Anything & Everything About Thailand

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Monday 15 May 2006 :-

Suvarnabhumi International Airport opening still up in the air

The government will announce a new target date next month to open the new Suvarnabhumi International Airport Transport Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal says. The opening of the new airport was to have been last month, but there are questions whether it even can open this year.

The government would give all parties, including international airlines, at least one to two months to get ready for the move, said the minister. That indicates that the earliest possible date that SIA can open is sometime in August. But Mr Pongsak did not even say what day in June he expects to announce the opening date.

He put it this way: "The new airport cannot be opened for commercial purposes in June, but the government will clearly set its opening date in June."

Mr Pongsak conceded that construction and development of at least 46 projects inside the airport are behind schedule.

He said he had instructed authorities concerned at Airports of Thailand Plc to accelerate the projects, threatening to transfer them to inactive posts if they fail to supervise the projects to be complete in due time.

Once Suvarnabhumi Airport is commercially opened, the minister noted, Don Muang Airport would be used for official, private and chartered planes. That contradicted earlier announcements that budget airlines would continue to use the old airport.

"This is to ease the congestion of the Suvarnabhumi Airport in the future," Mr. Pongsak said, the first time a government minister has said that Suvarnabhumi might be congested.

The Suvarnabhumi Airport is targetted to serve around 45 million international passengers a year
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Tuesday 16 May 2006 :-

Buses most popular for Chiang Mai but costly

A study has concluded Chiang Mai's mass-transport needs would best be served by a rapid-bus system, but its estimated costs have doubled to Bt15 billion.

The bus system scored the highest of all options considered, the first public hearing into a mass-transit system for the northern capital was told yesterday.

The bus system scored a 59.7 per cent rating, said Dr Rangsan Udomsri of Chiang Mai University's Faculty of Engineering, who is leading the team studying the transit project. The options, including a subway and elevated train, were measured according to six criteria - engineering, traffic and transportation, economic, environment, social and land use, and public opinion, he said.

The subway and elevated-train options were the least appropriate, Rangsan said.

The two most competitive options were the bus system and tramcars. The latter, however, scored only a 40.3 per cent rating, he said.

Rangsan said of the bus system: "[It's] more economically viable, cheaper in maintenance and investment, and required less time for construction."

However, the system would cost Bt14.9 billion, if the internal rate of return (IRR) was calculated at 12 per cent, he said. This is double the Bt7 billion estimated by the study team last month.

Prasit Raksayos, a senior officer at the Transport Ministry, said Chiang Mai would face serious traffic and environmental problems within 10 years if it did not build a mass transit system. The study into the system began in January and will end in November, when bidding will start. The study includes both phases of Chiang Mai's mass-transit system.

Rangsan estimated the second phase - which will connect six surrounding districts to the city - should cost Bt17.1 billion, at a 12 per cent IRR.

Administration expert Chatri Ruangdejnarong said the new transit system should be run by a public organisation, rather than local organisations such as the Chiang Mai municipality.

Meanwhile, Chiang Mai mayor Boonlert Buranapakorn said the proposal to build 11 kilometres of flood-prevention walls along the Ping River had been shelved due to opposition.

The mayor said this year's flood-prevention measures would rely on 200,000 sandbags. He also said no budget had been approved for flood prevention this year and the Bt50 million promised by the central government last year had yet to arrive.
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Wednesday 17 May 2006 :-

Fortune tellers, street hawkers to be banned from Sanam Luang

Fortune tellers and street hawkers will be banned from Sanam Luang and nearby areas from June 1, Bangkok's Phra Nakhon district director Rerngsak Horareung said Wednesday.

Officials will get tough on street hawkers and roadside vendors around Sanam Luang, and along Rajdamnoen, Wisutkasat, Na Pralan, Maharat, Mahathat, and Sanam Chai roads - as well as the stretch from Phanphiphop Lila Bridge to Pinklao Bridge - all routes that delegates will take to join the 60th anniversary celebrations of His Majesty the King's accession to the throne, Rerngsak said.

Some 300 street hawkers were informed about the new enforcement three weeks ago and most understood the necessity and will look for new trade locations elsewhere, he said.

Only a few insisted on remaining in the same area, and the district will charge them according to the Urban Cleaning Act, punishable up to Bt2,000 fine, if they haven't moved by June 1, 2006.
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Wednesday 17 May 2006 :-

Roti-bun maker targets 100 outlets by year-end

Asia Foods Connection Co Ltd - a Malaysian franchiser of PaPa Roti buns - plans to open 100 outlets by the end of the year.

Managing director Chachawal Daengbunga said yesterday that PaPa Roti, which entered the Thai market on February 26, already has five branches in Bangkok. The outlets at Siam Square and Future Park, Rangsit, are run by the company itself.

The company has established its factory on Rama IV road. Though current production is hand-made, the company plans to invest an additional Bt10 million to import machines in the next few months as the number of franchisees increase.

Current production is 60,000 buns per day with a maximum capacity of 80,000.
The company expects to have 50 franchise outlets in Bangkok and another 50in other parts of the country.

Each outlet requires 25 square metres of space and an investment of Bt1.5-2 million.

To reach breakeven point within three months, each outlet will have to sell up to 3,000 buns per day at Bt25 apiece.

The company is also negotiating with a major fast-food chain to home-deliver its products to customers and expects to conclude the deal soon.

At the same time, the company is creating a strategy to build greater awareness of the PaPa Roti brand with a Bt1-million marketing budget. One advertising ploy would be using a Mobile Unit with the PaPa Roti logo, which will travel around Bangkok.

Since many Thai people perceive buns as an unhealthy food due to their oily ingredients, the company plans to promote its buns as a healthy option by providing a list of ingredients and their nutritive values on each package.

The company expects to generate Bt150 million in sales by the year-end.

Chachawal is not worried about PaPa Roti buns suffering the same fate as the short boom-and-bust phenomenon of "milk tea" in the last few years.

"It depends on what players in the bun market do to extend the market in the long run," he said. "What ruined the "milk tea" life cycle was the aggressive expansion of franchisees without thinking about oversupply."

Currently, the company has only coffee flavour but plans to launch another flavour within the next six months. Chachawal declined to reveal details.

PaPa Roti has businesses in Malaysia, Singapore China, and Indonesia. It plans to penetrate South Korea, Philippines, and Vietnam.

Asia Foods Connection was established in Thailand late last year with Bt3.6 million in registered capital.
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Wednesday 17 May 2006 :-

Roti-bun maker targets 100 outlets by year-end

Asia Foods Connection Co Ltd - a Malaysian franchiser of PaPa Roti buns - plans to open 100 outlets by the end of the year.

Managing director Chachawal Daengbunga said yesterday that PaPa Roti, which entered the Thai market on February 26, already has five branches in Bangkok. The outlets at Siam Square and Future Park, Rangsit, are run by the company itself.

The company has established its factory on Rama IV road. Though current production is hand-made, the company plans to invest an additional Bt10 million to import machines in the next few months as the number of franchisees increase.

Current production is 60,000 buns per day with a maximum capacity of 80,000.
The company expects to have 50 franchise outlets in Bangkok and another 50in other parts of the country.

Each outlet requires 25 square metres of space and an investment of Bt1.5-2 million.

To reach breakeven point within three months, each outlet will have to sell up to 3,000 buns per day at Bt25 apiece.

The company is also negotiating with a major fast-food chain to home-deliver its products to customers and expects to conclude the deal soon.

At the same time, the company is creating a strategy to build greater awareness of the PaPa Roti brand with a Bt1-million marketing budget. One advertising ploy would be using a Mobile Unit with the PaPa Roti logo, which will travel around Bangkok.

Since many Thai people perceive buns as an unhealthy food due to their oily ingredients, the company plans to promote its buns as a healthy option by providing a list of ingredients and their nutritive values on each package.

The company expects to generate Bt150 million in sales by the year-end.

Chachawal is not worried about PaPa Roti buns suffering the same fate as the short boom-and-bust phenomenon of "milk tea" in the last few years.

"It depends on what players in the bun market do to extend the market in the long run," he said. "What ruined the "milk tea" life cycle was the aggressive expansion of franchisees without thinking about oversupply."

Currently, the company has only coffee flavour but plans to launch another flavour within the next six months. Chachawal declined to reveal details.

PaPa Roti has businesses in Malaysia, Singapore China, and Indonesia. It plans to penetrate South Korea, Philippines, and Vietnam.

Asia Foods Connection was established in Thailand late last year with Bt3.6 million in registered capital.
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Wednesday 17 May 2006 :-

Sweet surrender

Although there's been a renewed interest in Thai desserts, this time-honoured heritage is in danger of disappearing due to the secretive attitude of older 'khanom Thai' makers

Until about five years ago, khanom Thai or traditional Thai desserts were usually hidden in the middle of a wet and sombre local fresh market where a grandma-like saleslady gently scooped up a delicate piece of her work from a worn-out aluminium tray into a fresh banana leaf wrapper when the order came. Today, regardless of those street vendors on motorcycle-driven carts selling cheap-quality, barely edible Thai khanom waan, a colourful variety of traditional Thai sweets boasting exquisite appearance and fancy packaging can be found in the gourmet sections of posh department stores.

Thanks to the government's campaign, with assistance from the media, to promote awareness of our national sweet heritage among the new generation and to push it to the world stage a few years ago, there has been a growth in the khanom Thai industry. Yet the results haven't been so significant. Go to any shopping centre and try and peek past the long queues of people crazily waiting for those coffee-coated buns; what do you see more of - shops selling Thai desserts or Western bakery joints?

Who queues for Thai treats?

According to Tipavan Fuangruang, a culinary instructor at Bangkok Polytechnic College, there are several factors that have restricted the popularity of khanom Thai. The first on the list, to some amazement, concerns the taste and the not-so-healthy ingredients.

"Thai desserts appeal mostly to the older generation," she said. "But because the main ingredients are flour, sugar and coconut milk, there's always a limitation on consumption of khanom Thai, especially for old people who have to watch their sugar intake and cholesterol level carefully."

With regard to why Thai desserts have to be very sweet, the cooking expert explained, "Most khanom Thai are perishable, yet making them is very complicated and time-consuming. So in order to prevent them from spoiling so quickly, our ancestors had to make them sweet, and the sweeter they are means the longer they'll keep."

Tipavan said that making khanom Thai doesn't only take time but also requires a lot of labour and fuel. "For example, to make khanom chan (the nine-layered, warm jelly-type dessert) it takes several minutes to carefully create and steam just one layer. The same process is repeated again and again. Or for look choob, there's no commercial mold. It still requires gently molding by hand. So, compared to making a cake which can come out perfectly from one baking, Thai desserts are far more difficult to make."

Tipavan noted that the intricate process of making traditional treats has lead to the lack of interest and inspiration among the new generation to study and keep up the time-honoured recipes. "The grandchildren of the khanom Thai-making families who have seen their grandmas working so hard might not want to pursue the family tradition. They prefer to do something quick with a more substantial result. At my school khanom Thai courses are often quiet but whenever I open a bakery class, it is full very quickly," she said, adding that most Thai kids nowadays have never heard of jah mongkhut and may have never seen re rai.

The last, but not least important factor behind the fading popularity of traditional Thai desserts is the loss of authentic ancient recipes. "I onced ask an old auntie who sold Thai sweets in a fresh market how she made them and she said, 'Oh it's not difficult at all, dear' and she wouldn't say anything more. She wouldn't tell me the recipe, she just didn't bother finishing her answer," Tipavan recalled.

Tipavan said that the typical possessive attitude of the old generation has impeded the flow of cultural heritage. "Most old people don't want to pass their recipes to others. They believe that other people will become their competitors. Therefore, the know-how dies with them. It's quite a narrow-minded perception they have, but it's very common."

At present, even though the number of shops and classes on Thai desserts have increased, the growth isn't going at full pace. Tipavan is still concerned that most modern-day khanom Thai shops focus on commercial value and elaborate packaging rather than authenticity. While at cooking schools, most instructors who teach khanom Thai are young and less knowledgeable.

The saviour of 'khanom Thai'

Among the eight contestants hoping to be crowned connoisseur of traditional Thai desserts in last year's local television game show, Fan Pun Tae, were an avid housewife with a deep passion for Thai sweets, a sweet-toothed college student, a khanom Thai proprietor and two cooking instructors who specialised in traditional Thai delicacies.

And the person who beat the others and was later announced khanom Thai guru of the year was a Chinese-Thai woman named Kornkamon Leelateeraphat, who now runs the country's largest manufacturer with 70 employees and a daily turnover of 30,000 pieces of Thai sweets. For almost two decades, her Kanom Thai Kao Pee Nong business has been known among Bangkokians. Today the company produces more than 70 variations of Thai desserts and snacks, with over 100 items on the menu. From ordinary khanom piak poon and thong yip to rarely found massagod, luem gluen (forget to swallow), sanae jan, jah mongkhut and re rai - you name it, they have it.

"Even though I have Chinese roots I've never thought that I have taken over the traditional recipe from real Thai people, instead I feel proud to be able to retain the ancient custom," the humble Kornkamon said.

Kornkamon is the seventh offspring of a Chinese family with nine children - that's the reason why she named her business "Kao Pee Nong". Together with siblings six, eight and nine, she opened a small stall selling a few selections of Thai sweets 19 years ago.

"As a child, I never had a chance to go out and play or watch television. Being poor had urged us to be very diligent and ambitious," she recalled. Perhaps it's the typical Chinese virtues of persistence, stamina and diligence that have made her family overcome obstacles, pursue their goals and gain a place at the forefront of the industry today.

For Kornkamon, learning how to make khanom Thai and getting "the right" recipes were not as easy as attending cooking classes, listening to the experts and jotting down what they said. "To be able to make good khanom Thai, it usually takes close observation and creativity to understand and adapt the recipes, but more often it's self-study that comes into play," she said, pointing out that most cooking schools wouldn't reveal all the tips and knowledge, in fact some even concealed the information. "For instance, when the instructor said it's rice flour, instead she used glutinous flour. So whenever the students go home, they can't make it the same as they have done in the class even though they strictly follow the recipe."

She offered another common sleight of hand. "When measuring the ingredients the instructor always blocked the view of the weighing machine so we wouldn't know the right amount. Such dilemmas aren't normally found at a bakery class."

Kornkamol said that when cooking, old people don't really measure the ingredients but depend on using the same utensils and containers, so when they share the recipe with others they can't really pinpoint the exact weight and quantity, instead they say, "Just put a pinch of it" or "Fill it to the handle level of that pot". This results in fluctuating recipes and different outcomes. The eager Kornkamon used to have her brother lure the teacher out so she could weigh all the ingredients herself.

Right now, other than selling at Aw Taw Kaw and Bon Marche, the company distributes to many five-star hotels throughout the country as well as to several airlines. But the overall retail demand isn't high because of the booming health concern.

"In the past people were less worried about their heath compared to nowadays. Now there's a trend of eating right and people are a lot more careful about what they consume," she noted.

To cater to sweet-toothed yet health-conscious customers, Kornkamon has come up with more healthy recipes and recently launched low cholesterol Thai sweets using cholesterol-free cream and fructose syrup instead of coconut milk and sugar. The new approach has gone into many new creations including khanom kheng, woon kati and thong yord, to name a few.

"They might not taste exactly the same as the original recipe. But at least they offer an alternative for the health-conscious generation, and perhaps taste better."

Khanom Thai Kao Pee Nong is located at Aw Taw Kaw market opposite Chatuchak. For more information, please call 02-278-1426.
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

------ continued ---------> Part 2

[KatoeyLover69]

------- continued -------

SYMBOLIC MEANINGS

Thai sweets are made from refined recipes that have been passed down for centuries and take time and careful attention to prepare. So not only do they symbolise sweetness, they also represent passion, preciousness and subtlety. Many "khanom Thai" include the word "thong", which literally means gold in Thai, indeed some are even decorated with gold leaf to signify prosperity and high esteem. Therefore they are often reserved for special occasions, such as a wedding ceremony, and as a gift. Here are some examples of meaningful Thai desserts.

*　Khanom chan represents advancement and promotion
*Jah mongkhut represents triumph and superiority
*Sanae jan represents the moonlight's allure
*Khanom tuoy foo represents prosperity
*Khanom tarn represents sweetness and smoothness
*Look choob represents adorability
*Khao niew kaew represents pure integrity
*Woon noppakao represents wealth
*Med kanoon represents support
*Dok lamduan and Benjamas represent long-lasting friendship and thoughtfulness
*Foi thong means golden threads
*Thong chompunut means pure gold
*Thong ek means chief of gold
*Thong ut means golden penny
*Thong muan means golden roll
*Thong noppakhun means pure gold
*Thong plu means golden flare
*Thong tat means golden offering
*Thong yip means golden pinch
*Thong yord means golden drop
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Thursday 18 May 2006 :-

Medical travel soars

Moves to make Thailand one of Asia's top medical hubs have gone well, with a more than 50-per-cent annual increase in the number of foreigners using health services here.

This had enabled the country to earn nearly Bt30 billion in revenue, a senior official said yesterday.

Health Service Support Department director-general Supachai Kunarattanapreuk said the project, begun in 2003, had yielded a satisfactory result, with about one million foreigners now using medical services in Thailand each year.

The most popular services among foreigners were: hi-tech surgery for chronic illnesses such as heart operations, cosmetic surgery and dental services, Supachai said.

Japanese were the largest group of customers followed by Americans, Britons, Taiwanese and other Asian nationals, he said.

The key draws were no long waits for surgery and cheaper prices for quality service.

A dental implant, for example, would cost up to Bt100,000 in America but was priced at about Bt40,000 here, he said.

Currently, Thailand ranked second for medical services in Asia after India, Supachai said. India had the upper hand on new technology, medical personnel and prices, he said, but Thailand remained competitive with other good post-treatment packages at hospitals, tour programmes, spa and Thai massage services.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Thursday 18 May 2006 :-

People demand rail projects

The Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) yesterday released the results of a survey conducted in Bangkok that showed people want priority given to five of 10 railway projects planned for the capital.

The five routes Bangkokians want to see constructed first are the red line (Rangsit-Mahachai); the light red line (Taling Chan-Suvarnabhumi); the blue line (Bang Sue-Hua Lamphong-Bang Khae); the yellow line (Lat Phrao-Samrong); and the light green line (Prannok-Samut Prakan).

According to the survey, people want to see all 10 projects completed by 2012 and the ticket fares should be in the range of Bt10 to Bt30 per trip.

Maitree Srinarawat, director-general of the OTP, said to get people to participate in the planning of the proposed railway projects - part of the government's Bt1.7-trillion mega-project scheme - the office conducted a survey by distributing questionnaires, of which 20,000 were sent back.

Anat Arbhabhirama, adviser to the broad of directors of Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc (BTS), operator of the Skytrain, said BTS has been undertaking a technical study along with Bangkok Metro Plc (BMCL), operator of Bangkok's subway, to settle on an identical ticketing system. This followed the government's policy to facilitate the convenience of public transport.

He said BTS is preparing to invest in a change of its ticketing system to the more modern one used by BMCL.

"The company expects to spend Bt110 million to Bt150 million to change its ticketing system," said Anat.

He said the new system would be in place by the end of this year. Anat said the Skytrain, now in its sixth operational year, was currently catering to 430,000 passengers a day during the week and 300,000 a day at the weekend.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Friday 19 May 2006 :-

Brahma statue set to be re-installed on 21 May 2006

After two months of delicate re-assembly work, the statue of Brahma, which had been hammered to pieces by a mentally deranged man two months ago, is now ready for a grand enshrining ceremony to be televised live from the Rajprasong Intersection on Sunday.

The statue, framed up from brass wire and plastered with gypsum cement while containing some fragments of the destroyed figure, will pass through several sacred steps before being placed back on its base at the Erawan shrine.

At the auspicious time of 7.29am on Sunday, the statue will depart from a Fine Arts Department workshop in Nakhon Pathom along Pinklao-Nakhon Chaisri Road. It will undergo a blessing ceremony at the City Pillar Shrine near Sanam Luang, then a holy water rinsing rite in the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

The statue will next be ushered into the Brahmin Temple on Kalayana Maitree Road, where a Brahmin ceremony will be performed, before heading to the Rajprasong Intersection through the Samran Rat and Maen Sri intersections and then Kasat Suek Bridge.

Sections of Ploenchit and Rajdamri roads near the shrine will be closed to vehicular traffic from 10.30am to noon.

The installation ceremony at the Erawan shrine will commence exactly at 11am. The participants will walk three times around the shrine by 11.39am, and the entire proceedings, presided over by caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, will be completed at 11.59am.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Friday 19 May 2006 :-

Police seeking cross-dresser for murder of Police Officer

Rat Burana police are hunting a possible male cross-dresser suspected of involvement in the death of a police officer in a hotel room early on Wednesday morning.

The suspect has been identified as Seksan Khamwong, who police said had frequently claimed to be close to an extra in a budget movie. A sketch of him, which depicts a woman with a physical resemblance to a man of around 30-40 years of age with permed hair and the facial structure of a man, standing around 168 cm tall, has been circulated.

No criminal charge will be filed against Seksan when he is apprehended until after questioning and subsequent confirmation that he had drugged Police Lt-Colonel Chanin Bunnag on purpose, or suffocated him, Rat Burana police said.

A police coroner said Chanin had died of suffocation. A forensic test to find out whether he had been drugged or poisoned was underway and would be completed next week.

Chanin was found lying on his stomach with his face buried in a pillow when hotel staff opened his room at 3pm the next day. The suspect could have forced the officer's face into the pillow to suffocate him, or Chanin might have had a stroke, then a heart attack.

According to police, Chanin, chief detective of Talad Phloo police station, first met the suspect at a pub in Thon Buri Plaza entertainment complex at around 2am, and they later went together to a restaurant in Bang Khun Thien district before checking in at the Suksawas 19 Inn hotel at 4am.

Anant Sumano of the hotel staff said a phone call was made from the room, telling the operator, in exhausted tones, "Don't let the girl get my car if she leaves."

"When I took the phone from the operator, a masculine voice on the phone said: "Let her get the car, she's my girl." Anant said neither he nor the operator could tell whether the first or second voice was Chanin speaking.

After five minutes, the man left the room and drove the car away. Anant said the person looked like a male cross-dresser with cheek and chin plastic surgery.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Saturday 20 May 2006 :-

PM to preside over Brahma statue ceremony

Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will preside over a ceremony to re-install the revered Brahma statue at the Erawan Shrine tomorrow. Over the past six weeks the embattled Thai Rak Thai leader has delegated his work to his deputy Gen Chidchai Wannasathit, following a series of street protests led by the People's Alliance for Democracy.

So far, he has not made clear whether he will fully resume his duties, leading to speculation about his role.

The Brahma statue reinstallation ceremony is one of the first functions he will carry out to mark his comeback.

The statue was smashed on March 21 by a mentally ill man who was later beaten to death.

The statue, which has been restored by the Fine Arts Department, will be taken to the shrine in a procession starting early in the morning, Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said.

The procession will make three stop-overs at the City Pillar Shrine, the Emerald Buddha Temple and the Brahmin temple near the Giant Swing, where worshipping and lustral water pouring ceremonies will be performed.

The statue will arrive at the Erawan Shrine, in the grounds of the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel, at 11.39am, where the installation and worshipping ceremony, to be presided over by Mr Thaksin, will be performed. It is expected that hundreds of worshippers from places such as Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore will attend the ceremony.

Municipal police and police officers will be deployed to ensure security and to direct the flow of traffic, said Mr Surakiart.

Phloen Chit-Mater Dei school and Ratchawithi Road will be closed to traffic from 11am to 12 noon
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Saturday 20 May 2006 :-

ThaiBev expects healthy IPO sale in gloomy market in Singapore : Capitalisation on SGX could reach S$9bn

Singapore - Thai Beverage, the country's leading producer of beer and spirits, yesterday began its initial public offering in Singapore, amid hopes that it would generate interest among investors despite sluggish market conditions. ''Look at my face, I'm smiling,'' said Ueychai Tantha-Obhas, the senior vice-president and director for marketing for ThaiBev, in a videoconference call from New York.

The producer of Chang Beer and Mekhong rum is in the process of selling 4.89 billion shares to investors globally before listing on the Singapore Stock Exchange on May 30.

The move to list comes amid turmoil in global equity markets, with the Dow Jones average posting its worst one-day decline since the start of the year on Wednesday, and the Singapore Straits Times Index off by more than 5% in the past week. While most Asian markets rebounded yesterday, the SGX lost another 0.3%.

The ThaiBev offering, the second largest in Singapore history after the IPO of Singapore Telecommunications in 1994, involves the issue of 2.44 billion new shares, while another 2.44 billion shares are being sold by the Sirivadhanabhakdi family, the founders of the company. The company also has allocated 733 million shares in a greenshoe option to accommodate any additional demand.

ThaiBev chose to list in Singapore after encountering strong opposition from anti-alcohol activists to a listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

After all of the shares are sold the company's free float in the market would be 20%, with a market capitalisation as high as S$9 billion (216 billion baht). The figure is based on the top end of the share price range of 26 to 36 Singapore cents (6.25 to 8.65 baht). The company has based financial assumptions in its prospectus on a price of S$0.31. The final price will be determined on Wednesday.

''I think that the shares are going to be oversubscribed many times,'' said a banker at a leading global institution.

Thai Beverage hopes to be able to raise as much as S$1.1 billion, if the overallotment proportion is taken up, with most of the proceeds being used to repay debts.

Thai Beverage has paid-up capital of 22 billion baht and registered capital of 29 billion shares at one-baht par value. Its debts totalled 55.5 billion baht as of March 31.

''What we want to do is to bring down our debt-to-equity ratio to less than 1:1, like our regional peers, from 1.4:1 currently,'' Mr Ueychai said.

He said that most of the company's major capital expenditures had already been made and very little was required over the next two years.

''Our current expansion would be sufficient to meet demand over the next three to five years and we would not need any further expansion.''

Once ThaiBev is listed it will be one of the 10 largest companies on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and the largest of the four listed alcoholic beverage companies, overshadowing its nearest rival, Asia Pacific Brewery, which is also listed in Singapore.

''Our ambition is to be the market leader in the Asean countries over the next three to five years,'' Mr Ueychai said.

Although Thai Beverage has a dominant market position in Thailand, controlling nearly 60% of the beer market and 74% of spirit sales, revenues have grown very little over the past three years, according to its prospectus.

Last year ThaiBev reported total sales revenue of 92.1 billion baht, up marginally from 91.63 billion in 2003.

The company has also seen its beer market share decline, to 8.24 billion hectolitres last year from 10.41 billion in 2003.

''We are witnessing a short-term blip and we expect it to be just a blip and not a long-term trend in volume declines,'' Mr Ueychai said.

He said that the company was gradually moving its market segmentation more toward premium brands in order to increase volumes as well as margins.

ThaiBev's gross margin increased, to 31.4% in 2005 from 27.1% in 2003, although general selling and administrative expenses also rose to 13.7% from 12.2% during the same period due to higher taxes and competitive market landscape.

''We are in the process of increasing prices and the product mix, coupled with other strategies such as using alternative fuel sources and increasing efficiency in logistics and raw material procurement to help increase margins and lower our costs,'' Mr Ueychai added.

Currently, Thai Beverage has little presence in higher-priced beer and spirits, though it believes they offer significant growth potential as local consumers become more affluent and trade up from economy beverages.
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Saturday 20 May 2006 :-

Woman farmer jailed for luring girl, 13, into sex

A woman was yesterday handed a 15-year prison term for luring a girl into prostitution in Japan three years ago.

The Criminal Court sentenced Jirawan Jomsawang to 15 years with no remission, ruling that her only defence, that she had not personally know the victim, then 13, was insufficient and unconvincing.

The prosecution said she had lulled the unidentified girl and her parents into believing that she would work as a waitress at a restaurant in Japan.

The girl was sold to a woman in Pathum Thani province, who took her to Japan.

There she was forced to have sex with male customers in two major cities for around 10 months before she managed to escape and seek help from the Thai Embassy in +++yo.

The Crime Suppression Division arrested Jirawan, a farmer in Phayao province, in December 2004. She maintained her innocence throughout the trial.
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Saturday 20 May 2006 :-

Policeman's death : Suspect arrested in Lop Buri : Police say transexual admits to spitting crushed sleeping pill into victim's beer can

Two days after a police officer died in a Bangkok hotel, possibly as a result of being drugged after checking in with a male transexual, police yesterday apprehended a man at a Lop Buri hotel whom they suspect of involvement in the death.

Seksan Khamwong, 36, was located after police traced his mobile-phone signal. He was on the run driving the pickup of Pol Lt-Colonel Chanin Bunnag, who was found dead at a hotel on Suksawad Road early Wednesday morning.

The suspect admitted to drugging the officer with one sleeping pill by cracking it in his mouth and then spitting it into a can of beer for Chanin to drink. Seksan claimed he had not intented to kill the officer.

Seksan said he had known that Chanin was a policeman when they met in a pub, where, he said, the officer approached him and offered him a job as an undercover agent for drug sting operations. Seksan said he had drugged Chanin as he was desperate for money to pay tuition fees for his 13-year-old adopted daughter.

Metropolitan Police Bureau chief Lt-General Wiroj Jantharangsee dismissed Seksan's claim that he had merely committed a "crime of opportunity", as the man had once served a prison term for a similar crime and hundreds of sleeping pills were found with him.

However, no criminal charges have yet been filed against Seksan while police wait for a forensic test to determine whether the officer was drugged, or poisoned. The results should be available next week.

The initial autopsy report indicated that Seksan died of suffocation. His death could have been instigated by a stroke followed by a heart attack, according to a police coroner.

After pursuing Seksan on the basis of a recent mobile-phone signal detected in Ayutthaya province yesterday morning, police received an important tip-off from police in neighbouring Saraburi province that they had impounded a pistol thought to belong to the late officer.

Deputy Metropolitan Police Bureau chief Major Krissada Phankhongchuen said that after leaving Bangkok Seksan had met a female prison guard in Saraburi whom he had known while in prison for a similar crime two years ago.

Quoting the unidentified wardress, the officer said she had found the handgun in a bag left with her after she and Seksan went out shopping together, and had taken it to Muang Saraburi police station and asked the officers what she should do about it. After police impounded the gun, the wardress said, she phoned Seksan to ask whether he was involved in the death of Chanin in Bangkok. Seksan denied it and turned his mobile phone off. Police are trying to discover the whereabouts of Chanin's gold necklace and other belongings.

Phet Khamwong, his mother, said she could not believe he was involved in the policeman's death. She said Seksan had had a sex-change operation when he was 22.
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork