S44 order forces Akara to cease operations

Mining company lays off over 1,000 workers

This Australian-controlled Chatree gold mine in Phichit province, owned through its Thai subsidiary Akara Resources, is shutting down, firing 1,000 Thais and moving to Chile, 'a government that understands mining'.

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Akara Resources Plc, which operates the largest gold mine in Thailand, has announced it will cease activity at its Chatree mining complex in Phichit from Jan 1 next year and lay off more than 1,000 workers in response to the regime's latest Section 44 order to suspend operations of all gold mines.

The company, a subsidiary of Sydney-based Kingsgate, issued a statement Wednesday saying the Section 44 order issued on Tuesday came as a surprise.

Following the order, some 1,004 employees have received lay-off letters with a compensation package of up to 300 days' pay for those who have been with the company for at least 10 years.

The company said it had always done everything legally and insisted its operations had not damaged the environment or residents' health.

Kingsgate said it will not return to Thailand without an "ironclad guarantee" from the government that it will be allowed to operate without interruption.

The National Legislative Assembly passed legislation last week that could allow mining with a lesser degree of regulation. But Kingsgate executives said they are once bitten, twice shy.

"We'd need an ironclad guarantee of tenure," Ross Smyth-Kirk, chairman of Kingsgate, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "It's been a disgrace. There's still a lot of gold there still to be taken out, needing expertise of people like ourselves who are prepared to spend big investments to get it out. It's not some tin-pot operation."

He said Kingsgate is planning a new mine in Chile, and hopes to launch operations there after they finish paying off their debt, which now stands at about $10 million, by the end of the year.

"Chile has a government that understands mining and that understands its importance to the economy," Smyth-Kirk said. "We'll see how negotiations go."

The biggest factor in closing Chatree was public pressure, such as this protest in May of last year claiming numerous villagers had become sickened by the mine operations. (Bangkok Post file photo)

A company source said most of those who were laid off are locals who were hired to work at the gold mining site. Meanwhile, some office workers such as accounting and mining rehabilitating staff remained employed.

The company's gold mining concession will expire in 2028.

The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) chief Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday excercised his power under Section 44 of the interim charter to issue an order to suspend gold mine operations from Jan 1. The order also stops authorities from issuing and renewing gold mine exploration or concession licences.

According to the order, the move aimed to tackle conflicts between residents and gold mine operators, and the environmental and health problems linked to gold mine operations in various areas.

The order also requires the ministry responsible to examine the problems and propose measures to tackle them as well as a plan for managing gold resources. It also assigns the Labour Ministry to help workers affected by the order.

The cabinet previously suspended moves to renew the company's metallurgical processing licence citing conflicts with the locals living near the mining site who said its activities have damaged their health and the environment. However, to limit its impact, the cabinet allowed production to carry on until the end of this year.

Jatuporn Buruspat, chief of the Pollution Control Department, said staff would consider how to rehabilitate the gold mining site.

He said the issue needs to be discussed with state agencies, including the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Public Health, adding the rehabilitation process must be carried out together with the company.

Paul Robilliard, the Australian ambassador, told the Bangkok Post it was too early to discuss implications of the NCPO order's upon the mining company including the Australian investment.

"Clearly, from the embassy's point of view, we would like to ensure the [Australian] company is treated or dealt with fairly, appropriately and in a transparent manner," said Mr Robilliard.

Lertsak Kamkongsak, from the Network of Public Policy on Mining, said the NCPO did not discriminate as the order affected all mining companies, not only in Phichit but also in Loei province.

Shrimp exports set to grow 10-15%

Farmers manage early mortality syndrome

Shrimp are prepared for export at a seafood plant in Songkhla province. Thai shrimp exports are forecast to rise sharply next year as the country has achieved some success in tackling EMS. WICHAN CHAROENKIATPAKUL

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Thai shrimp exports are expected to grow by 10-15% next year, with domestic supply to hit a record high four years after Thailand began wrestling with early mortality syndrome (EMS).

Somsak Paneetatyasai, president of the Thai Shrimp Association, said the country's overall shrimp industry has been recovering as farmers have achieved greater know-how in improving their techniques and upgrading their operations to prevent EMS outbreaks.

"Most Thai shrimp farmers have learned that to prevent the disease, shrimp should be raised in clean ponds with healthy, juvenile shrimp," he said. "We expect brighter prospects for the industry next year for shrimp, not only for prices but also for production."

The association forecasts Thailand will end this year with shrimp shipments of 200,000 tonnes, up 25% from a year before, worth 60 billion baht, a rise of 23% from 2015.

Thailand shipped 160,935 tonnes worth 54.5 billion baht from January to October this year, up 25.9% and 23.1%, respectively.

Thailand is projected to produce 300,000 tonnes of shrimp this year, up 15% from 2015.

Next year, the association expects Thailand to ship 230,000-250,000 tonnes, up 10-15% from this year's estimates.

Production is expected at 350,000 tonnes next year, the highest level in four years, after the Thai shrimping industry successfully began addressing the EMS issue and developed higher-quality breeds.

EMS was first detected at a shrimp farm in China in 2009, then moved through Vietnam before spreading to Thailand in mid-2012.

The outbreak has severely damaged the Thai shrimp industry and exports of related products.

Before the disease, Thailand produced 500,000 to 600,000 tonnes of shrimp annually.

According to Mr Somsak, global demand for shrimp is also set to be robust, while many of the world's shrimp producers such as Vietnam, India, India, Indonesia, China and Brazil have yet to tackle their EMS problem.

He also predicted stabilised shrimp prices thanks to relatively low global shrimp production, lower catches of sea shrimp and strong demand. Prices are expected to average 130 baht per kilogramme.

Mr Somsak said the export structure for Thai shrimp is likely to stay unchanged next year, with the United States accounting for 40% of total shipments, Japan for 20-30%, China for 10% and the European Union and Australia for the rest.

Radio spectrum ranges to return to NBTC in April

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The telecom regulator has set a deadline of next April for 21 state agencies and enterprises to return a combined 537 radio spectrum ranges for reallocation.

According to Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), the regulator's board yesterday approved a resolution in line with the master plan for radio broadcasting announced in the Royal Gazette in April 2012.

The NBTC's master plan states all state agencies and enterprises must return radio spectrum to the NBTC within five years after the master plan is implemented.

Most of the 21 state agencies are related to the military and national security.

The resolution issued yesterday does not include the 105.5MHz band, which is operated by state-owned public broadcaster MCOT, because it is still valid under the concession given to Bangkok Entertainment Co.

Mr Takorn said MCOT still must return the 105.5MHz band to the NBTC by January 2020, when the concession expires.

The NBTC board has assigned its management team to consider the possible impact on the 21 state agencies and enterprises that have to return to total of 537 spectrum ranges back to the regulator.

The NBTC will consider possible rescue measures for state agencies and state enterprises to help minimise the impact of the reallocation on their businesses.

The NBTC might also invite representatives of those state agencies and enterprises to meet soon in order to discuss possible rescue measures they would need.

Mr Takorn said the NBTC has yet to determine a plan for reallocating the 537 radio spectrum ranges.

He said the NBTC's management must consider clear details for the reallocation plan to submit for the NBTC's board consideration. It also needs to submit a plan for digital radio in the future.

In a related development, Mr Takorn said the NBTC board yesterday also approved 72 million baht in financial support to 12 digital-related projects through the NBTC's Broadcasting and Telecommunications Research and Development Fund for the Public Benefit (BTFP).

The 12 projects were proposed to the NBTC last year under the BTFP's budget, demanding financial support for research and development.

The projects include Mae Fah Luang University's project for education development in rural areas with digital technology, the energy management National Smart Grid project by Chulalongkorn University and Bangkok University's project to improve cybercrime awareness among the public.

GH Bank to lend B20bn to aid elderly

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GH Bank is set to offer 20 billion baht in loans for pre-financing and mortgages to help the elderly, the bank's chief says.

Half of the total will go towards pre-financing to develop residences for elderly people, said president Chatchai Sirilai, noting that the bank has begun discussions regarding pre-financing credit with property developers and the National Housing Authority.

"Next year we will focus on supporting the development of homes for the elderly," he said. "GH Bank will provide loans to both property developers and the general public. The loan amount of 20 billion baht has not taken reverse mortgages into account, as the bank can only start offering reverse mortgage services after the law is amended. That issue is currently being considered by the Finance Ministry."

Regarding progress on loans for those taking care of their parents, Mr Chatchai said around 1 billion baht out of the 20-billion total has already been lent.

The lending amount is still marginal, as homeowners have shown more interest in the bank's 63rd anniversary housing loan package, he said.

The bank's 2016 new-loan target of 170 billion baht appears reachable as the bank had extended 151 billion baht in loans as of Dec 13.

For non-performing loans (NPLs), the state-owned bank is forecast to cut its bad loan ratio to 5.2% by year-end, thanks largely to debt restructuring, he said. GH Bank had previously aimed to bring down its NPL ratio to 5.25% by the end of 2016.

The bank is restructuring debt worth 3 billion baht and borrowers who owe an additional 3 billion are expected to restructure their debt with the bank soon he said, thus reducing the size of its bad debt disposal to 8 billion from the Finance Ministry's approved amount of 14 billion.

After the 8-billion-baht NPL divestment next year, GH Bank's bad loan ratio will be cut by 1.2 percentage points and its target to reduce the ratio to below 4% in the next four years will be achievable, said Mr Chatchai.

He estimated that GH Bank will obtain 4-5 billion baht from selling NPLs worth 8 billion, which is expected to be divided into batches worth 1 billion each to allow small investors to buy the assets.

Ezbuy to expand local offerings

Mr Xue (left) and Mr Chong are expanding Thai operations to pave the way for online cross-border trading.

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Ezbuy, a Singaporean e-commerce website, has expanded its footprint into Thailand to pave the way for online cross-border trading.

The Thai operation has grown rapidly in the past six months and now has 200,000 customers, said Chong Siong, country manager of Ezbuy Thailand, which operates www.ezbuy.co.th.

"Buying products from our website will give shoppers lower shipping costs than if they buy directly from overseas online stores," he said.

Ezbuy helps users source products from China, the US, South Korea and Taiwan. Acting as a middleman between overseas e-commerce retailers and consumers, Ezbuy takes care of everything from purchasing items to importing and shipping them.

The company also has a number of warehouses overseas where products are repacked and then shipped to Thai customers.

About 80% of Thai customers are 18-45 years old. Ezbuy Thailand will offer more local products by attracting small and medium-sized enterprises to sell their items on the platform and giving local merchants a chance to export to other countries.

Next year, Ezbuy Thailand is set to sell both imported and local products at a 50:50 ratio, compared with almost all of its current product offerings coming from abroad.

Mr Chong said Ezbuy aims to increase the number customers in Thailand by 10 times next year and double local staff to 60.

Xue Bin Vincent, co-founder and director of Ezbuy Singapore, said the company will this month launch the Prime Membership scheme, which will allow subscribers to enjoy a flat overseas shipping fee compared to a normal shipping fee of 50 baht per 1 kilogramme.

The Prime Membership fee will cost 1,990 baht annually and will earn other benefits such as discounts for other products and services in the near future.

Ezbuy has a presence in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

"Thailand has the highest growth potential, and we will use more resources to further penetrate the market thanks to tech-savvy users and the growing economy," Mr Xue said.

In the first quarter, the company raised additional funds worth US$20 million from venture capital funds to rapidly expand the business overseas.

"We plan to expand into Vietnam and the Philippines in 2017 to capitalise on the growth of e-commerce in Asean," Mr Xue said.

"Cross-border e-commerce opens opportunities for local operators to import products in large volumes to resell locally while individual users will have more choices to access products from abroad," Mr Xue said.