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German-Thai Chamber of Commerce tours the Eastern Seaboard
(L to R) Stefan Bürkle, GTCC
executive director; Adolph-A Knees, Associated, Telleke & Gibbins
International Ltd.; Karl-Heinz Heckhausen, chairman, K.H.H. Consulting Co.,
Ltd.; Dr. Vichit Kiatsrichart, managing director, Thai Saeng Charoen
Polymers Co., Ltd.; Dr. Paul Strunk, Attorney Team Thailand
Bangkok/Nuremberg, Asia-Pacific Division, Roedl & Partner; Horst Esser,
managing director, C. Melchers & Co. (Thailand) Ltd.; Dr. Raphael L’Hoest,
Counselor Economic and Commercial Affairs, German Embassy Bangkok; Volker
Fischer, chairman, Polipharm Co., Ltd.; Alexander Hirschle, representative
for Thailand, Kambodscha and Laos, Germany Trade & Investment GmbH, Bangkok.
Peter Nordhues
Members of the German-Thai Chamber of Commerce (GTCC) and officers
from the German embassy in Bangkok, led by Dr. Hanns Schumacher, German
Ambassador to Thailand, went on a field trip to the Eastern Seaboard on
March 6. The group visited the German enterprises Grohe Siam Ltd., Bader
(Asia) Co., Ltd. and Compressor Sales & Service Co., Ltd. It was quite a
busy day for them, as they sallied forth from Bangkok at 7 a.m. At least
they found the time to treat themselves to a lunch break at Rayong Resort,
which is located directly at the seaside.
For the evening, the GTCC regular’s table was scheduled, as usual taking
place at Moon River Pub next to Thai Garden Resort. Stefan Bürkle, the
chamber’s executive director, greeted some 60 members and guests. Amongst
them were former and current GTCC board members like Dr. Vichit
Kiatsrichart, Karl-Heinz Heckhausen, Horst H. Esser, former director Dr.
Paul Strunk and his spouse; Volker Fischer, Adolph-A Knees and Alexander
Hirschle. The German Embassy’s representative was Counselor for Economic and
Commercial Affairs, Raphael L’Hoest.
In his opening address, Bürkle emphasized the Chamber’s success despite the
global economic crisis, especially in terms of membership increase. “This
shows the interest of the Thai and the German side in a bilateral economic
cooperation,” he said. He also pointed out the impending amendment of the
government’s legislation, allowing enterprises from outside Bangkok to also
become full members. This is a step the Chamber has long been waiting for,
as it will boost its presence on the Eastern Seaboard.
Bürkle then acknowledged the participation of the many former and current
board members at the field trip and the regular’s table.
As usual, Bürkle kept his speech concise and brief, rounding it up with the
classical announcement, “The buffet is opened!” A moment later, hungry
attendees beleaguered the opulent buffet, which offered dishes for anyone’s
taste.
Part of the group headed back to Bangkok at 9 p.m. on the chartered bus,
while some of them decided to spend the weekend in Pattaya and celebrate to
the ever entertaining rhythms of the Power Jam Band.
The Chamber organizes its regular’s table every month, alternately in
Bangkok and Pattaya. You find the GTCC at: German-Thai Chamber of Commerce,
25th Floor, Empire Tower 3, 195 South Sathorn Road, Yannawa, Sathorn,
Bangkok 10120. Tel. +66 (0) 2-670-0600, fax +66 (0) 2-670-0601, e-mail
[email protected]
Take Care Kids donates rice, other necessities
The Italian non-profit organization Take Care Kids is more
involved than ever in this area, and has managed to donate a great quantity of
rice this year as well.
 The
children were so delighted to meet Italian tennis star Mara Santangelo, they
presented her with a bouquet of flowers.
Three institutions benefited from this donation: 4000kg went to the Pattaya
Orphanage, 3000kg went to Mercy Center, and another 3000kg were donated to the
Camillian Social Center for children affected by HIV.
Along with the rice, the organization also equipped the Pattaya Orphanage with
lighting equipment for the football and volleyball fields. Now, the 180 kids who
live there will have a chance to play their favorite sport even when it gets
dark.
Last, but not least, there was a tennis tournament here in Pattaya, where the
Italian tennis player, Mara Santangelo, one of Italy’s star tennis players,
visited the orphanage. Mara visited the children with her father Gianni and the
president OF the Organization, Juergen Lusuardi.
“It was very emotional,” said Mara at the end of her visit. And the children
were so delighted to meet her, they sent her home with a bouquet of flowers.
PCEC members learn solution
to leading a healthy and better life
The regular Sunday meeting of the Pattaya City Expats
Club got underway at the Amari’s Henry J. Beans Restaurant on Sunday, March
8 when Master of Ceremonies Roger Fox, after the usual announcements,
introduced the guest speaker, Pascal Deville, to tell the audience about the
Pattaya Nutrition Club. Roger mentioned that he has been availing himself of
the Nutrition Club’s services, feels better, and has in the past month lost
a bit over 4kg of weight.
 MC
Roger Fox has been using the services of the Nutrition Club recently, and
has lost 4kg, and is also feeling better since starting the programme.
Pascal started by reading the definition of health used by the World Health
Organization, which is a state of complete physical, mental, and social
well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Pascal then
noted that he has been involved in the health food supplement industry for
17 years and is currently the consultant to the Pattaya Nutrition Club
located on Pattaya Central Road near Foodland. He also is an experienced
wellness coach and trainer.
He said the Nutrition Club concept originated in Belgium in 2002 where
various nutrition experts joined to create it. This is where he first became
involved with the Nutrition Club, which franchises the concept. He said he
had been in Thailand about 16 months and the Pattaya Nutrition Club was
opened by Manee Kaewlarn. Pascal then offered information on nutritional
facts, causes and consequences of unbalanced nutrition, the nutrition the
body needs, and the solution to leading a healthy and better life.
Pascal provided statistics on various diseases including cardiac problems
and diabetes. He noted that 50 percent of these diseases can be related to
poor diet. He mentioned that poor diet can be attributed to degradation of
the food supply, modern methods of food processing, and eating and lifestyle
habits. He then introduced Dr. Mustafa Gugonul, a general practitioner who
then provided a description of various cardiovascular problems that can
occur because of poor nutrition and diet.
 Pascal
Deville of the Pattaya Nutrition Club tells PCEC members of the many health
benefits of good nutrition.
Pascal then continued his presentation and noted that one can lead a healthy
life if they exercise, get enough sleep, and have a balanced diet. He
mentioned the 5 essential elements for proper nutrition, which are water,
vitamins and minerals (fruits and vegetables), carbohydrates (fiber), lipids
(good fat), and protein (vegetables). However, he mentioned that one can not
always get the proper balance of these essential nutrients. Thus, one may
need to use food supplements.
In conclusion, he noted that the Nutrition Club provides everyone, for free,
with: (1) information, tips, advice, and training about nutrition and
lifestyle; (2) a nutritional and wellness checkup; (3) a personalized
nutritional plan with balanced recipes and food supplements; and (4) weekly
follow up consultations. Further, he said the Nutrition Club is not a
clinic; they do not dispense or sell drugs. However, they do provide at
reasonable cost food supplements that may be needed. Before asking for
questions, he mentioned that they would be available in the back alcove to
offer a 5 minute free consultation with anyone who was interested.
Emcee Roger then called on the club’s internet guru Richard Silverberg to
comment on his latest website recommendation. Richard suggested that
http://labs.google.com/sets might be an interesting place to visit. Richard
noted that Google lets their staff spend up to 20% of their time on their
own projects. If deemed worthy, some projects are then made available online
in Google’s “lab” section. Although not complete, they can be of interest.
Richard then mentioned that “sets” is a “fun thing” to visit. You can type
in up to four related items and “sets” will then generate a list of items
that correspond to the set. So, if you ever have that senior moment when you
can’t remember something, visit the site, type in a set of related items -
there is a good chance that the item you couldn’t remember will be in the
listing. Better yet, click on an item listed and a Google search will be
done of the internet for the item.
Emcee Roger finished by updating everyone on upcoming events and called on
Hawaii Bob to conduct the always informative and sometimes humorous Open
Forum where information is shared on living in Pattaya and Thailand.
British Consular Head
visits Pattaya
Dr. Iain Corness
There will not be too many British subjects who have not called upon
the services of Barry Kenyon, the honorary British Consul for Pattaya, now
to be found in the new offices adjacent to the Pattaya Immigration Police in
Soi 5 Jomtien. Barry’s ultimate head, Julian Braithewaite, the Director of
Consular Services, in charge of 150 consulates throughout the world, visited
Pattaya last week and spoke to some of the prominent British subjects living
in Pattaya.
 Julian
Braithewaite,
british director of consular services.
Julian Braithewaite made the visit something of a ‘fact finding’ mission,
but probably found more facts than he expected! Compulsory annual visits to
UK hospitals for physical medical review for those on invalid pensions was
certainly a bone of contention with the loyal British subjects, particularly
as other countries have designated medical referral points/hospitals/doctors
they use from within Thailand. There was also great dissatisfaction
expressed by British subjects who found they had to pay for medical services
in the UK, even though they had paid in to the NHS system for years.
However, Julian Braithewaite also covered the areas where the British
Embassy (or Consulates) cannot help, including getting you out of jail, or
paying your bills. “We’re not your Mum,” said the director with a smile.
Central reports earning increase
Staff reporters
Central Department Store shows no apparent concern at the economic
slowdown thanks to the stability of the political situation and high
purchasing power of loyal customers which could drive annual earnings up
12-13% to an estimated 29.5 billion baht this year.
 Yuwadee
Jiratiwat, managing director of Central Department Store.
The store has reported an increase of 5% from 2007 earnings to 26.5 billion
baht in 2008.
“Central No Bag Day Sale” is the company’s effort to help the environment by
reducing the use of plastic shopping bags by 11.53% by 2010 in the ongoing
“Central … Love the Earth” campaign.
On the monthly “no bag” days discounts of 5-10% are awarded to customers who
bring their own cloth bag or to those who refused plastic bags to carry away
purchased goods. An additional 20 points are also added to The 1 Card
shopper’s card, for similar saving of plastic bags starting on March 15.
Yuwadee Jiratiwat, managing director of Central, held a press conference at
Central Chidlom on March 10, reporting that as the political situation
improves, more customers are back shopping.
Central Chaeng Wattana recently opened where many target customers are
government officials. Officials expect it to become as profitable as Bangna
and Pinklao branches.
“The Pattaya Branch was opened early this year to good response by customers
as no other malls provide all the products that Central does,” Yuwadee said.
It is expected this year that revenue will increase 12-13% from all 15
branches of the chain to 29.5 billion baht.
Yuwadee said Central was shielded from the economic slump due to its ongoing
improvements including store planning, visual merchandising, and many other
services such as premiere lounge, platinum lounge, valet parking and mother
and child room.
This year will focus more on customer relations management, especially for
those two million buyers who are members of The 1 Card, with 80% of them
frequently shopping.
“As the new government is doing a good job as well as the new opening of the
Chaeng Wattana and Pattaya Beach branches, good growth is expected this
year,” he said.
Some 350 million baht will be spent on promotional campaigns and events in
the first trimester. “Central … Love the Earth” campaign began last year has
already reduced plastic-bag usage by 13.48% from last year (13.8 million
bags per year from 16 million bags) and will continue to decrease until the
25% goal is reached.
Central No Bag Day Sale will be on 15-17th of every month with discounts as
incentive for not using plastic bags. Staff wearing environmentally friendly
uniforms will be there to persuade customers to use fewer bags.
This promotion can also be used with a variety of shopper and credit cards
for reduction from 5-50% off retail price.
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