Y2K bite: A few hundred couples quit Bangkok millennium wedding plan

Cancellations of late-year flights have made the millennium dream of 300 wedding couples from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore impossible, and the organizer of the ‘Thailand Amazing Love 2000’ fair had to find local couples to fill the places in the paradise. Tour agencies recently confirmed that the participation of those 300 couples was not possible.

According to Sunet Aimwattana, assistant managing director of Wedding Business Consultants Co., which organized this special event to celebrate the new millennium, there will not be enough airline seats available for those young couples to come to the weddings which are scheduled between December 29 and January 1. However, about 1,700 couples from Europe and the US have confirmed the participation.

The company started campaigns last week to invite Thai hopeful couples to join the ceremony.

Meanwhile, local hotels have come up with plans to cope with possible power interruption during the date turnover, as did the Oriental, which invested more than Baht 30 million in installing power generating units. Some city hotels also plan to store enough water to last three days at the turn of the century.

CAT to continue expanding public Internet service nationwide

The Communications Authority of Thailand is set to purchase a huge number of personal computers in January 2000 to continue the Transport and Communication Ministry’s plan to expand Internet services to all 800 district centers nationwide. The expansion plan is scheduled to be completed in the middle of next year.

CAT has sought a Baht 554 million fiscal budget to fund the public Internet service, which started this year. There are 60 public Internet booths currently operating in 10 provinces nationwide. However, demand for Internet use is rising in the provinces, especially where tourists are, said CAT sources. Public Internet booths in tourist-frequented areas in Bangkok are always occupied, they said.

There will be two more booths in each district center in 2000, and two more in 2001. The logon fee is 3 baht for the first minute, and 0.50 baht per minute after that. i-KOOL, the Internet service shop of Loxley International plans to set up booths in Rajadamnern Avenue to compete with those in Khao Sarn area.

Mazda set to launch low-priced all-new 323 models

Mazda Sales is set to shock the local auto market by introducing the all-new Mazda 323 with prices starting from Baht 572,000, the lowest in its range. The new marketing plan will change the role of Mazda cars in the market, which over the past several years has been the stage of three players - Toyota, Honda, and Mitsubishi. Mazda Sales had sold mainly pickups over the past few years.

The launch of the all-new Mazda 323 model is set for March next year in a motor show at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Center on the Bang Na - Trad highway, said a Mazda source. Though Mazda cars are produced by Ford’s Auto Alliance (Thailand), and share the same body structure and technology as Ford cars, the price would be different on the market, said the source.

Prices of the Mazda 323 GLX series, powered by a 1.6-liter engine, will range between Baht 572,000 and Baht 579,000, and between Baht 649,000 to Baht 674,000 for the LX series - the lowest among Japanese compact cars on the market.

The all-new 1.6-liter Ford Laser models will also come out early next year but with higher prices. Mazda Sales also plans to import several other Japanese-made models.

Condom competition heats up after Suretex takeover

London Royal Consumer Products (Thailand) will have to focus more on modern trade channels in marketing its condoms after a new competitor from Australia kick started its sales campaigns here, to tap more from this Baht 50-billion-a-year local market. Condoms produced by London Consumer Products - Kingtex and Durex - have been unchallenged market leaders here for decades.

Pornchai Priryabanjerd, marketing manager, meanwhile said the British parent company has a policy to bring Kingtex Parisian - the best-selling condom in the Thai market - to be under the brand name Durex, and an advertising blitz has been planned.

Australia’s Ansell Group this year introduced new condoms to the Thai market that smell like fruits, and sales have been highly successful. London Royal launched ‘condoms with fruity smells’ to the market in the middle of the year as a counter attack.

Condoms are widely used by teenagers in this country where HIV virus is a grave concern. The market leader plans more education campaigns for school teens this year. The group will, however, continue to focus on selling through drugstores.

Twenty-four airlines cancel Bangkok flights

The Kingdom will miss a total of 150 flights between December 31, 1999, and January 1, 2000, as Y2K fears rule the Asian sky. The flights belong to 24 top airlines. Pasakorn Surapipit, flight control director of the Airport Authority of Thailand, which administers five international airports nationwide, however reaffirmed that AAT is ready to cope with any Y2K-related problems.

72 airlines fly regular flights to and from Thailand. Among the airlines that canceled their flights to and from the Thai capital city during the Y2K-risky days include Thailand’s national flag carrier, Thai Airways International, Pasakorn said. THAI has canceled a total of 29 flights during the period, mainly to European destinations through Russia, he said.

The top cancellations are: EVA canceled 10 flights, Qantas 9, KLM 8, and SAS 7.

The real problem which led to the cancellations was the small number of passengers who worry about risks, despite confidence stressed by major airlines about the Y2K compliance, sources said.

Meanwhile, a Y2K trouble-shooting committee has been set up at Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport.

Mitsubishi unit takes control of Tri Petch Isuzu Sales

Japan’s industry giant Mitsubishi Corporation has taken control over one of Thailand’s oldest car companies - the sole maker and distributor of Isuzu cars. The takeover of Tri Petch Isuzu Sales took place on December 15 in a capital increase move which saw Tri Petch Holding, a new partner, become the major shareholder.

Tri Petch Isuzu increased its capital from Baht 200 million to Baht 8.305 billion, which has made it the car company with the highest registered capital in Thailand. It is believed that the new company, Tri Petch Holding, belongs to MC Automobiles (Thailand) which provided Baht 6 billion in loans to help Tri Petch ride out the crisis last year.

Old shareholders, both Thai and Japanese, were seen reducing their shares in the new Tri Petch Isuzu Sales, and Tri Petch Holding now controls 97.59% of the company. MC Automobiles was registered by Mitsubishi Corp in October last year when executives said there was no takeover plan for Tri Petch.

Computer notebook traders upbeat on sales growth

Sales of computer notebooks have increased significantly this year while traders said they had anticipated combined sales of 2,500 units per month next year. The overall market was likely to enjoy a growth of 20-30%, said major traders. Fujitsu System Business (Thailand) has become the latest player in the local market this year with about 2,000 units of notebooks sold in the first 9 months.

Napop Nutsati, sales manager of Fujitsu System Business, said the company had anticipated notebook sales to double to 4,000 units in 2000, and Fujitsu notebooks were to be among the five best-selling brands. A price campaign, together with other sales activities have been planned for next year, Napop said.

Thailand was chosen by the Japanese parent company to be the first country to launch Fujitsu Pentium III notebooks. Chevalier OA said it sold 8,000 units of Toshiba notebooks in the first 11 months of 1999, while expecting a 10-15% growth in 2000.

Local brands feel heat from rising popularity of imported whiskies

Sales of local ‘color whiskies’ fell sharply over the past few months as imported whiskies, especially ‘secondary brands’, are becoming increasingly popular on the market. The whisky-beer bundle by Suramaharas, Surathip, and Beer Thai 1999 groups, which are the market leaders, have sent prices of local whiskies soaring, said marketing sources.

Prices of Mekong bottles rose significantly when the whisky was bundled with the group’s Chang beer, to force retailers to bring down the price of the beer in order to compete with Leo beer by Boon Rawd Brewery. The profit margin was narrowed as retailers were forced to sell Chang beer for Baht 25 to Baht 30 a bottle, and they had to hike the price of Mekong, Hong Thong, and Saeng Thip bottles to make a profit. A bottle of colored whisky would cost around Baht 130.

Things turned out worse when the prices of some secondary whiskies were brought down below Baht 200.

A local distillery is set to launch a new low-price color whisky early next year.

CPF vows to be ‘world’s kitchen

Charoen Phokepand Food, which is the largest food processing company in Thailand, and the world’s largest shrimp producer, said it was time to produce foods for human beings after decades of producing animal feeds. The company would maintain their policy to be the ‘kitchen of the world’ in 2000, said Dhanin Jearvanont, chairman of Charoen Phokepand.

CPF, which currently produces one-third of the shrimps on the world market, said it was the agro-industry which truly helps millions of Thai farmers, and brings into the Kingdom hundreds of billions of baht in revenue each year. CPF, which was formerly CP Animal Feed Mill, last year incorporated several CP agricultural units, and currently has 56 agricultural projects and operations nationwide.

CP has seen success in producing chickens from farms under EU animal welfare standards to England and several other EU markets. The group is also the champion of producing ‘vegetarian chicken’ for Switzerland, and antibiotic-free chicken for Japan. CP plans food franchises in other countries next year.

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