Commerce Ministry lambasted for corruption in rice purchases

Corruption has penetrated every step of the government’s rice purchase scheme as the Commerce Ministry has refused to disclose information on rice sales, according to a senior Finance Ministry official.
Deputy permanent secretary for finance Supa Piyajitti told a Senate committee that corruption was involved from the first stage of farmers’ registration to reports on rice volume which were falsified.
The Senate standing committee on economic, commerce and industry invited Supa to give an account on the rice pledging scheme in her capacity as chairwoman of the Finance Ministry’s sub-committee tasked with the scheme’s account assessment.
She said only 10 percent of rice in the government’s stockpiles had been randomly checked due to lack of manpower, adding that rice sold under the scheme was rotated at some rice mills.
Total losses from the state’s rice subsidy scheme from 2004 to 2013 which included 14 harvest seasons were as high as Bt378 billion while losses in the last three seasons, between 2011 and 2013, were Bt221 billion.
As of January 31 this year, the government has spent more than Bt496 billion for the rice purchase program - which has to be paid to the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, Supa explained.
The government’s report of 11 million tonnes of rice in its stockpiles contradicted the figure of 18 million tonnes given by the Marketing Organization for Farmers and the Public Warehouse Organization, she told the committee.
Supa said she had asked the Commerce Ministry for the figure of rice sales but was told that it was confidential.
“They told me that only three persons - the commerce minister, permanent secretary for commerce and director general of the Foreign Trade Department - had access to the figure,” Supa said.
“We could not pursue our accounting to close entries and we do not know to whom the 10 million tonnes of rice were sold.”
A standing committee member, Mahannop Dejvitak, said the government lacked corruption prevention measures and some lots of rice were resold to make double profits from the pledging scheme.
The rice storage standard has been poor, resulting in deteriorating quality, he said. (MCOT)

AFG meets BorgWarner

Dr. Iain Corness
At the end of June, the Automotive Focus Group (AFG) invited Dr. Chaiyant Savanachai from BorgWarner Thailand who spoke about their current and future activities in Thailand and ASEAN.
Dr. Chaiyant Savanachai is the General Manager, BorgWarner (Thailand) in control of Thailand operations, and reporting to HQ USA.

Dr. Chaiyant Savanachai from BorgWarner Thailand.

With a PhD in international Corporate Management, a Masters in International Economics and a Bachelor in Telecommunication Engineering Dr Chaiyant was an interesting speaker who was well qualified to address the AFG members.
He began with an introduction to global BorgWarner, and then the BorgWarner ASEAN Development & Growth, finishing with a discussion as to where Thailand is heading and the challenges to Thailand in the global marketplace.
He proudly pointed out that the Vision for BorgWarner was to be the global technology leader in powertrain solutions. Their results in 2012 included 7.18 billion dollars in sales, with 19,100 employees in 57 locations in 19 countries. Their products covered transmissions, engines and driveline systems, with engines covering 68 percent of sales and powertrains 32 percent of sales. The market drivers for BorgWarner being fuel economy, emissions and performance.
With engine development going towards down-sizing, turbocharging has become important to produce power, and at the same time produce up to 30 percent improvement in fuel consumption.
Interestingly, he pointed out that China and India are still relying on low technology, while the rest of the western world is heading towards hybrids and energy saving. Electric supercharging is on its way, with electronic wastegate actuators and exotic materials to be used in turbine wheels.
Dr Chaiyant’s talk was dotted with humorous interludes, where he said that the only copying the firm had to do was to copy themselves! He also showed slides of the Indy 500 trophy given each year by his company, standing the height of a man, which required a new plinth, to add more winner’s names, as BorgWarner had been donating the trophy for every year since inception.
After the address, the AFG members went on to a networking session with snacks and drinks at the Amari’s ICE BAR.

Kanebo recalls whitening products from Thailand and other Asian markets

Japanese cosmetics maker Kanebo has announced that it is recalling 54 of its skin whitening products from all over Asia, including Thailand, after the company received complaints saying the products caused skin discoloration.
The cosmetics contain a substance called 4HPB or Rhododenol, which was developed by Kanebo and has been used as an active ingredient in their products since 2008.
The recalled products include the Kanebo Blanshir Superior and White Deep series of cosmetics.
The company spokesperson said that there had been 39 complaints from customers in Japan alone over discoloration of their skin after use.
A combined 4.36 million units of these products have been shipped by Kanebo and its subsidiaries in Japan and around 370,000 items have been sent to overseas markets.
The recall affects Japan and 10 other Asian markets, which are Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam. (NNT)

50 richest Thai business people revealed in new Forbes list

Agribusiness conglomerate tycoon Dhanin Chearavanont tops Forbes Magazine’s list of wealthiest business people in Thailand for the fourth consecutive year. The listed 50 have a combined net worth of 84 billion US dollars or a quarter of the nation’s gross domestic product.
44 out of 50 people named in Thailand’s Rich List 2013 have had their wealth pushed up by the robust stock market which reached a 19-year high in May and the lucrative tourism industry which saw a total of 52 million visitors last year.
Topping the list is Charoen Pokphand Group (CP) head Dhanin Chearavanont, who has been leading the group on an acquisition spree. His CP All, the world’s third biggest operator of 7-Eleven stores, received the green light to acquire discount retailer Siam Makro. His wealth jumped $3.6 billion to $12.6 billion this year.
Following behind at number two is the Chirathivat family, whose fortune jumped $5.4 billion due to strong gains of several stocks, including hotelier Central Plaza and developer Central Pattana.
In addition, King Power Group Chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha is the year’s top gainer, up fivefold and jumping to number 11 from number 37. The listing came after the group’s strong sales, which jumped 35% in 2012 and are expected to post double-digit gains in 2013. (NNT)