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Wireless campuses planned
Thailand plans to equip all the country’s universities
with wireless facilities for computer networking. Under the scheme Thai
university students would have access to world-wide databases and
information anywhere, at anytime on campus – promoting modern e-learning.
Dr. Surapong Suebwonglee, the Information and
Communications Technology Minister said that the ministry and Intel Co. had
planned to install wireless facilities in eleven universities initially. The
selected institutions would potentially become Thailand’s first wireless
campuses.
The eleven campuses will be allocated six million baht
each to install wireless connection points, or “Hot Spots” as they are
called, throughout their campus areas. University students will be offered
cheap notebook computers through a Ministry of Information, Communication
and Technology (ICT) loan scheme which would allow students to pay for their
computers by installments and at a low rate of interest.
The ICT committee is still finalizing the details of the plan. It is
expected to be put before the cabinet in the near future for final approval.
(TNA)
Auto air conditioners more environmentally friendly
The Thai government plans to make car air conditioners
more environmentally friendly in the next five years. Under the
government’s plan, the industry will have till 2010 to stop using CFCs in
car air conditioners. Thailand plans to decrease the CFCs by 2010 in line
with the Montreal Protocol, which Thailand has signed committing Bangkok to
phasing out ozone depleting substances.
Workers in auto repair shops throughout the country will
also be trained to help reduce the substance to protect the ozone layer. The
Department has launched a scheme to train staff working in car repair shops
to improve their knowledge and understanding of the use of CFCs in the
automobile industry and the need to reduce them. Nearly 3,000 garages and
repair shops are expected to participate in the program.
The first batch of auto repair workers from more than
1,000 garages started their five-month training in March. The next round of
training will start again at the end of this year, and a further training
session is scheduled for mid-2005.
Any auto repair shop which uses more than 80 kilograms per month of the
refrigerant R-12 will be eligible to receive recovery and recycling
machinery, worth 50,000 baht, to reduce CFCs discharged into the atmosphere.
(TNA)
Phuket’s IT City
plan runs into problems
The plan for the southern island resort of Phuket to
become an information technology (IT) city has run into problems. “The
government’s plan for Phuket to be an IT city won’t work unless the
authorities can completely eliminate the blackouts in household power
supplies,” the head of local tourism industry groups, Phatthanaphong
Ekwanich, warned. Phatthanaphong urged the government to seriously look into
the problem, as blackouts regularly occur during heavy rain and
thunderstorms. (TNA)
OIE backs development of petrochemical industry cluster
The Office of Industrial Economics (OIE) is providing
full support for the development of a strong petrochemical industry cluster
in the East, saying that Thailand has comparative advantages over
competitors in the region.
The office’s deputy director-general, Suchada Varaphorn,
said the office has conducted a competitive benchmark study in the
petrochemical industry field. He said they are aware of the growth potential
in the industry, as Thailand has an abundance of natural gas resources that
can be developed into raw materials for future petrochemical production.
Suchada said the office has prepared a petrochemical
industry development plan focusing on increasing petrochemical production
capacity and developing a strong cluster of petrochemical plants in the
eastern region, where there is an abundance of natural gas. There are also
sufficient transport facilities to accommodate the development.
The government also has plans to build a railway linking
the region to southern China to give local producers access to Indochina.
Suchada said a study found that the local petrochemical industry is
efficient in its production and distribution, and could compete with its
overseas rivals. He said there are many projects that would accommodate
industry expansion. Among them are the Bangkok Fashion City scheme, the
World Food Kitchen Program, the Detroit of Asia Initiative, and the
Development of Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises Project. (TNA)
World oil prices
expected to drop soon
Oil prices on the world market are likely to drop soon,
according to PTT Public Company Limited (PTT). PTT’s executive vice president,
Apisit Rujikeatkamjorn, said the current oil price hike and fluctuation on the
world market were not due to the shortage of supply, but the result of the
speculation of oil funds. He, therefore, projected that prices of crude oil on
the world market would decline in the near future.
“The current oil price hike and fluctuation are not caused by the shortage
of supply, but by the speculation of oil funds. So, I believe the crude oil
prices on the world market will drop soon, as the oil funds are expected to sell
out the crude oil they have kept in stocks to take profits,” Apisit noted.
“The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has increased its total
production of crude oil by 4 million barrels per day, to 29 million barrels per
day. So, it’s no problem of oil shortage,” he pointed out. (TNA)
US investigating allegations of Thai shrimp dumping
The US government’s investigation into allegations of
Thai shrimp dumping was scheduled to start at of July and is expected to be
completed by the end of January next year. Thailand has been under
investigation by the US government since January this year, along with
China, Vietnam, India, Brazil and Ecuador.
US shrimp producers in six states have accused various
kinds of Thai shrimp products, including frozen and canned shrimp and frozen
shrimp dishes, of being sold in the US at an unacceptably low price. They
accuse the Thai exporters of dumping the products on the US market and
damaging the local industry.
US investigators are scheduled to visit Thailand and
inspect each Thai shrimp export to gather information by the end of October.
The value of shrimp exports in the first five months of this year has
fallen by nearly twenty per cent compared to the same period last year. This
is the equivalent of more than twenty-two billion baht. The Department of
Export Promotion and representatives of the private sector are working
together to try to increase shrimp exports to high-potential markets
including Canada, South Korea and Singapore to compensate for the loss of
the US market because of the investigation. (TNA)
Laem Chabang port
steps up security measures
The Laem Chabang Deep Sea Port Authority has begun
training its staff and officers to cope with possible terrorist attacks. The
training is part of the eastern Chonburi Province’s broader strategy to
promote the Laem Chabang Deep Sea Port as one of the world’s leading
international ports.
The port’s staff will be trained in advanced security
measures used in port areas around the world, including techniques for
screening goods containers and their cargoes. Experts from the US Coast
Guard will show them how to assess the probability of the port being
attacked, and how to increase the port’s readiness to counter this danger.
After the improvement of the port’s security measure, insurance
premiums will be lowered for shipping, benefiting many transportation
companies with lower costs. It will also give the Laem Chabang Deep Sea Port
a good name for reliable service. (TNA)
Italian designer to help develop traditional Thai cloth for export
Indigo ‘mor hom’ cloth is the quintessential clothing
of the northern Thai farmer - coarse, itchy and down to earth - but the
Ministry of Commerce is flying Italian designers to develop the cloth with a
view to export.
Speaking after talks with representatives from an Italian
fashion consultancy group, Deputy Commerce Minister Pongsak Ruktapongpisal
said that the Ministry of Commerce would hire the group to help modify the
design of the traditional cloth, which would then be made into clothing for
the export market.
Conceding that the main problem currently facing the
cloth was its itchiness, the deputy minister said that ‘mor hom’ could
be made more comfortable to wear and possibly produced in different colors.
As ‘mor hom’ is generally produced by small communities, it is hoped
that its promotion will bring extra revenue to local villages.
The Department of Export Promotion has been given the
task of promoting the sale of ‘mor hom’ abroad, a pet project of Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The focus will initially be on the Asian
market, where ‘mor hom’ cloth is already well known, with future markets
likely to include Europe and America. (TNA)
SET index likely to recover in near future
The Stock Exchange of Thailand index is expected to begin
recovering late next month or early September since many negative factors
have eased, according to a leading brokerage house. Montree Sornpaisal,
president and chief executive officer of Kim-Eng Securities Plc, said the
SET index had fallen significantly in the first half of this year upon
concern over the new outbreak of bird flu, upward interest direction, higher
fuel prices, and anti-privatization protest by state enterprises’ labor
unions.
“Given the improved operating performances of listed
companies, the price/earning ratio of the market is now 10-10.5 times. The
ratio is considered low, which means prices of many stocks are not high and
the downside risk is low. So, it is a good opportunity for investors to buy
and accumulate stocks when the index falls.”
He conceded the investor psychology remained wavering now
and would take time to boost investor confidence. However, he believed the
SET index would begin to turn around and continue to rally until early next
year since many problems arisen in the first half had eased.
Montri admitted the fuel price rise would continue to
discourage trading sentiment on the stock market. Still, he hoped the oil
prices would decline to an equilibrium level soon. (TNA)
New strategies to boost textile industry
Thailand is planning new strategies to help develop the
country’s textile industry and enable it to compete internationally,
according to industry experts. Thailand’s textile industry needs to
improve to reach internationally acceptable standards before the
liberalization of the domestic textile industry at the beginning of next
year in accordance with the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s regulations.
The proposed scheme would promote domestic brands on the international
market, and prepare Thai manufacturers to cope in a more competitive
environment.
Director of Thailand’s Textile Institute Wirat
Tandejanurat said new measures include developing the Thai textile
industry’s management system with new technology, encouraging them to be
more innovative, and persuading manufacturers to invest in more research and
development.
Wirat said, “Thailand’s textile and fashion industry
still needs more development since we are only used to manufacture products
for foreign brands. Unfortunately, foreign investment has moved its
production bases to China. So we simply cannot stick to the old ways of
business. We need to develop and market our own brands to survive.”
Thailand’s Textile Institute hopes to help improve the
Thai manufacturers’ marketing skills through its two-week micro-MBA course
for the fashion industry, planned for next month. “They will have a chance
to learn from international brand-name executives and fashion gurus from
ELLE Magazine, Pasaya, Flynow, Toray International, and Central Stores,”
Wirat said.
Thailand’s textile industry is expected to grow by some 10 percent next
year. Of the current industrial output, valued at around 600 billion baht,
around half is exported. (TNA)
Southern land bridge project gets go-ahead
The government has announced plans to proceed with the
construction of the so-called Land Bridge Project in southern Thailand. The
28-billion-baht project includes building a 250-kilometer oil pipeline from
Phang Nga to Nakorn Si Thammarat in the South. An oil refinery plant will
also be built by 2010.
Onshore and offshore pipelines will be constructed deep
underground to avoid any ecological and environmental problems. Once
completed, the Land Bridge Project will become an alternative route for the
transportation of oil from the Middle East to northern Asia. The pipeline
will be able to carry 1.5 million barrels a day to both the local market and
neighboring countries, as well as China, Japan, and South Korea.
The government has started talks with three of the
largest oil consumers in the region - South Korea, China and Japan — and
oil producers, including Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Thailand is anxious to attract investment from these
countries. All of them have shown interest in joint ventures and using the
pipeline to transport oil. The project is an alternative oil transport route
in the region since the Malacca Straits has become too crowded and there is
a high risk of being hi-jacked by pirates. (TNA)
‘SME Express’ stores to open in PTT gas stations
The nation’s largest petroleum company is giving a
leg-up to small and medium enterprises by opening ‘SME Express’ stores
in gas stations across the country. PTT Plc director Abhisit
Rujikiertikachorn has recently signed a deal with RTT SME Express, a private
courier company.
The deal will make PTT the first such organization in
Thailand to receive and distribute products made by local SMEs, including
products made under the government’s One Tambon One Product (OTOP) scheme.
Abhisit said that the SME Express shops would be
initially opened in 200 PTT gas stations by the end of August, with a view
to expanding the eventual number of stores to 500.
“Participating PTT gas stations will gain 6,000 baht
per month in additional revenue. If any PTT gas stations have free space,
PTT will immediately provide a container-style room (for the stores)”,
Abhisit said, predicting that the service would prove a hit with gas station
owners and customers alike.
Initially the shops will sell food, herbs, traditional
medicine, fabric and clothing, woodwork, rattan ware, glassware, ceramic
ware, jewelry, and industrial components and spare parts. (TNA)
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