“Social Innovations Inspired by CSR”

The Corporate Social Responsibility Institute (CSRI) of the Stock Exchange of Thailand, the National Innovation Agency (NIA) and Tata Motors (Thailand) Ltd. are organising a seminar, “Social Innovations Inspired by CSR” on Thursday 19 November 2009, 1.00 pm - 4.30 pm at The Auditorium, 3rd floor of the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

Privy councillor H.E. Kasem Watanachai will preside at the seminar and there will be a display of the Tata Nano car for the first time in Thailand as well as social innovations from the private sector. Admission is free but registration is required through www.csri.or.th

Thai bourse joins with Money & Banking Magazine to present SET Awards 2009

Deputy Finance Minister Pradit Pataraprasit presided over The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Awards ceremony to recognize the most outstanding businesses and persons in the capital market. This year, there were a total of 71 nominees for the awards. The event was held in SET in the City 2009, on the fifth floor of Siam Paragon Shopping Mall.


SET Awards honor listed, securities, and asset management companies, as well as persons with outstanding performance, and is being held for the sixth consecutive year, with a total of 29 awards given this year, said SET President Patareeya Benjapolchai.

“SET Awards will encourage listed companies and relevant business sectors in the Thai capital market of all levels and sizes that have determination and are focused on increasing and maintaining the effectiveness of their organization. All 71 nominees deserve to be honored and be role models for their outstanding performance,” continued Ms. Patareeya.

“The awards are divided into different categories so that middle-sized and smaller firms will have an opportunity to present their outstanding performance more clearly.

However, since the economic crisis last year affected all businesses, this year, only 29 listed companies passed the strict minimum qualifications, and some of the awards have no winners,” Chairman of SET Awards’ working committee of distinguished experts Panas Simasathien said.

“SET Awards 2009 aims at encouraging consistent development of quality. We have established a Hall of fame for those who have consistently maintained their top performance in each category, or those receiving SET awards in the same category, for three consecutive years," noted Money & Banking Magazine Editor-in-Chief Santi Viriyarangsarit

This year, we assigned the TRIS Corporation Limited, the well-known credit rating agency that is neutral and reliable, to be responsible for designing the criteria and evaluating the results in the Best Performance Awards for the second year. Moreover, other committees involved in the judging were Advisory Committee for Corporate Governance, Thai Investor Relations Club Committee and Committee for the Corporate Social Responsibility Awards.
A total of 29 awards were presented to:

Category 1: Awards given to listed companies, top executives, securities companies, and asset management companies for their best performance:

1. Best Performance Awards categorized by market capitalization as of end- 2008. The awards went to company with a market capitalization of:
- Over THB10 billion : PTT Exploration and Production PCL (PTTEP)
- Not over THB10 billion (group 1) : Univanich Palm Oil PCL (UVAN)
- Not over THB10 billion (group 2) : Thai Metal Trade PCL (TMT)
- Not over THB10 billion (group 3) : Advanced Information Technology PCL (AIT)
- Not over THB10 billion (group 4): No award was given
- mai-listed company: No award was given
2. Best CEO Awards : categorized by market :

- CEO of SET-listed company: Ms. Kannikar Chalitaporn, President, The Siam Commercial Bank PCL (SCB)
- CEO of mai-listed company: No award was given
3. Best Securities Company Awards: categorized by target market group:

- Securities company focusing mainly on institutional investors: UBS Securities (Thailand) Limited (UBS)

- Securities company focusing mainly on retail investors: Kasikorn Securities PCL (KS)
4. Best Asset Management Company Award: went to BBL Asset Management PCL (BBLAM)

Category 2: Awards given to companies having excellent corporate governance report, corporate social responsibility, environment, investor relations, and best shareholders:

1. Top Corporate Governance Report Awards : went to listed companies with exceptional corporate governance practices report:
--SET-listed companies:
- The Bangchak Petroleum PCL (BCP)
- Electricity Generating PCL (EGCO)
- Kasikorn Bank PCL (KBANK)
- Krung Thai Bank PCL (KTB)
- PTT PCL (PTT)
- PTT Chemical PCL (PTTCH)
- PTT Exploration and Production PCL (PTTEP)
- Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding PCL (RATCH)
- Somboon Advance Technology PCL (SAT)
- SE-EDUCATION PCL (SE-ED)
--mai-listed company: Pylon PCL (PYLON)

2. Corporate Social Responsibility Awards: given to listed companies with outstanding corporate social responsibility and environment, considered by its policies and information on the company’s operation that benefits stakeholders and other related parties. The awards went to companies with a market capitalization of :

- Over THB10 billion : Total Access Communication PCL (DTAC) and The Siam Cement PCL (SCC)
- Not over THB10 billion (group 1): The Bangchak Petroleum PCL (BCP)
- Not over THB10 billion (group 2) : SE-EDUCATION PCL (SE-ED)
- Not over THB10 billion (group 3) : No award was given
- Not over THB10 billion (group 4): No award was given
- mai-listed company: No award was given

3. IR Excellence Awards : given to listed companies with outstanding operation in investor relations, considered by IR activities of listed companies and investors’ satisfaction. The awards went to companies with a market capitalization of:
- Over THB10 billion : PTT PCL (PTT)
- Not over THB10 billion (group 1): The Bangchak Petroleum PCL (BCP)
- Not over THB10 billion (group 2) : Somboon Advance Technology PCL (SAT)
- Not over THB10 billion (group 3) : Seafco PCL (SEAFCO)
- Not over THB10 billion (group 4): T. Krungthai Industries PCL (TKT)
- mai-listed company: Interlink Communication PCL (ILINK)

4. Outstanding Shareholder Awards: this recognition went to the individual shareholders who creatively exercised the rights and responsibilities in benefiting the company and shareholders as a whole. The Thai Investor Association is responsible for considering the winner for the awards. This year, no award was given in this category.

Those interested in viewing the recorded tape of SET Awards 2009, please go to Money Channel or through www.moneychannel.co.th on Saturday 21, 2009 at 22.00-23.00 hrs. For more information on SET Awards, please visit www.set.or.th
For more information, please contact S-E-T Call Center 0 2229 2222

Press office, please contact Public Relations Unit, the Corporate Communications Dept.: Ladawan Kantawong Tel: 0-2229-2036 / Kanokwan Khemmalai Tel: 0-2229-2048 / Panitee Chatpolarak Tel: 0-2229-2792
Attachment to SET News No. 135/2009, November 13, 2009
SET Awards 2009 Working Committee of distinguished experts and organizers
SET Awards 2009 Working Committee of distinguished experts and Honorable Judges
1. Dr. Panas Simasathien Chairman
2. Dr. Maruey Phadoongsidhi Member
3. Mr.Seri Jintanaseri Member
4. Mr. Santi Viriyarangsarit Member
5. Ms. Patareeya Benjapolchai Member
6. Mr. Vichate Tantiwanich Secretary
Advisory Committee and relevant Committees
Advisory Committee for Corporate Governance
1. Professor Hiran Radeesri
2. Mr.Vijit Supinit
3. Mr. Singh Tangtaswas
4. Mr. Yuth Vorachattarn
Thai Investor Relations Club Committee
1. Mr. Kriengchai Boonpoapichart
2. Mr. Kobboon Srichai
3. Mr. Wachara Iamsakun
4. Ms. Jiraporn Rungsrithong
5. Ms. Supannee Asawasuwan
Committee for the Corporate Social Responsibility Awards
1. Mr.Paiboon Wattanasiritham
2. Mr. Sirichai Sakornrattanakul
3. Mr. Machima Kunjara Na Ayudhya
4. Dr. Pipat Yodprudtikan
5. Mr. Watcharamongkol Benjathanachat
6. Mr. Sutee Smudraprabhud
Organizers
1. The Stock Exchange of Thailand
2. Money & Banking Magazine
3. TRIS Corporation Limited (designing the criteria and evaluating the results)

Community forests capture hearts, minds

       During a brief discussion before he rejoined his group, Kiettisak Jaiban, 13, said that he had never been more enthused to protect and preserve his "community forest". He and his campmates were preparing to present their findings after hours of trekking in a forest in Chiang Mai province.
       Kiettisak was one of the many students at the camp who came from communities located near a forest. Such communities have been benefiting from their forests generation after generation. When the camp came to an end, all of the other attendants probably felt the same way as Kiettisak did - that the preservation of community forests is one of their vital tasks as good citizens. Camp foliage
       Kiettisak made his comments at an event that took place last month. The Royal Forest Department, in collaboration with Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Plc ("Ratch"), had arranged for 80 high school students from Ratchaburi province and three other northern provinces - Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son and Lamphun - to participate in the "Kla Yim Youth Camp".(Kla yim usually means dare to smile, but this phrase can also be a play on words to mean "smiling sprouts", as in encouraging youths to smile.)
       The camp, one of the activities carried out in the "Love the Forest and the Community" campaign, was initiated by the two entities. The Young People Development Centre was involved as co-organiser of the camp, which was held in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park, a reservation adjacent to Chiang Mai city.
       "This is the second time that we are holding this kind of camp," said Prayut Thongsuwan, Ratch's executive vicepresident of corporate administration.This year, most of the campers had been selected from communities that use community forests, whereas last year most of the campers were students from Bangkok.
       "We wish to foster a sense of environmental awareness among youngsters so that they will love and protect local natural resources. The most important objective of this camp is to attain a new generation that will continue the work of the current generation in taking care of community forests. We believe that in this way, we can effectively and efficiently ensure the long-term existence of community forests," Mr Prayut explains. For posterity
       Currently, Thailand has approximately 90 million rai (14.4 million hectares)covered by forests. Of this area, around 2.7 million rai (432,000 hectares) are designated as community forests, which fall under the responsibility of 7,700 communities scattered all over the country.Nearly half of the community forest land,or approximately 1.3 million rai (208,000 hectares), is in the northern region of Thailand.
       The crux of the community forest concept, according to Pralong Dumrongthai, director of the Community Forest Management Bureau in the Royal Forest Department, is to foster the well-being of the people who live in the communities adjoining or surrounding such forests.
       Human activities inside forest reserves,such as national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, are strictly controlled by the government. In contrast, a community forest is that part of a national reserve where the community of people living nearby is permitted by the government to benefit from the forest's resources.
       However, activities that are actually carried out inside the community forest have to be approved and supervised by the Royal Forest Department and a community committee responsible for the community forest.
       "We want to reduce the household expenses of the local residents and increase their income," said Mr Pralong."That does not mean, however, that the focus is on encouraging the communities to only sell products obtained from their forests. On the contrary, we have a programme of activities that stresses the need for them to maintain and protect these natural treasures as they are the ones benefiting from them, and we hope that they will respond positively," he added.
       At the camp, Mr Pralong gave a presentation on the overall objectives of establishing community forests. Green food bank
       Personal experience is worth more than a thousand words. One of the ranges of activities at the camp was the visit by campers to the Ban Talad Khilek community forest in Doi Saket district, to the northeast of Chiang Mai city.
       Even though many campers have been living around forests all their life, this was a good opportunity for them to gain hands-on experience about the functions of forests and how experts manage them.
       There, the campers trekked a twokilometre trail through a forest in bloom at the end of the rainy season. They spotted wild flowers, orchids, mushrooms and herbs like Do Mai Ru Rom , the prickly-leaved elephant's foot plant;Sab Sua , or bitter bush;Makham Pom , the Malacca tree; and many other types of vegetation.
       Along the walk, committee members of the Ban Talad Khilek community forest were present at several stations to dispense information to the youngsters upon their arrival there. The information provided at the stations covered topics like the functions of check dams and the management of herbs and bamboo.
       "The villagers now earn higher incomes than they did before," said Somboon Thaiyanto, head of the Ban Talad Khilek community forest committee and the chief guide who led the students through the forest.
       Various products from the forest, such as herbs and mushrooms, are collected and sold among the villagers themselves."We don't want them to sell these items to outsiders because the forest will cease to be sustainable if the products are commercialised," said Mr Somboon.
       "A long time ago, outside investors carried out logging in the area. Nowadays,the villagers help preserve the forest.We have to do this for our children," he added.
       Mr Somboon said that what he hoped the campers gained from their visit was not only knowledge about the forest,but also an appreciation of the importance of the ideas for managing a community forest, so that the youngsters would carry on the concepts learned at Ban Talad Khilek and apply them to local community forests.
       After returning from the community forest, the next day the young campers had the chance to trek through the forest in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park to observe the differences between the two forests. Besides trekking and learning more about different kinds of forests,the campers engaged in several other activities that raised their awareness of environmental conservation. Friends of the forests
       "The healing powers of local herbs are the same as those of expensive foreign medicines!" Ngamsiri Kladnuam said excitedly upon learning about the properties of several herbs found in the Ban Talad Khilek community forest.
       "I've seen many herbs that I cannot find in my community. For example,the fruit of the Malacca tree can alleviate thirst and sore throats, and Sab Sua can stop bleeding," said Ngamsiri, revealing her newfound knowledge enthusiastically."Check dams can prevent floods,act as water reservoirs, and maintain the moisture in forests. On special occasions, community members gather to help each other build a check dam.This fosters local harmony, too."
       Unlike Kiettisak, who lives in Chiang Mai, this 14-year-old girl from Ratchaburi does not live near any forest and had never attended a forest camp before.Her participation in last month's camp has made her permanently aware of what it means to go "green". She said that when she returned home, she would take steps to promote in her school the creation of more green areas in her neighbourhood, as well as tell her schoolmates about the many benefits of forests.
       As for Kiettisak, he said that when he returned to his home in Mae Rim district,he would inform as many of his fellow community members as possible of how everyone could effectively manage a satisfactory level of income from selling herbs, vegetables and mushrooms plucked from their community forest."Right now, we mostly consume all of the products that we collect and sell only a small portion [to outsiders]," said the child who has grown up alongside a forest."At the camp, I learned the names of many more plants and herbs, what their properties are, and how to grow and use them."
       Kiettisak agreed that the camp added to his knowledge."I will return home and try my best to disseminate what I have learned from this camp to my friends - such as, information on rare and new kinds of herbs, and how to grow, use and preserve them," Kiettisak promised,adding that he would spread the news in his school first and later try to find ways to expand the coverage to include his entire community. Future devotees
       Ratch has stated that the company is willing to support the youngsters if they want to initiate future projects or actions to preserve their community forests after they return to their communities.
       In the end, these little hands will one day become a major force in ensuring the continued existence of community forests, thereby enabling humans and nature to successfully exist together in harmony.
       "People and forests have to depend on one another. If we don't have forests,it will be very difficult for us to survive or earn a living. If the forests don't have people who love and understand them,they will be unprotected from the risks of abuse and destruction," said Kiettisak.

Magnificent seven

       In the most important, most revered event since the invention of the brontosaurus trap,Microsoft shipped the most incredibly fabulous operating system ever made; the release of Windows 7 also spurred a new generation of personal computers of all sizes at prices well below last month's offers.The top reason Windows 7 does not suck: There is no registered website called Windows7Sucks.com
       Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
       Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
       Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
       Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
       The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
       The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
       Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
       The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
       The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.