BUSINESS NEWS
HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]: 

PM orders establishment of nanotechnology center

SMEs to develop software industry

BOI wants Thais to invest in US car components sector

Sriracha oil hub on track for mid-January launch

Revenue Department aims for Internet based tax payments

Securities firms urged to mobilize more funds

PM orders watch on currency speculators

EGAT eyes LNG in place of oil for generating stations

Rush to plant rice as prices soar

Thai cuisine rated 4th in world’s top five

Thailand’s northern ‘Lanna’ region targeted for development

Cabinet gives nod to 130 billion- plus stimulus budget

Government support for OTOP items will continue

PM orders establishment of nanotechnology center

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has called for the establishment of a nanotechnology center to boost Thailand’s competitiveness. While giving the 5th Annual Shin Sophonpanich Memorial Lecture on the future of the Thai economy, Thaksin said that the establishment of free trade areas (FTAs) with numerous other countries meant that Thailand now had to think on the offensive in order to expand its markets and gain a competition edge. This necessitated the development of both people and technology, in particular nanotechnology, which was currently growing in strength, he said.

Predicting that in the future nanotechnology would lead to materials that were one hundred times stronger than steel, but considerably lighter, Thaksin said that nanotechnology would also lead to the discovery of cures for cancer. He pledged that the government would entrust the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) with the establishment of a nanotechnology center, with nanotechnology experts leaving their government paperwork aside to conduct full-time research. (TNA)


SMEs to develop software industry

The Office of Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion (SMEs) has declared its backing for the development of Thailand’s software industry in the SME sector, according to the Office’s director Chanwit Chansilpa.

Noting that the Office has 5 billion baht in funding to develop Thailand’s industry capabilities, Chanwit said that the software sector was one branch for which the Office was providing complete and unconditional support. However, he stressed that anyone wanting to invest in the software industry needed innovations with industrial potential, and that requests for funding would have to be accompanied by clear business and marketing plans.

Requests for funding will be considered by the Office within 60 days of the submission of documents, with the amount of money granted ranging anywhere between one million and 100 million baht.

The Office meanwhile has pledged that it will not interfere in the way in which software SMEs are managed, but will act to check whether or not the SMEs are operating in accordance with their plans.

Specialist technology advisors will be on hand to give suggestions, although their support will be withdrawn if a company’s performance suggests that such advice is no longer needed. The Office has also agreed to provide support for the mobilization of capital for listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. (TNA)


BOI wants Thais to invest in US car components sector

The Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI) is to lead a delegation of Thai businesspeople to purchase interests in the US automobile components industry in a bid to create an export network, BOI Secretary-General Somphong Wanapha recently announced.

“By purchasing interests in the US sector, Thailand would be able to create a network to distribute its own products. Thailand is now at the forefront of global automobile component exports. Discussions are now taking place with the Automobile Association to mobilize forces to purchase operations, as a huge amount of money will be involved. We expect that these negotiations will make enormous progress next year. The BOI will help coordinate this in various respects,” Somphong said.

“At the same time, the Thai private sector is now ready to expand investment to other countries. This includes investment in the food industry, with Thai investors trying to purchase operations in major countries in order to provide distribution channels for food from Thailand,” he added.

Somphong forecast that the BOI would grant investment concessions worth as much as 300 billion baht in 2004, with requests for investment concessions worth 297 billion baht.

The BOI has promised the government that it will pull in 270 billion baht worth of investment next year although Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, president of the BOI board, has set a higher target of 290 billion.

Somphong predicted that the investment climate next year would be an exciting one, particularly in the automobile industry, with negotiations currently underway with component manufacturer Audi. (TNA)


Sriracha oil hub on track for mid-January launch

The government pushed closer to its dream of transforming Thailand into a regional center for the oil trade as Energy Minister Prommin Lertsuridej announced that the flagship Sriracha duty-free zone for oil would be opened in mid-January 2004.

Dr. Prommin said that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra would preside over the opening of the zone on Koh Si Chang Island, opposite the town of Sriracha in Chonburi Province.

The Sriracha Hub forms an integral part of the government’s strategy of piloting duty-free oil trading, with the eventual aim of turning Thailand into a regional energy center.

“This approach to developing Koh Si Chang and Sriracha will allow Thailand to compete with, or draw equal to, Singapore,” Dr. Prommin said. “There are now several countries interested in investing in this project, whether Middle Eastern oil trading nations such as Oman and the United Arab Emirates, or oil purchasing nations such as China, Japan and South Korea,” he added.

The Energy Ministry and other government agencies have worked to construct oil tanks and pipes on Koh Si Chang. In the second phase of operations, pipelines will be constructed to link with the ARC refinery in the eastern province of Rayong.

In the third phase, the Customs and Excise departments will slash red tape to facilitate the oil trade from Koh Si Chang, while the fourth phase will see the establishment of a one-stop center for companies wishing to engage in the oil trade. In the future, the government also hopes to construct oil pipelines from Saraburi to Lampang in the north, where an oil refinery will be built to send oil on to China. (TNA)


Revenue Department aims for Internet based tax payments

The Revenue Department hopes that one million taxpayers will pay their taxes over the Internet this year. The department’s deputy director-general, Jantima Sirisaengtaksin, said that customers would be able to make their tax payments via the Internet on a 24-hour basis, while warning that the department would make random inspections to ensure that documents were complete and correct.

Citing figures showing that 240,000 had paid their income tax over the Internet in 2003, Jantima expressed hope that this number would edge up to one million in 2004. She also pledged that anyone making Internet-based payments would have any excess tax returned within one month of payment.

The Revenue Department is confident that the use of Internet-based payments will save at least 53 baht per person in costs for the department, as well as saving time for taxpayers.

Taxpayers wanting to pay their revenue taxes over the Internet can access to the Revenue Department’s website at www.rd.go.th

The department is also joining hands with Krung Thai Bank to allow the public to pay their income tax at the bank’s 600-plus branches from 15 January to 31 March. (TNA)


Securities firms urged to mobilize more funds

President of the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Kittirat Na Ranong is encouraging securities companies which provide underwriting services should to improve ways to mobilize funds from investors, as many private companies have plans to go public this year.

Commenting on the direction of the SET next year, Kittirat said that the market had enjoyed impressive growth throughout 2003, with many companies choosing the SET as an alternative fund-raising source, and expects the market to continue on its upward path. However, he cautioned that all parties concerned needed to work harder by finding better approaches for fund mobilization by offering more attractive content and presentation. More importantly, they needed to allocate shares to interested investors in a fair and proper manner, he suggested.

Kittirat said, “In 2004 the SET will shift from playing a supervisory role to a supporting role in the offering of new shares by private companies and state enterprises. The SET is persuading to mobilize funds so they can bring in capital to develop their businesses, which will lead to new employment.” (TNA)


PM orders watch on currency speculators

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has ordered that a close watch be kept on currency speculators attempting to enter the stock market in 2004, warning that a surge of foreign investors entering the market could have an impact on the strength of Thailand’s stock exchange.

The prime minister conceded that Thailand’s stock market index was currently on the low side, and said that this was likely to attract an influx of foreign investment from next year onwards. He said he has already asked the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) to ensure that investment remained stable.

“I have requested relevant agencies to exercise caution in their work and to follow international standards in order to show that Thailand’s stock market abides by international-level rules, with transparent inspection systems,” Thaksin said. Instead of speculation, he urged investors to base their decisions of base factors. (TNA)


EGAT eyes LNG in place of oil for generating stations

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) is scrambling to search for new means of fuel to power its generating stations in the future, as fears grow that fuel oil use could soar to 3 billion liters and that generating costs could reach as high as 10 billion baht over the next two years.

EGAT is considering the use of LNG gas for use in new generating stations, now that several sources of LNG have been discovered in countries, including China and Malaysia and is currently conducting feasibility studies on the use of LNG.

Warning that national electricity demand looked set to skyrocket over the next couple of years, EGAT Governor, Sithiporn Rattanophat, said that this would, in turn, increase fuel use and this could raise fuel oil usage way above the present rate of 200-300 million liters and push up generating costs.

“In order to avert a potential crisis, EGAT will begin using electricity from the Phu Horn station as soon as possible, while also negotiating the purchase of fuel oil with a sulphur content of 3.5 percent or higher, compared to 2 percent at present. At the same time, EGAT will burn fuel oil at its Ratchaburi and Krabi generating stations, which already has the capacity to run off fuel oil,” Sithiporn said. (TNA)


Rush to plant rice as prices soar

Farmers across the north and northeast of the country are rushing to plant off-season paddy in the hope of gaining extra revenue from rising rice prices, according to the Office of Agricultural Economics. With off-season rice with 14.15 percent humidity now selling for 4,693 baht per ton, up 206 baht on last year’s prices, farmers are trying to jump on the bandwagon.

But the Office of Agricultural Economics has warned that by over-planting, the farmers could be doing themselves a disservice, with insufficient water to meet the rising demands of cultivation.

The Office is advising farmers in the north and northeast to cultivate soy beans during the dry season, as they need less water to grow, and supply is currently running below domestic demand. In 2003 Thailand imported 1.856 million tons of soy beans, despite the fact that soy beans are cultivated domestically. (TNA)


Thai cuisine rated 4th in world’s top five

For lovers of Thai classics such as ‘tom yam kung’, ‘phad Thai’ and som tam’, the international popularity of Thai food will come as no surprise. In fact, Thai food is the fourth most popular type of cuisine in the world, with over 6,000 Thai restaurants across the globe.

The announcement was made by an advisor to Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, during a tour of Los Angeles and New York, where he presented ‘Thai Select’ certificates to US-based Thai restaurants chosen for the excellent quality of their food and service.

Thai cuisine was rated among the world’s top five, together with French food, Italian food, Japanese food and Chinese food.

A total of 45 US-based restaurants have now received ‘Thai Select’ certification. Of the restaurants selected, three are in Chicago, six in New York, five in Miami, two in Atlanta, six in San Francisco, three in Sacramento and 20 in Los Angeles. (TNA)


Thailand’s northern ‘Lanna’ region targeted for development

A set of new strategies will be worked out for Thailand’s upper-northern provinces, aimed at promoting the northern region as a key part and propeller of the Thai economy in the future.

Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, who overseas economic affairs, said that the new policies would focus on the promotion and development of northern community-based products under the government’s One Tambon, one product (OTOP) scheme, as well as those produced by local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The promotion and development of tourism will also be emphasized.

“If the strategies are efficiently implemented, I believe that gross domestic product of the country’s northern region will increase. Economic conditions and prospects of the northern region are stronger than other regions of the country. Since the government is already developing the northern region as an aviation hub linking it to other major cities of neighboring countries, it is also important to develop other areas and sectors of the region,” noted Somkid. (TNA)


Cabinet gives nod to 130 billion- plus stimulus budget

The Cabinet has approved a budget of 135.5 billion baht aimed at stimulating the economy and providing compensation for civil servants taking early retirement. Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said that the budget had been divided into five parts.

The first part of 33.04 million baht has been earmarked for civil service pensions, while the second part of 14.59 million has been earmarked for early retirement programs. The third part of 16.57 billion will be give over as compensation to state officials, the fourth part of 59 billion will be used to boost national competitiveness, and the final part of 12.3 billion baht will be given to local administrative organizations.

The money will become available at the beginning of March 2004. The government hopes that the budget will act to ensure the continuity of earlier economic stimulus measures, while helping civil servants who want to take up new careers in the private sector.

Pledging that the government would not abandon civil servants taking early retirement, Somkid said that career training would be provided, and that the government would find sources of capital for government workers wanting to leave the civil service to set up new enterprises. (TNA)


Government support for OTOP items will continue

Pleased with the government’s success in initiating and promoting the One Tambon, One Product (OTOP) scheme in both domestic and overseas markets, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has vowed that his administration will continue to support the community-based products to ensure continued growth. It has been projected that the total sale of OTOP items could reach over 100 billion baht over the next three years.

Referring to the impressive success of the recent trade fair, ‘OTOP City’, aimed at showcasing locally-made products under the government’s OTOP scheme, Thaksin said, “The growing sale of the village-based products both in domestic and international markets reached 33.27 billion baht during October 2002-September 2003. This has surpassed all government expectations.”

The Thai premier praised Her Majesty Queen Sirikit for initiating royal projects supporting handicrafts and other products produced by villagers, which inspired the launch of the OTOP scheme. He said that the government’s support would include the introduction of modern technologies to facilitate, and enhance production capacity and quality of OTOP goods, namely the introduction of three-dimension computer software to improve and develop designs of Thai cloth products, as well as the cooperation with agencies and organizations in exchange of experts and transfer of knowledge.

Realizing the significance of younger generations as powerful forces of the nation in the future, the Thai leader said that the government would also encourage teenagers and youths to participate in the OTOP scheme so that they would learn and appreciate traditional Thai arts and cultures, and feel proud of using and publicizing Thai products. (TNA)