Sriracha Tiger and crocodile farm to invest in China

Sriracha Tiger Farm and Animal Breeding Center Co., a Thai company renowned worldwide for its Tiger raising business, would spend Yuan 100 million to set up the business in China’s Quangxi and Hokkian provinces as demands in crocodile and tiger meat in that country sharply rose in recent years.

According Sriracha Farm’s chairman Maitree Temsiripong, there are currently about 100 tigers in the farm, while negotiations have been under way with the government of China for a plan to produce 200,000 tigers in 5 years in the country of 1.4 billion people.

The company has also planned to raise crocodiles in China. Exports of the reptile meat to China fell short as demand in the flesh rose, said Mr. Maitree. A crocodile farm has been in its pioneering stage in China and is likely to be able to supply enough meat to the market in the next 3-4 years, he said.

About 900,000 tourists visited Sriracha Farm in 1998 while about 1.2 million visitors are expected this year; the company plans to bring out 200 tigers this year while crocodile output will be increased by 75-80 percent, from 25,000-28,000 at present; an acrobatic troupe from China is currently on the show.

Economic committee sees no loght at the end of funnel

The measures used in solving the economic crisis were all wrong and there is no sign indicating that the Thai economy is about to bottom off as believed by the government, said a report prepared by the House of Senators’ Economic Committee.

According to the Committee’s chairman Dr Virabhongsa Ramangkura, who is also a former deputy prime minister and finance minister under the Chavalit Yongchaiyudh administration, the government was too optimistic and relatively slow in solving the problems.

Dr Virabhongsa urged that the government stop borrowing abroad immediately and implement tax cuts in order to stimulate the recovery. His statements appeared in the Committee’s latest report on the result of studies on the government’s economic measures and suggestions. The report was the fourth in a series and was submitted to Chairman of the House of Senators Dr Meechai Ruechupan.

The country is falling deeper into the crisis without sign of recovery; the government needs to issue both short-term and long-term measures; all the recovery plans be implemented continuously; former BOT governor Dr Vijitt Supinit suggests the government set up another fund to support bank’s fund raising programs.

PTT experienced worst year in 2 decades

The Petroleum Authority of Thailand last year experienced its worst year in 20 years in terms of profit making as the corporate net profit in 1998 fell to Baht 760 million, a 71 percent slide. PTT’s oil business crumbled while its gas business turned out to be rising star in the year’s Baht 212 billion combined sales, 10 percent lower than that of the year before.

According to industry sources, PTT’s oil refining businesses suffered a Baht 3 billion loss last year as refining margins sharply fell due to the sluggish market. The authority earned Baht 6.5 billion in profit from gas sales last year.

PTT suffered a Baht 8 billion loss in Thai Oil Refining Co., in which it owns 50 percent.

PTT has shared in the Baht 10-billion profit made by Rayong Refining Co., in which it partly owns, while sharing in a Baht 5 billion performance loss in Star Refining Co. SRC has, however, made Baht 7 billion in net profit after all, said the sources. Earning in Bangchal Petroleum Co is yet to be accounted for, they said.

The oil industry suffered from price wars in retailing as domestic demand crumbled last year; PTT International has played a crucial role in oil exporting; the authority has had Baht 72 billion in long-term outstanding debts after Baht 6 billion was paid for; Baht 12.7 billion in fund allocated for investment in exploration and production, another Baht 13 billion set for petrochemical business; investment plan greatly adapted to the economic reality.

Complaints mount over hotels in tourist resort cities

Major travel agents in Europe have lodged complaints to the Tourism Authority of Thailand over hotels in major tourist destinations, such as Phuket, Samui and Hua Hin, for their extra-ordinarily expensive rooms and other problems concerning bookings.

According to industry sources, TAT has had letters of protests from HotelPlan, Wettstein and Brotzer Maya, all the EU-based tourism associations, about ill-practices by Thai hotels involving overbooking, overcontracting and shortcomings in room allotment. The ill-practices have jeopardized the Thai tourism industry, they said.

TAT, as the central organization, will ask management of hotels in those tourist resort cities for better in services or face boycotts, said the sources. Expensive hotel rooms have been among major problems in the Amazing Thailand Years 1998-1999 as the Kingdom has become a safe haven for Western tourists after economic and social turmoil hit Southeast Asia.

A meeting with hotel managers, travel agents planned in March by tourism minister Pithak Indaravittayanan; other seaside cities will get special promotions this year as the government aims to expand tourism businesses to provinces; most major Phuket hotels bring up room rates from normally US$150 to US$160-180 after the baht moved to stabilize late last year.

Thai-made Y2K Autopass software to introduce Arabic version

High Precision Record Co. said it was about to launch the Arabic version of the software Y2K Autopass in 15 Arabic speaking countries in the Middle-East and Africa. The company aims to sell about 10-15 million copies of the software this year. HPR recently appointed Dar Al Marwarhib Co. in Bahrain to be its distributor in the Arab world.

The Arab market would add another US$250-300 million in revenue to HPR’s earnings from the international market, which currently constitutes 80 percent of the corporate sales, said the company’s executive chairman Aiyares Burden. The Y2K Autopass software has been distributed to the world market in recent months, while more orders have been received, said Mr. Aiyares.

HPR has sold 4 million copies of Y2K Autopass in the US market alone through a local software distributor, MemCon. The software, invented to fight the millennium bug, has been doing well in Japan, Taiwan, Canada, India, Belgium and other EU markets, Mr. Aiyares said.

A total of 8 million copies of Y2K Autopass have been sold; the company to spend Baht 100 million in setting up the country’s largest Cyber cafe on Rama 9 road later this year; 100 PCs have been ordered for the SyberMill place while a Web site, Sybermill.com is created to provide information.

SAAB launches new models after 1 year of standstill

Auto Technique (Thailand) launched the latest models of SAAB last week, believing that the domestic car market would start to pick up this year. The company operated but ceased marketing activities in 1998 after CBU car sales were hard hit in 1997 after the baht flotation.

Auto Technique (Thailand), the Kingdom’s sole distributor of the Swedish-made car, said it hoped to sell 100-150 units of SAAB 9-5 and SAAB 9-3 models this year. The company would make SAAB a prestigious car in the market, said Jel Ahe Erickson of SAAB Automobile AB.

The top-of-the-line of the SAAB 9-5 model, powered by a 2.3 liter engine, costs Baht 2.725 million a unit, while prices of 2.0-liter models range from Baht 1.8 million to Baht 2.35. A SAAB 9-3 convertible would cost Baht 3.075 million, said Auto Technique Thailand’s deputy managing director Makoto Mikoshiba.

Carson ad banned from TV screens

The Office of the Consumers Protection Committee has ordered ban on TV commercials by Carson ‘Gold’ socks for exaggeration. The office said Saha Thai Pattanaphand Co, producer of the sock, failed to produce proof on its claims that the sock was embalmed with a special chemical agent highly effective in killing bacteria, a cause of odors.

The ad, portraying a romantic young couple who fail to get to bed when the man takes off his shoes, tells viewers to turn to Carson Gold socks if they do not want to see such an interruption. Saha Thai Pattanaphand said it uses Niccanon RB, a bacterium killing agent, in the make of the sock.

Saha Thai Pattanaphand said experiments on using Niccanon RB agent conducted by its parent company in Japan have been successful and the killing agent was proven highly effective. The company, however, failed to support the claim with certifications by any recognized scientific organization in the Kingdom.

Carson ad becomes the latest in a series of bans by CPC office; ad on a Mitsubishi air-conditioner disappeared from the screen a couple of weeks ago after protests from flying industry.

PM orders probe into alleged fraud in Channel 5

Prime Minister and Defense Minister Chuan Leekpai has ordered a probe into alleged fraud at the Army’s Channel 5 television. A group generals, former executives including a former Army Chief, along with private investors have bought up shares in the TV channel and gained majority ownership in a new holding under a privatization plan.

The PM’s order is in response to press reports last week that Gen. Pang Malakul Na Ayudhaya, whose resignation from Channel 5’s directorship would be affective this April 1, has made himself and his close associates the major share owners in Channel 5 Co, the new company to run the channel.

The PM wants to see if the practice is in line with laws concerned and how the Army benefits from the new company, said sources close to Mr. Chuan, Thailand’s first civilian Defense Minister. Army Commander-in-Chief Gen. Surayuth Julanont will see to the problem, said the sources.

The Channel’s new director, a close aid and a classmate of the Army Chief, is ready to take control; Gen. Pang was accused for his authorization in spending several hundred millions of Channel 5’s savings in a via-satellite Global Network broadcasting project, which has been proven unprofitable; an unqualified, shadowy woman investor, facing criminal cases in court, appointed by the general to be a director.

Thousands of food shops & restaurants closed in the crisis

About 70,000 restaurants and food shops - nearly one half of the 150,000 places registered with the Commerce Ministry - closed last year due to the economic crisis. The crisis has forced traditional customers to change their dining behavior. About 20,000 more of the places are expected to shut down this year as there is no sign of recovery in sight.

According to Mr. Thira Prinyanusorn, deputy managing director of Royal Dragon restaurant, fewer people were dining out last year and most restaurants did not have enough to survive the economic recession. Many of the restaurants and food shops were still frequented by customers, but were forced to close because of the liquidity crunch, said Mr. Thira.

Foreign tourists would be essential to the survival of most major restaurants this year as local customers have almost vanished. Foreign tourists used to make up only 5 percent of customers in former years, said Mr. Thira. About 40 percent of local customers have disappeared from those dining places, he said.

Earnings from local customers had constituted 50-60 percent of combined revenue in the industry in the past years; however, there have been more food kiosks and food carts since last year; the Royal Dragon out to world market for group tour customers; a 50-percent discount offered with other promotion packages.

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Created by Andy Gombaz, assisted by Chinnaporn Sangwanlek.