Thailand Financial News

THOMSON REUTERS DONATION… NEW YORK - Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI; TSX: TRI; LSE: TRIL; Nasdaq: TRIN), the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, today announced that Thomson Reuters and its Foundation will support disaster relief efforts in Myanmar with a donation totaling $300,000.

The commitment will directly fund relief agencies that have gained access to areas devastated by Cyclone Nargis through the Foundation’s AlertNet International Disaster Fund (AIDfund), an independent grant-making fund that disburses cash grants for specific aid projects immediately after disasters. http://www.thomsonreuters.com http://www.alertnet.org COMPTEL INDIA… HELSINKI - Comptel Corporation (OMX Helsinki: CTL1V), the leading vendor of dynamic Operations Support System (OSS) software, announced today that the number of telecom subscribers served by Comptel solutions through its customers has now reached close to 200 million. This landmark number has been reached through a combination of the signing of new customers in 2007 and the phenomenal growth of existing customers. http://www.comptel.com VIRTUAL WORLD… BOSTON, MA. - More Than 14 Million Kids Learn and Explore on Poptropica, Virtual World From the Developers of Funbrain. The number of kids exploring the virtual world of Poptropica — from the developers of Funbrain, the long trusted learning Web site for children — has exploded since its launch just last September. With today’s debut of the new “Time Tangled Island,” Poptropica offers even more opportunities for young children to learn, play, explore and safely connect with other children on the Web. http://www.poptropica.com http://www.pearsoned.com FANNIE MAE… WASHINGTON, D.C - Fannie Mae will redeem the principal amount of MTNR securities issues amounting to a total of US$50 million on May 28, 2008 at a redemption price equal to 100 per cent of the principal amount redeemed plus accrued interest. www.fanniemae.com MASTERCARD FOUNDATION… TORONTO - The MasterCard Foundation launched its Scholars Program today by awarding grants totaling $600,000 to six leading microfinance training institutes. The program will fund 200 scholarships for staff working in microfinance in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East to participate in management and professional development courses. www.mastercardfoundation.org NETDRAGON RESULTS… HONG KONG - One of the leading game developers and operators in the PRC, NetDragon Websoft Inc. ( NetDragon or the Company , with its subsidiaries collectively the Group ; Stock Code: 8288.HK), today reported its unaudited results for the three months ended 31 March 2008 (the period under review ), representing its first quarterly results for 2008. http://www.nd.com.cn SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS… WICHITA, Kan. - Spirit AeroSystems, Inc. (NYSE: SPR) today announced it has signed a contract with Airbus to design and produce a major composite fuselage structure for the A350 XWB (Xtra Wide-Body) program. Spirit will design and manufacture the Section 15 center fuselage frame section, a composite structure that will be approximately 65 feet long, 20 feet wide and weigh nearly 9,000 pounds. http://www.spiritaero.com SHORTLIST UNVEILED… SINGAPORE - OAG (Official Airline Guide), the world’s authority on flight information, today unveiled the shortlist for the 26th OAG Airline Industry Awards The winners will be announced at the Awards ceremony on Wednesday, 4 June in the opulent art deco setting of The Bloomsbury Ballroom in central London. Boeing is the Awards’ headline sponsor. http://www.oagcorporate.com http://www.oagairlineawards.com http://www.cbizmedia.com http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com BRANDES WITHDRAWAL… SAN DIEGO, CA. - Brandes Investment Partners, L.P. (”Brandes”) announces that, on May 13th, 2008, it submitted a letter to Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (the “Company”), a pharmaceutical manufacturer based in Japan and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, withdrawing the resolution (the “Resolution”) submitted to the Company on April 8th, 2008. On behalf of its investment advisory clients, Brandes currently holds in excess of 7.0% of the Company’s shares. This represents an ownership position built since 1997. CHRONIC PAIN… MELBOURNE - A revolutionary new treatment for chronic back pain, that could be used to treat all severe pain, will be presented at a world leading surgical Congress in Hong Kong today. SORRY NOT ENOUGH… MELBOURNE - Saying sorry to their patients when a surgeon has made a mistake is not enough, but it is a good start surgeons in Hong Kong will be told today. INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT… PARIS - German Federal Chancellor, Angela Merkel, Transport Ministers From More Than 50 Countries, Rajendra Pachauri, Yvo de Boer, Thomas Enders, Hartmut Mehdorn and Other Distinguished Participants… “Transport and Energy: The Challenge of Climate Change” 28-30 May 2008 in Leipzig — Programme Highlights 28 May 2008: Stakeholders’ Day Participants include: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Scandia, Volkswagen, the World Bank, Michelin, Toyota Europe, Technical University of Berlin, GTZ, International Energy Agency. http://www.internationaltransportforum.org HILCO CAPITAL… TORONTO - A joint venture led by Hilco Consumer Capital, L.P. (”HCC”) and GB Brands, LLC (”GBB”), in partnership with Windsong Brands, LLC and Crystal Capital, announced today that it was approved as the stalking horse bidder for certain assets of The Sharper Image Corporation. ASIA APPOINTMENT… SAN FRANCISCO - Glass Lewis & Co., LLC, a leading independent research and proxy advisory firm, today announced its appointment of James Hawrylak as Managing Director of Asia Operations. Mr. Hawrylak will focus on marketing Glass Lewis products and services to Pan-Asian institutional investors and manage the operational activities connected to Glass Lewis’ research coverage of Asia’s proxy seasons. http://www.glasslewis.com VERIZON ACCESS… BASKING RIDGE, NJ, - Verizon Business has further expanded global access to its audio-conferencing services, enabling even more of its multinational customers to realise cost efficiencies by accessing audio meetings through local dial-in numbers from around the globe. http://www.verizonbusiness.com RITCHIE BROS AUCTION… BRISBANE, May 15 /CNW-AsiaNet/ — Entire crane and truck fleet of the Skelton Group to be sold at Ritchie Bros.’ first two-day Australian auction For the first time ever, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA) - the world’s largest industrial auctioneer - has added a second day to one of its Australian auctions. The unreserved public auction will be conducted at the Company’s permanent auction site in Brisbane on June 24 & 25, 2008. www.rbauction.com. DIABETES GRANT… BRUSSELS and HANOI - The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) BRIDGES translational research grant program will fund a pilot study in Vietnam to increase opportunities for screenings for people at high-risk for getting type 2 diabetes and promote a program designed to motivate people to develop a healthy lifestyle. http://www.idfbridges.org. BASF SE TENDER… MUMBAI - BASF SE today announced that it intends to raise its shareholding in BASF India Ltd. from currently 52.69 percent to a maximum of 75 percent through a public tender offer to BASF India Ltd.’s public shareholders. BASF SE’s offer is INR274 per share in cash or INR1,723 million in total. This price represents a premium of 22 percent above the average daily high and low price during the two weeks preceding this announcement and a premium of 16 percent above the minimum price of INR236.70 directed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). http://www.basf.com www.windsongbrands.com www.GordonBrothers.com AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agencies distributing unedited, translated news releases for worldwide clients. Visit www.asianetnews.net for full-text versions.