CENTEL

Food, hotels getting equal slice of Centel’s Bt24bn pie — CENTEL has earmarked Bt24bn to expand its hotel and food businesses through next year. Of the total, half will be spent this year and the other half next. The investment budget has been evenly allocated to hotels and food at 50:50. It plans seven new hotels abroad this year and eight more in 2014. (Bangkok Post, 16/05/13)

Comment: The company has just been running around the world acquiring management contracts. 

PTT

Vietnam okays oil refinery project — The Vietnamese government gave the green light to PTT to develop a US$27bn oil refinery project in the coastal province of Binh Dinh. The refinery, with total capacity of 660kbd (double TOP’s refinery), will be built in the Nhon Hoi Economic Zone (EZ) and will include 1mtpa of olefins plants. PTT will conduct a feasibility study for the project within one year and the construction of the refinery is expected to begin in 2016 before becoming operational by 2020. The refinery has been designed to turn out 30mn tonnes of products annually. (SET and the Nation, May 15, 2013)