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Too much snack advertisement: a health threat to Thai children?
Thai academics, nutritionists, and the private sector all
agree that Thailand should launch measures to control the advertisement of
crispy snacks. A recent survey showed that snack advertisements during
children’s TV programme breaks are shown 42 times per hour, four times
higher than in the UK and the US.
The Thai Health Promotion Foundation hosted a seminar on controlling the
marketing of snacks, after a survey conducted by the network to encourage
Thai children to refrain from sweets found that Thai children pay almost
Bt135 million a day for snacks and soft drinks.
On average, every Thai child aged 3-12 years old - about 900,000 children -
pays some 8-10 baht daily for sweets and 5 baht per day for soft drinks.
Children’s snacks in Thailand are a major market segment, according to the
foundation, but it warned that unless properly controlled, a huge slice of
the health budget would be wasted on the treatment of children illnesses
caused by consuming the nutritionally poor food.
Asst Prof. Parichart Satapitanon of Chulalongkorn University, Faculty of
Communication Arts said that in the UK and the US, snack ads are screened 10
and 11 times per hour, respectively. In contrast, snack advertisement in
Thailand can be as high as 42 times an hour. This may be a world record, she
said.
Dr. Prapaphun Jucharoen, a brain expert of Mahidol University said frequent
advertisements create an imprint in a child’s memory and the pictures of
snacks will encourage that child to then go out and buy the product. Some
snacks with monosodium glutamate will make them addicted. Free toys also
appeal to children to eat more snacks instead of more nutritious food.
(TNA)
Singapore may be losing its competitive edge
Rising living costs for expatriates, coupled with rapidly increasingly rental prices, may be affecting Singapore’s competitiveness
A stronger Singaporean dollar means that living costs for
expatriates are rising faster in Singapore than in a number of other locations
in the region, according to the latest Cost of Living Survey conducted by ECA
International, the world’s leading knowledge and solutions provider for
International HR professionals.
“ECA’s Cost of Living Survey is carried out twice a year comparing a basket of
125 consumer goods and services commonly purchased by expatriates in over 300
locations worldwide. The results are used to calculate cost of living indices
which are used by multinational companies to compensate their internationally
mobile staff,” explains Lee Quane, General Manager, ECA International Hong Kong.
Singapore retains its position as the 9th most costly city in Asia out of the 41
Asian locations included in the survey and is ranked 135th worldwide. However,
out of the top ten most expensive locations in Asia for expatriates, only
Beijing and Shanghai have experienced a greater rise in living costs than
Singapore in the past six months.
“A combination of weaker currencies and lower inflation in a number of
historically more expensive locations – most notably Seoul, Tokyo, Yokohama,
Kobe, Hong Kong and Taipei –means that the cost of living differential between
Singapore and many of its neighbours is narrowing,” comments Quane. “While
increases in living costs between surveys tend to be low, above-average
increases in recent years has seen Singapore consistently close the gap on these
locations,” adds Quane.
Whereas living costs in Singapore were approximately 20% lower than in Hong Kong
five years ago, for instance, the difference is now just 10%. Similarly,
everyday goods and services in Taipei are now only 8% more expensive than the
equivalent items in Singapore, compared with 16% in 2003.
The news follows ECA’s latest Accommodation Survey, which shows that the cost of
renting an apartment in Singapore has shot up by more than 10% on average in the
last six months, largely the result of an economic upturn and increasing numbers
of expatriates in the city.
“To ensure that expatriates are not out of pocket while on assignment, increases
in the cost of rented accommodation and day-to-day goods and services in
Singapore will be absorbed by the company, meaning higher expatriate labour
costs for multinationals with operations in Singapore in comparison to recent
years,” explains Quane. “While such increases are unlikely to deter companies
from relocating staff to Singapore, the cost advantages that Singapore
previously enjoyed over its competitors are starting to be eroded.”
“Given the recent increase of GST in Singapore the cost of living differential
between the city-state and its more expensive counterparts is likely to continue
to narrow in the near future,” Quane adds.
Cost of living in Asia
Seoul remains the most expensive location in Asia for expatriates, followed
by Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe and Hong Kong. These, together with Taipei, Singapore,
Shanghai, Beijing and Jakarta, make up the top ten costliest cities in the
ranking of 41 Asian locations.
“As the Korean won gets stronger and the yen gets weaker against most other
major currencies, the cost of living differential at the top is widening,”
comments Quane. “Five years ago, for instance, expatriates in Tokyo would have
been paying approximately 35% more for everyday goods and services than
expatriates in Seoul, whereas today foreigners in the Korean capital are paying
approximately 10% more for the equivalent items as their counterparts in Tokyo.”
Expatriates in Bangkok have experienced the most significant uplift in living
costs in the last six months due to a stronger Thai Baht against most other
currencies. This uplift is reflected by Bangkok’s rise in the rankings from 20th
to 12th position.
New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad have also moved up in
the rankings, due to a combination of above-average inflation and a stronger
local currency. Kuala Lumpur, which has moved from 31st to 29th, is the only
other location in the region to have moved up the ranking, due to the
appreciation of the Ringgit against other major currencies.
At the other end of the scale Ulaanbaatar is the cheapest location in the region
for expatriates, followed by Bangalore, Colombo, Islamabad and George Town.
Everyday goods and services in the Mongolian capital are approximately 60% the
cost of the equivalent goods and services in Singapore.
Most and least expensive locations worldwide
Angola’s capital city, Luanda, is the most expensive location in the world
for foreigners, replacing Harare at the top of the ranking, which is now second.
Oslo is the third most expensive location in the survey, followed by Moscow,
Stavanger and Copenhagen. Seoul, the only Asian location in the top ten is
ranked 7th, while Tokyo and Yokohama come in at 15th and 20th, respectively.
Maseru in Lesotho remains the cheapest location in the world for expatriates,
with La Paz, Durban, Gaborone, Ulaanbaatar, Buenos Aires, Bangalore, Asuncion,
Colombo and Islamabad making up the bottom ten. (Source ECA)
Union Footwear succumbs to baht volatility
The closure of some businesses due to heavy losses rising
from the baht surge have begun to have a domino effect on listed companies on
Stock Exchange of Thailand. Union Footwear announced plans recently to de-list
its stocks and close business permanently by the end of this year.
Songsak Thammapimukwattana, president of Union Footwear Plc, notified the SET of
the company’s board resolution to de-list its shares from the market because the
firm is set to cease business operations due to suffering heavy losses from the
sharp baht appreciation.
He said the company had experienced accumulated losses for three successive
years due to stiff competition in the footwear business and higher costs of
production.
The firm had run its business mostly in the US dollar denomination. The currency
exchange volatility and the swift baht surge since last year had adversely
affected its competitiveness.
The company viewed that the footwear business had high risks of losses under the
current circumstances and had therefore decided to cease production. It would be
responsible for the monthly wage payment and severance pay to all 3,000 company
workers, Songsak said.
Santi Vilassakdanont, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, said the
baht had begun to weaken and hover at 33.80 to the US dollar following the
issuance of various measures to curb its volatility. And he said the private
sector was satisfied, for the time being, with the current level of the baht.
However, he conceded it is hard to see the baht further weakening because
foreign capital continues to flow into the stock market in large amounts. Mr.
Santi said the private sector would take one or two months to assess the
situation before deciding whether other measures should be issued to rein in the
baht fluctuation.
Bank of Thailand governor Tarisa Watanagase said the central bank could not
allow payment of cargoes in US dollar terms as sought by the private sector to
ease pressure of the baht surge. Such an action is tantamount to Thailand’s
permission for the settlement of cargo trading in foreign currencies in addition
to the baht. At present, the check clearing system has been run in baht terms
only. (TNA)
Raimon Land appoints Neil Hutchinson as Project Procurement Director
Property developer Raimon Land PLC recently announced the
appointment of Mr. Neil Hutchinson to the position of Project Procurement
Director.
 Neil
Hutchinson is the new Project Procurement Director at Raimon Land PLC.
Neil has 34 years of experience and expertise in the construction industry,
including 20 years in project procurement.
Prior to joining the Raimon Land team, Neil was Director of Contract Procurement
for NH Construction Services where he was responsible for contract procurement,
subcontract services, and construction material import and export.
Prior to that, Neil Hutchinson was Regional Director for Project Procurement
Thailand Ltd. He was responsible for all procurement consultancy services in
five different countries in South East Asia: Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar
and Vietnam.
Neil also worked for the renowned construction company Bouygues Thai Ltd, where
he was responsible for business development and procurement.
Before working in Asia, Neil was based in Africa, where he oversaw many
construction-related projects in over half a dozen African countries.
Neil has a Bachelor Degree in Economics from Belford College in the UK. Neil is
a British citizen with permanent residency in the Kingdom.
Neil joins Raimon Land at a time when the company is about to launch new
projects.
ADVERTORIAL: Star Photo goes
wireless with CSG
Mike Franklin
STAR Photo has issued a press release announcing a new photographic wireless
process that has been developed and will shortly be operational. Press
release details are as follows:
 STAR
Photo has developed CSG (‘Catch it, See it, Get it’), a
state-of-the-art wireless picture transmitting system. It enables the
photographer shooting a picture to view it seconds later on a screen
connected to the internet anywhere in the world, and from there being able
to print it out. The photographer simply presses the release button on his
camera and the picture goes ‘wireless’ from the transmitting camera to a
lap-top or other access point from where it is up-loaded to the internet.
There is CSG Basic and CSG Advanced. CSG Basic is applied when
it is the photographer to receive the pictures. CSG Advanced is
applied when a client directly receives the pictures at a remote location.
CSG gives the professional photographer freedom to supply and
transmit pictures of any file size, and whatever file format the camera can
capture.
· News agencies are capable of receiving up-dated pictures until the
cut-off time.
· A professional photographer can view and analyze pictures taken
seconds after the shoot and still have the freedom of moving long distances
away from his viewing station. The photographer has total freedom to sample
and view prints on the spot, whether on location or in the studio.
· Visitors to any kind of Event can benefit as the organizers can
enjoy the “real-time” picture release and on-the-spot picture processing and
printing.
· Remote photo shoots: A model agency, fashion catalogue publisher,
or other photographer clients, are able to view and receive the pictures
taken at their photo shoot that can take place on the other side of the
globe, moments after they were taken. This enables the client’s graphic
artist to immediately begin to process the pictures as required by the
client. It limits the need to send camera, make-up and other crews around
the world as everything can be booked at the shoot location. However, you
must have a photographer who offers CSG Advanced technology.
· Medical assistance at an accident can be provided more accurately,
and save time and lives, by receiving the appropriate instructions and
procedures from a medical specialist, even if he is some hours away from the
accident scene.
· Wherever, and whenever, receiving up-dated pictures is of the essence,
CSG from STAR Photo provides the solution. E-mail:
[email protected]
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