Thai Farmers Bank has become the first bank in Thailand to allow other banks' ATM card holders to transfer funds to TFB customers as well as pay for products or services through its 705 ATMs, writes Bangkok Post.

The service will be operational from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Pramote Chai-umporn, executive vice-president, said the existing service that allowed TFB customers to transfer money to each other had been so popular that the bank decided to expand it throughout the ATM pool.

Transfers can be made to a maximum of 30,000 baht per transaction or 50,000 baht per day. Fees range from 10 to 20 baht per transaction. In addition, ATM card holders of other banks would be allowed to make payments for products and services such as mobile phone, pager and internet bills and insurance premiums.

New mutual fund

National Finance Mutual Fund Co will establish a new mutual fund, Dhanacharti Tawee Ryedai I, worth 300 million baht, according to BangkokPost.

The fund would invest mainly in debt instruments issued by financially healthy companies that have ridden out the economic storm and are capable of consistently servicing debts, said the company's chief executive officer, M L Pakakaew Boonlieng.

The fund will be of the closed-end type with a maturity of three years. But it will have an open-ended component: every six months, a sum will be allocated to redeem outstanding shares at a price equal to an appropriate share of the portfolio's net value.

The fund will be offered for subscription only on July 6, with a minimum investment of 100,000 baht.

More flights

Emirates has begun a third daily flight between Dubai and London Heathrow, and has revised its schedule to Hong Kong and Bangkok.From July 9 the airline will operate an extra flight to Islamabad also, reports Gulf News.Emirates' third daily flight to London Heathrow offers passengers the choice of a late afternoon departure from Dubai and a late evening departure fromHeathrow. Emirates now has five daily flights to the UK -- three to Heathrow, one to London Gatwick and one to Manchester.

Until September, Emirates will operate the third daily flight with an A310-300. From October it will use the new A330-200 on the third daily flight.