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HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]: 

Stricter controls set for imported goods

Thai National Power signs chilled water supply contract

Government wants taps on car makers to make NGV-compatible trucks

Automobile R&D center on the drawing board

BTG Golder host seminar in Maptaphut

‘Thailand Focus’ equity road show for foreign investors

New banknotes to honor HM the Queen

BCCT visits new Bangkok subway

Stricter controls set for imported goods

The government is amending laws and introducing stricter controls on the standard of industrial products coming into Thailand, particularly electrical appliances.

Minister of Industry Pinij Jarusombat said a crackdown on the dumping of electrical and electronics goods was urgently needed after a joint meeting with representatives of the electrical and electronics appliance industry sector of the Federation of Thai Industries.

Eight additional measures are to be introduced on 30 July. Among the sub-standard products that will be targeted are washing machines, dry batteries, fiber optics, fluorescent light bulbs, television parts, ballad coils and compressors, microwaves, refrigerators and plug sockets. (TNA)


Thai National Power signs chilled water supply contract

Thai National Power recently signed a chilled water supply contract to supply the new Mitsubishi Electric Thai Auto Parts manufacturing facility at Rayong. Thai National Power is installing a district cooling scheme, recently approved by the Board of Investment, at Siam Industrial Park. Michael Baker (2nd left), country manager and chief executive officer of Thai National Power Co., Ltd., and Takeshi Sugiyama (2nd right), president of Mitsubishi Electric Thai Auto Parts shake hands over the agreement.


Government wants taps on car makers to make NGV-compatible trucks

The government wants to see greater use of alternative energy in the country’s automobile industry. As part of that policy it is urging car manufacturers to adjust their production lines to allow the production of NGV-compatible engines instead of diesel engines.

The government will reduce car manufacturers’ contributions to the Energy Conservation Fund for benzene used in gasohol production (by another 20 satang) which support the program. Gasohol is made from petrol and ethanol, often distilled from fermentation of crops or crop waste.

Energy Minister Prommin Lertsuridej said in view of record high oil prices, the government plans to meet with the country’s car makers including the Korean company, Daewoo and Japanese auto makers to encourage them to change their truck production lines from diesel to NGV-compatible engines and to market them at reasonable prices.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and the Energy Ministry are continuing to encourage the private sector to cultivate palms to help increase the production of bio-diesel from vegetable substances. This is all part of a long-term strategy to reduce oil imports. (TNA)


Automobile R&D center on the drawing board

The auto parts R&D center is part of the prime minister’s proposed plan to help strengthen the private sector’s competitiveness in the automotive industry. The Thai Automotive Engineering Association will conduct a feasibility study on the establishment of the R&D center and an automobile test circuit, commissioned by an automotive institute. More than one and a half billion baht is needed to build and equip the test center.

The center will test parts produced by small and medium-sized (SME) operators and will be able to provide ECE standard tests for at least 44 different standards.

The automobile test circuit will require more than five and a half million baht alone for the land; however, the project is expected to benefit Thailand by creating employment estimated to be more than thirty-five billion baht a year and is expected to generate as much as forty billion baht a year in tax revenue.

The center will also contribute to developing the skills of engineers, researchers and technicians in the country’s automobile industry and will help Thailand’s industry prepare for the government’s strategic vision of making Thailand the Detroit of Asia. (TNA)


BTG Golder host seminar in Maptaphut

International environment engineering consultancy BTG Golder recently hosted a seminar at the IEAT office in Maptaphut focusing on wastewater management. Over thirty industrial companies were present. Guest speakers were (left to right) Apichart Phosu, general manager of Genco Co., Ltd., Sutipol Chindapol, administration manager, Thai Leighton, Doctor Vudh Chayabutra, managing director, Thai Knowledge Co., Ltd. (former Supervisor environmental and internal auditor for ISO), Jay Babin, managing director of BTG Golder, Thiti Chantangpol, assistant director of IEAT, Maptaphut and Virachai Ungcharoen, senior process engineer, BTG Golder Co., Ltd.


‘Thailand Focus’ equity road show for foreign investors

The Thai government plans to launch a promotional road show to attract more foreign investors into the country. The campaign named Thailand Focus will be launched this October. It will showcase 50 listed Thai companies as the government endeavors to boost investor confidence in the Thai stock market.

The Finance Ministry has approved the establishment of the Federation of Thai Capital Market to organize the Thailand Focus campaign. Finance Minister, Somkid Jatusripitak and executives from the 50 listed companies, the Stock Exchange of Thailand and various financial institutions and organizations have already met to coordinate the effort.

Five associations (Association of Listed Companies, Association of Securities Companies, Association of Mutual Funds Companies, the Association of Investment Promotion and the Association of Securities Analysts) will jointly establish the Federation of Thai Capital Market according to the President of the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), Kittirat Na-Ranong

The Thailand Focus road show in October will target foreign institutional investors, foreign business contacts of Thai brokers, local mutual funds and major private investors world-wide, especially in Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Europe, and the US. Investors will be invited to see the business operations of the 50 listed blue-chip firms (or SET 50) and will also have the chance to meet with the Thai prime minister and other key government officials involved in running the country’s economy. (TNA)


New banknotes to honor HM the Queen

The Thai government will issue new 100 baht banknotes to mark the 72nd birthday anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit this year. Over seven million commemorative notes will be put into circulation in August. Her Majesty the Queen’s birthday falls on August 12.

The new banknote with a vertical design is the first of its kind in Thailand. The banknote’s watermark carries the image of Queen Sirikit. It can be seen if the note is held up to the light. Blue and yellow iridescent fibers will be visible under ultra violet light. Letters and numbers will also be printed in special iridescent blue ink.

The images of Their Majesties the King and Queen appear on the facade of the banknote, with the acronym of His Majesty the King’s name and the Garuda insignia. The banknotes will be brownish gold. The number in Thai is to be printed in a special gold ink which appears green when the banknote is held sideways.

All the banknotes will start with the number 9, preceded by the Thai alphabet "THOR" which means monarch, and followed by seven number digits, starting from 9 THOR 0000001 to 9 THOR 7299999.

The principal image on the back of the note is that of Her Majesty the Queen. Blue, the color of the birthday, is used as the main color of the reverse side of the banknote.

The new banknote will be available along with an explanatory leaflet costing 200 baht. The other version, in a silk pouch and brochure, will be available at 390 baht.

One million sets of the note will be made available. But no single individual will be permitted to buy more than ten sets.

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) expects to generate a profit of some 600 million baht after costs, which will be presented to Her Majesty the Queen for her charitable work.

"The BOT feels that by issuing the 100 baht banknote, people at all economic levels will be able to afford to buy it. We will monitor the situation daily, with designated banks and orders to be closed as soon as the quota runs out. Those who have placed orders will receive the commemorative banknote first," the BOT governor said.

Orders for the new banknote can be made at the Siam Commercial Bank, the Government Savings Bank (GSB), the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), and the Government Housing Bank (GHB). (TNA)


BCCT visits new Bangkok subway

Bangkok Metro Co Ltd (BMCL) recently hosted the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand (BCCT) for a visit to the new subway system.

The new subway trains are very similar to those operated by BTS.

Approximately 30 members were given an excellent briefing by Chartchai Praditpong, corporate relations division manager at BMCL headquarters near the Thailand Cultural Centre subway station.

The group then went for ride on the subway starting at Thailand Cultural Centre travelling to Hua Lamphong and back with a stop at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.

The group rode the subway from the Thailand Cultural Centre to Hua Lamphong and back.

The system, which is scheduled to open in a month or two, is very impressive with large and spacious station concourses and safety doors at all stations. The trains are very similar to those operated by BTS.

One of the remaining issues to be resolved is the integration of tickets with the BTS system and easy transfer between the two systems at Asoke and Silom without having to leave each to buy a new ticket for the other.

The BCCT would like to thank the BMCL for hosting the visit.