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☆ Songkran 2024: Celebrating Thailand’s annual New Year festival
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Karla Cripps | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Bangkok, Thailand CNN —On the surface, Thailand’s annual Songkran festival appears to be just one great big water fight. Pipad Krajaejun, a history lecturer at Bangkok’s Thammasat University, says it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when the water fights became such a key part of the festival. (We’ll share more on the water fights below.) Some towns limit the water fights to one day, so be sure to check ahead if you’re planning to join the battles. Soe Zeya Tun/ReutersAmong the highlights of the festival is the Maha Songkran Parade, which will happen on April 11.

Persons: Thailand CNN —, that’s, ”, Songkran, Boonserm Satraphai, Pipad, “, Soe Zeya Tun, University’s Pipad, Nam, Chalinee Thirasupa, MBK, Lauren DeCicca, John S Lander, it’s, CNN Travel’s Karla Cripps, she’s Organizations: CNN, Thailand CNN, UNESCO, Heritage, Bangkok’s Thammasat University, CNN Travel, ”, Thailand’s Tourism Authority, of, Reuters, Central Department, Thai Locations: Bangkok, Thailand, it’s, Chiang Mai, Thailand's, Khao San, Chiang, Old City, Pipad, Chiangmai, Thailand’s, Ratchadamnoen, Lanna, San

☆ mBank CEO doesn't see end of provisioning for Swiss franc mortgages
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Commerzbank's Polish unit mBank's logo is seen in Warsaw, Poland, May 31, 2023. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsGDANSK, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Polish lender mBank's (MBK.WA) CEO Cezary Stypulkowski on Tuesday said he did not see the end of provisioning for legal risks related to Swiss franc mortgages, adding the scale of the issue was difficult to predict. Stypulkowski did not give any timeline on when the situation might be solved. The bank's provisions for legal risk of foreign currency loans were 1.08 billion zlotys ($258.84 million) in the third quarter, compared with 2.31 billion zlotys a year earlier. ($1 = 4.1724 zlotys)Reporting by Mateusz Rabiega; editing by Milla NissiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kacper, Cezary Stypulkowski, Stypulkowski, Mateusz, Milla Nissi Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Warsaw, Poland, GDANSK

☆ Poland's mBank hopes to offer 2% mortgage loan in September
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Commerzbank's Polish unit mBank's logo is seen in Warsaw, Poland, May 31, 2023. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File PhotoGDANSK, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Poland's mBank (MBK.WA) expects a drop in write-offs in future quarters from those in the second quarter, its chief executive said on Wednesday. CEO Cezary Stypulkowski also said the bank hopes to offer 2% mortgage loans in September, a special product with state subsidised instalments. We hope that in September we will be able operationally to offer the loan," said Stypulkowski. He added that for the bank's customers, this is an important product to offer.

Persons: Kacper, Cezary Stypulkowski, homebuyers, Anna Banacka, Louise Heavens, Jason Neely Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Warsaw, Poland, GDANSK

☆ Commerzbank to book further provision for mBank after court ruling
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, June 23 (Reuters) - Germany's Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) said on Friday that it would book another provision of 342 million euros ($372.27 million) following a court ruling on how banks treat Swiss franc loans in Poland. The new figure means that Commerzbank, which has extensive operations in Poland through its mBank (MBK.WA), has provisioned or made payouts of more than 2 billion euros to deal with the issue. The bank said the figure would impact its second-quarter earnings but that it still expects a 2023 net profit "well above that of 2022". Polish courts have been deciding how the loans can be treated, including what banks can charge in interest for the loans, creating uncertainty for banks and their bottom lines. ($1 = 0.9187 euros)Reporting by Tom Sims; editing by David EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tom Sims, David Evans Organizations: Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, Poland

TOKYO/HONG KONG, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Japan Industrial Partners, the preferred bidder to buy out Toshiba Corp (6502.T), has moved closer to securing financing from banks, three people with knowledge of the matter said. JIP's bid has called for Toshiba management to retain their jobs - a proposal which initially made some of the banks cautious about lending, sources have said. The sources all declined to be identified as the talks are private. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, the core unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (8316.T), and Mizuho Bank Ltd, the core unit of Mizuho Financial Group Inc (8411.T) declined to comment. ($1 = 137.0500 yen)Reporting by Kane Wu, Makiko Yamazaki and Ritsuko Shimizu; Editing by Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Japan's Toshiba slashes profit outlook after second-quarter slump
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Makiko Yamazaki | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp (6502.T) on Friday cut its full-year operating profit outlook after a 75% slump in second-quarter profit - dismal results that heighten the uncertainty surrounding its prospects for a buyout deal. It cut its profit forecast for the year ending in March by roughly a quarter to 125 billion yen ($885 million). Kioxia Holdings Corp, a memory chip maker some 40% owned by Toshiba, has also said it would cut production by about 30% from in October. For the July-September quarter, Toshiba posted an operating profit of 7.5 billion yen ($53.2 million). That was far short of a Refinitiv consensus estimate of 36.9 billion yen from four analysts.

But shares fell more than 7% after the bank said its 2024 costs would be higher than anticipated, with revenue and operating profit for that year missing analysts' current forecasts. Net profit of 195 million euros in the quarter compares with a profit of 403 million a year earlier. Analysts had expected profit of 116 million euros on average in a consensus forecast published by the bank. Looking ahead to 2024, the bank said it now expects operating profit of 3.2 billion euros, below analysts' expectations. In a note, Deutsche Bank analysts said the forecast was "below consensus" and asked, "How conservative is the 2024 guidance?"

JIP, Chubu Electric and Orix will each invest 100 billion yen, the paper said, without saying where it got the information. A Toshiba representative declined to comment, saying the company could not "answer information about candidates, including co-investors, as it may undermine fair process". Investor focus could now turn to another potential bidder, state-backed fund JIC, which sources have said is also preparing a bid. The fund has been in talks with U.S. private equity fund Bain Capital and north Asia fund MBK Partners to form a separate consortium, sources have said. Differences over JIP's plan to retain Toshiba's management were a source of friction between the two, Reuters has reported.

Differences over JIP's plan to retain Toshiba CEO Taro Shimada and his team were a source of friction between the two bidders, according to two sources familiar with the talks. Despite being selected as preferred bidder, JIP has struggled to secure enough equity commitments from potential partners, sources have said. It now looks set to miss a Monday deadline to deliver a firm proposal that includes letters of commitment from banks, sources have said. In late October, JIC expanded the size of its buyout fund to 900 billion yen ($6.11 billion) from 200 billion yen. Two of the sources said the expansion was not just for a Toshiba buyout but also aimed at other deals.

☆ State-backed Toshiba suitor boosts buyout fund size to $6 billion-plus
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Takaya Yamaguchi | Makiko Yamazaki | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Toshiba Corp is displayed atop of the company's facility building in Kawasaki, Japan, June 24, 2022. REUTERS/Issei KatoTOKYO (Reuters) - Japan Investment Corp (JIC), a potential bidder for Toshiba Corp, has expanded the size of its buyout fund by 4.5 times to 900 billion yen ($6.11 billion), a spokesperson for the state-backed investment firm said on Wednesday. It faces competition from private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners (JIP), which other sources say is having difficulty securing sufficient equity commitments from potential consortium partners. JIC received approval for the fund boost from the industry ministry on Oct 27, the spokesperson said. Japan has seen more large-scale buyouts in recent years, and the expansion is designed to allow JIC’s private equity arm to handle such deals, he said.

The logo of Toshiba Corp is displayed atop of the company's facility building in Kawasaki, Japan, June 24, 2022. JIP's initial offer was below 6,000 yen per share, the two sources told Reuters, putting the value of a potential tender offer at less than 2.6 trillion yen ($17.5 billion). Investors have considered 6,000 yen to be a key threshold. During a strategic review last year, at least one global private equity firm told Toshiba's review committee that a deal to take the conglomerate private could be done at 6,000 yen a share or more. In Japan, the court-led rehabilitation of auto parts supplier Marelli Holdings Co Ltd - owned by U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co Inc (KKR.N) - has turned banks cautious about terms for financing leveraged buyouts, private equity sources said.

☆ Commerzbank to take 490 mln euro Q3 hit due to mBank unit
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Germany's Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) said on Tuesday it would take a 490 million euro ($471 million) hit to its third-quarter operating profit after its Polish mBank (MBK.WA) unit booked additional provisions for its Swiss franc loans. The German lender said it nevertheless still expected to reach its net profit target of more than 1 billion euros for the full year. Frankfurt-listed shares of Commerzbank, which is in the midst of a costly restructuring that involves cutting 10,000 jobs and closing branches, were down 5.5% after the news. Commerzbank had attempted to sell mBank but abandoned the effort after an auction petered out in 2020. ($1 = 1.0408 euros)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Tom Sims and Sabine Wollrab Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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