Date post: | 12-Oct-2014 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | vozdraokano |
View: | 2,833 times |
Download: | 0 times |
Business Focus ASEAN Report
Of the visit to Thailand and Malaysia
5th – 20th September 2009
Export-Oriented Management
Hospitality kindly provided by:
II
DISCLAIMER
This study trip report contains information that is based on minutes taken by
the IMC Export fellows and is intended as a summary of what has been
presented and discussed during the meetings in Thailand and Malaysia.
The reader is cautioned that these minutes
may be subject to errors stemming from misunderstandings or
misperceptions on the part of the participants.
Therefore, any quotation from this text is discouraged.
III
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
At this point we would like to acknowledge all the people who made this unique study
trip, which no other university in Austria has ever conducted, possible. First and
foremost, we would like to express our gratitude to Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic,
Chairperson for International Law and Global Political Studies at the IMC University
of Applied Sciences Krems. Besides many in-house visits of speakers from all over the
world, and years of consecutive visits to all relevant organisations in Vienna (UN,
OSCE, OPEC, EC), Geneva (WTO, ECE, UNCTAD, ILO, IRC, WIPO, ITU) and
Paris (WB, UNESCO, OECD, ICC), he initiated, developed and organized this
special event for the 1s time. We do deeply appreciate all the time and effort Prof.
Bajrektarevic invested throughout the past months. Without his personal reputation
and contacts, none of us would have had the chance to benefit from such a diverse,
informative and highly inspiring programme.
Secondly, we would like to thank to our fellow Smajo Pasalic for the BFA logistics
work but also for brokering the sponsorship from the Austrian Students Union. We
send our compliments to Ms. Roza Ovezova our special guest from Turkmenistan
(Kyrgyz-American university of Bishkek) for entrusting us and joining the group as
our special guest.
Due tribute goes likewise to each and every organizer and speaker of all visited Thai
and Malaysian (business, governmental, international or cultural) entities. We are
especially thankful to Univ. Prof. Murray Hunter who together with our professor
masterminded the BFA concept.
We are expressing deepest signs of appreciation for the great in-kind contribution on
the side of State of Perlis, its Royal court as well as of the UniMAP: the generosity
and hospitality of H.R.H. Raja DYMM Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail, H.R.E.
Dato`Seri Diraja Syed Razlan Jamalullail, Excellency Vice Chancellor (and his
UniMAP team of deans, professors and students) deeply touched all of us – full of
warm friendship, days in Malaysia are those rare moments which remain life-long
imprinted in our hearts and minds.
To conclude with, we thank to our four Excellencies; Ambassador Peterlik of Austria,
Ambassador Linnér of Sweden, Ambassador Latha Reddy of India and Ambassador
Pipan of Italy, but also to our great hosts at the UN ESCAP and at the Delegation of
EC in Bangkok.
IV
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. TIMETABLE 3
3. DESTINATIONS 10
3.1. Thailand 10
3.2. Malaysia – truly Asia? 11
4. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7TH 2009 13
4.1. Austrian Embassy to Thailand 14
4.2. Malaysian Embassy to Thailand 17
4.3. University of Oulu 20
4.4. Austrian Embassy to Thailand 24
5. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8TH 2009 27
5.1. WKO Aussenwirtschaft Österreich, Außenhandelsstelle Bangkok 27
5.2. Swiss Embassy to Thailand 36
6. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9TH 2009 40
6.1. Thailand Board of Investment 40
6.2. Indonesia Briefing 43
6.3. Thai Anti-Corruption Commission 45
6.4. Malaysian Embassy to Thailand 48
6.5. Japanese Embassy to Thailand 50
6.6. Mahidol University International College Bangkok 52
7. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10TH 2009 55
7.1. UN ESCAP Introduction 55
7.2. Macroeconomic policies and development in Asia and the Pacific 59
7.3. Statistical links to ASEAN economies 61
V
7.4. Trade and investment in ASEAN countries 63
7.5. Information & Communication Development 65
7.6. Trans-Asian Railway & Asian Highway Networks 68
8. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11TH 2009 72
8.1. The Delegation of the European Commission to Thailand 72
8.2. Ambassador of India to Thailand 77
8.3. Ambassador of Italy to Thailand 82
8.4. Minister Counselor of Trade 85
9. MONDAY, 14TH SEPTEMBER 2009: 89
9.1. University Malaysia Perlis 89
9.2. SHORUBBER (Malaysia) DN BHD 94
9.3. Business in Malaysia 98
10. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH 2009 102
10.1. Reception by the Raja of Perlis 102
10.2. State Councellor for Investment, Trade and Industry, Science and Technology 106
10.3. Food bazaar and cultural evening 109
11. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16TH 2009 112
11.1. Kulim High Tech Park 112
11.2. AMD 116
12. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18TH 2009 120
12.1. Mahidol University, College of Management 120
13. DIARIES 124
14. CONCLUSION 146
15. PERSONAL COMMENTS 147
16. CONTACT INFORMATION 149
17. CREDITS 153
VI
FOREWORD – BFA 2009
Recalling the former name of our Study program (which used to be the Export oriented management EU-ASEAN-NAFTA), and following the repeated calls of the Trade Chamber of Austria (WKÖ) in consolidated calls for business offensive in ASEAN and other parts of the world (and extensive talks with the previous and current EXP Directors), and fully understanding the increasing demands of the labor market and contemplating over the difficulties that young people will face in coming years when trying to enter the world of well employed, I have assume that beside due diligence in learning, all of my students already by their respective 4th semester are profiling themselves in professional terms. As one of the three EXP chairpersons (and longest serving one) I knew that such profiling is surely substantive, but should also be a geographic. Therefore, for my recent graduates and senior students who are considering their future professional life in connection with either (Latin) America (NAFTA/MERCOSUR), with Central Asia, or with Asia/ASEAN, I wanted something new.
Just half a year ago, it was still a visionary dream (shared with my friend, inspiring Prof. Murray Hunter and highly encouraging Excellency Arshad, Malaysian ambassador to Vienna).
But this September has changed everything. Out of hundreds evens and study trips which I organized in last decades, I can just say; this is one of the few very best:
Solely financed by the students contribution (with sponsorship of ÖH equal to some 1,500, and generous in-kind contribution of the State of Perlis and UniMAP), I managed (after months of preparations, to concept, than) to conduct the first employability booster, focus seminar (so-called Business Focus ASEAN – BFA) for 30 EXP senior students and recent graduates (of 7 nationalities).
We have experienced 15 remarkable days in two Asian countries residing in the heart of SEA; over 60 hours of in-house lectures and 30 hours of study/cultural outdoor visits, 40 speakers of 19 nationalities (among which 15 field experts of senior level), also 4 ambassadors, one minister, one senator, Sultan of Perlis and late Malaysian king, as well as the King’s brother - the State Secretary of Perlis.
Vision to mobilize, expose and sensitivize my fellows, to link two distant regions of the world for the good of both, to make new friendships and reaffirm old; all together to inspire, envision, encourage, boost and employ generations of young Europeans and Asian have become truth this September. Affiliations and strong personal and professional bonds are created and are here to stay.
Our voyage is to continue eastward (CA, SEA) and westward (NAFTA, MERCOSUR), and I do have a sincere hope that business and governmental entities (on this or other sides of oceans) will recognize that our undertaking is not only about us, but also very much about the societies and business we want to see in near future.
Let’s jointly return to excellence and coin the future which starts now !!
Prof. (FH) Dr. Anis Bajrektarevic, Acting Deputy Director of Studies EXPORT EU–ASEAN–NAFTA
Professor and Chairperson, International Law/Global Political Studies
IMC University of Applied Sciences – Krems, AUSTRIA/Europe
(Principal architect and organizer of the BFA 2009)
1
1. Introduction
"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."
Saint Augustine
At our university, we think that whoever had the air to say such a sentence couldn’t be
more right in what travelling and discovering the world means. In the following
pages, we will reveal how the IMC University of Applied Sciencies Krems, which as
its own names states, belongs to the lovely and quiet town of Krems an der Donau,
has turned once again another page of this thrilling book.
The “Export-oriented Management” students and graduates regularly attend a series
of study trips to relevant organisations in Geneva and Paris (OECD, WB, WTO,
UNESCO, UNCTAD, ILO,…) and Vienna (UN, OSCE, EC…). Besides, the
University constantly invites many speakers from all over the world and experts from
many fields who cover current topics. Since the students are being educated to
become “Export-Experts” in a world, which is rapidly becoming smaller due to
globalization, those study trips and the lectures of the guest speakers are of very high
interest for us.
On September 5th, 2009, the IMC Export decided to make one step ahead and remain
loyal to its own spirit. For the first time ever, 29 students decided to embark
themselves to a pioneer excursion to the other side of the world, precisely to Thailand
and Malaysia.
Asia is the most dynamic and fastest growing region in the world. It also hosts some
of the world's most distinctive cultures and business systems. Students of international
business need a detailed understanding of these societies and businesses, both for the
opportunities offered and to appreciate the competitive potential from Asian firms.
This program is designed to develop a basic understanding of the variety of business
systems in Asia and the opportunities and pitfalls from operating a business in one or
more of these societies. The business environment of Asia includes the history,
culture, and political systems of these societies and how this affects the operations of
firms.
2
Because Asian business systems vary so widely, contrast-and-compare analysis is
essential. The purpose is to identify important differences and similarities and use
these to understand some of the major business issues in ASEAN countries. The main
issues include: government business relations and the problem of corruption and
"crony capitalism," political stability, banking, global and regional production
networks, the rise of “Asian tigers” and economic competition in Asia, global
manufacturing and business process outsourcing (recent China-ASAEAN FTA), Hi-
tech quest in Asia, as well as the development of e-business in Asia.
From the point of view of the social side, the aim was to get to know the Asian
continent, to submerge into the exciting everyday-life of the city of Bangkok and to
actually live the multi-cultural attitude of Malaysian people.
We had the chance to attend conferences held by highly qualified lecturers from the
region, who addressed business related topics as well as intercultural related subjects.
We also had the chance to enjoy some free time: we had crazy TukTuk rides through
the downtown of Bangkok, tastes all kinds of Thai food, visited the Royal Palace and
even had the honor of having a meeting with the Sultan of Perlis.
Obviously, behind the organization of such a special trip, which no other university in
Austria offers, there is also a special person, who has put a lot of effort into making
this event become true. Prof. Dr. Anis Bajrektarevic, Chairperson for International
Law and Global Political Studies at our university, is a kind of professor difficult to
find at other universities. He is passionate for his work and dedicated a lot of his free
time, so we could enjoy a trip, which otherwise would not have been possible. The
whole group of students deeply appreciates such a huge effort and is very grateful for
the possibility Prof. Bajrektarevic provided us with. The following report gives an
insight into the study trip and the various experiences we made during these two great
and unforgettable weeks.
3
2. Timetable
Business focus ASEAN
Itinerary, Thailand – Malaysia 05–20 September 2009
(please note that the speakers names and topics might be a subject of change)
Place Programme
Saturday, September 5th 2009
Vienna VIE
Dubai
13:30 (CET) latest! Meeting of the group in front of the Emirates desk (last check of the passports, tickets, baggage)
14:00: Check-in 15:30-22:55: Flight Vienna – Dubai EK 128 22:55-03:15: (CET -3)
Meeting of the EXP Alumni / Shopping / Rest (boarding latest 02.30!)
03:15-12:25: Flight Dubai – Bangkok EK 384 12:45 (CET -5) Meeting at the Gate nr.3
Sunday, September 6th 2009
Bangkok Organized escort to the hotel/conference venue – the agent with the IMC-EXP plate waits for you. 13:45-14:15: Hotel Check-In 15:00-open: Afternoon and Evening Free
Rest and exploring the city lights 16:00-16.20: Welcome word by Prof. Anis & speed orientation
meeting (hotel lobby) 20:30-open: Optionally – joint dinner, city downtown (e.g. orientation
meeting, then taking the group to Khao San road for dinner/drinks or to leave the group there on their own)
Monday, September 7th 2009
Bangkok 09:00: (CET -5) Breakfast at hotel BFA – First session day
10:20: Registration of participants (conference kit) 10:30-11:00: Opening and welcome speech/note:
H.E. Johannes Peterlik, Ambassador to Thailand & H.E. Andrea Wicke, Ambassador to Malaysia
11:00-11:30: Welcome note Mr. Syed Bakri Syed Abdul Rahman, Deputy Chief of the Mission on behalf of H.E. Amb. Dato’ Husni Zai bin Yaacob, Malaysian Ambassador to Thailand
4
11:30-12:00: Tour de Table Introduction of participants and the BFA expectations
12:00-12:30: Light snack & coffee break 12:30- 14:15: Intercultural Management
Topic: Essential ASEAN’s Intercultural aspects Workshops: Anna-Kaisa Pudas, University of Oulu, Findland,
14:30-15:30: Tour-de-table Topic: Thai- Austrian relations (Economic, political and cultural/scientific field) – role of Embassy Speaker: Arnold Obermayr, Councillor, Deputy Head of the Austrian Embassy
15:30-18:45: Afternoon Free 19:30-open: Networking diner (budget, organized)
Tuesday, 8th September 2009
Bangkok 09:00: (CET -5) Breakfast at hotel BFA – Second session day
10:00- 11:30: Austro-briefing (Presentation + Q&A) Topic: Business, investments and job opportunities in Thailand and Indochina (Vietnam/ASEAN) Speaker: Dr. Gustav Gressel, the Commercial Counsellor
11:30-13:15: Swiss-briefing (Presentation + Q&A) Topic: Switzerland's partnership with Thailand and ASEAN Speaker: Mr. Lukas Gasser, Minister, Chargé d’affaires of the Swiss embassy in Thailand
13:30-14:00: Light snack & coffee break 14:00-15:15: ASEAN-CHINA FTA
Topic: Reflections to the inter-Asian business opportunities Speaker: H.E. Guan Mu, Ambassador of PR China to Thailand
15:30-17:00: Intercultural management Topic: Traveling Jerusalem Café - workshop Presenter: Azriel Cohen, Israel (canceled)
17:00-open: Afternoon and Evening Free (Optionally, going to the Night Market)
Wednesday, September 9th 2009
Bangkok 09:00: (CET -5) Breakfast at hotel BFA – Third session day Specifics of the ASEAN economies
10:00 – 11:00: Thai briefing Topic: Tasks of and challenges for the Thai National Board of Investments Speaker: Mr. Winyoo Laopoonpittaya, Senior Investment Promotion Officer
11:00 – 12:00: Indonesian briefing Topic: Overview of the Indonesian economy, trade affairs, and investment policy and opportunities Speaker: Mr. Syafrudin Yahya (Commercial Attaché)
5
Ms. Nana Yuliana (1st Sec.for Economic Affairs) and Mr. Dozi Adeson, 3rd Secretary for Political Affairs)
12:00 – 12:45: Thai Anti-Corruption Commission Topic: Intro to Anti-corruption measures in Thailand Speaker: Mrs. Sirirat Vasuavat, Director of Resource Centre of Thai National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC), and Ms. Sairinya Tankaew, Project Coordinator of the XIV Intl. Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC), the Thai NCCC
12:45 – 13:00: Coffee break 13:00 – 14:00: Malaysian briefing
Topic: Malaysian -Thai Chamber of Commerce – role and ongoing activities Speaker: Mr. Mohd Iqbal Mohd Noor, Economic Counsellor and Alternate Permanent Representative to UN ESCAP, Trade Office, Embassy of Malaysia
14:00 – 15:00: Japan’s briefing Topic: Japan-Thai/Japan-Mekong region state of art in trade & investments and the future perspectives Speaker: Mr. Masato Ohtaka, Minister, Embassy of Japan
15:00 – 15:15: Light snack & coffee break 15:15 – 17:00: Expert’s view
Topic: Impact of the China-ASEAN FTA on these economies and impact of this FTA on EU/European exporters (challenges/obstacles/opportunities) Speaker: Prof. A. Dale Rorex, Social Sciences Division, Mahidol University Intl. College – Bangkok
17:00 – 18:15: Philippines/Vietnam briefing Topic: Philippines/Vietnam ASEAN position and role Speaker: Commercial Counselor, Nguyen Thanh Hung (Vietnam) or Philippine’s E. Thailand (tba)
18:15 – on: Free evening
Thursday, September 10th 2009
Bangkok 08:00: (CET -5) Breakfast at hotel BFA – Fourth session day Intl. FORAs at work in Asia and Pacific
08:30: Meeting in the lobby, departure for the UNESCAP 09:15: Arrival of the group (don’t forget your IDs) 09:30-10:00 ESCAP in general (mandate & scope)
Topic: Welcome remarks and introduction to ESCAP Speaker: Mr. Mitchell Hsieh, Public Inform. Officer
10:05-10:50: ESCAP (specifics) Topic: Macroeconomic policies and development in Asia and Pacific Speaker: Mr. Shuvojit Benerjee, Econ. Aff. Officer
10:50 – 11:00: Coffee break 11:00-11:45: ESCAP (specifics)
Topic: Statistical links to ASEAN economies
6
Speaker: Mr. Clovis Freire, Economic Affairs Officer 11:45-12:30: ESCAP (specifics)
Topic: Trade and Investments in ASEAN countires Speaker: Ms. Mia Mikic, Economic Affairs Officer
12:35-13:55: Lunch (ESCAP premises) 14:00-14:45: ESCAP (specifics)
Topic: Information and Communication Development in the Asia-Pacific region Speaker: Mr. Jorge Martinez-Navarette, Associate Economic Affairs Officer
14:45-15:30: ESCAP (specifics) Topic: Trans-Asian Railway & Asian Highway Networks Speaker: Mr. Pierre Chartier, Economic Aff. Officer
15:30: Family photo & departure of the group 16:00-19.00: Free afternoon 19:30-22.00: Tuk-tuk ride (budgeted) Temples & King’s Palace,
etc. – exploring the residential part of BKK
Friday, September 11th 2009
Bangkok 08:30: (CET -5) Breakfast at hotel BFA – Fifth session day EU/G-8/Europe in Asia
09:00: Departure to the Delegation of the EC 10:00-16:30: Speed dating – Mission briefings 10:00-11:30: EU–ASEAN (China-ASEAN FTA)
Topic: The Swedish EU Presidency: Ongoing activities & forthcoming challenges (incl. Q&A) Speaker: H.E. Mr. Lennart Linnér, Ambassador of Sweden to Thailand
11:30-12:15: Lunch break 12:15-13:30: India/SAARC–ASEAN (ASEAN+3+3)
Topic: India – ASEAN – challenges and opportunities (including the tour-de-table Q&A) Speaker: H.E. Ms. Latha Reddy, Ambassador of India to Thailand
13:30-14:45: G-8 – ASEAN – EU Topic: The Italian G-8 Presidency – between challenges and opportunities in the ASEAN theatre Speaker: H.E. Dr. Michelangelo Pipan, Ambassador of Italy to Thailand
15:00-16:30: Cross regional Free-trade agreements Topic: General aspects & the current state of the EU – ASEAN FTA (including the tour-de-table Q&A) Speaker: Mr. Jean-Jacques BOUFLET, Minister Counselor for Trade (on behalf of the Head of the EC Delegation to Thailand, Ambassador David Lipman)
16:30-16:40: Family photo and departure 16:40-19:00: Free afternoon
(recommended: Food Court supper/late lunch snacks on the way
7
to the Niramit, avoid cabs due to heavy jams) 19:30-21.50 Siam Niramit Show (pro bono, organized for the group)
http://www.siamniramit.com/
Saturday, September 12th 2009
Bangkok 06:00: (CET -5) Breakfast at hotel 06:30–19.30: Day-long excursion (extra budgeted) 06:30-08:30: Drive (organized pickup at hotel)
WWII Cemetery, WWII Museum, River Kwai Bridge, Kwai Railroad ride, Floating-house Lunch, Bamboo rafting, Elephant trekking/riding, Waterfalls
17.50 – 19:30: Return to the hotel (organized transfer to hotel), rest and free evening
Sunday, September 13th 2009
Bangkok
Malaysia
05:00: (CET -5) Breakfast at hotel 05:20-05:30: Check Out & Meeting in the lobby,
joint transfer to the airport 07:25: Flight FD 3543 BKK-PEN 0725-1005 10.05: Arrival to Penang (light snack & refreshments)
(CET -6; BKK time – 1) 11:30-13:30: Organized transfer
(Highway Stop, Gurun Rest & Relax spot) 14:00-20:30: Hotel Check in & free time
(Beach promenade walk & Ramadan market) 20:30-21:30: Dinner 22:00: Rest for the day
Monday, September 14th 2009
Perlis 09:00-09:30: (CET -6) Breakfast at hotel 09:30–04:50: Transfer 10:00–11:00: Meeting the UniMAP Faculty members and tour-de-
table with the UniMAP Faculties’ Deans 11:00–12:00: UniMAP and Perlis
Topic: Perlis vision 2015 (Excellency & Distinction) Speaker: Mrs. Fauziah bt Hashim, Director of Perlis State Economic Planning Unit
12:00–13:00: Visit – Cleanroom lab and other labs in Kuala Perlis/Jejawi
13.15-14.15: Lunch (Chinese restaurant) 14:30-16:30: Visit to Shorubber factory in Jejawi/
Kilang Gula Sdn. Bhd 16:30-17:30: Ramadan market – Jewawi 17:30-19:45: Return to hotel & short rest 20:00-22.00: Meeting with UniMAP business program students
(regular & exchange students)
8
22:00-23.00: Speed dating & tour-de-table Speaker: Senator Mr. Ahmad Bin Hussin, Member of the House Senate, Federal Parliament Malaysia Speaker: Saffie Bakar, Director of Dallab Cryptotech
23:00-23.45: Dinner with all participants 00:10: Return to hotel and rest for the day (parallel) 23:00-23.45: Official welcome dinner for Prof. Anis hosted by the
UniMAP Vice-Rector and faculty members (including the speed dating with Dato`Seri Diraja Syed Razlan Jamalullail, State Secretary)
Tuesday, September 15th 2009
Perlis 08:00-08:30: (CET -6) Breakfast at hotel 08:30-09:00: Royal protocol Exercise (hotel lobby) 09:15-09.45: Escort to the Royal Palace 10:00-11:30: Reception by His Highness’ Sultan DYMM Tuanku
Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail and the Perlis governmental officials (presenting the group, tour-de-table, family photo, press-conference)
11:30-12:30: Visit to the Private Collection of Raja of Perlis (upper floor of the Palace)
12:30-13:30: Lunch at the Palace – Royal courtesy 13:30-14:00: Escort to the Governmental Palace of the State of Perlis 14:00-15:30: Perlis and Malaysia – state of arts & tour-de-table
Host & speaker: Dato Seri Diraja Syed Razlan Jamalullail, State Secretary of Perlis
15:30-19:00: Return to hotel & short rest 19:30-20:30: Kangar down-town supper 21:00-00:30: Special Cultural Evening (with dinner) exclusively
organized for the IMC EXP fellows, hosted by the UniMAP Vice-Rector
01:00: Return to hotel and rest for the day
Wednesday, September 16th 2009
Perlis 09:00-09:30: (CET -6) Breakfast at hotel 09:45-10:45: Depart to Kulim Hi-Tech Park 11:00 -13:30: Visit few Industries (Silterra & Altera, Asian
association of business incubation, Tech management centre), tour-de-facility & tour-de-table
13:30-14:00: Snack lunch 14:15 -16:30: AMD Processors – tour-de-facility & tour-de-table 16:30 -18:00: Visiting Cave of Darkness, sightseeing and the
shopping in Padang Besar 18:30-22:00: Visiting Pulau Pinang (Penang) – sightseeing 20:00-22:00: Dinner & free time/shopping in Penang 22:00-24:00: Departure to Perlis 00:00-on: Return to hotel & rest for the day
9
Thursday, September 17th 2009
Perlis
Bangkok
06:30: (CET -6) Check out, Breakfast at hotel 07:30: Organized transfer to the airport 10:35: Flight FD3542 PEN-BKK 10.35-11.15 11.15: Arrival to BKK & joint transfer to the hotel 12:30: (CET -5) Hotel Check-In 13:15-on: free afternoon and evening
Optionally: Joint dinner – to be agreed at the spot
Friday, September 18th 2009
Bangkok 09:00: (CET -5) breakfast at hotel 09:30-15:30: Free morning & early afternoon 15:30: meeting in the hotel’s coffee lounge 15:45-17:45: Final WS on intercultural managm.
Speaker: Dr Astrid Kainzbauer, Mahidol College of Management & Mr. Till Morstadt, Lorenz & Partners Bangkok (presentations & tour-de-table)
18:15: Meeting in the lobby & organized escort to Chao Phraya (River boat cruse & dinner)
19:00-21:30: Chao Phraya river Closing dinner (Debriefing) Dinner/Reception by the IMC EXP Fellows – for the Malaysian & Austrian diplomats and professors of MAHIDOL university
Saturday, September 19th 2009
Bangkok Free morning 12:30: (CET - 5) Hotel Check-out latest! 22:30: Departure time!! latest!
Hotel lobby – meeting of the group, joint transfer to the airport (last check: passports, tickets, baggage)
23:30: Airport – Passport control (mind that the BKK IA control may last long !!)
Sunday, September 20th 2009
Bangkok
Dubai
Vienna
00:45:-app. Boarding 01:25-04:30: Flight Bangkok – Dubai EK 385 04:30-09:55: (CET -3) Shopping / Rest
(boarding latest 09.20!) 09:55-13:45: Flight Dubai – Vienna EK 127 14:00 (CET) Transfer to the Vienna city Not-organized
10
3. Destinations
3.1. Thailand
Thailand is often referred to as “The Golden Land”, not
because there is precious metal buried underground but
because the country gives off a certain glance, be it the
fertile rice fields of the central plains, white sandy
beaches or the warm hospitality of its citizenry.
Thailand, “The Land Of Smile", counts more than 65
million inhabitants. The capital city is Bangkok. Thai
refer to their country homeland as „Prathet Thai“ or
„Muang Thai“, which means „Land of the free”, due to
the fact that Thailand, former Siam, neither has been
annexed nor colonized by a European power throughout
history. The country consists of 26 provinces that make
up Central and Eastern Thailand. Kingdom Thailand
(Ratcha Anachak Thai) is situated in South-East Asia.
The population is predominantly Thai, with significant
Chinese, Khmer, and Malay minorities. The official language is Thai and official
religions are Buddhism and Islam.
With a well-developed infrastructure, a
GDP of 547.4 billion, a free-enterprise
economy and in general a pro-investment
policy, Thailand was one of East Asia’s
best performers from 2002 to 2004 (CIA –
The World Fact Book, est. 2008). Its
market economy is based largely on
services, notably trade and light industries. Thailand is a major producer of tungsten
and tin. Among its main agricultural products are rice, corn, rubber, soybeans, and
pineapples; manufactures include clothing, canned goods, electronic equipment and
cement. Moreover, tourism of all kind plays an important role for the economy.
Subsequently, political crises have harmed growth, which eroded investor and
consumer confidence and damaged the international image. Export was considered as
the key economic driver as foreign investment and consumer demand stalled. As for
now, the economy horizon darkened a bit, not only due to the financial crisis, but also
due to still present political uncertainty.
11
3.2. Malaysia – truly Asia?
Malaysia is a vibrant and thriving nation in the very heart of South-East Asia. It is a
country of two landmasses – Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo, which are
640 km apart, separated by the South China Sea. The country comprises 14 states
including the three Federal Territories – Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan, which
collectively form the 14th "state". The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya
is the seat of the Federal Government.
Malaysia is considered as a middle-income country that transformed from a producer
of raw materials into an emerging multi-sector economy meanwhile generating a GDP
of $ 384.3 billion (CIA- Factbook, est. 2008). Prime Minister Abdullah, who came
into office in 2003, is eager to attract investments in high technology industries,
medical technology and pharmaceuticals.
It is a multi-racial and multi-religious
country with a population of over 25
million. The “bumiputras” (or "sons of
the soil") which comprise the Malays,
the indigenous people of Sabah and
Sarawak, and the aboriginal groups of
Peninsular Malaysia (the Orang Asli)
form the majority of 61.4 %, with the
Chinese at 23.7 %, the Indians at 7.1%, and other ethnic groups (amongst others
Eurasians, Europeans) accounting for the rest. (cf CIA - The World Fact Book, 2009,
par. 3) Malaysia is literally a young country, reflected in the age structure, as over 1/3
of the population is younger than 15 years. After founded in 1957 and freed of the
12
British in the post-colonial situation, Malaysia is seeking for an identity. Given the
cultural mix the concept is for the New Malaysia, to have citizens, whose loyalty is
given to the nation, not to a federal state or an ethnic group. The milestone is to create
a “Single Malaysian identity”. This aim is also reflected in former Prime Minister
Mahathir’s Vision (Wawasan) 2020 for Malaysia to be fully developed country by
2020, economically as well as politically, socially, spiritually, psychologically and
culturally. Given the rich ethnic mix, it is hardly surprising that there is a great variety
of faiths in Malaysia. Official religions are Islam, as well as Buddhism, Christianity,
Hinduism and some local religions. Malaysia reflects “Asia - Truly Asia”, a slogan
that turned into reality.
13
4. Monday, September 7th 2009
Thanks to the great ambition of Prof. Dr. Anis Bajrektarevic, who was organizing the
study trip “Business Focus ASEAN” for the first time in September 2009, Export
students and graduates had the unique opportunity to be introduced to the ASEAN
region by highly qualified and experienced personalities, namely H.E.Ambassador Dr.
Johannes Peterlik, Ambassador of Austria to Thailand and Mr. Syed Bakri Syed
Abdul Rahman, Deputy Chief of the Mission on behalf of H.E. Ambassador Dato’
Husni Zai bin Yaacob, Malaysian Ambassador to Thailand. This very warm welcome
to a fascinating area was definitely a magnificent event to remember for everybody
due to the fact that most of the Export students and graduates haven’t had the
possibility to get to know this region beforehand. Most probably no one of the
students would have expected at the beginning of the studies to visit two of the most
prosperous countries of the ASEAN region.
Staying in Bangkok, the capital and most important city of Thailand, was a new and
impressive experience not only because of the numerous meetings and conferences,
which were organized by Prof. Dr. Anis Bajrektarevic but also in terms of cultural
characteristics. Thanks to the introductory remarks of Mr. Syed Bakri Syed Abdul
Rahman, Export students and graduates got to know about Malaysia in general and
also more precisely about Perlis, the smallest of the federal states, located in the north
of the country, bordering Thailand.
Furthermore we would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the
speakers, who took their valuable time and Prof. Dr. Anis Bajrektarevic for the
organization of the first “Business Focus ASEAN” study trip. Sincere thanks are
given to all.
14
4.1. Austrian Embassy to Thailand
H.E. Dr. Johannes Peterlik, newly
accredited Ambassador of Austria to
Thailand and also in charge of Myanmar,
Cambodia and Laos and former
Ambassador to Vietnam, held the
welcoming speech at the first conference
day of the two-week program of
“Business Focus ASEAN” of the IMC,
University of Applied Sciences, Krems.
His Excellency provided an interesting introduction to our study trip and opened up
the floor for lively discussions about historical happenings, the current situation in the
ASEAN region and expected future developments from different points of view.
GAINING FOOTHOLD
First and foremost, His Excellency underlined the importance of the Asian region in
economic but also in geographical and political terms, not only for Europe but far
more for the global economy as the Asian market will be growing even further in the
future. Despite rapid growth in recent years, the coming expansion is expected to be
even more impressive. Therefore it is crucial, especially for the EU market, to further
show presence and gain a foothold there, not only in order to let the market grow, but
far more to make sure that the European market will continue to exist and have
influence on the world’s economy. This step needs to be taken by European
companies in order to ensure their position in world trade, hence in world economy.
In His Excellency’s point of view, Austrians are, however, not willing enough to take
risks to access a market they only have limited knowledge about. For sure, to some
extend this behavior is considered Austrian mentality but the general fear of the
unknown plays an important role as well. Therefore, a market where security,
sustainability and credibility cannot be taken for granted seems often unattractive but
Date: Monday, September 7th 2009
Time: 10:30 – 11:00
Topic: Welcoming speech & introduction to the ASEAN region focusing on Thailand
Speaker: H.E. Ambassador Dr. Johannes Peterlik, Ambassador of Austria to Thailand
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic
15
frequently turns out to be a diamond in the rough. However, and not without reason, a
wise man once said that “wherever you see a successful business, someone once made
a courageous decision” (Drucker, P.F.)
THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS
Furthermore, in order to underline the significance of his words with facts, H.E. Dr.
Peterlik explained that in the Asian region/market one can already see recovery from
the economic and financial crisis whereas the European market still suffers heavily.
Asia should not solely be seen as a market where investing and gaining high profits is
the focus. It should be seen as a role model to be learned from by looking at its
culture, trade techniques and strategies. It is crucial that the European Union stops its
mainly inward-focus, shortsighted policy, which hems its development and excludes
it from the rest of global economy.
BECOMING RISK TAKERS
In His Excellency Peterlik’s opinion, it is of utmost importance that the European
Union looks more beyond its borders and focuses more on its foreign policy to be able
to compete better in world economy. His Excellency even sees high potential for
Austrian companies in the Asian market as their products are well known for
exceptionally good quality and high standards. It remains within the European hands
whether it takes advantage of the great opportunity that lies in front or let it pass and
let someone else profit from it instead and only then furiously try to find plausible
reasons why it did not step in but avoided the risk.
16
Contact Information H.E. Ambassador Dr. Johannes Peterlik Ambassador of Austria Austrian Embassy Bangkok 14, Soi Nandha, off Soi 1 Sathorn Tai Road Bangkok 10120/ Thailand
www.aussenministerium.at/bangkok Tel.: (+66/2) 679 88 83 Fax: (+66/2) 287 39 25 Email: [email protected]
17
4.2. Malaysian Embassy to Thailand
As second speaker we had the great opportunity to welcome Mr. Syed Bakri Syed
Abdul Rahman, Deputy Chief of the Mission on behalf of H.E. Ambassador Dato’
Husni Zai bin Yaacob, Malaysian Ambassador to Thailand.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY
Mr. Syed Bakri Syed Abdul Rahman served in Rome from 1999 to 2002 before
coming to Thailand. Due to this fact, he is already quite familiar not only with the
European market but also with its peoples, cultures, traditions and backgrounds. His
speech focused on the relations between Thailand and Malaysia. He explained that the
bilateral relations between the two countries started 52 years ago, when Malaysia
became independent from Great Britain.
EXPORT & INVESTMENTS
Until today Thailand remains within the top five of Malaysia’s trading partners and in
2008 Thailand was the fourth largest investor in Malaysia (after Japan, Netherlands
and Singapore). Concerning investments, Malaysian companies are investing heavily
in Thailand; 2007 a total of 350 Mio USD was invested whereas in 2008 figures
more than doubled compared to the investments made in 2007. Thailand, in
comparison, with a population of about 70 Mio people, does not invest such amounts
abroad simply because its internal market is already of substantial size and therefore,
there is no compelling need for them to invest in foreign countries as it is the case for
Malaysia. Here he established a connection to Europe and explained that this
phenomenon was comparable to the situation in Italy. Italy is also not importing
heavily. Firstly, due to the reason that the region is already quite autonomous in terms
of natural resources and secondly, because of the modesty of the people, who are
completely satisfied with what they have.
Date: Monday, September 7th 2009
Time: 11:00 – 11:30
Topic: Relations between Thailand and Malaysia
Speaker: Mr. Syed Bakri Syed Abdul Rahman, Deputy Chief of the Mission on behalf of H.E. Ambassador Dato’ Husni Zai bin Yaacob, Malaysian Ambassador to Thailand
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic
18
Thailand and Malaysia are not only strongly interlinked and closely cooperating in
terms of trade but also by considering holiday destinations, Thailand is often the
preferred destination of Malay people. In the years to come, the two countries even
aim at intensifying their relations in order to strengthen solidarity and cooperation for
mutual benefit.
CULTURE
Regarding culture the ambassador explained that Asia is a very diverse region in
terms of religion, languages and cultural background. Europe, on the other hand,
although it comprises many languages, is mainly based on one religion, namely
Christianity. Therefore, Europe seems more “monocultural” and uniformly thinking to
him than the Asian world. Furthermore, Mr. Syed Bakri Syed Abdul Rahman stated
that Malaysia, with its great number of different ethnic origins, (Malays, Chinese and
those with Indian decent) was an open-minded country; cultural and also business
wise.
EUROPE’S TRADING OPPORTUNITIES
Malaysia, he said, welcomes trade with foreign countries, especially with Europe as
its products enjoy an enormously high reputation due to their good quality and high
standards. In particular products from the automotive, airplane and pharmaceutical
sector are strongly demanded. Furthermore, Mr. Syed Bakri Syed Abdul Rahman
pointed out that, agreeing with H.E. Ambassador Peterlik, Europe had to become
more willing to take risks when it comes to trade with Malaysia. Now, at a time of
growing inner-Asian trade, it is of utmost importance for Europe to react fast and gain
foothold in the market to ensure a successful future. Until now, Europe has put a
stronger focus on China and Japan, firstly due to historical reasons and secondly due
to higher security of investments. But the time has come to take further steps towards
a more outward bound European market, looking beyond European borders, raising
the foreign affairs budget and building close cooperation with prosperous regions. As
communication and the overcoming of barriers play an important role when it comes
to trade, one should take into consideration, that in Malaysia, due to the fact that
Malaysia was a British colony, the English language is very well known and
therefore, the use of it helps eradicating occasional barriers.
19
PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT BETWEEN ASIA & EU
A Partnership Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between Asia and the EU is currently
being negotiated and an outcome is expected to be announced at the end of this year.
Contact Information H.E. Ambassador Dato’ Husni Zai bin Yaacob, Ambassador of Malaysia Malaysian Emassy to Thailand 35 South Sathorn Road, Bangkok 10120, THAILAND
www.kln.gov.my/perwakilan/bangkok Tel.: +66-2-629 6800 Fax: +66-2-679 2208 Mr. Syed Bakri Syed Abdul Rahman, Deputy Chief of the Mission Email: [email protected]
20
4.3. University of Oulu
Prof. Anna-Kaisa Pudas is originally from Finland but has been living in Thailand for
12 years now. With her speech she made the characteristics of the Asian culture
accessible to us, demonstrated the differences in culture, manners and behaviors in
Asia compared to Europe based on the results of the world’s famous Hofstede’s
surveys.
HOFSTEDES’ RESULTS
Culture, a collective mental programming
of the mind, is either inherited or learned.
Thailand is a strongly hierarchical country.
People need to know their position in
society in order to behave correctly and
appropriately. It is also rarely the case that
Thais in lower positions make decisions on
their own. They rather wait and ask their
supervisor to tell them what to do. That must not be misinterpreted and classified as
uncreative or dependent behavior but rather as an acceptance of their own position
and respect towards the decision makers. This strong sentiment towards hierarchy can
also be experienced in daily life routines. Age plays an important role for the
hierarchical order. Small girls, for example, call themselves “little mice” in order to
clearly state their position in the hierarchy. This behavior is also shown in the circle
they call “Bun-Khun” which will be explained later.
In Austria it is rather common that, although we have a hierarchical order as well,
people work on a rather equal level, knowing their tasks, but, in case of absence of the
supervisor are even expected to make independent decisions and work on their own. It
is highly appreciated and often remunerated if people bring in creative ideas or
concepts that might improve the companies’ strategies and processes.
Date: Monday, September 7th 2009
Time: 12:15 – 14:15
Topic: Intercultural Management – Essential ASEAN’s Intercultural Aspects
Speaker: Mrs. Prof. Anna-Kaisa Pudas, University of Oulu, Finland
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic
21
When taking a look at the Thai Social Pyramid, one can see that the King with its
Royal Family is on the very top, followed by the A-B-C Club; that is Army, Bankers
and Civil Servants. This small elite group, which has money and power through birth,
mainly rules the country. The rest of the population, including the middle class, is
rather poor regarding money, influence and rights. The hierarchical position of a
person is heavily influenced by power, wealth, professional rank, age, merit and birth.
Furthermore, the survey shows as well that Thailand has a strong collective culture, so
people have an intense feeling of belonging together and the wish of working
together, whereas the USA followed by Australia are the countries with the highest
individualism where people preferably work on their own.
BUN-KHUN, KRENGJA, NAM-RUAM & NAMJAI
When looking at the social circle and cycle of relations of the Thais, one can see that
the family, representing the innermost circle, is of highest importance, followed by
the cautious and then the selfish circle. The selfish circle, translated as “taking
advantage”, represents the relations to people one only meets once in life. The
relationship between Thais is highly influenced by their age. The “Bun- Khun”, a
psychological bond, representing a rotating circle, tells the young ones to show
gratitude and ineptness and the elders to be merciful and kind in return. Closely linked
to the Bun-Khun circle are the words “Krengjai, Nam-ruam and Namjai” representing
strong values, so to say the cornerstones of Thai culture. “Jai”1, meaning “heart” in
Thai language, is quite frequently used in normal Thai conversations, showing
relationship and humanity. For business managers, understanding, respecting and
following those principles is a prerequisite for doing business successfully.
“Namjai”2, meaning “the water from the heart” (“nam”=water), constitutes the
generosity of a person. It also expresses genuine kindness without expecting anything
in return.3 As “Namjai” represents a strong value for the Thais, they often judge a
person by that. “Krengjai”4, often translated as “awe heart” or “deferential heart”,
expresses the empathy, but also the politeness, respect and consideration someone
shows towards other people. The term “Nam-ruam” refers to moderation in
expressions and conduct which is based on the Buddhist teaching on equanimity and
appreciative gladness. When a person is “Nam-ruam”, he restrains his emotions,
whether being elated or in grief or in anger, to avoid embarrassment and discomfort to
others.5 A Thai would never make someone lose his/her face. Even in the case of a
1 http://www.apmforum.com/columns/thai46.htm 2 http://www.apmforum.com/columns/thai46.htm 3 http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0198-353443/Privacy-rights-and-protection-foreign.html
4 http://www.thaizer.com/culture-shock/kreng-jai/ 5 http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0198-353443/Privacy-rights-and-protection-foreign.html
22
mistake of someone else they would refrain from showing anger but instead they
would laugh to ensure that this person will not lose his/her face. They would even
prefer lying than making someone lose their face.
Another reason for the Thais’ smiling
faces is that they try to attract good spirits
through laughing and smiling in critical
situations. The Thais’ inner calm can
already be seen when going to the city
center by taxi rush hour. A Thai would
never hoot, shout or make vulgar gestures
in situations an Austrian would most likely
lose his temper. And why? This can be described best by the Thai saying: “There are
fish in the sea and rice plants growing – so why care?” And it is basically like this.
The Thais are rather modest and content people. They do not complain as long as they
have enough for life.
DOING BUSINESS WITH THAIS
Concerning business, it is advisable not to misinterpret a “yes” or a smile of a Thai,
because translated it just means “I hear you” but not “I will do it”. When doing
business with a Thai it is of highest importance to show empathy and care for
colleagues, to control one’s emotions and be respectful and aware of Thai traditions
and culture. A Thai does not do business with a company but with the responsible
person, so it is mainly the business partner’s behavior that decides whether
cooperation is successful or not.
Concerning culture, it is an absolute “don’t” to talk about the Royal family and the
King, or politics and religion. For the Thais the head is the most important part of
body and the feet the dirtiest one. When entering a temple one must take off his shoes
because otherwise bad spirits are carried from the shoes into the holiest place. Also,
when dropping a coin, one must not step on the coin, as the King’s face is printed on
one side.
When starting work in Thailand, adaptation time is expected to be around six to nine
months. But soon one will find that Thais will try to socialize. Close contact to their
working colleagues is very important, no matter where you are in the hierarchy. It is
even expected from the supervisor to go for lunch with his workers or to attend some
of their family ceremonies, such as the wedding of the daughter or the graduation of
their son.
23
As one can see, the differences between European and Asian culture are of enormous
magnitude, however, not so big that they could not be overcome. But be it for doing
business or going on holidays, it is of vital importance to become aware of and show
respect towards their culture and try to adapt. As much as we want our culture to be
respected one has to guarantee the opposite as well.
Contact Information Prof. Anna-Kaisa Pudas University of Oulu, Finland Email: [email protected]
24
4.4. Austrian Embassy to Thailand
For our last speaker of the day we were highly pleased to welcome Arnold Obermayr,
Counselor and Deputy Head of the Austrian Embassy. He put the focus of his speech
on Thai-Austrian relations. Having lived in Thailand for already two years now, he
has been able to gain substantial insight and comprehensive knowledge of both, the
Thai and the Austrian side.
Background & History
Since 1954, when the first Austrian
Embassy was established in Thailand there
have been no major frictions between the
countries. Until today, Austria has always
been active and also successful in this
region. In 2008, exports amounted to
approximately 200 Mio Euro. Especially
in the areas of machinery and jewelry
Austrian companies have been settling
successfully in Thailand and have gained substantial growth there. Two of the biggest
Austrian companies present there are “Swarovski” and “Siemens”. Siemens,
producing the railway carriages for the sky train in Thailand, has become an
important trader in that field. Also Austria, he stressed, is quite a favorable destination
for Thai students, mainly due to the high reputation Austria enjoys in the field of
music, dance, and drama.
Connected with Myanmar, Mr. Obermayr highlighted the sanctions Europe has put on
jewelry and timber. In April this year the foreign ministers of the EU-27 countries
agreed to further extend the sanction period by another year.6 Nonetheless, he
stressed that the EU should think twice when putting sanctions on the country. In the
6 http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/2009/04/eu-extends-sanctions-on-myanmar-until-2010/64716.aspx
Date: Monday, September 7th 2009
Time: 14:15 – 15:00
Topic: Thai- Austrian relations (Economic, political and cultural perspective) – Role of the Embassy
Speaker: Mr. Arnold Obermayr, Councillor and Deputy Head of the Austrian Embassy to Thailand
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic
25
end, one must not forget that Myanmar holds quite a substantial amount of gas
reserves.
Doing business in Thailand
When it comes to doing business in Thailand, one has to know that most of
Thailand’s labor force is highly educated but still cheap. Corruption and ownership
however might pose problems to Austrian entrepreneurs. Ownership might pose
immense obstacles insofar as Thai law demands a 51% ownership by a Thai person,
not only with an enterprise but also with
housing. Therefore only 49% can be held
by a foreigner. Also the language might
pose quite some problems, even more so
as workers are mostly Thais and in order
to talk and negotiate properly with an
employer, supplier or client, there will
most probably have to be a lawyer and
interpreter to support foreigners. However, Thailand, with Bangkok’s great advantage
of its geographic location, in the center of ASEAN, still remains a favorable location
for investors. The highly developed infrastructure in Thailand plays an important role
in that respect. Furthermore, one can see that Thailand, besides Indonesia is the most
proactive country within ASEAN. However, one must not forget that Thailand cannot
yet be called an industrialized country as two thirds of the country is still dominated
by agriculture.
When looking at Laos, one has to take into consideration that over the last 30 years
the country has experienced civil war, which formally ended in 1973 but will still
have its repercussions for some time to come. Nonetheless, he stressed that Laos is a
very stable, well-developed but often forgotten country.
Internship/Employment Opportunities
Last but not least, we were keen on knowing whether there was a possibility for an
internship in the Austrian Embassy in Thailand. An unpaid internship, he said, would
be possible with a minimum of two months and a maximum of four months. The
earliest date for one person would be in 2011.
Contact Information Mr. Arnold Obermayr Councillor and Deputy Head of Mission Austrian Embassy 14 Soi Nantha, Sathorn Tai Soi 1, Bangkok 10120
Tel.: (+66)/(0)2 303 60 57-9 Ext. 30 E-mail: [email protected]
26
27
5. Tuesday, September 8th 2009
5.1. WKO Aussenwirtschaft Österreich, Außenhandelsstelle Bangkok
General Information
The Austrian Embassy’s Commercial
Section, located in Thailand, is also
accountable for Thailand’s surrounding
countries, namely, Laos, Cambodia,
Vietnam and Burma which resemble few
business opportunities. However, main focus is held on Thailand. The team comprises
the commercial section Bangkok of the Austrian Embassy, the Marketing Office
Hanoi and a consultant in Ho Chi Minh City as well as in Phnom Penh. The
responsibilities of the specialists at the Commercial Section in Bangkok are a
comprehensive support for Austrian companies penetrating these South East Asian
markets. This service includes support in market entries, day- to- day businesses, as
well as support in coherent supply chain, investment and debt collection.
Thailand
Thailand covers an area of about 514,000 km², has a population of 65.9 million
people, the capital is Bangkok, the governmental form holds a constitutional
monarchy with a head of state: King Bhumipol Adulyadej and a head of government:
Abhisit Vejjajiva. Thailand can be divided into three main economic areas: 16 % of
the GDP comes from Bangkok respectively the Eastern Seaboard, which is the main
industrial region. In one private industrial park alone with some 600 companies in two
locations about 16% of Thailand’s GDP are produced. The second area is located
around Chang Mai and the third area is situated in the South with Hat Yai as centre of
Date: Tuesday, September 8th 2009
Time: 10:00 – 11:30
Topic: Business, investments and job opportunities in Thailand and Indochina (Vietnam/ASEAN)
Speaker: Dr. Gustav Gressel, the Commercial Counsellor
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic
28
the rubber industry. Further main cities are Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen, Udon
Thani, Chonburi and Pattaya.
Thailand is a member of the WTO, ASEAN, APEC, World Bank and ADB. A double
taxation agreement between Austria and
Thailand exists since 1986. Whereas the flow of
commodities in 2008 was characterized by a
growth of +6.3% of exports toward Thailand and
+4% of imports from Thailand, a downturn due
to the economic crisis can be seen in the first
half of 2009. Compared to the first six months in
2008, where export trade relations could be
marked with EUR 94.5 millions, a massive
reduction of -10.66% resulted in a figure of EUR
84.5 millions in the first half of 2009. The same
picture can be drawn for the import side, even
though the imports were only reduced from EUR
198.7 millions in the first half of 2008 to EUR
187.7 millions in the same period of 2009 which
reflects a minus of 5.5%.
The total flow of commodities of EUR 198 millions of exports, a plus of 6.3%
compared to 2007, was mainly composed by the following sectors:
• Electric Appliances (EUR 37,1 Mio.)
• Jewellery (EUR 31,9 Mio.)
• Chemical Products (EUR 30 Mio.)
• Mechanical Machinery (EUR 26,7 Mio.)
• Glass and Glass Products (EUR 13,1 Mio.)
The increase of +4% (EUR 393 millions) in the imports were mainly driven by the
following sectors:
• Jewellery (EUR 94 Mio.)
• Electric Appliances (EUR 53,5 Mio.)
• Clothing (EUR 34 Mio.)
• Vehicles and Components (EUR 33,7 Mio.)
• Mechanical Machinery (22,5 Mio EUR)
29
The overlapping branches are due to semi-finished products and the fact that
Swarovski owns six plants in Thailand.
A few hundred companies are active in Thailand whereas 70 direct investments took
place – 33 of those in production factories like Swarovski, Tyrolit, Semperit, PPC and
Agru (to name just a few). In 2008 five total new investments and a sum of EUR 6
Mio. was achieved. An investment concentration in Bangkok area, Rayong (Central
Thailand) and Hat Yai (South) can be detected.
Austrian companies focus on the following sectors:
• Trading in machinery and equipment
• Production and sales of jewellery
• Pharmacy
• Trading in chemicals
• Trading in plastics
• Production of natural rubber products
• Textile production
Beside the already established branches,
future key sectors for Austrian investors
are the expansion of the transportation
system in Bangkok as well as the port in
Pak Para and Songkhla. Big opportunities
concerning the four major projects of
expansion of means of mass transportation
in the next seven years could be used by
Austrian companies. Furthermore
hydropower and biomass energy plants are seminal. In addition environmental
engineering like water preparation as well as waste management and the upgrade of
healthcare infrastructure would be advisable.
Beside the positive geographical location of Thailand, a stable economic
performance, an excellent infrastructure, a well developed supply industry, a well
educated but affordable labour force, affordable real estate prices embedded in a
stable regulatory framework accompanied by economic incentives bring Thailand
forward as a country for future FDI.
30
Even though the governmental structure was influenced by a series of changes (four
governments in one year), the investment framework in Thailand is stable and every
government forced and still forces the increase of the purchasing power as well as a
stable investment environment.
Due to the dramatic downturn of FDI, mega- projects are processing slow and
domestic investment is promoted.
FTAs have been signed with seven countries such as Japan, India, Australia, New
Zealand and the US. ASEAN has FTAs with China and Korea. The FTA with the US
has been discontinued. The planned FTA ASEAN-EU does not make sufficient
progress. Therefore bilateral agreements are more probable.
Thailand, as well as the whole South East Asian
region suffers from the economic crisis, which
weakens tourism and exports. In the short run
no new FDI wave is expected. The country will
focus on expansion of transportation ways,
healthcare systems and logistics. However, in
the long run the ASEAN influence in the world
trade will significantly increase. Due to a lack
of consensus a FTA between EU and ASEAN
will rather be supplemented by bilateral
agreements whereas Thailand will have the
important role of a gate to South East Asia.
Macroeconomic Data of Thailand 2008 2009 (projection)
GDP (in bn EUR) 220 213,4 – 212,3 GDP - growth (%) 2,6 -3,0 - -3,5 Foreign Reserves (in bn EUR)
87,7 n/a
Inflation (%) 5,8 -1,0 Unemployment Rate (%)
1,4 3,4
Exports (in bn EUR) 122,8 (+16,8%) 102,7 (-16,3%) Imports (in bn EUR) 122,6 (+26,4%) 92,9 (-24,2) Austrian Exports to Thailand (in million EUR)
197,8 (+4%) 191,8 (-3,5%)
Austrian Imports from Thailand (in million EUR)
392,9 (+6%) 369,3 (-6%)
31
Economic growth from 2001 to 2004 was constantly 6%, dropped in 2005 as a result
of the increase of the world market price for crude oil. Since 2006 the growth could
not exceed the 5% level. In the second decade of 2008 Thailand was also hit by the
economic crisis and due to a decrease in exports the economy grew only by 2.6%. The
initial forecast for 2009 was zero growth but was revised to a decrease of 3 to 4%.
Main risks in 2009 can be seen in the worldwide economic slowdown of Thailand’s
main export sectors like automobile, electronic and computer industry.
The main export partners for Thailand are the ASEAN region (20%), the EU (14%),
USA (12.6%) and Japan (12%). Nearly 55% of the imports are from the Asian region,
namely Japan, the ASEAN region and China, followed by the EU and the US.
Even though the same amount of projects were signed the FDI inflow in 2008
decreased by 30%. 10% of the FDI investment was based in the EU region, 30% in
Japan, followed by the Netherlands, Singapore, Malaysia, India, South Korea, Great
Britain and USA.
Over 250 Austrian companies are constantly active in Thailand. In 2008 five new
companies were established. By March 2009 68 Austrian FDIs (thereof 33 production
sites) can be reflected. The Austrian presence is mainly focusing on machinery,
jewellery, chemical industry, infrastructure and production of rubber products (nearly
60% of 13 Mio. imports in 2008 are rubber gloves).
Most important trade partners 2008 Exports Imports
ASEAN 23% 16,80% thereof Singapore 5,70% 4% Malaysia 5,60% 5,40% Indonesia 3,60% 2,90% Vietnam 2,82% 0,80% USA 11,40% 6,40% EU thereof UK 2,40% 1,80% The Netherlands 2,50% 0,60% Germany 1,80% 2,50% France 1,90% 0,90% Italy 1,20% 1% Belgium 1,10% 0,50% Austria 0,20% 0,20% Japan 11,30% 18,70% China 9,20% 11,20% AWO, Außenhandelsstelle Bangkok
32
Foreign Commerce with Austria (Mio. EUR)
2006 2007 2008
Austrian imports 338,1 379,9 392,9 Austrian exports 153,1 186,1 197,8 shift compared to proceeding year +22,1% +21,6% +6,3% Statistik Austria
How to use these opportunities
AWO needs detailed explanation of the USP with special
focus on the South East Asian region. Beside detailed
product information, an insight into the company structure
and already existing and successful product
implementations in several countries should be delivered.
Any personal contact and site visits facilitate the
cooperation of the Austrian company and the AWO.
SME have best experience with waterfall strategy in SEA.
Furthermore business in SEA should always be done on a
pre-payment base. Involvement in law cases should
strictly be avoided. Bureaucratic hurdles should be
handled with the support of the AWO and a big portion of
patience.
Vietnam
Vietnam covers an area of about 330.000 km², has a population of 86.1 Mio. million
people, the capital is Hanoi, the governmental form is a Socialist Republic with a
head of state: Nguyen Minh Triet and a head of government: Nguyen Tan Dung.
Vietnam can be divided into three different areas: Hanoi/Haiphong in the North is
more for government projects, while Ho Chi Minh City in the South with its
surrounding areas is more the hub of the private industry. The centre Danang is more
and more developing. In the course of Dr. Gressel’s explicit and experienced
explanations, he moaned about Vietnam’s bad infrastructure, which partly allows
driving 30 km/h on highways only. It was quite surprisingly when Dr. Gressel told
that Vietnam the third largest coffee producer in the world.
Austrian exports to Vietnam in the first half of the year 2009 (EUR 44,1 Mio.) were
almost 40 % less than in the first half of 2008 (EUR 27,1 Mio.).
Austrian imports from Vietnam also decreased and fell by approximately 20 % by
comparing the same period (Jan-June 2008: EUR 135.9 Mio.; Jan-June 2009: EUR
111,8 Mio.).
33
The total flow of commodities of EUR 87 millions of exports, a plus of 26.8%
compared to 2007, was mainly composed by the following sectors: • Mechanical machinery (28,5 Mio. EUR)
• Medical devices (27,5 Mio. EUR)
• Pharmaceuticals (6,3 Mio. EUR)
• Electrical machinery (3,9 Mio. EUR)
• Fertilizer (2,3 Mio. EUR)
The increase of +16.5% (EUR 261 millions) in the imports from 2007 to 2008 was
mainly driven by the following sectors: • Shoes (100,1 Mio. EUR)
• Textiles and clothing (44,9 Mio. EUR)
• Coffee (35,2 Mio. EUR)
• Furniture (8,0 Mio. EUR)
• Mechanical machinery (5,4 Mio. EUR)
About 20 Austrian companies invest directly in Vietnam, where most of them devote
in tourism. Moreover, there are four investments in production facilities, such as
Tigerlacke (colours and paints) and BIOMIN (animal feed). Austrian companies
mainly concentrate their activities around Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Macroeconomic Data of Vietnam 2008 2009 (projection)
GDP (in bn EUR) 60.4 62.7 GDP - growth (%) 6.2 4 Foreign Reserves (in bn EUR)
17.7 n/a
Inflation (%) 23.0 5.6 Unemployment Rate (%)
4.9 5.4
Exports (in bn EUR) 42.8 (+21.2%) 41.5 (-3%) Imports (in bn EUR) 54.3 (+22,3%) 44.3 (-18.4%) Austrian Exports to Thailand (in million EUR)
86.5 (+26,8%) 74.5 (-13.9%)
Austrian Imports from Thailand (in million EUR)
261.2 (+16,5%) 233.5 (-10.9%)
AWO, Außenhandelsstelle Bangkok
Austrian companies focus on the following sectors:
34
• Trading in machinery and equipment
• Trading in pharmaceutical and chemical products
• Healthcare
• Industrial plant construction
• Railway infrastructure
• Special purpose vehicles
• Communication equipment
• Technologies for education
Beside the already established branches, future key sectors for Austrian investors are
seen in infrastructure projects, such as the expansion of railway system, construction
of new power plants and the construction of bridges. Another market niche is
observed in the healthcare sector with the construction and upgrades of hospitals. Dr.
Gressel emphasized that Vietnam is in high demand of vocational training when it
comes to education. He also explained the importance of the German language in
Vietnam as in the time of the Comecon, Vietnamese were sent to Eastern German to
study engineering there. Furthermore, Dr. Gressel stated that is doing a good step in
coming up with China.
Also waste water treatment and water preparation is a big issue and thus, industrial
plant production may be a business opportunity there. Another future key sector is
noticed in the public security sector as there is a high demand in communication
equipment as well as special purpose vehicles. Also the plastics and packaging
industry expects promising figures.
Later in Dr. Gressel’s insightful presentation, Vietnam was introduced as an
interesting investment location. This is caused by its good geographical situation, well
educated/skilled people, higher quality awareness than in other Asian countries, stable
regulatory framework and its low cost of labour force. Nonetheless, Dr. Gressel
warned against Vietnam’s deficits in infrastructure, the little development of the local
supplier industry, bureaucracy, lack of work force in certain regions and sectors, lack
of legal protection (e.g. no constitutional court).
It was also mentioned that companies doing business with Vietnam must be extremely
aware of with witch bank a L/C is opened. It should be never shipped on open account
even in a long-standing business relationship with a Vietnamese company.
Since Vietnam became the WTO's 150th member on 11 January 2007, reforms are
encouraged (but slowly). In 2008 there was a new record in foreign investments while
Vietnam has to bear a sharp decrease in foreign investments in 2009. Vietnam is
considered as an alternative to China and India for low-cost production of electrical
35
and electronical products. In the long term there is encouraged a further integration in
the free trade area of ASEAN: Vietnam as the gate to China. Also expansion of the
capacity for the production of electronics and machinery is supported. In the long run
Vietnamese companies are striving for a development of new export markets – also,
the country’s infrastructure is boosted with the construction of roads, railways and
public transportation systems, to name only a few.
In the end of the Dr. Gressel’s interesting and informative presentation, potentials and
challenges for Austrian companies in South-East Asia were given. It was underlined
that Thailand and Vietnam grant access to ASEAN/AFTA and that this market,
hosting more than 500 million people, should kept clearly in mind and cannot
abstracted away. This region will gain percentage of the world economy even though
it will be not 100% stable – however, it will get a big part of the cake.
Challenges for European companies are first, the increase of competition from Asian
suppliers, second, the estimation of additional costs of an investment, third,
bureaucracy and also, cultural barriers. In addition, corruption is a big issue both in
the private and public sector. The worst corruption of this region was watched in
Cambodia.
As a result of this great speech we hope to share these impressions with our fellow
students and herewith invite Mr. Gressel once more to the IMC Krems in the course
of the AWO’s Tour d’Autriche.
Contact Information
WKO Aussenwirtschaft Österreich Außenhandelsstelle Bangkok Austrian Embassy- Commercial Section Wko.at/awo/th 14 F Chartered Square Building- 152 North Sathorn Road Bangkok 10500 Thailand Tel.: +66 2 268 2222 Fax: +66 2 200 0222
Dr. Gustav Gressel,
Der Handelsdelegierte für Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Kambodscha, Myanmar
36
5.2. Swiss Embassy to Thailand
In the beginning of Mr. Gasser’s presentation, he provided the audience with some
main facts. Switzerland has a population of 7.7 Mio. inhabitants. Its major trade
partners are: Germany 20%, USA 10%, Italy 9%, France 9%, UK 5% and Japan 3%
(Asia 19%). Switzerland is very export-oriented (36’000 of 300’000 companies, 38 %
of GDP in 2008). The country’s exports are structured as follows: Chemical and
Pharmacy 35%, Machines 21%, Instruments and Watches 18%.
Next, Mr. Gasser enlightened its “bilateral
integration” with the EU and mentioned
that the FTA “EU-Switzerland” exists
already since 1972. Subsequently, Mr.
Gasser addressed his speech to
Switzerland’s membership in the EFTA.
EFTA is an acronym and stands for the
European Free Trade Association where
Switzerland is a member from, beside
Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The EFTA is an intergovernmental organisation
set up for the promotion of free trade and economic integration to the benefit of its
four member states. The EFTA was founded in 1960 by the Stockholm Convention. It
maintains the management of the EFTA Convention (intra-EFTA trade), the EEA
(European Economic Area) Agreement (EFTA-EU relations), and the EFTA Free
Trade Agreements (third country relations).
Furthermore Mr. Gasser explained that the EFTA has no attempt of common foreign
or trade policies. There are FTAs with Canada, USA, Mexico, Colombia, Chile,
SACU, Morocco, Egypt, GCC, Turkey, Macedonia, Croatia, Korea and EU, but also
joint declarations with Mercosur and Mongolia. Currently, there are still ongoing
negotiations with Thailand, India, Ukraine, Serbia, Algeria and Peru. EFTA is
conducting dialogues in view of possible future free trade negotiations with the
following countries: Indonesia, Malaysia and Russia.
Date: Tuesday, September 8th 2009
Time: 11:30 am – 13:15 pm
Topic: Switzerland's partnership with Thailand and ASEAN
Speaker: Mr. Lukas Gasser, Minister, Chargé d’affaires of the Swiss Embassy in Thailand
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic
37
Switzerland‘s FTAs with ASEAN are jointly derived with EFTA. The EFTA’s Free
Trade Agreements are done country by country, were signed in Singapore in 2003. In
2005 negotiations started with Thailand, and pre-negotiations with Indonesia and
Vietnam are in progress. The negotiations between EFTA and Thailand on a Free
Trade Agreement are currently on hold. During the second round of free trade
negotiations between EFTA and Thailand in January 2006, a considerable progress in
a number of areas was made. At that time a 15 % boost in bilateral trade through a
possible Free Trade Agreement was estimated by Thai officials.
The graph as follows illustrates the EFTA’s Free Trade Agreements and its statuses:
Mr. Gasser emphasised that a main issue in the partnership between Switzerland and
Thailand is to revive the EFTA-FTA and to overcome its current block. The new
government voiced preference for FTAs in the region. Mr. Gasser stated the case
India shows proportions and potentials as trade between India and Thailand counts for
USD 6 bn, while trade between Switzerland and Thailand counts for USD 2 bn.
Source: EFTA
38
The following chart shows the EFTA States’ trade with Thailand in 2008:
As another programme point, Mr. Gasser, dwelled on Switzerland’s partnership with
ASEAN that is seen as very heterogeneous: Singapore – Myanmar. It was pointed out
that external trade still outweighs internal exchange, it is unrivalled for integration in
Asia and that there occur perception problems in the West. Switzerland’s big interest
in ASEAN is motivated by the region’s huge potential and the figures as follows:
• combined GDP: 1,5 tn USD
• exports 2008: 4,7 bn CHF (China
2008: 5,4 bn CHF)
• exports 2008: 67% to Singapore and
Thailand
• exports 2008: 5,4% to Cambodia,
Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam
Mr. Gasser also contemplates ASEAN in the crisis and scrutinized whether the region
fortified the crisis. In the end of Mr. Gasser’s interesting and absorbing presentation,
he critically reminds that Thailand must be careful as other countries in the regions
are cheaper in labour – thus, Thailand is forced to move up the ladder.
Contact Information
Embassy of Switzerland Diplomatic Affairs Department of Foreign Affairs www.eda.admin.ch/bangkok 35 North Wireless Road, Bangkok 10330 Tel.: +66 2 253 01 ext. 113 Fax: +66 2 255 44 81
Mr. Lukas Gasser, Minister [email protected] [email protected]
Source: EFTA
39
40
6. Wednesday, September 9th 2009
6.1. Thailand Board of Investment
First, Mr. Laopoonpittaya gave a concise introduction into Thai culture and values.
He explained the importance of the Thai King who is the supreme leader and idol of
Thai people as he is the one constant figure in the turbulent political environment of
Thailand. The day of this lecture happened to be on September 9th, 2009 which is due
to the special lucky meaning of the number 9 in the Thai culture, a day on which Thai
traditionally honor the King with stopping work for a moment at nine o’clock to step
out to the street and signify dignity and trust.
Thai economy
Mr. Laopoonpittaya presented an overview
of economic figures of the Thai economy,
which is forecast to contract by 1.5 to 3.5
percent in 2009 influenced by the
worldwide financial crisis and due to a
sharp fall in exports of goods and services.
This is resulting from the struggle of
Thailand’s trading partners’ economies.
The country’s exports are forecast to
shrink also considerably, falling by around 14.8 percent for the year 2009. At the
same time, imports are forecast to decline by 25.2 percent in 2009. Imports will
decline at a faster rate than exports. All those facts and numbers underline the
importance of strong trading partners for Thailand.
The traditional strong sector in the Thai economy is agriculture with the production of
rice, sugar, palm oil and fruit, car manufacturing, electronic goods and tourism.
Generally speaking, Thailand is in the midrange of economic size worldwide.
Thailand is also the number one processor of seafood, which is mainly exported to
Date: Wednesday, September 9th 2009
Time: 10:00 – 11:00
Topic: Thai Briefing: Investment Environment in Thailand
Speaker: Mr. Winzoo Laopoonpittaya, Senior Investment Promotion Officer, Thailand
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic
41
Europe. The rice production for a long time has been an important and rather stable
source of revenue.
Exports make up a large part of the Thai economy. The total value of exports in 2008
was Bt 5,853 billion, increasing 10.40% compared to 2007. It is crucial for the Thai
economy and adds 60% to the country’s GDP. The Top 3 of Thai exports in 2008
were machinery, car manufacturing and jewelry. Further important exports of
Thailand’s economy are refined fuels, electronic goods, rubber, rice and iron.
BOI & Investment incentives
Thailand has an extensive investor service body called the Thailand Board of
Investment (BOI), which is providing tax incentives and duty exemptions for
investors and supports them in administrative work such as visas and work permits as
well as estate search. The BOI especially supports investments in the sectors of
alternative energy, the automobile and automotive parts industry, in machinery and
agriculture. Mr. Laopoonpittaya explained the BOI privileges, which are granted to
investors. The tax incentives for investors are mainly in the form of corporate income
tax holidays, which can be lasting for a maximum of 8 years (100% of investment
excluding land coast and working capital). After the tax holiday, the corporate income
tax can be reduced by 50% over a period of 5 years. The actual length of the tax
holiday is also related to the location of the investment in Thailand. There are three
different zones of different development priority. The BOI intends to attract more
investment in the North and South of Thailand, where the tax holiday is longer to
support areas that have not yet reached the highly developed level of the greater
Bangkok area. Further tax incentives for investors are import duty reductions and
better conditions for importing machinery and raw material. In addition to the
competitive package of fiscal incentives, non-tax incentives are offered such as far
reaching land ownership rights for foreign investors. Concerning foreign labor issues,
the Thai government gives the permission to the investors to move foreign experts
and technicians to Thailand and grants work permits. Permits and visas are issued
remarkably fast within 3 hours.
Mr. Laopoonpittaya explained that when investments are done with over 500 million
Baht, a feasibility study has to be done which includes information as the status of the
overall industry, appropriateness of the project, and impacts on the greater economy.
For such projects government assistance is needed.
For further information regarding investment in Thailand and regarding the activities
and roles of the BOI, the official website: www.boi.go.th.
Mr. Winzoo Laopoonpittaya provided the participants with a most comprehensive and
in-depth presentation on the far reaching foreign investment incentives that the Thai
Board of Investment has to offer as well as the many investment opportunities for
42
foreign investors. Impressed with the dynamics of the Thai economy, participants
were eager to learn what other major ASEAN countries had to offer.
Contact Information
Mr. Winyoo Laopoonpittaya Director, Services & Consulting Division Investment Services Center Office of the Board of Investment 555 Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road, Chatuchak Bangkok 10900 Thailand
43
6.2. Indonesia Briefing
After the comprehensive presentation on investment opportunities in Thailand by Mr.
Winyoo Laopoonpittaya, Mr. Syafrudin Yahya and Ms. Nana Yuliana gave a wide-
ranging presentation on Indonesia. Specifically, the presentation covered a general
overview of the Indonesian economy, trade affairs, and investment policy and
opportunities.
Indonesia is the largest economy in South-East Asia,
having an estimated GDP of 433 billion USD in 2007
(511 billion USD 2008 estimate by CIA). The key
sectors of the economy are manufacturing (27% of
GDP), trade / hotel / restaurant sector (14.9% of
GDP), and agriculture / livestock / forestry / fisheries
(13.8% of GDP). Indonesia has experienced resilient
economic growth over the last five years despite increases in domestic fuel prices, and
growth for 2008 is estimated at 6.1 %. This growth has, apart from consumption and
investment, been also mainly driven by exports, especially commodity exports. Since
2003 oil and gas exports have increased significantly with total exports rising to
118.01 billion USD in 2007 as volumes and prices of major commodities such as
crude palm oil, nickel, paper, and chemicals spiked. Moreover, the dependency on the
US market has declined as the share of exports to the U.S. has steadily fallen from
13.3% in 2002 to 9.8% in 2007. The robust foreign investment and the significant
foreign portfolio investment inflows demonstrate Indonesia’s resilience against the
effects from the U.S. financial crisis. The 41% growth in net foreign direct
investment inflow in 2007 was supported by an increase in reinvested earnings, the
establishment of the Batam, Bintan and Karimun special economic zones, as well as
the creation of tax incentives.
In regard to Indonesia’s trade policy, the republic has a multi-track strategy in
international trade negotiations consisting of multilateral (WTO, Doha development
Agenda), regional (ASEAN, ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement for goods and
beginning in services, ASEAN-Korea free trade agreement for goods, negotiations for
Date: Wednesday, September 9th 2009
Time: 11:00 – 12:00
Topic: Indonesian Briefing
Speaker: Mr. Syafrudin Yahya (Commercial Attaché) and Ms. Nana Yuliana (1st Sec.for Economic Affairs)
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic
44
an ASEAN-India, an ASEAN-Japan, and an ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand), and
bilateral (Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement) free trade agreements.
Furthermore, special free trade zones have been established on the islands of Batam,
Bintan, and Karimun where exclusive land ownership right, VAT exemption on raw
materials, and import duty exemptions on machineries and equipment provide for
attractive investment opportunities.
Contact Information
Ms. Nana Yuliana (1st Sec.for Economic Affairs), [email protected]; [email protected] Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia: http://www.depdag.go.id/
Indonesia Investment Coordination Board: http://www.bkpm.go.id/ National Agency for Export Development: http://www.nafed.go.id/
45
6.3. Thai Anti-Corruption Commission
After a very informative morning, we
received the information that we would
have the pleasure to welcome two
additional speakers. Jennifer Kartner who is
a graduate of the Export-oriented
Management degree program and is
working now at the Austrian Anti-
Corruption office, had arranged a session on
Thai Anti-Corruption bodies and measures.
After a short introduction of the Speakers, Mrs. Sirirat Vasuavat and Ms. Sairinya
Tankaew, a video of the National Anti-Corruption Commission was played, giving an
overview about the scope of the Commission. After the video, Ms. Vasuavat
explained in detail the scope of work of the National Anti-Corruption Commission
and the session was finalized by Ms. Tankaew giving an introduction to the 14th
International Anti-Corruption Conference, which will be held in Bangkok in
November 2010.
The NCCC and its duties
The National Counter Corruption Commission has nine members including the
President who are appointed by the Thai King. The power of the NCCC is to inquire
facts and inspect State officials including persons holding a political position who are
suspected to be involved in any matter of malfeasance, corruption or unusual wealth.
The duties of the NCCC are to carry out the process from investigating until the
possible removing of the alleged culprit from office, which would have to be done by
the Senate via a passed resolution. When a criminal offense is the case, the NCCC
Date: Wednesday, September 9th 2009
Time: 12:00 – 12:45
Topic: Introduction to Anti-Corruption measures in Thailand
Speakers: Mrs. Sirirat Vasuavat, Director of Resource Centre of NCCC, Thai National Counter Corruption Commission and
Ms. Sairinya Tankaew, Project Coordinator of the 14th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC), Thai Anti-Corruption Commission
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic
46
refers the matters to the Prosecutor-General for criminal investigation. Another duty
of the NCCC is to assess which institution has the power to appoint or remove the
alleged culprit and whether a disciplinary penalty and/or a criminal investigation
should be applied to the case. When a suspicion is given, the NCCC investigates the
asset and liabilities of the alleged culprit for possible devolving the property from the
state. The whole scope of the work of the NCCC is limited to corruption of State
Officials and an allegation matter needs to show signs of unusual wealth, corruption
or malfeasance to be investigated. One of the main focuses of the NCCC is to create
an awareness of the harm that corruption does to the Thai nation and intends to
prevent corruption through educating people.
International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC)
In the second part of the session on Anti-
Corruption, Ms. Sa introduced the
International Anti-Corruption Conference
(IACC) to the group. This conference is
known as the most important international
anti-corruption event and is attended by
over 1,500 anti-corruption specialists from
civil society, private and public sector. In
November 2010, the Office of the
National Anti-Corruption Commission will host the event in Bangkok following the
conference of 2008, which took place in Athens, Greece. The conference is held every
two years since the first IACC in Washington DC, USA in 1983. Ms. Tankaew
explained that this particular conference in Bangkok will be an opportunity to change
the global perception of Thailand being inactive against corruption. The theme of the
event in Bangkok will be “Restoring trust. Global action for transparency”. The
purpose of the conference is to be a fruitful base to make cross-fertilization and
networking between the ant-corruption experts possible.
Ms. Tankaew referred for further detailed information to the homepage of the 14th
IACC, which will soon be available (http://14iacc.org) or the email address
The session was finalized with a vivid discussion on the definition of corruption,
which unfortunately had to be aborted due to our tight schedule. This discussion
would have easily occupied on its own several hours of talks. Although time was very
limited, a wide-ranging introduction to the way the Thai nation is fighting corruption
was given during this session.
47
Contact Information
Ms. Sairinya Tankaew Project Coordinator of the 14th International Anti-Corruption Concerence (IACC) Thai Anti-Corruption Commisson : [email protected]
http://nccc.thaigov.net
Mrs. Sirirat Vasuavat Director of Resource Centre of NCCC Thai National Counter Corruption Commission: [email protected]
48
6.4. Malaysian Embassy to Thailand
After visiting our event already for the second time, Mr. Mohd Iqbal Mohd Noor
commenced his comprehensive presentation by charming the group with a welcome
note in flawless German. The main focus of the presentation was the Malaysian-Thai
Chamber of Commerce. Firstly some background information about the chamber was
presented, after which Mr. Noor went on to explain the objective and role of the
Chamber, to finally shed light on the ongoing activities after which participants had
the opportunity to engage in a dialogue with Mr. Noor.
The Malaysian-Thai Chamber of Commerce (MTCC) was
established in June of 2002 as an association composed
primarily of Malaysian and Thai companies and
individuals having business ties to promote and develop
economic relations and has been officially recognized by
the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Trade. The MTCC is
incorporated in Thailand and it has worked closely with
the Embassy to further promote and strengthen economic
relations between Thailand and Malaysia. Moreover, the
objectives of the MTCC are to promote cooperation and
business relations, foster cooperation between the nations’
authorities and to provide advice, ideas, and suggestions
for Malaysian business interests in Thailand. The
Chamber engages in information dissemination about
Malaysia to Thai investors and also sets out to promote activities that are benevolent
for the greater society. Events and seminars are organized on a regular basis
throughout the year and a quarterly newsletter and an annual handbook are published
in order to provide advice and information helping the MTCC’s members to have a
better understanding and more effective business endeavors in the Malaysian and Thai
Date: Wednesday, September 9th 2009
Time: 13:00 – 14:00
Topic: Malaysian briefing: Malaysian-Thai Chamber of Commerce – role and ongoing activities
Speaker: Mr. Mohd Iqbal Mohd Noor, Economic Counsellor and Alternate Permanent Representative to UN ESCAP, Trade Office, Embassy of Malaysia
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic
49
environment. The MTCC has also assisted and facilitated the visits of Malaysian
Ministers and officials, it has been involved in organizing an address by the Prime
Minister of Malaysia to the Thai business community in 2002, and has also been
active in organizing business meetings with visiting Malaysian business delegations,
networking dinners and gatherings. Presently, the volume of Thai investment in
Malaysia is considered to be low, and the MTCC encourages Thai companies to
invest in Malaysia.
Contact Information
Mr. Mohd Iqbal Mohd Noor, Economic Counsellor and Alternate Permanent Representative to UN ESCAP, Malaysian Trade Office, Embassy of Malaysia, [email protected] http://www.mtcc.or.th/
50
6.5. Japanese Embassy to Thailand
For the Japan briefing, the Business Focus ASEAN participants
are especially grateful that two representatives from the
Embassy of Japan managed to participate in the program,
although they had a very tight schedule on that very day. Mr.
Masato Ohtaka, Economic Minister, supported by Mr. Takashi
Kohama, third secretary, took the time to deliver a
comprehensive and in-depth presentation on the economic
relationship between Japan and Thailand.
Firstly, the overall relationship between Japan and Thailand in
terms of residents and visitors was presented and it has to be
noted that this year the 120 years anniversary of diplomatic
relations was celebrated. The presentation continued with an
overview of major overseas Japanese Chambers of Commerce
of which the chamber in Bangkok enjoys by far the greatest
number of member companies (1,303 in 2009). The foreign
investment by country was presented, as were trade volumes,
with Japan being Thailand’s major foreign investor and major trade partner. An
overview of the bilateral Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) then followed
whereby Japan’s EPA’s consist of cooperation, expanding people exchanges,
abolishing of regulations on foreign investment or improving investment regulation,
and intellectual property or harmonization of competition policy agreements as well
as others.
The Japan-Mekong Region Partnership Program was also presented, this year being
the “Mekong Japan Exchange Year.” This program has three goals: enhanced Japan-
Mekong region partnership, sustainable economic growth of the Mekong Region, and
life with dignity for the people in the Mekong Region and fulfillment of their
potential. This is to be achieved by integrating economies of the region and beyond,
Date: Wednesday, September 9th 2009
Time: 14:00 – 15:00
Topic: Japan’s briefing: Japan-Thai/Japan-Mekong region state of art in trade & investments and the future perspectives
Speaker: Mr. Masato Ohtaka, Minister, Embassy of Japan
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic
51
expanding trade and investment between Japan and the region, and by pursuing
universal values and common goals of the region.
Once more, on behalf of the BFA participants: Domo arigato gozaimashita Ohtaka-
san!
Contact Information
Masato Otaka Economic Minister Embassy of Japan 177 Witthayu Road Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand [email protected]
52
6.6. Mahidol University International College Bangkok
Mr. Rorex, professor at Mahidol University was the final speaker of this very
intensive program day. He grabbed the group’s attention with a very lively and
interesting speech. Prof. Rorex came to Bangkok rather by coincidence, as he is
originally from Alaska where he was working for a company, which sent him to
South-East Asia for business. This initial trip to this region of the world caught his
deep interest, which moved him finally to stay already for seven years. Thanks to
good coordination of Prof. Anis, Prof. Rorex joined us for the final dinner at the end
of the Business Focus ASEAN.
Beginning with the background of the ASEAN, which has been founded in 1967 Prof.
Rorex expressed the cornerstones of creating this union to prevent intrusion of foreign
cultures in South East Asia and the protection of the indigenous cultures. The natural
resources as oil, gold and minerals should be exploited and efficiently used. Another
cornerstone was to invest in education and support peace in the region, as there were
some difficulties after the independence.
China and the ASEAN
The relationship between China and the
ASEAN countries bears both increased
export competition and new opportunities.
China is ASEANS fifth largest trading
partner after the US, Japan, the EU and
Hong Kong. The ASEAN exports are
mainly based on resources and agriculture-
based products like minerals, vegetable, oil,
rice and sugar. Nevertheless, the export of
machinery and electrical components to China are rising. The problems that ASEAN
countries face when trading with China are often weakness in law enforcement,
inconsistent legislation, uncertain product standards, weak legal infrastructure and
Date: Wednesday, September 9th 2009
Time: 15:15 – 16:45
Topic: Expert’s View: Impact of China-ASEAN FTA on these economies and impact of this FTA on EU/European exporters (challenges/obstacles/opportunities)
Speaker: Prof. A. Dale Rorex, Social Sciences Division, Mahidol University Intl. College - Bangkok
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic
53
low quality of work. Intellectual property is poorly protected and the financial market
is restricted. Tourism is one of the most important factors in the ASEAN region as is
China’s relationship concerning exchange of services. In 2000, 2.2 million Chinese
visited ASEAN countries and since then with the growth of the Chinese economy and
wealth of citizens, the eagerness to travel rises. However, lately Chinese domestic
travel is on the rise, which is negatively supported by political instability in e.g.
Thailand and the discriminatory treatment of ethnic Chinese minorities in some
ASEAN countries.
Strengths & Weaknesses of ASEAN
Mr. Rorex underlined that the ASEAN countries have one major weakness, which he
called the “Policy of Non-intervention”. ASEAN countries have no common force,
when there is unrest in one country the neighbors do not react openly because there is
traditionally hardly any involvement or official reaction. However, this “Policy of
Non-Intervention” can also be seen as a strength, as the region has shown rather little
unrest and good stability since the 1960s. The order and stability over a longer period
of time delivers a good base for incoming investment.
S.E.A countries are trying to increase economic efficiency and competitiveness rather
than to reach economic integration similar to the EU. The ASEAN members focus
very much on their national good than developing regionalism. There have been
movements towards a common currency with the Chiang Mai Initiative. However,
those movements are still rather focusing on stabilizing the currencies than a common
economic policy.
The lack of common leadership in the
ASEAN region based on the national
focus of the members is when one looks at
the ASEAN region as a whole union an
internal weakness that might have a strong
impact in the future on the ability to react
quickly to economic developments and
strong competitors, according to Prof.
Rorex. Furthermore, the possibility was
discussed of the ASEAN region to develop into a similar union like e.g. the EU but
although there is the motivation to create such a construct, several factors neglect the
possibilities. The vast differences between states in the ASEAN region in terms of
political and economical system hinder this process. Additionally, there is a huge
variety of cultures and religions in a relatively small area which is another factor why
it is difficult to create a unified leadership strategy.
54
One of the problems of S.E.A. countries is that the allocation of money is centered on
the elites who are not open for bringing equal distribution of wealth through taxes and
social security. It is important to the economy of ASEAN countries to be able to
deliver low cost labour as this is a competitive advantage of the region, according to
Prof. Rorex.
Concluding is to say that the ASEAN countries have a great source of power, which is
started to be used more efficiently with each step that the countries take towards
common policies, free trade agreements and unified leadership. Power has shifted in
the last centuries throughout the regions of the world and to quote Prof. Rorex
“Nothing stays the same.”
7.
55
Thursday, September 10th 2009
7.1. UN ESCAP Introduction
On Thursday, our fourth official day, we
visited the UN Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and Pacific at the
UN building in Bangkok. From our hotel
it was a ten-minute taxi ride to get to the
UN premises. After a brief security check
we were warmly welcomed in one of the
inviting conference rooms. In fact we
quite felt like UN delegates as one can
really feel the international atmosphere of the location. UNESCAP is a part of
regional economic bodies of th e UN system. Other comparable bodies are: The
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the United Nations
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC), the
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA)
and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
(www.unece.org).
Mr. Mitchell Hsieh, Public Information Officer, had some welcoming words for our
group and later gave us a short introduction to ESCAP. With his words, the United
Nations “is a unique organization of independent countries that have voluntarily
joined together to work for world peace and social progress.” Currently, the United
Nations Organization consists of 192 countries. Its objectives are the following:
Maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among
nations, solving international problems and harmonizing the actions of nations. The
United Nations, headquartered in New York City since 1950, have three subsidiary,
regional headquarters in Geneva (Switzerland), Vienna (Austria), and Nairobi
(Kenya) that help to represent UN interests. Only the headquarters in New York
contains the UN’s principal organs, which are:
Date: Thursday, September 10th 2009
Time: 09:30 – 10:00
Topic: Welcome remarks & introduction to ESCAP
Speaker: Mr. Mitchell Hsieh, Public Information Officer
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic (Georg Schön on behalf of)
56
1. The General Assembly
2. The Security Council
3. The Economic and Social Council
4. The Trusteeship Council
5. The International Court of Justice
6. The Secretariat
ESCAP
The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP or
ESCAP) is a regional arm of the United Nations and moreover the only
intergovernmental forum for countries of the Asian and Pacific region. It is also the
largest regional commission of the UN with respect to area covered, people served
and membership. Including 53 members and nine associate members, ESCAP
represents 60 percent of the world’s population. Its existence enhances cooperation
among member states, thusly facilitating sustainable economic integration. As a Pan
Asian intergovernmental body, ESCAP is concerned with the process of development
human rights, especially those of women.
History
Established 1947 in Shanghai, China as the Economic Commission for Asia and the
Far East (ECAFE), its name was changed to ESCAP in 1974 to reflect social
development aspect in its activities and its geographical scope. The founding nations
were Australia, France, Netherlands, UK, USA, Soviet Union, China, India,
Philippines, and Thailand. Since January 1949 ESCAP is located in Bangkok,
Thailand.
ESCAP’s main legislative organ is the commission that meets annually at a
ministerial level. It is composed of all members’ and associate members’
governments.
57
According to Mr. Hsieh, ESCAP provides 4 types of services:
1) Research and studies
2) A unique forum for member governments to discuss and adopt a common
approach to regional challenges. Sometimes it is known as “Parliament of
Asia”
3) Catalyst of regional cooperation
4) Clearing house for information by collecting information, analyses and
redisseminates them for the benefit of member countries
ESCAP Secretariat Structure (Effective as of 1 January 2009 )
There are seven Substantives Divisions, two Program Support divisions and one
centre.
58
ESCAP accomplishments
• Asian Highway: 141,000 Km of roads crisscrossing 32 countries
– The Intergovernmental Agreement on the Asian Highway Network
entered into force on 4 July 2005 with the aim to promote international
road transport
• Trans-Asian Railway 81,000 Km of tracks in 26 countries. Entered into force
on June 11, 2009, it shortens the distances and travel time between countries
and regions. Additionally, it is a tool for trade expansions, economic growth
and cultural exchanges.
• The Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (Bangladesh, China, India, Rep. of Korea,
Lao PDR, Sri Lanka) “[…] is a preferential tariff arrangement that aims at
promoting intra-regional trade” (http://www.unescap.org/tid/apta.asp)
ESCAP activities
• Establishment of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 1966
• Establishment of the Mekong Committee in 1957, which was later renamed
the Mekong River Commission in 1995
• Annual Economic and Social Survey
• MDG regional reports, Statistical Year Book, etc.
59
7.2. Macroeconomic policies and development in Asia and the Pacific
Subsequent to Mr. Hsieh’s briefing on ESCAP, Mr. Shuvojit Banerjee, Economic
Affairs Officer, spoke about macroeconomic policies and development in Asia and
the Pacific. According to Mr. Banerjee, Trading systems, human health and
environmental well-being are likely to be disrupted in the near future. This is because
the world’s attention is focused on the financial crisis that overshadows other critical
problems like food and energy security as well as the climate change. As economic
growth turns negative in many parts of the world, it is expected that the global
economy will stall at -1.7 negative growth, a record since WWII. The picture as it is
shows declining growth across all regions. Since ESCAP’s performance is positive, it
is likely that this region is going to be the locus of global growth in 2009. Worth
mentioning is, that according to Mr. Banerjee, “developing countries have shown a
greater resilience to the financial crises than developed”. However, since the Asia
Pacific region is more integrated with the rest of the world than with itself, ESCAP, as
a trade dependent region, has been hit hard. Consequently, economies with a larger
proportion of local demand may be more resilient as those relying on export. Be that
as it may, fact is, that expansionary fiscal and monetary policies can be used as a tool
to peg economic growth. The drawback is that these measures get fiscal balances
under pressure, which is of particular concern (e.g. Japan’s debts amount to 170% of
the GDP). China for example had a positive fiscal balance in 2008, which allows for
expansionary fiscal policies. Thus, not surprisingly, China has the largest stimulus
package of Asia.
Connected to the financial crisis, of course, is the problem of rising unemployment
rates. It is estimated that upon the crisis’ impact as many as 24.8 million people, could
lose their jobs. In particular, this concerns young women employed in the
manufacturing sector. In the region, only 30% of elderly receive pensions and just
20% of the people have access to health assistance. Moreover, out-of-pocket
expenditure on health in the Asian Pacific region is very high and access to basic
services, even though improving, remains poor. This obviously triggers an acute need
for social protection system.
Date: Thursday, September 10th 2009
Time: 10:00 – 10:45
Topic: Macroeconomic policies and development in Asia and the Pacific
Speaker: Mr. Shuvojit Banerjee, Economic Affairs Officer
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic (Georg Schön on behalf of)
60
Another threat is the increase in food and crude oil prices. Rice for example, the
region’s staple, has increased by 150% in just four month. Soaring oil prices that can
be traced back to the increased demand and increasing extraction costs also hamper
growth.
A third threat is the vulnerability of people to natural disasters. Looking at statistics,
Asia experiences 42% of the world’s natural disasters. Disturbingly, 65% of the
victims are poor and vulnerable. This background shows that amending the region’s
“grow first, clean up later” attitude should be a top priority.
ESCAP addresses, what is called a triple threat, by a reorientation of the development
paradigm, centered on three pillars that Mr. Banerjee identified as the following:
• Resume economic growth and preserve macroeconomic stability.
• Strengthen the social foundation for inclusive development
• Promote environmentally sustainable development
As a result, ESCAP developed the
following recommendations: Until
developed countries recover, there will not
be an export demand from which ASEAN
countries can benefit. Small nations that
lack a solid domestic demand can try to
diversify their exports, thus building on
interregional trade. “Whenever a region
comes out of a crisis there is a temptation to compete in an exchange rate or beggar
thy neighbor competition”. Therefore ESCAP tries to offer regional policies in order
to bring the region to an EU like framework which would stabilize the situation in the
future. Additionally, ESCAP recommends “strengthening income security and
bolstering domestic demand”. This can be achieved by having a social protection
system in place that leaves more money in the pockets of the poorest. This action
indirectly increases people’s salary, resulting in a higher domestic demand. Finally, a
way to rebalance the energy demand and supply needs to be found by reducing the
dependency of the region’s GDPs on crude oil.
61
7.3. Statistical links to ASEAN economies
After a short coffee break we were joined by Mr. Clovis Freire, Economic Affairs
Officer, from the Statistics Division who was kind enough to explain to us the
importance of statistics for the process of development, ESCAP tries to promote. The
goal, so Mr. Freire, is to have ten nations and one community. On the way there,
integration of the countries needs to be achieved. The question here is, which
countries are behind and why. Statistics can provide answers to these sorts of
questions. It is important to have objective and independent statistics since they are
vital for democracy and national development. For that reason, ESCAP works to
improve official statistics and advocate their use in the developing countries of the
Asia Pacific region. The statistic division collects and analyses regional data on which
they build their analytical publications. Statistic capacity (SC) is a term that is used to
describe the availability and quality of statistical output. Thus, ESCAP seeks to
expand SC. The World Bank developed a statistics capacity indicator that gives an
overall assessment on a regional level. To get an idea of the statistics division’s work,
Mr. Feire prepared a short quiz:
• Higher proportion of the population living below $1.25 a day
– Thailand or Indonesia
– Cambodia or Viet Nam
– Malaysia or Philippines
• Higher chances to survive to see their 5th birthday
– Viet Nam or Myanmar
– Indonesia or Brunei Darussalam
– Philippines or Lao PDR
The Statistics Division has played a key role in monitoring Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) and also has produced the region’s first MDG report in 2005. The
Millennium Summit in 2008, held at the UN headquarters, resulted in the Millennium
Declaration in which world leaders agreed on the Millennium Development Goals
Date: Thursday, September 10th 2009
Time: 11:00 – 11:45
Topic: Statistical links to ASEAN economies
Speaker: Mr. Clovis Freire, Economic Affairs Officer
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic (Georg Schön on behalf of)
62
(MDGs). The MDGs aim to achieve social and economic condition in the world’s
poorest countries by 2015. Mr. Freire outlined the MDGs as follows:
• Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Achieve universal primary education
• Promote gender equality and empower women
• Reduce child mortality
• Improve maternal health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
• Ensure environmental sustainability
• Develop a global partnership for development
Concluding, we saw some MDG statistics, which gave us a good idea of what the
statistic division is doing.
63
7.4. Trade and investment in ASEAN countries
Ms. Mia Mikic, Economic Affairs Officer, started off by giving a concise introduction
to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). ASEAN is based on three
pillars: Security Community (ASC), Economic Community (ASC) and Socio-cultural
Community (ASCC) whereby most efforts are put into driving economic integration.
Mentionable milestones in this area are: ASEAN Vision 2010 (1997), Proposal for
ASEAN Economic Community (2003), Adoption of AEC Blueprint (2007), and
Economic Community (2015). In the course of forming an Economic Community
ASEAN wants to become a single market, a production base and a competitive
economic region. Fu rther goals are creation of equitable economic development and
integration into the global economy.
ASEAN Trade
Compared to other trade blocs like the EU
and NAFTA, internal trade is quite poor in
ASEAN. In contrast to NAFTA and EU
15 where intra-regional trade accounted
for 40% up to 55% in 2006, ASEAN’s
intra-regional trade performance stalls at
25%. Taking a closer look at the trade
statistics of respective ASEAN members,
one can see substantive differences among
the countries’ trade structure. Unlike Vietnam, some countries like Lao export and
import chiefly to ASEAN countries. This is partly due to different geographic
locations but also to divergence of diplomatic positions and some variances in
economic development. This disparity is also visible when comparing the intra-
regional trade figures of 1992 and 2008. Whereas the proportion of intraregional trade
has increased in countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, it
decreased in Vietnam and Cambodia.
During the last decades, tariffs have been continuously lowered. In 2008 ASEAN had
an average common external preferential tariff of 3.69%. Within ASEAN the average
Date: Thursday, September 10th 2009
Time: 11:45 – 12:30
Topic: Trade and investment in ASEAN countries
Speaker: Ms. Mia Mikic, Economic Affairs Officer
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic (Georg Schön on behalf of)
64
tariff rate was 1.95%. However, intra ASEAN tariffs were agreed to be abolished
totally. In response to the crisis, ASEAN countries utilized different means. From
October 2008 to July 2009 Indonesia implemented ten protectionist and two
liberalizing measures. In the same time period, Malaysia tried to counter the crisis
with two protectionist and five liberalizing measures.
The statistics on trading environment again, show the heterogeneity of the ASEAN
region. Singapore even tops the World Bank’s “ease of doing business ranking”. On
the other hand, countries like Cambodia and Lao rank 145th and 164th respectively,
while Myanmar is not even included in the ranking.
The ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS) aims to abolish all
restrictions to trade in services. Since 1997 seven AFAS packages have been agreed
on. In addition to trade easing measures, there are several ASEAN Mutual
Recognition Arrangements (MRA) to ensure workforce mobility in sectors like
engineering, nursing, etc. within the ASEAN region.
International Relations
ASEAN initiated a partnership with China, Japan and South Korea in 1997. The so-
called ASEAN +3 is a collective voice for East Asian countries. In 2005 the
partnership was enlarged to ASEAN +6 by including Australia, India and New
Zealand. As a switch point of the six associates, ASEAN also acts as the centre of the
hub-and-spoke network. This is because except for New Zealand and Australia there
are no strong bilateral economic linkages between the countries.
There is a multitude of FTAs around ASEAN. That is why it is also called ASEAN
“noodle ball”. However, these trade coalitions are inconsistent with the WTO
approach.
Challenges in and beyond the crisis
There are measures taken to strengthen resilience. States have agreed upon regional
coordination and cooperation in several areas like the Chiang Mai Initiative; Asian
Bond Markets Initiative; Food security; Energy, just to name a few. Furthermore,
ASEAN continues to expand ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) including
structural and regulatory reforms, improving infrastructure, supporting SMEs and
utilizing a SCORE card.
65
7.5. Information & Communication Development
After the lunch break, which we spent in the canteen of the UN, Mr. Jorge Martinez-
Navarette, Associate Economic Affairs Officer, IT Officer had the word. The
Department for “Information and Communications Technology and Disaster Risk
Reduction” is one of the seven substantive divisions of UNESCAP. It is subdivided
into the sections Disaster Risk Reduction; CT & Development and Space
Applications.
Challenges
The main challenge of the division is to
contain the digital divide. The outcome of
this digital divide is a gap in productivity.
Consequently, this has a negative impact
on the country’s development process,
which harms the population in return.
According to UNESCAP the digital divide
and its consequences should be combated
by supporting the development of
infrastructure. The first step is to provide access to computers, mobile phones,
Internet, etc. Programs for the provision of systems, applications and software have to
be designed and implemented.
Another focus is on societal changes. This factor involves awareness raising and the
establishment of a social safety net. Furthermore stakeholder participation from outset
to end is encouraged. Applying participatory mechanisms is highly beneficial to the
projects and a major part of UNESCAP’s policy.Funding is another crucial point in
the course of action against the digital divide. Providing venture capital is absolutely
necessary since some countries simply cannot afford to realize projects on their own
expenses.
Date: Thursday, September 10th 2009
Time: 14:00 – 11:40
Topic: Information & Communication Development in the Asia-Pacific Region
Speaker: Mr. Jorge Martinez-Navarette, Associate Economic Affairs Officer
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic (Georg Schön on behalf of)
66
The last policy focus area is capacity building. Investments in education ensure that
the population is able to benefit from the infrastructure provided. Only this way
productivity effectively rises.
According to Mr. Martinez-Navarette technology per se does not solve social
problems. However, the availability and use of ICT tools are prerequisites for
economic and social development in our world. Econometric studies revealed a close
statistical relationship between diffusion of IT, productivity and competitiveness for
countries, regions, industries and firms. Current statistics show that there is still a long
way to go. As of 24 August 2009 only some 25% of world population has access to
the Internet. Asia is clearly an underperformer in this score. 700.863.930 or 18.3% out
of the total Asian Population of 3.822.428.903 are Internet users.
Although the digital divide between developed and developing countries is shrinking,
the digital divide within many developing countries continues to expand. This
especially applies for Sub-Saharan African countries, which still have a high
percentage of rural population. Then Mr. Martinez-Navarette tackled the 2002 World
Telecommunication Development Conference, which identified the following
important factors in bridging the digital divide:
• Awareness — The state and individuals should be fully aware of the
importance of digital technologies and their applications.
• Accessibility — Infrastructure should be expanded and improved in order to
provide the necessary connectivity for the effective use of ICTs.
• Affordability — Means should be found to provide low-cost services to users,
low-cost equipment and training on the effective use of ICTs for national and
individual development.
According to the lecturer these factors need to be expanded by another ’A’ if we are
to succeed in this objective—APPLICATIONS.
Access to Internet and mobile phones enables people to use various applications like
e-commerce/business, E-health, E-learning, E-government and ICST usage in
agriculture, natural resource management, disaster risk management, preservation of
culture and languages etc
Activities of UNESCAP
The Information and communication technologies strategy of UNESCAP focuses on
assisting its member States in Asia and the Pacific by narrowing the digital divide and
achieving knowledge-based society. This strategy is realized by promoting regional
67
cooperative mechanisms for sharing information, communication and space-based
resources, including emergency communications. Furthermore, it develops a
methodology for evaluating the level of disaster preparedness and national ICT
infrastructure, identifying good practices and producing guidelines for member States
on how to increase the resilience of this critical infrastructure.
68
7.6. Trans-Asian Railway & Asian Highway Networks
The final speaker, Mr. Pierre Chartier, Economic Affairs Officer, from Transport
Division, reflected upon the changing role of transportation. Nowadays trade and
transportation find themselves in a new context in various aspects. Transport itself
moved from a segmented sector with sovereign transport modes as centerpieces to a
production tool responding to the needs of market strategists.
From the socio-economic point of view, one has to say that the there is a tendency to
urban-based societies all around the world. Masses of people living in hinterland
areas, untouched by mainstream economic development, are tempted by city lights.
This comes along with a life-style based on instant and ‘round-the-clock’
accessibility.
Furthermore, due to globalization some countries are becoming outsourcing hubs and
efficient transport and logistics are an important location factor to attract Foreign
Direct Investment.
Environmental concerns play an important part in transport these days. Worldwide in
2005, transport accounted for 23.3% of CO2 emissions from fuel combustion (73.3%
from road transport). This goes hand in hand with energy dependency. Transportation
is a major consumer of oil.
Transport in UNESCAP Region
Production, trade and consumption are
rising in the UNESCAP region. For this
reason transport will inevitably increase as
well. 2008 world container handling
activity surpassed the half-billion TEU
mark. Ports in Asia-Pacific are among the
biggest worldwide. In 2008, 20 of world’s
top 30 container ports were located in the
ESCAP region.
Today’s market place is characterized by a diversity of demand and a multiplicity of
sourcing and trading patterns. Manufacturers are looking for innovative solutions to
Date: Thursday, September 10th 2009
Time: 14:40 – 15:30
Topic: Trans-Asian Railway & Asian Highway Networks
Speaker: Mr. Pierre Chartier, Economic Affairs Officer
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic (Georg Schön on behalf of)
69
remain competitive. The concept of supply-chain management has integrated
transport into the production process of industry. The acceleration of trade and in
consequence transport, has been mainly visible in coastal areas, landlocked countries
and hinterland areas of coastal countries have been left behind due to excessive
transport and logistics costs.
The “Busan Declaration on Transport Development in Asia and the Pacific”
recommends developing an international, integrated and intermodal transport system
that contributes to long-term objectives of regional cooperation by supporting
international trade. Furthermore, priority shall be given to investments in the Asian
highway and the Trans-Asian railway networks, including intermodal interfaces to
link them with water and air transport networks. The participants also agreed on
promoting the development of economic and logistical activities at intermodal
interfaces, particularly at production and consumption centres and around seaports
and dry ports.
Intermodal Transport
According to Mr. Chartier Logistics
Management is about getting the right
product to the right place in the right
quantity at the right time in the best
condition, all this at acceptable cost. The
benefits of proper Logistics Management
are improved access to international
markets and increased foreign trade. In the
long run this results in higher income,
enhanced employment opportunities and poverty reduction. A promising possibility to
higher efficiency is Intermodal Transport. The expected benefits of the
implementation of intermodal transport are better infrastructure management, better
infrastructure utilization, mode integration, reduced congestion and reduced transit
times. Mr. Chartier estimates that one per cent reduction in logistics costs will result
in a 5% to 8% increase in market share in East Asia. In South Asia, a reduction of one
percent in logistics costs would lead to a 5% expansion in trade.
Intergovernmental Agreements
There are two mentionable intergovernmental agree ments. The first one is about the
Asian Highway Network, which covers about 141,000 km. The agreement was put
into force on July 4, 2005 and involves 29 signatories and 24 parties.
The second agreement is related to a Trans-Asian Railway Network of about 114,000
km. It entered into force on June 11, 2009 and involves 22 signatories and 10 parties.
70
After spending a day at the UN premises we gained a profound insight into the
operations of UNESCAP. It was also quite interesting to get a rough picture of the
international working environment. The final family picture was unfortunately
disturbed by heavy rain, which was also the reason for our late departure to the hotel.
Internship Opportunities
Concluding talks with the ESCAP
speakers revealed that there is a constant
intake of interns. Students who are
enrolled in graduate programs are
encouraged to apply via the ESCAP online
job platform to be reached at
www.unescap.org/jobs/internships.
Current interns we have spoken with said
that their work is quite diversified and
interesting. Also, there is a large international community in Bangkok, which
facilitates the socialization process. However, potential interns should be aware of the
fact that ESCAP does not offer any compensation. All speakers kindly consented to
answer any questions that may come up via e-mail. Therefore, find the contact details
below:
Contact Information
Mr. Mitchell Hsieh, Public Information Officer: [email protected] Mr. Shuvojit Banerjee, Economic Affairs Officer: [email protected] Mr. Clovis Freire, Economic Affairs Officer: [email protected] Ms. Mia Mikic, Economic Affairs Officer: [email protected] Mr. Jorge Martinez-Navarrete, Associate Economic Affairs Officer: [email protected] Mr. Pierre Chartier, Economic Affairs Officer:[email protected]
71
72
8. Friday, September 11th 2009
8.1. The Delegation of the European Commission to Thailand
Introduction and General Information
Friday, September 11th 2009 promised to become an especially interesting and
informative day for our group as we were invited to the Delegation of the European
Commission to Thailand.
Relations between the EU and Thailand are long-standing, however the Delegation
was first opened in 1979 with the goal to exchange views as well as strengthen and
enhance cooperation and collaboration in various fields including trade. Currently,
climate change, trade facilitation and the development of a mutually beneficial
partnership agreement are on top of the agenda and of special interest to both sides.
Its premises being located in Kian Gwan House II in Wireless Road, Bangkok, the
Delegation takes an active role in promoting favorable relationships with the countries
of concern as well as in developing a suitable operating framework. Thereby, the
Delegation represents European interests, engages in analysis of country policies,
conducts negotiations on different matters and provides assistance to Thailand, but
also to EU institutions and Member States.
We are very grateful that we were given the excellent opportunity to listen to the
following experts and high-ranking officials who took the time to inform us about
facts, but also presented their countries’ and personal views concerning the EU-
ASEAN ties, and the general aspects and state-of-play of the EU-ASEAN FTA, the
Swedish EU Presidency, the Italian G-8 Presidency, challenges and opportunities in
the Southeast-Asian region in general and in Thailand, EU business opportunities in
Southeast-Asia as well as relations between India and ASEAN: H.E. Mr. Lennart
Linnér, Ambassador of Sweden to Thailand, H.E. Dr. Michelangelo Pipan,
Ambassador of Italy to Thailand, H.E. Ms. Latha Reddy, Ambassador of India to
Thailand and Mr. Jean-Jacques Bouflet, Minister Counselor for Trade on behalf of the
Head of the EC Delegation to Thailand – Ambassador David Lipman.
73
At the arrival of our group to the impressive high-rise office building in Wireless
Road, we had a warm welcome by Mr. Jean-Jacques Bouflet and Udomdech who
were our host on behalf of the Delegation of the EC.
We were allocated in a meeting room on
the 17th floor where the mission briefings
were to take place. By receiving a visitor’s
pass at the entrance, Export students and
graduates were recognized as official
guests and mission briefings could get
started. As our first speaker for this day,
H.E. Mr. Lennart Linnér, Ambassador of
Sweden to Thailand, presented to us his
highly interesting speech about the challenging tasks as regards the Swedish EU
Presidency. The first part was concerned with an overview of the Southeast-Asian
region and the characteristics of this very sensitive operating environment. As a
second component, H.E. Linnér pointed out the difficulties and opportunities of the
Swedish EU Presidency, which resulted in a vivid question and answer session in the
end.
Operating in a challenging environment – Sweden’s EU-Presidency
Based on the principle of a rotating EU Presidency, every six months one of the 27
European Union member states takes over the lead in EU matters and is thereby the
driving force in influencing important EU issues by focusing on three main tasks:
• leading the work in the Council of the EU and moving important issues
forward (incl. scheduling meetings, producing agendas, chairing meetings)
• brokering compromises between member states and acting in their interests
• handling contacts between the Council and the other EU institutions
Date: Friday, September 11th 2009
Time: 10:00 – 11:00
Topic: EU-ASEAN, the Swedish EU-Presidency – Ongoing Activities and Forthcoming Challenges
Speaker: H.E. Mr. Lennart Linnér, Ambassador of Sweden to Thailand
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic (Georg Schön on behalf of)
74
• representing the Council vis-à-vis other EU institutions as well as vis-à-vis
other countries and international organizations.
Since 1 July 2009 it has been Sweden’s mission to assume this demanding and
ambitious function for the second half of the year, during which the country had to
and will have to deal with many political challenges. Therefore, the Swedish
government aims at conducting an active Presidency with result-orientation, wants to
advance EU common issues and Sweden’s priority issues and tighten Sweden’s role
in the EU.
In this respect His Excellency Linnér emphasized during his speech the overwhelming
importance of staying realistic as far as the objectives for the Swedish Presidency
term are concerned. As regards politics in Southeast-Asia Mr. Linnér sees operating
in this different environment as a very sensitive task, which requires objectivity,
knowledge and great efforts in order to build up good relationships and achieve
successful dialogues.
Challenges, goals and opportunities for Sweden as regards Southeast-Asia
Starting with a brief overview of some of
the Southeast-Asian countries, His
Excellency explained the diverse
problems that Sweden is concerned with
in this region but also mentioned the
opportunities and the very positive aspects
of gaining a foothold in the area.
Be it the border disputes between
Cambodia and Thailand, war and conflict between Buddhists and Muslims in the
South of Thailand, the case of large amounts of refugees coming from Burma to
Thailand – all these are issues that constitute major challenges for Sweden and its EU
Presidency. The South-East Asian region is thriving in economic terms – however,
there are still a number of political troubles and complexities, which need to be
overcome. For this reason Sweden would like to play an active role in influencing
politics in the area so as to contribute to stability and peace in the long run.
Relating to Thailand, H.E. Linnér pointed out the country’s strategic relations with the
EU, as it is not only an important trading partner but also a favoured tourist
destination by many Europeans. In addition, a number of companies have made
investments to the kingdom, which indicates the EU’s strong commercial and
economic interest, which, however, exists also on the bilateral level. Despite these
positive linkages, H.E. Linnér emphasized that the country is characterized by
political instability, a circumstance, which needs to be followed closely. As an
75
example the Swedish Ambassador mentioned the coup d’état of the year 2006,
leading to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra being ousted. The happening was
considered by Thaksin-supporters as a major setback for the democratic system and
resulted in heavy protests.
H.E. Linnér also talked about problems
and opportunities with respect to Burma
(Myanmar). Currently, only minor trade is
going on between the EU and the country
west to Thailand amongst others because
of unfavorable political conditions and a
very strong-headed regime, which is not
easily affected by pressure from abroad.
Several sanctions have already been implied against the Southeast Asian country,
which renders progress in trade and investment even more complicated. In this regard,
His Excellency noted that Burma is a rather special case for the EU for which reason
every little hope for change needs to be closely monitored. Whether it will be possible
to open the door for further engagement in the country will depend on a variety of
factors and is uncertain.
Talking about Cambodia, Mr. Linnér stressed the tremendous progress that the
country has made as regards infrastructure development. We were told that some
years ago, Cambodia’s infrastructure facilities were everything but up-to-date. Until
today, however, banking facilities, hotels and other establishments have been set up.
Cambodia was hit hard by the financial crisis and is still a developing country that
needs reforms to catch up with others. The Swedish Ambassador regretted that the
political situation has not improved so far, which would be an important component
for Cambodia to stabilize.
Laos (Lao People’s Democratic Republic), as a one-party state with a relatively
conservative government, was mentioned by H.E. Mr. Linnér because of its huge
prospects for the hydroelectric power market, which could become very interesting
for the EU as well. However, being still a communist state Laos suffers from
underdevelopment and is in need of FDI in order for its economy to prosper. Political
conditions are difficult, which constitutes a major challenge for potential investors
from outside.
In order to deal with the challenges and problems associated with the Southeast-Asian
economies, Mr. Linnér highlighted the importance of taking into account the
particularities of the individual nations because of traditions and societal values
playing an overwhelmingly important role. Promoting friendly relationships with the
governments constitutes one of the major objectives of Sweden as personal ties are of
utmost importance in the region.
76
Sweden wants to continuously look at the above mentioned items during the
Presidency term and try to influence economic, trade and political issues in a positive
way. As has been highlighted by H.E. Mr. Linnér, the EU is already involved in
projects that are designed to promote stability in the region. It has assisted in the
border issue between Cambodia and Thailand and also established policies to reduce
fighting in southern border provinces. Another program involves the management of
and support in refugee camps, which is a major issue due to lots of refugees coming
from Burma to Thailand.
Question and Answer Session
During the Q&A session Mr. Linnér was
asked about Sweden’s goals for the
Presidency term, for example. The
Ambassador emphasized that Sweden
wants to take a practical approach to the
matters of concern, involving an effective
coordination with the Commission as well
as discussions in regular meetings and
working groups. He also accentuated,
however, that one must not forget that every EU country also has its own bilateral
view on Southeast-Asia and that it is important to detect areas of common interest.
Following the question of prospects for Southeast-Asia in general, H.E. Linnér gave a
summary of country profiles and alluded also to the differences in living standards,
between Singapore and the Philippines, for instance. Additionally, he brought up
China’s influence in ASEAN, which must not be overlooked. In every case, His
Excellency sees big potential in the region and definitely further EU involvement.
77
8.2. Ambassador of India to Thailand
Introduction
After having gained valuable insights into Southeast-Asian affairs and the Swedish
EU Presidency we had the pleasure to get informed about India and its relations with
the Association of Southeast-Asian Nations (ASEAN) by H.E. Ms. Latha Reddy,
Ambassador of India to Thailand. Ms. Reddy has already served as an Ambassador in
Bangkok for three years and during this tenure a great deal of her work was dedicated
to the India-ASEAN partnership.
His Excellency prepared a fascinating speech in the
form of an interactive dialogue in which Export
students and graduates had the chance to actively
participate by asking questions and presenting their
views as well. The Indian Ambassador made the
lecture especially interesting by telling exciting stories
about what currently happens in Southeast-Asia. We
really appreciated Ms. Reddy taking the time to brief the Export students and
graduates on India-ASEAN affairs and would like to thank her very much for her
lively presentation.
General Information INDIA
Being located in Southern Asia, India’s state territory covers a total of approx.
3.3 m km² and is home to nearly 1.17 billion people. The Republic of India constitutes
a neighbouring country to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, China, Nepal and Pakistan
and benefits from its strategic location near important Indian Ocean trade routes. The
Indo-Aryan ethnic group makes up about 72% of the population while the rest
belongs to either the Dravidian (25%), Mongoloid or others (3%). Hinduism is the
religion to which most of the people commit themselves – however, also the Islam
and Christianity are common denominations.
Date: Friday, September 11th 2009
Time: 12:00 – 13:00
Topic: India – ASEAN Challenges and Opportunities
Speaker: H.E. Ms Latha Reddy, Ambassador of India to Thailand
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic
78
India gained independence from the
British in 1947, explaining also why its
legal system is based on English common
law. The country’s government is headed
by Prime Minister Manmohan SINGH,
while President Pratibha PATIL has been
the head of state since 2007. The Republic
participates in a number of international
organizations and in recent years it
emerged as an important player in international trade, with the service sector having
the most potential for economic growth. Figures show that GDP growth reached 6.6%
in 2008. However, there is still 25% of the population living below the poverty line.
On an international level, India is concerned with border problems with China, the
territorial disputes relating to the Kashmir region involving Pakistan and a range of
unsolved issues with Bangladesh, for instance.
ASEAN
Having been established in 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
comprises Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei
Darussalam, Vietnam, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Cambodia. With a total population of
about 560 million the region has become a major focus for many international
companies as trade within and with ASEAN countries is steadily increasing.
Basically, the main objectives of ASEAN can be summarized as follows:
o boosting economic growth, social and cultural development
o promoting peace and stability in the region and
o acting in compliance with the UN Charter.
As part of the ASEAN Vision 2020, the establishment of an ASEAN Security
Community, ASEAN Economic Community and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community
is intended to result in permanent peaceful relations, economic integration and a
common regional identity.
ASEAN attempts to further deepen relations with China, Japan and the Republic of
Korea (ASEAN+3), but also with India, Australia and New Zealand (ASEAN+6). To
this end it has already entered into many bilateral trade agreements. In addition,
dialogues are ongoing with numerous other countries including the EU. Being the
major objective of ASEAN the countries strive to reach full economic integration
with the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.
79
India-ASEAN relations
“The India-ASEAN relationship is a very dynamic one that has been evolving
rapidly.” (H.E. Ms. Latha Reddy, Ambassador of India to Thailand)
H. E. Ms. Latha Reddy started her speech by explaining in detail how India and
ASEAN built up their cooperative relationship and thereby gave us a very good
overview of the historical developments as well as the political framework. Following
this first part we were given a profound insight into the current state of affairs and the
new initiatives to bolster up trade whereby FTAs play an overwhelmingly important
role. In addition, we received a lot of information as regards other areas of
cooperation between India and ASEAN and finally closed the meeting with an active
question and answer session.
To start off H.E. Ms. Reddy stressed that India (and China) historically has had a
strong political, strategic and cultural impact in Southeast Asia already at times where
the region was comprised of many different kingdoms and sultanates. Culture and
commerce were only two strong links between India and the Southeast Asian region
with Indian traders having influenced language, customs and religion. Additionally,
many western powers arrived to Southeast Asia through the Indian Ocean. Before
migration from India to the region accelerated during the colonial era, economic and
cultural connections even intensified during pre-colonial times. Following the
complications and changes in Southeast Asia during the 1940s to 1960s (Cold War,
independences,…), the foundation of ASEAN in 1967 shaped the political and
economic landscape, tying the individual Southeast-Asian countries stronger together
and opening the door for further engagement also with India. The Indian Ambassador
explained that India was likewise concerned with economic reforms during this
period, especially when it became aware of the globalization trends, which resulted in
its “Look-East-Policy”.
The students and graduates were very enthusiastic about how things developed further
and we were told by Ms. Reddy that India soon became a full dialogue partner of the
ASEAN members before it joined the ASEAN Regional Forum in 1996 whose goal is
amongst others to foster dialogue and discussion. When Myanmar joined ASEAN in
1997 India became an immediate neighbour of the grouping. During the following
years several programs were undertaken by ASEAN to strengthen collaboration and
economic cooperation, such as investment programs, the initiation of the “Common
Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) Scheme for ASEAN FTA” in 1992, the signing
of an ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS) in 1995 and finally the
conclusion of the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement. The member countries
80
widened their focus by establishing the ASEAN+3 process, which made the
international community even more aware of the Association’s growing prominence.
When India and ASEAN finally started to enforce dialogue during the East Asia
Summits (ASEAN+6) their relations reinforced. With India’s support in the
BIMSTEC (Bangladesh India Myanmar Sri Lanka Thailand Economic Cooperation)
process and the set up of the Mekong Ganga Cooperation Framework the partners
entered into a wider range of cooperation areas. Today, these include primarily:
o Trade
o Investment
o Tourism
o Science and technology.
In this context H.E. Ms. Reddy also
mentioned the progress that has been
made between ASEAN and India as
regards liberalization of air services and
connectivity. However, she also pointed
to the challenges that must be overcome
in order to improve multimodal transport
possibilities. Furthermore, Ms. Reddy
highlighted the climate change issue as an
important threat, which has been made another area of cooperation as were health
care, entrepreneurship development and student exchange programs.
First and foremost, His Excellency Latha Reddy emphasized the huge potential for
trade that exists for both India and the Southeast-Asian nations with respect to one
another. Economic opportunities are wide-ranging – India-ASEAN trade amounted to
some US$ 40 billion last year and is intended to increase further – a goal, which will
be favoured by the India-ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement as a result of tariff
liberalization. The Indian Ambassador elucidated that the agreement shall now be
extended to services and investments so as to move a step forward towards even
closer integration.
Lastly, H.E. Latha Reddy accentuated the importance of expanding relationships also
with other countries in Asia, such as China, Japan, Korea or Singapore as well as with
New Zealand and Australia. With all of them, cooperative measures are already in
place. The Ambassador concluded by underlining the tremendous opportunities in
Southeast-Asia, which involves the potential for an even larger integrated market
ranging from the Himalayas to the Pacific Ocean – AN ASIAN ARC OF
ADVANTAGE!
81
Question and Answer Session
During the question and answer session H.E. Ms. Latha Reddy emphasized the
enormous advantages of FTAs and India’s openness to become actively involved in
further agreements. However, she also pointed to the complexities that such FTAs
bring with them for which reason dialogues and high-level talks need to continue.
82
8.3. Ambassador of Italy to Thailand
After having had the very informative meeting with H.E. Ms. Latha Reddy, we got
the opportunity to talk to another high ranking diplomat, namely the Italian
Ambassador to Thailand, H.E. Dr. Michelangelo Pipan.
As H.E. arrived to Bangkok only one month ago we were honoured to get to know
that his meeting and discussion with us was actually his first “outing” in public.
Within the timeframe of about 1½ hours H.E. Dr. Pipan gave us unique insights into
the important topics of free trade agreements and the current G8-presidency.
FTA’s
Free trade agreements are treaties between two or more countries. They establish a
free trade area where commerce with goods and services can be conducted across the
national boarders without tariffs or other barriers. Nowadays, FTAs are an important
tool in order to boost international trade between economies.
H.E. Pipan informed us that there have many FTAs been concluded in Asia due to
their economic importance and the great number of local and global competitors.
Currently, the priority for the countries of the ASEAN lies in the recovery from the
world financial crisis. The decrease in global demand, especially on the US, European
and Japanese markets have harmed many countries in Southeast Asia. This situation
puts China with its huge domestic demand in raw materials and commodities into a
strong position as it is perceived as the new economic booster for many ASEAN
countries. A framework agreement for the planned FTA between ASEAN and China
was signed in 2002, which aims at a zero-tariff market. It is targeted to come into
force in 2020 for the six original ASEAN members.
With respect to the crisis, ASEAN has difficulties in moving towards the recovery
collectively. The main problem is that the countries in the ASEAN region are all
operating from different starting points. The much lower GDP of Thailand compared
to Malaysia provides an example to these differences. Hence, each country has its
own needs and goals depending on its current economic and political situation. These
Date: Friday, September 11th 2009
Time: 13:00 – 14:30
Topic: G8-ASEAN-EU, The Italian G-8 Presidency – Between Challenges and Opporunities in the ASEAN theatre
Speaker: H.E. Mr. Michelangelo Pipan, Ambassador of Italy to Thailand
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic
83
economic and cultural differences altogether make it so difficult for ASEAN to move
unified.
The current economic crisis defines new goals for the European Union in ASEAN as
well. The EU has to avoid losing influence in South East Asia and therefore the
economic ties to ASEAN must be strengthened. Therefore, H.E. informed us about
the start of bilateral FTA negotiations between the EU and single ASEAN members.
Here it was pointed out that these negotiations couldn’t be conducted with the
ASEAN group as a whole because of countries like Myanmar not acting in
conformity with the International Bill of Human Rights, for instance.
G8 and the Italian Presidency
The next topic of H.E. Pipan concerned the Italian G8-Presidency. The G8 is a group
of countries, which consists of the most industrialized nations. Their leaders are
meeting once a year in the G8 summit in order to discuss major world issues. In fact,
however, ministerial level meetings are going on during the whole year. It is
important to mention that the G8 is no international organization.
The following countries pertain to the G8:
- Canada
- Italy
- United Kingdom
- France
- -Russia
- United States
- Germany
- Japan
Italy is holding the G8 Presidency at the moment. The central issues that are on the
country’s agenda include responding to the financial crisis, encouraging permanent
growth, boosting employment, providing assistance to less developed countries,
promoting trade liberalization and tackling climate change.
It was somehow surprising to learn that nowadays the G8 is actually no real
diplomatic tool anymore. The G8 is supposed to become a G8+5, meaning that it shall
also involve Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa as emerging economies.
In addition it will be essential to take the new global players like Egypt and Indonesia
into account. This addition of new members should transform the G8+5 into a tool for
global governance, which will be of essential importance during crisis affecting the
whole world (e.g. current world financial crisis).
84
Question and Answer session
The very informative meeting with H.E. Pipan was concluded with a Q&A round.
Firstly, Prof. Bajrektarevic addressed the issue of major differences between Asia and
Europe.
H.E. mentioned that life in Asia is pulsating while Europe on the other hand seems to
be getting old. Young people are getting less due to a low birth rate and continual
emigration of highly skilled workers. H.E. Pipan however expressed clearly that
Europe must not become the country of the elderly. He therefore referred to the new
Bologna process, which he actively participated in drafting. This new educational
system, which we as students are currently enrolled in, has the purpose to increase the
mobility of young students across Europe. This system should strengthen freedom of
movement and foster the mix of Europeans from different nations. A stronger link
between the universities and industries is also a very important step.
Another question concerned the possibility of future conflicts within East Asia. Upon
that, H.E. answered that conflicts in this part of the world are generally unlikely as
cooperation through FTAs should help to keep the region stable. However, H.E.
thinks that there will be a competitive struggle for market access, recourses and
general economic growth within the ASEAN region and on a worldwide basis.
85
8.4. Minister Counselor of Trade
Introduction
Our next high-ranking speaker was H.E. Mr. Jean-Jacques
Bouflet, Minister Counselor of Trade on behalf of the Head of the
European Commission Delegation to Thailand. Mr. Bouflet gave
us an overview about the economic relations between the EU and
ASEAN.
EU-ASEAN & EU-Thailand
First of all, it was explained that the EU is the second largest trading partner for
ASEAN and 27 % of FDIs (Foreign Direct Investment) in ASEAN come from
Europe. Moreover, ASEAN is a big beneficiary of EU’s General System of
Preference (GSP) and the Everything But Arms arrangement (EBA). The general GSP
scheme grants unilateral access to the EU market to developing countries in form of
reduced tariffson imported goods. The EBA goes even further and provides duty-free
access for all products for the 50 least developed countries (LDC). Notably, GSP is a
unilateral arrangement and therefore non-reciprocal.
As far as trade between the EU and Thailand is concerned there exists a great
imbalance largely in favor of Thailand. This is shown by the significant trade surplus
for Thailand with the EU in the past years. However, protectionist regulations in the
service and industry sector in Thailand make it difficult for European companies to
enter the Thai market. For Thailand on the other hand the nearby ASEAN region is
the most important export destination. However, it is important to note that ASEAN
is not a Customs Union, unlike the EU which is Thailand's second largest export
destination after ASEAN in value terms. As a strategy to overcome the current global
economic crisis, the Thai government tries to diversify and to find new markets for its
exports. Another risky fact is that 70% of the GDP in Thailand is comes from export
Date: Friday, September 11th 2009
Time: 15:00– 16:00
Topic: General aspects & the current state of the EU – ASEAN FTA
Speaker: Mr. Jean-Jacques Bouflet, Minister Counselor for Trade (on behalf of the Head of the EC Delegation to Thailand, Ambassador David Lipman)
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic
86
incomes. Worldwide economic slowdowns are therefore real challenges for countries
which depend heavily on exports like Thailand.
H.E. also called our attention to the interesting employment structure in Thailand.
35% of Thais are farmers and , on top of this, it has been estimated that 20-25% of the
working people have no real working contract and thus are not accounted for in the
country's fiscal circulation. The result is that 2/3 of the population are not working in
the real modern economy. A significant amount of the population is receiving less
than $100 per month.
Once more the Counselor highlighted the economic imbalance between the individual
ASEAN countries. Like H.E. Pipan Counsellor Bouflet likewise pointed out that
ASEAN has no common speaker compared to the EU. This makes a unified approach
towards FTAs difficult for ASEAN. For this reason, the EU had to initiate a parallel-
track approach where bilateral FTA negotiations with individual ASEAN 'front-
runner' countries (currently include Singapore, Vietnam, and Thailand) are pursued as
a building block towards the overall regional FTA which remains the ultimate
objective in the longer term.
Question and Answer Session
After this informative introduction into the economic situation within ASEAN we
ended our last session for this day with another Q&A round. The first question was if
there would be a monetary union within the ASEAN. The Counselor of trade upon
that replied that a monetary union will be unlikely but stated that because of the
continuous decline of the American dollar a new leading currency is likely to emerge
(e.g. Chinese Renminbi).
The second question addressed the issue of education in Thailand. Tertiary education
in Thailand as in many other countries is only for the middle class and wealthy
families. The majority of the people cannot afford it. Furthermore, H.E. pointed out
that the higher education in Thailand is internationally not competitive enough.
Internship Opportunities
We ended our informative session with the question about internship possibilities
within the European Commission for students. The European Commission regularly
takes students for the timeframe from 1-3 months. The short periods are due to the
enormous demand in internship placements at EU institutions. Mostly, the application
process takes up to one year and it is usually a very competitive procedure. All the
information concerning internships at EU institutions can be sourced online on the
87
homepage of the European commission and European Union
(http://europa.eu/index_de.htm).
This question concluded our unique and informative day at the beautiful office at the
European Commission in Thailand. Tired from a long day in the meeting room but
with smoking heads full of new impressions, ideas and opinions we left the European
soil in Thailand for dinner and another night in Bangkok.
Contact Information
H.E. Mr. Lennart Linnér, Ambassador of Sweden 20th floor, One Pacific Place 140 Sukhumvit Road (between Soi 4-6) Bangkok 10110 Tel.: +66 (0) 2 263-7201 Fax: +66 (0) 2 263-7260/70 [email protected] Delegation of the European Commission to Thailand Kian Gwan House II, 19th Floor 140/1 Wireless Road Bangkok 10330 Thailand Tel: + 66-2-3052600 Fax: +66-2-2559113 [email protected] [email protected]
Embassy of Italy in Bangkok 399, Nang Linchee Road, Yannawa 10120 Bangkok Tel.: +66-2-2854090 Fax: +66-2-2854739 (Chancellery) [email protected] H.E. Ms. Latha Reddy, Ambassador of India 46, Soi 23 – Sukhumvit Road Bangkok 10110, Thailand Tel.: (02) 2584198, Fax: (02) 2594870 [email protected]
88
89
9. Monday, 14th September 2009:
9.1. University Malaysia Perlis
Our first day in Perlis, Malaysia started
with a brief first meeting with some
UniMAP students in our bus as we picked
them up at their dormitory place in order
to get in touch with some local students
with whom we spent our das in Perlis.
Arriving at the University facilities, we
received a warm welcome and brief overview of the famous University of Perlis.
General Information about the University „The vision of our soul“
The University Malaysia Perlis (UNIMAP) is located in
the very northern part of Malaysia, only 35 km away
from the borders of Thailand. A very nice team from
UNIMAP received us extraordinary friendly and
introduced us to some local students and professors.
First of all, we got a nice and very informative
introduction video to get a comprehensive overview of
the university as well as the State of Perlis.
The university first intake comprised 116 engineering students, who started classes in
June 2002. It now has about 4000 students, and a workforce of more than 800 people
comprising academic and non-academic staff. There are all in all 19 programmes
Date: Monday, 14th September 2009
Time: 10:30 – 15:00
Topic: UNIMAP reception
Speaker: Madam Fauziah bt Hashim, Director of Perlis State Economic Planning Unit
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic
90
offered through eight engineering schools with some numerous postgraduate degree
programmes as well.
UniMAP defines itself as a true-blue technical university which fulfils the interest of
students who are inclined towards practical-based engineering education. UniMAP
graduates are mostly successful engineers who strongly convince to be competent and
confident enough to explore entrepreneurial possibilities after graduation.
UNIMAP students are expected to possess excellence knowledge and skills directly
related to their engineering fields of study as well as they are proficient in
communication and ICT skills and dispose at the same time the right amount of
professionalism and patriotism. UNIMAP’s education has been excellent for years
and is one of the most important and famous universities in this area.
In order to achieve maximum benefit for
the country in terms of long time
objectives, the areas of focus of public
technical universities are determined by
the government. In the case of UniMAP, it
was decided that electronic-based
engineering should be the focus. However,
this does not mean that there is no room for other disciplines of engineering to be
developed there because all related fields of engineering and technology that can
support the advancement of electronic-based engineering, can be offered.
The university’s mission is to produce a holistic human capital that contributes to the
nation’s development and industrial competitiveness agenda as an internationally
competitive academic and research institution.
We students and graduates were all really impressed by the ambitions and quality of
the university and the high input from students as well as lecturers.
91
The State of Perlis
“TO BE A DEVELOPED, EXCELLENT, OF DISTINCTION AND
EXTRAORDINARY STATE BY 2015”
The introduction video about UniMAP was directly
followed by a presentation of the State Perlis, held by
Ms. Fauziah bt Hashim, Director of Perlis State
Economic Planning Unit. The very enthusiastic vision
of the State of Perlis impressed every one of us
students and graduates as Malaysia is the heart of
South-East Asia, with its amazing and unique
vegetation and nature, its cultural background and
different nationalities who are living together in such
a harmony as it is not known in Europe for example.
Originally, Perlis was part of the older Kingdom of Kedah which was conquered by
Thailand in the 18th century. Later in 1909, the sovereignty of Perlis was transformed
from Thailand to Britain through the Anglo-Siamese Treaty and during the Second
World War (WWII) the Japanese forces
handed Perlis back to Thailand. After
World War II, the Federation of Malaya
got independent and an official State was
formatted in 1967. The King of Perlis is
the State Constitution Head. This position
is hereditary and can only be held by a
member of Perlis’s royal family. Under
the State Constitution, the legislation authority is controlled by the Legislative
Assembly (Government Executive Council – EXCO). More details about the Sultan
and his functions will be discussed later in this report, as we also had the honour of a
personal reception of the sultan of Perlis.
The state is divided into 3 parliaments, namely: Kangar, Arau and Padang Besar. Its
population of 231,100, most of them Bumiputera, Chinese and Indians comprises a
total area of 810 sq.km. The climate is mostly warm and dry with highest temperature
of 32°. The Economic Structure (GDP Contribution) is subdivided into the following
parts:
92
→ Agriculture - 34.4 %
→ Services - 48.0 %
→ Manufacturing - 13.5 %
→ Construction - 3.4 %
→ Mining - 0.7 %
The most important industries in Malaysia, also in terms of future economic
development for the country, are Agriculture, Trade & Service Industry, Tourism,
Knowledge State, Biotechnology and Area Development. As Malaysia’s production is
mainly based on agricultural products, crops like Paddy, Coconut, Rubber, Sugar &
Cane, Tobacco and Mangoes are very famous and attracts the main focus in terms of
investment and research. Especially Perlis, which has a distinct dry and wet season, is
very suitable for fruits (mangoes & testing site for robustness of seeds) as well as for
the famous Paddy farming. Other existing industries in Perlis are:
→ Plastic Manufacturing
→ Electronic Manufacturing
→ Herbs Manufacturing
→ Cement Manufacturing
→ Industrial Alcohol Manufacturing
→ Fertilizer Manufacturing
As the State of Perlis is nowadays also very focused in promoting Biotechnology
industries, the Biotech Centre is based in Perlis in the Technology Park Malaysia
(TPM). The Park provides a variety of business and office services for all clients.
With its advanced infrastructure and services the Park tries to accelerate the
development of science, technology and innovation that will facilitate knowledge-
based enterprises to grow and compete in the global marketplace.
In order to receive a practical insight into UniMAP’s education concept we straightly
went to a teaching factory and a microfabrication Cleanroom. All in all we had a one-
hour tour through all the facilities during which we gained valuable and practical
information. In the factory, products which are made out of plastic are designed and
fabricated by UniMAP students. Furthermore, also the programming of the machines
is done by them. Samples of produced designes would be the proto-type of the
lighning cover for motorcycles or protective creditcard holders. Generally, three
93
different product mehods are applied at this factory: Rapid Prototyping Product,
E.D.M. Wirecut Products and Injection Moulding Products.
Additionally, UniMAP has their own
research facilieties which are all equiped
with high-tech instruments and machines.
The facilieties comprise four different
laboratories out of which we visited the
microfabrication Cleaningroom. These
laboratories should provide the students
with own research possibilities, an
involvement into testing, device design or fabrication in order to gain a competitive
possition in the modern labour market. Out of hygenic reasons we had to adapt to
their rules and before entering the microfabrication cleanroom, we took off our shoes
and put over a protective plastic.
Concluding to deepen our new gained friendships and relations we had a short
networking lunch at a local small, but delicious cantine in which we were served
national specialities such as noodle soup with vegetables and noodles with soya-
sauce.
Contact Information Director of Perlis State Economic Planning Unit Madam Fauziah bt Hashim Tel : +604-9702160 E-Mail: [email protected] Web : www.perlis.gov.my Fax : +604-9762951 Web : www.perlis.gov.my
94
9.2. SHORUBBER (Malaysia) DN BHD
After a warm welcoming by our host UniMAP and a joint lunch at a local restaurant
in Perlis, we students and graduates, thanks to a good Management and contacts of
our Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic, had the great possibility to visit SHORUBBER
(Malaysia) SDN BHD production facilities in the Jejawi Industrial Estate in Perlis.
The company is known for its high quality glove production and social awareness
programmes for its employees in Perlis.
The visitation started with a brief introduction of
SHORUBBER (Malaysia) SDN BHD, its range of
gloves and the production flow at the factory by Ms.
Salbiah Hashim, HR Manager at SHORUBBER.
Following, a round tour through the facility has been
arranged during various process steps could have been
closely observed by our group. Concluding, a Question & Answer session took place
in order to discuss different issues such as environmental awareness or employment
circumstances at SHORUBBER (M).
General Information
Ms. Salbiah Hashim started her presentation by giving us a brief introduction about
SHORUBBER in Perlis, Malaysia. SHORUBBER (Malaysia) SDN BHD is one of the
production facilities of the Japanese glove producing corporation ShowaGloves
Group.
ShowaGloves Co. has been established in October 1954 and is today’s world leading
Rubber glove producer. Its Headquarters are situated in Himeji/Tokyo, Japan and
Date: Monday, 14th September 2009
Time: 02:00 – 04:00
Topic: SHORUBBER (Malaysia) SDN BHD – Glove Production Facility in Arau, Perlis (Malaysia)
Speaker: Ms. Salbiah Hashim, HR Manager of SHORUBBER (Malaysia) SDN BHD
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic
95
production facilities are in Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam. Moreover, two overseas
sales subsidiaries in France and the US have been established in order to serve not
only the Asian market but also on a worldwide basis. ShowaGloves total workforce
accounts for about 3500 employees worldwide.
SHORUBBER (M) SDN BHD, located in the industrial area of Perlis (Arau), was
founded in 1989 and started producing four years later in 1993. Currently about 2.000
employees are working at the production, whereby the majority of the labour force are
women. Furthermore, out of the total workers about 300 are of Vietnamese origin.
The manufactured household and industrial gloves are made out of NR7, NBR8, PVC9
and PU10 and are used in order to protect users and workers from harm, such as
chemicals, heat or sharp instruments. Furthermore, SHORUBBER (M) SDN BHD
also produces gloves for the Kevlar® brand fibre from DuPont wherefore the
company has to import and process the special produced yarns from Kevlar®.
Generally, the annual production accounts for about 800 million gloves from which
100% of the production is then shipped and exported to Japan, the US or Europe.
During the company presentation, Ms. Hashim very much focused on the social
awareness and responsibility of the factory. Workers have to work 6 days per week
whereby every working day is divided into three shifts. Generally 27 holidays are
granted out of which 12 can be assigned by each employee personally and
individually. The remaining 15 days are set by the company. The average wage at
SHORUBBER (Malaysia) SDN BHD is between 600-800 Ringgits. Furthermore, the
factory offers food, hostility, medical service from a company nurse and financial
support for doctor visits to its workers, additionally a Kindergarten-service to mothers
is available. As a special reward to some employees trainings in Japan are admitted.
7 NR = Natural Rubber 8 NBR = Nitrile Butadiene Rubber 9 PVC = Polyvinyl Chloride 10 PU = Polyurethane
96
Production flow process
Before our factory tour, Ms. Salbiah Hashim briefly explained various production
steps beginning from the processing of the raw materials until the packaging and
shipping to various destinations.
Currently, SHORUBBER produces 7
different kinds of gloves either made only
out of rubber or yarn or a combination out
of both materials. Yarns are purchased
locally and overseas, which are then
processed in order to knit the gloves.
SHORUBBER has a property of about
2.800 knitting units and produces daily
40.000 gloves per day. Next, the knitted gloves are washed and scoured after dying in
order to become antibacterial and antifungal.
Simultaneously the rubber is compounded and mixed in with which the knitted gloves
are coated or different hand models are dipped. SHORUBBER has about 1.300 model
hands in use. After the drying of the rubber layer, gloves are again washed and
leached in order to prevent any skin irritations while using them which is followed by
the curing process. Finally, gloves are inspected on their quality and graded
afterwards they are packed depending on their destination country or their purpose.
Packages send to the US mostly contain 70
or 100 pieces per package whereas
packages for Asia and Europe comprise
120 gloves per packages. Furthermore,
depending on the customers demand,
smaller packages are prepared, e.g. for
marketing campaigns.
Question & Answer Session
Our visit at the SHORUBBER production was closed by a Question & Answer
session during which students and graduates could raise their questions. The topics on
which we focused on were environmental issues and legal regulations, the
employment of Vietnamese workers at SHORUBBER in Malaysia and about
97
SHORUBBERS future perspectives. Regarding environmental aspects,
SHORUBBER has to follow Malaysian law and regulations and they are regularly
controlled by local powers. Moreover, there is a strict distinction between chemical
waste and scheduled waste. Therefore, chemical waste has to be disposed by waste
management companies or used for other productions, although it cannot be
processed for further glove productions. As stated earlier, SHORUBBER currently
employs about 300 different workers, but not for cheap-labour reasons instead
because they are willing to fulfill tasks which Malay employees refuse to carry out.
The minimum wage for these employees is fixed by the Malay and Vietnamese
governments in order to prevent an exploitation of Vietnamese workers in Malaysia.
The last question was referring to whether the SHORUBBER (Malaysia) SDN BHD
production is planning to expand their facilities in Perlis or think about a reduction in
the benefit of enlarging their production in Vietnam due to lower labour costs. Both
possibilities have been rejected by Ms. Salbiah Hashim because further enlargements
are not possible due to the bordering river banks and a reduction either because of the
high quality level achieved in Perlis, Malaysia.
Contact Information SHORUBBER (Malaysia) SDN. BHD. Ms. Salbiah Hashim HR Manager Email: [email protected]
During our stay in Malaysia, the famous
Islamic fasting month Ramadan took place
during which people are not allowed to eat
and drink from 5.00 am to 7.00 pm.
Therefore we had the great pleasure to
visit the most famous food market only
held during Ramadan where people buy
their products for the late evening dinner.
For this exploration we were divided into smaller groups in which locals students and
professors gave us a small tour through the market during which we could buy and
taste various national specialities prepared by Malaysian families.
98
9.3. Business in Malaysia
Our evening programme started off with a speech of
Mr. Murray Hunter, a very dear friend of Prof. Anis
Bajrektarevic, who has been involved into Asian
business since 1975. He came into touch with Asia
through his father who has been selling Japanese
products after WW II, which was very difficult during
then. After dropping out of Law school, Mr. Hunter
himself started dealing with a company located in
Bangkok, which turned out to be very complicated as Asian companies were very
protective and in-ward bound. Furthermore, relationships between Western
managements and the Asian business culture were about to fail in most cases due to
culture clashes and the lack of understanding from both sides. Therefore, Mr. Hunter
went for a different approach in order to enter the Asian market: some kind of Joint
Venture with l ocal companies, which also turned out to be little satisfying. Finally
the decision to set up an own business and factory in Indonesia and serve the local
markets directly was taken. Nevertheless the expected success was still missing due to
the absence of contacts in Indonesia and Mr. Hunter sold the company, got out of
business and solely maintained a supplier contract which emerged to be the most
successful business deal.
Back in Australia, Mr. Hunter finished University with a MBA, re-entered the
business family and again the Asian market in Malaysia very successfully until the
big Asian crisis in the late 1990’ies. Due to high losses, he adapted a Malay thinking:
as long as you can afford your life you are doing well.
Date: Monday, 14th September 2009
Time: 08:00 – 11:00
Topic: Business in Malaysia
Speakers: Mr. Murray Hunter, Associate Professor at the School of Business Engineering UniMAP; Mr. Saffie Bakar, Advisor to SHORUBBER (Malaysia) SDN BHD + Director of Dallab Cryptotech and Senator Ahmad Bin Hussin, Member of House Senate Malaysia
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic
99
Currently, Mr. Hunter is involved into
Malaysian plantation development and
harvesting in which he himself is
supporting alternative methods and
application of different practices in order
to enhance Malaysian agriculture for a
higher competitiveness on the world
market. The most important thing Mr. Hunter was telling us with his own eventful life
story and approach was in order to be successful we have to belief in ourselves, trust
our own ideas, benefit and learn from failures and never give up. Furthermore,
breakdowns are always possible and nobody is spared from it, standing up is always
your own responsibility and risking is the most important in order to achieve your
goals.
At the end of his touching and honest words Mr. Hunter motivated as to get together
in groups with the local students, in order to exchange perspectives, receive useful
insights and different point of views. This was a very good opportunity to get a brief
idea how student life is in Malaysia. Also we discovered that although we might life
thousands of kilometres from each other and despite of any cultural differences, our
future expectations and hopes are very much the same. The evening closed with two
speakers, Mr. Saffie Bakar and Senator Ahmad Bin Hussin, friends of Mr. Murray
Hunter and highly active players in the political and business life in Malaysia who
both were very pleased to give us a brief speech about their current involvements.
During his highly diverted professional career, Mr. Bakar served as a government
officer and acted as an advisor to various companies striving for an IPO listing.
Currently, Mr. Saffie Bakar is engaged as an a counsellor to the glove producing
company which we visited earlier this day SHORUBBER (Malaysia) SDN BHD.
Unfortunately, due to a shortage in time Mr. Bakar was not able to share his full
professional experience with us but only briefly introduce us with two of his current
business projects. As being the Director of “Dallap cryptotech” his main focus was on
their project of offering encrypted mobile phones to government officials; a project in
close collaboration with a Russian company. Messages send to these mobile phones
are deleted automatically after a while, thus they are not traceable. In order to receive
100
more information, Mr. Bakar asked us to visit the company’s webpage under
www.dallab.net.
Our final speaker was Senator Ahmad Bin Hussin, highly respected member of the
Malaysian Parliament, who granted us few minutes of his time despite of his high
occupation and the Muslim fasting month Ramadan. Although acting as a politician
and diplomat ever since, Senator Hussin never served abroad but instead focusing on
the home sector in Malaysia. During his passionate speech, Senator Ahmad Bin
Hussin clearly indicated the importance of the Malaysian Constitution and very much
highlighted its achievements. The evening ended with a friendly invitation from our
hosts to a traditional, joint Malay dinner with our very much appreciated speakers and
new gained friends from UniMAP at the university. The dinner was a great
opportunity to have smaller and more open talks with both, UniMAP students and our
guest speakers, which was highly welcomed by us. For us students and graduates it
was a unique and amazing opportunity to get in touch with real life in South-East
Asia, gaining a deeper insight into South-East Asian relations which enhanced us with
new information and thanks to the great team of UniMAP and great coordination of
Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic we had some wonderful days in Perlis and gained rich
experience for life.
Contact Information Murray Hunter Associate Professor at the School of Business Engineering UniMAP E-Mail: [email protected]
Saffie Bakar Advisor to SHORUBBER (Malaysia) SDN BHD and Director of Dallab Cryptotech E-Mail: [email protected]; [email protected] Web page : www.dallab.net
Senator Ahmad Bin Hussin Member of House Senate Malaysia Tel.: 04-9769813
101
102
10. Tuesday, September 15th 2009
10.1. Reception by the Raja of Perlis
His Royal Highness, Duli Yang Maha Mulia Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Ibni Almarhum
Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail
General Information
The students and graduates of the IMC University of
Applied Sciences Krems, participating in the Business
Focus ASEAN, were given the unique opportunity of a
reception by His Royal Highness, the Raja of Perlis,
Malaysia. This is the reason why this very Tuesday
definitely was and will be recalled as the highlight of this
biweekly stay in Malaysia and Thailand.
The Raja of Perlis
The Raja of Perlis, Duli Yang Maha Mulia Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Ibni Almarhum
Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail, is the ruler of the smallest of nine states of Malaysia,
which lies at the northwestern extremity of the Malay Peninsula. Perlis has a
population of approximately 200,000, being comprised out of three major ethnic
groups, the Malay (80%), Chinese (10%), Indian (1%) and others (9). Kangar is the
state capital, whereas Arau is the royal capital.
Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin is the firstborn to the late Tuanku Syed Putra Ibni Al-
Marhum Syed Hassan Jamalullail and Tuanku Budriah binti Al-Marahum Tengku
Ismail. The governing raja was born on the 17 of May 1943 at the Istana Hijau in the
royal town of Arau.
As far as His Highnesses` educational background is concerned Tuanku Syed
Sirajuddin studied in the best schools and institutions at home as well as abroad. The
early exposure to sound educational values and traditions had an indelible influence
Date: Tuesday, September 15th 2009
Time: 09:30 – 13:30
Topic: Reception of IMC students and graduates by the Raja of Perlis, including question and answer session
Speakers: The Raja of Perlis, Duli Yang Maha Mulia Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Ibni Almarhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic and Yang Berbahagia Brigadier General Dato´ Professor Dr Kamarudin Hussin
103
on the character and personality of the young prince, and has colored his outlook on
life as well as his relationships with people.
Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin ascended the throne as the seventh Ruler, the Raja of Perlis
in December 2001. He was elected as the twelfth Yang di-Pertuan Agong, meaning
the King of the entire country Malaysia, eight months later and stayed in office until
2006. As the Head of State, His Majesty has functions in the three branches of
government, the Executive, the Legislative as well as the Judiciary.
The office of the King of Malaysia is not hereditary, but the power to elect and
appoint the Yang di-Pertuan Agong remains with the Conference of Rulers. It acts as
a council serving as a forum for the Rulers and Governors of the several states.
Malaysia practices a system of government based on Constitutional Monarchy and
Parliamentary Democracy at two levels, Federal as well as State levels. At the Federal
level the head of State is the King and the head of government is the Prime Minister.
At the state level the head of State is either the Sultan, Raja or Yang di-Pertuan Besar.
The reception
After a short briefing on the etiquette and
diplomatic do´s and don´ts towards royals
provided by Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic we
arrived at the premises of Tuanku, the
Istana Arau. One could feel the tension
and excitement in the conference room
before the audience finally started at 10
am with an introduction by the Raja´s
assistants. The two pre-selected speakers
Mr. Vincent Krämer and Ms. Sandra Gitau introduced the group of Export students
and graduates as well as the purpose of this respective study trip and their personal
ties to Asia to the Raja, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail. After this
introductory phase His Royal Highness opened the floor for questions.
Question and Answer Session
Mr. Erwin Ulreich, who has previously already been living and working in Southeast
Asia, mentioned that he is impressed with the unique Malaysia concept as its
harmonious multi-racial society is unique. His Majesty shared his experiences on this
issue also based on a former visit to Italy and coming together of diverse religions.
This was followed by a statement from Ms. Kerstin Dunzinger. She referred to the
results of her recently written bachelor paper on water issues, based on the bi-lateral
relations between Malaysia and Singapore. During the process she received cordial
support by the Malaysian Ambassador to Austria, Dato' M. H. Arshad. Tuanku Syed
104
Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail kindly commented on the dependence of Singapore from
the Malaysian supply of water, as well as territorial issues when it comes to water.
Furthermore, Ms. Alexandra Wohlesser expressed her expectations on her master
studies, which she will undertake at the Diplomatic Academy in Kuala Lumpur
starting in April 2010.
Ms. Roza Ovezova who has joined the study trip as a guest student from Tajikistan
presented her home country briefly. His Majesty replied that he would travel to the
Central Asian region, namely Kyrgyzstan in the upcoming autumn. Prof. Anis
Bajrektarevic expressed his deep gratitude for hosting the IMC Export students and
graduates to His Royal Highness, even during the fasting month, where the
participating Muslims refrain from drinking or eating from dawn until sunset and
therefore any additional physical effort. He also introduced Mr. Antoni Guiu Terreu
to His Majesty, as he is an exchange student from Spain, the only student from a
country with a constitutional monarchy. Mr. Terreu was not yet given the opportunity
to meet his King but was exceptionally impressed by his first audience by His
Majesty, the Raja of Perlis.
The Raja, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra
Jamalullail concluded the reception with a
few words on his impressions about the
group of Export students and graduates.
As a sign of appreciation Mr. Smajo
Pasalic handed over the students’ present
for His Majesty, a collection of famous
classical Austrian music. The audience
lasted for about 90 minutes and ended
with the obligatory „family-photo“. After His Majesty had left we were given the
opportunity to visit the Royal gallery, an exhibition of selected gifts the father of His
Majesty was given by several guests.
While this guided tour took place some of the Export students and graduates gave
interviews to representatives of the local media who accompanied the event. They
were mainly interested in our perception of the region and its peculiarities.
Enriched by the previous extraordinary unique and fascinating experience the students
and graduates were invited for delicious lunch at the “working palace”, the former
residence of the Raja.
105
106
10.2. State Councellor for Investment, Trade and Industry, Science and
Technology
General information
At the parliament of the local government the IMC
students and graduates have been received at 2 pm
by Dato´ Seri Diraja Syed Razlan Jamalullail. He is
the brother of the King and has also served as a
Member of Parliament in the National Assembly in
Kuala Lumpur. He is a graduate in agriculture,
therefore a nutrition-specialist and has previously
also been working as a businessman. Dato´ Syed
Razlan Jamalullail returned to Perlis to take on the
position of the Executive State Councilor on
Investment, Trade and Industry as well as Science
and Technology.
Perlis economy
Mr. Dato´Syed Razlan Jamalullail provided us with information and an overview of
the activities in the different economical sectors in Perlis. The state of Perlis is an
agricultural state. This sector mainly consists of the growing and processing of sugar
cane, rubber, paddy as well as mango plants, whereas paddy constitutes the major
source of income. As the agricultural sector is of utmost importance for the region
they have established a world class R&D centre for seeds in Perlis. This Seeds Centre
aims to ensure the high quality of hybrid rice on the one hand and to increase the
productivity per hectare. Animal husbandry, fruits & veget ables like grapes, herbs
and horticulture like Java tea plantations also form part of Perlis agriculture.
As far as the manufacturing branch is concerned, there are only a few production sites
including plastic or rubber. Therefore, the goal for the near future is to promote
biotechnology industries by building up a centre for R&D in biotechnology as well as
Date: Tuesday, September 15th 2009
Time: 14:00 – 16:30
Topic: The State of Perlis
Speaker: Dato`Seri Diraja Syed Razlan Jamalullail
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic and Murray Hunter
107
an engineering cluster. Further goals are to develop and enlarge Perlis tourism,
promoting their numerous rivers and the caves.
Dato` Syed Razlan Jamalullail especially
stressed Perlis intensions to establish a
logistic hub as well as border city for the
transportation of cargo from Thailand to
Pulau Pinang via roads and railroad. He
concluded the very comprehensive and
informative presentation with something
that is very much true for all small
entities: „We have to concentrate on small
things of a high value. And even though we are small we have to achieve incentives
for investors.“
Question and Answer Session
After the presentation students and graduates were given the opportunity to pose
questions of interest related to the economy of Perlis. The first question that arose
addressed the issue of investment incentives for foreign investors. Ms. Sandra Gitau
mentioned the example of Pulau Pinang with its well-established Free Trade Zone, as
a very effective tool to attract overseas investors. Dato´ Seri Diraja Syed Razlan
Jamalullail pointed out that Perlis offers alternative incentives to investors of 12-15%,
compared to 10% of its neighboring state Kedah. According to him a Free Trade Zone
would require territory and therefore harm the agricultural sector of the state.
Afterwards, Ms. Michaela Grill posed a question
concerning the use of chemical fertilizers in Perlis.
Mr. Jamalullail rather expressed his concern for the
use of chemical insecticides and fungicides, because
people are directly affected with these harmful
products when consuming fruits or vegetables. Perlis
should opt for a mix of organic and chemical insecticides, as this will create a balance
between the increase of returns and doing less harm to the nature on the other hand.
Since Perlis concentrates on the growing of paddy Mr. Wolfgang Weber was
interested in the option of spreading the risk by diversifying the range of agricultural
products. However, Mr. Jamalullail responded that diversification is not an option as
paddy is the most important comestible and presents a security crop, not only for the
state of Perlis but the entire country. With the cultivating of rice Malaysia makes itself
less vulnerable in case of and less dependent on imports.
108
The next question concerned the area of genetic engineering. According to Dato´
Jamalullail Malaysia is blessed with sufficient food for its population. This is the
reason why there is no need for genetic engineering, even though research is
conducted in this field in the country. Mr. Georg Schön was interested in the question
if the sugar cane production could be seen as an opportunity to produce alternative
fuels. Side-product of sugar cane production is used as organic fertilizer. Finally Mr.
Jamalullail argues that Perlis does not produce enough to generate alternative fuel.
However, he mentions a project with the aim of re-converting plastic into alternative
fuel.
Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic finalized the round of inspiring discussions with the general
question of how the studying and working environment or possibilities look like in
Malaysia. In order to qualify, one has to prove that there is a lack of this certain
capability, meaning that this know-how cannot be supplied by domestic labor.
109
10.3. Food bazaar and cultural evening
Leaving the premises of the National Parliament the bus took us to a food bazaar,
which was situated next to the football stadium of Kangar. Since the sun did not set
yet and many Muslims were still fasting this must have been a torture to cook, see,
sell and smell this delicious food. As the food served and sold there was traditional
Malay, Chinese and Indian home cooking this was not only visually very attractive
and colorful but a real culinary pleasure. The acquired food could then be enjoy
afterwards in the bus or back in the hotel, or even on-site for those who could not
resist any longer.
After having gathered already lots of impressions on this remarkable day there was
one highlight still to come. And it turned out to be something very special again.
We have been invited from our hosts of UniMAP to join a cultural evening event,
including a cultural show. When we arrived at the place where the event was going to
take place we were facing lovingly decorated tables, a huge stage, several students
and graduates of UniMAP as well as exchange students from China and nicely
dressed performers in their traditional costumes. We arranged to be seated around the
tables by mixing the nationalities of this evening. After the Vice Chancellor of the
University Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Yang Berbahagia Brigadier General Dato´
Professor Dr Kamarudin Hussin, had welcomed us several performers - singers and
dancers - communicated Malaysian culture to us in an impressive way. They
performed traditional Chinese, Indian and Malay dances in colorful costumes. All of
them were students of UniMAP but due to their professional performance they could
have been also members of any university focused on the fine arts.
At that moment it had been also our wish
to introduce them to one of our cultural
peculiarity. And therefore we have chosen
to present them the Viennese Waltz. Ms.
Julia Wimmer and Mr. Michael
Schadenhofer – both of them very
experienced dancers – performed to the
music of Strauss a fabulous waltz. In order
to make these evening a real intercultural
exchange Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic invited all participants to join us on stage and
practice together a Viennese Waltz. This had been a lot of fun for all participants and
nobody got hurt. Our first impression that there must be very talented students at
UniMAP was confirmed when UniMAP’s Vice-Chancellor again went onto stage and
110
performed several songs. None of us remained seated on his chair any longer when he
invited us to join a dance. He was performing on the stage supported by UniMAP
students as well as IMC students and graduates and Prof. Bajrektarevic. Before we
gathered for the “family picture” Mr. Erwin Ulreich expressed his gratitude in the
name of all IMC students and graduates for this remarkable and memorable evening.
Concluding it has to be emphasized that this event was an extraordinary and very
special experience for all participants and the astonishing effort put into the
preparation as well as the vivid and spectacular performances was highly appreciated.
The cultural exchange, which took place on all levels through chatting, dining,
singing and dancing could neither have been more intense nor on a more personal or
sincere level.
111
112
11. Wednesday, September 16th 2009
11.1. Kulim High Tech Park
The last day in Malaysia our group started with the visit to the Kulim Hi-Tech Park
(KHTP), which is located close to Penang. The IMC group was guided through an
introduction lecture about the KHTP by Mr. Annuar bin Mohd Saffar, the Vice
president of Kulim Technology Park Corporation and the Director of Kulim
Technology Management Sdn Bhd. As the second part of the visit, the group received
a guided tour throughout the premises of the technology management centre. In the
areas dedicated to robot programming, students get the possibility to improve their
skills for editing and implementing various programs with regards to automation.
Witnessing engineers perform such activities was rather interactive for our group.
History
KHTP is the first technology park in Malaysia and one of the largest in the world.
Kulim Hi-Tech Park (KHTP) was officially opened in 1996, when Intel corp. opened
its subsidiary there. Rapid growth of the park attracted investors and today there are
more than 20 companies operating on the park's facilities, including the Austria based
“Infineon”. Advanced development of the park would not be possible without support
from the government which established a local authority administration office
especially for KHTP in order to provide efficient service for local and international
investors. KHTP’s preferential location next to the North-Butterworth Container
Terminal (NBCT) for sea cargo and the Bayan Lepas International Airport in Penang
also plays a central role in the park's development.
Date: Wednesday, September 16th 2009
Time: 12:00 – 13:45
Topic: Kulim Hi-Tech Park, an introduction to the premises and the Asian association of business incubation including a short visit to the technology management centre
Speaker: Mr. Annuar bin Mohd Saffar
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic (Erwin Ulreich on behalf of)
113
Scope of activities
KHTP incorporates 6 dedicated zones; the main,
industrial zone represents more than 20 companies,
which have their industrial facilities within the park
(Intel, Fujimi, Fuji Electric, Entegris, Schencker,
Infinion etc.) on more than 45 industrial lots. The 5
other zones include R&D, commercial, recreation,
urban and institutional zones. Established companies are operating there are aimed to
provide services and support to the industrial companies, with a workforce of 16.000
employers working in the park. Today, 320 expatriates, as well as locals live in
residential facilities and use medicine, education, commercial and recreation services.
Supplementary investors have access to R&D, training, IT, administration and
commercial facilities and services provided by KHTK to their convenience. Nearby
seaport and airport facilities allow fast transportation of products. Furthermore
favorable government treatment including subjects such as taxation and employment
of foreigners provide incentives for investors.
Asian association of business incubation
Recently many countries have established
incubation centers to provide new
knowledge for companies and business
operations, as innovation and
entrepreneurship have become the key
factors of driving economic development.
The Asian Association of Business
Incubation (AABI) comprises associations
that organize incubation resources and facilities and organizations operating
incubation programs among 16 nations in Asia since year 2001 when it was
established. The IMC group was guided by Mr. Annuar bin Mohd Saffar who was
elected as the new President of AABI for 2 years from January 2008 until December
2009.
114
Kulim technology management
Kulim technology management for small
and medium industries is a part of training
programs provided in the R&D zone. Such
programs include advanced technical
courses such as robot programming,
working with turning, laser, prototyping
and wire cut machines. Other courses are
focused on quality enhancement and
biotechnology. The delegation was guided through the premises of technology
management program where the group became familiar with robotic programming
and operations of machines. Courses last from 2-4 days and cost in average 100 euros,
but companies may receive a subsidy from the government, allowing them to educate
their employers for free.
Question & Answer session
Following the presentations on the Kulim
Hi-Tech Park and the Asian Association
of Business Incubation, Mr. Annuar bin
Mohd Saffar opened the floor for
questions. One of the group members
wanted to know, what Mr. bin Mohd
Saffar identified as the most important
competitive advantages of the KHTP. One
got to know that one of the main factors for the current good status quo is the close
cooperation of the KHTP with education facilities such as UniMAP. Such interlinking
between universities and the businesses on the other side allows companies to select
from a rather large pool of highly skilled human resources. Additionally, corporations
that decide to set up a production facility can not only refer to a scheme of incentives
from the Malay government side, but will also receive further bonuses from the Hi-
Tech Park itself.
The final question dealt with the subject of whether the region was suffering from
brain drain. Mr. Annuar bin Mohd Saffar’s answer surprised many group members, as
he indicated that today many global companies are substituting expatriates for local
work force. Depending on the company and its country of origin, it was illustrated
that especially US-American corporations were rather likely to use local engineers
115
and reduce the number of expatriates. On the other hand, Japanese companies are
often staffing their production facilities with their own nationals.
Contact Information
Mr. Annuar bin Mohd Saffar Vice president of KTPC & Director of KHTP Current president AABI [email protected]
116
11.2. AMD
Disclaimer: In order to comply with
AMD’s security and reporting standards,
this section will not include any pictures
of the cleanroom laboratories, as well as
technical details. For further information
please refer to AMD’s global website.
(http://www.amd.com) The second part of
our programme for this day brought us to
the production site of AMD – Advanced
Micro Devices, located in the commercial area of Penang. Following a medical health
check for high temperature, the group was directed towards the company’s
auditorium, where Ms. Jariyah Hashim, Director of EHS & Operations Training an d
Mr. C.C. Leong, Manager of the branches Employee & Industrial Relations, as well
as Public Relations and Human Resources provided the students with a presentation
on the company.
The lecture of the two speakers included an overall
view on the global structure of the concern, but also
integrated the audience via a vivid Question and
Answer session. Mr. Leong would award good
answers with “AMD - Limited Edition products”,
such as T-shirts, coffee mugs and posters.
Ms. Hashim illustrated the company’s supply chain
and production flow by presenting a corporate
video, subsequently opening the floor to questions
from the students’ side.
Before giving the group a very rare chance to visit
parts of the production line, AMD provided the
Date: Wednesday, September 16th 2009
Time: 14:00 – 16:30
Topic: History and scope of work of AMD, an introduction to processors including a short visit to the production facilities and cleanroom labs
Speaker: Ms. Jariyah Hashim, Mr. C. C. Leong
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic (Erwin Ulreich on behalf of)
117
delegation with a lunch on the company’s expenses.
This part of the trip was concluded by a round-up session, where Mr. Leong presented
the participants with “goodie bags” including pens and information material on
AMD’s products.
History
The company was founded in 1969 in Sunnyvale,
California. AMD’s field of activity is the development
of computer processors and related technologies for
commercial and consumer markets.
Today, the hardware producer is employer to approximately 14.000 employees and
generates a yearly profit of about 5.8 billion US-Dollars. Major milestones of this
company include the acquisition of Texas-based ATI, a manufacturer of graphic
devices and the introduction of the first x86 dual-core processor in 2004. In the Asian
region, Penang is one of three “in-house manufacturing” sites, the other ones are
located in Suzhou, P.R. China and Singapore. AMD’s involvement in the region can
be depicted in the workforce of AMD Malaysia. 54% are Chinese, 13% are Indians,
32% are Malay and only 1% descents of any other background. Besides it has to be
mentioned that many employees of the Malay subsidiary have been with AMD since
the start of the company’s activities in the region. This can be reflected in Ms.
Hashim’s statement on the AMD Malaysia workforce: “We are not old, we are
mature!”
Company scope of activities
On a global scale, AMD is the second-largest global supplier of microprocessors,
which use the x86 architecture. The product range includes processors of various
kinds, namely the AMD Athlon™, AMD Phenom™, AMD Sempron™ and AMD
Turion™ series. These series can be divided in two segments: Desktop Processors and
Mobile Processors. One most recent example for the use of AMD processors is the
Microsoft Wii™, as part of their gaming technology. Even in the world of cinema, the
products of the semiconductor manufacturer are used. Examples include Madagascar,
Ice Age and Shrek, where Hollywood studios have relied on AMD technology to
realize the film projects.
Today AMD is looking for more ways to “further move up the value chain” (cf.
Ms.Hashim). Therefore the company has introduced the WISE system. The acronym
WISE stands for Workable Ideas Supplied by Employees, where AMD’s workforce
gets the chance to have its say on business conduct of the company. The best ideas are
presented during an annual award ceremony.
118
Question & Answer Session
The presentation was followed by a very lively Q&A session, most of them very
circling around technical details of the processors and the manufacturing of
microchips.
One of the topics raised was why gold was being used within the production. Ms.
Hashim explained that this material was used in order to enhance the durability of the
product, as well as the conductance. AMD would not be able to use anything else, as
most of the minerals include a portion of nickel, which has a negative on both criteria.
One of our Malaysian colleagues wanted to know, what kind of sand was used for the
production of AMD microchips and was being informed that sand with a very high
concentration of quartz is the most optimal basis for production.
The Question and Answer session was closed with the question, why microchips have
to be round instead of square and Mr. Leong informed the audience that the reason for
this would also be found in the field of enhancing conductance. Regarding possible
internships it was explained that the Penang unit of AMD is mainly concerned with
production aspects rather than the marketing; internships may only be given to
students of an engineering background.
Contact Information
Mr. C.C. Leong Manager Employee Relation & Industrial Relation, Communication & Public Relation, Human Resources [email protected]
Ms. Jariyah Hashim, Director of EHS & Operations Training [email protected].
119
120
12. Friday, September 18th 2009
12.1. Mahidol University, College of Management
Friday, the 18th September, was the last official day of the “Business Focus ASEAN-
Study Trip”. The IMC Delegation from Krems, Austria, had the great opportunity, not
only to listen to, but also lively interact and share our collected opinions and
impressions with two Asian experts in the course of the “Final workshop on
intercultural management”.
Mrs. Astrid Kainzbauer, Ph.D., Manager
of International Relations and Lecturer in
Management from the “Mahidol
Universtity”-College of Management, in
Bangkok, Thailand, expert in the field of
culture and business ethics showed us in a
snapshot all those remarkable
characteristics of the Thai culture which
we were, at least to some extent, allowed to observe during our stay in Thailand. Mr.
Till Morstadt, on the other hand, partner at “Lorenz & Partners Co., Ltd., a globally
acting consulting company with offices in Germany, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan
and Vietnam is an expert in the field of investment, tax and business consulting in
Thailand.
The bright side of Thailand’s business environment:
First, Mr. Morstadt underlined Thailand’s excellent geographic position in the Indo-
Asian region and its graphical, industrial, and political importance. Two very
important advantages of Thailand compared to its neighbours in a foreign company’s
point of view, are the alluring labour costs on one hand and the prevailing excellent
infrastructure on the other. Geographically seen, Thailand offers the perfect
infrastructure and potential to act as a springboard for internationally acting
Date: Friday, September 18th 2009
Time: 15:30 – 17:30
Topic: Final workshop on Intercultural Management
Speaker: Ms. Astrid Kainzbauer, Ph.D., Manager of International Relations and Mr. Till Morstadt, Partner at “Lorenz & Partners Co., Ltd.
Moderator : Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic (Mag. (FH) Vincent Kramer on behalf of)
121
companies wanting to penetrate the Chinese, Indonesian or the Asian market in
general. Mr. Morstadt underlined, that Thailand is generally very interesting for
foreign company’s expats and their families, because personal integration is very
easy.
The dark side of Thailand’s business environment:
Sometimes, however, companies are facing quite some difficulties in complying with
the governmental guidelines. The “Foreign Business Act” (Permission for foreign
companies dating 1997 which limit the amount of direct foreign investment, e.g. Joint
Ventures with 51% Thai shareholders) is one example representing such an obstacle.
The first contact for international companies wanting to penetrate the Thai market is
the so-called “Board of Investment”, which regulates permits for foreign investors, as
in Thailand there are around 50 different types of possible investments. At this point,
it is important to mention, that these procedures can be very quickly handled if you
have experts, such as a business consultant, helping you. Otherwise it could cost a
substantial amount of time and money. The biggest problem Thailand’s economy has
had to face in recent years is its very unstable political environment (e.g.” red” vs.
“yellow shirts”) In terms of staff placement and hiring foreign companies need
someone at the spot, like a local director, who understands the culture and the
prevailing circumstances. Foreign companies can influence and limit the local
director’s power by placing foreign staff in charge of the Finance and Production
Department.
From a Human Resource point of view it is important to mention, that there are no
short-term work permits in Thailand. Consequently companies need to send
“engineers” illegally to perform repair and maintenance work. (In case the labour
department steps in, this could end in a prison cell for one night). Another important
fact internationally acting companies should be aware of is that pre-negotiated
contracts with local business partners are not that definite as it is the case in the
European Union. For some local companies contracts are “fulfillments that might
happen in the future - but if circumstances change -why should the contract be
executed?”
Furthermore Mr. Morstadt recommended us to refrain from “bribing the right people
in Thailand” as it can be a very costly game, due to the fact that international
companies do not know “how to play the game in Thailand”, as they do not exactly
know “who is of importance and who is not!” Another important issue companies
must be aware of is that in terms of business planning. “5 years” is a very long period
122
of time for South-East-Asian people. So, international companies should therefore
avoid “long-future-planning”.
Intercultural dialogue under the guidance of Ms. Kainzbauer:
Following the interesting and detailed
presentation of Mr. Morstadt, the fellow
students and graduates had the great
opportunity to interact with the two
experts in a “Question and Answer
Session” under the direction and guidance
of Ms. Kainzbauer. The IMC Delegation
had then the opportunity to share their
gathered impressions with the group and the experts equally.
• Business related issues mentioned by experts and fellow students and graduates:
o You can not expect “extraordinary things” from Thais, such as an
unauthorized extension of opening hours. (Experienced by the fellow
students for example in terms of the opening hours of the hotels’ internet
café.)
o Companies show their wealth in terms of staff employment. Especially in
tourism related businesses such as restaurants. Thai restaurants seem
extremely overstaffed compared to European standards.
o Thais are in general not trained to be independent, but are very helpful.
� In the EU: discussions, brainstorming, laissez-faire…
� In Thailand: “follow the leader”-principle, know your rules…
o With a “western management style” you don’t do Thais a favour. Thai
workers need a certain degree of hierarchy in their daily business life.
Therefore guidance, directives, and instructions should be provided by the
decision makers and the management alike.
• Fellow students’ personal impressions of Bangkok and the Thais:
o “Yes!” need not mean “yes!” if said by a Thai, it rather means: “I
understand!”
o When a taxi driver says: “I know where the target location is”, he means
that he might know someone, who knows where it is!
o In general taxi drivers do not take advantage of foreigners and do not take
you to unwanted “sight-seeing-tours” around Bangkok.
o Tuk Tuk drivers, however, might take you from one gift shop to the next,
as they get “gas-vouchers” from the shop owners for every “delivered”
tourist.
123
o Basically people are not greedy at all. The poorer they are - the nicer they
are!
o The laundry service in the hotel does not wash your underwear as it is seen
as something private that must not be seen by anyone else.
o The Thai society in general pretty is conservative (party, sex and nightlife
are not discussed.) The “sex-tourism” Thailand is so famous for, does not
represent Thai culture, but some kind of “culture” established solely for
foreigners and tourists who have enough money and the desire to spend it.
Contact Information
Astrid Kainzbauer, Ph.D. Manager of International Relations Lecturer in Management “Mahidol Universtity” College of Management 69 Vipawadee Rangist Rd. Phayathai, 10400 Bangkok, Thailand Email: [email protected]
Till Morstadt, Partner at “Lorenz & Partners Co., Ltd Legal, Tax and Business Consultants 22nd Floor, Sathorn City Tower 175 South Sathorn Rd. 10120 Bangkok, Thailand Email: [email protected]
124
13. Diaries
Saturday, September 5th 2009
Let the journey “party” begin
On Saturday the 5th of September 2009 our group
composed of 26 IMC students and graduates from the
Bachelor and Master “Export-oriented Management” full
and part time program met at the Schwechat Airport at
13.30 sharp ready to start the journey to Thailand and
Malaysia. Discussing the last details of the trip as well as
already made shopping plans one could see many happy
and enthusiastic faces eager to enter the plane. After
saying good bye to family and friends the Emirates flight
EK 128 left Vienna without any difficulties and also the
flight itself was smooth and comfortable.
In Dubai we had about 5 hours to spend until our departure to Thailand which gave us
enough time to explore the airport and its great variety of shops and restaurants. At
2.30 am it was time for us the leave Dubai behind us and enter the second flight
towards Thailand.
125
Sunday, September 6th 2009
First day in Bangkok
After a rather smooth 6-hour flight our
plane arrived on time at the Bangkok
international Airport. Lucky us, we all
passed the health control, which has been
installed due to the swine-flue at the
airport, and did enter Thailand without
any difficulties. At the airport our travel
agent was already waiting for us and after
putting our entire luggage in the very
colourful bus we all were looking forward
to a really needed shower in our hotel.
During the transfer from the airport to the
hotel our travel agent gave us a small
overview about Bangkok, the Thai
mentality and important things we should
consider when exploring the city:
The weather ...
Even though the rain time has already started, for us western Europeans it is still
incredibly hot (28 to 35 °C) and humid (95%). Long sleeve shirts were almost a no-go
but for Thais it was time to take out the winter jacket. The rain is not really a relieve
either but as many of us found out on the last day, a very wet experience.
... people ...
Thais are very friendly and helpful people who love their king. Any disrespect
towards the royal family can lead to jail time without any exceptions. Even such
things as stepping on a coin are seen as a major disrespect. A special Thai thing is the
use of the word “yes” because in Thailand “yes” does not stand for “yes that´s true
and I know” but instead “yes” stands just for “I acoustically did understand you”
which as one can imagine led to very funny conversations while negotiating or
explaining a Thai Taxi driver where you want to go and where we end up.
126
…and the famous traffic.
Bangkok offers various forms of
transportations. The most convenient one
is for sure a taxi. However, with the daily
traffic jam this can be a rather time
consuming form of transport. Other
possible forms of transport are tuk tuk
(three wheal scooter), scooters or buses.
However, Bangkok also offers a very
futuristic and modern sky-train which
offers a fast and cheap form of transport
and a possibility to get out of the daily
traffic on the streets.
After this short overview we finally
arrived in our hotel. The SP “The Suan
Dusit Place” is located in the
governmental district only a few minutes’
walk/drive to Bangkok`s top tourist sites
by the Chao Praya river.
Once receiving the keys to our rooms
everybody was happy to take a cold
shower and refresh before hitting out to
explore Bangkok. The group split up, some went downtown to have a nice dinner and
exploring already some sights whereas some staid in the hotel and enjoyed their first
massage to get rid of their heavy legs after spending almost a whole day on the
airplanes and airports. The prices in Thailand compared to Austrian standards for a
massage were very “student friendly” and one could have a 2½ hour massage for just
12 hours.
127
Monday, September 7th 2009
BFA kick-off
Day two in Bangkok started with some very sleepy
and not very talkative students at the breakfast bar.
For some of us the cultural clash with rice and
meat for breakfast was too much and so toast,
butter and jam were the most common dishes on
the tables. Anyhow, at 10 am Professor Anis gave
us a warm welcome speech explaining the
upcoming events and the program for the following
two weeks. Followed by the 1st BFA session,
which lasted from 11am to 3pm. Using the
information gained the group enjoyed the free
afternoon spending some time in the city centre for
shopping or sightseeing. At night our first
networking dinner took place at the Cabbages &
Condoms. This restaurant is one of the most unique
restaurants in Bangkok and is well known all over
the world. The C&C was conceptualized in part to
promote better understanding and acceptance of
family planning and to generate income to support
various developments activities of the Population
and Community Development Association. For all
students it was fascinating experience and the
jungle like atmosphere, the condom decorations
combined with the traditional Thai food was
something all of us will never forget. After the
dinner the group split up again and explored the
Bangkok nightlife. Thailand and particularly
Bangkok is known for its sex industry. Even if
prostitution is actually illegal in Thailand the
ladies, the boys and the ladyboys are always
present on the streets especially at night. “Here one
remark from our travel agent: In Thailand you have to be careful because you
sometimes get more as you were asking for”. After exploring a few bars some of us
ended up in the Spice Club, which is one of just 4 bars in Bangkok, which is allowed
to open later than 2 am.
128
Tuesday, September 8th 2009
IMC dresscode – here we come
On Tuesday we had a rather short program starting off at 9 am with a group breakfast
and two presenters. Both speakers gave us a really good overview about the economic
situation in this region as well as some problems when working or starting a business.
Before starting our free afternoon Professor Anis reminded us about some important
facts when dealing and negotiating in Thailand and suggested us some hot spots for
shopping and sightseeing.
Most of the Export students and graduates actually
followed his suggestion and spent their free time to
do either shopping in one of the shopping centres or
road markets where we could practice our
negotiation skills with the locals. Especially the
ladies seemed to have a lucky hand when
negotiating and at the end of the day one could see
some exhausted but happy faces when presenting their new shirts, bags or jewellery.
Since our European size bodies did not always fit the standard Thai sizes offered in
the shops, a couple of Export students and graduates took advantage of the relatively
cheap tailor shops and got their shirts handmade. Bering in mind the strict dress code
at the IMC, shirts, jackets, dresses and skirts were ordered and looking at the spent
amount, not only the students left the shops happily but also the tailors were all
smiles.
However, we did not just boost the Thailand economy with our shopping tours but
also attended some other typical local highlights such as Thai boxing at the national
stadium as well as exploring the cultural side of BKK when visiting the temples. Thai
boxing is the national sport and even eight-year-old girls and boys fight with a
passion you have not seen before. Together with the traditional but for western ears
rather annoying fight music this was an experience even the toughest guys of our
group won’t forget.
129
Wednesday, September 9th 2009
Lucky number 9
In Thailand the number nine is a lucky number
and therefore was the 09.09.09 at 09:09 a very
special day for the Thais, which they celebrated
across the country. For us the fourth day in BKK
was actually one of the most interesting but also
exhausting days of the whole trip. With lectures
from 10am to 5pm most of the students were
rather exhausted at the end of the day.
Nevertheless, it was a very informative day with
a lot of first hand information about other
ASEAN countries as well as the relations
between ASEAN and China and also between the EU and ASEAN. After the official
end of the BFA session most of us actually staid at the hotel for some massages but
some few enjoyed a dinner at the city centre.
Talking about massages it has to be mentioned that a traditional Thai massage is not
for sensitive people. It is amazing how much strength a 45-year-old 155cm tall Thai
lady has. However, three hours and some tears later one feels like newborn and all the
“pain” has been forgotten.
130
Thursday, September 10th 2009
BFA meets UNECAP
On Thursday we had our first lecture outside the
hotel. The whole group was supposed to leave at
8.30 the hotel in order to organize the ride to the
UNESCAP building. As already stated earlier in
the diary getting a taxi, which takes you directly to
the place where you want to go, is random.
Therefore it was no surprise that it took almost one
hour for all of us to actually get to the UN building, which should actually just take
seven minutes.
Since our group leader Smajo planned everything with enough time in between
everybody was on time and we listened to some very interesting speakers who
explained us the whole structure of the ESCAP as well as the various departments.
Around 4 pm the group was ready to leave but the weather was not in our favour,
meaning that it was raining or should we say pouring for about one hour. Some brave
Export students and graduates actually started an attempt to get back to the hotel but
were not really successful. Professor Anis and most of the students actually used the
delay for coffee break and free Internet connection in the UN building.
At 5 pm the weather gods gave us a short window of sun, which we used to walk back
to the hotel. After a 20 min walk in a cloud of
humidity and smock we actually arrived at the hotel
and looking for some cold water and a cold shower.
For most of us the night program was also rather
short since the jet lack as well as the visits to
various bars took their tribute to all of us.
131
Friday, September 11th 2009
Ambassador³ After the day at the UN our group was invited to the delegation of the European
commission to Thailand. Even though the last couple days were stressful we all
enjoyed the very interesting and informative presentations, especially since you don’t
have every day the chance to meet three ambassadors who are not just giving you a
great lecture on their point of view, the positions of the EU, the G8 or other countries
in the ASEAN region but also invite you for a lunch which was very much enjoyed by
all of us.
The day went by rather fast and we all were looking forward to the Siam Niramit
Show, which Professor Anis arranged for us. The group met at the subway station
were shuttle busses free of charge were taking us directly to the gates of the theatre.
Already the entrance was overwhelming and everybody took a picture with a lady in
traditional Thai clothes. The show itself is a world-class performance of Thailand’s
arts and cultural heritage. The whole show is performed on a gigantic stage now listed
in the Guinness book of World Records, featuring over 150 performers with as many
as 500 costumes. Especially the river and
rain within the theatre was breath taking
and for us it was an unforgettable night
with a lot of memories and souvenirs.
As usual the taxi drivers had troubles to
find our hotel but we all got back in one
piece and tried to recover for our whole
day excursion the next day.
132
Saturday, September 12th 2009
Rumble in the Jungle The Saturday started early, really early, at 6.30 am
when our travel agent was waiting for us with three
vans in front of the hotel. Quiet almost silent got
some of us on their seats ready to use the two-hour
transfer from the hotel to the river Kwai to sleep
and some actually already slept even before we left
the hotel entrance. The river Kwai is famous since
war prisoners of WWII were forced to build a
bridge and railway through the jungle connecting
Burma (now Myanmar) and Siam (now Thailand).
Besides visiting the bridge we also had planned to
actually have a 90 min train ride on the so called
death train followed by a lunch and later on a
rafting and elephant rides.
Our first stop was actually the Kanchanaburi War
Cemetery. This cemetery, which is the largest of
three on the Burma-Siam Railway, is located near
the site of the former “Kanburi” Prison of War Base
Camp through which most prisoners passed on their
way to the other camps. More than 7000 casualties
from the Commonwealth and the Netherlands are
commemorating in the cemetery. Walking on by the
graves gave us just a little idea about what took
place just 60 years ago and reminded us about how
grateful we should be for a peaceful time.
After leaving the cemetery it took us just 15 minutes to the river Kwai and the famous
bridge. Before we actually had to catch the train most of us used the chance to visit a
museum showing the actual work and living conditions of the prisoners.
The train ride was an experience nobody will forget so fast. Without air condition the
90 minutes journey was a quiet sweaty one, just the lucky ones at the window could
survive without constant outbreaks. For those, who gave up on the sweat, the train
ride, feeling like a horseback ride, was actually a good time to recover and power nap.
133
Arriving at our final destination the tour guide took
as to a small restaurant with a stunning view over
the river and the jungle. After a nice buffet with
rice and various forms of meat as well as coffee and
tea we jumped back into the vans. Just 5 minutes
later we arrived at the elephant camp. Before we
actually got to ride on them we went to the river for
some bamboo rafting.
After some minutes it was obvious that the floats
where built for Asian size people and not for
Europeans, since one boat actually almost grounded
and with some wet feet and a lot of girls screaming
they actually made it back on the safe land.
From the float trip the group went directly to the
elephants, which actually did not look very
enthusiastic when our large group arrived.
However, after some bananas, which were seen as a
motivation token, all of us in fact had a safe ride. It
was definitely a lot of fun and some brave ones
actually also got the opportunity to ride the
elephant without the handler. Since everybody got
off the elephant safe and sound they probably made
a good job.
The elephant ride was actually not our last stop.
Since we had some time left the whole group went
to a beautiful waterfall in the middle of the jungle.
Without any hesitation some of our group jumped
into their bathing short/bikinis and enjoyed the
water. Especially Antony must have enjoyed it a
little bit too much since we had to almost drag him
out of the water, when we were ready to go. During
the bus ride the whole trip was of course discussed
but after one hour most of us fell asleep, awaking
just in time to arrive at the hotel where most of us
went directly to bed.
134
Sunday, September 13th 2009
Goodbye Ladyboys, hello Malaysia One of the most discussed issues over the last two
days was the weight limit for our flight to
Malaysia. Air Asia just allowed one piece of
luggage with 15kg. This especially made some
ladies sweat since they had to make the decision
what they wanted to leave behind in the hotel till
we come back. Hereby it has to be said that Smajo
had the great idea to organize lockers at the hotel
we could use for valuable things and also a locked
room where we could leave our belongings during
the visit to Malaysia.
Anyhow at 5.00 in the morning we got picked up
from the hotel and at half past seven we left BKK
towards Penang, Malaysia. The whole flight lasted
just one hour but even that was for the tall guys of
our group an unconvertible situation since Air Asia
did not really provide a lot of leg space.
We arrived in Malaysia at around 10.30 am local
time but due to organizational difficulties we had to
wait two hours before our bus arrived to take us to Kangar in the State of Perlis.
Muffins and water was provided and the waiting time went by rather fast.
The two-hour drive from the airport to the hotel gave us the opportunity to enjoy the
landscape of Malaysia. After arriving at the Putra Brasmana hotel and receiving our
keys the group split up and explored the city. A seven eleven department store was
quickly found to by refreshments as well as some snacks and even in this tiny little
city located at the cost of Malaysia an American KFC franchise had opened its gates.
As one can imagine during the Ramadan the city was not really full of food courts at
least not in the afternoon and therefore many of us chose the American way of food.
Later on we got surprise since the hotel offered our group a dinner buffet were local
dishes were served some were rather exotic for us such as a corn juice. After dinner
we met again in the lobby where Professor Anis explained us the program for the next
day. Since the local university was planning the whole activities for us we were
depended on their organizational skills.
135
Monday, September 14th 2009 Sightseeing in Perlis: rubber-gloves, instead of sculptors Right after the breakfast it was time for us to meet
some of the UNIMAP professors and students who
welcomed us with open arms. After a short
presentation about the university and its history we
drove to the training facility used by the university
in cooperation with local industries to produce
various products from Nano technology to metal
products.
The students explaining us the facilities were rather
surprised as we told them that we are business
students and actually have no idea what they were
talking about. However, two of our students
actually took the chance put on a “Marshmallow”
outfit and went into the “clean room” where they
were introduced in the world of Nano technology.
The clock was running and it was actually time for
some lunch. As already mentioned earlier, Malaysia
is an Islamic country and during our visit the
Ramadan was still ongoing meaning that it was
rather hard for our hosts to find an open restaurant
which could host 30 hungry students and graduates
from Austria. Somehow they managed to find a
small Chinese place directly at the main road. It
was a special feeling sitting in a Quonset with a
sprinkler on the roof to cool down the place. The
food however was delicious and with full stomachs
the group moved on to visit the Shorubber factory. Shorubber is a Japanese company,
which has one of its largest factories in the state of Perlis. They produce various kinds
of industrial gloves and provided us next to a very interesting presentation with a tour
through their production site.
After leaving the factory we headed back to the hotel and had some free time before
our come together with students from UNIMAP in the evening. This event actually
turned out to be a great opportunity to meet local and exchange students of UNIMAP
and we had some great conversations and intercultural exchange. The occasion was
organized by Professor Anis long time friend Professor Murray Hunter who also
136
invited two government officials as guest lecturers’ for short presentations about the
economic situation and development in the state of Perlis. Roughly around midnight
we came back to the hotel and were very much looking forward to the next day since
we were going to meet the Sultan of Perlis.
137
Tuesday, September 15th 2009
“Long live the Sultan” or “Am I allowed wearing this?” Tuesday morning started with an introduction by
Professor Anis about the etiquette when meeting
the Sultan of Perlis. Next to some dress code issues,
the ladies had to cover their knees and shoulders,
the gentleman had to wear suit and a tie and a few
other points of etiquette were addressed as well.
The palace was just 25 minutes away from our
hotel and during the transfer one could feel how
nervous and excited everybody was since no one
probably will never ever get the chance to meet a
king or a member of the royal family again.
When arriving at the palace the vice chief secretary
welcomed us together with the security chief. After
another introduction how to great and talk to His
Highness Sultan DYMM Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin
Jamalullail the king himself arrived. Even while
fasting he spent almost an hour with us and even
agreed on a group picture. After the sultan left we
were invited to visit his private gallery were we
could take a look at some of his family impressive
collections of presents and pictures. To our surprise
the Sultan also presented us with lunch what we
were really appreciated.
After lunch the group moved on to meet another
member of the royal family. At the governmental
palace the sultan’s younger brother the chief
secretary welcomed us for a question and answer session. Beside the very interesting
conversation the location itself was probably the most impressive so far during our
trip. With its gigantic entry hall and beautiful ceilings the only downside of the visit
was the arctic temperatures inside.
However, after the family picture in front of the building we were taken back to the
hotel since our hosts planed a cultural event later on that evening.
138
At 6.30 pm the bus took us to the city hall were a
supper and afterwards a traditional dinner was
served. After fried chicken and rice the evening
started with a traditional Thai dance performance.
Following a short speech given by the vice chief
secretary it was time for two brave ones of our
group to present Austria and us with a traditional
Austrian waltz. To the sound of “An der schönen
blauen Donau” they earned standing ovations and
were later on joined by most of our group who tried
to teach local students, teachers and officials how
to dance the waltz.
Inspired by our performance the Vice Chancellor of the UniMAP University hit the
stage and performed the university song live for us together with the university dance.
Not enough Professor Anis also was taken on stage and showed off with his
interpretation of the university dance, which was also honored with standing ovations.
The university song/dance was just topped as the band started to play the chicken
dance song and all students, professors and even the waiters were included in the
performance. All in all it was fantastic evening, which no one will forget.
139
Wednesday, September 16th 2009
“I’ll take a nap” After the last days on the road and in Malaysia,
none of us really expected to get enough sleep in a
hotel bedroom, so we got experts in a field that
really saved our mental health: POWERNAPPING
in the bus. Thanks to Alexand ra and Wolfgang we
were not even afraid any more to be pictured in a
bad-looking sleepy moment, because their faces
were already kept in the best pictures, which were
not able to get topped. These two and a half hours
in the bus, kindly sent by UniMap, gave some of
us, beside sleeping, the great chance to see
Malaysia´s fascinating countryside and vegetation
and others (only men) the time necessary to
exchange all more or less funny army stories they
experienced some years ago. On our way to the
Kulim Hi- Tech Park, the science city of the future
and Malaysia´s “Silicon Valley”, we were happy to
have three charming Chinese Ladies joining us for
the trip, as they are doing an exchange Semester at
UniMap. They integrated quite fast in our group
and enriched social life beside the meetings.
Prof. Anis, who was always aware of keeping us
healthy and happy, organised a troop of three
gorgeous looking “ Waterboys”, namely Jorge,
Erwin and W olfgang, who supplied us on a regular basis with water and good mood,
which was sometimes not that easy, when thinking about our bus driver who was still
in the fasting month of Ramadan and not eating and drinking BUT driving the bus.
But we all put great trust on him and are still alive.
After 12 days on the road and far away from normality and Austria, we were all still
interested, motivated and thankful in exploring the country of Malaysia and the great
possibilities offered to us by the Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMap). During our stay
in this great country, the representatives of UniMap were always treating us with a
high degree of respect and hospitality and we all would like once more to say
THANK YOU for the great work they did without expecting anything in return.
140
Like during the whole BFA, also in Malaysia we
even defied our greatest enemy named “Air
condition” and got through every health check
hindering our way to student heaven: Penang
Shopping Mall. Three hours of uncontrolled buying
behavior and a lost female (!) student later we left
Penang’s city lights in the same bus and the same
strong-minded bus driver to get back to the hotel
bringing up an old question: sleeping or not
sleeping?
Most of the students decided for the first possibility
but a small resistant group in the back of the bus
put altogether their memories and started to sing
Austrian classic like “Schifoan” and “Fürstenfeld”
followed by songs out of TV serials for children
like “Mila Superstar” and “Biene Maja” finalizing
this performance of good taste with a happy
mixture coming from the last century as “ The Beatles”, “Fettes Brot” and “The
Backstreet Boys” (an input of the guys!).
141
Thursday, September 17th 2009
Thank Allah, it’s the fasting month of Ramadan It was four o’clock in the morning and none of us expected to have any breakfast
before arriving at Penang airport two and a half hours later.
But there it was. Some of us found out during their
whole-night stay at the lobby, others when they left
the elevator: a crowded breakfast-room, full of
people eating before the sun will enlighten the day,
which then brings up one of the four days left in
the fasting month of Ramadan. (Nevertheless we
could have had expected this situation after such an intensive introduction into
Malaysian culture during the last days.)
After a light breakfast, Prof. Anis calling for more water-drinking, and power-napping
in the bus we arrived at Penang airport, spent our last Ringgits for even more
breakfast and took Air Asia to get back to Bangkok and our Suan Dusit Hotel.
By some of us, the remaining hours of the day were used to see hopeless crowded
Chinatown, having amazing dinner at the Khao-San-(L)Road or just to explore the
impressive city lights of our all new home: Bangkok.
142
Friday, September 18th 2009
A TukTuk to explore the world The second last day in BKK brought us time for
ourself, for sightseeing and last chance souvenir
shopping. Most of us used the time until noon to
catch up some sleep missed the last days in
Malaysia, others took the saying “you can sleep
when you are dead” seriously and got up quite
early to see BKK´s famous Buddhist temples
before rush-hour.
This day was also the 23rd birthday of Alexandra,
who decided to spend her special day with some of
her friends to buy some last souvenirs for the loved
ones at home and therefor discovered a Taxi as the
best vehicle in such a crowded city.
When we were told that the Wat Phra Kaeo, the
Grand Palace, is completely full and cannot be
entered in the next two hours, another option
needed to be determined. And what is smarter then
to take the advice of a local to get passed through
the city by his TukTuk and to see all the other
amazing cultural sights of Bangkok city?
So we took two TukTuks and were first of all pretty impressed about the low price. 20
Baht per person were not normal at all but we passed Wat Pho, the temple boasting its
huge reclining Buddha (46 m long and 15 m high), where another local guy told us
that today the fuel of the TukTuk is sponsored by the local tourist-office and the
TukTuk drivers will bring us to any monument we want just giving a tip. Happy
tourists like us do not even get confused when the driver stops on his way to the next
Wat by one after another official souvenir-junk-shop. Diamonds are a girls best
friend, and therefore its not further astonishing that some of us recognized this
“Nepper- Schlepper- Bauernfänger”- mentality, as we say in Austria, of this trip quite
late.
143
To put it in a nutshell, the fuel of the TukTuks is
sponsored by the owners of the shops, only given
to the drivers when they stop with the tourists at
the shop. Smart students and graduates as we are,
we captured our driver, made a deal with him just
staying at a shop that long it takes to get the fuel
and then going on to the next temple. Good plan,
bad performance. We just visited two temples and
ended up at McDonalds next to our hotel. Same-
Same.
The rest of the day was more exciting. We were
having a quite informal and really funny briefing at
the cafeteria of our hotel.
There we got a last introduction into the investment
situation in Thailand as well as an openhearted
briefing about intercultural “experiences” made in
Thailand within the society.
Last but not least, at six o’clock the river boat
cruise was scheduled and highly expected by most
of us. In the last two weeks we were exploring the
city of Bangkok via TukTuks, Taxis and the
Skytrain but feeling the city was even more
intensive when doing it on the Chao Phraya River
with all the enlighten skyscrapers and Buddhist
monuments and a dinner right on the boat. The
deck was a perfect surrounding for most of us to
take a glass of wine or a cocktail served in a
coconut shell and to let the last two weeks pass by.
We spend the rest of the night in several groups, some drinking Champagne at the top
of Bangkok´s high class hotels, others spending their last coins on fake-”Prada” Bags
and not that original “Tiffany & Co” jewellery at the city´s night markets, because
“Diamonds are a girls best friend”.
144
Saturday, September 19th 2009
Adieu Bangkok Here it was: our last day in Bangkok and Asia in general. We were expected to meet
in the hotel lobby at around eight in the evening, but needed to have checked out until
twelve. So what to do the whole afternoon without a room or a shower? Some of us
kept their room and paid extra 800 Baht, others put their luggage in the hotel storage
room and went out for famous “weekend- market”, again others were ignoring all
inner shopping-stress and went to the last two and a half hour Thai massage at the
hotel. For those the 600 Baht (12 €) were the best investment done during the whole
trip and brought back some energy into tired feet and faces while falling asleep under
warm towels and aromatic oils.
In the meantime, storms brought heavy rain falling down on Bangkok streets and fled
the whole city completely in just a few minutes. Poor guys who went out for the
weekend market stood up to their knees in the outcome of this monstrous rain falls
and tried to keep the cockroaches away from climbing up their feet, escaping from
death through drowning.
The good spirit of our group, Smajo, was kind and smart enough to book a room for
the ones without a shower, which was then open until eight, so we all came more or
less fresh to the meeting at the lobby, fighting against time until nine, when the bus
arrived to bring us back again to BKK airport. Again spending our last Baht at Burger
King and Starbucks, we entered the aeroplane at half past one in the night looking
forward to the five hours lasting flight to Dubai, that was enriched with good food and
snacks as well as with the incredible variation of music, films and serials offered by
“Emirates” to their lucky costumers.
Seeing the twinkling city lights of Bangkok getting smaller, we felt our hearts getting
heavier, partly because of saying good-bye to a gorgeous inspiring city, partly of
getting closer to home.
145
Sunday, September 20th 2009 “Same-Same, but toooo different” It was already … o’clock, bearing in mind the time
difference, when we flew over a carpet of small
shimmering lights belonging to the city of Dubai,
giving us all a clue about how rich in terms of
money and oil this city might be.
Like two weeks before, the airport was full of
people lying on the floor, taking a nap while
waiting for their flights. This was a time when most
of us were already somehow desperate because of
the long journey that would not be finished for the
next 10 hours. We drank our coffees and Chai
Lattes and ate our burgers and tried to get some
sleep in a sitting position in the meantime. Some of us were happy enough to enter the
Diners Club Lounge with all its luxury and food, or when having some money left
doing some Duty Free shopping in the huge range of stores.
After more or less five hours in Dubai, our plane started for the last journey of our trip
and got us safely back home to Vienna International Airport. The airport from where
we had started our trip exploring the great countries of Malaysia and Thailand, with
its cultural differences, its business behavior differing from central European one and
its language barriers when coming to a Taxi drive in good old Bangkok.
All in all, returning from the fifteen days of BFA 2009 expedition, Europe is quite
"same-same, but still different".
146
14. Conclusion
Step by step, hour by hour, it was a long way, yet a short time. Countless breath-
taking moments throughout this trip, made it for each and everyone unforgettable, and
the magnitude of it is tricky to put into words.
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having
new eyes.” Marcel Proust
I dare to say, this trip changed us. It changed our perception of Thailand and
Malaysia. Travelling is more than just visiting the main sights and trying the local
food. It is about getting to know the culture, which we did thanks to the locals we met
during the several meetings and get-togethers. Simply we had a once in a lifetime
experience which we are not going to forget our entire lives.
From the business perspective, each of the distinguished speakers that we had the
pleasure to receive, dealing with intercultural/business topics, were very kind to make
some room in their tight agendas and share some experiences of their interesting lives
with our group, students and graduates of Export-Oriented Management, which were
undoubtedly highly informative and rich for us since we had the chance to get all this
knowledge in a way that very few students can. Understanding the business
environment of a nation is essential to business success. Visiting various international
organizations and learning about their scope of work and activities made us feel very
uniquely.
From the personal perspective, as we were the first ones, participating in the BFA,
there is still some room for improvement. Sometimes, we felt thrown into cold water,
but looking back we learned that either you stay still and drawn or very quickly learn
to swim. Proudly, I can say, we chose to swim and through this adapt to the local
habits and customs.
It is also worth mentioning the professionalism and commitment of each of the
colleagues, who decided to travel so far from home. The group always acted as a
team, which made things easier for everyone and helped to make this experience an
unforgettable and unique one.
147
15. Personal Comments
Dear Sir,
With this email I would not only like to say thank you for entrusting me once again with the possibility to attend a highly interesting venue, but I want to express my thanks for taking me along on the study trip. One has to state that this journey has been of best standards and I very much appreciate the amount of effort you have put into this, in order to make it happen.
I was surprised you did not raise your hand, when Amb. Peterlik asked about "risk takers", because bringing 30 students from various backgrounds to a region that is not only business-wise, but also culturally so different to Austria is not only a challenge, yet it has to be seen as a risk.
Sir, once again I want to express my thankfullness that you have activated your contacts in the region to offer high-class speakers such as Dale Rorex, who I hope will join us for the next International Week as a guest lecturer.
Best regards,
Georg Schön Export-oriented Management, Masterprogramme, 1st semester
Dear Professor Bajrektarevic,
Allow me to take the opportunity to thank you for envisioning and carrying out this great and alltogether highly successful Business Focus ASEAN study trip for us IMC students! I am sure it was very tyring and stressful for you. As credit comes hard, and blame comes easily, you having taken the personal risk of being responsible for this trip is admirable and very much appreciated from my side. Alas, the group managed to stay out of hospital and out of jail, and more or less quite healthy. It can be said with confidence that this trip was a new milestone set by you for the IMC internationalisation profiling!
With Kind Regards,
Mag. (FH) Vincent Kramer Graduate Student Export-oriented Mangement
Dear Professor Anis,
During the last days I got to know some more parts of Thailand and made many new experiences concerning the country's culture. I herewith want to thank you for that it was possible to participate in this first BFA although I didn't fly together with the group... The study trip was very useful for my further internships here in Asia as the presentations gave me a great inside into the region’s economy, politics, culture, lifestyle, etc.
148
Nearly all the speakers talked freely and the lively speeches made it even more interesting to listen and easy to remember! I think, a special thank you is to be said to your dear friend from UniMAP - Malaysia was indeed a unique experience as we had the possibility to speak to so many locals as well as exchange students from China and listen to their opinions views. They prepared such a nice program for us and I won't forget this wonderful cultural evening! As you said - it was a super idea to take us to the food booth just on the street, that's the true daily life of these students!
Of course, it wasn't always perfect but problems are there to solve 'em and improve the next time. What was interesting for me to see - after almost the whole group did some shopping in this westernized mall in Penang, the atmosphere was a quite different one.... all the girls were smiling and relaxed again...
I wish you all the motivation and energy you need for organizing next year's BFA and even more curious risk takers ;-)
With best regards from Taipei,
Michaela Grill, B.A. Graduate Student Bachelor’s Programme Export-oriented Management
Dear Professor Anis,
I just wanted to thank you again for the great trip you organized for all of us. This was an experience we will never have this way in our life and the impressions this trip leaves for us are of great value.
At least from my point of view I learned a lot during these days in Thailand and Malaysia, even though I have been in Asia for quite some time and also to these two countries. It was a once in a lifetime experience to listen to so many qualified people, and to get to know students from different countries and cultures
It really gave me the a deep inside view on how south east Asia works, not only in business terms but also concerning culture and people.
For me personally this trip gave me also the chance to meet with old friends, which was very nice and I consider it as also very important to keep friendships alive.
I just wanted to send you these few words of appreciation to say again that in my eyes this trip was a success even if some points did not work out as planned like some speakers turned us down. Thumbs up for this first Business Focus ASEAN.
Yours
Valerie Kasseckert Student Bachelor’s Programme Export-oriented Management
149
16. Contact Information
Austrian Embassy to Thailand
www.aussenministerium.at/bangkok
H.E. Ambassador Dr. Johannes Peterlik Ambassador of Austria Austrian Embassy Bangkok 14, Soi Nandha, off Soi 1, Sathorn Tai Road Bangkok 10120/ Thailand Tel.: (+66/2) 679 88 83 Fax: (+66/2) 287 39 25 Email: [email protected]
Malaysian Embassy to Thailand H.E. Ambassador Dato’ Husni Zai bin Yaacob, Ambassador of Malaysia Malaysian Emassy to Thailand 35 South Sathorn Road, Bangkok 10120, THAILAND www.kln.gov.my/perwakilan/bangkok Tel.: +66-2-629 6800, Fax: +66-2-679 2208 Mr. Syed Bakri Syed Abdul Rahman, Deputy Chief of the Mission Email: [email protected]
University of Oulu Prof. Anna-Kaisa Pudas University of Oulu, Finland Email: [email protected]
Austrian Embassy to Thailand Mr. Arnold Obermayr Councillor and Deputy Head of Mission Austrian Embassy 14 Soi Nantha, Sathorn Tai Soi 1, Bangkok 10120 Tel.: (+66)/(0)2 303 60 57-9 Ext. 30 Fax: (+66)/(0)2 287 39 25 E-mail: [email protected]
150
Embassy of Switzerland
Diplomatic Affairs
Department of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Lukas Gasser, Minister [email protected] [email protected] www.eda.admin.ch/bangkok 35 North Wireless Road, Bangkok 10330 Tel.: +66 2 253 01 ext. 113 Fax: +66 2 255 44 81
Japanese Embassy to
Thailand Masato Otaka Economic Minister Embassy of Japan 177 Witthayu Road Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand [email protected]
WKO Aussenwirtschaft
Österreich
Außenhandelsstelle Bangkok
Austrian Embassy- Commercial
Section
Dr. Gustav Gressel, Der Handelsdelegierte für Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Kambodscha, Myanmar [email protected] Wko.at/awo/th 14 F Chartered Square Building- 152 North Sathorn Road Bangkok 10500 Thailand Tel.: +66 2 268 2222 Fax: +66 2 200 0222
Secretariat of Economic Affairs
of Indonesia
Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia: http://www.depdag.go.id/index.php?lang=EN Indonesia Investment Coordination Board: http://www.bkpm.go.id/ National Agency for Export Development: http://www.nafed.go.id/ Date: Wednesday
Thai Anti-Corruption
Commission
Mrs. Sirirat Vasuavat, Director of Resource Centre of NCCC, Thai National Counter Corruption Commission: [email protected] Ms. Sairinya Tankaew, Project Coordinator of the 14th International Anti-Corruption Concerence (IACC), Thai Anti-Corruption Commisson : [email protected] http://nccc.thaigov.net
Thailand Board of Investment Mr. Winyoo Laopoonpittaya Director, Services & Consulting Division Investment Services Center Office of the Board of Investment 555 Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road, Chatuchak Bangkok 10900 Thailand
151
Indonesian Embassy
Ms. Nana Yuliana (1st Sec.for Economic Affairs) Alternate Permanent Representative of Indonesia to UN ESCAP First Secretary for Economic Affairs Head of Task Force on Fishery Embassy of Republic of Indonesia 600-602 Petchburi Road Bangkok 10400 Thailand [email protected]; [email protected]
Malaysian Embassy to
Thailand
Mr. Mohd Iqbal Mohd Noor, Economic Counsellor and Alternate Permanent Representative to UN ESCAP, Malaysian Trade Office, Embassy of Malaysia , [email protected]
The United Nations Mr. Mitchell Hsieh, Public Information Officer [email protected] Mr. Shuvojit Banerjee, Economic Affairs Officer [email protected] Mr. Clovis Freire, Economic Affairs Officer [email protected] Ms. Mia Mikic, Economic Affairs Officer [email protected] Mr. Jorge Martinez-Navarrete, Associate Economic Affairs Officer [email protected] Mr. Pierre Chartier, Economic Affairs Officer [email protected]
The Delegation of the European
Commission to Thailand
H.E. Mr. Lennart Linnér, Ambassador of Sweden 20th floor, One Pacific Place, 140 Sukhumvit Road (between Soi 4-6) Bangkok 10110 Tel.: +66 (0) 2 263-7201, Fax: +66 (0) 2 263-7260/70 E-Mail: [email protected]
H.E. Ms. Latha Reddy, Ambassador of India 46, Soi 23 – Sukhumvit Road Bangkok 10110, Thailand Tel.: (02) 2584198, Fax: (02) 2594870 E-mail: [email protected]
Embassy of Italy in Bangkok 399, Nang Linchee Road, Yannawa 10120 Bangkok Tel.: +66-2-2854090, Fax: +66-2-2854739 E-mail: [email protected]
Delegation of the European Commission to Thailand Kian Gwan House II, 19th Floor, 140/1 Wireless Road, Bangkok 10330 Thailand Tel: + 66-2-3052600, Fax: +66-2-2559113 E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]
152
University Malaysia Perlis Director of Perlis State Economic Planning Unit Madam Fauziah bt Hashim Tel : +604-9702160 E-Mail: [email protected] Web : www.perlis.gov.my Murray Hunter Associate Professor at the School of Business Engineering UniMAP E-Mail: [email protected]
SHORUBBER (Malaysia) DN
BHD
SHORUBBER (Malaysia) SDN. BHD. Ms. Salbiah Hashim HR Manager Advisor to SHORUBBER (Malaysia) SDN BHD and Director of Dallab Cryptotech E-Mail: [email protected]; [email protected] Web page : www.dallab.net
Kulim High Tech Park Mr. Annuar bin Mohd Saffar Vice president of KTPC & Director of KHTP Current president AABI [email protected]
AMD Ms. Jariyah Hashim, Director of EHS & Operations Training [email protected]. Mr. C.C. Leong Manager Employee Relation & Industrial Relation, Communication & Public Relation, Human Resources [email protected]
Mahidol University, College of
Management
Astrid Kainzbauer, Ph.D. Manager of International Relations Lecturer in Management “Mahidol Universtity” - College of Management 69 Vipawadee Rangist Rd. Phayathai, 10400 Bangkok, Thailand Email: [email protected] Till Morstadt Partner at “Lorenz & Partners Co., Ltd. – Legal, Tax and Business Consultants 22nd Floor, Sathorn City Tower 175 South Sathorn Rd. 10120 Bangkok, Thailand Email: [email protected]
153
17. Credits
Final draft of the report Poppenreiter, Terreu, Brauchart, Philipp
Photos Pasalic, Kasseckert
Austrian Embassy to Thailand, Malaysian Embassy to Thailand, University of Oulu
Messner, Wimmer
Austrian Embassy to Thailand, Swiss Embassy to Thailand
Peer, Beham
Thailand Board of Investment, Secretariat of Economic Affairs of Indonesia, Thai Anti-Corruption Commission, Malaysian Embassy to Thailand, Japanese Embassy to Thailand, Mahidol University International College Bangkok
Kramer, Stubauer
United Nations Organization Haberleitner, Beck
Delegation of the European Commission to Thailand
Dunzinger, Eggenbauer
University Malaysia Perlis, SHORUBBER (Malaysia) SDN BHD, UNIMAP
Wohlesser, Kolar
His Royal Highness, Duli Yang Maha Mulia Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Ibni Almarhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail, State Council for Investment, Trade and Industry, Science and Technology
Ulreich, Gitau
Kulim High Tech Park, AMD Gerasimenko, Schön
Mahidol University, College of Management
Weber
Diary 06. – 10. September Winkler
Diary 11. – 15. September Gartner
Diary 16. – 20. September Obersberger
154
155
156
157
Business Focus ASEAN 2009