INDUSTRY :Amata Corporation Plc says some investors have begun to proceed with their investment plans in Thailand after waiting several months for the political picture to clear.
Amata's land sales in the first nine months dropped by 62% to 397.78 rai, from 1,049.15 rai in the same period last year.
"[Political] uncertainty had affected the plans of investors since early this year," said Viboon Kromadit, a director and senior vice-president of Amata. "Our land sale amounts decreased substantially. However, for the rest of this year, there are many investors who have decided to proceed with their expansion plans with us, which is expected to increase land sales for next year," he said.
Lately, Amata has revised its land sale target to 750 rai for this year, against 2,000 rai envisioned at the start of the year.
Amata's third-quarter net profit declined to 148.02 million baht from 261.14 million baht in the same period last year. Its nine-month profit was 579.15 million baht, down 34.5% from 885.27 million a year earlier.
Amata shares closed yesterday on the SET at 14.80 baht, down 40 satang, in trade worth 12.02 million baht.
Source: Bangkok Post Thursday November 23, 2006 Page B4