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Thai steel demand likely
to resume growth next year
Thailand’s steel demand is expected to grow by 7-8 per
cent to around 13-14 million tonnes next year following sluggishness this
year, according to the Kasikorn Research Centre.
The leading think tank said the global steel market had fluctuated heavily
in the past few years with product prices moving sharply up and down during
2004-2005 due to an imbalance in the demand and supply.
Additionally, heavy speculation and hoarding amid the volatility of prices
had had an impact on the country’s steel industry.
This year, the global steel market has been active, but rather stable, while
the Thai market has been sluggish due to negative impacts from both economic
and political woes.
Thailand’s demand for steel this year dropped to 12-13 million tonnes from
13.8 million tonnes last year.
Steel’s industrial output index had been rather volatile and weakened in the
first ten months of this year. It had dropped to an average of 138.7 in
October from 150.1 in 2005.
However, KRC projected that the local steel industry would pick up next year
as the Thai economy is expected to continue to expand.
In particular, the property and construction sectors are forecast to recover
as a result of the government’s move to accelerate spending on basic
infrastructure. In addition, the steel demand in related industries such as
automobile manufacturing and automotive parts, as well as in electrical
appliances, and canned foods, continues to increase.
The strengthening of the baht is also expected to ease the costs of
production by entrepreneurs in the kingdom, who currently must import slab
and billet steel for production.
At present, the price of raw steel has increased on par with that of ore in
the global market. (TNA)
Honda to move piston rod manufacturing base to Thailand
Japanese automaker Honda plans to move its piston rod
manufacturing base to Thailand next year, according to Tatsuhiro Oyama,
President & CEO of Asian Honda Motor Co Ltd.
Mr. Oyama disclosed that the company will relocate its piston manufacturing base
to the kingdom in mid-2007, with an investment of over Bt1.1 billion (US$30.8
million).
Honda’s decision reflects their high confidence in the Thai economy and affirms
that Thailand is a car manufacturing and exporting centre of the Asia-Oceania
region, he said.
Moreover, he said, Honda is interested in taking part in Thailand’s project of
producing energy-saving cars as it falls in line with Honda’s priority in
reducing environmental problems caused by carbon emissions and promoting energy
saving technology.
The company’s operation results in Asia and Oceania in 2006 showed that Honda
exported 9.3 million motorcycles and 320,000 cars, serving nearly 10 million
clients, which is nearly half - 46 per cent - of its of 23 million clients
worldwide. (TNA)
Nokia wins USD110 million network expansion contract with DTAC Thailand
Espoo, Finland - Nokia and Thai operator, Total Access
Communication PLC (DTAC), have signed a network expansion contract, valued at
approximately USD 110 million. Nokia’s GSM/EDGE radio and core network solutions
and services will improve DTAC’s network coverage and capacity, enabling DTAC to
provide enhanced services to its subscribers. Nokia will continue as the sole
supplier.
“With the industry-leading solutions and technologies provided by Nokia, we will
be able to enhance our coverage by up to 50% and provide high network quality
and the latest applications and services to our customers,” said Sigve Brekke,
Chief Executive Officer, DTAC. “Moreover, we plan to increase our EDGE coverage
to nationwide in 2007, which will strengthen our market position by enabling us
to offer not only the best quality for voice but also the most advanced data and
multimedia services.”
Total Access Communications PLC (DTAC) is Thailand’s second largest cell-phone
operator, providing mobile phone and network services in Bangkok and all other
75 provinces nationwide. DTAC currently has over 11 million subscribers,
representing around 30% share of the market. The company is the first operator
in Thailand that deployed high-speed GPRS and EGDE technologies on its network
to accommodate increasing demand of data services. (Nokia)
Winners of the Thailand
Property Awards 2006
announced
The award winners at the gala dinner pose for a
group photo.
Ensign Media
The winners of the inaugural Thailand Property Awards were announced
December 14 at a lavish gala dinner held at JW Marriott on Sukhumvit Road,
Bangkok. The awards ceremony and gala dinner was attended by over 200
distinguished guests from a variety of sectors in the real estate industry
including developers, agents, architects, interior designers and real estate
associations and organizations.
The nine award categories included Best Agent, Best Architect, Best Condo
Development, Best Developer, Best Interior Designer, Best Real Estate
Website, Best Villa Development, Green Development and Real Estate
Personality of the Year.
Professor Manop Bongsatad, Chairman of the panel of independent judges, in
his speech said: “Our main criterion was that we would make a judgement
based solely on the application received and not assume prior knowledge of
the candidate business. We feel that this was the only fair way to make a
judgement, as it would not have been feasible to make site visits to all the
businesses concerned. In all cases though, we are confident that all the
winners represent a level of excellence and high achievement in their
respective fields and are worthy recipients of their awards.”
The first year proved the need for a professional awards system for the
industry, and was well received by all in the industry. In order to ensure
fair judging, a panel of independent judges was created and each award had
it’s own set of criteria for judging. Following an extravagant dinner, the
award winners were announced: Best Agent - Samui Villas and Homes (sponsored
by Raimon Land); Best Architect - Original Vision Ltd for Samsara (sponsored
by Gaggenau); Best Condo Development - TCC Capital Land for Athenee
Residence; Best Developer - TCC Capital Land Limited (sponsored by Indigo
Real Estate); Best Interior Designer - Laguna Resorts & Hotels PLC; Best
Real Estate Website - Northpoint (www. northpointpattaya.com) from Raimon
Land PLC; Best Villa Development - Phuket Prime Property Ltd for Baan Yamu
and Dhevatara Properties Co. Ltd for Dhevatara Cove; Green Development -
Laguna Resorts & Hotels PLC.
The Real Estate Personality of the Year was selected by Ensign Media, the
publishers of Property Report Thailand magazine and organizers of the
Thailand Property Awards. Editor, Karla Cripps, presented the award to Mr.
Nigel Cornick, CEO Raimon Land PLC, and commented;
“Being successful in an industry as uncertain and competitive as real estate
requires an individual with a unique combination of abilities. They must be
able to handle the daily pressures of staying afloat in a climate vulnerable
to an endless number of factors with flair, which means they need to possess
extensive experience and knowledge of local industry practices and the
market. We feel this year’s inaugural winner of the Real Estate Personality
of the Year Award embodies all these qualities, and is certainly no stranger
to the public eye.”
The winners reflect the high quality of real estate development throughout
the country, with a mix from Bangkok, Phuket, Samui and Pattaya. One of the
most popular award categories, Best Villa Development, saw a tie between
Dhevatara Cove in Samui, and Baan Yamu in Phuket. Other notable winners were
TCC Capital Land, taking two awards (Best Developer and Best Condo
Development) and Laguna Resorts & Hotels PLC who also took two awards (Green
Development and Best Interior Designer).
The most popular award, Best Real Estate Website, was claimed by Raimon Land
for their Northpoint project in Pattaya (www.northpoint pattaya.com), while
CEO Nigel Cornick was awarded Real Estate Personality of the Year.
To finish the night, an auction was held to raise money for the Children of
the Forest charity (www. childrenoftheforest.com). A variety of gifts were
auctioned including two nights at The Nam Hai in Vietnam, two nights in a
Banyan Tree Pool Villa in Phuket and a luxury day cruise in Krabi provided
by Maan Tawan Cruises. The auction proved popular, and along with some very
generous donations from attendees, raised 500,000THB.
In conclusion, Duncan Worthington, Managing Director of Ensign Media,
organizers of the awards, added: “We are pleased to see so many in the
industry taking part in the awards and the gala dinner. We are looking
forward to next year and hope to welcome even more applicants. We are also
considering adding more award categories in 2007.”
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