Bangkok Business Brief Magazine – Publication Information Magazine – Thailand business news and organization & event updates Circulation – 10,000 copies Distribution – Bangkok & the Eastern Seaboard Bangkok Business Brief Magazine - December 2012 Overview The Bangkok Business Brief is a monthly business news magazine and daily website with domestic and regional business news articles aggregated from a variety of news agencies. Short synopses of articles are displayed online, though should the reader wish to view the full versions of the news stories, short URLs are included for easy navigation to the original sources’ story pages. Each month, the printed stories are decided from the most popular online stories, as measured by analytics for Bangkok Business Brief’s website, and are again presented with short URLs and QR codes to take readers to the original articles in their entirety and to other related news, categorized into 12 areas of business interest. The monthly circulation of 10,000 copies is highly targeted towards top- to mid-level managers and executives. Print & Online News Categories The news categories featured in both the Bangkok Business Brief monthly print version and the daily news website represent all sectors relevant to all business readers. Executives have the ability to quickly review the subjects pertinent to the industries in which they are employed or need to be informed about. Circulation Information The circulation of 10,000 copies incorporates direct mailing to mid-level to chief executive business people,including Chamber of Commerce members in Bangkok, the Eastern Seaboard, and around Thailand, as well as strategic, targeted placement in the business centres and executive lounges of Bangkok’s leading 4-5 star hotels’, business and social clubs in Bangkok, and along with food delivery service orders. With readership of the publication being in companies and hotels, the ‘pass on’ rate is estimated to be between 2.5 and 4 times each copy, and thus, the readership has been determined to be between 25,000 - 45,000 each month.
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Inside General Interest 2 Finance/Investment 3 Government/Economy 4 Production 5 Retail/Services 6 Tourism 7 IT/Comms 8 Real Estate 9 e Chambers 10 e Calendar 14 13 Read new business briefs everyday at www.BBBrief.com Vol. No. 2, Issue No. 1 Mid-December 2012/Mid-January 2013 BANGKOK BUSINESS BRIEF Social responsibility for the individual ‘feel-good’ section of every annual report. CSR activities receive in- ordinate amounts of PR attention because every company executive wants maximum publicity for the good that they think they’re doing for their community, the environ- ment, and the world. But ask any CSR consultant how they feel about the state of corporate social responsibility, and you’re lia- ble to get a mixed response. Yes, it’s great that most companies are do- ing some form of CSR activity, but at the same, many companies are adding CSR projects because they think they must do something, and in many cases, the projects have nothing to do with the company’s core business. Essentially, the CSR projects are just add-on activities that satisfy legal requirements, and as such, they lack any real social or community impact. At worst, they are just companies throwing mon- ey at the closest charity. As the concept of CSR evolves, some companies are starting to understand that in order for their CSR work to be effective, it must be sustainable, organic, and in- volve all of the stakeholders in the organization. But CSR profession- als are also realizing that corpo- rate social responsibility can’t just be an institution-driven initiative. CSR has to be broken down to its most basic part: the individual. Social responsibility must be en- gaging to the people who are part of it, and must be driven by these same people, whether they’re em- ployees, customers, suppliers, or shareholders of the corporation. In recent years, the concept of ISR, or individual social responsibility, has begun to gain some traction (PSR, or personal social responsibility, is also used), as the question “How can our company help?” is chang- ing to “How can I help?”. So what exactly is ISR? According to a number of websites and blogs, ISR is commonly defined as “being responsible for our actions that af- fect communities outside our im- Story continues on Page 12 CSR is everywhere these days. Over the past 20 years, corporate social responsibility (CSR), has become a standard component of corporate strategy and corpo- rate budgets, and it’s become the By Dean Outerson SPECIAL HOLIDAY ISSUE
Social responsibility for the individual‘feel-good’ section of every annual report. CSR activities receive in-ordinate amounts of PR attention because every company executive wants maximum publicity for the good that they think they’re doing for their community, the environ-ment, and the world.
But ask any CSR consultant how they feel about the state of corporate social responsibility, and you’re lia-ble to get a mixed response. Yes, it’s great that most companies are do-ing some form of CSR activity, but at the same, many companies are adding CSR projects because they think they must do something, and in many cases, the projects have nothing to do with the company’s
core business. Essentially, the CSR projects are just add-on activities that satisfy legal requirements, and as such, they lack any real social or community impact. At worst, they are just companies throwing mon-ey at the closest charity.
As the concept of CSR evolves, some companies are starting to understand that in order for their CSR work to be effective, it must be sustainable, organic, and in-volve all of the stakeholders in the organization. But CSR profession-als are also realizing that corpo-rate social responsibility can’t just be an institution-driven initiative. CSR has to be broken down to its most basic part: the individual.
Social responsibility must be en-gaging to the people who are part of it, and must be driven by these same people, whether they’re em-ployees, customers, suppliers, or shareholders of the corporation. In recent years, the concept of ISR, or individual social responsibility, has begun to gain some traction (PSR, or personal social responsibility, is also used), as the question “How can our company help?” is chang-ing to “How can I help?”.
So what exactly is ISR? According to a number of websites and blogs, ISR is commonly defined as “being responsible for our actions that af-fect communities outside our im-
Story continues on Page 12
CSR is everywhere these days. Over the past 20 years, corporate social responsibility (CSR), has become a standard component of corporate strategy and corpo-rate budgets, and it’s become the
By Dean Outerson
SPECIAL HOLIDAY ISSUE
2 BANGKOK BUSINESS BRIEF Mid-December 2012/Mid-January 2013 www.BBBrief.com
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goo.gl/bH6PF...added that the company had set aside a significant investment budget of Bt200 million to Bt300 million for overseas expansion.Full story at http://goo.gl/bH6PF
General Interest
http://goo.gl/ozbNM
Lack of transparency has been cited as a major cause of the current crisis that is consuming the entire globe. Seeing the need for more good governance, some organisations in Thailand have joined hands to promote the element, particularly among small and medium-sized enterprises, for their own sustain-
It’s six in the evening at Hua Thai Manufacturing Plc, when dozens of garment workers huddle inside and outside the factory, can of beer in hand, before starting overtime in an hour. The company used to provide beer and alcohol to employees in the evening but stopped in 2005 after an anti-drinking campaign. The bud-get used to buy beers for employees now goes for gifts in the company lottery.
Located in Nonthaburi province, the 28-year-old factory employs 700-800 workers, 95% of them women. “It’s not safe if two drunk employees have a row. Every time a disagreement happens, friends have to look out for each other’s be-longings, people end up crying and
More transparent SMEs
Manpower development key to Asean growth
Non-competition provisions
A sobering issue in the workplace
Many employers put substantial resources into training people and giving them valuable work experi-ence. Thus, departing employees are a cause for concern in terms of potential loss of customers and business. To address this risk, many employers ask us whether they should include non-competition provisions in employment agree-ments and whether such provisions are enforceable.
In Thailand, non-competition pro-visions are governed primarily by the Labour Protection Act and the Unfair Contract Terms Act. Princi-pally, they are enforceable in Thai-land, subject to some restrictions. The Labour Protection Act provides that, “for an employment contract
At a seminar, leading executives said one key area in which Thai com-panies needed to be ready is their manpower, if they want to expand their businesses in Asean. Adirek Sripratak, CPF’s extensive overseas activity tied in with its vision to be the “kitchen of the world”. Sales rev-enue in the domestic market is not sufficient for long-term growth, he said, adding that the AEC presents a greater opportunity for Thai com-panies. Before entering each coun-try, the company has to ensure it has the capital, technologies and human resources for such a move, he said...Full story at http://goo.gl/hdmb2
some get dragged to their cars,” said 48-year-old employee Pranom Chi-ang-ang. “Many women drink as a way to escape their problems. I was always told I couldn’t understand...Full story at http://goo.gl/mWJPO
between an employer and employ-ee, work rules, regulations or orders of an employer that provide for the employer to have an improper ad-vantage over employees, the court shall have the power to order that such employment contract, work rules, regulations or orders be ap-plicable only to the extent that they are fair and appropriate in the cir-cumstances”. Similarly, the Unfair Contract Terms Act stipulates that “contract terms that are not void but cause the person whose rights or freedoms has been restricted to shoulder more of a burden than a reasonable person could have...Full story at http://goo.gl/MMAi8
ability and higher competitiveness ahead of the Asean Economic Com-munity. “SMEs are the blood veins of the Thai economy, contributing 40 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product and hiring 70 per cent of the workforce. They are...Full story at http://goo.gl/piknd
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BANGKOK BUSINESS BRIEF Mid-December 2012/Mid-Jan. 2013 3
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2 BANGKOK BUSINESS BRIEF December 2011
Greece, India, China and Thailand are home to the weakest national pension systems in the world, crippled by a mix of acute sover-eign debt, young retirement ages, high ratios of pensioners to work-ers and poor pension take-up, a study showed.
The Allianz Global Investors Pen-sion Sustainability Index, which tracks the relative sustainabil-ity of national pension systems in 44 countries around the world, showed the number of Greek re-tirees to people of working age re-
Land subsidence caused by ground water losses tops the list of prob-lems that must be solved in Bang-kok to mitigate the impact of the climate change on flooding, says a study by multinational agencies.The conclusion is contained in a report entitled “Climate Risks and Adaptation in Asian Coastal Megacities”, jointly conducted by the Asian Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the World Bank in 2010.
The report recommended a...Full story at http://goo.gl/20yMD
‘There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune”, wrote Wil-
KUALA LUMPUR : The Asian cri-sis in the late 1990s was a wake-up call for the region that has turned out to be a blessing in disguise nearly 15 years later, as the region’s financial sector is now strong and able to sustain a certain degree of shocks from the fallout in the Western Hemisphere, according to a panellist at a recent Asean conference.
“There will be more crises in the future, and the Asian crisis in
The shift of economic growth mo-mentum to the East has opened up numerous opportunities that Asian countries should not miss out, suggests an economist.The robust economic growth of China and emerging economies will open a new opportunity for Asian economies to increase their wealth from trade in goods and services at a time when the United States and Europe are...Full story at http://goo.gl/S65D6
Briefs To read the full article of a story brief, enter the short code at the end of the story into your browser:
Thailand near top of list of world’s weakest pension systems: study
Panel: Asia better off, not immune, from global crises
Preventing Bangkok from sinking biggest challenge
Grow with the flow of cycles
Asia stands to gain from West slowdown
General Interest
http://goo.gl/ozbNM
Sponsored by...
goo.gl/bH6PF
...added that the company had set aside a significant investment budget of Bt200 million to Bt300 million for overseas expansion.Full story at http://goo.gl/bH6PFliam Shakespeare in JuliusCaesar. Nature and life are cyclical _ the seasons of the year, life and death, the phases of the moon, the tides. Caught up in daily details, we eas-ily forget that the business world has cycles, too. We are all familiar with the economic business cycle of expansion, contraction and re-covery. However, other cyclical phenomena affect...Full story at http://goo.gl/fJolr
1997-98 was a blessing, as the impact of 2008 would have been far worse for the region,” Azman Mokhtar, the managing director of Khazanah Nasional of Malaysia, told the CIMB Asean Conference.His comments were...Full story at http://goo.gl/dfu2u
mains above the European average.In India, China and Thailand, roughly 12 percent of the popula-tion contribute to a pension, while the weaknesses of Thailand’s pen-sion system are...Full story at http://goo.gl/rtpH3Finance / Investment
http://goo.gl/wKeiJ
Since joining the World Trade Or-ganisation in August, Russia has at-tracted more foreign investors who foresee opportunities in one of the world’s major economies. Big Thai companies such as Siam Cement Group, Charoen Pokphand Foods and Boonrawd Brewery are also in-terested in establishing plants there.
Boonrawd, brewer of Thailand’s well-known Singha beer, has report-edly been exploring business op-portunities in Russia since last year, seeking locations suitable for setting up plants in the future. However, no details of its investment plans have been made available. An informed source at Boon-rawd Brewery said last Friday that the company was se-riously interested in accessing more markets overseas and had studied investment opportunities in a...Full story at http://goo.gl/5uc4P The government of Prime Minister
Yingluck Shinawatra should make a “big U-turn” in its economic poli-cies as they could make Thailand vulnerable to impacts from global economic volatility, said Paul Gam-bles, a regional financial expert.
Gambles, managing partner at MBMG International, a Bangkok-based financial advisory company, said that despite the country’s cur-rent strong fiscal position, the Yin-gluck government’s huge spending on infrastructure and car-purchase and rice subsidies would increase the debt-to-GDP ratio to 60 per cent in the next few years.
“Right now, we have kind of open-ended stimulus programmes and there is no reason to do this. We should not stimulate the economy at the moment. We should accept the fact that with the global economy slowing down, the Thai economy needs to come down a little bit,” said Gambles in an exclusive interview to The Nation.
Gambles said he had been telling everybody that he was waiting to in-vest in Thai stocks when they...Full story at http://goo.gl/d4nWE
Dawei, a special economic zone in Myanmar, is a “darling” to poten-tial investors from Japan, Thailand and elsewhere for a host of rea-sons, according to a new report by international professional-services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. The company cites as positives the zone’s provisions relating to developers and investors; exemptions and re-lief measures; restrictions; duties of developers or investors; land use; banks and finance management and insurance business; management and inspection of commodities by the customs department; quaran-tine; labour; and a guarantee of non-nationalisation.
Still, investors are eyeing the country with great suspicion, PwC says in its latest publication, “South East Asia – Investment Opportunities, Tax & Other Incentives”, which is designed to give insights to investors wanting to pour capital into Myanmar and the rest of Asean. The enthusiasm...Full story at http://goo.gl/HN1og
Room for Thai-Russian investment growth
Not time to invest in Thai stocks, says financial adviser
PWC report dubs Dawei as ‘Darling’ to investors
K-SME plans B80m dealsK-SME Venture Capital Manage-ment will invest nearly 80 million baht in two companies with an aim of listing them on the stock markets in the near future. One of the com-panies is a logistics operator and the other is a honeycomb paper manu-facturer.
The fund will invest 18.2 million baht for 40.99% of O&H Honey-comb Paper, and 60 million baht for 18.46% of NCL International Lo-gistics, said Patamaporn Chaiyakul, managing director of Khao Kla Ven-ture Capital Management under K-SME Venture Capital Management.
Kitti Phua, chief executive of NCL, said the company wants to increase capital to expand the business and strengthen its competitiveness “If we don’t do anything now, we may lose the opportunity to Singapore...Full story at http://goo.gl/9rc5I
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4 BANGKOK BUSINESS BRIEF Mid-December 2012/Mid-January 2013 www.BBBrief.com
BriefsTo read the full article of a story brief, enter the short code at the end of the story into your browser:
goo.gl/bH6PF...added that the company had set aside a significant investment budget of Bt200 million to Bt300 million for overseas expansion.Full story at http://goo.gl/bH6PF
Government / Economy
http://goo.gl/EIbH6
Business leaders are optimistic that the re-election of US President Barack Obama will benefit Thai-land’s economy, with a possible in-crease in exports to the US. Pornsilp Patcharintanakul, vice chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said Obama’s policies to reduce the income gap and promote the mid-dle-class would help stimulate the US economy. This should be posi-tive for Thai exports because the middle class is the largest segment of the US population, and would have more purchasing power if the efforts succeed.
“If the policy is successful, the US will see stronger economic growth.
For Dawei, taxpayers won’t pay
Train project right on track
Private sector upbeat on Obama policies, expect exports to increase
Thailand ‘can steal Singapore’s crown’An Australian business leader made the unlikely suggestion at a confer-ence yesterday that Thailand could surpass Singapore as a regional fi-nancial hub by becoming a new gateway to Myanmar. Carey Ramm, executive chairman of the Austra-lian consultancy AEC Group, said Thailand is drawing greater interest from Australian investors thanks to its diversified economic base and connections with China and India.
“With a better strategic position, Bangkok will become the next Sin-gapore,” Mr Ramm said on the side-
Rising demand from consumption among the middle class would in-crease production in the domestic arena as well as demand for import-ed goods and services. Thai exports to the US should benefit from the policy and enjoy higher growth,” he said. Pornsilp noted that Obama’s policies would take some time to take effect, but the impact should...Full story at http://goo.gl/a0qvz
lines of the 2012 Australia-Thailand Business Conference. “By 2020, Thailand will become a high-in-come country.”
The Australian government recently issued a white paper outlining Aus-tralia’s shift in foreign policy em-phasising relations with its Asian neighbours. Thailand is Australia’s eighth-largest trading partner. Mr Ramm said the Australian govern-ment plans to set up a business in-cubator in Thailand to serve as a “nursery” for exporters, offering information and assistance for com-panies and investors interested in starting a business in the country...Full story at http://goo.gl/ukilC
A high-speed train project linking southern China, Laos and Thailand could start in 2015 in time for the launch of the AEC. Chamaiporn Chuecharoen, the commercial counsellor for Thailand in Kun-ming, China, said the project envi-sions a train capable of speeds of 200
The Dawei deep-sea port and indus-trial zone project took a new twist Thursday, as the Thai government insisted it cannot spend taxpayer money for private gains in Dawei. “The government itself cannot in-vest directly in the Dawei project, as by practice the government can-not directly fund any business in the private sector,” said PM’s Office Minister Niwatthamrong Bunsong-phaisan, speaking in his capacity...Full story at http://goo.gl/00m8j
kilometres per hour running from Yunnan province to Laos and Nong Khai in northeastern Thailand. Pas-sengers and cargo from Nong Khai could then travel to Bangkok and Rayong as well as south to Malaysia and Singapore. Other high-speed rail links are planned from China to Myanmar and Cambodia.
Work on the China-Laos route is expected to begin shortly. The proj-ect will be financed by the Export...Full story at http://goo.gl/ryUSy
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2 BANGKOK BUSINESS BRIEF December 2011
Greece, India, China and Thailand are home to the weakest national pension systems in the world, crippled by a mix of acute sover-eign debt, young retirement ages, high ratios of pensioners to work-ers and poor pension take-up, a study showed.
The Allianz Global Investors Pen-sion Sustainability Index, which tracks the relative sustainabil-ity of national pension systems in 44 countries around the world, showed the number of Greek re-tirees to people of working age re-
Land subsidence caused by ground water losses tops the list of prob-lems that must be solved in Bang-kok to mitigate the impact of the climate change on flooding, says a study by multinational agencies.The conclusion is contained in a report entitled “Climate Risks and Adaptation in Asian Coastal Megacities”, jointly conducted by the Asian Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the World Bank in 2010.
The report recommended a...Full story at http://goo.gl/20yMD
‘There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune”, wrote Wil-
KUALA LUMPUR : The Asian cri-sis in the late 1990s was a wake-up call for the region that has turned out to be a blessing in disguise nearly 15 years later, as the region’s financial sector is now strong and able to sustain a certain degree of shocks from the fallout in the Western Hemisphere, according to a panellist at a recent Asean conference.
“There will be more crises in the future, and the Asian crisis in
The shift of economic growth mo-mentum to the East has opened up numerous opportunities that Asian countries should not miss out, suggests an economist.The robust economic growth of China and emerging economies will open a new opportunity for Asian economies to increase their wealth from trade in goods and services at a time when the United States and Europe are...Full story at http://goo.gl/S65D6
Briefs To read the full article of a story brief, enter the short code at the end of the story into your browser:
Thailand near top of list of world’s weakest pension systems: study
Panel: Asia better off, not immune, from global crises
Preventing Bangkok from sinking biggest challenge
Grow with the flow of cycles
Asia stands to gain from West slowdown
General Interest
http://goo.gl/ozbNM
Sponsored by...
goo.gl/bH6PF
...added that the company had set aside a significant investment budget of Bt200 million to Bt300 million for overseas expansion.Full story at http://goo.gl/bH6PFliam Shakespeare in JuliusCaesar. Nature and life are cyclical _ the seasons of the year, life and death, the phases of the moon, the tides. Caught up in daily details, we eas-ily forget that the business world has cycles, too. We are all familiar with the economic business cycle of expansion, contraction and re-covery. However, other cyclical phenomena affect...Full story at http://goo.gl/fJolr
1997-98 was a blessing, as the impact of 2008 would have been far worse for the region,” Azman Mokhtar, the managing director of Khazanah Nasional of Malaysia, told the CIMB Asean Conference.His comments were...Full story at http://goo.gl/dfu2u
mains above the European average.In India, China and Thailand, roughly 12 percent of the popula-tion contribute to a pension, while the weaknesses of Thailand’s pen-sion system are...Full story at http://goo.gl/rtpH3
BANGKOK BUSINESS BRIEF Mid-December 2012/Mid-Jan. 2013 5
Production
http://goo.gl/UrVpE
Ford Motor Co is looking at the ap-propriate timing to introduce eco-friendly vehicles such as hybrids and electric cars in Thailand and the Asean region. “But we must also have the required infrastructure. In order for electrification to take off, we need easy access to plug-ins as well as a power grid system that produces electricity with cleaner methods than dirty coal,” Bill Ford, executive chairman of the US-based auto-maker, told journalists.
The Focus Electric Vehicle was re-cently offered as a fleet demonstra-tion in China, but has not yet been offered commercially, as in the United States and Europe. “I’m opti-mistic about this technology, but it’s also frustrating with the [lack of]...Full story at http://goo.gl/7mUyZ
Big Star might set up its first over-seas factory in a neighbouring coun-try, either Myanmar or Vietnam, as high labour costs in Thailand make its Gambol footwear uncompetitive in markets abroad.
“We want to look for a new overseas factory, which will be our base in exporting to markets with potential, especially Asean, which will serve the opening of the region as one single market, especially when the AEC is fully effective in 2015,” Sura-chai Kitkamjai, deputy managing director, said.
The criteria include human resourc-es and labour conditions, as well as the overall economic situation and political stability in the country. Vietnam, for example, can offer... Full story at http://goo.gl/AK4Tc
More than 40 years ago, four young men met for the first time at As-sumption Commerce College in Bangkok. They teamed up again in 1991 with another friend they had met while studying in the U.S. to establish a furniture business. Two decades later, all five are still play-ing leading roles at Modernform Group, one of Thailand’s largest fur-niture manufacturers and exporters.
“I can say that, since the beginning, each one of us has always done what he does best,” says Jajjai Dhamma-rungruang, vice-chairman of the board. “As individuals, each of us is aware of his own strengths and weaknesses. Hence, we typically let a particular task end up with the one of us whom we, as a group, truly be-lieve is the right man for the job.”
All five founders are still active to different degrees in the Modern-form business. Thaksa Busayapoka is the chief executive. Somsak Vari-karn and Yothin Nerngchamnong oversee different parts of the busi-ness as executive board members.
The local unit of Germany’s Grohe AG, a leading provider of premium bath faucets and showers, will build a third, 600-million-baht factory in Thailand to serve a larger market under the AEC. Grohe Siam Co Ltd is a joint venture between the Dusseldorf-based Grohe and Haco Group Co Ltd, its Thai distributor. “Our foreign counterpart has always been interested in the tax incentives under the AEC and wants to make Thailand its main production base,” said Dhitipong Dowpiset, Haco’s chief marketing officer.
Grohe Siam’s two present facto-ries are in Rayong’s Klaeng district. Running at 80-90% capacity, they produce a combined 100,000 items a week. Mr Dhitipong said the third plant will increase output by 30%, making the faucet manufacturing site the largest of its kind in the...Full story at http://goo.gl/KhN3l
Ford awaits chance to offer electric cars here
Talent Pool: How five friends built the modernform empire
German firm plans new faucet factory
Big Star set to build factory out of Thailand
Charoen Usanachitt has less in-volvement with daily operations and is the chairman of the board. Good governance and friendships: “One good example of changing roles came after the 1997 economic crisis,” recalls Mr Jajjai. “I was the CEO then. However, I was aware that in such a unique and difficult situation, I was not the right...Full story at http://goo.gl/9NtfA
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6 BANGKOK BUSINESS BRIEF Mid-December 2012/Mid-January 2013 www.BBBrief.com
BriefsTo read the full article of a story brief, enter the short code at the end of the story into your browser:
goo.gl/bH6PF...added that the company had set aside a significant investment budget of Bt200 million to Bt300 million for overseas expansion.Full story at http://goo.gl/bH6PF
Retail/Services
http://goo.gl/QyrTE
Central Embassy says 90% of retail space to be leased by year-end Internet shopping
mag: doubling sales next year
Stemming the tide of disease
Jet Asia cleared for take-off, plans to double fleet size
Luxury shopping complex Cen-tral Embassy, which is scheduled to open in December 2013, an-nounced that more than 90 per cent of its retail space would be leased by the end of this year. About 30 per cent of 150 retail tenants occupying the 41,000-sqm leasable area will be international fashion brands, some
Jet Asia Airways, the privately-owned Thai carrier that has flown international charter flights for just over a year, is gearing up for an expansion with scheduled ser-vices and doubling its fleet size. The airline, founded in 2009 but little known to the public, is to launch its first scheduled operations with flights from its Phuket and Bangkok bases to as many as eight Chinese cities next month.
It also plans to reintroduce its daily scheduled charter flights between Bangkok and Narita in Japan and to launch charter flights between Bangkok and Incheon in South Ko-rea and between Phuket and Busan in South Korea. Jet Asia will take de-
based shopping sites in Thailand, combining online media and e-commerce. “I have seen a growing trend of online shopping in Thai-land, driven by the launch of the 3G network, which will accelerate the increasing number of mobile users in the market,” said Natcharee, 32. She launched her SOS online maga-zine in April, while the shopping feature at the website started...Full story at http://goo.gl/IGIq8
Wealth may not be enough to res-cue you from an incurable disease. But stem cells can. This realisation has led to the growth of an indus-try called stem cell banking. THAI StemLife Co Ltd runs Thailand’s first private and largest family stem cell bank. “We had seen the devel-opment of baby stem cells and core blood stem cell banking in the US and Europe and thought that this would be a perfect service for Thai-land, since it was not available at that time. Patients with genetic...Full story at http://goo.gl/0ojdn
livery of its fourth Boeing 767-200 jet this month and is planning to add four aircraft of the same series, two in the second half of next year and another two in 2014.
The expansion is part of a strategic plan to cash in on the fast-growing Asian markets, particularly China, South Korea and Japan, all within five to seven hours. Jet Asia, owned by a group of Thai investors includ-ing a Chiang Mai hotelier and re-tired Royal Thai Air Force officers,...Full story at http://goo.gl/bH7cw
of which will be opening their first stores in Thailand. Costing about Bt10 billion, a 222-room hotel at the complex will open in September 2014. The complex is at the inter-section of Ploenchit and Wireless roads, one of the most prominent locations in Bangkok.
“We have finished construction of the building foundation. The con-struction and opening will be on schedule,” said managing director Chart Chirathivat. Central Embassy recently held a tenant meeting to provide updates (to) senior man-agement teams and designers of in-ternational brands including...Full story at http://goo.gl/Wum0B
Natcharee Sriroj-chanapong has launched an online shopping maga-zine to cash in on the trend of in-creasing number of mobile-phone and Internet users in Thailand. SymbolsOfStyle.com is aimed at becoming one of the top Internet-
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Use the QR Code reader in your smartphone to see all the stories in a certain category.
2 BANGKOK BUSINESS BRIEF December 2011
Greece, India, China and Thailand are home to the weakest national pension systems in the world, crippled by a mix of acute sover-eign debt, young retirement ages, high ratios of pensioners to work-ers and poor pension take-up, a study showed.
The Allianz Global Investors Pen-sion Sustainability Index, which tracks the relative sustainabil-ity of national pension systems in 44 countries around the world, showed the number of Greek re-tirees to people of working age re-
Land subsidence caused by ground water losses tops the list of prob-lems that must be solved in Bang-kok to mitigate the impact of the climate change on flooding, says a study by multinational agencies.The conclusion is contained in a report entitled “Climate Risks and Adaptation in Asian Coastal Megacities”, jointly conducted by the Asian Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the World Bank in 2010.
The report recommended a...Full story at http://goo.gl/20yMD
‘There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune”, wrote Wil-
KUALA LUMPUR : The Asian cri-sis in the late 1990s was a wake-up call for the region that has turned out to be a blessing in disguise nearly 15 years later, as the region’s financial sector is now strong and able to sustain a certain degree of shocks from the fallout in the Western Hemisphere, according to a panellist at a recent Asean conference.
“There will be more crises in the future, and the Asian crisis in
The shift of economic growth mo-mentum to the East has opened up numerous opportunities that Asian countries should not miss out, suggests an economist.The robust economic growth of China and emerging economies will open a new opportunity for Asian economies to increase their wealth from trade in goods and services at a time when the United States and Europe are...Full story at http://goo.gl/S65D6
Briefs To read the full article of a story brief, enter the short code at the end of the story into your browser:
Thailand near top of list of world’s weakest pension systems: study
Panel: Asia better off, not immune, from global crises
Preventing Bangkok from sinking biggest challenge
Grow with the flow of cycles
Asia stands to gain from West slowdown
General Interest
http://goo.gl/ozbNM
Sponsored by...
goo.gl/bH6PF
...added that the company had set aside a significant investment budget of Bt200 million to Bt300 million for overseas expansion.Full story at http://goo.gl/bH6PFliam Shakespeare in JuliusCaesar. Nature and life are cyclical _ the seasons of the year, life and death, the phases of the moon, the tides. Caught up in daily details, we eas-ily forget that the business world has cycles, too. We are all familiar with the economic business cycle of expansion, contraction and re-covery. However, other cyclical phenomena affect...Full story at http://goo.gl/fJolr
1997-98 was a blessing, as the impact of 2008 would have been far worse for the region,” Azman Mokhtar, the managing director of Khazanah Nasional of Malaysia, told the CIMB Asean Conference.His comments were...Full story at http://goo.gl/dfu2u
mains above the European average.In India, China and Thailand, roughly 12 percent of the popula-tion contribute to a pension, while the weaknesses of Thailand’s pen-sion system are...Full story at http://goo.gl/rtpH3
BANGKOK BUSINESS BRIEF Mid-December 2012/Mid-Jan. 2013 7
Tourism
http://goo.gl/fxE4d
Thailand Privilege Card Co, the op-erator of the Thailand Elite Card, is embarking on a new business plan as it plans to attract 1,300 new members next year. The Elite Card, which was almost scrapped by the previous Democrat-led govern-ment, got the green light from the Yingluck Shinawatra cabinet to be revived by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the owner of TPC.
For its comeback under a “Money Can’t Buy” campaign, members will get more privileges such as a five-year visa with multiple entries and a maximum stay of 12 months, up from three months for normal tourists. They will get discounts for air fares and shopping in Thailand. Some cardholders, particularly for-eign investors, will have the chance to meet top executives of Thai companies for business talks. Their meetings will be arranged by the TAT. The membership will be ad-justed to only 20 years, not lifetime...Full story at http://goo.gl/3oCKQ
Thailand will miss out on tourism investment after the launch of the full-scale AEC if state agencies do not take the initiative to form a one-stop service window like Cambodia and Myanmar, an academic said. Those countries have realised the importance of having a single body to provide such a service, which im-proved their investment climate by making it easier for foreigners to do business, said Assistant Profes-sor Thanavath Phonvichai. The two countries also have a clear vision that the tourism industry is among the first priorities as they work to alleviate poverty. Investing in the tourism industry in Thailand...Full story at http://goo.gl/9dx52
New lease on life for Elite Card
‘One-stop service needed’ for tourism investment
Kingdom still a favourite for tourists from India
Large numbers of tourists have can-celled their trips to Krabi province after a video clip emerged as a sign of protest against provincial author-ities who gave bail to a man accused of raping a foreign woman in Ao Nang. Ithirit Kinglek, head of Kra-bi’s tourism authority, said the vid-eo clip called Evil man from Krabi which has circulated on the internet for about two weeks has affected the province’s tourism industry. He said many tourists from England have cancelled their trips after the video emerged on YouTube.
The content of the clip talks about several violent incidents that in-volved foreigners in Ao Nang and have been allegedly covered up by Thai authorities. Another incident concerned teenagers attacking a tourist couple. The man was stabbed and wounded severely while his girlfriend barely escaped with the assistance of the locals in the area.
Mr Ithirit said European tourists have questioned their safety and...Full story at http://goo.gl/e8HjN
Thailand will remain one of the most popular tourist destinations in Southeast Asia for Indians for many years, a leading Mumbai-based travel agent said. “Our fore-cast on tourism growth from India to Thailand in the next five years – we would say that it will enjoy about 30-to-35-per-cent growth year on year,” Madhavan Menon, managing director of Thomas Cook (India), said. Other top choices for Indian travellers are the United Arab Emir-ates’ commercial hub Dubai, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.
Besides easy air access – only three and a half hours, with many choices of services – Thailand offers top-notch shopping and dining with value for the money. In the coming years, Indian outbound tourism will witness an increase, mainly fuelled
by travellers below 30 years of age, who now account for 60 per cent of the population, Menon said. Actu-ally, they demand to go abroad and experience the world outside their home country. Under the company’s strategic plan, Thomas Cook (India) will focus on online marketing to those younger customers. For ex-ample, the company is working on how to deal with the Internet and..Full story at http://goo.gl/iMJSq
Krabi hit by tourist protest
+66 2207 1023
8 BANGKOK BUSINESS BRIEF Mid-December 2012/Mid-January 2013 www.BBBrief.com
BriefsTo read the full article of a story brief, enter the short code at the end of the story into your browser:
goo.gl/bH6PF...added that the company had set aside a significant investment budget of Bt200 million to Bt300 million for overseas expansion.Full story at http://goo.gl/bH6PF
IT / Comms
http://goo.gl/VwYn9
Thailand may lose its attractive-ness as a safe place to do business if companies fail to adopt pre-emptive measures against fraud and cyber-crime. “Thai businesses are expect-ed to see a rising trend of complex embezzlement, corruption and IT-related crimes over the next three to five years,” Sira Intarakumthornchai of PwC Thailand said. “We expect to see fraud risk grow in coming years unless businesses meet the chal-lenge head-on.” Businesses need to be proactive and put in place fraud prevention measures such as...Full story at http://goo.gl/gGPqo
Vigilance urged on fraud, cybercrimes
Google aiming to get 3 million SMEs online
Security market set for spike
Thai firms urged to embrace e-commerceAlibaba.com, the world’s largest e-commerce firm, is urging businesses in Thailand to quickly adapt to the medium as a gateway to global mar-kets. Rachel Wu, marketing man-ager of the Chinese site with 29 mil-lion registered users, said Thailand’s e-commerce transactions in the first five months of this year increased by almost four times to 7.9 million baht, up from only 1.8 million baht in 2011. Most orders stemmed from the United States, India and China.
Ms Wu said the best-selling Thai products were food and beverages, clothing and agricultural products. Machinery, cars and motorcycles, and home and garden items were the most popular products for
Google Thailand next year will fo-cus on helping 3 million small and medium-sized enterprises get on-line. Currently, only 10 per cent of the Kingdom’s SMEs have adopted online business. This is a similar proportion to those in Malaysia and Indonesia, while 30 per cent of Sin-gapore’s SMEs are online.
Ariya Banomyong, country head of Google Thailand, said SMEs were the backbone of the country’s econ-omy. These companies are facing the forces of technology and con-sumer behaviour. The big trend is SoLoMo (social, local, mobile me-dia), expected to force businesses to have a presence on Internet.
Thai buyers. However, only 5.8% of three million SMEs in Thailand use e-commerce to access overseas markets. By comparison, she said, at least 42% of SMEs in China are...Full story at http://goo.gl/kKLcf
“Thailand can have a similar pro-portion [to Singapore], with 30 per cent of SMEs going online,” Ariya said, noting the success of Google’s Go Online scheme this year. There now are 24 million Internet users in Thailand, while 28 per cent of the population, or about 18 mil-lion people, use smart phones. This shows the importance of SMEs go-ing online. “‘Go Online, in this con-text, means business must have...Full story at http://goo.gl/fgvHB
Thailand’s security industry will jump 30% in value to US$100 mil-lion next year, with higher wages prompting companies to rely more on technology, says the Thai Secu-rity Association. TSA president Kit-tichai Samittiwuttikul said the in-crease in the daily minimum wage to 300 baht nationwide on Jan 1 will include security guards. This will prompt more companies to pur-chase digital products instead, es-pecially considering the improved third-generation network and more
advanced products available now, said Mr Kittichai, who is also man-aging director of the security firm SMC Group (Thailand) Co.
“Companies are turning to software solutions to replace security guards, so instead of using, say, 10 people to look after a building, with CCTVs you need only three guards...Full story at http://goo.gl/LUwn2
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Use the QR Code reader in your smartphone to see all the stories in a certain category.
2 BANGKOK BUSINESS BRIEF December 2011
Greece, India, China and Thailand are home to the weakest national pension systems in the world, crippled by a mix of acute sover-eign debt, young retirement ages, high ratios of pensioners to work-ers and poor pension take-up, a study showed.
The Allianz Global Investors Pen-sion Sustainability Index, which tracks the relative sustainabil-ity of national pension systems in 44 countries around the world, showed the number of Greek re-tirees to people of working age re-
Land subsidence caused by ground water losses tops the list of prob-lems that must be solved in Bang-kok to mitigate the impact of the climate change on flooding, says a study by multinational agencies.The conclusion is contained in a report entitled “Climate Risks and Adaptation in Asian Coastal Megacities”, jointly conducted by the Asian Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the World Bank in 2010.
The report recommended a...Full story at http://goo.gl/20yMD
‘There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune”, wrote Wil-
KUALA LUMPUR : The Asian cri-sis in the late 1990s was a wake-up call for the region that has turned out to be a blessing in disguise nearly 15 years later, as the region’s financial sector is now strong and able to sustain a certain degree of shocks from the fallout in the Western Hemisphere, according to a panellist at a recent Asean conference.
“There will be more crises in the future, and the Asian crisis in
The shift of economic growth mo-mentum to the East has opened up numerous opportunities that Asian countries should not miss out, suggests an economist.The robust economic growth of China and emerging economies will open a new opportunity for Asian economies to increase their wealth from trade in goods and services at a time when the United States and Europe are...Full story at http://goo.gl/S65D6
Briefs To read the full article of a story brief, enter the short code at the end of the story into your browser:
Thailand near top of list of world’s weakest pension systems: study
Panel: Asia better off, not immune, from global crises
Preventing Bangkok from sinking biggest challenge
Grow with the flow of cycles
Asia stands to gain from West slowdown
General Interest
http://goo.gl/ozbNM
Sponsored by...
goo.gl/bH6PF
...added that the company had set aside a significant investment budget of Bt200 million to Bt300 million for overseas expansion.Full story at http://goo.gl/bH6PFliam Shakespeare in JuliusCaesar. Nature and life are cyclical _ the seasons of the year, life and death, the phases of the moon, the tides. Caught up in daily details, we eas-ily forget that the business world has cycles, too. We are all familiar with the economic business cycle of expansion, contraction and re-covery. However, other cyclical phenomena affect...Full story at http://goo.gl/fJolr
1997-98 was a blessing, as the impact of 2008 would have been far worse for the region,” Azman Mokhtar, the managing director of Khazanah Nasional of Malaysia, told the CIMB Asean Conference.His comments were...Full story at http://goo.gl/dfu2u
mains above the European average.In India, China and Thailand, roughly 12 percent of the popula-tion contribute to a pension, while the weaknesses of Thailand’s pen-sion system are...Full story at http://goo.gl/rtpH3
BANGKOK BUSINESS BRIEF Mid-December 2012/Mid-Jan. 2013 9
Real Estate
http://goo.gl/hPK52
Wooden products and flooring manufacturer Prize of Wood Indus-try has shifted its focus to prefabri-cated, customisable wooden houses with the launch of 11 designs priced from 500,000 to 1.5 million baht. MD Khomwit Boonthamrongkit said the company needs to diver-sify to new innovations, as wooden products are facing a serious threat from cheaper fibre cement.
The company has spent 15 million baht on research and development to improve its prefabricated wood-en houses after the first designs were introduced four years ago. “Our first set of designs was not successful, as they were unable to be customised like customers wanted,” said Mr Khomwit. The company bought a five-axis computer numerical con-trol machine from Italy that im-proves the quality of wooden prod-ucts with precision-cutting. Its...Full story at http://goo.gl/UzdPP
The listed developer Raimon Land Plc (RML) plans to launch a 2.1-billion-baht condominium in the Ekamai area in January, its first project in Bangkok after a few years’ absence. The Lofts Ekkamai will be located on a two-rai site near Sukhumvit Soi 65. Raimon bought the plot after it purchased the land on Ratchadamri Road for the 185 Rajadamri project in 2010.
Financed by Thanachart Bank, The Lofts Ekkamai will comprise 264 units sized 28-150 square metres and priced at 150,000 baht per sq m on average or between 3.9 and 12 million baht a unit. “We plan to launch three new projects worth a combined 4-8 billion baht a year, as we aim for 10 billion baht in reve-nue in 2015,” chief executive Hubert Viriot said. Raimon also plans to spend two billion baht to buy more plots for future project. This year, Raimon projected revenue of...Full story at http://goo.gl/IVZqV
Condominium developers have welcomed a proposed amendment in environmental regulations, ex-pecting that the clearer process would slash land costs by 5-7 per cent a year. They reacted positively to the proposal by the Office of Nat-ural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning to revise the ap-plication process for environmental impact assessment. Rather than having to apply for EIA approval from an expert panel, developers would be required instead to com-ply with a full environmental check-list under the supervision of local authorities, which are in charge of issuing construction licences.
Thai Condominium Association president Thamrong Panyasakul-wong said such a move would bring about a new standard practice for condo developers. “Currently when we decide to buy a plot of undevel-oped land for a new condominium project, we have to bear the risk if the project cannot win EIA approv-al. The approval process relies heav-ily on the judgement of members...Full story at http://goo.gl/qHoNC
Prize of Wood launches prefab houses
Developers welcome proposed streamlining
Mass-transit condos lead to new CBDNew condominium supply along the subway route between Rama IX and Phahon Yothin stations is 85.6% sold, says the Real Estate In-formation Center. Director-general Samma Kitsin said this area, espe-cially along Ratchadaphisek Road, is poised to become a new CBD. Many new office buildings are being constructed along this stretch. They include new headquarters for the Stock Exchange of Thailand, AIA and many consumer product gi-ants along with a large department store that opened last year. As well, a large commercial project called Makkasan Complex will be a ma-jor source of jobs, in turn attracting more condominium development.
Mr Samma said the large number of condo projects and cheaper land prices than in the current CBD will combine to turn this part of Lat Phrao and Huai Khwang districts into the next CBD. However, too many new projects launching with-in a short period could slow the...Full story at http://goo.gl/GgCvC
• Contract Review• Assistance with Transfer• Banking Assistance
• Acquisition Methods• Title search on the property• Due Diligence
free consultation
The ChambersUse your smartphone’s QR Code scanner or enter the short code to go directly to AMCHAM’s website.
2 BANGKOK BUSINESS BRIEF December 2011
Greece, India, China and Thailand are home to the weakest national pension systems in the world, crippled by a mix of acute sover-eign debt, young retirement ages, high ratios of pensioners to work-ers and poor pension take-up, a study showed.
The Allianz Global Investors Pen-sion Sustainability Index, which tracks the relative sustainabil-ity of national pension systems in 44 countries around the world, showed the number of Greek re-tirees to people of working age re-
Land subsidence caused by ground water losses tops the list of prob-lems that must be solved in Bang-kok to mitigate the impact of the climate change on flooding, says a study by multinational agencies.The conclusion is contained in a report entitled “Climate Risks and Adaptation in Asian Coastal Megacities”, jointly conducted by the Asian Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the World Bank in 2010.
The report recommended a...Full story at http://goo.gl/20yMD
‘There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune”, wrote Wil-
KUALA LUMPUR : The Asian cri-sis in the late 1990s was a wake-up call for the region that has turned out to be a blessing in disguise nearly 15 years later, as the region’s financial sector is now strong and able to sustain a certain degree of shocks from the fallout in the Western Hemisphere, according to a panellist at a recent Asean conference.
“There will be more crises in the future, and the Asian crisis in
The shift of economic growth mo-mentum to the East has opened up numerous opportunities that Asian countries should not miss out, suggests an economist.The robust economic growth of China and emerging economies will open a new opportunity for Asian economies to increase their wealth from trade in goods and services at a time when the United States and Europe are...Full story at http://goo.gl/S65D6
Briefs To read the full article of a story brief, enter the short code at the end of the story into your browser:
Thailand near top of list of world’s weakest pension systems: study
Panel: Asia better off, not immune, from global crises
Preventing Bangkok from sinking biggest challenge
Grow with the flow of cycles
Asia stands to gain from West slowdown
General Interest
http://goo.gl/ozbNM
Sponsored by...
goo.gl/bH6PF
...added that the company had set aside a significant investment budget of Bt200 million to Bt300 million for overseas expansion.Full story at http://goo.gl/bH6PFliam Shakespeare in JuliusCaesar. Nature and life are cyclical _ the seasons of the year, life and death, the phases of the moon, the tides. Caught up in daily details, we eas-ily forget that the business world has cycles, too. We are all familiar with the economic business cycle of expansion, contraction and re-covery. However, other cyclical phenomena affect...Full story at http://goo.gl/fJolr
1997-98 was a blessing, as the impact of 2008 would have been far worse for the region,” Azman Mokhtar, the managing director of Khazanah Nasional of Malaysia, told the CIMB Asean Conference.His comments were...Full story at http://goo.gl/dfu2u
mains above the European average.In India, China and Thailand, roughly 12 percent of the popula-tion contribute to a pension, while the weaknesses of Thailand’s pen-sion system are...Full story at http://goo.gl/rtpH3
10 BANGKOK BUSINESS BRIEF Mid-December 2012/Mid-January 2013 www.BBBrief.com
On November 18, U.S. President Barack Obama visited Thailand, continuing the U.S.-Thailand diplomatic relationship that began nearly 180 years ago with the signing of the 1833 Treaty of Amity and Commerce.
During his stay, the President toured the Wat Pho Royal Monastery and met with His Majesty King Bhumibol. Later in the day, AMCHAM’s Board of Governors were among the honored 70 guests invited to a reception with the President and Prime Minister Yingluck.
Following his Thailand visit President Obama traveled to Myanmar and Cambodia —becoming the first U.S. President to visit either country.
Past U.S. Presidents to visit Thailand included: Lyndon Johnson (1966 and 1967); Richard Nixon (1969); Bill Clinton (1996); and George W. Bush (2003 and 2008).
On November 21, AMCHAM honored 34 member companies that carried-out exemplary corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs in 2012. The honorees were presented with ACE recognitions, an appre-ciation presented by U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney and AMCHAM President Joe Mannix on behalf of the AMCHAM Corporate Social Re-sponsibility Excellence Recognition Program (ACE).
To qualify for an ACE recognition, a firm’s CSR program must receive high-marks in four categories: (1) Attention to business objectives and societal needs; (2) Creation of long-term economic and social gains; (3) Communication and sharing of best practices; (4) Program sustain-ability.
Special designations were given to firms that have received the ACE award for three straight years (Silver Award), firms with excellence in creativity and innovation (Creative Partnerships), and for Small and Medium Sized Business (SMEs).
The 34 award recipients were (special designations in parentheses):• American International Assurance• Central Food Retail• Chevron Thailand Exploration & Production (Creative Partnership
and Silver Award)• Citibank (Silver Award)• Coca-Cola (Creative Partnership and Silver Award)• Dow Chemical• Du Pont
The American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (AMCHAM)
President Obama’s visit reinforces the 180-year U.S-Thai relationship
AMCHAM Thailand Recognizes Top Corporate Social Responsibility Programs• Esso (Silver Award)• FedEx Express (Creative Partnership)• Ford Motor Company• Foster Wheeler• Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok (Silver Award)• General Motors (Creative Partnership)• GlaxoSmithKline (Silver Award)• Google (Creative Partnership)• Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok (Creative Partnership and Silver Award)• Hanesbrands (Creative Partnership)• Hemaraj Land And Development (Silver Award)• HSBC (Creative Partnership)• McThai (Creative Partnership)• Microsoft (Creative Partnership and Silver Award)• Minor International (Creative Partnership and Silver Award)• MSD• Philip Morris (Silver Award)• Prem Tinsulanonda International School (SME)• Project Solutions International (SME)• Procter & Gamble Trading• PTT Global (Creative Partnership and Silver Award)• Santa Fe (Silver Award)• SAS Software• Seagate Technology (Silver Award)• Standard Chartered Bank• Tour de Asia Bicycle Touring (Creative Partnership and SME)• YUM Restaurant International (Creative Partnership)
The ChambersUse your smartphone’s QR Code scanner or enter the short code to go directly to AustCham’s website.
2 BANGKOK BUSINESS BRIEF December 2011
Greece, India, China and Thailand are home to the weakest national pension systems in the world, crippled by a mix of acute sover-eign debt, young retirement ages, high ratios of pensioners to work-ers and poor pension take-up, a study showed.
The Allianz Global Investors Pen-sion Sustainability Index, which tracks the relative sustainabil-ity of national pension systems in 44 countries around the world, showed the number of Greek re-tirees to people of working age re-
Land subsidence caused by ground water losses tops the list of prob-lems that must be solved in Bang-kok to mitigate the impact of the climate change on flooding, says a study by multinational agencies.The conclusion is contained in a report entitled “Climate Risks and Adaptation in Asian Coastal Megacities”, jointly conducted by the Asian Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the World Bank in 2010.
The report recommended a...Full story at http://goo.gl/20yMD
‘There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune”, wrote Wil-
KUALA LUMPUR : The Asian cri-sis in the late 1990s was a wake-up call for the region that has turned out to be a blessing in disguise nearly 15 years later, as the region’s financial sector is now strong and able to sustain a certain degree of shocks from the fallout in the Western Hemisphere, according to a panellist at a recent Asean conference.
“There will be more crises in the future, and the Asian crisis in
The shift of economic growth mo-mentum to the East has opened up numerous opportunities that Asian countries should not miss out, suggests an economist.The robust economic growth of China and emerging economies will open a new opportunity for Asian economies to increase their wealth from trade in goods and services at a time when the United States and Europe are...Full story at http://goo.gl/S65D6
Briefs To read the full article of a story brief, enter the short code at the end of the story into your browser:
Thailand near top of list of world’s weakest pension systems: study
Panel: Asia better off, not immune, from global crises
Preventing Bangkok from sinking biggest challenge
Grow with the flow of cycles
Asia stands to gain from West slowdown
General Interest
http://goo.gl/ozbNM
Sponsored by...
goo.gl/bH6PF
...added that the company had set aside a significant investment budget of Bt200 million to Bt300 million for overseas expansion.Full story at http://goo.gl/bH6PFliam Shakespeare in JuliusCaesar. Nature and life are cyclical _ the seasons of the year, life and death, the phases of the moon, the tides. Caught up in daily details, we eas-ily forget that the business world has cycles, too. We are all familiar with the economic business cycle of expansion, contraction and re-covery. However, other cyclical phenomena affect...Full story at http://goo.gl/fJolr
1997-98 was a blessing, as the impact of 2008 would have been far worse for the region,” Azman Mokhtar, the managing director of Khazanah Nasional of Malaysia, told the CIMB Asean Conference.His comments were...Full story at http://goo.gl/dfu2u
mains above the European average.In India, China and Thailand, roughly 12 percent of the popula-tion contribute to a pension, while the weaknesses of Thailand’s pen-sion system are...Full story at http://goo.gl/rtpH3
Mid-December 2012/Mid-January 2013 BANGKOK BUSINESS BRIEF 11www.BBBrief.com
Australia and Thailand in an integrated Asia2012 Business Conference
The Australian-Thai Chamber of Commerce (AustChamThailand)
Last month AustCham hosted its first business conference in five years and the feedback has been fantastic. Focussing on the theme of ‘Australia and Thailand in an integrated Asia’, the conference presented 18 well versed and captivating speakers in a little over one day. Commencing with an elegant dinner at the St Regis on 12 November the keynote speakers, Gilles Planté and Dr Sarasin Viraphol, kicked off the conference by emphasising that the ‘future of Asia is in Asia’ and set out a convincing case for boosting the Australia-Thai partnership in trade and investment.
The conference plenary continued the following day opening with Australian Government’s Australia-Thailand Institute, Mike Courtnall introducing the first panel discussion; ‘ Leveraging National Strengths in an Integrated Asia’. Throughout the day speakers presented on a broad range topics under the conference sessions;
• Regional Connectivity – pipelines, lanes, trains and automobiles • Australia, the Asian Century and geopolitical pressures • Thailand: gateway to Myanmar and the Mekong Sub-region • Productivity and skills – an imperative in an integrated Asia
Ambassador James Wise summarised proceedings by pointing to the healthy dose of introspection – and self-criticism – by Thais and Australians alike, but reminded the audience that both Thailand and Australia had a lot to be proud of. They were both economically successful countries with strong commercial sectors and decades of experience cooperating together. As he put it, “History shows that the roots of Australia-Thailand relations were commercial roots. Investment and trade led the way”.
With a strong foundation on which to build, the 2012 Australia-Thailand business conference demonstrated there is still much untapped potential in the Australia-Thai business relationship. It also confirmed there is a core interest group in both Thailand and Australia strongly dedicated to promoting commercial links between these close friends.
The full summary is available in the December issue of Advance and all conference speakers and their notes are listed on the conference website: www.austchamconference2012.com
Gilles Plante, CEO Asia Pacific, ANZ: “Rich Asian countries are turning to Asia for their future rather than the US or Europe. They are investing in an Asian future...”
Dr Sarasin Viraphol, Executive Vice President, CP Group: “The challenge for both sides is how to leverage their respective resources in hardware, software and peopleware...”
Dr Bandid Nijathaworn, CEO and President, Thai Institute of Directors Association:“Asia will need Australia as much as Australia will need Asia...”
12 BANGKOK BUSINESS BRIEF Mid-December 2012/Mid-January 2013 www.BBBrief.com
Social responsibility for the individualStory continued from Page 1.
mediate circle,” with ‘immediate circle’ being our family and friends. In other words, we all have an obli-gation to act in a way that benefits society at large. In addition to the philanthropy inherent in this act of benefiting society, there is also an ethical component to the concept. Integrity, honesty, and being ethi-cal in our dealings with others are essential for ISR to work. Without them, ISR becomes just another version of a company throwing money at a charity to satisfy re-quirements.
Business schools around the world have taken notice and have de-veloped CSR and sustainability courses for their MBA students. But educators also realize that the key to making the sustain-ability concept effective is on the level of the individual, not the corporate level. In 2008, Harvard business school students initi-ated the concept of an MBA Oath (www.theoathproject.org), a vol-untary pledge by graduating MBA students to commit to the ‘respon-
sible and ethical’ creation of value. The concept is that business pro-fessionals, much like doctors and lawyers with their oaths and codes of conduct, should also adhere to a strict code of professional conduct.
These new concepts have even come to Thailand. In 2011, the Sa-sin Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Chulalongkorn University, where I work, estab-lished the Sasin Centre for Sus-tainability Management (SCSM) to teach and study the principles of sustainability management. This academic year, sustainabil-ity courses became part of Sasin’s core curriculum, and students have even begun to develop their own version of the MBA Oath. Other business schools in Thailand have developed initiatives that promote sustainability, such as sponsoring an annual Global Social Venture Competition.
For current business school stu-dents, members of the so-called ‘Generation Y,’ all of this is in keep-ing with their ideas of creating meaningful change and working for organizations that match their own values. ISR is, in many ways,
a natural extension of the ideals of the new generation.
But for mid-career business people who want to make a difference out-side of their corporate structure, what options do they have in Thai-land? How can they engage with their community and have a posi-tive effect on society at-large? My advice would be to act like a Gen-Y and seek out service organizations, groups, and people that share your values and interests.
Rotary first came to Thailand in 1930, and today, there are 295 Ro-tary Clubs spread across the coun-try. I have been a member of a local Rotary Club for the past five years, and despite the time commitment, joining the Rotary Club of Bang-kok South was one of the best de-cisions I’ve made in my adult life. In addition to Rotary, there are ap-proximately 300 Lions Clubs that do extensive community service work throughout Thailand and the region.
If becoming a member of a club is not feasible or desirable, there are other options. The local Chambers have charity projects or commit-
tees, and according to the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (www.wango.org), there are 141 NGOs in the King-dom, with everything from Habi-tat for Humanity to Right to Play to the Thailand-based Population and Community Development Association (PDA). Many of these organizations need more than just financial donations and offer vol-unteer opportunities to anyone that is willing to help.
Can ISR transform the way compa-nies view their CSR activities? It’s certainly a step in the right direc-tion. Ultimately, ISR comes down to each individual and how they choose to contribute to their com-munity. But by making a decision to help society on their own, an indi-vidual can certainly influence their organization in a positive way. Be-ing a volunteer, campaigning for a cause, or just contributing in some small way to a person or group that needs help are perfect examples of ISR activities. Combined with a sense of integrity, honesty, and a commitment to ethical behaviour, ISR could well make the business world a better place. And if busi-ness is better, so is society.
Business Development Manager (English sales)Andy Hyde • [email protected]
DeliveryAnan Boonma
In cooperation with Siam Gazette Co., Ltd.Alan Verstein • 081-761-9302
Volume 2, Issue 1 • Mid-Dec. 2012 to Mid-Jan. 2013Copyright 2012/2013. All rights reserved.
Mr. Nicolas Buchler, project architect of Pure Najomtien, an extraordinary new condominium project just a 15-minute drive east of Pattaya City on the beauti-ful Na Jomtien seafront, answered a few questions recently:
Why should potential homebuyers choose Pure Najomtien?When I saw the land that we are developing, I have to say it was a case of love at first sight. Everything about the location inspired me – the slope of the land, the beautiful natural environment and the fantastic views. The concept of the entire project came to me to build a haven of peace for the rich and famous as a retreat from the demands of their hectic city lifestyle. As the project has matured and the early vision is fast becoming reality, you can sense the soul and charisma of the concept. I am thrilled that our customers recognize the passion, commitment and quality behind the project. This is demonstrated by the fact that one in three visitors buy-in to Pure.
Why do you believe that Pure Najomtien appeals to so many Thai buyers?Most city dwellers long to escape the traffic, noise and stress, if only for the weekend, and Pure is so convenient for Bangkokians. And the exclusivity factor comes into play, as there is no other project like Pure. Customers have com-plete freedom to choose space that matches their specific needs, and layout and interior design of their unit is based on their own sense of style and taste. The range of on-site facilities available is a huge bonus. An outdoor golf prac-tice facility designed by one of the world’s leading course designers, HD golf simulators, boutique and convenience shopping, fine cuisine, the exclusive members-only BeachClub and Kids Club, to mention a few; there is something of interest for all. Our ambition at Pure is to develop an exclusive vibrant com-munity, not just another half-empty condominium ghetto.
As the architect of the project, what has given you the most satisfaction?Sticking to our eco-friendly principles. The project’s investors have been in-credibly supportive of the long-term sustainability of the estate and protection of the unique seafront environment. This is evidenced by investment in solar power, water treatment and purification plant and a wind-harvesting facility, which will provide public are and emergency electricity supply to the entire estate. As well, home innovations such as LED lighting, sophisticated air-con systems and drinking-quality water to the tap means ecological sustainability and financial savings. I am delighted with the project teams commitment to constantly improve and encouraged by the positive feedback that we have received from our future residents.www.pureNajomtien.com
An interview with the architect of Pure Najomtien
14 BANGKOK BUSINESS BRIEF Mid-December 2012/Mid-January 2013 www.BBBrief.com
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