The meeting organized by The Stock Exchange of Thailand under the “Opportunity Day”.  Kindly confirm attendance by registration with the SET Call Center +66 (0) 2229 2222

For those who cannot attend the meeting, the Live Broadcast is available on the SET’s website at www.set.or.th/oppday

Ms. Punnee Ruangwaewmanee|Investor Relations Officer | Minor International Pcl| 17th Floor, Berli Jucker Building, 99 Soi Rubia, Sukhumvit 42 Rd , Bangkok 10110 THAILAND |TEL: + 66 (0) 2 381 5151 ext. 7636 | DID: + 66 (0) 2 365 7636 | FAX: + 66 (0) 2 381 5137| Email: punnee_ru@minornet.com| www.minorinternational.com

MUMBAI: AVEVA Group plc (LSE: AVV) today announced that AMET University,

India’s premier marine industry university, will be featuring AVEVA Marine

solutions as part of its curriculum.

http://www.aveva.com/ednotes

DENGUE TRACKER…

SEOUL: PDVI (Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative), a program of the

International Vaccine Institute (IVI) funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates

Foundation, announces today the launch of http://www.denguewatch.org, a news

hub for tracking dengue fever epidemics worldwide. http://www.denguewatch.org FACTORY CLOSURE…

TOYOTA CITY: In a meeting in Toyota City this morning, a delegation of

California leaders cautioned company officials that pushing ahead with its plan

to close the New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc., factory in Fremont will

alienate the very consumers it needs most if the company is to recover from its

self-inflicted wounds. EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENT…

HONG KONG: Korn/Ferry International (NYSE: KFY), a premier global provider of

talent management solutions, today announced that Margaret Lee has joined the

Firm as Vice Chairman and Senior Client Partner, leading its Asia Pacific

Financial Officers Center of Expertise. www.kornferryasia.com STEELWORKERS DISPUTE…

TORONTO: Mediated discussions between the United Steelworkers and Vale Inco

have broken off, despite the Union’s repeated and unprecedented attempts to

reach a settlement. VIDEO STREAMING…

BANGKOK: Asia Backhaul Conference — ATCi, a leading service provider of live

and on-demand video, satellite, mobile GSM backhaul, corporate web

communications and content management applications, today announced the

official launch of its high quality, live mobile video streaming service

enabled for iPhone and BlackBerry users through its MeshTV technology and

delivery service. TWITTER APP…

TOKYO: Infoteria Corporation announced on March 8 the launch of “TwitCal,” a

new iPhone Calendar App that can be used to share, follow and publish event

information through Twitter. http://www.twitcal.net/en CRUISER TOOL…

MIAMI: With the aim of responding to and realising the wishes and requirements

of cruise passengers and cruise lines in the most effective way, “ATLANTIC

ALLIANCE” - a marketing partnership of the 17 most important western European

cruise ports - has developed a new web tool. http://www.atlanticalliance.eu SECURITIES REDEMPTION…

WASHINGTON: Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) will redeem the principal amounts indicated

for the following securities issues on the redemption dates indicated below at

a redemption price equal to 100 percent of the principal amount redeemed, plus

accrued interest thereon to the date of redemption: MOBILE RADIO…

LONDON: The Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) Association today welcomes two new

members; Shenzhen HYT Science & Technology Co., Ltd (China) and Team Simoco

(UK) to the group which represents businesses, organisations and individuals

supporting the European Telecommunications Standards Institute’s (ETSI) Digital

Mobile Radio (DMR) standard. http://www.dmrassociation.org SEOUL FORUM…

SEOUL: The Global Metropolitan Forum of Seoul 2010 will begin on March 10 at

Nuritkum Square located in the Digital Media City in Sangsam-dong. Some 500

world-renowned scholars, futurists, and foreign diplomats will attend this

event. http://www.globalseoul.org CHINA LAWSUIT…

SHANGHAI: On January 28, 2010, Chinmax Medical Systems, Inc., a leading

distributor of clinical diagnostics in China, filed a civil complaint in the

People’s Court of Yangpu District, Shanghai against Inverness Medical Beijing

Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc. (NYSE: IMA). TRADE ZONE…

RAS AL KHAIMAH, UAE: In the face of 2009’s financial adversity, Ras Al Khaimah

Free Trade Zone (RAK FTZ) forged on and emerged ahead of its game, joining the

ranks of top-performing free zones in rebuilding confidence in the world

economy. http://www.rakftz.com CARDIOLOGY CONGRESS…

GENEVA: In 100 days the World Heart Federation, with the support of the Chinese

Society of Cardiology and the Chinese Medical Association, will open the World

Congress of Cardiology (WCC) Scientific Sessions 2010 in Beijing, China. http://www.worldcardiocongress.org PATENT SUIT…

NEUBIBERG/MUNICH: Lantiq Deutschland GmbH has filed suit in the German District

Court of Duesseldorf against Billion Electric Co. Ltd., Taiwan, for patent

infringement. http://www.lantiq.com LASER TESTING…

PYEONGTAEK, Korea: Customers and interested parties in the areas of electronic,

flat panel as well as photovoltaics and automotive can now test lasers and

laser applications for their own production environments on site with their own

materials and refine the processes together with Jenoptik engineers. http://www.jenoptik.com/jenoptikGroup_Asia FEMININITY SITE…

PARIS: Thierry Mugler invites women-and men-of the world to connect and

communicate through womanity.com, to share unique, fun and surprising

experiences on the theme of femininity. INVESTMENT WEBSITE…

NORWICH: USA Invest Ltd has just launched its great new website (

http://www.US-Property-Investment.com) geared towards the foreign investor

looking to take advantage of the great real estate investment deals available

across the USA at the moment. http://www.US-Property-Investment.com STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP…

LUXEMBOURG and DONGYING, China: CNPV Solar Power SA, a leading integrated

manufacturer of solar photovoltaic products from the production of ingots,

wafers and cells to the assembly of PV modules that designs, manufactures and

supplies highly efficient and cost effective crystalline solar photovoltaic

modules, today announced that it has entered into a long-term strategic

partnership sales agreement with Techbank Company Limited, a leading South

Korean photovoltaic company and competence center for photovoltaic power plants

that develops and sells turn-key photovoltaic power plants. http://www.cnpv-power.com AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agencies distributing unedited, translated news releases for worldwide clients. Visit www.asianetnews.net or asianetnews.asia for full-text versions.

TCC Capital Land is the joint-venture business between TCC Land and CapitaLand. TCC Land is the property arm of the TCC Group of companies, one of Thailand’s largest business conglomerates. TCC Land owns a large portfolio of land banks, hotels, apartments, office buildings, shopping centers, convention centers and leisure related properties in Thailand. CapitaLand is one of Asia’s largest real estate companies. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, the multi-local company’s core businesses in real estate, hospitality and real estate financial services are focused in growth cities in Asia Pacific and Europe. The company’s real estate and hospitality portfolio spans more than 110 cities in over 20 countries.

For more information, please contact

K. Manop, K.Chanokpim, K. Wilaipan at

Tel: 02-344-6666 Ext. 3310, 3036 and 3037

Replacing magnetic stripe-only cards with chip cards;

Introducing first-usage alert and activation procedures for new / replacement cards;

Notifying cardholders each time a transaction is made based on a pre-determined value threshold; and

Instituting a one-time password (OTP) for Card Not Present (CNP) transactions.

These measures make Singapore the first Asian country to adopt such a holistic approach to payment card security.

As these measures require increased contact between cardholders and their respective banks and card issuers, ABS reminds cardholders to provide their banks with the updated contact information – including mobile numbers, email and mailing addresses.

Initiative (i) : Migrating to EMV chips

By April 2011, banks and card issuers will replace all current magnetic-stripe only credit, debit and prepaid cards issued in Singapore with cards that contain an EMV chip. At present, magnetic-stripe cards make up about 70% of the entire payment card population.

Magnetic stripe card is an old technology and the data encoded on the magnetic stripe can be easily read and copied with a magnetic stripe card reader/encoder. As such, a magnetic stripe credit card or debit card can be easily cloned. On the other hand, a chip card offers enhanced security and protection against fraud. The microprocessor chip on the card is protected by cryptographic encryption and virtually eliminates the ability to copy the contents of the chip to another card. The chip-based card complies with the MAS standard of data security.

However, cardholders in Singapore should not be concerned that their new chip cards would face any point-of-sale disruption when used in countries where magnetic stripe cards continue to be used. This is because all the chip cards also come with magnetic stripes.

Cardholders are advised to await more details from their banks and card issuers who will be communicating their specific plans for migrating to the chip card.

Initiative (ii) : Introducing first-usage alert and activation procedures for new / replacement cards

From second quarter 2010, banks and card issuers will introduce a range of first-usage alert and activation procedures for new / replacement cards. These range from alerting cardholders the first time the card is used via SMS, email or letter, to issuing cardholders an unactivated card that needs to be activated by the cardholder via the bank’s Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system or ATM before the card can be used.

Cardholders are advised to look out for communication from their banks and card issuers on the procedures for activating new / replacement cards.

Initiative (iii) : Notifying customers each time a credit card transaction is made

From second quarter 2010, cardholders will be able to receive a notification alert each time they make a transaction using their credit card. The mode of the alert is SMS and / or email. Cardholders can choose to opt in or opt out of the notification scheme.

Cardholders can also select a preferred value threshold for the alerts. However, if no selection is made, the default value threshold will be determined by the bank.

Cardholders are advised to await further details from their banks.

Initiative (iv) : Instituting a One-Time Password (OTP) for Card Not Present (CNP) transactions

To increase the security of CNP transactions, from June 2010 cardholders who make CNP transactions using their payment cards will need to enter a one-time password (OTP) before the transaction can be approved. This password will be sent to cardholders either via SMS or hardware token. This measure applies only to ecommerce websites that support the “3-D Secure” authentication protocols such as “Verified By Visa” (VBV), “SecureCode” (MasterCard) or “J/Secure” (JCB).

Cardholders are advised to await further details from their banks.

Says Mrs Ong-Ang Ai Boon, Director, The Association of Banks in Singapore: “Payment card fraud in Singapore is among the lowest in the world. However, this does not mean that banks in Singapore can afford to be complacent. Banks and card issuers are continually investing in technology and processes to enhance the operating environment for payment card users. With these measures, cardholders and retailers can be assured that their transactions are safeguarded, legitimate and securely processed. With these enhancements, consumers have a responsibility to provide their banks and card issuers with the updated contact details if they have not done so.” –www.asianbankerpublication.com (March 5 2010)–

A foreign bank licence will allow ANZ to provide a wide range of retail and wholesale banking services in India subject to regulatory approval of branch establishment in Mumbai.

ANZ CEO Asia Pacific, Europe and America Alex Thursby said: “This is an important step for ANZ as part of a long term commitment to progressively rebuild our presence in India.

“There is a significant and growing economic relationship between Australia and India. India is Australia’s fourth-largest export market driven by demand for natural resources with exports totalling more than $15 billion in 2008.

“At the same time, India has become a global centre of excellence in technology and operations and ANZ’s Bangalore campus which was established in 1989 now employs almost 4,500 people supporting our business in Australia, New Zealand and Asia,” Mr Thursby said.

Mr Thursby also acknowledged the strong support of the Australian Government for its licence application in India and the willingness of the Reserve Bank of India and the Indian Ministry of Finance to consider the application.

“The Australian Government has taken significant steps to foster the bilateral relationship with India in recent years and its support for our licence application has been invaluable,” Mr Thursby said.

Pending approval of the branch location by the RBI, ANZ intends to establish its first branch in Mumbai under its foreign bank licence in the next 12 months.

–www.asianbankerpublication.com (March 4 2010)–

JP Morgan Treasury Services provides cash management services with nation-wide coverage in Malaysia, including high value payments, paper clearing and payables & receivables management, as well as trade finance and liquidity management services.

Raof Latiff, managing director and Asia head of Treasury Services clearing and foreign exchange at JP Morgan said: “As Malaysia’s economy grows and trade flows increase, corporate requirements will become increasingly complex, driving the demand for efficiency and for integrated solutions. JP Morgan is in a unique position to provide its clients with sophisticated cross-border cash management solutions supported by state-of-the-art electronic tools. We are delighted to be able to strengthen our treasury management service offering in Malaysia to help our clients achieve their expansion plans.”

Clement Chew, JP Morgan’s senior country officer in Malaysia added: “These investments are an important thrust in our plans to build on JP Morgan’s franchise in Malaysia, where the firm’s presence dates back to 1964. They also add to our recent product expansion in various areas. For example, we have used our onshore securities platform to develop our futures and options and stock-borrowing lending capabilities locally to be able to offer our clients a wider range of services. We look forward to further growing our commercial bank in 2010.”

JP Morgan is the world’s largest U.S. Dollar clearing and commercial bank. JP Morgan Treasury Services leverages the services and products of the bank’s Worldwide Securities Services division, as well as its Investment Bank, Asset Management and Private Bank lines of business to provide its clients with integrated banking solutions. –www.asianbankerpublication.com (March 4 2010)–

After analysing a range of trade finance solutions, Oberbank selected TLM Trade Finance to further automate its Guarantees, Letters of Credit and Collections business processes. The solution will be installed at Oberbank’s headquarters in Linz, Austria and will initially process domestic guarantees, followed by its Austrian trade finance business and later on its branches in the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia and Hungary.

Hubert Umlauf, General Manager, Organisational Development & Process Management at Oberbank, commented: “Finding a solution that could automate our paper-based processes for domestic guarantees and integrating it in the whole range of our trade finance business was critical as we look to continue our success. The SmartStream TLM solution clearly met our requirements with its ability to automate many of the processes and our staff found it easy to use. With TLM Trade Finance as a single, centralised solution for our domestic guarantee and cross-border trade finance business we believe that our business will be more efficient. With automated workflows and improved reporting capabilities we can spend more time talking to customers and providing the best possible service.”

Christian Schiebl, Executive Vice President at SmartStream Technologies, said: “We’re delighted that as part of their organisational review Oberbank selected TLM Trade Finance to manage its domestic and cross-border business. This will enable them to replace paper forms and data re-entry with workflow-based processes, electronic forms and documentation. As a result, Oberbank will lower their operational costs and risk, while supporting their ultimate goal; to further enhance reporting and client service to maintain a competitive advantage.”

–www.asianbankerpublication.com (March 3 2010)–

By industry, industrials and telecommunications tightened the most, compressing by 4 bps each to 321 bps and 295 bps, respectively. Financial institutions, banks, and utilities followed, tightening 2 bps each to 293 bps, 262 bps, and 185 bps, respectively.

Since their record highs in December 2008, the investment-grade and speculative-grade spreads have tightened in the range of their five-year moving averages of 197 bps and 570 bps, respectively. This is partially attributable to a rough 18% increase in both the moving averages since the beginning of 2009. But, it also reflects a recent optimistic sentiment in the credit markets–particularly the expectations for downgrades and corporate defaults to wane from their current near-record highs and an apparent stabilization in credit quality. We expect credit spreads to compress further, especially for nonfinancials, as the decoupling of systemic to idiosyncratic risk continues to normalize credit pricing. However, financials might remain volatile because of uncertainty regarding loan losses and some banks’ ability to raise capital without government support.

Media Contact:

Mimi Barker, New York (1) 212-438-5054, mimi_barker@standardandpoors.com

Analyst Contact:

Diane Vazza, New York (1) 212-438-2760

The 59 mai-listed companies had net profits in 2009 of THB2.22 billion (approx. USD67.42 million) and total sales of THB49.81 billion (approx. USD1.51 billion).  These were decreases of 26% and 12% over 2008, respectively.  Forty-seven companies, or 80% of mai-listed firms, posted net profits.

“The economic recession decreased total sales and net profits of mai-listed firms in 2009, comparing to previous year. However, in Q4/2009, mai-listed firms’ nets profits rose 69%,” revealed SET Group Head, Issuer & Listing and mai President Chanitr Charnchainarong.

Eleven firms had consistently made profits in every quarter for over ten consecutive quarters since listing on mai. These firms were: Business Online PCL (BOL), Eternity Grand Logistics PCL (ETG), Goldfine Manufacturers PCL (GFM), Interlink Communication PCL (ILINK), Star Sanitaryware PCL (STAR), Thai Mitsuwa PCL (TMW), Thai Nondestructive Testing PCL (TNDT), Thai Nakarin Hospital PCL (TNH), Thai Plaspac PCL (TPAC), UBIS (Asia) PCL (UBIS), and Unimit Engineering PCL (UEC).

“In 2009, twelve out of 59 mai-listed firms grew in sales, net profits, and gross profit margin compared to the previous year. Five of these also posted increases in sales, net profits, and gross profit margin, which are BGT Corporation PCL (BGT), Interlink Communication PCL (ILINK), Simat Technologies PCL (SIMAT), Thai Nondestructive Testing PCL (TNDT), Thai Plaspac PCL (TPAC),” concluded Mr. Chanitr.

As of March 4, 2010, the mai Index closed at 210.81, with total market capitalization of THB38.02 billion (approx. USD1.15 billion). For more information about mai-listed firms’ operating results, please visit www.set.or.th and www.settrade.com, or call S-E-T Call Center at 0 2229 2222.

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

In 2009, 1,309 issuers either defaulted or had lower ratings at the end of the year than they did at the beginning. By contrast, only 278 entities had higher ratings at the end of 2009–a ratio of almost five to one, according to the article, titled “Global Ratings Distribution: A Flurry Of Downgrades In 2009 Put More Issuers In The Lowest Rating Categories (Premium).”

“It is not surprising that many of the downgrades in 2009 were at the lowest end of the ratings spectrum,” said Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor’s Global Fixed Income Research Group. “This increased the share of entities rated ‘B-’ and lower to 523, or 9.3% of the total, at the end of 2009 from 494, or 8.4%, at the end of 2008 and only 342, which was 5.8% of the total, at the end of 2007.”

Along with this, the recent wave of defaults dropped many speculative-grade-rated issuers out of the pool. In our view, this is typical at this stage in the credit cycle and is the primary cause of the decline in the share of speculative-grade issuers in prior cycles.

In our opinion, the sharp rise in speculative-grade issuance prior to 2007 was a result of investors’ willingness to take on more risk in search of better yields, combined with companies’ generally higher tolerance for leverage amid increased domestic and global competition. When the credit markets began to deteriorate in 2008, many speculative-grade entities, particularly the lower-rated issuers that were more vulnerable to the tight liquidity and high leverage conditions, defaulted on their obligations or renegotiated the terms of their debt with lenders.

This article is part of our premium Global Fixed Income Research content, which is available to premium subscribers to RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal at www.globalcreditportal.com and to RatingsDirect at www.ratingsdirect.com. Ratings information can also be found on Standard & Poor’s public Web site by using the Ratings search box located in the left column at www.standardandpoors.com. Members of the media may request a copy of this report by contacting the media representative provided. Media Contact:

Mimi Barker, New York (1) 212-438-5054, mimi_barker@standardandpoors.com Analyst Contact:

Diane Vazza, New York (1) 212-438-2760 Key Contacts:

Americas Media Relations: (1) 212-438-6667

media_ relations@standardandpoors.com Americas Customer Service: (1) 212-438-7280

research_request@standardandpoors.com