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Toyodabo officially
opens factory in Rayong
Specializing in the production of air filters,
oil pressure valves and filters
Suchada Tupchai
Toyodabo Filtration System (Thailand) Co. Ltd (TBFST)
factory was officially opened by Nobuyuki Ozeki, president of TBFST, along
with the guests of honor, including Somphong Wanapha, secretary general,
Vicharn Jayanandana, governor of Rayong province, Montha Veeravaitaya,
deputy governor (Operation 2) and Junichi Yoshikawa, president of Toyoda
Boshoku Corporation, at Toyodabo Filtration System (Thailand) Co. Ltd.
Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate.
 Nobuyuki
Ozeki, president of TBFST, Somphong Wanapha, secretary general, Vicharn
Jayanandana, governor of Rayong province, Montha Veeravaitaya, deputy
governor (Operation 2) and Junichi Yoshikawa, president of Toyoda Boshoku
Corporation, tour the new Toyodabo Filtration System (Thailand) Co. Ltd.
factory at the Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate.
As a part of the ceremonies, a special show featuring
traditional Thai dance and Ramakian was held as Nobuyuki Ozeki, president of
TBFST made the welcoming speech before giving the guests a tour of the new
facility, which has the latest in manufacturing technology.
Toyoda Boshoku Corporation first established Toyodabo
Filtration System in 2002 with Denso Corporation (Japan) to produce oil
filters for the automotive industry in Thailand and for export. The company
was awarded BOI investment privileges in 2002 and its production plant is
equipped with a full range of modern utilities and the most up-to-date
production facilities.
At the beginning of 2003, TBFST decided to adopt and
implement the ISO/TS 16949:2002 international quality standard system. With
the close cooperation and the firm commitment of all management and staff
towards this goal, the company was eventually successful in passing the
final audit, being awarded ISO/TS 16949:2002 certification in the same year.
Budget for smart cards approved
Deputy Government Spokeswoman Sansanee Nakpong announced
that the cabinet has approved a total budget of over 7.9 billion baht to
support the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology’s
multi-purpose identity cards, or smart cards, project. “The earmarked
budget will be used to produce and manage the distribution of 64 million
smart cards to all Thai citizens,” she stated.
The smart cards scheme will be divided into three parts;
first, 12 million smart cards will be produced. Backed by another budget in
the 2005 fiscal year, 26 million more will be available, and the rest of the
26 million smart cards will follow shortly after.
The computer chips embedded in the smart cards will not lead to
accessibility of all individual information of cards’ holders, but the
chips would only be a ‘key’ used to access to their information stored
in a server. “So, if a card holder loses the card, he or she will not be
at risk of being accessed to all reserved information,” Sansanee said.
(TNA)
Home Care Cleaning cares of all your home comfort needs
Derek, a Canadian national, had a most unfortunate
experience when he took his antique carpet to be cleaned but unfortunately
it came back in a worse condition than before, almost to the point of being
completely ruined. He went back to the shop to express his dissatisfaction
of the service he received, only to be met by a very angry and unsympathetic
shop owner who turned on him with verbal abuse. Like Derek, there are
probably hundreds of people who have had to go through such a distasteful
incident and they thought that there was nothing they could do about.
 Jeed
on a mission - off to see a customer.
But folks do not despair, there's hope: the recently
established services of Home Care Cleaning is here to help you clean up the
mess and even offer you a smile.
If it is your carpet, sofa or your car, Home Care
Cleaning will shampoo clean it until the last stain is gone. Better bring
your sunglasses along when picking up your car; you might be blinded by the
shine.
Home Care Cleaning also offers other services such as
marble, granite and stone floor polishing and floor cleaning and waxing. Of
course they will also clean your condo, office and house.
Home Care Cleaning was opened last year in June, but the
owner Rujira Siriphong, or Jeed, is no newcomer to the cleaning business.
Jeed knows what she is doing - she’s been in the business for 7 years now.
That makes her one of the most, maybe even the most experienced professional
in town.
“Our aim is to please our customers, provide good
service and establish a healthy relationship with them,” Jeed explains.
“Our customers return and use our services again and again. That is a good
sign.”
Prices are definitely the most reasonable ones in town -
you will find that out yourself.
Home Care Cleaning currently works with companies such as
Winnie’s Property Services and some of the sales staff at Kitchen Studio.
But there is room for expansion.
Jeed currently employs 5 cleaners. Only the best cleaning
chemicals from Johnson & Johnson are used. Some of the substances have
to be picked up from Bangkok due to the lack of supplies in Pattaya.
“Nothing is too good for our customers,” Jeed proclaims.
Home Care Cleaning is a little hidden away in Naklua, located opposite
the entrance of the Sawang Boriboon foundation (206/18 M. 4, Naklua).
However, you can easily reach Jeed by telephone (09 833 0352) during
business hours to make an appointment and she will drop by your place to
make you an offer. You can also call the office at 038 726 393 or email Jeed
at [email protected]
Thai wooden
tableware wins global popularity
Wooden tableware from Thailand enjoys the second highest
market share in the world, earning the country revenue of over 2.5 billion
baht each year, according to figures released by the Kasikorn Research
Center (KRC).
Noting that sales of wooden tableware were on the rise
throughout the world, the research report cited statistics from the Global
Trade Atlas, showing that the world’s wooden tableware and household goods
market was worth US$552.8 million in the year 2003, with a growth rate of
over 4 percent per annum.
China and Thailand remain by far the world’s largest
exporters of wooden tableware, together accounting for 70 percent of the
global market value. However, Thailand, with a 13.9 percent share, trails
well behind China in number one spot with 52.5 percent of the market.
Last year Thailand earned 2.6 billion baht from exports
of wooden tableware and household goods, with popular woods including teak,
coconut, rubber wood and mango wood. These are used to create goods such as
bowls, cutlery, chopsticks and even wine cups. Designs of many of these
products have departed from standard utilitarian fare, and consist of birds,
animals and flowers. Major export markets for these products are the
European Union, the USA and Japan.
The report stated that the export markets for Thai wooden
tableware had considerable room for growth, thanks to the growing acceptance
of Thai production skills and government support for small and medium
enterprises including the One Tambon One Product scheme. (TNA)
German ambassador addresses GBL
Upcoming visit to Germany by PM Thaksin
to strengthen ties
Elfi Seitz
The latest German Business Lunch (GBL) was held at the
Royal Cliff Beach Resort, during which HE German Ambassador Andreas von
Stechow expressed his joy to be the guest speaker for the third time in a row.
The ambassador was accompanied by his wife Junko.
Panga
Vathanakul, managing director of the Royal Cliff; Ranjith Chandrasiri, Royal
Cliff’s deputy general manager; Nick Bauer, resident manager, and many other
members of the management of the Royal Cliff and members of the GBL greeted
the ambassador and his wife at the cocktail before the dinner.
Walter Kretschmar, the director of the Thai-German
Institute, presided over the evening. The main topic was the forthcoming visit
of Thailand’s Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to Germany. Andreas von
Stechow will fly to Germany a few days before this important visit to assist
Thailand’s leading politician.
“Concerning the economy in Thailand, although many
companies have returned to Thailand since 2001, many have also opted for
China,” Andreas von Stechow pointed out. “No doubt, we had hoped for a
bigger piece of the pie. But first, 500 million euros of old debts have to be
taken care of and there is no better way than a state visit,” said the
ambassador, with a smile. “However, some companies are ready to hand out new
contracts, even if the old debts are not totally paid off,” he said.
His Excellency continued, “Thaksin’s visit will
strengthen ties between our two countries. The Thai prime minister will visit
President Rau, Chancellor Schr๖der, Bavarias Governor Stoiber and
Minister of Agriculture Renate Knast. In the year 2002 there was an
intensive emphasis on Thai-German relations with the visits of President Rau
and Wolfgang Clement, the minister of economy and some important projects were
undertaken. In a short while, a memorandum of cooperation will be signed
concerning small and medium sized enterprises. The trade relations between
Thailand and Germany are excellent and last year (trade between the two
countries amounted to) 4.5 billion euros. The growth of Thai restaurants in
Germany is enormous, the export trade to Thailand is strong and bilateral
cooperation is good. Approximately 450,000 German tourists visited Thailand in
the past year, and more Thai people are visiting Germany.”
The ambassador added, “But there have been other issues;
the situation in Myanmar, the planned development aid from Germany, and the
security measures of companies in the Kingdom.”
The ambassador then announced that on April 10 there will
be a charity festival at the Berliner Bistro in Soi Potisarn to benefit
HIV-infected children at a home in Bangkok and the Camillian Center Rayong.
Hannes Suhm asked the attendees to donate some money, and 9,000 baht was
collected for the cause.
The evening was a great success and ran late. All the guests were delighted
to have another chance to meet with the ambassador with his charming wife
Junko.
Forces will be mobilized
to combat economic crime
The Ministry of Justice recently conducted a
brainstorming session aimed at thrashing out approaches to solve economic
crime, warning that economic crime was costing the nation billions of baht
each year.
Wisit Wisitsora-at, director of the ministry’s
operations, addressed the seminar. Hinting of famous incidents of economic
crime such as the Enron scandal in the US, Wisit warned, “These problems
could happen to Thailand. Whatever agencies are involved, they must join
hands to carry out audits, rather than leaving everything up to the Special
Investigative Branch.”
Wisit, who said that economic crime was costing the
nation dearly, observed that the collection of evidence relating to economic
crime remained one of the major weaknesses in combating it. “This weakness
stems not only from problems within the system itself, but also basic errors
of understanding,” he said.
Nonetheless, he stressed that the Special Investment
Branch, the courts, lawyers, and businessmen were working together to
identify these weaknesses, while also working to isolate loopholes in
existing legislation.
The session was attended by representatives from the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Thai Association of
Accountants and Licensed Auditors, the Chulalongkorn University’s Center
for Business Crime Information, and the Special Investigation Branch. (TNA)
PM believes in
growth potential of Asian economies
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra expressed confidence
that Asian economies have sufficient potential to grow on par with those of
the United State and the European Union (EU). Delivering a keynote speech at
the recent LSE Asia Forum 2004, Thaksin said the importance of future global
economic correlation must be recognized, given economic uncertainties arisen
from globalization.
The premier said, “The Asian economies have rapidly
grown following the regional economic crisis in 1998, led by the economic
boom in China and Thailand. In the fourth quarter of last year, the
economies of China and Thailand expanded 9.9 percent and 7.8 percent
respectively, resulting in a renewed concern over the repetition of the
bubble economy in the region.”
The prime minister acknowledged many worried whether the
Asian economies would be able to sustain the growth, and refrain from
economic mismanagement as in the past. Thaksin said his initiative for the
establishment of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) in 2002, with 18
founding members, was aimed to use various comparative advantages of Asian
countries to boost competitiveness among them, and would help strengthen
Asia, which could benefit not only people in the region but globally as
well.
He said Asia has great potential in terms of various
resources and assets, as more than half of the global population are in the
region and pointed out that the region’s combined international reserves
total around US$1.5 trillion, more than half of the world’s reserves.
(TNA)
Industry minister lead
business delegation to Vietnam
Industry Minister Pinij Jarusombat recently led a Thai
business delegation to visit Vietnam, aimed at enhancing and strengthening
trade and investment ties and cooperation between the two member states of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Thai minister met with his Vietnamese counterpart Hoang
Trung Hai, who expressed his wish for Thailand’s multi-formed cooperation,
especially in industry. Hai said that Thailand had, by early this year, 118
valid projects in Vietnam, with a combined registered capital of over US$1.4
billion.
Thailand is Vietnam’s second largest investor in the
region, and the ninth among 64 countries and territories. Thailand’s
investment projects in Vietnam involve PVC powder and PVC compound production,
food and animal feed processing, paint production, oil and gas, as well as
hotel business, and restaurant services.
Hai said that he wanted Thai partners to continue
cooperating with the Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation (PertroVietnam) in oil and
gas exploration, and exploration in Vietnam’s sea waters, possibly building a
gas system project linking it with other ASEAN countries.
“Mining, engineering, rural electricity supplies,
electronics assembling, garment and textiles, food processing, high-tech,
handicraft village construction and development are also Thailand’s strengths
that Vietnam is willing to cooperate with,” Hai said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung
told the visiting Thai industry minister that strengthened investment and trade
ties between Vietnam and Thailand would not only contribute to economic
development of the two neighboring countries, but also to the development of
ASEAN as a whole.
Dung hailed discussions on investment in mining, oil and
gas, farm produce processing between the two countries’ industry ministers.
Later in the day, the Thai delegation attended a workshop on investment
potential, opportunities and challenges in Vietnam, together with Vietnamese
businessmen. (TNA)
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