Vol. XI No. 22
Friday 30 May -5 June 2003

Home
AutoMania
Books-Movies-Music
Business News
Columns
Community Happenings
Dining Out & Entertainment
Features
Kids Corner
Letters
News
Our Community
Shopping
Social Scene
Sports
Travel
Who's who

Cinema Schedule
Sophon TV-Guide
Clubs in Pattaya

Classifieds

Search
All Back Issues

Pattaya Mail
About Us
Subscribe
Advertising Rates

Updated every Friday
by Parisa Santithi

 

BUSINESS NEWS
HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]: 

April’s consumer confidence index drops

PM says the world needs more Thai restaurants

DHL changes name to DANZAS after merger

FTI revives project to set up international trading companies

Over 20 billion baht circulates during SET’s Money Expo

Cut in fuel prices wins high praise

Commerce ministry projects 8% growth in food exports

Lack of WTO progress may hinder competitiveness of Thai agricultural goods

EXIM Bank still upbeat about economic growth

Exporters urged to fill trade vacuum left by SARS

Export of farm and agro-industry products still promising

Introduction of new models at low prices drives up motorcycle sales

April’s consumer confidence index drops

The consumer confidence index for April dropped to 87.7 points from its 90.8 points in March due to SARS related anxieties. The index stood at 93.3 points in February. A consumer index of below 100 points indicates weak consumer sentiment.

A recent survey done by The University of Thai Chamber of Commerce said the SARS health scare in the region discouraged people from traveling and triggered a downturn in the service and airline industry.

Thanawat Polvichai, director of the university’s economic and business forecasting center, said, "The worse economic impact of SARS is being felt throughout the service sector. The manufacturing sector has remained relatively unscathed."

Positive factors which surfaced in April included stable fuel prices, the end of the war in Iraq, continued growth in the county’s exports, and the central bank’s policy to keep the repurchase rates low. (TNA)


PM says the world needs more Thai restaurants

The government will provide financial support to Thai people living overseas who want to open Thai restaurants so that Thai cuisine will be expanded worldwide, according to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

During his recent official visit to France, Thaksin told the Thai community in Paris that Thais overseas who want to open Thai restaurants could seek financial support from Thai Embassies abroad.

"The government promotes and supports the expansion of Thai restaurants globally. Therefore, Thai people living overseas who want to open Thai restaurants can contact Thai Embassies in their respective countries to ask for loans to be used for running the business," Thaksin said. (TNA)


DHL changes name to DANZAS after merger

DHL International (Thailand) launched its new "DANZAS" transportation and parcel delivery brand name after a recent merger with Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN).

DANZAS is now the world’s largest express transportation and logistics company.


FTI revives project to set up international trading companies

Tax beaks and access to loans considered to be vital incentives

The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) is reviving plans to establish international trading companies to act as export representatives. At the same time FTI is requesting tax and interest concessions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

FTI president Praphat Phothiworakhun said that the FTI and the Thai Chamber of Commerce has joined with the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), the Department of Export Promotion and the Office for the Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises to determine ways to add value to export products.

International Trading Companies (ITCs) were briefly set up in 1998, but soon disbanded due to insurmountable obstacles.

Praphat said that the ITCs, which would be run as private sector agencies, would assist SMEs in exporting their products onto the global market. "The ITCs will form a conglomeration of businesses from each industrial sector, and members must be listed companies with a secure financial base, expertise in exports, the ability to research and develop their products to meet international standards, and initiate a network of contacts at home and abroad," said Praphat.

The plans call for the ITCs to liaise with financial institutes in order to facilitate access to sources of credit for the purchase of raw materials, machinery and equipment.

At the same time, the ITCs will request investment privileges from the Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI), customs and taxation privileges, and low interest rates on loans from the Export Import Bank of Thailand. (TNA)


Over 20 billion baht circulates during SET’s Money Expo

The Money Expo fair, organized in Bangkok by the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) was a roaring success, with over 20 billion baht circulating from loan applications, credit card purchases, insurance purchases and fund applications over the four days of the event.

Held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center on May 15-18, the Expo proved bigger and better than the previous two years.

Money Expo manager Santi Wiriyaransrit said that over 500,000 members of the public attended the fair, of whom 77,000 applied for various services offered by financial institutes exhibiting there, worth a total of around 21 billion baht.

Santi added that of the services offered by commercial banks, credit cards proved the most popular, with 38,000 applications made for new cards; while 27,000 people signed up for personal loans, 9,900 people signed up for mortgages, and 1,100 people signed up for small business loans.

Property loans applied for at the event were worth a staggering 16 billion baht, accounting for 78 percent of the total amount circulated at the expo, followed by personal loans worth 1.8 billion baht, credit card applications worth1.3 billion baht, and small business loans worth1.1 billion baht.

At the same time, 3,000 participants applied to brokers to open stock trading accounts, worth a total of 180 million baht, while 2,000 people applied to open investment capital accounts and 700 people applied for life insurance.


Cut in fuel prices wins high praise

The government got high marks for its courageous decision to cut local retail fuel prices by over 1 baht per liter.

Dr Arch Taolanond, president of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said, "The decision to float fuel prices is praiseworthy because it will enable entrepreneurs to evaluate actual operational costs. Producers can now calculate the real cost of energy and assess their competitiveness with foreign rivals."

The decision will also have a positive psychological effect on local consumers since it will help stabilize goods prices.

However, Dr Arch said, private companies must realize the actual cost of fuel and improve production efficiency and their competitive edge.


Commerce ministry projects 8% growth in food exports

Thailand’s exports of food and agricultural goods this year is expected to grow eight percent from last year’s 567 billion baht.

Banphot Hongthong, director-general of the Department of Export Promotion, said, "Thailand could indirectly benefit from outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Asia if foreign buyers switch their purchasing orders to Thailand from the SARS-affected countries including China and Vietnam. We feel they will seek alternative markets and could turn away from countries most deeply affected by the epidemic."

Two exhibitions -the Thailand International Food Exhibition 2003, and the Thailand International Muslim Food Exhibition 2003 - were held during May 28-30 at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Center (BITEC). Over ten thousand visitors attended the fairs with a transaction value estimated at over 1 billion baht.

Around 427 local and foreign food producers and exporters including those from Korea, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar and the Philippines brought their products to display and market at the fairs, Banphot said.

In addition, BITEC will host the "Food Catering Asia and Food Technology Asia 2003" trade fair scheduled for October 1-4. It is expected to draw 18,000 participants.

Prasarn Bhirajburi, managing director of BITEC said the country last year exported 29 million tons of food products worth three billion baht.

Prasan added, "Thailand faces strong competition from neighboring countries exporting the same products at lower prices. If we can add more value to our products, such as making them ready to eat, it will bring more income to our country."


Lack of WTO progress may hinder competitiveness of Thai agricultural goods

The Thai Chamber of Commerce has expressed concern over the lack of progress on World Trade Organization (WTO) talks on agricultural and industrial goods; while warning that certain Thai agricultural products were unable to complete in the global market.

Speaking at a seminar on "Trends in Thai economic policy under globalization", Dr Ach Taolanont said that the lack of progress during the last WTO Doha trade talks could spell trouble for the kingdom’s agricultural and industrial products. Expressing concern that WTO trade negotiations in September would be marred by a similar lack of progress, he said, "The Thai Chamber of Commerce will liaise closely with the public sector to prepare for the next round of trade talks."

Meanwhile, Dr At Phisalwanich, director of the Center for WTO studies, said that the liberalization of world markets had benefited some Thai products, but had an adverse impact on others. He urged the government to study which agricultural products were most successful in the world market and work to boost their competitiveness.

It was suggested that multilateral negotiations with a number of countries could find markets for less competitive goods.


EXIM Bank still upbeat about economic growth

The Thai economy remains likely to see healthy growth for the remainder of this year in spite of the war in Iraq and the SARS virus outbreak in Asia, according to a veteran banker.

Sathaporn Chinajit, president of the Export and Import Bank of Thailand (EXIM Bank), said the war in Iraq had no negative impact on the economy. In contrast, it seemed to have a positive effect as the export in the first quarter of this year expanded satisfactorily since there were orders placed for stocks and strategic materials.

Sathaporn said, "What is of concern now is the economic slowdown in the countries where there was an epidemic of SARS virus."

Hong Kong, for example, might see its growth ease by 0.7-1 percent. Worse still, the US economy appears not to be recovering as quickly as expected.

The banker said, "Thailand has also been affected by the SARS outbreak although there was no epidemic in the country. The tourism and hotel business took the brunt as the number of foreign tourists dropped. Although the effect on the country’s exports is not yet clear, I am still confident the economy will expand at by at least 6 percent this year." (TNA)


Exporters urged to fill trade vacuum left by SARS

Deputy Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) Kiertiphong Noijaiboon is urging the private sector to turn the SARS crisis into opportunities by rushing to fill the trade vacuum left by China; while calling on the government to reiterate Thailand’s SARS-free status to facilitate private sector companies.

Kiertiphong conceded that the flu-like epidemic was affecting Thailand despite Thailand’s SARS-free status, as foreign investors were lumping Thailand with other countries in the Asian region. He called on the government to launch campaigns for greater use of domestically-manufactured goods and fill role previously held by countries severely affected by the health scare such as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.

The FTI said that Thai companies should enter into trade negotiations with Europe and the United States to promote their products, in particular by citing World Health Organization (WHO) assurances that Thai products do not carry a risk of SARS contamination.

‘When Thailand’s competitors blunder, we should turn their markets into ours. The public and private sectors must work together to promote Thailand," said Kiertiphong.

The manufacturers’ confidence index for March showed a clear decline due to the combined affects of SARS and the Iraqi war.

The FTI is currently drawing up new economic forecasts for April, but expressed confidence that the rate of growth would remain unchanged due to Thailand’s strong export performance, in particular in the food and automobile sectors. (TNA)


Export of farm and agro-industry products still promising

Thai Farmers Research Center (TFRC) recently reported that the export of farm and agro-industry products, particularly to China, is likely to enjoy accelerated growth.

The leading think tank projected that the value of the export this year would be around US$13.9 million, up 13.5% from that of the previous year, although the SARS outbreak would have an effect on key trading partners, including China.

Thailand has aggressively expanded its export base into China. This, coupled with possible tariff cuts as a result of the Sino-Thai trade liberalization, could significantly boost the export of the farm and agro-industry goods for this year. The portion of the Thai exports to China may increase to the close level as that to the US.

Still, the report warned there were external factors that could affect the export of the products and the government should closely monitor. They include the possible economic slowdown in the US in the post-war period, stiff competition for markets in Iraq and other Middle East countries, consumer product purchase orders from the United Nations, and restriction of the import of some kinds of foods by the US and European Union as a measure to prevent terrorism.

But overall, it believed the export of the products this year would remain promising as a result of the government’s efforts to spearhead the expansion of export destinations and negotiation for trade cooperation with rivals. (TNA)


Introduction of new models at low prices drives up motorcycle sales

Thai Auto-parts Manufacturers Association fears future tariff cuts with India

According to a statement released from market leader AP Honda, sales of motorcycles soared in April by 53 percent due to intense marketing campaigns promoted in the provinces.

Sales totaled a whopping 137,056 units, compared to 89,834 units recorded in March. AP Honda said the increase was due to manufacturers’ introduction of a variety of models and lower prices intended to boost market share.

Suzuki sold 18,628 units last month, 68 percent more compared to figures recorded during the same period last year and enabling it to seize 14 percent share of the market.

In April Yamaha sold 13,676 units, representing a 10 percent market share.

Concerned that lower tariffs could put pressure on local manufacturers, Thai auto parts makers have been urging the government to revise its policy on the trade liberalization agreement between Thailand and India.

Thai Auto-parts Manufacturers Association vice president Yongkiat Kitaphanich said, "Since India has the advantage of lower wages, more material resources and better production technology, Thailand is not ready to compete if tariffs are lowered, and our spare parts industry will suffer."

The association wants the Thai government to cut tariffs on certain products Thailand doesn’t produce.



News | Business News | Features | Columns | Letters | Sports | Auto Mania
Kid's Corner | Who’s Who | Travel | Our Community | Dining Out & Entertainment
Social Scene | Classifieds | Community Happenings | Books Music Movies
Clubs in Pattaya | Sports Round-Up


E-mail: [email protected]
Pattaya Mail Publishing Co., Ltd.
370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20260, Thailand
Tel.66-38 411 240-1, 413 240-1, Fax:66-38 427 596

Copyright © 2002 Pattaya Mail. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Now Available