PRESS DIGEST - Thai newspapers - April 18

BANGKOK, April 18 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in Thai newspapers on Friday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

TOP STORIES

- Thailand's rice exporters have been shocked by a bid from Vietnam to sell 110,000 tonnes of rice to the Philippines at the historically high price of $1,200 (37,700 baht) per tonne (THE NATION)

- Thailand hopes to draw $1 trillion in investment from the United Kingkom, other European countries and the United States within two years, after the Finance Ministry encountered strong investor enthusiasm during roadshows in New York and London (THE NATION)

- The Transport Ministry is pushing ahead with a second-phase expansion of Suvarnabhumi airport with 10 projects worth 73 billion baht ($2.3 billion) (BANGKOK POST)

- Police have warned protesters against any attempt to disrupt the Beijing Olympics torch relay in Bangkok tomorrow afternoon. Action will be taken against anyone who tries to spoil the 10.5 km run through the inner-city, police spokesman Watcharapol Prasanratchakij said (BANGKOK POST)

- The People Power Party is vetting a first draft of charter amendments in order to return the political system to that sanctioned by the suspended 1997 constitution and to cut down the power of independent organisations (THE NATION)

BUSINESS

- The government should take serious action to develop the Southern Seaboard to support future expansion of the petrochemical industry, Siam Cement Group SCC.BK president and CEO Kan Trakulhoon said (THE NATION)

- Thai Oil's second-quarter net profit is expected to hit a record high of 7.3 billion baht, buoyed by a global year-high gross refining margin of $13.32 per barrel and its subsidiary Thai Paraxylene's additional annual capacity coming on stream this month (THE NATION)

- The global credit crisis will only marginally affect local banks, which should perform better this year thanks to promising lending growth and lower provisioning demands, according to James McCormack, senior director and head of Asia sovereign ratings for Fitch Ratings (BANGKOK POST)

- The cost of construction is set to increase by between 3 and 10 percent if the Energy Ministry approves new energy-saving standards for buildings with a coverage area of 2,000 square metres or more (BANGKOK POST)

- Vietnam is poised to become the most challenging rivals to the Thai hospitality business in the near future due to the country's ability to attract investment and develop well-trained staff, according to property consulting firm Colliers International (BANGKOK POST)

- Animal feed producers have repeated their calls on the Commerce Ministry to allow them to raise prices by 10-20 percent in keeping with surging global prices of raw materials (BANKOK POST) ** Looking for more information from local sources? Factiva.com has eight Thai sources including the Bangkok Post and The Nation.