Thailand's second-biggest lender Kasikornbank is in talks to buy consumer finance provider Home Credit Vietnam in a deal of up to $1 billion that would further its push to expand in Vietnam, Reuters reported. The Bangkok-based lender, also called KBank, hopes to become one of Vietnam's top 20 banks in terms of assets by 2027. It has total assets worth $119.7 billion, second only to Bangkok Bank in Thailand, Refinitiv data showed.
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Thai AirAsia X has announced that it will be putting its rehabilitation plan into place by the end of next month, Simple Flying reported. The Chief Executive Officer of Thai AirAsia, Tassapon Bijleveld, has said that negotiations with various creditors are ongoing but should be completed by mid-April. He hopes that if the negotiations are completed soon, then the airline can begin refunding and compensating passengers towards the end of this year. Thai AirAsia suspended operations two separate times, once in early 2020 and again in 2021.
Thailand's cabinet on Tuesday agreed to waive corporate income tax and value-added tax for companies that issue digital tokens for investment, a government spokeswoman said, Reuters reported. Companies will have access to alternative ways of raising capital through investment tokens in addition to traditional methods like debentures, Rachada Dhnadirek told reporters at a news conference.
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The absence of Chinese visitors devastated Thailand, where officials say tourism accounted for a fifth of gross domestic product in 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported. About a quarter of arrivals that year came from China, bringing in 40% of international tourism revenue. By the time Thailand reopened its borders in October 2021, many businesses that relied wholly on the Chinese market had collapsed. China’s strict zero-Covid policy kept its citizens from traveling abroad until rules were eased in January, raising hopes for a surge of pent-up demand.
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Thai Airways International PCL said it expects to name a new permanent CEO as early as January 2023 as it proceeds with a pandemic-driven restructuring plan, the airline's acting chief executive said on Friday, Reuters reported. The new chief executive will take over as the airline undergoes a bankruptcy protected debt restructuring and has shed around half of its workforce and aircraft fleet. "There were nearly 50 applicants," acting CEO Suvadhana Sibunruang told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry gathering in Bangkok, saying a decision would be made early next year.
Thailand’s acting prime minister, who earlier this week called for measures to halt the baht’s slide, said the government won’t meddle with the central bank and how it handles the currency, Bloomberg News reported. Prawit Wongsuwan, who is leading the government after a court last month suspended Prayuth Chan-Ocha, said on Thursday he directed Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith to “only talk” to the Bank of Thailand about the baht’s recent slump. That’s a walk back from remarks on Tuesday when he said he wants the baht back at 35 to a dollar.
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Thailand's oldest lender, SCBX Pcl, said on Thursday that it was pulling out of a $500 million deal to buy crypto exchange Bitkub, saying the start-up needed time to fix regulatory issues, Reuters reported. "Bitkub is currently in the process of resolving various issues as per the recommendations and orders of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Thailand, which are uncertain in terms of timeframe in resolving those issues," SCBX said in a statement. "As a result, the buyer and the seller have agreed to terminate the transaction," it said.
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Thai Airways International Pcl will receive key financial support from the government for its 80 billion baht (US$2.3 billion) capital raising and debt-to-equity swap plan aimed at helping the state-controlled carrier come out of its pandemic-induced bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported. State-owned banks will lead in funding new loans, converting debt and injecting equity capital into Thai Air as part of a revised revamp plan the airline gave the court for approval last month, Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said in an interview with Bloomberg News on Monday.
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Asia crypto exchange Zipmex Pte plans to allow users to withdraw some tokens from their trading accounts, Bloomberg News reported. The exchange set a timeline for withdrawals of Solana’s SOL, Ripple’s XRP and Cardano’s ADA, from Zipmex’s Z Wallet. Larger coins including Bitcoin and Ether remain locked up, the company said in a statement.
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A deal to sell a majority stake in Thailand’s largest crypto exchange to the nation’s oldest bank remains stuck in due diligence more than eight months after the plan was unveiled, according to the platform’s co-founder, Bloomberg News reported. The proposal with SCB X Pcl that helped propel Bitkub Online Co. into a so-called unicorn has yet to be wrapped up, according to Jirayut Srupsrisopa, chief executive officer of Bitkub Capital Group Holdings.
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