PRESS DIGEST - Thai newspapers - January 16

BANGKOK Jan 16 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in Thai newspapers on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

TOP STORIES

- The People Power Party is still scrambling to assemble a coalition government, with further fears that Parliament might not be able to open in time to meet the deadline of January 21 (THE NATION)

- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation will soon send experts to evaluate the status of the world heritage sites in Thailand (BANGKOK POST)

- Thai Public Broadcasting Service will go on air on Feb 1 and staff recruitment process begins in a swift move by the committee set up to oversee the country's first ad-free TV station temporarily (BANGKOK POST)

- The cabinet approved a 15 percent pay rise for some staff and members of the Council for National Security (BANGKOK POST)

BUSINESS

- The mandatory introduction of biodiesel next month has had little impact on crude palm oil supplies, insists Chaiwat Churit, a senior executive vice-president of PTT PCL PTT.BK (BANGKOK POST)

- BEC World BEC.BK and MCOT MCOT.BK are likely to benefit most from the expected shift of 8.3-billion-baht advertising expenditure after the Public Relations Department ordered TITV to stop broadcasting commercial programmes to comply with public TV law, stock analysts said (THE NATION)

- Citibank's Asian units. including its Thai operation, will not be touched by Citigroup's (C.N) global job cuts as they have shown good earnings, Citibank Thailand vice president Tohphan Tuchinda said (THE NATION)

- US-based Western Digital (WDC.N), the world's second largest hard-disk drive maker, plans to invest $170 million (5.6 billion baht) to expand capacity in Thailand by 20 percent this year (BANGKOK POST)

- Thailand's exports this year are likely to grow in value by only 10.78 percent to $169 billion based on a worst-case scenario that the baht appreciates to 32.50 against the US dollar, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said (BANGKOK POST)

- New condominium launches this year are likely to drop by 25 percent from 2007 due to higher competition and rising construction costs, says Mayta Chanchamcharat, chief executive officer of the developer Plus Property Co (BANGKOK POST) ** Looking for more information from local sources? Factiva.com has eight Thai sources including the Bangkok Post and The Nation.