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Magna Carta opens in Pattaya
New law firm models ethics after famous British charter
A law firm offering a foray of services that include real
estate, legal representation and advice, visa consultation service and PR,
officially opened their doors for business last week on South Pattaya Road,
just in front of the Rungland Village.
As stated in the original Magna Carta, aka The Great
Charter of English Liberty, by King John at Runnymede on June 15, 1215, the
new company aims to provide equal and fair services to their already large
customer base.
 Chatchalit
Wimuktayon, CEO of Magna Carta Co. Ltd.; Pol. Col. Somsak Senavinin,
Superintendent of Pattaya Immigration; Rungrod Rattanachet, owner of Leng
Kee Developments; Pongprapat Wimuktayon, advisor to the Ministry of Science;
Gen. Fungputt Boonliang, advisor to the deputy prime minister; Suchai
Ruayrin, past Pattaya City mayor; Pattaya City Mayor Pairat
Sutithamrongsawat; and Chalearmchai Wimuktayon, co-CEO of Magna Carta and
head of the legal department at the opening ceremonies.
The concept is a dream come true for company CEO and
founder, Chatchalit Wimuktayon who also studied in Britain. “I like the
idea of the name Magna Carta, since it was the very first legal constitution
in England whereby everyone was governed by one law. I wanted to provide
something similar here in Pattaya,” said Chatchalit.
The opening of the new company took place with a large
number of customers, guests and dignitaries gathering outside the new
premises for the formalities. Rather than go for the norm and perform a
ribbon cutting ceremony, Gen. Fungputt Boonliang, advisor to Deputy Prime
Minister Chawalit Yonchaiyut, gave a brief speech before opening the front
door of the reclaimed bank building on South Pattaya Road. A guided tour of
the premises also included jokes about the bank safe, still in place, which
now stores documents rather than cash.
During an interview, the affable company CEO, Chatchalit,
known as Pui to his friends, said that his company employs approximately 25
people fulltime with a further 25 freelance experts from finance to PR, and
publishes in over 20 different languages.
When asked about how they handle the visa side of
business and stay within in the law the explanation came back, “We can
advise on visas and carry out work permit applications and company
registrations. We have a good relationship with Pattaya immigration and a
strong legal team who are experts in this field to offer the best advice and
perform all the necessary tasks,” said Chatchalit.
The confidence raised on the issue was by the pure fact
that Pattaya Immigration chief, Pol. Col. Somsak Senavinin was present for
the opening party who added that it is imperative that visa renewals require
people to physically leave the country, specifically in the case at the end
of a tourist visa, and although the local office does carry out extensions,
it generally for a limited period of time. “Everyone must follow the
regulations,” said Pol. Col Somsak.
With five stories to play with, the company is a
cooperative and houses other businesses - sort of a one-stop shop including
publishing and electrical engineering.
Chatchalit and his brother, also co-CEO, Chalearmchai
Wimuktayon, a barrister, both said they want to ensure that everyone
receives fair and accurate advice.
Already opening the company with a large client base, the
Magna Carta Company is now on its way to heading up many of the city’s
firms as it grows under the philosophy of the original Magna Carta.
Property market expected to slow down next year
The government’s decision not to extend measures to
stimulate the property business will put a brake on the real estate market
growth next year, according to the Kasikorn Research Center (KRC).
The think tank said that the decision to end the
collection of special business tax rates at 0.11 on property and to resume
the normal tax at 3.3% would affect the real estate business, but not
adversely because the market had already absorbed the news.
However, it is expected that property developers,
particularly of housing projects, would accelerate building houses to ensure
completion of the projects by the end of this year; so they could take
advantage of high demand for houses for now to increase sales as much as
possible.
The KRC projected that the high demand for houses would
gain momentum until the end of the year since many potential buyers would
decide to purchase houses before the state stimulus measures for property
business ended. It said the rush to buy houses this year would be a main
reason for the expected slowdown in the property market growth next year. As
well, higher costs of developers in terms of rising prices of building
materials and land, and stricter regulations on construction and consumer
protection would affect the growth to a certain extent. (TNA)
Finance Ministry opens first community bank
Thailand edged closer to the government’s dream of
eliminating poverty within the next six years when Deputy Finance Minister
Varathep Ratanakorn opened the nation’s first community bank in the
southern province of Krabi, in what is likely to provide a blueprint for
communities across the nation.
Varathep stressed that the bank had emerged through the
cooperation of local savings groups, which had developed their operations
until they formed the nation’s first community bank.
Expressing confidence that other communities would be
able to draw on the bank for inspiration, he spoke of a new era in which the
public would be able to administer the finances of their local communities.
Varathep said, “The government is confident that the
community bank scheme will be an important driver to ensure the success of
its policies to eliminate poverty in the future. Several agencies have
discussed how local funds could be used to their maximum benefit, with the
Bank of Thailand (BOT) proposing several forms of community-managed finance
such as savings cooperatives.”
Hinting that legislation might be issued to support such
projects in the future, Varathep said that the community bank would act as a
pilot project, and an example for other villages until such legislation was
enacted. (TNA)
‘Smart Cards’ to be in use next April
Deputy Prime Minister Gen. Chavalit Yongchaiyudh recently
announced that Thai citizens will be able to use new ‘Smart Cards’ as
their identity cards from April 2004 onwards, with the single card valid for
a range of services, including amendments to house registration documents,
bill payments, lottery purchases, and public Internet payments.
Gen. Chavalit said the Smart Card scheme remains on
schedule, with all preparatory work likely to be completed by February or
March next year, and the cards ready for use around April.
Noting that Thailand could be the first country in the
world to introduce Smart Cards, he said that in the future the cards would
also be used as border passes, as they contained a complete range of
information on cardholders.
Asked how the government proposed to prevent identity
fraud, Gen. Chavalit said that he had received assurances that a large
number of systems would be in place to protect against possible
counterfeiting. However, he conceded that counterfeiting could not be ruled
out, and said that the government would keep a close eye on the issue.
To date six agencies have asked to use the information
contained on the new cards - the Office of the Civil Service Commission
(OCSC), the Social Security Office (SSC), the National Health Insurance
Office, the Revenue Department, the Office of Agricultural Economics and the
Department of Local Administration.
A number of other agencies, including the Royal Thai
Police and the Royal Thai Army could also use the information if agreements
are worked out in time.
Gen. Chavalit hinted that the cards might also be used to
pay road tolls in the future; saying that around 100,000 multi-purpose
machines (MPMs) would be installed in various locations across the country.
By placing the cards in the MPMs, the public will be able
to perform operations, including amending house registration documents,
purchasing lottery tickets, and using public Internet services, he said,
adding that the Smart Cards might also be used for voting in the future.
The government has set aside a budget of 400-500 million
baht to administer the Smart Cards over this year and next year, a figure
which the deputy prime minister described as ‘extremely inexpensive’.
(TNA)
Trade war looms
if EU obstructs Thai rice imports
The government has threatened to shelve plans to purchase
European Airbus aircraft if the European Union persists in obstructing
imports of Thai rice. Speaking at a seminar to mark World Hom Mali Rice Day,
Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Somsak Thepsuthin urged all agencies
under the auspices of the ministry to work to boost sales of Thai rice.
Revealing that the government hoped to export 7.6 million
tons of rice next year, Somsak said that the government would focus on
penetrating markets which had never previously imported Thai rice, in order
to avoid the obstacle of trade barriers. He noted that during a recent
Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had threatened that
Thailand would not purchase European Airbus aircraft if the EU put trade
barriers in the way of Thai rice imports.
Wichai Sriprasert, president of the Association of Rice
Exporters, noted, “World rice prices remain low due to technological
advancements which have served to boost rice yields. As a result, the price
of rice had drooped from US$1,600 per ton to a mere US$200 per ton over the
past 10 years. Even though Thailand is one of the world’s top rice
exporters, its rice farmers are still poor.”
Wichai said the government should work to reduce
production costs on a sustainable basis, educate farmers on correct
harvesting methods and reduce delays in exporting rice. (TNA)
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