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Thailand plans to boost exports to NZ by eight percent in 2014
The Commerce Ministry has planned to boost Thai exports to New Zealand by
eight percent in 2014 from last year, said Nantawan Sakuntanak,
director-general of the International Trade Promotion Department.
 Nantawan
Sakuntanak, director-general of the International Trade Promotion
Department.
Nantawan said her department would use the Thailand-New Zealand Closer
Economic Partnership Agreement and the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free
Trade Agreement as major tools in boosting Thai exports, and this would
assist Thailand’s small- and medium-sized enterprises in cooperating with
the government to boost their production and exports of agricultural
products.
Also, ten exhibitions of Thai goods would be organized for 2015 and senior
executives from New Zealand would be invited to visit Thailand, she said.
The department has targeted to double bilateral trade by 2020.
Bhuthong Thongyai, director of the International Trade Promotion office in
Sydney, said that trade between ASEAN and New Zealand during one year, from
June 2013 to July 2014, increased to about 13.46 billion NZ dollars, or 13.4
percent of New Zealand’s total trade.
Goods exported by ASEAN member countries to New Zealand accounted 16.7
percent during the same period, said Bhuthong, adding that the majority of
goods exported by the regional grouping were: petroleum products, animal
feedstuff, plastic, rubber and seafood. (MCOT)
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New natural gas field
found in Udon Thani
A new natural gas field that could be used for the
production of electricity and natural gas for vehicles has been found in the
northeastern province of Udon Thani, said Kurujit Nakornthap,
director-general of the Mineral Fuels Department.
Kurujit said a petroleum explorer near the Sin Phu Hom natural gas field in
Udon Thani had informed him that it they had discovered the new natural gas
field nearby and that they had told the Electricity Generating Authority of
Thailand (EGAT) so that the latter could amend its plans for electricity
production.
He said PTT Exploration and Production has already announced that gas
reserves at the Sin Phu Hom field could produce natural gas for at least 15
years and EGAT has asked for an extension to buy natural gas from PTT for
another three years, ending in 2024.
To date, two commercial scale natural gas fields have been found in the
northeastern region.
The first, in Nam Phong district of Khon Kaen province is now producing
10-15 million cubic feet per day, compared to the 100 million cubic feet per
day previously.
Kurujit said EGAT plans to construct a new electricity plant to take the
place of the Nam Phong electricity plant, which would be used until 2024, as
the demand for electricity in the northeast ha been rising more than 4.5
percent annually. (MCOT)
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PEA introduces Thailand’s first electric passenger bus
Thailand’s Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has introduced the first
locally developed electric bus. Services will begin next year.
Governor Numchai Lowattanatakul presided over a PEA ceremony to introduce
the pollution-free Ze-bus and its charging station in the PEA’s head office
last week.
PEA’s technological research and development fund and Suranaree University
of Technology jointly produced the electric bus with 43 seats.
It is believed to be the first commercial electric bus made in Thailand.
It has a low floor to serve people with disabilities and is equipped with
Internet and a GPS tracking system. It was assembled at the Cherdchai
factory.
The PEA will test the bus during the next six months. If results are
satisfactory, it will deploy the vehicle to serve its staff next year.
Later the PEA will promote the commercial use of such buses that can halve
energy costs compared with oil-powered buses. (MCOT online)
Thai firm invests in solar cell project in Japan
RATCH Group Managing Director Pongdit Pojana.
Ratchaburi Holding has joined with the Chow Group to invest in two solar
cell projects in Japan, with a total capacity to generate 33 megawatts of
electricity. They plan to sell this solar cell produced electricity
commercially by 2016.
Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Pcl (RATCH) and Chow Steel
Industry Pcl inked the agreement last week.
The companies have also agreed to establish two joint ventures, with RATCH
holding 60 percent of the shares, while the Chow Group attains the rest.
RATCH Group Managing Director Pongdit Pojana said that Japan is one of the
countries the company has targeted for an investment in alternative energy,
where the Japanese government has already accepted the purchase of 7,000
megawatts of solar cell electricity.
Chow Group president Anawin Jirathammasiri, meanwhile, said the cooperation
between the Chow Group and RATCH is another vital step for the company to
expand its bases for alternative energy into Japan, one of the top world
markets with high potential for investment in energy, as the Japanese
government fully supports alternative energy development.
Both RATCH and Chow Steel will invest in solar cell projects in Ueda in
Nagano prefecture and Iwaki of Fukushima prefecture, where each project is
promised to produce 10.8 and 22.6 megawatts of electricity via solar cells
respectively. (MCOT)
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