Monday, September 28, 2009

Foreign orders add weight to recovery

       Prospects have improved for the local paper industry due to a revival in overseas demand and prices, says Siam Cement Group.
       Thailand's top industrial conglomerate said the demand for paper fell by almost 20% in the first half when compared with the same period in 2008 due to the sluggish economy. But the figure has improved in the second half due to larger exports, Chaovalit Ekabut, the president of SCG Paper, said yesterday.
       Orders rose in the second quarter over the first three months while third quarter orders remain steady."The overall consumption of paper this year will be lower from last year but it should not be a double-digit decline," he said.
       Paper prices, which fell 15% to 20%in the first half year-on-year, have started rising. The prices are now lower than last year's peak by 10% to 15%, Mr Chaovalit added.
       The company is focusing on high value-added products to increase their contribution to its overall portfolio to 25% in 2010, up from 20% this year, to enjoy higher profit margins.
       SCG Paper, Thailand's largest paper manufacturer, yesterday launched a coffee-cup sleeve produced from recycled paper that comes with a "Thermozense"heat indicator which will be available at True Coffee cafes.
       Mr Chaovalit said the new product has been developed under SCG's principle of "green inspiration", which promotes environmental responsibility among consumers. An initial run of 100,000 heat indicators has been produced. The colour of the sticker changes from red to white as the coffee cools.
       "True is aiming for technology that enables us to have a better experience in our daily lives and SCG has helped us by creating the innovation that we have been searching for for a long time," said Papon Ratanachaikanont, assistant to the president of True Corp.
       "In the past, we depended on foreignmade products by using coffee sleeves imported from China. Now that there are new sleeves from SCG, it will lower our cost by 30%," he said.
       Shares of Siam Cement (SCC) closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 224 baht, down 5 baht, in trade worth 356 million baht.

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