Stocks in the news (bch, bcpg, bh, btg, crc, inet, ivl, kex, mint, mtc, ptg, tu) 13.03.26
Bangkok Chain Hospital Public Company Limited operates a leading network of private hospitals across Thailand under the World Medical Hospital, Kasemrad, and Karunvej brands, catering to diverse patient groups including private pay, insurance, and the national social security scheme.
BCH analyst meeting key takes slightly positive – management guides mid-single-digit revenue growth for 2026. Price increases started in Feb, though Middle East segment will drag & new insurance co-payment structure impacts to be seen. Amid the war, plans to open a Kuwait medical office after Ramadan may be delayed. 1 of 3 new hospitals, KH Vientiane, expected to breakeven this year while KH Aranyaprathet and Pranburi will remain under water for the next few years. mid2026 SSO reimbursement hike (fixed capitation rate is likely to increase from THB1,808/head/yr to THB2k/head/yr (+10%))
BCPG Public Company Limited is a prominent renewable energy producer in Thailand and the Asia-Pacific region, focusing on electricity generation from solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal sources to support the global transition toward sustainable energy.
BCPG – SEC will finally investigate Capital Asia investments’ report after SG’s central bank found serious control failings in Capital Asia’s compliance with its anti-money laundering requirements. The SEC statement followed a Thai politician’s question over why the regulator had not frozen Capital Asia’s stake in BCPG before the fund appeared to sell most of those shares sometime between Sept 2025 and last week.
Comment: The tentacles of CAI are in several entities in Thailand – the money flow is simple to figure out. The issue is that for the related law agencies to act, they need time to build up a proper case – it takes time. But in SG the incentives for cracking down on this type of money laundering are far higher than in Thailand.
Bumrungrad Hospital Public Company Limited is a world-renowned multi-specialty medical center in Bangkok, providing advanced tertiary healthcare to over a million patients annually from more than 190 countries, specializing in complex surgeries and precision medicine.
BH sees lower impact from Middle East war compare to border restriction across the world during Covid, diversify foreign patient structure, specialty clinics for high intensity and complex diseases enable co., to curb downside.
Comment: I see no negative impact, infact I see only positive developments.
Betagro Public Company Limited is a leading integrated food company in Thailand, operating across the agro-industrial and food value chains including animal feed, livestock, poultry, and high-quality branded food products for both domestic and international markets.
BTG eyes 3-7% FY revenue growth target, GPM within 15-17% range, sets Bt600m capex for JV & M&A in Asean, revamp online channel, will expand processed food portfolio to boost margin, expects prolong unrest fuel food price,
Comment: They’re moving and expanding throughout the region – just wait until you see them decide to enter India.
Central Retail Corporation Public Company Limited is Thailand’s largest multi-format retail platform, operating a diverse portfolio of department stores, supermarkets, and specialty stores across food, fashion, and hardline categories in Thailand, Vietnam, and Italy.
CRC: The Co plans to invest Bt16-18bn this year to open new stores, renovate existing ones and enhance the customer experience. This year it plans to open 8-10 new Tops stores, two new GO Wholesale stores and 3-5 new Thaiwatsadu stores and wants to renovate two department stores, two Tops stores, two Thaiwatsadu stores and one Robinson Lifestyle store. Thailand contributes 80% of the company’s total sales, while Vietnam accounts for 20%. The company operates in 26 of Vietnam’s 34 provinces.
Comment: The management team at CRC are incredibly aggressive, and I do wonder whether the shareholders have the same appetite for risk, as these endeavours are incredibly capital intensive – aren’t successful at the moment and how long are they willing to hold onto these loss makers?
Internet Thailand Public Company Limited is a comprehensive ICT infrastructure service provider, offering cloud computing solutions, data center services, and high-speed internet connectivity tailored for corporate and government sectors.
INET: begins construction of its 4th data center (INET-IDC4) on 160 hectare land (1k rais) to accommodate sovereign cloud, t/g cod 2Q27.
Comment: I hate the cloud infrastructure that we are all exposed to at the moment. It’s ridiculously scary how much data they have on us. And go down the white hat security rabbit hole to see how the thai government and authorities can request and receive your personal information in all the googles, apple, meta, etc etc. If you think that your cloud data is private, hah, if you think your messaging is private, hah (messenger, imessage, whatsapp, line, telegram, smses). Anyways Back to INET good for them.
Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited is a global manufacturer of intermediate petrochemicals and the world’s largest producer of PET resin, with an integrated value chain spanning continents and serving diverse consumer markets.
IVL : The Co has partnered with Nigerian Breweries and Genesis Energy, with plans to build one of the largest rPET production plants in Africa, located in Lagos. This investment aims to develop a plant capable of producing up to 45,000 tons of food-grade rPET per year, with production targeting the first half of 2027.
KEX Express (Thailand) Public Company Limited is a major parcel delivery provider in Thailand, focused on logistics solutions for e-commerce, social commerce, and the express delivery market.
KEX Express (TH) & J&T Express (TH) increasingly deploying AI for route optimization & fleet management to reduce energy waste, improve fleet efficiency, maintain service stability, enable co., to curb costs without compromising delivery performance.
Comment: They can talk all they want, they don’t have any business left in the country.
Minor International Public Company Limited is a global leader in hospitality, restaurants, and lifestyle, operating over 500 hotels across more than 50 countries and one of Asia’s largest restaurant chains.
MINT: MJets adds new business including an investment in fixed-base operator (FBO) facilities overseas and authorized dealer Gulfstream jets in TH, sees the market has increased post-pandemic.
Muangthai Capital Public Company Limited is the market leader in microfinance in Thailand, specializing in vehicle title loans and personal loans through a vast network of over 7,000 branches nationwide.
MTC: reported 4 tranches of CD total Bt3b, paying interest at 2.8%, 3%, 3.35% and 3.85% completely sold out, will use the proceeds for roll over, expand business, target 10-15% loan growth this year.
Comment: Instant boost to the bottom line
PTG Energy Public Company Limited operates an extensive network of fuel service stations under the PT brand, alongside a growing non-oil business portfolio including the Punthai Coffee chain and Max Mart convenience stores.
PTG: The management reiterates that it still has sufficient oil supply to meet demand and believes the government will gradually adjust prices after the diesel price freeze ends. The Co outlines its 2026 plan, targeting a 3-5% growth in oil sales, aiming for over 50% growth in non-oil business, expanding its “Phan Thai Coffee” chain to 3,000 branches, and boosting revenue to Bt10bn. It also plans a Bt4.5bn investment to expand its Max World empire.
Comment: Remember the background of PTG – they are oil traders, this isn’t an issue. Now the Punthai expansion has continued doing well, who’s their comp n/a
Thai Union Group Public Company Limited is a global seafood leader with a portfolio of category-leading brands including John West and Chicken of the Sea, specializing in high-quality ambient, frozen, and chilled seafood products.
TU upbeats 1Q earnings from robust sales of frozen seafood, feedmill & pet food products, sees marginal impact from middle east tension as export sales to the region account for only 3% of total sales, normalize US tariff help level playing field, weakening THB open upside.
Comment: With my expectations that the USD/THB continues to decline this year
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Paul Renaud
Are you still a big fan of D.Trump?
Do yourself a favour and take another look at Prima Marine (PRM) just now 7.40 Baht.
A 550 mill US$ mkt cap liquid stock today yielding 7% and at p/e 7. Hugely undervalued and under appreciated….as it operates FSU oil storage offshore vessels at high profits margins and presently much benefiting from soaring oil prices and need to store/hoard more. yes I own allot.
Paul Renaud
Are you still a big fan of D.Trump?
Do yourself a favour and take another look at Prima Marine (PRM) just now 7.40 Baht.
A 550 mill. US$ mkt cap liquid stock today yielding 7% and at p/e 7. Hugely undervalued and under appreciated….as it operates FSU oil storage offshore vessels at high profits margins and presently much benefiting from soaring oil prices and need to store/hoard more. Yes I own PRM.
Pon
Yes I know the company well, it was an idea when Russia/Ukraine occurred. Issue is the divergent incentives of the 2 major shareholders.
Yes Trump > Harris by far.
And regarding the US actions, there are competing parties for direction of the country, I put a high probability that he wasn’t the decision maker on the Iran event nor the new Fed Chief. But I simplify these geopolitical matters into 2 Mob families competing for dominance.
Paul Renaud
Thanks. The US Israel Lobby and it Zionist extreme government is what runs US foreign policy in the Middle East. The international court convicted leader himself said recently “a 40 year dream to defeat Iran”.
As to PRM. Honestly, for a Thai mid-cap like PRM, this structure is fairly standard and arguably not the red flag it would be in other markets.
Here’s how I’d frame it why it’s less concerning than it looks:
The controlling shareholder is the operator. Nathalin’s wealth is overwhelmingly tied to PRM’s success — they have no incentive to loot the company or suppress the stock permanently. The track record matters here: PRM has paid consistent dividends, conducted buybacks, and generally behaved in a minority-friendly manner. Controlling family shareholders who are also operators tend to run tighter, more disciplined businesses than widely-held companies with professional management and weak oversight.
The related-party transaction risk (ship management fees, charter arrangements) is real but disclosed and audited. It’s been baked into the stock’s valuation for years. At the current deep discount it’s well priced in… Thanks for any counter points. 🙂
Pon
I know more than I care to comment publicly about the share price movements over the past 2 years. But yes it’s well operated company.
Paul Renaud
Thanks Pon. The reason it’s timely is due to now soaring global oil prices and this new reality very likely not to drop back down much in the foreseeable future! This so much benefits an offshore storage of oil entity like PRM which however is mispriced like a plain vanilla oil transporter.
Pon
Paul, I went back to look at my thesis and review of PRM as a play back in 2022 with Russia/Ukraine, updated it with thoughts on Iran…
…and came away with the following:
Best case (modest): If the FSU segment benefits from 10-15% higher utilization and rates during the crisis period, and this persists for 1-2 quarters, incremental revenue could be THB 100-200M with ~55% gross margins = THB 55-110M incremental gross profit, or roughly 3-5% earnings uplift for the affected quarters.
Base case (neutral): Long-term contracts insulate PRM from both upside and downside. Modest THB weakness benefits USD revenues. Net impact near zero.
Downside case (more likely in current scenario): VLCC operations for TOP disrupted if Hormuz stays closed → COC segment revenue at risk (~THB 300-350M/quarter). Higher bunker costs eat into margins on non-pass-through contracts. Thai economic slowdown reduces refined product demand. Net impact could be -5% to -10% on quarterly earnings.
Bottom Line
PRM is not the right vehicle to play the Iran/tanker rate spike. Its business model was specifically designed for stability through long-term contracts — which means it misses the windfall that pure spot-exposed tanker companies like Frontline, DHT, or Hafnia are capturing. If you want direct exposure to the Hormuz disruption, you’d need to look at globally-listed tanker companies with significant spot market exposure, not PRM.
The real risk for PRM is actually to the downside if the crisis persists — disrupted VLCC crude supply for TOP and weaker Thai economic activity from high oil prices.
Paul A. Renaud.
Thank for that Pon much appreciated. PRM trades at a p/e of 7.5 and yields just about 7% in annual dividends, this is half the valuation and near double the dividend yield of other similar companies around this region. P/BV is tame at 1.42. Further, it just reduced its capital by 6.9%, due to retiring its treasury shares -so this is anti-dilutional. PRM stock trades fairly well, many millions of shares a day often over 10 mill. and with a mkt. cap. of just over 500 mill US$. Before the SET derating bear mkt. started PRM used to trade between 10-12 Baht. (2018), at a time when Thai interest rates where much higher then now.
We checked the owners names and found nothing of past concern with a clean corp. governance and you yourself said “well managed”. Also no insider buying/selling. If PRM stock in the past was volatile (?) due to some punters so be it but this has very likely nothing to do with mgt. Ha, if it gets back on some punters list we don’t mind at all -as it likely means an upward move. 🙂
Everyday lately its in the news how the Thai Govt. and oil distributors and more are over-eager to store more oil due to the now global oil price uncertainty….surely this is a tailwind for PRM as its a quasi oil storage company with far lower risk than an oil transportation company, Yet the mkt. values it as such, when it is not. Yes, one big risk is an outright US induces global long recession, but even then a decent dividend will likely be paid.
Pon
Agreed it’s decently cheap as stock, could run +10-20% based upon valuations and divvy. But not for the oil storage trade.
Love markets. Thank you Paul. Enjoyed this.
Paul Renaud
Thks. In this market and in these times I will be happy to take 10-20% profits on PRM plus it’s near 7 % dividend. Btw, Lower Baht vs. US$ is a further new +. As is the 6.9% new anti share dilution.