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Fears for elephants as encroachment continues
National park officials in Thailand’s southern province
of Surat Thani voiced fears that wild elephants might be shot by irate local
farmers if they continued to encroach on agricultural land.
Nattaphol Rattanaphan, head of the Tai Rom Yen National
Park, expressed his concerns during a meeting of national park officials,
noting that a herd of six elephants had recently encroached on land in
tambon Klon Sa in a desperate search for food and water.
The elephants, whose normal food and water sources have
been made scarce by the recent drought, have already caused over 3 million
baht worth of damage.
Mr. Nattaphol admitted that it was proving difficult to
push the elephants back onto national park land, as they had become familiar
with humans.
He said that he was now liaising with conservationists to
find a method to get the elephants out of local fields, while appealing to
farmers not to shoot the beasts, or use firecrackers as a means of scaring
them away. (TNA)
Rising oil prices benefit
Thai petrochemical industries
Rising oil prices will benefit Thailand’s leading
petrochemical producer Thai Petrochemical Industry Plc (TPI), according a
senior official. Last year, the company made a net profit of around 12
billion baht. The firm is now set to become ASEAN’s leading integrated
petrochemical producer, the firm’s key planner, Pakorn Malakul Na Ayudhya
said.
“TPI has lost business opportunities in the past three
years due to internal problems. As a result the company lack’s working
capital and the ability to improve machinery and increase production,” he
said.
The company has increased its investment budget to three
billion baht from a billion to improve efficiency and boost production.
“We believe the oil price rise will have a positive effect on the
company’s performance because it is an integrated producer of
petrochemicals,” Pakorn said.
Representatives of the finance ministry and a business
consortium are scheduled to discuss the TPI’s share price and contracts.
The tentative contract should be completed by the middle of next month. The
negotiation process should be concluded and final contract signed on June
20. The payment of US$650 for the purchase of the shares is scheduled to be
made on November 4. (TNA)
Q1 automobile production continues upward trend
Thailand’s automobile manufacturing sector continued to
go from strength to strength in the first quarter of this year, with a 14.5
percent rise in production, according to the latest statistics released
today by the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).
The first three months of 2005 saw Thailand produce a
total of 250,393 vehicles, 31,687 more than in the first quarter of 2004.
A 14.24 slump in the production of saloon vehicles,
mainly caused by a 19 percent decline in domestic sales and a 8.29 percent
drop in export sales, was offset by the growing market for one-ton pick-up
trucks, which recorded a 31.89 percent rise in production.
In total Thailand manufactured 179,415 pick-up trucks in
the first quarter of the year, accounting for 71.65 percent of all vehicle
production. Production of public passenger vehicles (PPV) showed a
particularly impressive rise, of 351.09 percent.
The first quarter of this year also saw 86,962 vehicles
produced for export, accounting for 34.73 percent of total automobile
production, with an 18.14 rise in export sales. This earned Thailand over
Bt40.3 billion, up 24.44 percent from the same period the previous year.
Automobile components also proved lucrative export
earners, with exports of engines up 25.95 percent to earn Bt1.49 billion,
while exports of other vehicle components rose 81.89 percent to earn Bt15.47
billion.
The combined value of automobiles, engines, components
and spare parts for the first trimester stood at Bt58.1 billion, up 36.15
percent from the first quarter of 2004.
Mr. Suraphong Phaisitphattanaphong, FTI spokesman for the
automobile sector, said that the trends for domestic and foreign sales
remained promising.
“We remain confident that total domestic automobile
sales this year will hit our target of 690,000 units,”he said, noting that
the automobile market had continued to expand above initial estimates
despite fears of a slump in the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP)
growth. “We are also confident that we will export 400,000 units, with
Thailand manufacturing a total of 1.09 million vehicles this year,” he
said. (TNA)
Industrial index dips to 2-year low
The Thai Industries Sentiment Index (TISI) slumped to its
lowest point in two years last month amid continuing fears over the impact
of rising oil prices on production costs, according to figures released by
the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).
The new statistics, announced by FTI Vice President Santi
Vilassakdanont, show that the March TISI figures fell below 100 points for
the second consecutive month, dropping to 96.8 from 96.9 in February.
Mr. Santi attributed the poor figures largely to the
government’s recent decision to raise the price of diesel by Bt3 per
liter, noting that the incessant rise of global fuel prices was having an
immediate impact on production costs, while also serving to dampen consumer
purchasing power.
The FTI deputy-president said that industrialists were
unanimous in their wish to see the government draw up clear measures to cope
with the fuel price crisis, while also continuing the search for alternative
forms of energy.
At the same time, the government was told to search for
measures to minimize the impact of high fuel prices on the industrial sector
and to ensure that public utility prices remained as low as possible.
“The trade deficit for three consecutive months is
largely a result of oil imports,” Santi said. “The government should
search for means to reduce imports, particularly by encouraging freight
vehicles to use NGV fuel,” he added.
He also promised that the FTI would campaign for
factories to slash their energy consumption by 10 percent, while castigating
the government for introducing tax breaks for energy efficiency, which he
said did not provide a sufficient incentive for industrialists to install
‘green’ technology.
Nonetheless, he remained optimistic in the face of the
World Bank’s decision to downgrade Thailand’s economic forecast,
pointing to increased production as an indicator that the industrial sector
was continuing to expand, both for export and for domestic consumption.
He also noted that the TISI has only fallen marginally
since February, and expressed confidence that it would pick up in April.
The March figures are notable for minor increases in
confidence relating to foreign purchase orders, foreign and domestic sales,
investment, hiring and production usage. Other indices which rose included
domestic and foreign competitiveness. (TNA)
New hospital standards
to be introduced next year
The Institute of Hospital Quality Improvement and
Accreditation (HA) is drawing up new hospital standards to push the
nation’s hospitals into the forefront of medical care in the region.
The announcement by HA Director Dr. Anuwat Suphachutikul
comes at a time when the government is trying to promote Thailand as
regional medical hub, and to encourage health tourism from around the globe.
Dr. Anuwat noted that Thai hospitals were increasingly
recognizing the importance of accreditation, and that many had already
received certification including ISO, HA and HPH. However, he said that the
need for flexibility and diversity in accreditation standards, to take
account of the different requirements of each hospital, had prompted the HA
to revamp its hospital standards system.
The new quality standards will draw on both Thai and
foreign accreditation schemes, including regulations from Canada, the US,
Australia and France.
While the new scheme will be largely based on existing
standards, the HA hopes that it will also be stricter and more systematic.
The new regulations are how being piloted in a select
number of hospitals, and will be put into widespread use from the beginning
of next year.
Government urged to allow
fuel prices to reflect actual costs
The government should allow local fuel prices to move by
market mechanism to reflect actual costs if it wants to solve the trade
deficit problem, according to an academic on energy affairs.
Thienchai Chongpeepien said the country had experienced
the trade deficit because it imported more fuel to accommodate the economic
growth. But since global oil prices had significantly increased, the fuel
import value had edged up accordingly.
Because of this, he said, the government should
accelerate considering how to reduce fuel consumption concretely.
He viewed allowing local oil prices to reflect actual
costs would make people aware of the need to conserve the fuel consumption.
The move should be made together with concrete measures to encourage people
to save energy.
He said prices of fuel, particularly diesel, would
normally edge up at the end of the year on greater global demand since it
enters into the winter.
Should the government continue to cap the diesel price
indefinitely, it would bear more burdens on the oil subsidy. So far, the
State Oil Fund has spent 83.74 billion on subsidizing local fuel prices.
(TNA)
Thai fruit exports target China
Thailand plans to promote fruit exports to China,
according to senior government officials. The government plans to hold Thai
fruit festivals in some of China’s biggest cities and to broadcast
promotional advertisements on Chinese television.
Thailand will promote Thai fruit in seven large Chinese
cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, with a total population
of more than a 100 million.
The promotional campaign will target the high-end market
and aims to increase Thai fruit exports to China in the long-run, the
Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said during her
current visit to China.
The Thai fruit festivals will be organized in
supermarkets. Thailand plans to showcase Thai fruit to China’s
health-conscious consumers. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will open the
Thai fruit festival in China on July 1.
The government is also cooperating with China’s
television channel CCTV to produce a documentary on Thai fruit to be
broadcast in China, Sudarat said.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) covering the export
of some fruit, including durian, mangosteen, longan, lychees and mangoes,
will be signed initially. However, there are obstacles to Thai fruit exports
to China, including transportation and distribution.
The MOU would allow Thai fruit to enter China through all
border checkpoints. Currently, it can only be transported through one border
checkpoint. Thailand has also sought Chinese government cooperation to
import Thai fruit by having Chinese officials stationed at all border
crossings to help deal with any problems on site. (TNA)
FTA prompts boost in logistics cooperation with China
Thailand is poised to open at least four new consulates
in China, and is accelerating the development of logistics operations with
China in anticipation of the birth of the Chinese-Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) Free Trade Area in 2010, Deputy Foreign Minister
Preecha Laohapongchana revealed.
Preecha, who recently held talks with Chinese Commerce
Vice-Minister An Min, said that Thailand hopes to expand cooperation in the
fields of trade and investment, particularly by developing joint transport
routes between southern China and northern Thailand by land and along the
Mekong River, and by boosting shipping links with Chinese ports.
The government hopes that with the opening up of new and
more convenient transport links, Thailand will serve as a gateway to ASEAN
when the Chinese-ASEAN FTA deal comes into force in 2010. Better logistics
links would also help to boost exports of Thai fruit and vegetables under
the existing Thai-Chinese FTA agreement.
The deputy foreign minister said that he had also held
talks with his Chinese counterpart, and agreed that Thailand would open at
least four new consulates in Chinese cities.
Mr. Preecha also revealed that he had held talks with a
Chinese scientific research institute on a collaborative project to use
biogas produced from agricultural waste as an alternative source of fuel.
(TNA)
Thailand proposes expanding joint rubber venture
Thailand’s Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra plans to
discuss expanding the rubber joint rubber venture with Indonesia and
Malaysia, according to a senior agriculture official.
During a two day meeting the Thai prime minister proposed
including Singapore, India and Vietnam in the rubber joint venture, the
director general of the Agricultural Department, Chakan Seangraksawong said.
‘’The prime minister aims to convince Singapore,
India and Vietnam to join in the company. This would increase the
venture’s share of the world market share to more than 70 percent,’’
he said.
Malaysia has already provided some funds for the
joint-venture company and the firm has begun recruiting CEOs. ‘’So far,
we have 30 candidates, but only two have passed the initial stage,” Chakan
said.
The two potential CEOs were identified as Pongsak
Kerdwongbandit of the Wongbandit Company and Seang Udomcharumanee of the
Thai Rubber Company.
‘’If we cannot a suitable person by the end of this
month, I will be assigned as the acting CEO until a successor is
selected,” Chakan said. (TNA)
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