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PM will push Thailand into IT age
The prime minister has pledged to push Thailand into the
forefront of the IT era, saying that the government would urge the use of
information technology in all sectors of the economy and that it was
preparing to establish an Asian IT network.
Speaking at the opening of the CXO Banking Information
Technology Summit, Thaksin Shinawatra spoke of Thailand’s long-established
position at the cutting edge of technology in the region, saying that it had
been the third country in Asia to use computers.
But Thailand must constantly keep up with technological
changes. “We’ve reached an age where the speed of the economy determines
the size of the economy. Whether or not one agrees with the changes that
were taking place, it was no longer possible to follow old methods,” he
said.
The prime minister called on the kingdom to follow the
example of India in developing its software and IT industries. The
government has hired Narayans Murihy, the man behind the transformation of
Bangalore into India’s Silicon Valley. Murihy is now a member of
Thaksin’s IT advisory panel. (TNA)
US Export Import Bank (EXIM) to lend Thai firms 12.8 billion baht
Chairman of the US Export-Import (EXIM) Bank announced
last month that the bank will extend another US$300 million (B12.8 billion)
in loans to the Thai public and private sectors.
Loans will target telecommunications, high-tech textile
companies, aviation and transportation. EMIM’s aim is to provide consumers
and company purchasing agents with more financial access to US exports.
Details about the loans were not provided.
The US Export Import Bank facilitates short, medium, and
long-term instruments such as export credit insurance, foreign buyer direct
loans and guarantees to support US exports.
In the past the bank has supported US exports to the
Thailand which include industrial equipment, construction equipment,
petrochemicals, electrical supplies and telecommunications hardware and
software. (TNA)
Rice prices in world market stabilize
The Foreign Trade Department says rice prices in the
world market have become stable following concrete cooperation by major
rice-exporting countries in trade and production.
Rachaen Pojanasunthorn, the department’s
director-general, said Thailand has been cooperating with four major rice
growers and exporters including China, India, Pakistan and Vietnam in
setting up the Council of Rice Trade Cooperation (CRTC).
The cooperation was aimed to exchange rice growing and
trade information with each other and stabilize rice prices in the world
market. CRTC held the first meeting of members on October 9 last year.
To facilitate the coordination and information exchange,
he said, the department, as a designated coordinator, had opened the
www.dft.moc.go.th/crtc website as the center to exchange information among
members.
This year, Thailand is expected to export around 7.3-7.5
million tons of rice, China, 2.3 million tons; India 3.5 million tons;
Pakistan 1.7 million tons and Vietnam 4.1 million tons.
The combined exports of rice account for over 70% of the
world’s total rice trade volume. Main export destinations include Asia,
Africa, Middle East and Europe.
One hundred million baht vision for Phuket’s deep-sea port
A private sector company has unveiled a project that
would transform Phuket’s deep-sea port, allowing it to expand its capacity
for both cargo vessels and cruise liners.
Ah Sin Arammethaphongsa, manager of Phuket Deep-sea Port,
owned by Chao Phraya International Ports Co. Ltd. said that his company
hopes to extend its contract to operate the port once the contract expires
in October. He said that the company had produced a plan that would see new
construction to the south of the current port area, using a budget of around
100 million baht. The new plans would enable the port to cope with greater
numbers of domestic and international cruise liners, and clearly delineate
separate areas for cruise liners and cargo vessels.
Ah Sin expressed confidence that if the plans were given
the go-ahead, construction would be complete within 18 months. Land would be
reclaimed from the sea, and construction would begin on new warehouse
facilities, car parks, and cargo facilities.
He said that over the past 2-3 years the port had notched
up an impressive performance record, citing the quantity of rubber bars
leaving the port for export as a particular example of its success.
Between 1999 and 2000 the quantity of rubber bars leaving
the port jumped 127 percent. Most of the rubber came from nearby provinces.
(TNA)
EGAT sets budget
for 2004
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT)
is proposing a budget of 13.63 million baht for fiscal year 2004. EGAT
Governor Sittiporn Rattanopas recently stated that EGAT’s board has
already approved the budgeting plan.
“Of the total budget, 1.884 billion baht will be
allocated towards the Ratchaburi thermal powered electricity production
plant project. The amount of 2.232 billion baht will be invested in the
transmission line system expansion project to meet demands of the
transmission line of the IPP project,” Sittiporn said. He added that 2.129
billion baht will be set aside for the 10th-phase transmission line system
expansion project.
About 1 billion baht will be allocated for the first
plant of the Krabi power plant project and 649 million baht will be invested
in the 9th-phase transmission line system expansion. The remaining amount
will be used to support power plant projects at Lum Takong in the
northeastern province of Nakorn Ratchasima and Mae Moh of Lampang Province.
EGAT will spend 7.817 billion baht of its income for
investment projects and will seek 5.619 billion baht in loans for the
remaining budget. Another 191 million baht will derive from the
government’s investment support budget.
EAGT expects to post about 30 billion baht in profit in
2004, from a 243.041 billion baht income from sale of electricity, while the
expenditure is projected at 218.592 billion baht. EGAT plans to produce
56,434 megawatts of electricity in 2003 and 58,264 megawatts in 2004.
Regarding privatization plans, Sittiporn said that
EGAT’s board was undivided in its view that the organization should not be
split up into smaller business units for stock market listings. The board
would prefer to follow the lines of PTT, the national oil company, and bring
the whole organization into the capital market. (TNA)
Jewelry exporters urged to expand market into Russia
There is much room for exporters of precious stones and
ornaments to expand markets into Russia, according to Thai Farmers Research
Center (TFRC).
Thailand’s leading think tank reported that Russia is a
key jewelry export destination. Russia’s import of the products from
Thailand rose by 33.9% to 171.2 billion baht last year.
The Russian economy has enjoyed continued growth over the
past several years, giving a boost to the local jewelry market. With state
support for trade modernization and deregulation, the jewelry industry in
Russia has conspicuously expanded.
To boost the export into Russia TFRC suggests that local
producers and exporters study and identify all obstacles in various aspects
so they can adopt an effective strategy to penetrate the Russian market.
They should examine the degree of competition, competitor movement,
distribution channels, and tariff and non-tariff barriers in depth and on a
continuous basis, as this information is vial in order to be competitive. (TNA)
Thai restaurants abroad should use Thai products
Shame on them! Thai restaurants around the world have
been urged to use Thai products. Thai restaurants serving their customers
Chinese noodles and Indian Ocean prawns and ingredients from nations other
than Thailand were recently given an implicit rap over the knuckles by
Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Sora-ath Klinprathum who called on
owners to use Thai products for Thai cuisine.
Sora-ath said that the Ministry of Agriculture and
Cooperatives want Thai restaurants abroad to help build up a brand name for
Thai food products in order to transform Thailand into a ‘global
kitchen’.
Relevant agencies will be asked to band together to
ensure that all raw ingredients used by Thai restaurants abroad were sourced
from Thailand, a move which would boost the restaurants’ credibility in
the eyes of their customers.
The minister hinted that the ministry might operate a
certification scheme to guarantee customers that a restaurant only used Thai
ingredients. (TNA)
APEC Investment Mart to breathe life back into investment climate
The APEC Investment Mart to be hosted by Thailand this
October will help give a kick-start to the economy and investment, and help
expand markets in the 21-strong APEC grouping.
Board of Investment (BOI) Secretary General Somphong
Wannapha said Thailand’s hosting of the event will provide an opportunity
for the country to show off its economic, investment and trade potential. It
will also give Thailand a chance to expand its markets to other members of
the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation group, with a combined GDP of over
USD19 billion and a population of over 2.5 billion.
The BOI is pinning its hopes on the investment mart to
benefit local industry development as well as allow Thai entrepreneurs to
learn about advances made by industries of other member nations. At the same
time, it will promote the creation of joint public-private sector industrial
networks in the Asia-Pacific region.
Somphong said that already more than 10 of Thailand’s
leading companies had expressed an interest in exhibiting at the fair,
including the food giant Charoen Pokphand, the entertainment group Kantana,
Toyota Motors (Thailand), and Thai Samsung Electronics.
The APEC Investment Mart 2003 will take place at the
Impact International Exhibition Center in Bangkok from October 16-21. (TNA)
Figures show eighty percent
of start-up SMEs will fail
During a recent seminar Vivat Vinicchanyakul, the
director-general of the Office of the SME Promotion told attendees that
based on his office’s figures, 80% of new Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
go under in about three years.
Vivat placed the blame for these failures on
inexperience, poor training and in particular, the lack of proper management
skills. He stressed that more management training will be needed if
today’s SMEs are to survive.
“Without proper training, most entrepreneurs are doomed
to go bust. Simply providing funding to open a business is not sufficient.
Running a successful and long-lived business without proper management
skills is nearly impossible,” Vivat said.
The government has set a target of creating 50,000 SMEs a
year with the view of decreasing Thailand’s dependence on exports.
However, the future for most SMEs looks grim if most of
them don’t succeed. Last year state-owned banks and other lending
institutions provided nearly 85 billion baht in loans to SMEs. It is not yet
known just how many of them will default.
Samran Bhuanantanondh, president of SME Development of
Thailand said that pouring money into SMEs would keep them afloat; however
customer service training and other factors are crucial if they are to
survive.
“According to a study of 96,000 SMEs no proper business
plan and inadequate cash flow is a chronic problem,” said Anan Maipoom,
director of the financial consulting center for SMEs.
To aid SME business operators, the SME Promotion Office
is teaming up with a South Korean university to offer a training program in
accounting and business management. Vivat said that small business operators
can take the courses over the Internet.
The South Korean university said after details have been
worked out the course could be available by the end of this year. (TNA)
Public energy efficiency measures could save 76 billion baht per year
The Thai public is being asked to help share the rising
price of oil. The government says that basic energy saving measures for
vehicles and in the home could save over 76 billion baht a year.
Permanent Secretary for Energy, Chertphong Siriwich, gave
the public a scolding for losing interest in energy efficiency. He said the
government’s intervention in the price of oil had made the public
complacent. Describing the current situation as an oil price crisis, he
called on the public to ensure that they used energy as efficiently as
possible.
Chertphong pointed out that the simple measure of
checking the condition of personal vehicles could save 3,000 baht per
vehicle each year, while driving at a speed of 90 kilometers per hour as
opposed to 110 kilometers per hours would cut fuel consumption by 25
percent. This could result in average annual savings per vehicle of 9,600
baht or nationwide savings of 67 billion baht.
The energy minister also said that switching off one
40-watt florescent light bulb for 12 hours a day could save 430 baht each
year, and that if every household in Thailand did this the nation could save
5.2 billion baht per annum.
As part of its efficiency campaign, the Ministry of
Energy is also urging the public to keep air conditioning no lower than 25
degrees Celsius, which could result in saving another 98 million baht per
year. (TNA)
Commerce Ministry lines up trade war forces
The Commerce Ministry has drawn the battle lines for an
international trade dispute, issuing a clarion call for public and private
sector agencies to think of ways to break down barriers against the import
of Thai food products.
Commerce Minister Adisai Bodharamik’s call comes in the
wake of the latest trade barrier to be drawn against Thai products, with the
United States banning stocks of canned crab products from five countries,
including Thailand, from its shelves. The US claims that the products are
contaminated with chlorem phemicol.
The Commerce Ministry called an urgent meeting to discuss
this latest barrier, and gathered together representatives from the Commerce
Ministry, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Public Health, Food and Drug
Administration, and private sector agencies to work out a concerted response
to trade barriers imposed by large nations.
Adisai conceded that the US ban on Thai canned crab
products would deal a blow to Thailand’s exports, but hoped it would be a
minor one. He said Thailand will try to come to an understanding with the US
as a matter of urgency, and will conduct experiments on the crab meat in
question to see if the allegations were true.
The latest US ban comes after earlier European Union bans
on Thai prawns and chicken products. While the ban on prawns has now been
relaxed, stringent regulations still govern the import of Thai chickens.
The commerce minister remained upbeat about the
situation, saying that there was still a huge global demand for Thai food
products, and promised that Thailand would ensure that its production and
processing procedures met international standards.
“Thailand will procure food quality testing equipment
to test each type of food prior to export in order to better ensure its
safety”, Adisai said. (TNA)
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