Only 16 per cent of Thailand's 65 million population have life insurance. Also, stringent tax collection from both policyholders and insurance agents have hampered growth of the business, Sara Lamsam, president of the association, said yesterday.

The association also called on the government to focus on life insurance policies for retired and ageing people.

To encourage them, the government should allow insurance companies to increase the reserve money to 90 per cent of total premiums and the rest subject to tax collection.

At the moment, insurance companies can keep only 65 per cent of total premium to pay for any commitment under the insurance policy.

Fuel :PTT widens gap between biodiesel and diesel to push alternative fuels

PTT has widened the price gap of biodiesel and diesel to 70 satang per litre, in order to boost biodiesel sales at its 116 stations nationwide.

The gap was widened after the Oil Fund reduced collection from biodiesel sales by 20 satang per litre, in order to boost consumption of alternative-fuels.

Effective today, biodiesel is priced at Bt22.64 per litre and diesel at Bt23.34 a litre.

Meanwhile, ethanol-makers have requested the Energy Ministry to scrap the sale of octane-95 gasohol and boost consumption of gasohol to increase consumption of ethanol. Gasohol 95 is now available at 1,200 PTT stations.

Antigua :Ban on Thai sweet tamarind lifted after Kingdom satisfies safety rules

Antigua has lifted the ban on sweet tamarind from Thailand with effect from Friday, according to a report in the Antigua Sun.

The country's plant-protection officer, Janil Gore-Francis, said they had lifted the ban because Thailand had now satisfied its requirements for plant safety.

A press release from the unit dated last Friday communicated the lifting of the ban.

Last June, a ban was placed on the import of sweet tamarind from Thailand after the macadamia-nut borer, a pest not known to exist in the Western Hemisphere, was found in the consignment.

She added that the permit process would not take long, because a risk assessments had already been conducted.

Mobile phones :True Move reports its revenues for 2006 increased almost 14 per cent

True Move, the mobile-phone service provider of True Corp, announced yesterday the company's service revenues reached Bt22.3 billion at the end of last year, up 13.9 per cent year on year.

The company enjoyed record growth in its customer base, which increased by 3.1 million in 2006, representing 32 per cent of new mobile phone users for the year.

True Move now has 7.6 million customers, significantly exceeding its 2006 target of 5.7 million customers. Compared to 2005, True Move's total subscribers increased 70 per cent while the company's service revenue increased by 13.9 per cent, the company revealed.