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OTOP sales to exceed 100 billion baht in 2007
“Sales of products under the government-sponsored One
Tambon One Product (OTOP) program are expected to exceed 100 billion baht
within 2007, bout double from this year’s sales,” said Finance Minister
Somkid Jatusripitak.
He said there was a possibility that the targeted sales
could be reached if every concerned party unite with each other and, and
stressed OTOP goods must be of high quality with an outstanding image that
products of other countries do not have.
His remarks were made at the recent OTOP City fair held
in Bangkok, and where several foreign media and firms such as Japan’s
Jupiter Shop Channel, LG Home Shopping Inc, Hyundai Home Shopping, Woori
Home Shopping and NSS Home Shopping of South Korea, and TV shopping channels
of the US and Europe were invited to visit the fair so that OTOP products
could have a wider access to those markets.
The government is trying to build Thai brand names for
selected and outstanding goods under OTOP so that they can be exported and
it is anticipated that some brand names will be seen next year. (TNA)
PM accuses pipeline protestors of vested interests
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra recently lashed out at
opponents of the Thai-Malaysian gas pipeline project, accusing some of the
protestors of having vested interests. Saying that local people were
‘unnecessarily scared’ of the consequences of the project, he noted that
the Cabinet had already passed a resolution banning downstream industries
from the site.
Instead, he said, the pipeline would bring prosperity and
jobs to an impoverished region. While promising to listen to both sides of
the dispute, he said that some of the leaders of the protest against the
pipeline had vested interests. However, he refused to explain his
allegations in more detail, saying he was afraid of facing libel charges.
(TNA)
Employment opportunities in southern provinces
The authorities in the four southern provinces of
Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla have announced plans to offer jobs to
local residents to help solve the area’s unemployment problems after many
businesses have had to close and the fall in local investment because of the
continuing violent unrest.
The Thai government agreed to the job creation scheme for
the three troubled provinces and five districts in Songkhla at the Cabinet
meeting on November 30, according to Songkhla’s deputy governor, Suthep
Komolpamorn.
Songkhla has established a task force center to recruit
people aged between 18 and 30 to start work from January 1 at a monthly
salary of 4,500 baht. There are 784 jobs available in the province.
In Pattani, the authorities have been accepting job
applications since December 16. Workers are required to start jobs on
January 1, also at a monthly salary of 4,500, the Pattani governor Cherdpan
Na Songkhla said.
An official evaluation of the scheme is scheduled to be
carried on until March. If the project proves to be beneficial, the local
authorities will continue recruiting workers until all the 44,246 job
vacancies are filled.
The Pattani authorities are also offering job training
for 8,220 people and education opportunities for 16,900 students. (TNA)
Energy Minister visits Iran to request oil and gas cooperation
Energy Minister Prommin Lertsuridej embarked on a
three-day visit to Iran on December 17 during which he requested the
purchase of Iranian crude oil, and discussed the feasibility of importing
Iranian natural liquid gas and Iranian investment in Thailand’s land
bridge project.
The energy minister met with Iranian Petroleum Minister
Bijain Zanganeh. The visit, at the request of Tehran, followed the signing
of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Ministry of Energy and
the Iranian Petroleum Ministry on energy cooperation back in January this
year.
The two men spoke of progress on an agreement with
Thailand’s PTT Plc, which has submitted bids to survey two Iranian
oilfields. The two governments have also signed government-to-government
agreements on other oilfield surveys.
Prommin said that during his visit, he invited Iranian
manufacturers of equipment and components of cars running on liquid natural
gas (LNG) to invest in Thailand. Thailand currently has to import LNG
components at great expense, and Iranian investment would considerably
reduce costs.
The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) was also invited
to invest in Thailand’s land bridge project, both in oil pipelines and in
oil refineries and storage facilities.
Prommin’s visit included the signing of an MOU between
PTT Plc, the NIOC and the Malaysian national oil company Petronas on the
feasibility of cooperation on developing phase 11 of the South Pars natural
gas field. (TNA)
MOE eases mandatory closure time of petrol service stations
All oil service stations are permitted to open for
24-hour services December 25-January 5 to accommodate people’s celebration
in the New Year Festival, Energy Minister Prommin Lertsuridej announced. He
said he had signed a ministerial announcement on the easing of the mandatory
closure time of oil service stations and fuel trading shops, allowing them
to provide services around the clock in the New Year celebration period.
The relaxation was made for convenience to people who
want to return their hometown and to travel to tourist sites in the New Year
Festival.
However, he said, once the festival was over, the
mandatory closure period of oil service stations to save fuel consumption
will be restored since the government still had huge loan burdens from
capping gasoline and diesel prices since early this year. (TNA)
Vietnam slashes taxes
on Thai goods
Vietnam is preparing to slash tariffs on 36 Thai
commodities, a move which could save Thai exporters as much as 400 million
baht, the deputy director of the Office of Fiscal Economics announced.
Phongphanu Sewatarun said that three rounds of discussions between Thailand
and Vietnam had resulted in Hanoi agreeing to reduce taxes on 36 commodities
from key groups to compensate for higher taxes on Thai motorcycles and
automobile components.
Under the new move, the tariff on animal feed will be cut
from 5 percent to 0 percent, the tariff on cement from 10 percent to 5
percent, the tariff on air conditioners from 5-10 percent to 0-10 percent,
and the tariff on refrigerators and washing machines from 20 percent to 10
percent. The tax reductions will be effective for three years, starting from
the first quarter of next year.
Phongphanu said that Thailand would save around 400
million baht from the move, a sum equal to the amount lost from Vietnam’s
decision to halt plans to cut import tariffs on Thai motorcycles and
automobile components. He also noted that the move would help Thailand boost
its market share for the 36 commodities in Vietnam, as Thailand was the sole
country to gain such tax concessions.
The import tariff on motorcycles and automobile
components will remain constant at 30-50 percent for the next three years.
Thailand currently controls 90 percent of the Vietnamese market for both
products. Vietnam has agreed to slash this high tariff rate to 0-5 percent
in 2008.
Last year Thai exports to Vietnam were worth over US$1.2
billion, while imports from Vietnam stood at around US$332 million. The 36
commodities affected by the recent move account for 9 percent of all Thai
exports to Vietnam. (TNA)
Cable TV business
still promising next year
The cable or pay television business is projected to
continue to grow next year despite some risk factors, according to Kasikorn
Research Center (KRC). The leading think tank said competition in the
business would remain stiff since the number of service providers has
increased. At present, the number of subscribers has increased to around 2
million households or 11.5% of the entire households. It is expected the
market value next year will reach around 11 billion baht, an increase of 10%
from this year.
Although the cable TV business will enjoy growth in the
number of service providers and subscribers, there are some risk factors to
the business. In particular, the business direction remains uncertain
pending new rules and regulations when the National Broadcasting Commission
is established.
The committee will have a key role in setting the
competition direction and granting licenses for business operations. As
well, since many programs broadcast on cable TV are mostly linked to foreign
ones, its business costs remain high given hefty payment of copyrights. To
keep the business alive, entrepreneurs need to adjust themselves to the
direct and indirect stiff competition, according to KRC. (TNA)
Jomtien Park Villas auctioned off at grand event
On Sunday December 19, the Royal Cliff Hotel hosted the
Grand Auction of Jomtien Park Villas, the magnificent project developed by
One Stop Real Estate and marketed by MGI Global Auctions.
This was the first time in Pattaya that a luxury
residential development was offered at an auction where the majority of the
properties were sold without a minimum starting bid and without a reserve,
regardless of price. A fact that many skeptics did not believe until they
saw it happening with their own eyes.
Auctioneers
from MGI Global Auctions take bids at the Grand Auction of Jomtien Park
Villas.
Ninety-eight qualified bidders had pre-registered at the
Auction Information Office prior to the auction date. Approximately 15 more
chose to register at the hotel on auction day.
During the inspection period the project received a total
of 591 visitors (actually more because a few, especially at the beginning,
went in without leaving their details with the auction staff). 116 of those
visitors went back to see the beautiful show villas more than one time. A
few of them came every single day of the last week of the inspection period
to see the homes at different times of the day.
A particularly pleasant event during the inspection
period was a cocktail party, held on the evening of December 10, where 204
guests enjoyed a wonderful atmosphere in the four show villas. The majority
of the people concentrated in the Van Gogh home, which proved spacious even
for such a large crowd. Everybody enjoyed meeting the developer and the
auctioneers.
A classical music trio performed on the patio next to the
swimming pool. All guests commented on the impressive display of the 4 Show
Villas at night and complimented the hosts for the excellent catering that
was provided by the Art Caf้ and personally supervised by its gracious
owner Jo Stetten.
At the auction the crowd enjoyed what almost everyone
agreed was the most impressive and professional display for the sale of real
estate that they had ever seen.
Fourteen Villas were offered and sold, without a minimum
starting bid and regardless of price to successful bidders who were
delighted with their purchases.
Observers agreed that the prices were extremely fair. The
developer said what developers always say after the auctions: “We would
have liked to get a bit more money, but we are satisfied with the price and
extremely happy about having sold 14 homes in one single day.”
The prices at the auction ranged from 5,800,000 baht to
12,100,000 baht. The winning bidders will have to pay a 3% buyers premium on
top of those prices, which is a standard practice at any auction (auction
companies like Christie’s and Sotheby’s charge a minimum of 10%).
The remaining 7 villas have already been put on the
market at prices slightly higher, but still extremely good value compared
with any other project in Pattaya and Jomtien. At the time of writing this
report, one more has been sold and only the last six are available.
The developer is also offering a new opportunity for
those interested buyers who would like to have one of the floor plans that
were completely sold-out at the auction (Picasso, Gaugin, Renoir and Van
Gogh). Some of the projected remaining homes can be converted to adapt them
to become any of this four show villas.
For more information, contact tel. (038) 303 871-5, fax (038) 373 794
email: auction @realesthai.com www. mgiglobalauctions.com
Thais saving less
for retirement security
Thai people have paid less attention to saving prior to
retirement because of lower return rates offered by financial institutions,
according to a leading fund manager.
Speaking at a seminar on “Saving for Retirement,”
Kampol Asawakulchai, senior vice president of the National Asset Management
Co. said a survey found Thai people had shown less interest in saving since
returns particularly on deposits with commercial banks or financial
institutions had decreased.
Most are indifferent to depositing money for saving, but
turn to pay more attention to health care. It results in the post-retirement
life span lengthening more than 20 years.
Kampol said women and men currently had an average life
span of 84 and 80 years. So, the spending on living after retirement would
average 60% of saving revenue, excluding that of medical treatment. In this
scenario, retirees must deliberate carefully whether their saving revenue
will be sufficient for the post-retirement living.
“With the longer life span and higher living costs in
the future, Thai people should not expect the government or their
descendants will be able to take care of them upon retirement. They must
adjust their attitude because in the future the cost of living will increase
so much that their descendants will not be in a position to look after
parents.”
As a result, Kampol suggested young people or those who
still have a working age of 20 years left pay more attention to investment
or saving so that they would be in financial trouble upon retirement. He
said people of the current generation should save money for at least 20
years or more. Should they opt to save for only 10 years, they would have
insufficient saving for spending on post-retirement living for 20 years.
(TNA)
‘Healthy Thailand’ policy placed on national agenda
The government launched its ‘Healthy Thailand’ on
December 19 with a campaign with a pledge to put the health of the nation on
the national agenda, declaring a target of boosting children’s IQ to 100
and life expectancy to 80 years.
Announcing the campaign at a rally in Bangkok’s Lumpini
Park, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra pledged to ensure the transformation
of the nation into ‘Healthy Thailand’ by the year 2017, when His Majesty
the King will celebrate his 90th birthday.
Witnessed by provincial governors and senior ministerial
representatives, the prime minister officially signed the declaration onto
the national agenda, describing it as a New Year’s present for
Thailand’s 63 million-strong population.
The 17-point campaign is focused on the promotion of good
health, warm families, strong society, and a reduction in infant and
maternal mortality, the boosting of average child IQ levels to at least 100,
opportunities for lifelong education and an increase in average life
expectancy from 72 years to 80.
In terms of specific diseases, the campaign will target
AIDS, cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, dengue fever, mouth
disease and diabetes.
All Thais over the age of 6 years will be encouraged to
take regular exercise, and consume safe and healthy food. Equally, the
government will endeavor to ensure that all Thais live in a society free
from crime and violence, a land of love, unity, and care, based on religious
and cultural principles.
Listing government policies to bring about the health of
the nation, Thaksin spoke of the universal healthcare scheme, the war on
drugs, the war on poverty and education reform. However, he noted that the
government alone could not ensure a healthy nation, which also depended on
the participation of all sectors of society, including the private sector
and ordinary individuals from a village or community level upwards.
The prime minister, who demonstrated his commitment to
the campaign by engaging in a mass aerobics session with a crowd of over
10,000 gathered in the park, said that ‘Healthy Thailand’ would help the
nation’s development. Human resources, he said, were the most expensive of
all.
Stressing the threefold goal of good physical health,
good mental and emotional health, and good knowledge and education, he said
that knowledge was the key to the new society.
Next year Thailand will host the World Health
Organization’s (WHO) meeting on the promotion of global health, an event
which the government will capitalize on when conducting the ‘Healthy
Thailand’ campaign.
Average life expectancy in Thailand has risen from 59.9
years for men and 62 years for women in 1965 to 69.9 years and 74.9 years
respectively by 2001. However, during this period Thais have been
increasingly prone to conditions such as heart disease, which in 2002 was
the third highest cause of death in Thailand after cancer and accidents.
(TNA)
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