index would be under pressure due to volatility in foreign fund flows,” Krungsri Securities said.
It recommended investors buy:
▪︎ TQM, STGT, Com7, Synex, BDMS, BCH and CHG, which benefit amid the Covid-19 crisis.
▪︎ PSL, TTA and RCL, which would benefit from a rise in the freight rate.
▪︎ Hana, KCE, TU, and CPF, which benefit from the weakening baht.
The SET Index closed at 1,580.04 on Tuesday, up 5.13 points or 0.33 per cent. The volume of total transactions was Bt102.62 billion, with an index high of 1,582.49 points and a low of 1,570.53.
Thai currency expected to continue weakening amid virus crisis
The baht opened at 31.29 to the US dollar on Wednesday, weakening from its close of 31.27 on Tuesday. The Thai currency is likely to move between 31.25 and 31.35 during the day, Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool said.
He predicted that in the short term the baht would weaken due to several factors, including the Covid-19 crisis in Thailand and other countries.
Poon explained that the crisis has forced people to hold onto their safe-haven assets – the dollar, for example.
He predicted the baht throughout the week would come under pressure from foreign currency purchases by numerous companies as they move to pay dividends.
Poon also predicted that the baht would move in a wide range as importers have bought the US currency as the baht strengthened to 31.15 per dollar.
Gold price rebounds after falling sharply in the previous day
The price of gold surged by Bt250 per baht weight in morning trade on Wednesday, thanks to a decline in the US bond yield and news that China imported the largest amount of the precious metal in 14 years.
According to a Gold Traders Association report at 9.25am, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt26,300 per baht weight and selling price Bt26,400, while gold ornaments cost Bt25,832.64 and Bt26,900, respectively.
At close on Tuesday, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt26,050 per baht weight and selling price Bt26,150, while gold ornaments cost Bt25,574.92 and Bt26,650, respectively.
The spot gold price on Wednesday was US$1,781 (Bt55,769) per ounce compared to Tuesday’s price, when gold rose by $7.80 to $1,778.40 per ounce.
The Hong Kong gold price on Wednesday rose by HK$80 to $16,470 (Bt66,443) per tael, the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society reported.
U.S. stocks fell for a second day as rising virus cases around the world led to renewed concern over the continued economic impact, overshadowing a batch of solid corporate results.
The S&P 500 extended its slide from an all-time high, with investors showing caution ahead of the brunt of the earnings season. All eyes will be on whether an anticipated rise in profits will bring with it forecasts for stronger growth ahead. IBM Corp. climbed after reporting its largest revenue growth in 11 quarters, while United Airlines Holdings Inc. paced a sell-off in travel stocks on a bigger-than-expected loss. Netflix Inc. tumbled after the close of regular trading as its new streaming users lagged estimates.
Johnson & Johnson posted stronger-than-expected sales, while Travelers Cos.’s earnings beat estimates and Philip Morris International Inc. raised its outlook. Procter & Gamble Co. is boosting the prices of some consumer products as the household-goods behemoth grapples with higher commodity costs.
While American equities are trading at a valuation that’s about 35% above the average of the past decade, investors are focused on what’s forecast to be the best earnings season in two years. One of their biggest concerns is whether companies are equipped to handle mounting inflation pressures as the economic recovery gains momentum.
“Earnings season is ramping up, and there’s this concern about how the multinationals will give their guidance in view of the fact that we haven’t drawn a line under covid yet,” said Fiona Cincotta, senior financial markets analyst at City Index. “That is just starting to unnerve investors. Demand for riskier assets has come off.”
For David Donabedian, chief investment officer at CIBC Private Wealth Management, the stock market has been just taking a breather after a big rally, but there are still reasons to be bullish.
“The economic recovery has taken hold, the earnings recovery has taken hold, everything we’ve seen from first-quarter earnings so far has been that it’s going to be a blowout quarter,” he said.
Elsewhere, the dollar rose for the first time in seven sessions, while the Treasury 10-year yield dropped to the lowest level in more than five weeks.
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
– The S&P 500 fell 0.7% as of 4 p.m.EDT
– The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.7%
– The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.8%
– The Russel 2000 Index fell 2%
– The MSCI World index fell 0.9%
Currencies
– The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
– The euro was little changed at 1.2033
– The British pound fell 0.4% to 1.3935
Bonds
– The yield on 10-year Treasurys declined four basis points to 1.562%
– Germany’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to -0.262%
– Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 0.731%
Commodities
– West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.5% to $62 a barrel
– Gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,778 an ounce
Published : April 21, 2021
By : Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Claire Ballentine, Vildana Hajric
Oil marks anniversary of crash below zero with rise toward $64
Oil rose toward $64 a barrel, a year to the day after futures for the U.S. benchmark collapsed below zero, with the worlds most important commodity extending its rally on bets for better demand.
West Texas Intermediate advanced 0.5%, after production in Libya fell below 1 million barrels a day amid a budget dispute. The forward curve suggests growing confidence — particularly as U.S. demand recovers — with some market gauges surging in recent days. Several so-called timespreads are in their strongest backwardation in a month, indicating tight supply.
Vitol Group, the world’s biggest independent oil trader, expects demand to come roaring back, echoing optimistic views from OPEC and the International Energy Agency. Vaccine rollouts are bringing confidence back amid stronger economic data emerging from China and the U.S. Still, the virus is rampant in countries such as India, where a refiner is curbing processing because of lower demand.
“Follow-through buying is pushing prices further up but the immediate upside potential could be limited by the relentless march higher in infection rates,” said Tamas Varga, an analyst at PVM Oil Associates.
A year ago Tuesday, the global oil market faced an unprecedented crisis, with WTI closing at -$37.63 a barrel. Prices went negative after lockdowns savaged demand and key producers Saudi Arabia and Russia flooded the market in a price war. A restoration of OPEC+ unity marked by deep supply cuts, as well as the vaccines, have helped prices to climb back.
“The market’s recovery through the past year, though still clouded by uncertainty, makes a repeat of the April 2020 price crash highly unlikely,” said Vandana Hari, founder of Vanda Insights in Singapore. “Some of the circumstances were unique to last year and the initial weeks of the pandemic, such as the confluence of the unanticipated shock of global lockdowns and demand destruction and OPEC+ opening the spigots.”
Published : April 21, 2021
By : Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Sharon Cho, Alex Longley
SET rises 0.33 per cent on Tuesday amid downward Covid-19 trend
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,580.04 on Tuesday, up 5.13 points or 0.33 per cent. The volume of total transactions was Bt102.62 billion with an index high of 1,582.49 and a low of 1,570.53.
In the morning session, Krungsri Securities forecast the day’s index would fluctuate between 1,565 and 1,585 amid the slight downward trend in Thailand’s daily Covid-19 caseload and a strong performance by Tisco financial group in the first quarter.
“The index will come under pressure from the rise in US bond yield and volatility in foreign fund flows,” said Krungsri Securities.
It advised investors to monitor banks’ first-quarter performances as they are announced this week.
The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were SAWAD, KBANK, ADVANC, BFIT, GULF, BBL, SCB, MTC, THCOM and SCGP.
Other Asian indices were mixed:
Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 29,100.38, down 584.99 points or 1.97 per cent.
China’s Shang Hai SE Composite Index closed at 3,472.94, down 4.61 points or 0.13 per cent, while the Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 14,101.90, down 15.90 points or 0.11 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 29,135.73, up 29.58 points or 0.10 per cent.
South Korea’s KOSPI closed at 3,220.70, up 21.86 points or 0.68 per cent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 17,323.87, up 60.59 points or 0.35 per cent.
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