Fashion
Thailand was the big winner at the Asean Energy Awards, reflecting growing awareness on energy efficiency.
The awards were presented as part of the 33rd Asean Energy Ministers Meeting in Kuala Lumpur. Thailand submitted 30 projects for the 64 available awards and 26 of them won, said Energy Minister General Anantaporn Kanjanarat after returning from the meeting.
The projects were selected through a national-level competition called the Thailand Energy Awards, which encouraged private companies to embark on energy-efficiency programmes.
Of the 26 winning projects, one from Tip Sukhothai Bio Energy Co, a sugar manufacturer, was the most outstanding. The project, requiring an investment of Bt1.6 billion, uses molasses to generate electricity and steam and more than 90 per cent of the output is sold.
Indorama Ventures issues overseas bond
Indorama Ventures has successfully issued its first overseas senior unsecured bond to the amount of $195 million Singapore dollar (Bt4.95 billion) to institutional investors in Singapore through its wholly-owned subsidiary, IVL Singapore, according to its filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand yesterday.
The Bond has been rated AA (Stable) by Standard and Poor’s and has a tenor of 10 years with an interest rate of 3.73 per cent per annum. It is guaranteed by Credit Guarantee & Investment Facility (CGIF), a trust fund of the Asian Development Bank and listed on the SGX-ST. The proceeds from this issuance will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes within the group.
Latest partner
TMB Bank has added Manulife Asset Management as latest partners in helping strengthen its “TMB Open Architecture” mutual funds offerings.
TMB Open Architecture allows all of TMB’s customers to invest in funds from different asset management firms, offering wider investment choices with the benefit of potentially higher returns from more quality funds. The bank expects Assets Under Management this year to rise by 30 per cent from the year before, said Marie Ramlie, TMB Bank’s Head of Retail Products.
TMB is the only commercial Thai bank that offers Open Architecture service to all of its customers. This service responds to customer needs, simplifying their life, as quality mutual funds from leading asset management firms are centralised at one single-service point exclusively for TMB customers.
The project has received an overwhelming response since its launch in the middle of 2014 with the number of mutual funds unit-holders rising by close to 20 per cent to 220,000.
MPC gains new member
Apichai Boontherawara was appointed to the Monetary Policy Committee at a special Bank of Thailand meeting on Monday, the BOT announced.
He resigned as vice chairman of the executive board of Southeast Insurance and Finance Group and as director of the Export-Import Bank of Thailand in order to accept the MPC post.
The appointment came into effect yesterday. Apichai replaces Veerathai Santiprabhob, who resigned from the MPC on October 1 taking over as governor of the central bank.
