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Total sales at OTOP Mega Sale expected to approach Bt500m
Total product sales at the OTOP Mega Sale fair, combined
with future orders placed at the fair, were expected to approach 500 million
baht during the five-day event. Various One Tambon, One Product (OTOP) goods
were of interest to inter-traders, who ordered products to sell overseas,
according to a senior official at the Department of Export Promotion.
Benjawan Rattanaprayul, the department deputy
director-general, disclosed last week that more than 200,000 people visited
the OTOP Mega Sale fair, held at the Impact Convention Hall of Muang Thong
Thani July 13-17.
Almost 200 inter-traders from Australia, the United
States, Japan, and Middle East countries showed interest in many items, she
said. They purchased as much as 200 million baht worth of products, loaded
them into several containers, and negotiated to place orders for many more
items.
Benjawan projected that total sales at the event would
approach, but not exceed 500 million baht.
Products that were of interest to most visitors included
food and beverage, home decorations, herbs, cosmetics, and clothes. Products
came from almost all regions of the country.
Many sales booths operators said they could sell their
products in large quantities at the event and wanted the government to
organize similar events throughout the year.
“This year, our department has a policy to push up
total exports of OTOP goods to at least US$900-US$1 billion (Bt36 billion -
Bt40 billion). We have exhibited OTOP goods at many fairs held in many
countries and found that they are of much interest to importing
countries,” she said. (TNA)
Spending via credit cards continues to rise despite economic slowdown
Spending via credit cards has continued to grow despite
the country’s economic slowdown, according to industry executives.
Saksith Pitipongsunthorn, executive vice president of
Standard Chartered Nakornthon Bank Plc’s Marketing Division, disclosed
that the economic slowdown has not affected spending via bank credit cards.
In contrast, the spending has increased due to the fact
that consumers feel that credit cards give them the convenience of
purchasing necessities for daily living. Marketing promotions launched by
the bank have also boosted spending.
Theerapot Chok-anantang, senior vice president of
Krungthak Card Plc’s Credit Card Group, has also said that spending
through the company’s cards have not declined despite the economic
slowdown.
Most cardholders prefer to use their credit cards when
buying petrol at gas stations and shopping at supermarkets. Cash withdrawals
have not increased and stay at 30% of the total spending.
Theerapot said, “Spending via KTC cards still accounts
for 80% of our card customer base, which stands at 1.1 million. Each
cardholder spends an average of 6,000 baht per month. We will come up with
campaigns or promotions that are suitable to the current economic
conditions.”
Vichit Payuhanaveechai, vice president of HSBC Bank’s
(Thailand) Marketing and Communications Division, said spending via its
credit cards has increased from 3,800 baht per month to 4,500 baht due to
the launching of various promotional campaigns.
It is expected that total spending through the use of
credit cards for this year will reach 19 billion baht compared with 12
billion last year. (TNA)
SET confident that 100 new companies will be listed this year
Despite a bearish climate, the Stock Exchange of Thailand
stands by its target of seeing 100 new companies listed this year.
SET Vice President Sopavadi Lertmanaschai said regardless
of unfavourable factors that dampen investor sentiment, 100 companies should
be listed by the end of this year in both SET and the Market for Alternative
Investment (MAI) where smaller-cap companies are listed.
According to Sopavadi, 39 companies have already
submitted their filing to the Securities Exchange Commission. Some eight
companies are at the more advanced stage of preparing to have their stock
traded.
Up to 60 companies are preparing to submit their filing
to SEC within the third quarter of this year so that they can be listed by
end of the year. Of this total, some 40 companies will be listed in MAI, she
said. (TNA)
Govt to build database for e-auction transparency
The Department of Comptroller General is gathering a
profile of companies that take part in bidding for procurement for
government agencies and state enterprises under the electronic-auction
system.
The Comptroller-General Boonsak Jiampreecha said the
operation is to ensure that e-auction procurement is transparent, and that
no companies collude with each other in bidding for projects. The database
of company profiles will also make it easy for the authorities to penalize
offenders if they are found to conspire in the bidding process.
The department will focus on data of companies that
frequently win bids and it will check for any irregularities.
This exercise will bring transparency to the e-auction
system, which in itself helps the state save money while putting procurement
in a systematic manner, he said. (TNA)
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