|
Asian Business Club announces upcoming schedule
The Asian Business Club, a platform to exchange
information and help its members do business in Thailand and Asia, as well
as supporting charity organizations, will host information events as
follows:
Tuesday, 22-06-04: Helmut Buchberger of Asian Business
Consulting Co., Ltd. on “Contractual right in Thailand Part 1 - Business
Contracts, Employment, Companies, Lease and Purchasing.”
Tuesday 06-07-04: Helmut Buchberger of Asian Business
Consulting Co., Ltd. on “Contractual right in Thailand Part 2 - Private
Lease and Purchasing, Marriage, Credits, Testament.”
Tuesday 20-07-04: Peter Schlegel of Husi Electronics on
“Pirated software, legal implications and technical safety issues.”
Please note that the speakers will speak in the English
language, unless only German speaking guests are participating.
Members and non-members alike are welcome. All events
will take place at the Woodlands Resort, Naklua Road, North Pattaya. The
events start at 07:30 p.m.
The Asian business club was founded on December 9, 2003.
The Asian Business Club Thailand accepts as members
business people of any nationality, gender or belief, provided that they
either run their own business or are employed in a senior position.
Securities firms to begin deposit system
Some securities companies are ready to comply with the
Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) requirement for their customers to place a
10% deposit for stock trading before the rule becomes effective on 1st July.
The President of the Securities Companies’ Association Suthep Peetakanont
said members raised their readiness to comply with the requirement a SET
extraordinary meeting in May. Most said they were willing to abide by the
rule when it was put into effect.
Also discussed was the penalty criteria toward executives
of brokerage houses who violate commission rules was also discussed.
Previously executives found violating the rules could be immediately removed
from their position, but under the reviewed one, they will face three levels
of penalties, starting from probation, suspension and removal from the
position depending on the seriousness of the violation. (TNA)
Thailand nails down future as energy hub
Thailand will become a regional hub for oil storage and
serve as a delivery center for oil-producing countries and client countries,
according to Energy Minister Prommin Lertsuridej.
Prommin said the primary objective to develop an oil
trade center was successful after the Sriracha Hub project in the eastern
province of Chonburi was completed last year.
Under the long-term plan, Thailand will serve as a center
to deliver oil from the Middle East and Africa to client countries in the
Far East like Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan, made possible by a new
pipeline project linking an oil station on the Andaman coast, located in
Thab Lamu district in southern Phang Nga Province, to the other one on the
Gulf of Thailand’s side, which will be based in Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Si
Chol district. The project is included in a four-point declaration of the
ministry’s performances.
The other three areas are ‘effective energy
conservation’ and ‘energy security’ measures, and ongoing R&D
projects to produce alternative sources of energy, including solar-enabled
power, bio-diesel and gasohol.
The final area is promotion and execution of energy
efficient measures including a campaign to encourage motorists to use mass
transport systems, and reduction of the country’s energy consumption.
(TNA)
Proposed cessation of free NHS care to UK expats
The UK Government is expected to stop expatriates getting
free care on the NHS this year. People will now have to prove they spend at
least six months a year in the country to get free care. The Health
Secretary, John Reid, has emphasised that the scheme will be “rigorously
applied” even though it still requires parliamentary approval. This has
been brought about by the government’s crackdown on health tourism whereby
anyone can get free healthcare just by showing some tenuous link to the UK.
Pensioners who return to the UK for their final years
will not be affected. The NHS is also emphasising that expatriates will
still get access to the NHS in an emergency. However, this is as far as it
will go. Britons living outside of Europe will be the hardest hit. For those
who live for more than half the year away from the UK then even a
lifetime’s contribution to National Insurance will be of no help at all.
It must be stressed though that those individuals who
have private health schemes may not be affected because some schemes allow
for repatriation and private treatment within the UK providing it is
medically necessary. It is vital that policy holders read the small print
before they sign for anything. To summarise - if you are a British citizen
who lives outside of Europe for more than six months a year there is a high
probability that you will not be eligible for NHS. It should be one of your
top priorities to get private health cover as soon as possible.
BCCT hosts annual BiAP Conference
The British Chamber of Commerce Thailand (BCCT) recently
hosted the 9th Annual Britain in Asia Pacific (BiAP) Conference at The
Conrad Bangkok. BiAP comprises British Chambers of Commerce and Associations
based in Asia Pacific countries. BiAP members from Australia, Cambodia,
China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea,
Taiwan, Thailand and UK were represented by a variety of chamber presidents,
board directors and executive directors.
BiAP
members from throughout Southeast Asian and UK were represented by a variety
of chamber presidents, board directors and executive directors at the 9th
Annual Britain in Asia Pacific (BiAP) Conference.
The two-day conference was chaired by BCCT Chairman Mark
Fraser. A wide range of issues were covered with the objective of adding
value to the range of benefits provided to chamber members. Topics included:
events and sponsorship, expanding membership, local and regional privilege
schemes, European funding, joint foreign chambers of commerce, websites and
working with British chambers of commerce in the UK. The conference
presentations and discussions were extremely useful for both new and
experienced chamber officers. More than 20 action points were agreed and
will be implemented during the next six months.
Five high profile events were organized to coincide with
the conference. Chris Bruton of Dataconsult briefed delegates and BCCT
members on the economic performance of Asia-Pacific countries; Dr Kantathi
Suphamongkhon, Thai Trade representative and senior adviser to the prime
minister delivered a special luncheon speech entitled ‘Thailand in the
World of Globalisation and Free Trade’; deputy chief executive of UK Trade
& Investment Susan Haird travelled from London to update delegates and
members on recent developments at UKTI; and British Ambassador H.E. David
Fall delivered an entertaining tongue-in-cheek speech on his experiences in
the Foreign and Commonwealth office.
The BCCT and BiAP are grateful to Standard Chartered Bank, Harrow
International School, Property Care Services, NAI Andrew Park, Johnson
Stokes & Master and The Conrad for their sponsorship and support of the
conference and associated events. The BCCT would also like to thank H.E.
David Fall, British ambassador and his team for their invaluable support for
the conference.
OTOP goods sales targeted to reach 40 billion baht this year
Interior Minister Bhokin Bhalakula recently announced
that sales of goods under the government’s One-Tambon One-Product (OTOP)
scheme are targeted to reach 40 billion baht this year, and are believed to
surpass a hundred of billion baht per year in the next 5-6 years.
The interior minister said the government was determined
to develop the country into a communication hub, given its competence in
economic, social, industrial, agricultural and human resource areas, as well
as geographical advantage. So, he wants officials concerned to have
readiness to cope with any difficulties and manage efficiently to ensure the
development would meet the target.
It hoped farm products such as jasmine rice and
chemical-free vegetables will enjoy higher prices along with the OTOP sale
increase. (TNA)
ICT Ministry pushes for acceptance
of medical outsourcing contracts
Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Minister
Surapong Suebwonglee voiced backing for Thai-based doctors to accept medical
outsourcing work from countries such as the United States, saying that such
work would boost revenue for Thailand’s medical and telecommunications
sectors.
Revealing the ministry’s latest policy initiative,
Surapong said that the ministry was fully behind the acceptance by Thai
doctors of medical process outsourcing, particularly the reading of X-ray
images and images from micro-cameras in the stomach and gut. He added that
such procedures often take two hours to complete, which opens the process to
outsourcing.
The number of capsule cameras in the US is expected to
rise by 200 percent over the next three months as a result of US decisions
to outsource the reading of the camera images. Presently much of the work is
outsourced to India and the Philippines.
“This method of reading film is quite expensive,
costing around 8,000 baht each time. But costs are not the problem; the
problem is a lack of time”, Surapong said. Noting that around 30 Thai
doctors have already formed a coalition to accept such work, he said that
the greater acceptance of medical process outsourcing reflected well on the
expertise of Thai doctors, and would lead to greater recognition for the
Thai medical sector. (TNA)
|
