The 8th of February 2012 marks the launch of Sentia Media, the new corporate parent for the group of companies previously operating as part of the Media Monitors Group, and owned by Quadrant Private Equity since July 2010.

Sentia Media CEO John Croll said: “Ours is a company with a long and proud history in media monitoring, with a record of industry leadership, providing ever faster and more accurate media information to our clients.

“Over the last five years, our growth path has become much broader, with the company commencing operations in a number of Asian markets as well as rapidly expanding our media analysis and introducing advisory and online business intelligence services. In all, we now have six industry leading brands providing services to over 6,000 clients across 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

“To put it simply, we are much more than a media monitoring business; we are a group of media services companies that can provide a broad range of information, analysis and advice, with solutions tailored to just about any type of organisation, large or small, single country or international.”

( Photo: http://www.prnasia.com/sa/2012/02/07/20120207140326800155.jpg )

“Sentia, derived from a Latin verb with three primary meanings, 1) I perceive, 2) I understand, 3) I have an opinion, more accurately reflects the comprehensive and customised nature of the company’s services. The new corporate structure will allow each of our service brands to develop their unique service proposition and meet both broad and niche market requirements across the entire region,” Mr Croll said.

Sentia Media now owns: Media Monitors, the leading media information supplier in the Asia-Pacific with 12 offices across Australia, New Zealand, mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore; MediaBanc, South East Asia’s largest monitoring company with offices in six countries; Brandtology, one of the world’s leading online business intelligence companies, headquartered in Singapore and experiencing exponential growth; 360m, our advisory and analysis company providing research-based insight and unrivalled experience; China Clippings, the leading provider of monitoring services to communications agencies across China; and Slice Media, Australasia’s most effective and comprehensive budget monitoring solution.

Click here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2mggUWEWqQ&feature=youtu.be) for a video on the Sentia Media story.

About Sentia Media
Owned by Quadrant Private Equity, Sentia Media is the Asia-Pacific region’s leading media intelligence company, providing over 6,000 clients with media information, analysis and advice 24/7/365 through our range of six brands across the region. Sentia Media has more than 1,200 employees across 15 countries filtering information from over 10,000 print, radio and television media outlets and over 250 million online conversations per month. Our expert people, innovative technology, comprehensive coverage and rigorous research provides the tools and insight to allow our clients to manage media relationships effectively, track issues of interest across all media and analyse brands and industry developments.

For further information contact:
Patrick Baume
T: +612 9318 4012 M: +61 409 326 011
E: Patrick.baume@sentiamedia.com
Tw: @sentiamedia

SOURCE Media Monitors

Earlier this month, a meeting of the natural rubber policy committees has approved stimulus package of two billion baht to support the industry cooperatives’ effort to stockpiling through the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC).

Beside from a plan of five billion baht which aim to support the industry cooperatives’ effort, another 1 billion baht plan is aiming to lift benchmark purchase price at the local government warehouses.

Bangkok December 15th 2011.

EquipNet, the world leader in Surplus Asset Management, has agreed to bring in additional personnel to assist the hundreds of Thai Factories currently affected by the recent floods to start producing again.

EquipNet will give immediate assistance in firstly evaluating existing machinery for insurance purposes, and where required to help those factories to sell surplus or flood damaged equipment at the best possible prices.

The damaged equipment is likely to run into US billions and the loss to business has been hitting companies globally, including Honda, Dell, Toshiba and Toyota.

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her government are now fully supporting all efforts to restore flood-ravaged industries and their rehabilitation and long-term flood-prevention plans. She has the full support of the Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and US President Barack Obama.

EquipNet’s President & CEO, Roger Gallo said,’ we sympathize with all those Thai and foreign companies who have been affected by this natural disaster. EquipNet is well prepared as a leading specialist in this field of surplus asset management, to give professional assistance where we are required.’

It has been conservatively estimated that over 1,500 small to major factories within these flooded industrial parks, have been affected by Thailand’s worst floods in decades, and the knock on effect will be felt here and overseas for months to come.

Scott Bolls, the Managing Director of EquipNet Thailand, said,’ luckily we have been in operation for a number of years here in Thailand. However to assist us to cope with this major rehabilitation, we will have an international team to support our local Thailand team.

‘Now that we are entering into a recovery period, many factories will be reopening only to find part or all of their equipment has been damaged by the floods. Our engineers will be well placed to go in and make quick appraisals on the value of these machines and equipment. ‘

Bolls added,’ it will be their job to provide the best practice solutions to appraise, buy, sell, and manage surplus equipment. By selling surplus equipment directly to other end user buyers, we can help companies to maximize cash recovery.’

Footnote: EquipNet is the world leader in surplus asset management solutions, helping organizations around the world to get maximum value out of redundant, damaged or forgotten assets. They provide best practice solutions to appraise, buy, sell, and manage surplus equipment. Their head office is located in the USA, and they also have offices in Europe, Latin America and Asia. Their Thailand office has been operating for a number of years and they are fully supported by the US mother company. EquipNet Thailand +66 2 625 3135. info@equipnet.co.th, www.equipnet.com.

Press Contact: Mike Bridge mikebridgemd@hotmail.com mobile +66 831986700

The freighter said Soleado has invested in SERI, the first mining company to operate in Philippines’ Sabu province, indirectly since 2009. SERI is in the process of obtaining necessary operation licenses in its plan to ramp up its yearly production. The investment would increase Soleado’s voting rights in SERI up to 40 percent from previously 24.31 percent.

The company said currently SERI has a capacity of 10,000 tons per month of coal production and would be increased as double by the beginning of 2012. SERI also plans to mine another two of its acquired resources over the next two years.

The Philippines mining company said it secured yearly revenue is by selling most of its products to Glenncore, the world’s biggest producer and consumer of coal.

TTA’s managing director Chantrachutha Chantrarapat said coal mining business has highly potential growth, because only the Philippines has imported a large amount of coal annually. SERI has very huge room to supply its product domestically.

It is questioned whether the blank share transfer instrument is legal or illegal in Thailand. What will happen if the transferor of this blank share transfer makes another transfer to any other person before the first blank share transfer is completed is also questioned.

The highest court decision number 52/2540 seems to recognize the blank share transfer instrument. It can be concluded from the decision that the blank transfer is provides conveniences to the transferee.
It allows transferee to either transfer/complete it to his/her own name by complying with the laws or transferring the shares to any other person by merely delivering the blank share transfer.

Reading together with Paragraph 2 of Article 1129 of the Thai Civil and Commercial Code, which specifies what is considered a form of evidence of share transfers,“…The transfer of shares entered in a name certificate is void unless made in writing and signed by the transferor and the transferee whose signatures shall be certified by one witness at least…”

Therefore, merely pre-signing a blank share transfer instrument and delivering it to another party does not complete the transaction. Moreover, even though disobeying the above does not cause the transfer of shares to be void, the latest transferee cannot be considered the shareholder of the company until the transaction has fully complied with the law.

Another question often raised is what will happen if while keeping the pre-signed instrument, the transferor transfers the shares to any other person. It is deemed to be an intention of the transferor to give away the shares to the transferee.

If he/she transfers to any other person, without the director being acknowledged, a new list of shareholders cannot be submitted to the Department of Business Development.
Therefore, the fact that the new transferee cannot legally be a shareholder of the company could be solely claimed against the transferor. In other words, the only liable person to the new transferee is the transferor.

The company itself or the person who keeps the blank share transfer does not have to be liable to the second transferee. Moreover, the transferor may be faced with criminal offenses which will depend on the facts of each case.

This article was provided by Siam Legal, an international law firm with offices in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, Pattaya, Phuket, and Samui. Siam Legal publishes guides to doing business in Thailand on its website.

Siam Legal International
Interchange 21 Building, 23rd Floor, 399 Sukhumvit Road
North Klongtoey, Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel: 662 259-8100

This is why many foreigners decide to operate a property-owning business in Thailand, instead of attempting to own property in their own name, which is impossible. Some foreigners incorporate a business just for the purpose of owning a property without any intention to run an actual business. This is not advisable.

Registered Thailand companies have a duty, as a business entity, to submit a financial statement at the end of every accounting period. The same regulation applies to every company—including companies incorporated just for the purpose of owning property.

Therefore, the company is responsible for yearly financial statement submissions. Failure to do so two years in a row might result in the company’s name being struck off the list of registered companies.

Moreover, incorporating a company limited requires at least three shareholders. At least 61% of the shares must be Thai-owned, and two of the shareholders must be Thai at the time of transferring property into a company’s name. Therefore, in theory, foreigners do not fully own the property; they will have mere partial ownership, due to shareholding restrictions.

This can be problematic as it may raise trust concerns for the foreign investors. Bear in mind that the shareholders of the company are the ones who control the business. They have to power to sell the company’s property.

Thus, foreigners looking to invest in Thailand property should strongly consider alternatives, such as a lease of a property or registering a mortgage instead of incorporating a business for the sole purpose of holding property in Thailand.

This article was provided by Siam Legal, an international law firm with offices in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, Pattaya, Phuket, and Samui. Siam Legal publishes guides to company registration in Thailand on its website.

Siam Legal International
Interchange 21 Building, 23rd Floor, 399 Sukhumvit Road
North Klongtoey, Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel: 662 259-8100

Mr. Vin said the new government will also boost the country’s economy to full fledge recovery, while officials are investigating into a case of dumping prices by hot-roll steel from China.

Sahaviriya (SSI) posted a net profit of 9.511 billion baht for the first quarter of the year, down 20 percent from the same period a year ago. The company and its group of subsidiaries’ hot-roll steel business recorded a total loss of 391 million baht.

For the first quarter, SSI group recorded a total sale of 21.528 billion baht while SSI alone generated 19.68 billion baht in sale, down 5.92 billion baht or 23 percent from the same period a year ago.

“The steel industry has faced many challenges in the second quarter of 2011,” Mr. Vin said. “This includes increasing material prices due to flooding in Australia while we were facing price capping policy at home; the local market share was eating away by tax-avoiding low cost hot-roll steel from China; and Japan’s disaster from earthquake and tsunami in March which resulted to the auto and electronic industries—the major customer base of ISS—cut down their production capacity.”

Despite those challenges remained, Mr. Vin is optimistic that the steel industry will be fully recovered to a normal level by the third quarter of the year in line with the other industry recovery.