“Looming sovereign-credit and financial crises have subdued business sentiment and consumer confidence, while expected austerity measures in developed economies further constrain prospects for economic growth in Asian countries that depend on exports,” says Simon Wong, a Moody’s Vice President and Senior Analyst.

“Similarly, reduced investor appetite for high-yield names, arising partly from concerns over corporate governance and tighter lending conditions, will restrain the prospects for Asian corporate issuers.”

Wong was speaking on the release of Moody’s special report on corporate issuers in Asia, which he co-authored.

The report also notes that certain sectors and firms are at greater risk.

These include, Chinese property developers, and the regional steel, oil & gas refining & marketing, as well as technology and semiconductor sectors.

These are sectors most vulnerable to adverse policy tightening, cyclicality, and excess capacity.

Moody’s also expects bonds to replace some bank lending, and overall capital costs to rise.

The availability of credit will tighten due to deleveraging by banks in developed markets, and risk aversion among investors and lenders.

As loans become more expensive or harder to come by, domestic bond markets and an emerging, offshore Renminbi or “dim-sum” market will fund an increasing share of Asian companies’ financial needs.

Finally, default rates are likely to rise again after a two-year low, in-line with the moderate increase predicted for global speculative-grade defaults.

The report is titled “Review of 2011 and Outlook in 2012 for Corporate Issuers in Asia (ex Japan): Risks will Test Corporate Fundamentals”. It can be accessed on www.moodys.com.

Shipping industry sees hope in arising opportunities and resilient sectors
Singapore, 2 February 2012 – Several bright spots in the maritime industry are showing prospects and opportunities even as the global shipping industry faces a slow sail this year. Offshore, shipbuilding, green shipping and a growing Asia – these sectors will be the focus of the Asia Pacific Maritime (APM) 2012, which takes place in Singapore from 14 to 16 March this year.
Regarded as Asia’s premier maritime event, APM is set to see dynamic discussions between world maritime leaders on the outlook of the shipping industry and the opportunities to help industry players cope with the slowing economy.
Industry heavyweights, Mr Nobor Ueda, Chairman and President of ClassNK and Vice-Chairman of the International Association of Classification Societies Ltd. (IACS) Council, and Mr Simon Bennett, External Relations Director of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) will co-host the keynote session at APM 2012, themed Asian Shipping: Coping with Turbulent Waters.
“The strength of the shipping industry is inexplicably tied to volatile economic trends and trade patterns. However, despite the uncertainty in the industry, the outlook for Asia remains bright,” said Mr Ueda. “Singapore, in particular, with its tripartite model of forging partnerships is a shining example of how to overcome the downsides of the sluggish global economy.”
Mr Bennett has a more cautious view. “It is currently necessary for any prudent ship operator to anticipate the unexpected. While we had assumed that the worst was over following the 2008 banking crisis, the health of the global economy is still very fragile, and most shipping markets expect a very rough ride in 2012. The only real bright light perhaps is Asia, which continues to sustain demand for many shipping trades, although with the current uncertainty in Europe, even this cannot be guaranteed.”
Maritime associations in Asia are optimistic on the region’s ability to ride out the storm and steer towards a positive forecast.
“The maritime industry in Indonesia is now more advanced and the focus has moved beyond domestic trade to international trade as well. Domestically, shipbuilding, offshore, tugs and barges, and vessels are performing well,” said Mrs Carmelita Hartoto, Chairman of Indonesian National Shipowners’ Association (INSA).

KASIKORNBANK’s 4 Domain Coordinator officially set the Bank’s strategy for 2012 which will be heavily focus on ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) as well as reaching out to provincial customers. The four domain coordinators from left to right are as follow:   Mr. Somkiat Sirichatchai, Senior Executive Vice President, Resource Domain Coordinator, Mr. Predee Daochai, Senior Executive Vice President Resource, Risk Domain Coordinator, Mr. Teeranun Srihong, Senior Executive Vice President, Infrastructure Domain Coordinator and Mr. Krisada Lamsam, Senior Executive Vice President, Business Domain Coordinator. The Press Conference was recently held at KASIKORNBANK, Phaholyothin.

Al-Khobar| Kingdom of Saudi Arabia:

They met PMU Vice Rector for Academic Affairs, Dr. Nassar M. Sheikh, Deans, Directors and the faculty members to discuss the avenues for academic collaborations in future.

The Director of the Department of Medical & Health Sciences Programs at the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (SACM) in the USA, Dr. Samar Al Saggaf accompanied the UAB delegates while they visited PMU. She showed optimism about the fruitful outcome of this visit.

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This visit was aimed at discussing the collaboration opportunities between PMU and UAB which is one of the SACM affiliates.

“Such collaborations would offer a breakthrough for further growth in higher education in the Kingdom,” said Dr. Samar Al Saggaf.

This delegation had a detailed meeting with Dr. Nassar M. Sheikh and the academic and administrative leadership at PMU. They discussed various means of cooperation between the two universities.

The exchange of ideas was to explore future mutual cooperation between these universities especially for the postgraduate study programs in sciences in health and hospital management which PMU plans to start in the near future.

Finding out the possibilities about the special training opportunities in the fields of health management sciences came under their discussion.

25 January 2012, Bangkok – Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, as the

Representative of His Majesty the King, presided over the Presentation Ceremony of the

Prince Mahidol Award 2011 at the Chakri Throne Hall.

THAI Airways International (THAI) was a proud sponsor of this prestigious occasion,

bringing award selection committee members and award recipients to the Kingdom of

Thailand. Mr. Ampon Kittiampon, Chairman of Thai Airways International Public

Company Limited was present to congratulate this year’s award recipients in the field of

Medicine: Professor Dr. David T. Wong and Dr. Paul M. Grant, representative of this

year’s Laureate, Professor Aaron T. Beck, from the United States of America, and

Professor Dr. Ruth F. Bishop from Australia, in the field of Public Health.

The Prince Mahidol Award Foundation under the Royal Patronage was established in

commemoration of the Centenary Birthday Anniversary of His Royal Highness Prince

Mahidol of Songkla in 1992. The Award is conferred annually upon individuals or

institutions that have demonstrated outstanding and exemplary contributions to the

advancement of medical and public health services for humanity throughout the world.

This year’s ceremony also marked the 20th Anniversary of the Prince Mahidol Award and

the 120th Birthday Anniversary of His Royal Highness Prince Mahidol of Songkla.

Picture shows Awardees with THAI’s senior executives: (from left) Mrs. Sunathee

Isvarphornchai, THAI Vice President, Corporate Communications, Mr. Ampon

Kittiampon, Dr. Paul M. Grant, Professor Dr. Ruth F. Bishop, Professor Dr. David T.

Wong, Mr. Apiporn Pasawat, THAI Board Member, Mrs. Nareeluck Wimooktanon,

THAI Vice President, VVIP/VIP Travel Planning & Coordination Department and

Mr. Niruj Maneepun, Executive Vice President, Corporate Secretariat Department.

Fitch Ratings-Bangkok/Singapore – 25 January 2012: Fitch Ratings (Thailand) has assigned Hana Bank’s (Hana) senior unsecured bonds of up to THB10bn with a minimum maturity of three years a National Long-Term ‘AAA(tha)’ rating.

Hana’s Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating (LTFC IDR) of ‘A-’ with Stable Outlook is at the same level as Thailand’s Long-Term Local Currency Issuer Default Rating (LTLC IDR) of ‘A-’/Stable, which is correlated to ‘AAA(tha)’ on the Thai National Rating scale.

Hana’s LTFC IDR is driven by the bank’s Support Rating Floor of ‘A-’, reflecting Fitch’s expectation of an extremely high probability of support from the South Korean government (‘A+’/Positive), given its systemic importance as one of the major commercial banks in Korea.

Hana’s ‘AAA(tha)’ issue rating could be downgraded if Hana’s LTFC IDR were to be downgraded below Thailand’s LTLC IDR of ‘A-’. Such a scenario would arise if Korea’s sovereign rating is downgraded or the bank’s systemic importance to the Korean economy is reduced. However, either scenario is not expected in the near-term. If Thailand’s LTLC IDR rating were to be upgraded, then Hana’s baht bonds would also be downgraded.

Hana is the sixth-largest bank in Korea with total assets of KRW159trn (or USD141bn) at end-Q311. The bank has a sizable franchise in the Korean banking system, holding 8.6% and 9.7% of the system’s total assets and deposits, respectively, through its nationwide branch network at end-Q311. Hana is the flagship subsidiary of Hana Financial Group.

Mr. Nobuyuki Murahashi, President of Mitsubishi Motors (Thailand) Co., Ltd. welcomed Dr. Atchaka Sibunrung, Secretary General of BoI on her visiting Mitsubishi Motors Smart Life Smart Energy pavilion in BOI Fair 2011. MMTh present the knowledge and up coming-life style that synchronizes with the environmental friendly vehicle. The visitors will acknowledge the various automotive technologies such as the flex fuel vehicle, the self-sufficiency energy from local agricultural. The high-light of Mitsubishi Motors pavilion is ‘i-MiEV’ electric vehicle that is a part of smart grid society and visitors have good chance to experience their sitting in i-MiEV.

Mr. Somkiat Sirichatchai, Senior Executive Vice President of KASIKORNBANK, said the Bank and subsidiaries’ operating performance for the year of 2011, the Bank and subsidiaries reported net income of Baht 24,226 Million, a rise of Baht 4,179 Million or 20.85% over the previous year. The major was due to the net of interest income as a result of loan growth and consequence of assets and liabilities management to align with interest rate trend.  Meanwhile, the net interest margin (NIM) stood at 3.75% and non-interest income increased by 19.78%, align with KASIKORNBANKGROUP proactive conglomerated strategies with the customer centricity. The efficiency ratio performed at 47.53% which improved from 2010.

KASIKORNBANKGROUP’s assets totaled Baht 1,772,940 Million.  Total loans were Baht 1,210,834 Million, an increase of Baht 133,853 Million or 12.43% over last year as a result of loan growth especially commercial loan and housing loan. The NPL Gross was 2.45% which improved from last year performed at 2.91%, reflecting to effective management of non-performing loans. Total deposits were Baht 1,242,229 Million, an increase of Baht 142,193 Million or 12.93% over last year as a result of increases in time deposits for campaigns to provide greater alternative for the customers.

In the third quarter of 2011, according to the Cabinet’s resolution, the Bank and subsidiaries has disclosed the impact on a reduction in the corporate income tax rate from 30% of taxable profit to 23% in 2012 and 20% in 2013-2014. On 21 December 2011, the Royal Decree was published adopting a reduction in the corporate income tax rate, the Bank and subsidiaries recognized the item of deferred tax in the income statement in the fourth quarter of 2011 in line with International Accounting Standards. However, this is an one-time impact. Since this is the accounting item adjustment, it is not involved with the actual tax payment to the Revenue Department. The Bank and subsidiaries’ business undertaking, profitability and capital fund have not been affected. Therefore, the Bank and subsidiaries will benefit from this reduction in the corporate income tax rate from 2012 onward.

to boost earnings

While recent flooding blocked all transportation in central Thailand and resulted in sluggish

sales volume for DRT in 4Q11, a higher margin from boarding products would help it to post

good 4Q11 earnings. As a result, we are maintaining our 2011 net profit forecast of

Bt475mn. For 2012, DRT’s new NT10 line and the upcoming benefits from the

government’s corporate tax cut should help its net profit grow 22.0% YoY. Given the solid

earnings outlook and a good dividend yield of 6.0-8.0%, we rate Outperform on the

counter with a target price of Bt7.80.

KGI

Al-Khobar | Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Graduation ceremony held in the Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University (PMU) in which 76 pre-foundation program students, sponsored by Petrochemicals giant Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), were awarded certificates.  This program held for the first time within the Kingdom was awarded to PMU due its reputation as a student-centered University utilizing the USA model.

PMU was actually designed by TIEC (Texas International Education Consortium) consisting of 32 universities from Texas, the USA. It is the best environment for students to get accustomed to studying in a US university.

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PMU Rector, Dr. Issa Al-Ansari and Mr. Yousef Abdullah Al-Benyan, SABIC’s executive vice president for human resources had signed an agreement at the university’s campus prior to the start of this program.

The university had enrolled students for a three-month long pre-foundation training course. Its curricula is set of eight English language skills—reading, writing, listening, speaking, researching, computing, viewing and presenting with key focus on the academic reading and writing.

The program also included a component related to American Culture and Integrating into it.

Students got training to learn, apply problem solving, develop thinking skills and handle academic and real-life situations once enrolled in the leading US universities.

PMU applies unique mechanism and assessment protocol to judge students’ learning levels. This course is a rigorous training to hone the skills with theoretical and practical assessments. Students passed the End of Program Comprehensive Examination and English Exist Examination.

Academic and co-curricular activities are two components of this program. Co-curricular activities focused at practical approaches towards living in the America’s multicultural society.

Students were groomed for creative thinking and academic excellence besides getting prepared for the American universities. Computer Aided Language Learning through the PMU English Lab improved listening and speaking skills as integral part of this training program.

Modern teaching tools blackboard, smart board, smart classes and wired classes were applied in this program.

Asif Anwar Alig

Media Specialist,

Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia