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NOV 2010 & Money Finance
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NOV 2010
& Money Finance
Though the world is big, your bank is always close at hand. It is there – no matter where you are – at JBPB Netbank, on en.jyskebank.tv – or in your home, should you request a visit by your adviser.
jyskebank.ch/whyjbpb
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101015_A4_Thai_Danish_TradeNews_A125ann1EN.indd 1 07-10-2010 12:48:48
Peter E. Romhild PresidentDanish-Thai Chamber of Commerce
DANISH-THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE34 C.P. Tower 3, 9th Floor Tower,Phayathai Road,Ratchathewi, Bangkok10400Tel.: +66 2 354 5220 Fax: +66 2354 5221E-mail: [email protected] Director: Katrine Præst
PRESIDENTMr. Peter Emil RomhildSr. Executive Vice PresidentBerli Jucker Public Co., Ltd. Tel : +66 2 367 1111Fax : +66 2 367 1000E-mail : [email protected]
VICE PRESIDENT / TREASURER / ALUMNI / HR Mr. Søren PresmannManaging DirectorPresmann (Thailand) Co., Ltd.Tel : +66 2 962 1151Mob : +66 89 668 7840Fax : +66 2 962 1152E-mail : [email protected]
VICE PRESIDENT / MEMBERSHIP / CSR / HRMr. Charnchai CharuvastrChairmanAviva Décor LimitedTel: +66 2 685 3661-3 Email: [email protected]
CHAIRWOMAN EVENTS Mrs. Mai EllegaardGeneral ManagerEuro-Center (Thailand) Co., Ltd.Tel : +66 2 696 3626-27 E-mail : [email protected]
EVENTS Mr. Thomas NyborgManaging DirectorPandora Production Co., Ltd.Tel : +66 2 728 7200E-mail : [email protected]
EVENTS / LEGAL ADVISOR Mr. Santhapat PerieraPartnerTilleke & Gibbins International Ldt.Tel : +66 2 263 7700Fax : +66 2 263 7710E-mail : [email protected]
CHAIRMAN MEMBERSHIP Mr. Jacob BojsenManaging DirectorVisit Beyond Co. Ltd.Tel : +66 2 630 6994-8E-mail : [email protected]
FOREIGN AFFAIRS / MEMBERSHIPMr. Stig Vagt-AndersenGeneral ManagerBen Adisti Co. Ldt. Tel : +66 2 168 7206E-mail : [email protected]
CHAIRMAN MEDIA Mr. Jakob IngemannChief Financial OfficerECCO (Thailand) Co., Ltd.Tel : +66 35 716 601E-mail : [email protected]
MEDIA Mr. Robert KronbergManaging Director PIRO Consulting GroupTel : +66 81 406 2854Fax : +66 2 254 5766E-mail : [email protected]
MEDIA Mr. Thomas Lindy SorensenManaging DirectorMaersk Line (Thailand) Ltd.Tel : +66 2752 9090Fax : +66 2 750 9614Email : [email protected]
EMBASSY REPRESENTATIVEMr. Bo Bjerregaard Rasmussen Commercial CounsellorRoyal Danish EmbassyTel : +66 89 204 9098 E-mail: [email protected]
EXECUTIVE DIRECTORMs. Katrine PræstExecutive DirectorDanish-Thai Chamber of CommerceTel : +66 2 354 5220Fax : +66 2 354 5221Email : [email protected]
EDITING, MARKETING & PRODUCTIONScand-Media Corp. Ltd.4/41 - 2 Moo, Ramintra Soi 14, Bangkok 10230Tel.: (66) 02943 7166-8 Fax: (66) 02943 7169Editor: Mr. Gregers Moller - [email protected]: Mr. Finn Balslev - [email protected]: Supphathada Numamnuay - [email protected]
Dear Readers
Welcome to the new issue of Trade News. You will notice that we now cover a specific theme in each issue, this time relating to finance in Thailand. Whether you need a private loan for housing, establishing a business in Thailand or choosing leasing versus buying Thailand is not that much different from other countries, but rules and regulations are different for Thai and foreign companies or individuals.
We cover those subjects through articles from professionals and members, who have experience in these matters. It is difficult to understand the jungle of laws, and much easier to read real life expe-riences. If it is difficult for a foreign company to get a loan in a Thai bank, it is almost as difficult to find a member of the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce that has actually tried to get a loan. But some of course have - and some have even succeeded. Are foreign owned companies more risky than Thai’s, and can you get a loan from a Danish bank? You can read all about this and much more.
I would also urge our readers to comment on their experiences, good or bad, and send a few lines to our Chamber Director, Katrine Præst, to include on our website. You can also contact us via facebook or linkedin. Our recent updated website is much more user friendly, and we have many ways to interact with our members and other readers, so that reading the website becomes a must every day!
Pandora’s founder Per Enevoldsen is well known to the Danish community, but maybe less so Pandora’s Corporate Social Responsibility activities, and all the funds that Per gives back to the poorest in the Thai society. A very note worthy cause.
DTCC has reached out to the many young Nordic men and women living in Thailand through the establishment of Nordic Young Professionals, so that they have a forum to meet and interchange ideas.
I hope that you will find our new ‘theme’ concept interesting and exciting reading. Good hunting with the Trade News!
Peter E. Romhild President
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6 DTCC
If a foreign company in Thailand wants to obtain a loan it is a question of collateral and meeting terms and conditions. According to an expert it is no different from any other countryBy Søren Lykke Bülow
”There are too many problems with getting a loan in a Thai bank.”
This is a sentence that often comes up when you ask Danish companies if they have got a loan in Thailand. Many of them actually would like to have a loan. But there have been many stories about needing to put up a million if you want to borrow a million, and many companies are scared away because of these stories.
Not that hardBut according to Santhapat Periera, Partner in the multi-ser-vice law firm Tilleke & Gibbins International and an expert in these issues, the terms and conditions for obtaining a loan are very much similar to the ones known from European countries. ”The bank will research the individual case and find the conditions for a possible loan,” Periera says. The important thing about getting a loan is being as Thai as possible. ”As long as you are a public or limited company under Thai registration and incorporated in the country it is possible. It is also possible as a subsidiary having a parent company back home – in Denmark for instance – as long as you are separated from the original company,” he says.
Crucial mattersThere are different issues, though, that need to be quite clear if a loan is to be obtained.
For instance, it will often play an important role if the company has been represented in Thailand for quite a while. ”It is definitely harder for at new company or subsidiary to obtain a loan from the bank,” Periera says. The entire relationship with the bank is essential if a loan is to be granted. ”First of all, it is very impor-tant to have a good relation-ship with your bank. Both on a personal basis, but certainly also in a professional way. You need an account there, you have to pay your bills and salary through the bank, and if everything works out nice you will be a lot more likely to get your loan,” says Santhapat Periera.
Size mattersThe question about getting a loan will often be a matter of credit worthiness and equity. It is just easier for a big company than for a small one. ”Small and medium sized companies will have to fight significantly more for a loan than a big one,” says Periera. Tilleke & Gibbins International works with legal advise and assistance, and from time to time they have clients who want to obtain loans. Santhapat Periera has been working with bank loans from both sides – the companies and the banks. ”The bank will always have a close look at the credit worthi-ness. They will investigate your records and find out how valu-able it is to lend your company money. This can cause great challenges in your search for ob-
taining a loan, but I do not see it as very different from the most Western countries,” he says. According to Santhapat Periera it is easier to get a loan as a foreign company than as an individual foreigner. ”It is more safe and secure to lend money to a company than one single person. It is much easier to demand credit worthiness and equity in terms of collateral that needs to be put up with a company,” he says.
Conditions applyOne of the bigger challenges with getting a loan in Thailand is that the terms and conditions very much varies from bank to bank and from time to time. This means that the different banks of-ten will have different strategies, and this is not always to the foreign companies advantages. ”There is a joke here in Thailand that goes, the bank will lend you an umbrella when it is not raining – and then they will take it back when it starts to rain,” Periera says. ”It might be an exaggera-tion, but nevertheless it can often feel like it is working this way, especially for medium- and small sized foreign companies,” he says. ”You might, of course, consider using a legal adviser to help out with the work of getting the loan. We have seen in several cases that it makes the proceedings easier.”
Gettinga Loan
November 2010 7
Borrowersa Rare Species
Mads Loevig Managing Director, Scan Food Co., Ltd
Have you tried to get a loan in Thailand No, but I have thought about it. But I have heard so many stories going, ‘when you lend a milion, you have to bring a million’. We have been self-financing so far, so I have not really looked into the option of borrowing.
Søren Presmann Managing Director, Presmann (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
Have you tried to get a loan in Thailand? Yes. I have not had a regular big money loan, but I have an overdraft facility.
How hard was it to get?I use Siam Commercial Bank and it was actually quite easy. My Thai partner took care of everything. We had to present some credit worthiness, and we put up a property as collateral, which framed the overdraft possibilities.
We do not use this anymore, though. Our goal is to be self-financing for as long time as possible. We established the overdraft facility so we have the possibility to use it if it gets necessary to fund a new project for instance.
Thomas Orthaus Hansen General Manager, SKOV Asia
Have you tried to get a loan in Thailand?No, we do not have the needs for one. If we are ever going to be in need of financing, it will be processed through our parent company back in Denmark.
After talking to a range of selected mem-bers of the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce it be-
comes clear that it is not just the level of terms and conditions that have to be fulfilled which make foreign companies not taking bank loans. Many companies are just not in need of loans. Danish-Thai TradeNews has taken the temperature on Dancham members’ experiences with Thai banks. We have asked ten companies to tell us about their experiences with financing as a foreign company in Thailand. Here are some of the an-swers given to us.
Maybe it is not difficult for a foreign company to get a loan in a Thai bank. But is is not easy to find a member of the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce that has actually tried to get one. However, some have of course - and some have even succeeded.By Søren Lykke Bülow
8 DTCC
Henrik Janssen Managing Director, M.I.A.C. Automation Co., Ltd.
Have you tried to get a loan in Thailand? Yes, I have had different experiences with it. How hard was it to get?Standard Chartered: Was by far the easiest place to get it. They were quite willing to give a loan and had by far the best interest rates.SCB: I also have an overdraft at Siam Commercial Bank which was simple to get. Here, we had some propery put up as collateral. Kasikorn Bank: It was impossible for me to get a loan at Kasikorn Bank when I wanted one. The process was dragged out and it never became reality.
As I see it, there is no problems with getting a loan or overdraft as long as you have something to put up as collateral. This makes the bank’s risk of getting cheated very small.
Sune Sucksdorff Managing Director, Net Protection Concepts International Co., Ltd. (NPC International)
Have you tried to get a loan in Thailand?We are currently exploring our possibilities. What is your current impression?Currently, we use Bangkok Bank, but here there is no way to get a loan unless you put up land as collateral. They do not accept anything else, and you can forget everything about getting an overdraft. You even need to put up collateral just to get a credit card. What’s the plan then? We are exploring where to get a loan. But my impression is that when you are a small company like us, you do not have many facilities. The bigger, the better, and the more money the bank expects you to have.
Morten Halfdan Petersen Managing Director, VIKING Life-Saving Equipment (Thailand) Ltd.
Have you tried to get a loan in Thailand?No, actually we have never even con-sidered it. We only use our Thai bank to pay wages to our employees and for local transactions.
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10 DTCC
Regulators, who oversee the Thai banking sector, can be critical if they find loans or credits granted to foreign indi-
viduals, says well known retired lady Thai banker Khun Vongthip Chumpani. Too many foreigners run away from their debt. “Lending to foreigners is normally frowned upon by our banking regulators because of the inherent risk of foreign borrowers simply leaving the country and their credit obliga-tions,” she says. "The costs of collecting bad debts from foreigners are too high to be viable and most of the time Thai banks have to sim-ply write them off as bad debts.” “When it comes to locally registered companies, partly owned by foreigners, lending can be considered on a case by case basis. But again it is necessary to establish where the credit risk lies. If the borrowing company depends solely on the foreign shareholders, has small paid up capital, unhealthy au-dited financials and insufficient tangible assets as collateral, the same risk has to be taken into account as in the case of individual borrowers.
Case by caseSince Khun Vongthip retired from day-to-day banking operations some 9 years ago, specific conditions or current criteria that Thai banks apply to loans to foreign companies is no longer part of her involvement. But the basic rule still applies, that all applications are considered
on case by case basis like any other loans to local companies. “The applying company's strengths and weaknesses will have to be identified and all the possible weaknesses and risks have to be mitigated by different measures that could be taken upon mutual agreement. Besides credit risk, the bank have to consider other inherent risks i.e. commercial risk, market risk, operational risk, management and succession risk,” she says. “Accusations also arise time and again that Thai banks are charging their SME borrowers high fees and high loan mar-gins. People seem to convenient-ly forget to mention that "high risk means high return" so that margins charged by Thai banks cannot be compared with those of foreign banks who are simply not lending to the higher risk market segments,” she explains. “Banks also have to comply with many stringent criteria and conditions set up by the bank-ing regulators as per Basle 2 and Basle 3, which are global recommendations on banking laws and regulations issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.” “If for instance there is a delay in repayment up to 3 months, lending bank will have to put up 100% of the loan amount in the form of interest free provision with the Bank of Thailand. If the company shows a continued loss of 3 years, it may have to be classified as a non-performing loan and the lending bank will have to also put up provisions etc. etc.”
Where are the foreign banks?“It surprises me time and again to hear foreigners complain about Thai banks not lending to them when many foreign banks simply shut their doors to foreign SME borrowers.” “Foreign banks and/or "Thai banks with foreign majority ownership and management control" seem to prefer to do business only with the super prime MNC's or prime local business conglomerates, leaving the more risky corporate mid-market to be catered to by the few Thai banks,” Khun Vongthip Chumpani says. Only when it comes to high-margin consumer loans (credit cards/ personal loans/car loans/housing loans) some foreign banks do offer these products, on and off, subject to their parent banks' prevailing policies and directives, she adds.
Mortgage loans As for mortgage loans to foreigners and foreign prop-erty companies, Khun Vongthip thinks the foreign banks should shoulder or share the risks with Thai banks. “In my personal opinions, Thai banks in general will not be considering mortgage loans to foreigners in the near future due to the fact that the property mar-ket worldwide is expected to be in the doldrum for a few more years. A correction in China's property market is also expected in the not too distant future.” “Instead, foreign banks would do well to consider lend-
ing to foreign borrowers and foreign SME's in Thailand rather than pressuring Thai banks into doing it for them. They should also consider sharing the risk with Thai banks by providing sufficient and unconditional standby guarantees for the loans in addition to the mortgages that the Thai banks could take up on their behalf, she says.
Thai banks not all ThaiThe term "Thai banks" also needs to be clarified. “Currently there are in fact only a couple of genuine Thai banks left,” she explains. “After the 1997 Crisis, most of the 15 Thai banks disap-peared, were swallowed up, merged or simply liquidated by the Bank of Thailand. Several of the remaining Thai banks were taken over outright by foreign banks, with the remaining few independent Thai banks now significantly owned either by foreign investors or foreign banks as well as by powerful foreign institutions, particularly in Singapore.” “Singapore is not the only nation that now has significant control of Thai commercial banking system. UK, Canada and China have increased their ownerships in Thai banks. The EU and the US are also plan-ning to expand their roles in the Thai financial sector via their bilateral FTA with Thailand,” Khun Vongthip adds.
RiskyBusinessThai banking regulators regard lending money to companies with foreign ownership as more risky than to companies without foreigners involved. By Gregers Moller
November 2010 11
Keen on Investing in Thailand
Once again there is a willing-ness to invest in Thailand from foreign inves-
tors. A survey from the Board of Investment (BOI) shows that 50 percent of respondants intent to expand their investments in the country during 2010-2011. Industrial sectors are gearing up more than Bt131 billion worth of investment expansion projects, which among other things is boosting the local employment rate, explains the Board of Investment in a press release. The value of investment applications submitted for incen-tives and privileges in the first eight months of 2010 reached nearly Bt270 billion. The survey, with a total of 686 respondents, was conducted on existing for-eign investors in Thailand from February to July this year. Higher over-all confidenceResults indicate a substantial rise in investors' confidence in Thailand. Foreign investors now have higher confidence in every category compared to last year's survey. This includes business performance, where confidence has surged to 71.9 percent, representing huge growth from 41.5 percent in 2009. Over 50 percent of investors plan to invest consistently in Thailand during 2010-2011, while 41.5 percent said they have prepared expansions with strong confidence in the Thai government’s investment incen-tives and supporting policies, and the country’s stable funda-mentals and reasonable labor costs. When comparing six countries around the region, in-cluding Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and China, foreign investors felt that
Thailand offered competitive advantages in its strong funda-mentals, transportation system, infrastructure, telecommunica-tions and logistics. Only 3,7 percent of the re-spondents have plans to reduce their investment in Thailand due to effects of the global recession and a small local market. Politics and investmentsIndustry Minister Chaiwuti Bunnawat thinks this is a sign of trust from foreign investors in Thailand. ”Since the survey was conducted over a period that ex-tended past the recent political unrest, the results can be seen as confirmation that political issues in Thailand do not affect the confidence of investors. Thailand remains a top foreign investment destination with strong economic fundamentals and competive-ness,” he says in the press release. “There were also some investors who requested that the government do away with unnecessary bureaucratic regula-tion to help facilitate investment. Their recommendations on this will be considered toward a solution,” Caiwuti adds.
More jobsMr. Chaiwut also said the BOI has reported findings on the current employment picture, manufacturing output, and sales from 400 large enterprises with an investment value of at least Bt500 million that have been granted incentives and privileges from the Board. The survey for the month of August 2010, which looked at the permanent and outsourced employees of enterprises in different industries, showed the average employ-ment rate increasing 9.3% y-o-y. In the next six months some
209 companies, or 52% of respondents, intend to recruit more employees. These are mostly in the automotive and electronics industries. Moreover, as many as 97 companies in a variety of industries said they will expand their investment projects. This represents a total investment value of Bt131.53 billion.
Eight-month investmentBOI Secretary General Dr. Atchaka Sibunruang disclosed that between January and August this year, the Board granted privileges to 949 projects with an investment value totaling Bt269 billion. That marks a robust 46% increase in the number of projects com-pared with the 652 applications in the same eight-month period of 2009. The investment value increased 12% from Bt240 billion a year earlier, states the press release. Most of the projects that applied for BOI privileges in January-August are related to electricity generation using natu-ral gas and alternative energy, automobile parts, and electronic parts. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first eight months this year totaled 527 projects with an investment value of Bt122.15 billion. The number of FDI projects increased 29.5% over the 407 projects during same period of 2009. The in-vestment value rose 43.2% from Bt85.26 billion a year earlier. Japan remains the No. 1 foreign investor in Thailand, fol-lowed by Spain and Singapore.
A survey from the Thailand Board of Investment indicates that foreign investors' confidence in Thailand has strengthened substantially since last year. Applications submitted in the first eight months of 2010 reached nearly 270 billion bath.By Søren Lykke Bülow
12 DTCC
Keeping Credit Time DownIn Thailand, few local companies pay an invoice without having been reminded at least once. The average credit time is thus often longer than in other parts of the world mak-ing the resources spent on Accounts Receivable Management higher.By Thomas Lykke Pedersen
According to AR experts, one of the most important things when collecting overdue accounts is
to act quickly. Start by making phone calls followed by letters to upper-level managers for the cus-tomer. Try to negotiate settlement payments, such as installments or asset donations. If your collec-tion efforts fail, you may want to use a collection agency. Danish-Thai TradeNews has asked a few Dancham members how they handle this delicate issue.
Eventually we go to court“As of now we’re actually hav-ing a dispute with a customer. We have both signed a clear contract, but now they don’t want to pay the last ten percent of the agreed amount. “We have argued back and forth but without any result. Therefore we’ve chosen to leave the matters at an attorney. At
first we hope to simply settle by arbitration but if we do not find a solution and the company continuously chooses not to pay, we will take it to court.” “We don’t offer any special conditions to get our costumers to pay their invoices at a faster pace.”
Allan Jensen, Managing Director, Scanpro Thailand Co., Ltd.
No payment incentives“We have had several disagree-ments with Thai companies. Paying on time is not always their strongest side. But that’s just the way it is, I guess. Therefore we always make sure to be on top of things. Every month we have a meeting focusing on what ever outstanding debt we may need to collect and we have one employee whose sole purpose is to take care of these matters. Furthermore we have very dedicated bill collectors go-ing from company to company securing our payments. If we still can’t collect our money we simply have no other option than to sue the other party.” “We have tried with various cash discounts to costumers in other parts of Asia, but it has never paid out in the long run. It worked according to planned in the beginning, but after a while companies started to stall any-way. So it’s not something we have implemented in Thailand, nor do we plan to.” “One of our services is repair jobs as well as supplying
our customers with spare parts for our machines. Sometimes we have arguments with costumers complaining that the process time is to long, and in some of those cases we can agree to work out a compromise simply to get our money faster.”
Rene Ludvigsen, Managing Director, Heidelberg Graphics.
A recent problem “We never really used to have any problems concerning debt collection before, but after the crises, both the international one and especially the riots here in Thailand, we have experienced several cases of late payments and stalling. It’s easily felt that many companies suffered and still suffer from the repercussions.” “As we are part of a big international concern we may sometimes be a bit lazy when it comes to a accounts receivable management, because we don’t have any problems with our cash flow. Therefore we don’t wan’t to waste a lot of time and manpower on collecting debt but simply leave those cases at our attorneys desk.” “We haven’t yet had to go to court, nor have we ever writ-ten off any customer debt. The letters from our attorneys seem to do the trick.”
Henrik Toftum, Managing Director, arvato systems (Thailand) Ltd.
Benefits of Accounts Receivable Management
There are more benefits to a more efficient accounts receivable management than just having a more comfortable cash flow. Other benefits include:
• Highercreditsalesandmargins• Reducedbaddebtloss• Loweradministrativecostintheentirerevenuecycle• Decreaseddeductionsandconcessionslosses• Enhancedcustomerservice• Decreasedadministrativeburdenonsalesforce
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14 DTCC
economic interest. In this context, EKF defines Danish economic interest in a very broad sense. Key elements of the evalua-tion are:
Whether production is based •on Danish raw materials/com-ponents, Danish design and know-how, or Danish compe-tence and expertiseWhether all gross profits are •paid to Danish companies, including subcontractors Whether payments are made •to employees, carriers, etc. that pay tax in Denmark and/or receive payment of their remuneration in Denmark Whether dividend, interest •income, licences, royalties or similar from the export transac-tion fall to Denmark now and/or in the future The volume of goods and •equipment produced by Danish-owned subsidiaries in third countriesThe significance of the export •transaction to ensuring interna-tionally competitive terms for the company in questionWhether markets for Danish •products are retained, or new markets are created
There is no fixed percentage or similar measure of whether the Danish interest is sufficient for EKF. This is decided on a case-
by-case basis. But the Danish economic interest must be substantial and incremental to the credit risk. EKF's guarantee department has the resources to conduct an immediate provi-sional assessment of whether a given transaction fulfils the Danish economic interest criterion.
ConditionsFor EKF to offer insurance, the following conditions must be met:
The risk period must normally •be longer than 12 months, typically the term of the credit.For credit terms exceeding 2 •years, it is a prerequisite that the exporter has received a prepayment of minimum 15% from the foreign buyer.The credit must normally be •repaid according to the se-rial loan principle, i.e. equal installment.The debtor (the holder of the •payment obligation) must be approved by EKFThe order amount must be •minimum DKK 250,000.A Danish economic interest •must be involved in the trans-action as described above.
Non commercial conditionsBut EKF has a set of other crite-ria, that must be met, apart from
the commercial conditions. The environmental risks asso-ciated with the export transac-tions is a key element of the CSR policy of EKF. For larger, more complex projects additional en-vironmental impact assessments will often be necessary. Read more about Environment and en-vironmental impact assessment. It is also important to EKF that no bribes have been given or taken in connection with an export transaction. Both exporter and policyholder are therefore required to sign a declaration of non-bribery.
How much does it cost?When EKF guarantees the payments for an export transac-tion, the policyholder pays a premium to EKF. The premium for each transaction is fixed on an individual basis and reflects the risk on the transaction. Premiums are graded into three country premium groups (political risk) and premium classes B – F for buyers/guaran-tors and banks (commercial risk). Thailand is a Category III coun-try which means the Premium is 1.4 pct. As for the commercial risk, the transaction will be evaluated by your bank and EKF on a case-by-case basis. If there is a commercial
Sale on credit can often give a vital competitive edge in international trade, in the same way as price, quality and expertise. Export sale on credit may also be necessary because it can be difficult for buyers in less developed countries with weak financial sectors to raise the required credit, or sufficient liquidity, for payment in cash. In such cases, export credit financing may be your key to ensure that the deal can take place.
By Gregers Moller
Eksport Kredit Fonden (EKF) is a Danish facility which offers insurance of commercial and political risk to export-
ers and financial institutions that hold payment risks related to Danish exports. Political risk is the risk of non-payment of goods due to impediments in the buyer country such as war, civil war, currency rationing, currency restrictions, import and export bans or measures/actions by the local authorities that make it impossi-ble for payments to be received. Commercial risk is the risk of buyer/debtor default due to e.g. bankruptcy or insolvency, cancellation of the contract, or the buyer's refusal to endorse payment authorisations. When the private credit market - banks and insurance companies - either cannot or will not cover a transaction, EKF can step in and provide the neces-sary guarantees. This means that Danish business enterprises can compete with credit terms that are equal to those offered under export credit schemes in other countries.
Danish interestsFor EKF to be able to offer its participation, the export trans-action must involve a Danish
Export Credit Fund
November 2010 15
reason for the payment default (e.g. if the buyer goes bankrupt or suspends its payments) as a rule EKF pays maximum 95% of the outstanding amount to the exporter. If there is a political reason for the payment default EKF pays maximum 90% of the outstanding amount. This means that the exporter has an own risk of minimum 10% of the commercial and political risks. For the bank involved there is also an own risk. If your export transaction cannot be executed due to political or commercial risks, EKF covers up to 95% of the bank's commercial and political risks. The bank thus has an own risk of minimum 5% of the commercial and political risks.
Source: http://www.ekf.dk
The illiquid status of financial markets in February 2009 at the height of credit crisis would probably have made it impossible for the Danish company Olam International to obtain financing for a tenor of more than 2 or 3 years. “However, with the support of an export credit guarantee from EKF we were able to provide Olam International with an 8.5 year loan,” says Antero Ranta from ANZ
Structured Asset and Export Finance, Singapore. Olam International is a global company within agricultural products and food ingredients and a supplier of products such as cocoa, coffee, cashew nuts, peanuts, sesame, rice, cotton and wood products. The company wanted to invest in a facility in Vietnam to produce spray-dried coffee powder, agglomerated powder and freeze-dried coffee. Olam had selected GEA Process Engineering, Soeborg as the supplier of the facility. GEA Process Engineering specializes in the development, design and engineering of liquid and pow-der processing equipment. The financial crisis, however, made it difficult to obtain the necessary financing, but with an EKF guarantee it all fell into place. “This transaction represents a milestone for us because we were able to obtain long-term fi-nancing for our operation in an emerging market despite the financial crisis,” says Arun Sharma, Senior Vice President, Coffee Division, Olam.
Case: Olam International
EKF Finance Secured Factory in Vietnam
16 DTCC
To Lease orNot to Lease?It’s a common dilemma: Lease or Buy? Every company who has ever considered leasing has also considered if they should not rather buy.By Thomas Lykke Pedersen
When making a 'lease or buy' decision you must look not only
at financial comparisons but also at your company’s specific priorities. Is having a new vehicle every two or three years with no major repair risks more important than long-term cost? Or are long term cost savings more important than lower monthly payments? Is having some ownership more important than low up-front costs and no down payment? Is it important to you to pay off your vehicle and be debt-free for a while, even if it means higher monthly payments for the first few years?
Buying and leasing differencesWhen you buy, you pay for the entire cost of a vehicle, regardless of how many miles you drive it. You typically make a down payment, pay sales taxes in cash or roll them into your loan, and pay an interest rate determined by your loan company, based on your credit history. You make your first pay-ment a month after you sign your contract. Later, you may decide to sell or trade the vehicle for its depreciated resale value.
When you lease, you pay only a portion of a vehicle's cost, which is the part that you "use up" during the time you're driving it. Leasing is not the same as renting. You have the option of not making a down payment, you pay sales tax only on your monthly payments (in most cases), and you pay a financial rate, called money fac-tor, that is similar to the interest on a loan. You may also be re-quired to pay fees and possibly a security deposit that you don't pay when you buy. You typically make your first payment at the time you sign your contract - for the month ahead.
Other optionsClosed-end leasing or hire-purchase is a contract-based system allowing a person or company the use of property for a fixed term, and the right to buy that property for the agreed residual value when the term expires - particularly in retail mo-tor vehicle leases. Closed-end leases are so called because they run for a fixed term, and the lessor and lessee agree in the lease contract what the residual value of the property being leased will be. Closed-end leases are not used for property which might
increase in value such as real estate. The lessee is generally responsible for insuring the prop-erty when entering a closed-end leasing deal, for maintaining the product in accordance with the lessor's requirements, and for paying any taxes or license fees which may be assessed on the lessor as owner of record. Motor vehicle leases generally include a provision for determining the amount of "excess wear and tear" (or "wear and use") at the end of the lease term, for which the lessee is responsible upon returning the vehicle. Finally, and most significant-ly, because lessees pay only for depreciation and financing, and not the entire retail cost of the vehicle, payments can be signifi-cantly lower than in loan-based financing. This allows consum-ers to significantly shorten their purchase cycle. Closed-end leasing is frequently advantageous to consumers be-cause it spreads the cost of ex-pensive items over an extended time period. Business consumers may find the different balance sheet and taxation treatment of hire-purchased goods beneficial to their taxable income.
November 2010 17
In Thailand there are basi-cally no restrictions for a foreign company on leasing of a movable property such as cars or computers, says
leasing expert Olaf Duensing of DuensingKippen Tax. “With regard to leasing, for-eigners are treated basically the same as Thais under Thai law. For instance foreign companies do not have to pay more by law. Security deposits are not required by law either, but are common though,” Olaf Duensing says.
Immovable propertyIn Thailand the law distinguishes between movable and immov-able property, whereby a lease of immovable property is subject to certain restrictions. The lease of immovable property is the most common legal option to receive exclusive usage and possession rights over land in Thailand for foreigners, he explains. A lease of immovable property must be in writing to be enforceable, and it is necessary for any lease of immovable property exceeding three years to be registered by the “compe-tent official” at the land depart-ment. An unregistered lease will not be enforceable if the term exceeds three years. “Leases may have renewal clause for additional periods of 30 years, however it should be noted that Thai law provides for only one such renewal,” says Olaf Duensing.
Structure ownershipThe foreign company can own the structure on the leased land. The company should have a “su-perficies” (i.e. the right to own structures on land they do not own) over the land registered in its name on the title deed to the land the structure is on. “If the company is the first owner of the structure such com-pany should also have evidence that the company built the struc-ture such as payment records to the builder, a building contract and their name on the building permit,” says Olaf Duensing. If the company is a transferee owner of the structure, the trans-fer is registered in their own name at the relevant land office and requires a 30-day public notice period before the transfer.It is quite common in Thailand for a land lessor in a long term lease relation to require that the lease is prepaid i.e. full payment in advance for the term the lease covers. However, the revenue department in Thailand will only allow a company doing business here to account its lease expenses as a deductible expense on an annual accrual basis over the term of the lease. “That means that a company will not be able to deduct the full expense against its profit in the year it actually pays and there-fore only proportionally over the years of the lease. Olaf Duensing strongly advises that professional legal advice be sought before con-ducting such lease, or for that matter, any business in Thailand.
Practical LeasingIf a company decides to lease a car or a computer, the conditions in Thailand are quite straight forward. When leasing property there are some more rules and regulations. Danish-Thai TradeNews has asked leading expert Olaf Duensing of DuensingKippen Tax. As a guide, some DTCC Member companies share their experiences as well.
Clarity ITYes, we have leased cars and computers. And right now our office space is leased to. We have had no difficulties, as we have always had people to help us with the documents.
Richard Burnett, Managing Director
Ineos Asiatic Chemical Co.,Ltd.Yes, we are leasing company cars and forklifts.
It is relatively easy. There are companies specializing in such leasing (Krungthai car leasing etc.), including the equipment procedures as well, (Toyota etc.). They have standard leasing contracts.
We have different leasing arrangements: Leasing which is all inclusive (maintenance, insurance kilometre check etc.). We have also a closed-end leasing which doesn’t include main-tenance and check ups, but where we can buy the car for a relatively small amount after expiration of the lease.
Jan Peter Jensen, Managing Director
Flux International Ltd.No, we are not leasing anything in Thailand. I think it is sim-ply because we are not familiar with the leasing conditions in Thailand, because in Denmark we are leasing company cars.
Niels Overgaard Christensen, Managing Director
18 DTCC
only one million baht, meaning if a person or a company has an account with 10 million baht deposited, and the bank fails, that person or company will get one million baht in coverage.
No need to panicSome companies are worried that this will be an actual threat to their capital, but according to Eric Pedersen, Nordea Private Banking in Singapore, there is no need to panic. It is all about being careful. ”There are definitely banks – both national and international branches – that will be great partners,” says Eric Pedersen. ”My advice is to look at each bank’s history and ask yourself how they managed the crisis, how aggressively they have been lending out money, how fast they have grown and
so on. If things look good, then such a bank will, from safe considerations, be okay to have as partner – even when the coverage decreases,” he says.
No eternal guaranteeThe reasoning behind the Deposit Protection Act is that the state should not guarantee for the entire private banking system in all eternity. ”The huge guarantees were given to prevent ‘runs’ on the healthy banks in a situation where the entire world’s economic system was in shock and no-one trusted one another. No one knew who was sitting with the bad loans or poisonous investments,” Eric Pedersen explains. This meant that the high coverage was not only meant to calm down regular savers or companies, but also to make
sure that the bank’s were not afraid of letting money float from one bank to another like a modern economy needs. ”Now the market has cooled down again. In the future, it will cost the banks more to attract deposits to compensate for the greater risk people run by using them,” Eric Pedersen explains.
Free competitionThe change means that the more or less free competition will be able to function once again. ”Now there is a more obvious visibility in the system, and hopefully this means that the banks can trust that all the depositors not just withdraw all their money at the same time. This would make the banks fall like domino pieces,” Eric Pedersen says. He believes that the strategy
1/ Current coverage limits (temporary arrangement after crisis in 2008) Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia : fully guarantee until 31 December 2010 Thailand : fully guarantee until 10 August 2011 Indonesia : RPH 2,000 mil since 13 October 2008 2/ Source : World Economic Outlook Database, October 2009, International Monetary Fund
Source: http://www.dpa.or.th/Detail.aspx?menu=22&id=50
The Deposit Protection Act Could Cost You a FortuneThe DPA will be felt already next year and as of August 2012, Thai banks will cover only up to one million baht of your deposit if it goes bankrupt. This does not mean that it is time to panic and withdraw all your money from your local bank, says expert.
By Soren Lykke Bulow
Singapore 20,000 SGD1/ 14,800 0.35
Hong Kong 100,000 HKD1/ 12,900 0.41
US (FDIC) 250,000 USD 250,000 5.24
Canada 100,000 CAD 97,500 2.11
Japan 10 mil JPY 115,000 2.68
South Korea 50 mil KRW 41,800 2.14
Philippines 500,000 PHP 11,000 5.64
Malaysia 60,000 MYR1/ 18,900 2.34
Vietnam 50 mil VND 3,200 2.25
Indonesia 100 mil RPH1/ 11,000 3.75
Thailand 1 mil THB1/ 31,100 6.90
Stipulated by law USD EquivalentCountries
CoverageTimes of GDP per capita2/T
he Deposit Protection Act is in place, and from 2011 this will have an actual impact on the way depositors use their
banks in Thailand. The act was inaugurated in 2008 during the world wide economic meltdown, but many places in Asia it will not be until next year, it will have direct consequences. For customers in Thai banks it will soon be time to be careful about where to deposit your money.
From all to oneAs the situation is right now, a depositor in a Thai bank will get every single dime refunded if a bank is declared bankrupt. But this will soon change. From August 11, 2011, the maximum guaranteed cover-age will be 50 million baht and as of August 11, 2012, this number will take a drastic leap downwards. From this day the maximum guaranteed coverage will be
24/7 Assistance
FACTSDeposit Protection Act:
Deposit protection is a system established by the government in order to strengthen the financial institution system and protect depositors within a certain coverage amount against the loss
of their deposits placed in a financial institution. Depositors will be reimbursed within the stipulated period of time without having to wait until the liquidation process is finalized. The Deposit Protection Agency Act B.E. 2551 (2008) came into force on 11 August 2008. Deposit protection system exists in more than 106 countries. In Asia, the countries having deposit protection system are Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Russia and Kazakhstan. In Thailand, the schedule looks like this:
The Deposit Protection Act Could Cost You a Fortune
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should work and that depositors should not be too worried. ”The best banks handled the crisis with no drama, they were not too aggressive in their mar-keting of loans, and they have not grown too quickly. At the same time, they are independent from single persons or compa-nies,” he explains.
But if you happen to be a customer at a bank that seems to be in the danger zone of failing, then you should at least give it a thought. ”You should think about moving an amount of your credit balance to a safer place,” Eric Pedersen says.
1 11 Aug 2008 – 10 Aug 2009 Full amount 2 11 Aug 2009 – 10 Aug 2010 Full amount 3 11 Aug 2010 – 10 Aug 2011 Full amount 4 11 Aug 2011 – 10 Aug 2012 Baht 50 million 5 From 11 Aug 2012 onwards Baht 1 million
Year Period Coverage amount (Million Thai Baht)
20 DTCC
Internet to the Poorest of the PoorW
eb2Thai brings IT out to some of the poorest schools in
Isarn. Several hundred children now have daily access to a computer, the Internet, and several educational programs, some of the latter also sponsored by the co founder of Pandora, Per Enevoldsen. And with the latest software unit in Bangkok, the Danish funded project will reach out to all primary schools in Thailand. “It started in a sofa in Denmark three years ago, just after I sold a huge part of my shares in Pandora. My good friend Sven Sprogøe and I took some Thai classes together. And after one of the session we shared some wine in his apartment”, Per Enevoldsen explains a Saturday afternoon in his weekend apartment in the Sukumvit area in Bangkok.
Desire to help childrenThe wine glasses got empty, same thing happened for a bottle or two. But Per and Sven started to produce one thought after the other.
Per Enevoldsen, the co-founder of Pandora, has made a fortune in Thailand. The project web2thai involving some of the poorest schools in the Kingdom are his way of giving back to the country that gave him almost everything.By Bjarne Wildau
“At that time Sven asked me, what I planned to do with all my newly earned money from the shares in Pandora. As a com-puter and software professional his question quickly turned to ideas about IT and focused on some of the poorest provinces in Thailand,” Per Enevoldsen explains. As a matter of fact, the Danish multimillionaire had already, with out any help from a cozy late afternoon with a friend, wondered about how nice and appropriate it could be to give some of the hard earned wealth back to the Thai community. “I knew I wanted to do something for Thai children. Helping them to connect to the modern world you can say”. That was the start of something that later became Web2Thai – a project solely financed by Per Enevoldsen himself, and managed by Sven Sprogøe.
One laptop per child“At the beginning “One Laptop per Child” was a possibility, and we were considering the little green computers as a way to
help,” Sven Sprogøe says. Per and Sven made inquiries to the supplier about buying an amount of computers for a pilot project. ‘One thousand is mini-mum order quantity’, they said - because Web2Thai needed a Thai keyboard for the comput-ers. And that was way too much for a pilot project. “So it became clear that we had to work within the existing framework, namely traditional PCs placed in every single school, typically in a special computer classroom,” Per Enevoldsen recalls. Most of the schools in Thailand have at least one com-puter thanks to the Thaksin era, so you can say that there was something to build on.
Good contactsThe Web2Thai project was first tested in the village of Sven’s wife Kung, Sikhiu near Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat). “We had contacts in Sikhiu and we had to go to the village for family reasons anyway,” says Sven. He still remembers the excitement at the school. And thanks to his own wife and the local Web2Thai team they got
Per Enevoldsen made a fortune in Thailand. Donating computers and
access to the Internet became his way to pay something back to the
country that gave him so much.
November 2010 21
Internet to the Poorest of the Poor
well off the ground. Now three to four years later, five schools in five dif-ferent villages are involved in Web2Thai. All have been equipped with brand new computers. It takes around two months to get a computer class working with 20 computers.
The teacher’s friendAmong the obstacles Per, Sven and their wife’s Kung and Kwan has been forced to focus on, is how to make the teaching work. “Its ok to help the weakest student, but we learned the hard way that we also had to give fo-cus to the stronger pupils so they can help their friends in need of support,” Per says, and then he is heading for an unsuspected path. “Its very difficult to get teach-ers to join our project. They are afraid of losing face to their own students. At one school we had 20 teachers but only two who reluctantly joined. So our plan is to let a teacher and a pupil join up and help each other when computers are used in the
lessons. We call it ‘Teacher’s Friend’, Peuan Khru in Thai,” he explains, adding that so far they have not been able to set up such a team.
More poor!Sven recalls Per’s first visit to the first school: “Per was a little disap-pointed. Not about what we had done, but he felt that the students were not poor enough. So after that we did what was possible to reach villages a step or two lower than in our first try,” explains Sven. One of the current five schools in the project is so isolated that it was necessary to install a parabola to get access to the Internet. But from Pers’ point of view it was still not remote enough. He wanted to go even further out to the remote villages. “We bought a 4-wheeler that is currently being converted into a mobile computer school. Its not ready yet, but within some months a village can not be too remote to visit,” say Sven Sprogøe.
Helping Pandora tooSven Sprogøe initially came to Pandora to help Per Enevoldsen with IT at the factory. But because there is so much to do with web2thai, Sven will spend at least 75% of his time on this project. The rest of his time he will spend helping Pandora Thailand, too. When the mobile com-
puter school is on the road, Per Enevoldsen will get it his way more than ever before. The paying back project will expand to the poorest tribe village in the north western part of the country that he loves so much. And with the development that the Internet is currently going trough only the tropical sky is the limit.
Per Enevoldsen, right with his wife Kwan, and his friend Sven Sprogøe with his wife Kung
Sven Sprogøe and Per Enevoldsen got the idea to web2thai back in Denmark almost four years ago. Sven is now employed in the project 75% of his working time.
Cheese Import Origin
Cheese Import in Mill. THB
22 DTCC
From affordable snacks to luxurious foods being served in an up-scale restaurant, cheese is surely a food product
that has its own place on the menu. The introduction of western foods in this country is the reason why Thai consumers have quickly developed taste buds for cheese. According to Kim Chua Trading Limited Partnership, fast food chains such as Pizza Hut and McDonald introduced food that adopted both Thai and Western culinary concepts. The combination is considered an important part in creating an easy transition for Thai people who would normally eat spicy food to become hooked on cheese flavored food or snacks. That made Western food widely accepted among ordinary Thai consumers. The company further states
that expats and overseas edu-cated Thais are also contributing to the demand of cheese. During the first seven months of this year, imports doubled in quantity from 2009 to 2010 and was valued at 692.8 million baht. However, some cheese imports figures do not always correspond to the demand of domestic consum-ers. In fact, trade negotiations between Thailand and countries like Australia is also responsible for a spike in import growth.
Origin of cheeseThe table “Cheese Import Origin” shows that imports from the Asian region are mainly from Indonesia and Japan although their imports to Thailand have decreased. The largest cheese imports have been from Australia and New Zealand despite a small decline over the same period.
In Europe, imports from Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium and Greece are less than last year while import values almost doubled in Italy, France, Germany, United Kingdom and Switzerland. Among European nations, Spain is doing better than everyone else where the demand for cheese in Thailand has tripled in volume this year. Surprisingly, Thailand’s own produced cheese is also growing this year. Factory Manager of Thailand’s larg-est cheese manufacturer Minor International, Taweesak Raksantinana, says that domestic productions cater mostly to food services like fast food chains, restaurants and hotels. In addi-tion, the production level in the Kingdom also varies according to a number of several factors such as economy, tourism and demand.
Fresh cheese boomingThe graph “Cheese Import in Mill. THB” shows that processed cheese remains the most favored type of cheese compared
GrowingCheeseMarketThailand is experiencing a substantial rise in cheese consumption. By Nuppol Suvansombut
to other types in the market. Within this category, Thailand mainly imports from New Zealand, followed by Indonesia, Australia, Singapore and USA. The demand for grated and powdered cheese increased by almost 49 millions baht in value while demand for fresh cheese skyrocketed to 88.4 million baht within a period of one year. The top two countries providing this category is Australia and New Zealand. As for blue veined cheese, Danish importers account for 1.05% which makes them the biggest group of European sup-plier for blue veined cheese and the overseas supplier to Thailand from 2009-2010. From the graphs, it can be concluded that there is a phenomenon increase in demand for processed cheese, grated and powered cheese, fresh cheese and other types of cheese in Thailand except for blue veined cheese which slightly decrease in the number of import this year.
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Member profile
Asia Safe Tech – Fighting Against Child Pornography
Asia Safe Tech pro-vides the only tools that can detect and block Child Abuse Images with 100%
accuracy, with solutions for com-panies, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Law Enforcement and Hotels and Resorts.Another division under Asia Safe Tech is “AST Hardware”, that provides both new and re-new-ed enterprise level IT Hardware. We have all the known brands like, DELL, HP, EMC2, IBM, SUN and CISCO. We deliver the hardware tested by certified engineers with the same war-ranty as new IT Hardware, but with a big saving.
BackgroundAsia Safe Tech has the sole distribution of NetCleans prod-ucts. NetClean is a Swedish company that is specialized in developing software to fight the global problem with Child Abuse Images. Asia Safe Tech work together with both the police authorities and NGO’s like ECPAT. “Asia Safe Tech’s goal is to get all Thai companies and organizations to join the the fight against child pornography and do their utmost to prevent pro-liferation. We already have an
established network of contacts in this market and hope we can make a huge and important effort,” says Maniging Director, Jacob Bojsen. The business concept of “AST Hardware” is to re-utilize the existing technology re-sources of the world in order to
extend the value and lifetime of high performing technology for re-selling purposes and the maintenance of this equipment. As a global supplier of refur-bished and new IT equipment, AST Hardware offers products that are not only an excellent value, but also a sensible part of
any Green initiative By choosing re-utilized high-end IT equip-ment you can save as much as 50-70% on your budget and still have the same performance. All Hardware comes with same warranty as new equipment.
November 2010 25
Nordic Young Professionals is a new division of the Danish-Thai Chamber of
Commerce and is a non-politi-cal, non-profit oriented platform for Nordic young professionals, interns or students in Bangkok who are here on a long or short term stay. The aim of the group is to create a platform where young professionals can meet up. Through events, the young professionals will have great possibilities of meeting other young Nordics, exchanging ideas and experiences, acquir-ing new friends and expanding their network. Besides the Young Professionals Events, which will be held 3-4 times during the year, the young professionals will also be invited for certain Chamber Events. This gives the young profes-sionals great opportunities of meeting Chamber Members from different companies and building up valuable relation-ships for their future careers. The group is targeted due to their potential as employees for our members. Furthermore, it is believed that future interns of the Chamber will be found in the large group of Danish exchange students that each year comes to Bangkok. We are looking forward to meet all the young profes-sionals at our first Networking Event at the well-known Danish Restaurant Stable Lodge, November 11th. For more information, please visit our Facebook Fanpage “Nordic Young Professionals – Thailand”
Nordic Young Professional in Thailand Dancham takes initiative to set up a Nordic Young Professionals division in ThailandBy Anne Groth Katballe
Member profile
Viking Life-Saving Equipment
VIKING is a market leader in maritime safety, providing and servicing essential safety equipment for
passenger and commercial vessels, offshore installations and vessels, the defence sector, industrial fire fighting as well as leisure yachts. The company is headquar-tered in Denmark with 1,300 employees worldwide. Products are manufactured in five loca-tions: Esbjerg and Bramming in Denmark, Bergen in Norway, Colorado in the US and Laem Chabang, Thailand. VIKING’s unique global network includes 52 branch offices and 270 certified servicing stations. With more than 600 employees, almost half of the company’s staff is based in Thailand where the majority of products are pro-duced. The factory in Thailand was established in 2002 and is headed by Managing Director Morten Halfdan Petersen. VIKING offers a choice of global safety solutions. The product portfolio includes marine evacuation systems, offshore evacuation and crew transfer
systems, liferafts, boats, lifesav-ing appliances, and protective clothing such as immersion suits, work suits, fire suits and lifejackets.
Mission: Protect and SaveAs a producer of safety equip-ment, VIKING’s products are often the last possible means of rescue or evacuation in an emergency. VIKING knows that lives depend on their work; therefore they invest their technical expertise, profession-al pride and care to ensure that the products perform when needed. But rescuing people at sea is not the only way VIKING tries to make a great influence. VIKING is deeply commit-ted to its environmental and social responsibility. They strive to minimise the footprint on the environment through constant focus on improvements in manufacturing methods and waste reduction. Working practices are monitored to en-sure the best possible welfare for the employees. At the same time, VIKING
supports local causes around the world through education, dona-tions to projects, sponsorships and collections.
Know-howVIKING has been in the life-saving business for over 50 years where it started in a west coast fishing port by producing liferafts for fishermen making their living on the formidable North Sea. Tage Sørensen founded VIKING Life-Saving Equipment (then called Nordisk Gummibådsfabrik) in 1960 to manufacture liferafts for fishing vessels and it was an immedi-ate success. The portfolio grew to include lifesaving equipment for other markets and over the years VIKING’s reputation for superior quality products fuelled an international expansion. Today VIKING is a global enterprise with a comprehensive range of safety and rescue products for the maritime, offshore and fire sectors all over the world.
For more information about VIKING, please visit http://www.viking-life.com/
26 DTCC
CalendarComing Events :
Nordic Young Professionals Nov 11, 2010DanCham Christmas Lunch Nov 26, 2010DanCham Networking Dec 15, 2010
Corporate :
Beach Terrace Hotel, Cha am854/4 Suksamer Road, (Beach) Bang Saiyoy, Cha am, Petchaburi 76120Tel: +66 3250 8502 Fax: +66 3250 8502Mobile: +668 9019 5570Email: [email protected]: www.beachterrace-chaam.com Mr. Tom Westergaard Director
Global Removal Service69/52 Coco House Soi Phatumwan Resort Phaya Thai Road, Rajthevee, Bangkok 10400Tel: +66 2653 9816 Fax: +66 2254 5766Email: [email protected] Website: www.global-removal-service.comMr. Per Boye Lauritsen Managing Director
Gulf Agency Company (Thailand) Ltd.26/30-31 9th fl Orakarn BuildingSoi Chidlom, Ploenchit Road, Lumpinee, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330Tel: 02 650 7400 Fax: 02 650 7401Website: www.gac.comMr. Mark Delaney Managing Director
Qatar Airways388 Exchange Tower, 2nd Fl, Unit 212,214, 21st Fl, Unit 2102, Sukhumvit Rd, Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110Tel: +66 2259 2701-5 Fax: +66 2204 1243Website: qatarairways.com/thMr. Joe Rajadurai Country Manager Thailand, Cambodia & MyanmarMs. Chanipa Parnsingha Sales Manager
New Members
Mobile-Technologies Co., Ltd209/1 K Tower, Tower B, 28th Flr, Unit 4, Sukhumvit 21 Road (Asok), Klongtoey Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110Tel: +66 2664 0874 Fax: +66 2664 0873Email: [email protected]: www.mobile-technologies.comMr. Eli Hem-JensenManaging Director
Move To BangkokBangkok Condos Co., Ltd.99/166 M. Monchaya 2, Saimai Road, District Saimai, Bangkok 10220Tel: +66 2944 5247Website: www.MoveToBangkok.comChristian Hjort General Manager
Restaurant Kiin KiinSiam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok991/9 Rama 1 Road, Bangkok 10330Email: [email protected]. Henrik Yde - Andersen
Thai Airways International Pcl.16 RaadhuspladsenDK - 1550 Koebenhavn V DenmarkMr. Flemming SonneArea Sales Manager
Individual :
Anita FalkCafe Europe BKK Co., Ltd.64/1 Sukhumvit Soi 20, Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110Mobile: +668 4342 0190Email: [email protected]: cafeeuropebkk.com
Jean JacobiSivalee 1, Soi 26, Number 202, Nakon Nayok 50 Road, Rangsit,Pathum Tanee 12130
Jorgen Andreasen HedegreenBancore A/S Veksebovej 153480 Fredenborg DenmarkTel: +45 2964 1344Website: www.bancore.com
Mogens BjergGroensdalvej 568260 Viby J DenmarkTel: +45 2344 0003Email: [email protected]
Tommy H KroghBangkok Garden 7168 Naratiwas soi 24, Chongningsi, Bangkok 10120Mobile: +668 9813 3384
Dr. Ulrich EderMulvana, de Angeli & Associates Ltd.Suite #1205, M. Thai Tower, All Seasons PlaceLumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Tel: +66 2654 0350-4 Fax +66 2654 0357Mobile: +668 5112 5500Email: [email protected]
