Thailand
(Source : Embassy of India, Bangkok)
India keen to import more Thai rubber
Bangkok Post 28.09.2019
Thailand looks set to boost shipments of agricultural products to India, in particular rubber to supply the latter`s strong automotive industry. Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit, who led a delegation to Mumbai and Chennai this week, said the Commerce Ministry will hold discussions later with Indian counterparts to boost rubber trade between the two countries and tackle existing trade obstacles, especially tariffs. Mr Jurin presided over a seminar and business networking event on Friday between Thai and Indian rubber players co-hosted by the International Trade Promotion Department, the All India Rubber Industries Association and the Automotive Tyre Manufacturing Association. V T Chandhrasekharan, president of the rubber association, said Indian rubber demand averages 1.2 million tonnes a year, while the import volume was more than 500,000 tonnes this year, only 10% of which was from Thailand. India`s biggest import volume was from Indonesia, comprising 42% of total imports, followed by Vietnam at 20% and Malaysia at 11%.
Ford is hand control of India business to Mahindra
Bangkok Post 03.10.2019
The US carmaker will transfer most of its Indian business to a new joint venture controlled and managed by local rival Mahindra, it announced on Tuesday. Mahindra will own 51% of the joint venture and Ford the rest. The joint venture should be operational by the middle of 2020. It will "develop, market and distribute" Ford vehicles in India and also sell Ford and Mahindra vehicles overseas, the company said. Ford will retain control of an engine manufacturing unit in India. "Partnerships have the ability to make us more competitive and better serve customers in an era of rapid change, and this partnership is no different," Ford`s executive chairman Bill Ford told reporters. "We remain deeply committed to India and our 14,000 employees, dealers and suppliers," he added. The companies have been working together in India since 2017.
ASEAN India Ministerial Meeting
Khom Chad Luk 08.10.2019
India is moving forward its “Act East Policy” in order to enhance relations and collaboration with the nations in ASEAN in all aspects including economy, society, culture, politics, and stability. This will lead to the partnership between ASEAN and India. The Director-General of Department of ASEAN Affairs said that India is a big market with high trade opportunities and India is also the No.6 trading nation for Asean. He aims that the collaboration between India and ASEAN will drive trade value to up to 200 billion dollar in 2022.
Cabinet hope to take India to EEC
Krungthep Turakij 08.10.2019
The Cabinet has approved the draft document of the result of the 8th Thailand-India Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation recently. The document will be used in the signing ceremony at the 8th Thailand-India Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation, which will take place in New Delhi, India, on Oct 9-10. The document consists of the collaboration between the two nations in 9 areas and will push forward bilateral trade and investment. Thailand asks Indian government to support the investments in Thailand, especially in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).
Indorama readies B15bn in debentures, eyes sustainability
Bangkok Post 09.10.2019
Indorama Ventures Plc plans to issue 15 billion baht in subordinated perpetual debentures. In September, Tris Ratings assigned an AA- company rating to IVL with a stable outlook and an issue rating of A with a stable outlook for the proposed subordinated perpetual debentures. The issuance will have a coupon of 5% a year paid quarterly, compared with the current policy rate of 1.50% and government bond yields of 1.40% for five years and 1.49% for 10 years. The company has appointed Bangkok Bank, Krungthai Bank, Kasikornbank and Siam Commercial Bank to manage the sale of the debentures to investors during the subscription period of Nov 4 to 7. IVL ranked 35th among global chemical companies based on total sales in 2018, according to Chemical Week, an industry publication. From 2014 to 2019, IVL increased the number of manufacturing sites to 101 in 31 countries in Asia, North America, Europe, South America and Africa.
Oyo raises $ 1.5 bn from its investors
Bangkok Post 09.10.2019019
Oyo Hotels & Homes said it’s raising $1.5 billion in fresh financing, with founder Ritesh Agarwal investing $700 million into the SoftBank-backed company. Agarwal’s investment will be routed through the Cayman Islands-registered RA Hospitality, a special purpose vehicle, and financed by the $2-2.2 billion debt he had raised from a consortium of Japanese financial institutions, including Nomura Holdings and Mizuho. This debt financing involves the 26-year-old group CEO pledging his stake in the company that he founded in 2013. Of the debt raised by Agarwal, $1.5 billion will be used to partially buy out the stakes held by two early investors in Oyo — venture capital firms Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital while the rest will be pumped into the company. Agarwal’s stake will rise to about 30% from 10% now.
Eyes on the summit between `India-China`
Krungthep Turakij 11.10.2019
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet in Chennai on October 11 onwards for the Second Informal Summit. Huawei Technologies has been expressing its interest to create 5G system in India. The Summit might come up with the agreement for the 5G between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Huawei has been the main player in India smartphone market, but New Delhi government hasn’t announced the obvious standpoint toward Huawei’s 5G yet.