thegreglowe.com

By GREG LOWE
IN BANGKOK
THAI-LISTED companies saw net profits surge by 42 per cent last year to 446.51 billion baht (S$19.13 billion) on sales totalling 6.39 trillion baht, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) says.
The top-performing industry groups were resources, finance, and property and construction respectively, with PTT, Siam Cement, PTT Exploration and Production, Bangkok Bank [...]

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The year ahead for Thailand´s hotel and resort development sector will witness a rebound from the impact of the global financial crisis, local recession and domestic political turmoil, according to property experts. But while the outlook is less turbulent, growth will remain anaemic and patchy, and project financing will remain tight.
Occupancy levels in Thailand´s main [...]

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Preventing foreigners from owning land and property in Thailand does many things: it protects powerful Thai landlords and agricultural monopolies, forces overseas investors to consider setting up shop in other regional markets, drives Thai capital from the country and provides a pool of nationalist bile for tub-thumping politicians to draw on and whip up a [...]

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Professor Pakdee Pothisiri has his work cut out.
As one of Thailand’s nine anti-corruption commissioners he is in the front line of the battle against graft in the country’s political and public sectors. But he remains upbeat in the face of the Herculean task that lies in front of him and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC): [...]

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Developing an Asian rail network to expand trade and economic development within the region will come a step closer this week when a new intergovernmental agreement comes into force.
The Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway Network, which commits signatories to co-ordinate the development and operation of international rail routes linking 28 countries, is scheduled to [...]

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Siemens Thailand outlined three investment projects yesterday which it says show its long-term commitment to developing the country’s human capital and sustainable transport systems.
But the industrial technology giant would not say how much capital it would inject into the projects, or what the investment horizon would be. Read more…

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By GREG LOWE
The global recession and domestic political turmoil have clipped Siemens Thailand’s growth expectations this year but the company still expects its turnover to increase in 2009, says CEO Anthony Chay. The impact of slumping global demand on Thailand’s heavily export-oriented economy is the major factor crimping the profits of Siemens’ industry-dependent operations. Read [...]

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ASEAN’S 14th summit concluded in Thailand on March 1 having made some significant economic and political developments, but the association’s lofty goals will be hindered by protectionism and its non-interference policy, experts say.
The Asean Cha-am Hua Hin Declaration affirmed the 10 member states’ commitment to free trade, the development of regional economic, social and cultural [...]

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By GREG LOWE
IN BANGKOK
DETERIORATING asset quality is becoming a serious issue for Thailand’s commercial banks, according to new central bank figures, but analysts say the sector can face down the recession due to its strong fundamentals.
Bank of Thailand figures for the last quarter showed that re-entry non-performing loans (NPLs) - failed loans that became NPLs [...]

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By GREG LOWE
IN BANGKOK
AIRLINES are yet to be compensated for losses they suffered when anti-government protesters blockaded Thai airports last year, despite government assurances of financial support.
Some 350,000 tourists were stranded in Bangkok and 3.4 million prevented from entering Thailand when a group called the People’s Alliance for Democracy seized the city’s two international airports, [...]

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