PRESS DIGEST - Thai newspapers April 23

BANGKOK, April 23 (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

- Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej lashed out at the World Bank and United Nations for criticising biofuel-producing nations for soaring food prices (BANGKOK POST)

- A former student activist has proclaimed his innocence after being charged with lese majeste for refusing to rise when the royal anthem was played in a cinema (BANGKOK POST)

- The reinstatement of Duang Yubamrung in the army has drawn criticism from a key opposition Democrat figure and a core leader of the anti-Thaksin group (BANGKOK POST)

- The Finance Ministry will review the use of millions of rai of land owned by the Treasury Department to bring land into production as part of a strategy to deal with the food crisis (THE NATION)

- The Excise Department is losing 1.5 billion baht a month for every 1 baht cut in diesel excise tax, a source from a working committee says (THE NATION)

- The Bank of Thailand drastically revised upward its headline and core inflation projections, while slightly lifting its economic-growth estimate for the year (THE NATION)

BUSINESS

- The government needs to develop a national strategy for the country's rice industry to help stabilise prices, according to executives of the agribusiness giant Charoen Pokphand Group (BANGKOK POST)

- Rice fields in Thailand are expected to be enlarged to at least 71 million rai for the coming crop, the largest paddy plantation area in two decades (BANGKOK POST)

- Minority shareholders of the NFC Fertilizer NFC.BK have cried foul over the company's fading future, demanding that management dispose of fertiliser assets (BANGKOK POST)

- Charoen Pokphand Foods' CPF.BK first-quarter earnings are expected to turn around from a net loss of about 1.14 billion baht in the same period last year to a net profit of 662 million baht to 704 million baht thanks to the higher prices for chicken, eggs and pork, analysts said (THE NATION)

- Siamgas and Petrochemicals, Thailand's second-largest manufacturer and distributor of liquefied petroleum gas, will raise about 1 billion baht in funds in an initial public offering of 280 million shares (THE NATION)

** Looking for more information from local sources? Factiva.com has eight Thai sources including the Bangkok Post and the Nation.