MORE FIRMS TO APPEAL MAP TA PHUT RULING

       A few more compaines affected by the suspension of the 76 industrial projects in Map Ta Phut by a court injunction will this week file appeals against the Central Administrative Court's decision.
       Meanwhile,fears rose that the suspension of the projects could lead to a rise in non-performing loans (NPLs).
       Payungsak Chartsutipol, executive vice president of Siam United Steel,a joint venture of Siam Cement Group, and vice chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, said that following the appeal by PTT Group last week to the Supreme Administrative Court,PTT Aromatic and Refining,SCG Chemicals,Siam Yamato United Steel and Bangkok Synthetic will soon file separate appaeals.
       "All the companies testified in the Central Administrative Court in the case against eight government agencies," Payungsak said. "Others will observes how the court responds to the five companies' appeals."
       Of the 76 projects,35 belong to PTT Group and 20 to Siam Cement Group. All the appeals must be filed before October 28, or 30 days after the court ordred the injunction.
       The Bank of Thailand (BOT)is monitoring the issue with concern,as companies involved in the suspended projects may not be able to finance their borrowings leading to a rise in Thai banks' NPLs.
       Sorasit Soontornkes, assistant governor for the BOT's supervision group,said that based on the lending of Bt90 billion, the NPLs would cut Thai banks' capital adequacy ratio by 0.3 per cent to 15.3 per cent, which will be higher than the 8.5 per cent standard set by the Bank for International Settlements.
       The loans could damage the entire economy, as they could have been used for other purposes,Sorasit said.
       Krirk Vanikkul,BOT deputy governoer for financial institutions stability, noted that Thai banks' high adequacy ratio could comfortably accommocdate lending risks. A "stresstest" designed to determine banks' resilience to risks had also showed that all banks do not need to capitalise this year, Krirk said. Still, it is hard to predict how the situation will unfold next year,he noted.
       Against the BOT's Bt90-billion figure,Apisak Tantivorawong, president of Krung Thai Bank and chairman of the Thai Bankers Association,said that the total investment of more Bt400 billion in the 76 industrial projects was financed by loans. He said that the lending had not yet turned sour, pending the Central Administrative Court's decision on the injunction.