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Hemaraj participates
in Thailand Training Network
 Mr David Nardone, President of Hemaraj land and
Development Plc. signed a contract agreement to participate in the
broadcast training courses with Dr Yongyuth Yuthawong, Acting Director,
National Science and Technology Development (NSTDA) on behalf of Thailand
Training Network (TTN) at Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Training Centre,
Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate (Rayong). Mrs Doris Wibunsin, Executive
Director from NTU/Thailand-the witness, witnessed the ceremony.
Provincial wine
production set for big boost
Wine production in the provinces will get a boost when
the alcohol control law is amended to set the industry free. Under the
current legislation, only big companies and corporations are licensed to
produce alcohol. Wine production would help boost earnings of local
farmers who are now turning to grow grapes instead of rice, said Science
Minister Dr Arthit Urairat.
The minister said his ministry will hold talks with
Ministry of Finance on how to ease the alcohol control regulation to cater
for wine production in provinces, while universities in regions will play
an important role as centres for technology transfer. Khon Kaen University
was chosen to be the information centre in the northeast, while Chiang Mai
University, and Prince of Songkhla University, will be centres in the
north and the south respectively.
CPN set to expand Chiang
Mai Central Airport Plaza
Central Pattana (Plc) is planning to construct phase 2B
of its Chiang Mai Airport Plaza. The company’s sales and marketing
director, Pongsarn Apiratikiat,said space booking might be opened to
retailers next month. The new phase would make a total of 30,000 square
meters of retailing space.It was expected that the construction of the new
complex would last into 2001-2002, the years the Thai economy is expected
to be fully recovered, said Pongsarn. The group has planned to open Phase
A for service later this year, he said. The new Baht 1.2-billion complex
will be the largest souvenir and IT centre in northern Thailand.
Local fishing
industry all at sea
Hard times ahead are predicted after agreements with
Burma collapsed. Burma has closed its territorial water to Thai trawlers
and fishing cooperation with Indonesian and Indian partners has proved to
be a failure.
Several owners of trawlers have sold their boats after
some were seized by Burmese authorities. The only way out for most deep
sea fishing companies in the southern province of Ranong is to register
their trawlers in Burma, and have them operated by Burmese citizens. Only
Burmese registered boats are allowed to catch fish in Burmese waters, they
said.
The catches from Burma would be sold at Victoria Point,
fully taxed, before they can be sent to Thailand, industry sources said.
Mixed reception to
Singaporean garment agencies
A number of trading companies are said to be interested
in Thai-made outfits and other garment products, and would like to
distribute the products for Thai producers. The cooperation would be good
for new producers in Thailand who are to start exporting because the
Singaporeans have the expertise, said the Thai export promotion office in
the island state.
However, experienced producers may not take that
option. Sompoj Tangnimit, manager of Ping Ping Co Ltd, producers of
several Thai-brand garments, said the company has already started building
up its own brands. Sompoj said although it takes a long time to build up
the brand image, even though the brand is widely accepted in a market;
Ping Ping has no plan to take offers from Singaporean brokers. Ping Ping
is still producing garments under brand-names Baby Kid, Pokemon, and
Haruku for US importers.
Boncafe to
participate in the International Food and Hospitality Show 2000
 Recently BONCAFE (Thailand) Ltd. by Khun Teeraya
Seeharit, Retail & Public Relation’s Manager (left) signed contract
with Khun Poungthong Chroenpairojwong, Project Manager, Bangkok Exhibition
Services Ltd. (right) in joining “The International Food and Hospitality
Show 2000” which will be held on 12-15 October 2000 at Queen Sirikit
National Convention Center.
Incorporating with this show there will also be Cooking
and Ice Carving Competition from Chef group, 2nd Thai Hotels Association
Hospitality Congress including Bakery 2000, Wine & Spirit 2000,
Supermarket 2000, Beer Thailand 2000, Franchising 2000 and Clean Tex
Thailand 2000
Hua Hin set to open
new airport this October
Hua Hin will get a boost when the new airport opens in
time for high season. The new airport, which has been under renovation
over the past three years will have a new longer runway to accommodate
Boeing 737 passenger planes, a new tower, and a much larger terminal
building, worth nearly Baht1.6 billion in all.
Sawas Suthivong, chief of the Aviation Department, said
the new airport has interested both regional and domestic airlines. There
expected to be several charter flights between Hua Hin and other tourist
destinations in this region, after the airport is opened. Golf courses and
first class hotels in this resort city will benefit from the new airport
as the numbers of golfers and foreign tourists to this southern resort
city rise. PB Air was quick to say that it would connect Hua Hin with Hong
Kong and Singapore.
Nutriblend goes to
America
Biotic Co, producer and distributor of food supplements
under the brand name ‘Nutriblend’, spent some 20 million Baht this
year to set up sales office in the US. Biotic is to settle in California
before expanding to other states by direct selling. Prospective customers
of Nutriblend products are expatriate Thais and Laotians, said Manop
Attanavongvibul, chairman and managing director.
Nutriblend would later go to retail outlets overseas
while looking for franchisees in a plan to promote the products to
Americans, said Manop. The company expected to earn 20 million Baht from
direct selling, and between 60-100 million Baht from selling through
sub-franchised outlets in the first year in the US. About 5,000
direct-sell members were expected. Sales in the domestic market reached
more than 100 million Baht in the first 6 months this year, mainly from
multi level marketing.
BOI swamped with
Electronic production project applications
200 electronic production projects have applied for
investment promotion privileges from office of the Board of Investment in
the first 6 months of this year, with 100 of those already approved. The
projects, which are worth Baht8-8.5 billion in investment capital, would
create about 10,000 jobs for local people, said a BOI official.
However, most of the 200 electronic production projects
applied for were from producers already established in Thailand. Those
producers wished to have the old privileges offered by BOI as the
impression was that the new investment promotion packages, to start this
August, would give out less, said Apirak Wannasathop, director of one of
BOI promotion divisions.
Almost all the new electronic productions are for
export, and most of those are in the IT market, as the world market is
expected to increase about 20% this year. Minibea, the largest producer of
bearings, is to launch a new production line with ‘fluid dynamic
technology’ to supply Seagate, one of the largest producers of computer
hard drives.
TV operators push
for 49%
Some operators of local TV networks said they wanted to
see a larger foreign investment agreement. Chatchai Thiemthong of BEC
World, operator of TV channel 3 under Mass Communication of Thailand, said
a 49% foreign ownership would be better for broadcasting companies in term
of investment. Foreigners are only currently allowed by law to hold 25% of
shares in a local media companies - which is not enough, said Mr Chatchai.
A small percentage ownership was not interesting for foreign investors and
lack of investment capital had made local radio and TV stations
uncompetitive, Mr Chatchai said.
Taiwanese
Investors eye Lopburi
A group of about 40 businessmen from Taiwan’s Tainan
province has indicated its interest in investment in Lopburi, 200
kilometres north of Bangkok. The Lopburi Chamber of Commerce is prepared
for the visit by the Taiwanese group. Wang Lieng Tung, a Taiwanese
businessman who has already invested in Lopburi, said this central city is
among best locations in Thailand in term of investment, in the fact that
it is on a highland with no flooding, and construction costs are
relatively low.
Most of the incoming Taiwanese investors are from small
and medium sized industries with about 100-150 million Baht investment
projects.
Thai sweets go
international
Thiva Khanom Thai looks set to take off internationally
with the Jason Tan store chain in Singapore being the first overseas
customer. In turn, the Singaporean chain will re-export the sweets to
other countries, including Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia.
Thiva Khanom Thai are available in packs, bags, and in
cans, at all modern trade facilities. They will be soon available at
convenience stores and service stations. Some Thiva Khanom Thai are
already used on Thai International Airways flights as snacks for
passengers.
TP Thai Sweets have now about 100 kinds of Thai sweets
- fresh and dried - brought out to the market each day to meet the
consumer needs. The producer would start exporting the sweets later this
year.
Importers threaten
to sue DaimlerChrysler for anti-trust
Independent importers of Mercedes cars said measures by
DaimlerChrysler (Thailand) will slightly affect this local grey market,
but they might seek a court ruling against DCT policy to abolish the World
Wide Warranty standard set by Germany’s DaimlerChrysler. It was felt
that such a ban could lead to a monopoly in services here.
Importers said they would not worry even if DCT asked
car brokers in England to stop exporting cars to Thailand - because they
can buy Benz cars from many other countries. Importers said they would
consult with lawyers if DCT’s policy is against free trade rules. Car
owners could also sue DCT if Benz garages refuse to accept the cars bought
from dealers outside the DCT camp.
Ministral
delegation Visits Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate (Rayong)
 Khun
Sanyuan Boonpiyatat, (7th left) and his staff welcomed by Khun Parisada
Tongviseskul, (3rd from right), Hemaraj’s marketing Manager.
Khun Sanyuan Boonpiyatat, Deputy Director-General of
the Department of Vocational Education, Ministry of Education, the BOI and
his group were invited to present the Dual Vocational Training Project to
the Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate Human Resource Club. The objective
of the project is to encourage cooperation between factories in the estate
and vocational schools by giving the students practical skills and
knowledge in their classrooms. The group also visited TRW Steering
(Thailand) Ltd.
Siam Sanitary Ware
expect to run full steam in next 2 years
Believing that home and living business, as well as
property market,is picking up to a full recovery in the next two years,
Siam Sanitary Ware Industry, is preparing to boost their production 100%.
Sales of Cotto, and Toto sanitary products rose 15% to
Baht 600 million in the first half of 2000, while the industry growth rate
is only 10%.
Nibhon Theeranartsin, managing director, said the more
than one billion Baht of the company’s outstanding debt was repaid in
the same period. Sales are expected to increase to Baht 1.450 billion this
year, from Baht 1.265 billion in 1999, said Mr Nibhon. Cotto and Toto
products currently control 35% of sanitary product market.
DHL adds 120
telephone lines to its 24-hour hotline service
DHL International (Thailand) has taken the age-old
maxim of ‘the Customer Always Come First’ to heart with the imminent
launch of its new customer service phone lines and new easy-to-remember
telephone number 658-8000.
The company has added 120 telephone lines to enhance
customer service performance to meet customer demand. The lines and the
number have been in service since one second past midnight on Saturday,
July 1, 2000.
“We are dedicated to delivering customer satisfaction
and we will continue to ensure that DHL provides the best customer service
ever. Customer responsiveness and accessibility are the heart of our
service. We are striving to differentiate ourselves from other
competitors; that’s why we have invested more on our customer
service,” said DHL International (Thailand) General manger, Dr. Don
Bhasavanich.
DHL customer service officers are professional, well
trained and always looking for ways to improve their performance. DHL
customer service provides up-to-date information on package delivery 24
hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. “We are the first and
only in our industry to provide 24-hour customer service and have been
doing this for three years now. This year DHL International won the
Worldwide Multi-media Award for Outstanding Customer Service performance
in the Teleperformance 2000 International Grand Prix, an international
benchmark survey of customer service excellence,” he added. “Our
customers can call 658-8000 at anytime whenever they need help on their
air express delivery. It’s our mission to deliver the best service that
our customers deserve.”
DHL Worldwide Express is the world’s largest and most
experienced international air express network, linking over 85,000
destinations in 228 countries and territories. The DHL network is composed
of DHL International Limited, its subsidiaries and affiliates which serve
all locations in the United States and its territories. In 1998, DHL
Worldwide Express was named the World’s Most Global Company by Global
Finance magazine for its excellence in global reach, vision and management
strategies. DHL has also been named Best Express Service for the past 13
years at the Asian freight Industry Awards and has been voted one of
Asia’s leading companies in Far Eastern Economic Review’s Review 200
survey for each of the past seven years.
Copyright 2000 Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20260, Thailand
Tel.66-38 411 240-1, 413 240-1, Fax:66-38 427 596; e-mail: [email protected]
Updated by
Chinnaporn Sangwanlek, assisted by Boonsiri Suansuk. |
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