To more directly engage movie-goers and give greater impact to its promotional campaigns, United International Pictures (UIP), a global film distributor, has adopted a strategy for this year of mixing traditional and social media, as well as satellite television channels.
Indorama Ventures, the world's largest integrated polyester chain manufacturer, has no plan to slow down its acquisitions or investment in green-field projects even though it is likely to exceed its production capacity target in three years.
Energy Earth, a miner and trader of coal, expects to see a 100-per-cent growth in sales this year following expected price increases on the back of higher demand from China and India.
Another policy rate cut is expected at the next meeting of the Bank of Thailand's Monetary Policy Committee in March, given the external risks in Europe and the United States.
The Marine Department has requested a five-year construction budget of Bt9.585 billion for the Pak Bara Deep Sea Port project, work on which is due to begin next year once protests by local residents have been resolved.
Larger corporations should include commodity volatility and competitiveness enhancement in their business plan to immunise themselves against global risks and beat rivals ahead of the upcoming Asean Economic Community, a key banker said last week.
As feared, last year's flood crisis has led to the hasty passing of laws to help support post-flood reconstruction. Though this speediness might satisfy some people, it could derail necessary preparation for the upcoming rainy season and also ruin Thailand's long-term attraction for foreign investors, many of whom have been hit by more than US$100 million (Bt3 billion) in indirect losses.
Foreign investors are concerned about the national broadcasting and telecom watchdog's regulations on preventing foreign dominance in the telecom industry.
Telecom and broadcasting operators will urge the national broadcasting and telecom regulator to announce its complete spectrum allocation roadmap as soon as possible to enable them to prepare future business plans.
Thailand will have to deal with its biggest-ever rice stockpile of more than 10 million tonnes this year if the government insists on maintaining its subsidy scheme and targeted export price of US$700 per tonne.
Thailand's hold on the title of world's biggest rice exporter started slipping last month after its exports fell behind those of Vietnam, whose traders are offering attractive prices while Bangkok concentrates on high subsidies to boost domestic prices.
Deposits with the Government Savings Bank have soared 29.27 per cent to Bt1.53 trillion as investors seek refuge before the Deposit Protection Agency (DPA) limits insurance for deposits to just Bt1 million from August onwards and the central bank plans to collect more premiums from commercial banks.
The Association of Securities Companies (Asco) wants the government and relevant agencies to come up with development guidelines for the Thai capital markets and to amend laws to support self-regulatory organisations (SROs) for higher competitiveness.
Siam Cement Group (SCG), Thailand's largest industrial conglomerate, will benefit in the long term from the acquisition of Boral Indonesia, a leading ready-mix concrete maker, as it is another step towards strengthening SCG's business in Southeast Asia's largest country, brokerages said.
There is no doubt that smart phones have enriched people's lives. We can access e-mails, social websites and practical information virtually anywhere, anytime. But are we at a point of diminishing returns, where the time we spend in cyberspace is eating away at our lives?
-Manoon Sunkunakorn recently quit Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), where he served as the senior executive vice president for human resources for just under two years. The prominent HR practitioner, who is also a former HR director at SCG, moved to the bank at the request of Chumpol na Lamlieng, who sits on the boards of both organisations. Sources said Manoon is now with the Crown Property Bureau, which is the major shareholder of both SCB and SCG.
The government expects to conclude negotiations on a comprehensive economic agreement with India in the middle of this year, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said.
Martin Schulz has been appointed vice president of sales and marketing at Mercedes-Benz (Thailand), succeeding Stephan Moebius, who has completed his assignment in the Kingdom.