Bandkok Business Brief Magazine - November 2012

InsideGeneral Interest 2Finance/Investment 3Government/Economy 4Production 5Retail/Services 6Tourism 8IT/Comms 10Real Estate 12The Chambers 14The Calendar 22

Read new business briefs everyday at www.BBBrief.comVol. No. 1, Issue No. 12 Mid-November/Mid-December 2012

BANGKOKBUSINESS BRIEF

The Life of Piboom-bust cycles occur exactly every 8.6 years (or 3,141 days, which is the number pi times one thousand). He famously predicted the crash of 1987 to the day. In 1999, the US Securities and Exchange Commission indicted him for fraud. He was then charged with civil contempt by the government and spent over seven years in prison for failing to surrender various assets thought to be purchased with money from the investment in question. He eventually plead guilty to one count of conspiracy and served 4.5 years of a 5-year sentence. His website is http://armstrongeconomics.com.

BBB: Where does Asia stand to-day? Are we at the beginning, the middle or the end?

MA: We’re putting out a report about Thailand, Taiwan, China, Korea, India, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, the whole basic region. What’s interesting is that what I cre-ated with the computer, by putting everything together and having the computer do things consistently, so that it’s not one person’s opinion be-cause everybody has an opinion.

It can only be as good as what our experiences are, that’s about it, but when you start putting together everything and you’re correlating, what’s strikingly different, is that even if you look for the little subtle things, like the credit rating agencies upgrading Korea and upgrading the Philippines, you go to Europe and they downgrade everything. Every-thing is shifting and you can see it in the States. It’s getting really, re-ally bad that they’re so concerned about every dime. They passed laws

last December... it’s very draconian. If I didn’t have partners outside the country, I don’t know if I could re-establish anything anymore. Gee, if you send $5,000 outside the coun-try, you might be hiding something. Well, maybe I’m paying a bill. We’re going look to see if you paid taxes on that. It’s just getting really crazy. And you’re really bringing the ‘velocity of money’ down internationally.

BBB: How does the velocity of money enter the equation for what you see for Asia?

MA: The velocity’s been increas-ing over here [in Asia] quite dra-matically. I think everyone is just focused primarily on the United States and Europe, especially. And they’re overlooking what’s happen-ing in Asia. Forty percent of China’s imports are coming from the rest of

Story continues on Page 19

Martin Armstrong is the former chairman of Princeton Economics International Ltd. He is known for his economic predictions based on his own ‘Economic Confidence Model,’ which is based on historical business cycles and pi. His theory predicts that

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BriefsTo read the full article of a story brief, enter the short code at the end of the story into your browser:

goo.gl/bH6PF...added that the company had set aside a significant investment budget of Bt200 million to Bt300 million for overseas expansion.Full story at http://goo.gl/bH6PF

General Interest

http://goo.gl/ozbNM“Explore the city and get to know the public transportation routes, this will help you converse with oth-er expats and find your way around the city.” It’s the description of Thai-land in the eyes of expats covered in HSBC’s Expat Explorer Survey, which ranks Thailand the third in the economics league table. The global survey ranks countries on a number of factors such as earning levels, disposable income and ability to accumulate luxuries. While Sin-gapore tops the chart, Hong Kong came the fourth, China 7th and Vietnam 10th.

Key findings in the survey are: • Sin-gapore is home to wealthiest expats • Over half (55 per cent) of expats in Hong Kong earn over US$150,000 versus 17 per cent globally • Two thirds (60 per cent) of expats moved to China for job opportunities. Asia has come to the fore as a leading destination for expat earning...Full story at http://goo.gl/kM7cO

Fraud risks in the Asia-Pacific re-gion remain above the global aver-age, according to the 2012-13 Kroll Advisory Solutions’ “Global Fraud Report” released in Singapore. Of Asian companies surveyed, India showed the highest number of com-panies affected by fraud at 68 per cent, followed by China and Indo-nesia, which each saw 65 per cent of firms affected in the past year, com-pared with the global average of 61 per cent, according to the report.

Indonesian companies are increas-ingly looking to move on to the global stage, in particular with in-vestments in Asia and Africa, but 35 per cent of Indonesian companies said they had put off investment in at least one foreign market because

Expat wealth heads to Asia

The jobs time bomb

Asia at core of Liverpool FC’s marketing plan

Fraud risk high in Asia, survey finds

Liverpool FC is focusing its market-ing strategy on Asia, and Thailand is considered an important market in the region thanks to its economic growth and the popularity of soccer in the Kingdom, with a strong base of Liverpool supporters. Liverpool FC plans a trip to Asia next year af-ter the end of the soccer season, and hopes to visit Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

Jonathan Kane, director of inter-national business development for Liverpool FC and Athletic Grounds, said Asia was considered a strong support base for the club. It will fo-cus its marketing strategies to draw more support from the region for its three main sources of income:...Full story at http://goo.gl/6kQrQ

Fraud risks in the Asia-Pacific re-gion remain above the global aver-age, according to the 2012-13 Kroll Advisory Solutions’ “Global Fraud Report” released in Singapore. Of Asian companies surveyed, India showed the highest number of com-panies affected by fraud at 68 per cent, followed by China and Indo-nesia, which each saw 65 per cent of firms affected in the past year, com-pared with the global average of 61 per cent, according to the report.

“This year’s Global Fraud Report provides some encouraging indica-tors on the evolving fraud landscape in Asia-Pacific compared with last year, but we also note that compla-cency looks to be developing among Asian businesses on the very seri-ous fraud risks they face,” said Ta-dashi Kageyama, senior managing director of Kroll Advisory Solu-tions, Asia. In Southeast Asia, the global fraud survey revealed notable trends in Indonesia, one of the fast-est-developing markets in Asia...Full story at http://goo.gl/UTpNv

of perceived fraud issues, compared with 27 per cent globally. This con-trasts with Chinese companies, of...Full story at http://goo.gl/Q19AY

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BANGKOK BUSINESS BRIEF Mid-November/Mid-December 2012 3

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2 BANGKOK BUSINESS BRIEF December 2011

Greece, India, China and Thailand are home to the weakest national pension systems in the world, crippled by a mix of acute sover-eign debt, young retirement ages, high ratios of pensioners to work-ers and poor pension take-up, a study showed.

The Allianz Global Investors Pen-sion Sustainability Index, which tracks the relative sustainabil-ity of national pension systems in 44 countries around the world, showed the number of Greek re-tirees to people of working age re-

Land subsidence caused by ground water losses tops the list of prob-lems that must be solved in Bang-kok to mitigate the impact of the climate change on flooding, says a study by multinational agencies.The conclusion is contained in a report entitled “Climate Risks and Adaptation in Asian Coastal Megacities”, jointly conducted by the Asian Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the World Bank in 2010.

The report recommended a...Full story at http://goo.gl/20yMD

‘There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune”, wrote Wil-

KUALA LUMPUR : The Asian cri-sis in the late 1990s was a wake-up call for the region that has turned out to be a blessing in disguise nearly 15 years later, as the region’s financial sector is now strong and able to sustain a certain degree of shocks from the fallout in the Western Hemisphere, according to a panellist at a recent Asean conference.

“There will be more crises in the future, and the Asian crisis in

The shift of economic growth mo-mentum to the East has opened up numerous opportunities that Asian countries should not miss out, suggests an economist.The robust economic growth of China and emerging economies will open a new opportunity for Asian economies to increase their wealth from trade in goods and services at a time when the United States and Europe are...Full story at http://goo.gl/S65D6

Briefs To read the full article of a story brief, enter the short code at the end of the story into your browser:

Thailand near top of list of world’s weakest pension systems: study

Panel: Asia better off, not immune, from global crises

Preventing Bangkok from sinking biggest challenge

Grow with the flow of cycles

Asia stands to gain from West slowdown

General Interest

http://goo.gl/ozbNM

Sponsored by...

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...added that the company had set aside a significant investment budget of Bt200 million to Bt300 million for overseas expansion.Full story at http://goo.gl/bH6PFliam Shakespeare in JuliusCaesar. Nature and life are cyclical _ the seasons of the year, life and death, the phases of the moon, the tides. Caught up in daily details, we eas-ily forget that the business world has cycles, too. We are all familiar with the economic business cycle of expansion, contraction and re-covery. However, other cyclical phenomena affect...Full story at http://goo.gl/fJolr

1997-98 was a blessing, as the impact of 2008 would have been far worse for the region,” Azman Mokhtar, the managing director of Khazanah Nasional of Malaysia, told the CIMB Asean Conference.His comments were...Full story at http://goo.gl/dfu2u

mains above the European average.In India, China and Thailand, roughly 12 percent of the popula-tion contribute to a pension, while the weaknesses of Thailand’s pen-sion system are...Full story at http://goo.gl/rtpH3Finance / Investment

http://goo.gl/wKeiJ

UBS Securities (Thailand) forecasts the Stock Exchange of Thailand will reach 1,500 points next year, mainly driven by local investors. The bull market would be largely supported by domestic investors, which ac-count for 80% of the market.

A projection of 5.5% for economic growth next year would increase local wealth and encourage stock investment, said Raymond Magu-ire, head of research and strategy. Strong loan growth, largely from retail finance and small enterprises, has supported the country’s con-sumption as well. The credit cycle is expected to remain accommodative over the next couple years. Although household debt has increased to 47% from 20% in the past few years and is heading for 60% over the next two to three years, the central...Full story at http://goo.gl/7g7QQ World-renowned investment guru

Marc Faber says cronyism is a con-cern for an investor like himself as the Thai government has appointed people connected to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. “I think that, to be quite honest. I as an investor, it concerns me that, for instance, the government appoints principally people connected to Mr Thaksin for, say, Thai [Airways],” he said.

“As an investor, to me it sounds very strange that people who run large companies are appointed by the government and that the govern-ment then favours people that are supportive of them. There is still a lot of so-called cronyism. In other words, I have political power and you’re a businessman or you are someone who was at the party be-fore and I give you a good job and the position of power,” he said.

Nonetheless, Faber said he was “rea-sonably positive” about the future of Thailand, where he has resided since 2000 and has invested in some properties and Thai stocks. “Thai-land is unlikely to be a dynamic economy. It’s not going to be like...Full story at http://goo.gl/3Vx1o

Thai investors, particularly in the manufacturing and tourism indus-tries, have been urged to explore opportunities in Myanmar and take action within three years or face greater competition from global heavyweights after the 2015 general election.

Serge Pun, chairman of conglomer-ate Serge Pun & Associates (Myan-mar), foresees another nine good years to come, with President Thein Sein’s strong commitment to politi-cal and economic reforms. If either Thein Sein or opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi wins the election, continued improvements are prom-ised under clean leadership.

“In a general sense, I think every-thing is good. But first, you should not invest any money, but your time – three days to Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw. Smell the opportunities. If you can’t smell anything, don’t go. You’re not businessmen,” he told a...Full story at http://goo.gl/JLkAk

UBS foresees SET bull market next year

Financial guru Faber knocks Thai ‘cronyism’

Thai investors told to get into Myanmar now

Asean Trading Link draws intense interestInterest among local investors in overseas investment has been steadily building since the Stock Ex-change of Thailand joined the Asean Trading Link programme this week, say local brokers. Siriporn Phonpho, an assistant vice-president at Thana-chart Securities, said calls expressed the most interest in investing in companies such as Singapore Tele-com and Thai Beverage on the Sin-gapore Exchange and AirAsia on Bursa Malaysia.

“We’ve received 8-10 calls a day about the Asean Trading Link, most of them asking about what they need to do to open an account,” she said. It has been two-way traffic, with overseas investors also calling to inquire about purchasing Thai stocks. “Some queries are just about Thailand’s general investment...Full story at http://goo.gl/bTZ4N




Government / Economy

http://goo.gl/EIbH6

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawa-tra led a delegation of chiefs of public and private organisations in a roadshow, aiming to lure more in-vestment from the US to Thailand.

The roadshow entitled “Thailand: Positioning for Growth and Stabil-ity” took place on Sept 27, attended by over 60 fund managers. Accord-ing to the information on the Thai government’s website, representing Thailand were chiefs of the National Economic and Social Development Board, Fiscal Policy Office, Public Debt Management Office, Federa-tion of Capital Markets Association, Association of Securities Compa-nies and Association of Investment Management Companies.

Dawei ‘back on track’ after meet

BOT further spur overseas investment

Yingluck leads Thailand’s roadshow in New York

More US gloom expected whoever is president, Thai economists sayThai economists are pessimistic about the state of the US economy, which is expected to remain weak for two or three more years regard-less of whether President Barack Obama is re-elected or his rival Mitt Romney wins the presidential race. Thai exporters do not have much hope for the US market.

“Whoever the next president of the United States will be, he can’t do much to boost the US economy,”

In her opening speech, Yingluck assured the investors of continued growth and stability in the econom-ic stability, underpineed by political stability and strong economic fun-damentals – sufficient reserves for short-term debt, low public debt to GDP and appropriate inflation. She noted that the stock market in the past few years has been riding on...Full story at http://goo.gl/JZMne

Kobsak Pootrakul, an executive vice president of Bangkok Bank, said. As the United States faces high fiscal deficits, its next leader will be forced to cut spending. About Bt10 trillion to Bt18.3 trillion will be taken out of the system next year, he said. “It is apparent that while one party wants to collect more taxes and spend money, the other party does not want to raise taxes or spend...Full story at http://goo.gl/xiRZS

The Bank of Thailand has further promoted capital outflows aimed at supporting more investment abroad and better management of financial risks. The new measures will also help the central bank manage the exchange rate after the high pres-sure of large capital inflows has been causing the baht to appreciate.

To promote overseas direct invest-ment, the central bank will allow individuals to make unlimited in-vestment to expand their produc-tion or marketing abroad, Pongpen

The delayed Dawei mega-project is expected to forge ahead again soon, after Yingluck Shinawatra and Thein Sein discussed the issue on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. The leaders of the two nations plan to visit the site of the Dawei deep-sea port and in-dustrial project. Meanwhile, Italian-Thai Development is expected to sign a contract for construction of the port and the road connection...Full story at http://goo.gl/eDJcA

Ruengvirayudh, deputy governor of the BOT in charge of monetary stability, said yesterday. The new measure is expected to increase the competitiveness of the private sec-tor. Corporations have been allowed since 2010 to invest overseas with-out a limit on the amount of money.

For investment in foreign portfolio, the central bank will allow insti-tutional investors including listed companies to put unlimited...Full story at http://goo.gl/BHUW9

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Volume 1, Issue 12 • Mid-November to December 2012Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.

















General Interest

http://goo.gl/ozbNM

Sponsored by...

goo.gl/bH6PF



mains above the European average.In India, China and Thailand, roughly 12 percent of the popula-tion contribute to a pension, while the weaknesses of Thailand’s pen-sion system are...Full story at http://goo.gl/rtpH3Production

http://goo.gl/UrVpE

PepsiCo, the US-based beverage giant, yesterday announced a huge investment of Bt18.4 billion in the Thai market over the next three years in order to strengthen the company’s leading position in the country and drive future growth.

The $600-million investment capi-tal includes the $170-million bot-tling plant in Amata City Industrial Estate in Rayong, bought from San Miguel in February. Located on a 96-rai plot, the facility is one of Pep-siCo’s largest global beverage plants, comprising eight high-speed pro-duction lines, each of which is able to produce between 600 and 800 PET bottles per minute, depending on the size.

The remainder of the investment budget will be allocated to other business pillars: building infrastruc-ture for sales and distribution; acti-vation of marketing and consumer engagement; and human-...Full story at http://goo.gl/g78uo

Carmaker Volvo, which operates under a company named Swedish Motor Assemblies (SMA) in Malay-sia, has chosen to operate outside of Thailand and recently consolidated its Asean operations to a single lo-cation in Malaysia. SMA managing director David Stenstrom said re-cently that Volvo, which had previ-ously operated out of both Malaysia and Thailand, was now focused on scaling up assembly production in Malaysia instead and today exports Volvo cars to Thailand.

“We’ve had quite some challenging years, especially until 2009, due to

Heineken, ending the two-month-long beer war and shifting the focus to the future of the 129-year-old Singaporean conglomerate. The shareholders yesterday approved the sale of F&N’s direct and indirect interests in Asia Pacific Breweries to Heineken for Bt140.65 billion. The transaction, subject to regulatory approval from authorities in Singa-pore and New Zealand, is expected to be complete in November.

While this resolution ends the beer war between Thai billionaire Cha-roen Sirivadhanabhakdi – who...Full story at http://goo.gl/DRNRp

Royal Dutch Shell is looking to ex-pand its business in Thailand to liquefied natural gas and tap strong gas demand in the local market, says new country chairman Asada Harinsuit. Mr Asada noted that gas demand has skyrocketed here be-cause gas is cleaner and cost-com-petitive. “Thailand’s power demand will double in the next decade and concerns about climate change have been growing, making gas a more promising choice for the country,” he said.

Mr Asada, also global vice-presi-dent in specialties of Royal Dutch Shell, succeeded Pissawan Acha-napornkul as head of Shell’s opera-tion in Thailand since the beginning of this month. Mrs Pissawan was as-signed to a new post in Britain. The company is celebrating 120 years in Thailand.

“The government policy for allow-

Mitsubishi Motors (Thailand) is continuing to expand its investment in the Kingdom by setting aside Bt1 billion to increase production capacity to 500,000 units next year. President Nobuyuki Murahashi yes-terday said the company had origi-nally planned to increase capacity to 500,000 vehicles in 2015 from 350,000 units this year, but had now revised its plan so that capacity would reach 400,000 units this year. As a result, the local unit has de-cided to bring forward the 500,000-unit capacity schedule by two years, to 2013.

“When our new production ca-pacity starts to operate next year, Thailand will be Mitsubishi’s larg-est production base for cars in the world, replacing Japan,” he said, adding that the country would also be its manufacturing base for future car models. Murahashi said that although Europe still faced an eco-nomic crisis, demand for exported cars in Asia continued to grow. The company is therefore moving its ex-port focus from Europe to the Asian market, and Thailand in particular.

Domestic demand for eco-cars and the government’s first-time car buy-er scheme have resulted in strong...Full story at http://goo.gl/vXUPE

PepsiCo unveils Bt18.4bn plan for Thai investment

120 years on, Shell hungry for Thai gas

Mitsubishi shows faith in Thailand

Volvo chooses Malaysia over Thailand

F&N shareholders approve sale of stake in APB to Heineken

ing the private sector to invest in LNG-related businesses in Thailand will determine greater use of gas,” Mr Asada said. So far, only energy flagship, PTT PTT Plc has played...Full story at http://goo.gl/X2Exm

low volumes. We also questioned whether we should continue or not. We then decided to sell our Thai-land plant and left there last year to consolidate all our volumes here in Malaysia, which is a good decision for us. Now we have proper [sales]... Full story at http://goo.gl/TeuXU

Fraser & Neave shareholders, in-cluding Thai Beverage and TCC As-sets, have formally agreed to sell the firm’s lucrative brewery business to




Retail/Services

http://goo.gl/QyrTE

McDonald’s banks on breakfast sales looks to 20% growth in key Thai market

Nok Mini sets sights on Myanmar network

It’s official: Thais love Johnnie Walker

McThai expects 20-per-cent growth in sales at its McDonald’s restaurants this year, driven mainly by its drive-

Thailand is ranked third among 180 markets for Johnnie Walker whisky sales for the third consecutive year thanks to growing numbers of mid-dle-class customers and rising eco-nomic prosperity. The consumption of Johnnie Walker in this country is high, behind only the US and Brazil.

Still, Thailand has been dubbed a whiskey-consuming country, while the US is seen as a big vodka con-sumer. Some 90% of the interna-tional spirits business is whisky. “Thailand is the strongest market for Johnnie Walker in Asean. More than half the sales contribution in Asia-Pacific comes from Thailand,” said Graeme Harlow, the managing director of Diageo Moet Hennessy (Thailand) Ltd. Diageo now com-

Nok Mini, the commuter airline af-filiated with budget carrier Nok Air, is eyeing opportunities for launch-ing its first international service, with Myanmar looming on a ra-dar screen. The decade-old airline, owned by Siam General Aviation Co, is evaluating the viability of linking three major Myanmar cit-ies _ Yangon, Mandalay and Bagan _ from its Chiang Mai hub. It will make a final decision on Myanmar service early next year, said Sant Sangwornrachasup, the assistant vice-president for strategic and business development.

Nok Mini plans to use a Saab 340B turboprop for the planned routes. They are capable of carrying 34 passengers, who on these routes are largely expected to be leisure travellers. The study comes as Nok Mini takes delivery of its fifth Saab 340B later this month to support its

mands a 59% share of Thailand’s imported spirits market, its biggest ever.

Mr Harlow said Thailand’s luxury market has expanded by 41% over the past five years. Double-digit growth of luxury products in Thai-land will be seen this year and well into the future. Euromonitor In-ternational said Thailand’s luxury whisky segment, valued at 4.57 bil-lion baht in 2007, will reach 5.4 bil-lion this year.

“Johnnie Walker entered Thailand more than 100 years ago. Brand awareness of Johnnie Walker is very strong among Thais. More than 90% of drinkers know us. And we’ll...Full story at http://goo.gl/13snr

through and breakfast businesses. “Thailand retains its key position as the fastest-growing market in Asia, including South Korea, the Philip-pines, India, China and Indonesia, which witnessed 10-to-20-per-cent annual growth,” Hester Chew, exec-utive chairman and chief executive officer, said yesterday.

The company earmarks about Bt600 million to Bt650 million a year to add at least 22 branches in Bangkok and the provinces. Of the 160 McDonald’s in the country, 123 serve breakfast, 63 operate around the clock, 87 provide home delivery and 37 offer drive-through service. The chain also includes 80 McCafe coffeehouses and two McDonald’s M-Parks, a small-scale community retail centre with car parks. It plans to expand the M-Park format.

Another key factor boosting sales this year is breakfast, which is served from 6-11am. Breakfast now accounts for about 20 per cent of to-tal sales, up from only 13 per cent...Full story at http://goo.gl/z0qkv

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General Interest

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mains above the European average.In India, China and Thailand, roughly 12 percent of the popula-tion contribute to a pension, while the weaknesses of Thailand’s pen-sion system are...Full story at http://goo.gl/rtpH3

Mercedes-Benz is set to become the first car brand in Thailand to offer a diesel-electric power train in a mainstream model. The first model to get the super-frugal hybrid is the E300 Bluetec hybrid executive se-dan, combining a 27-horsepower electric motor with the common-place 204-hp, 2.1-litre diesel-turbo engine, as used in the regular E250 CDI. With average fuel economy of 23 kilometres per litre, the E300 will be the most economical car in its class _ beating today’s champion, the BMW 520d, and its rating of 19 km per litre.

Executives of Mercedes-Benz (Thailand) confirmed the Thai hy-brid plan but refused to say when the first car will go on sale. They stressed that from now on, the Brit-ish and Thai markets will get new models at the same time. The E300 hits Britain next month, according to media reports.

Due to the 10% excise tax in Thai-land for hybrid-powered vehicles (not over 3,000cc), Mercedes will likely price the E300 at...Full story at http://goo.gl/8uZlS

Mercedes E300 hybrid headed here

no other budget airline in Asia. Its flamboyant boss, Tony Fernandes, is constantly on the lookout for more ventures, to expand routes and des-tinations.

South Korea is its next target mar-ket for a joint venture, though a market such as Vietnam cannot be overlooked despite an earlier failed attempt. India and China remain on Mr Fernandes’s radar screen, but entry into these markets may take some time. To Mr Fernandes, Asia offers great growth potential and he has ordered 375 Airbus aircraft to drive that growth.

Across the South China Sea, Lion Air boss Rusdi Kirana is also count-ing on Asia’s growth to fuel his air-line’s expansion. Lion controls about 45% of the domestic air travel mar-ket in Indonesia, which accounts for nearly half of the 600 million people in Asean. The Indonesian market is also a market that Mr Fernandes is eyeing. Lion has 100 aircraft in op-eration and 382 new Boeing aircraft on order. It will begin its long-haul unit, Batik Air in March next year.

But Malaysia has also been on Mr Rusdi’s radar screen for a while now. That is part of his regional expan-sion plan and after two failed bids earlier, he has managed to wrap up a deal with Malaysia’s National Aero-space and Defence Industries to set up Malindo Air, a 51:49 partner-ship between Nadi and his PT Lion Grup. Starting in May next year, Malindo Airways will rival AirAsia on its home ground, and it follows Mr Fernandes’s decision to relocate his main base to Jakarta in June to...Full story at http://goo.gl/gvlHl

No longer a one-horse race

Stamford prepares for AEC, plans new campuses

Bangkok ranked 7th in Asia Pacific shopper index

Big C hungry for its piece of online sales with debut of site

Sala plans major Thailand expansion

Bangkok, recently crowned the Facebook capital due to having the most users, is attracting companies from a wide variety of sectors to launch their online products and services to reach more customers around the clock. Industry experts believe this will boost the value of online shopping in Thailand to 75 billion baht this year and 100 billion baht annually over the next three years.

Retail players already providing online shopping include Central Department Store, The Mall Group and Tops Supermarket and Singha Corporation. The latest offering comes from Big C Supercenter Plc, which introduced a full-scale online shopping site.

Kudatara Nagaviroj, Big C’s director of corporate affair, said Big C On-line Shopping is aimed at respond-ing to today’s digital consumer life-styles. More and more customers are making online purchases via their computers or smartphones, he said. Company research found new-generation customers have limited time and want a convenient, reliable and cost-efficient way to shop.

Initially, the Big C Mobile Shopping app will run on the iOS and An-droid operating systems, which to-gether have 13 million users in the...Full story at http://goo.gl/3P6vO

of Tokyo. Hong Kong topped the Index as the most attractive city for international travel shoppers in Asia-Pacific.

The rankings are based on five cat-egories covering shops, affordabil-ity, convenience, hotels & transport and culture & climate. Global Blue developed the Globe Shopper In-dex as an essential planning tool for all international travel shoppers searching for their next shopping destination in Europe and Asia-Pa-cific. Global Blue’s expanded Globe Shopper Index adds 25 Asia-Pacific cities to the existing 33 European cities and ranks them on the expe-rience they provide to international travel shoppers.

Bangkok’s good performance was driven by its score in the Afford-ability category, where it came first for the low price of two- and four-star hotels. In this category Bang-kok also scored well for its reason-ably priced restaurants and bars. The city’s ranking was boosted by the wide availability international brands in its stores and long sales seasons. However, Bangkok was pushed down the rankings due to its poor performance in the Hotels...Full story at http://goo.gl/pUvk6

Stamford International University plans to establish two new cam-puses in Bangkok by 2017 to cash in on the expected increase in demand from local and overseas students af-ter the AEC takes effect in 2015. As part of this expansion plan, Stam-ford has invested Bt260 million in a new building in Bangkok near the existing one. It will also offer new international programmes. The new six-storey building will almost dou-ble student capacity to 3,000 from 1,600 now. Under an open-ended...Full story at http://goo.gl/DF0xQ

Sala Resorts & Spas has announced a major expansion in Thailand that will see it double its portfolio. The luxury hotel company, which cur-rently operates resorts in Phuket, Koh Samui and Khao Yai, will add a further three properties in the next

expanding operations. The air-line now concentrates on domestic flights from Don Mueang and Chi-ang Mai airports.

Nok Mini is the latest Thailand-based carrier looking at boosting air links with Myanmar. The neigh-bouring country has emerged from 50 years of isolation and is embrac-ing reforms that are spurring busi-ness and tourism travel. Yangon,...Full story at http://goo.gl/HDNLH

six months under its Sala Boutique brand. Sala Lanna Chiang Mai will be the first to open in December 2012, followed by the Sala Rattana-kosin Bangkok and Sala Ayutthaya in 2013.

“We are thrilled to be expanding our Sala boutique-branded proper-ties in these cultural Thai cities, all of which have important historical significance to Thailand. These re-treats, escapes and getaways, in ad-dition with the flagship – Sala Khao Yai – are the ideal enhancements to the beach resorts and spas Sala owns and operates in Samui and Phuket,” said Brian Moodie, Sala’s Chief Op-erating Officer.

Launching before the end of the year, Sala Lanna Chiang Mai will be located on the east bank of the Ping River. The boutique hotel will fea-ture just 16 rooms with river views...Full story at http://goo.gl/Idy4R

AirAsia is among the most profitable low-cost carriers in the world and in the past decade it has expanded like

Bangkok came seventh in the Globe Shopper Index (Asia Pacific), a few points behind Sydney and ahead

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Tourism

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Marriott International announced yesterday that it expected to more than double the size of its portfolio in the Asia-Pacific region in the next few years. With 132 hotels open in

Marriott expanding footprint in Asia

Foreign tourism set to boom during high season

Airport revival boon to hotelsThe return of Thai AirAsia, the country’s biggest low-cost carrier, to Don Mueang International Airport is expected to be a shot in the arm for nearby businesses, especially three-star hotels, which could enjoy a windfall from foreign travellers connecting to flights at Bangkok’s old airport.

Businesspeople agree that maximis-ing the use of Terminal 1 at the air-port will revive the area’s economy, as visitors will need services from accommodation to food and bev-erages. Thai AirAsia operates more than 160 flights per day and ex-pects to carry 8 million passengers annually.

An academic, who declined to

The tourism sector expects a big turnout for foreign arrivals this high season, but domestic tourism will slow due to flood concerns. Piya-man Techapaiboon, president of the Tourism Council of Thailand, said foreign tourists are not wor-ried about flooding, as their main destination is Phuket, with Krabi, Phangnga, Trang and Nakhon Si Thammarat also drawing foreigners

be named and who runs the Phranakhon Grand View Hotel, part of Phranakhon Rajabhat University, welcomed the move. Three- and four-star hotels near the airport will be prime beneficiaries, he said. The 54-room hotel he manages received more calls for information before Monday. Now, the hotel welcomes foreign guests, especially from Ja-pan, who connect to low-cost flights from Don Mueang to northern cit-ies such as Mae Sot and...Full story at http://goo.gl/wd1pL

and likely to avoid flooding.

The TCT forecasts arrivals from Europe will increase slightly this high season (October-February), al-though tourist numbers from Ger-many will remain static due to the ongoing European economic crisis. Arrivals from China should offer a boost to tourism business in Phuket and Bangkok, offsetting any slow-down from the European crisis.

“With no heavy rains or floods in Phuket this high season, tourism should boom and fully recover,”...Full story at http://goo.gl/hUalG

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Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels (JLL) is tipping Thailand and Indonesia to be the next hot hotel investment markets in the Asia Pacific region. The company, which specialises in hospitality real estate investment services, said the two Southeast Asian countries, along with the Maldives, offered the most poten-tial to international hotel property investors.

“We are seeing fantastic potential coming out of Thailand, Indonesia and the Maldives, backed by ris-ing revPAR (revenue per available room), healthy investor interest and solid travel demand,” said Tom Oakden, the company’s Executive Vice President of Investment Sales. “While hotel transactions in Asia and globally have slowed in the last year, investor sentiment remains...Full story at http://goo.gl/PX3pE

Hotelbeds, the accommodation wholesaler, has unveiled plans to grow the brand in Asian in the next few years. Speaking at the ITB Asia travel trade show in Singapore, Ho-telbeds’ Managing Director, Car-los Munoz, said the company was planning to double its Asian hotel portfolio in the next five years, with particular focus on Singapore, Thai-land, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Japan.

“We have built leading positions in Europe and across the Americas for Hotelbeds. MEAPAC (Middle East and Asia Pacific) is where we see the greatest opportunities. It is now the fastest growing area of our business and an area we are very excited to be developing and investing in,” Mu-noz said.

Hotelbeds currently has 21 offices and employs about 750 people across Asia and the Middle East, and revealed that it plans to expand its regional workforce by 25% by 2015. “Our local and source mar-ket teams, working closely with our customers and suppliers, have...Full story at http://goo.gl/LpqrY

The Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) forecasts the num-ber of international tourists arriving through its members will rise 10% to 3 million this year, up from an earlier projection of 7-8%. The mo-mentum of tourism recovery will continue and arrivals are projected to grow by 7-10% next year, said ATTA president Sisdivachr Chee-warattanaporn.

As of Monday, total tourist arriv-als through ATTA members in-creased by 9.68% to 2.66 million. The top five source countries were China with 739,929 travellers, Rus-sia (308,372), India (195,104), Japan (153,571) and Vietnam (146,430).

“Emerging markets have showed a positive trend. These markets will be important to boost tourism reve-nue to reach 2 trillion baht by 2015,” said Mr Sisdivachr.

The ATTA plans to set up a website for travel package booking to serve fast-growing technology and chang-es in customer behaviour. This will be in line with major promotion campaigns by the Tourism Author-ity of Thailand, which is focusing...Full story at http://goo.gl/5fHld

Thailand, Indonesia tipped as hot hotel markets

Hotelbeds plans major Asian expansion

W Hotels launches Asian expansion in Bangkok

ATTA raises member arrival projection to 3 million

CMO Group sees potential in museums

Middle-class drives regional tourism

As rivals gain, Thai tourism cries out for distinct image

Asia today and a pipeline of signed and approved deals now totalling an additional 143 properties, the company expects to grow to at least 265 hotels by 2016, with more than 80,000 rooms in 16 countries.

Simon Cooper, Marriott Interna-tional’s president and managing director in Asia, said the company was delighted with its growth in the region and believed it was a great testament to the popularity of its brands. The company expects to launching new brands in the region soon, with the introduction of Fair-field by Marriott in India next year and its Edition brand in Bangkok in 2014. Marriott International cur-rently operates eight brands in Asia and the Pacific: Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, Renaissance Hotels & Resorts, Mar-riott Hotels & Resorts, Courtyard by Marriott, Marriott Executive Apart-ments and the recently launched Autograph Collection of hotels that debuted in Asia this month with the opening of The Stones Legian in Bali.

The company witnessed the dou-bling of membership in Marriott Rewards, its award-winning loyalty programme, in Asia last year. Mar-riott Rewards grew to more than a million members in China alone...Full story at http://goo.gl/9WmCN

W Hotels Worldwide, the luxury hotel brand under Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, is looking to expand its hotel operation in Asia in the next three years. “Asia is very attractive for us, as the region’s econ-omy is booming. Many people are heading here, and there are many vibrant, incredible and beautiful cit-ies, which are the targets for W Ho-tels,” said Arnaud Champenois, the brand director for W Hotels and Le Meridien in Asia-Pacific.

The US-based hospitality chain plans at least 10 new hotels. After W Bangkok opens its doors on Sathon Road on Dec 7, other hotels will be launched in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in China; New Delhi and Mumbai in India; Kuala Lum-pur in Malaysia; Jakarta in Indone-sia; and Macau. The region has sev-en W hotels, in Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Maldives, Bali and Koh Samui.

Despite the economic uncertain-ties in Europe, Asia’s travel busi-ness leaders revealed that tourism investors are continuing to spend their budgets on the travel industry to cash in on the economic boom driven by middle-class tourists in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly from China, India and Indonesia.

Richard Helfer, chairman of RCH International, told the Tourism Destination Investment Conference Asia that last year 21 per cent of to-tal global tourism spending came from Asia-Oceania countries. “We expect this to rise to 30 per cent next year,” he said. In view of this trend, investment in tourism infrastruc-ture across the region would grow with full support from the public sector at different scales nationally, regionally and internationally, from large investment to small boutique hotels, said Helfer.

The new direction of tourism in this region will meet the new customer...Full story at http://goo.gl/4j84e

Thailand should have a clear cam-paign to promote tourism and dis-tinguish itself from neighbouring countries, says the Association of Thai Tourism Marketing (ATTM). President Mingkwan Metmowlee said Indonesia and Cambodia are gaining popularity with European travellers. The governments of both countries have supported the tour-ism industry, and the private sector also cooperates with state policies.

At present, the average package tour in Indonesia is attractive at 700-800 (27,800 to 31,700 baht) for 12 days and nine nights compared with 1,200 in Thailand. Cambodia fea-tures untamed nature and an un-seen culture. Though Thailand is a popular hospitality destination for Westerners, it lacks cooperation be-tween tourism groups. Consequent-ly, Thailand must differentiate...Full story at http://goo.gl/Vr7sU

“We are here because Bangkok is energetic and charming. We can match a mysterious Thai beauty with a modern and fashionable life-style at W Bangkok. I am sure it will become a new hangout for...Full story at http://goo.gl/QR5lJ

CMO Group, an event organiser, sees potential in the museum busi-ness and expects to generate 120 million baht in revenue from this segment next year. Chief executive Sermkhun Kunawong said both the government and private business are driving growth in the museum sector.

Many now see museums as an ef-fective medium for promoting local wisdom, science, medical develop-ment, transportation and educa-tion. At present, there are about 100 museums in Thailand, more than half of them state-run.

Mr Sermkhun said growing de-

mand from the government and the private sector will continue at the rate of 15% and 8%, respectively. CMO estimates the private sector will account for half the market be-fore long. This year, CMO projects revenue from the management of 11 museum projects at...Full story at http://goo.gl/Sc9Ci




IT / Comms

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Thai exporters are being warned of possible penalties from using illegal software after Massachusetts fined a family-owned Thai seafood com-pany over unfair trade practices.

“It is a must for Thai exporters to observe the new US Unfair Com-petition Act banning imports of commodities produced with the use of illegally secured informa-tion technology,” said Wiramrudee Mokkhavesa, an attorney at Tilleke & Gibbins International. “Some 39 US states have passed or are prepar-ing to pass UCAs with beefed-up provisions specifically to combat IT piracy.”

Third-ranked mobile operator True Move is gearing up to migrate its existing second-generation (2G) customers to 3G service by offering a smartphone priced below 3,000 baht. The move is aimed at boosting its 3G subscriber base to 4 million by year-end, from 2.5 million, said Adhiruth Thothaveesansuk, the managing director for mobile busi-ness at True Corporation.

True is offering the Android-based smartphone Go Live S1 priced at 2,990 baht. The phone features pre-loaded applications for shopping, travel and photo framing.

The phone offer is considered nec-essary now that the imminent 3G

Narong Seafood stung by suit

Baidu seeks Thai fan base via security

True showcases B3,000 3G smartphone

The way of learning is changing. Education is no longer solely about books as advanced technology in-creasingly supports children’s learn-ing. Interactive features allow inter-faces that users can pick and choose to satisfy their learning require-ments. Thai Watana Panich Press Co (TWP), an 80-year-old company and one of Thailand’s leading pub-lishers of mainly English-language textbooks, has adjusted its business to cope with the trend by launching an eBooks app for children to learn languages.

Managing director Intira Bunnag said its Bright Kids sub-brand’s ap-plication features bilingual eBooks that provide an alternative method of language learning. The expansion is part of the company’s ambition to modernise and adjust its business to meet changes, she said.

“People everywhere are using gad-gets, so this is an application that they can download to help their children with language learning,”...Full story at http://goo.gl/65hnT

Only two years after Warrasage Mathaakkaropat started selling products on eBay, he was earning a profit of 10 million baht on the world’s largest consumer-to-con-

TWP introduces eBooks app

Turn the channel

auction is being challenged by Anu-parp Thiralarp, the former president of the Thailand Telecommunication Management Academy who has threatened to petition the Admin-istrative Court to suspend the auc-tion. Mr Adhiruth said this year’s budget allocated 1.5 billion baht to...Full story at http://goo.gl/24yrz

The laws seek to punish foreign companies that enjoy an unfair cost advantage over American busi-nesses because they use unlicensed software, with the harshest penal-ties including fines and a ban from exporting to the US market. Mas-sachusetts, Louisiana and Washing-ton already have UCAs specifically directed at piracy. Some European countries are considering similar laws.

Thai lawyers are urging Thai export-ers to ensure their software is legal. Even if the software the companies use has nothing to do with the prod-ucts or services they sell, they...Full story at http://goo.gl/rHN1o

Baidu, China’s leading search engine company, yesterday announced the release of Baidu PC Faster 2.0, its se-curity and optimisation software for the Thai market. Just four months have passed since the company in-troduced the beta version of the ap-plication.

“Our first-generation product has been downloaded over 1 million times, used by almost 400,000 users. That’s been a very good outcome so far,” spokesman Kaiser Kuo said.

After expansive research of more than 500 Thai internet users, Baidu saw an opportunity in the security market. The company says many people face serious PC security and optimisation problems, and local software options are lacking. “There were some products in anti-virus, but none of them specifically fo-cused on the Thai market, and none of them presenting a one-stop solu-tion including anti-virus protection,

USB Guard and boot manager,” said Mr Kuo.

While China’s market is already crowded with similar software, Thailand is an ideal test market for Baidu’s product. Aside from features tailored to the Thai market, the...Full story at http://goo.gl/s4qX9

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Microsoft (Thailand) announced its “Geo Expansion” strategy, join-ing with the two largest informa-tion-technology distributors in the country, Synnex and Ingram Micro, aiming to double revenue within the next 12 months. The move is meant to pave the way for delivering new products from Microsoft, including Windows Phone 8, Windows 8, and Office 365, as well as existing prod-ucts such as Windows Server 2012 and Windows Azure.

Birathon Kasemsri Na Ayudhaya, managing director of Microsoft (Thailand), said Geo Expansion was a strategy designed and developed to target small and medium-sized enterprises with the aim to increase SME customers from 20,000 to 40,000 over the next year. “This is the first time Microsoft has concen-trated so intently on Thailand. We have assigned five people to work closely with both Synnex (Thailand) and Ingram Micro (Thailand) in five regions throughout the country,” Birathon said. He added that this strategy was designed for emerging markets like Thailand. “In the past few years, Microsoft drew only 15 per cent of its revenue from...Full story at http://goo.gl/3qCQK

Google has chosen Thailand as the first country in Southeast Asia to launch its GoMo campaign to en-courage businesses to capitalise on the proliferation of smartphone us-ers. A mobile site will be essential to the future success of business, said Ariya Banomyong, the head of Google Thailand.

Upcoming 3G service and the in-creasing number of smartphone us-ers in Thailand will encourage com-panies to increase their budgets for marketing and advertising on mo-bile, with 50% annual growth pro-jected over the next five years, says leading digital advertising agency McFiva (Thailand). Managing di-rector Supachai Parchariyanon said that by the end of this year, online advertising including mobile will reach 3 billion baht or 3% of the to-tal advertising budget in Thailand,

Unfazed by a series of legal chal-lenges, the national broadcasting and telecom watchdog yesterday of-ficially approved the winners of the 2.1-GHz spectrum auction and will hurry to grant licences to the three bid winners. At the same time, the Finance Ministry sent a letter warn-ing the watchdog that its spectrum auction did not comply with the ministry’s e-auction rules and could be deemed as having helping...Full story at http://goo.gl/49RI6

Microsoft partners with top IT distributors to penetrate provinces

Large companies toe the LINE by raising mobile ad budgets Winning 3G

bids approved

Asustek aims to lead Thai notebook market by 2014

Google Thailand pushes mobile commerce sites

Asustek, the world’s fifth-largest personal computer maker, has set an ambitious plan to overtake Acer’s dominance of the Thai notebook market by 2014. Taiwanese note-book giant Acer controls a 30% market share in Thailand, while Asus has a 16% share, ranking No.2 in the Thai market.

Sales of notebook computers in Thailand are expected to register 2.2 million units this year, dragging the notebook market into negative growth with a contraction of 1% for the first time, thanks to the prolif-eration of smartphones and tablets.

Pornthep Watchara-amnouy, man-aging director of Asustek Computer (Thailand), said the company aims to have at least a 25% share of the Thai notebook market within the

Thailand has 24 million internet us-ers and 18 million smartphone us-ers, so there is potential for mobile commerce. Google research found four out of five companies’ websites in Thailand failed to serve smart-phone platforms.

The GoMo campaign at www.howtogomo.com/th provides tools to evaluate how well a business’s website serves mobile users and a checklist of tools for mobile website developers. Mr Ariya said Google research found 20% of Thais access-ing the internet this year were...Full story at http://goo.gl/wRxfY

up from 2% last year.

He foresees huge potential in the sector, especially for smartphones and tablets, thanks to the popular-ity of mobile applications and social networking sites. “In Japan, online and mobile advertising makes up 17% of the total advertising budget this year, up slightly from 16% last year. Thailand is still in the early stages of growth,” said Dr Supachai.

The most recent marketing activities of large corporations including Ad-vanced Info Service, Thai Airways and Charoen Pokphand Foods use the popular mobile communication application LINE as a channel to...Full story at http://goo.gl/rO3XV

sumer channel. “For a 23-year-old, that amount of money was mind-boggling,” said Mr Warrasage, who is now 31.

A year later he set up a business in the jewellery sector, which gained 10 million baht during the first two years, and 100 million during the last two years. His aim? To find fast cash and sit around and play games all day. But life was not as easy as he had hoped. He ended up 10 million baht in debt after attempting to ex-pand his business overseas. “That made me think of what I was really good at, which is e-commerce. But back then [when I was 25], there were already 20 books in bookstores about how to make money on eBay,” said Mr Warrasage.

That was when he started working on Alibaba.com, a provider of on-line market places facilitating in-ternational and domestic trade in China for small businesses. Now Alibaba is the top business-to-business (B2B) website in Thailand, and within two years he was able to pay off his debt. Mr Warrasage, also managing director of IBB Interna-tional Co, shared his story at a semi-nar held by the International Trade Promotion Department, which last year joined with eight local and in-ternational organisations in a bid to beef up the Thaitrade.com...Full story at http://goo.gl/eCz16

next two years, up from a 16% this year. He said the goal is expected to be achieved, helped by increasing the product range from notebooks, tablets and smartphones to expand the customer base.

Strengthening its distribution chan-nels upcountry will also be a key strategy to drive its market share. Mr Pornthep said conventional notebooks still controlled 85% of...Full story at http://goo.gl/keAcW

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Real Estate

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DTZ Thailand, a property consul-tant, is poised to raise its profile and expand its business portfolio to cover high-valued condomini-ums and property investment apart from retail. “We’re using more Thai connections in lieu of Singaporean ones as we have done over the past 12 years,” said Porameth Chantana-komes, the country head of DTZ, a UGL company, a global leader in property services.

Rising tourist arrivals in Hua Hin are attracting retail and residential property developers, although in-frastructure development plans for the seaside resort remain sketchy. Surachet Kongcheep, the senior research manager at Colliers Inter-national Thailand, said growth in Hua Hin’s tourist numbers has out-stripped Pattaya’s rate.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand said tourist arrivals to Hua Hin to-talled 1.61 million last year, up by 49.1% from 1.08 million in 2010. At the same time, arrivals to Pattaya numbered 7.87 million, up by 13.4% from 6.94 million. Cha-am, just up the coast from Hua Hin, saw arriv-als rise 6.79%,from 1.62 million to

At Real Asset, 8 projects ahead

DTZ expands into condos, investment

Hua Hin tourist boom enticing developers

1.73 million.

The government is trying to pro-mote Hua Hin and Cha-am as new beach destinations for foreigners. Plans include a high-speed train link between Bangkok and Hua Hin. The Special Highway No.8 project will link Nakhon Pathom, Samut Songkhram and Cha-am to reduce congestion on the Phetkas-em Highway to the southern prov-inces. It will start in...Full story at http://goo.gl/VdKrJ

DTZ’s comprehensive range of ser-vices covers business space, consult-ing, hospitality management, ad-vice on commercial and residential property acquisitions and disposals, occupier services, project and facil-ity management, property manage-ment, residential sales and leasing agency services, retail consultancy and marketing leasing services, val-uation of various types of properties and land development.

Mr Porameth said the company is now in talks with two condomini-um projects worth a combined 2.5 billion baht being built in Bangkok’s Pathumwan district. The projects are due to be launched in next year’s first quarter.

DTZ is also in talks with a Singapor-ean hotel chain, a Thai private fund and a Malaysian investor looking to acquire four- and five-star hotels in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. They have set a budget of 3 billion baht for a 200-room hotel, he said. “The Sin-gaporean investors are interested...Full story at http://goo.gl/LINPn

Real Asset Development Co Ltd, has announced eight residential projects worth a combined 7 billion baht to be launched in the next 14 months. Director Sakulthorn Juan-groongruangkit said half of them will be in this year’s fourth quarter and the rest spread throughout next year.

The focus will be on two segments _ townhouse/home offices (70% of project values) and condominiums (30%). “Single houses are not our expertise, and condominiums are quite risky,” Mr Sakulthorn said.

Most of the projects will be located on or near Bang Na-Trat, Ram In-tra and Vacharapol roads in eastern Bangkok, while the condominiums will be close to existing mass transit lines. “We’re seeing a condo over-supply in locations not close to mass transit,” he said. Among the eight new projects, only one will be a...Full story at http://goo.gl/5eLgc


















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mains above the European average.In India, China and Thailand, roughly 12 percent of the popula-tion contribute to a pension, while the weaknesses of Thailand’s pen-sion system are...Full story at http://goo.gl/rtpH3Suvarnabhumi

remains prime trading location

The limited amount of land avail-able in Penang, Malaysia is driving a local property developer and his colleagues to seek opportunities in other Asean countries, particu-larly Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. Steven Ong, a director and share-holder of AEC Property Develop-ment, said land in Penang was fully developed and he had decided to seek more opportunities elsewhere. He views Thailand as a good centre from which to expand, especially to Myanmar, which is embarking on a new era of economic development.

Six individual developers from Malaysia and one from Thailand, Thanongsak Hutanuwat, who has connections with local investors in Myanmar, have formed AEC to invest in the property business in Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. “We expect to have the first project in Myanmar within the next six to 12 months. It might be a small-scale

The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand expects a good year in fis-cal 2013 as land sales and rentals in the first 11 months of fiscal 2012 surged well past the full-year target. The authority’s target was 2,500 rai for the 2012 fiscal year, but rent-als and sales totalled 3,843 rai (615 hectares) in just 11 months, up 4.4 per cent from the same period a year before, said IEAT governor Verapong Chaiperm.

Of the total, 3,806 rai belonged to industrial estates and 37 rai to the IEAT. About 195 operators bought or rented the land. Of these, 40 per cent were Thai, 30 per cent Japa-nese, 15 per cent Chinese, 5 per cent American, 5 per cent Australian and 3 per cent South Korean. Of total operations buying or renting land, 73.3 per cent, or 143 operations, were in the automotive industry, 20

BLAND goes all out for Muang Thong Thani

Malaysian developers look beyond home turf Industrial estate

boom to continue

Renovate, don’t build

The listed developer Bangkok Land Plc vows to become more aggressive in the property sector, planning to spend 2 billion baht to develop new projects at Muang Thong Thani and sell 600 rai on Srinakarin Road worth 7.2 billion baht. Chairman Anant Kanjanapas said the com-pany also aims to invest 600 million baht to develop a mass transit sys-tem at Muang Thong Thani linking with the MRT Pink Line (Khae Rai-Pak Kret and Min Buri).

Bangkok Land’s aggressive stance comes after the company achieved a deal to buy back 44.82% of shares in Impact Exhibition Management Co from South East Asia Opportunities Fund Ltd for 2.7 billion baht. Five years ago, the fund bought the same amount of shares in Impact Exhibi-tion Management for 7 billion baht. “Despite selling at a loss, the fund wants to sell the shares back to us,... Full story at http://goo.gl/WXNah

Locations near Suvarnabhumi air-port are expected to become more attractive over the next three years, mainly among import-export and logistics providers, once Asean inte-gration takes place. Visit Kittiudom, president of the medium-sized de-veloper Rungkit Real Estate Co, said prospects for areas near the airport remain promising despite signifi-cant increases in land prices. Cur-rent prices for a large plot on the main road are 6.5 to 7.5 million baht per rai, up from 4 million last year.

Import-export, logistics and insur-ance businesses are the main buy-ers of home offices in locations near Suvarnabhumi, with Chinese, South Korean, Japanese and Taiwanese buyers looking for housing units in the locale. “When the Asean Eco-nomic Community is implemented in 2015, these locations will attract greater demand from traders,” said Mr Visit.

Rungkit itself stepped into locations near Suvarnabhumi a decade ago, developing 24 housing projects. The company plans to expand new...Full story at http://goo.gl/dyYAf

project with investment size of not over US$100 million,” said Mr Ong.

He said the reasons for entering the property markets in Thailand and Myanmar were different, given their vastly different levels of economic development. In Thailand, he and his partners first explored an...Full story at http://goo.gl/0gzKc

per cent, or 39 operations, were in steel and other metal products, and 1.5 per cent, or three operations, were in rubber and plastic. One op-eration was in electrical appliances and electronics, Verapong said.

IEAT has set the fiscal 2013 target for industrial estates’ land sales and rent to be no less than 3,800...Full story at http://goo.gl/4pQ3a

Energy-efficient buildings are not exclusive to new developments. Old office buildings can be renovated to become green buildings as long as

the owners are genuinely commit-ted to it. The latest LEED Platinum award for Existing Buildings Op-erations and Maintenance provided proof of that, as it was given to Siam Cement Group, Thailand’s top in-dustrial conglomerate, for the reno-vation of its three-decade-old office.SCG spent 110 million baht over 18 months to make its buildings en-vironmentally friendly at its head-quarters in Bang Sue. It is the first company in Asean to receive the award, which is the highest level of recognition for green construction certified by the US-based Green...Full story at http://goo.gl/eTvu2

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The ChambersUse your smartphone’s QR Code scanner or enter the short code to go directly to AMCHAM’s website.
















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In 2012, the AMCHAM Thailand Charitable Foundation (ATCF) award-ed scholarships to 150 Thai students who demonstrated academic excel-lence and financial need. The students came from 17 universities located throughout Thailand, including Mae Fah Laung University, Khon Kaen University and Wailailuk University.

A hallmark of the program, the AMCHAM/FedEx Career Camp, helps prepare final year recipients for graduation to the professional world by providing the students a four-day career preparation program in Bangkok. This year, 41 students participated in the professional education program.

Over the course of four days, from October 14-17, students attended morn-ing to evening career preparation sessions and social activities, including:

At the October 17 Monthly Membership Luncheon and General Elec-tions, the following members were elected to the 2013-2014 Board of Governors:• Martin Apfel, President, General Motors• Pierre Breber, Managing Director, Chevron• Darren Buckley, Country Head, Citibank• Milind Pant, Managing Director, Yum Restaurants• David Nardone, CEO, Hemaraj & Development• Jane Purananada, General Manager, Dej-Udom & Associates• Janice Van Ekeren, Chief Financial Officer, Bank of Ayudhya

The recently elected Board Governors members will join the following Governors serving their 2012-2013 terms:• John Atanas, Managing Director, Esso• Matt Bradley, President, ASEAN, Ford Motor Company• Mike Diamente, Managing Director, Dana Spicer• Doug Harter de Weese, Managing Director, Vektor Telematics• Pornlert Lattanan, MD, Government & Commercial, General Electric• David Lyman, Chairman & Chief Values Officer, Tilleke & Gibbins• Jeffrey Nygaard, Vice President, Thailand & Penang Operations• Dee Richmond, General Manager, AgriSource

AMCHAM thanks all members who stood for election.

On the morning of October 5, U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney opened her lovely and historic official residence to AMCHAM company desig-nates and U.S. Embassy officers.

The “Coffee Briefing” is a regular AMCHAM event that provides AM-CHAM members and Embassy officers the opportunity to network and share information. Ambassador Kenney was joined by lead officers from the U.S. agencies and Embassy sections stationed in Bangkok.

AMCHAM thanks Ambassador Kenney for her hospitality and looks forward to the next Coffee Briefing. Also, AMCHAM thanks Coffee-Works for providing the gourmet coffee that helped make the event a great success.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (AMCHAM)

2012 AMCHAM/FedEx Career Camp Prepares Students For Professional Life

2013-2014 Board Of Governors Elections

Ambassador’s Coffee Briefing

7th Floor, GPF Witthayu Tower A, 93/1 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330Tel: +66 (0)2 254 1041 Fax: +66 (0)2 251 1605 Website: www.amchamthailand.comEmail: [email protected] http://goo.gl/mbUpG

Career Camp Students with ATCF committee chair Jonathan Frazer, FedEx Managing Director Dave Carden and AMCHAM Executive Director Judy Benn

U.S. Embassy Economics Officer Carol Hanlon, AMCHAM Committee Chair Dennis Berkompas, AMCHAM President Joe Mannix and U.S. Consul General Elizabeth Pratt

• Career and personal development seminars at the AIA Training Center;• Site visits at AMCHAM member companies;• A Career Night panel discussion;• Mock job interviews conducted by HR professionals from AMCHAM

member companies.• A social bowling night

The program concluded at AMCHAM’s Membership Luncheon, held at the Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel, where each student joined members for lunch and were recognized for their accomplishments.

AMCHAM thanks FedEx and all companies who supported the 2012 Career Camp.

















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The ChambersUse your smartphone’s QR Code scanner or enter the short code to go directly to AustCham’s website.

20th Floor, Thai CC Tower, 889 South Sathorn Road, Yannawa, Bangkok 10120Tel: +66 (0)2 210 0216-8 Fax: +66 (0)2 675 6696 Website: www.austchamthailand.comEmail: [email protected] http://goo.gl/N47Gg

The Australian-Thai Chamber of Commerce (AustChamThailand)

The Convoy for Kids November 2012 Day OutDate: Sunday 25 NovemberTime: 08:00 – departure of trucks and buses from PakredCost: Baht 60 – entrance cost to The Institute of Marine Science

(free for children) Baht 90 – lunch for adults and children who are not from the

charities participatingLocation: Bang Saen Beach This will be the 13th Convoy for Kids event since the start in the year 2000. In 2011 CFK had to cancel the event due to the serious floods in Thailand. In order to give the kids some fun, they organised a fun day on Sunday the 11 March this year at The Sri Sang Wal School to make up for the loss of the normal November event.

This year CFK will take a total of 300 children to The Bang Saen Institute of Marine Science and then on to Bang Saen beach. As well as 100 children from The Sri Sang Wal School we will be taking 50 kids from Sister Joan’s Klong Toey Slum Project, 40 from The Bang Seu Project, 35 from an AIDS

AustCham Events for Your Calendar in November - December

Recent Highlight Events

Austcham’s BlueScope AFL Grand Final Day Austcham’s annual Grand Final Day not only delivered another successful event in the true Aussie fashion of cold beer, meat pies and friendly rivalry but this year also gave us a game of drama and suspense. Has there ever been a gutsier win than Sydney’s 10 point triumph over Hawthorne, a tipped favourite? Needless to say a great day was had by our Australian community here and other interested nationalities that joined the revelry.

Kicking off with breakfast and fine Aussies Sparkling, game day only got better with a charity raffle, prize give aways and that nail-biting win by Sydney! Some of the fantastic prizes given away on the day included sports memorabilia, spa treatments, luxury accommodation vouchers, and many many more including our major prize of 2 tickets to Australia generously donated by Singapore Airlines.

A memorable day was had by all guests and our thanks and appreciation must once again go to AFL AustCham Director, Sam Mizzi for co-ordinating another enjoyable day as well as our event supporters for their contributors: Lady Pie, ASIAN Tigers Mobility, The Coffee Club and Berlitz.

Foundation for kids in Bangkok and 50 hill tribe children from the Mae Sot area.

For your pledges, please email: Khun Varin at [email protected] David Mills at [email protected]

Phuket SundownersDate: Friday 30 NovemberTime: 18:00 – 21:00 (last drinks served at 20.30)Cost: Baht 400 for members Baht 600 for non-chamber membersLocation: Hog’s Breath Café, Patong Promenade Level 3 Shop B 301,

70 Bangla Rd Patong, Kathu

Phuket Sundowners is a great opportunity to meet local business people and imports from Bangkok in a social and friendly environment. For more information: Please visit www.austchamthailand.com or email [email protected]

















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The ChambersUse your smartphone’s QR Code scanner or enter the short code to go directly to BCCT’s website.

7th Floor, 208 Wireless Road, Lumphini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330Tel: +66 (0)2 651 5350-3 Fax: +66 (0)2 651 5354 Website: www.bccthai.comEmail: [email protected] http://goo.gl/Vav3Q

British Chamber of Commerce Thailand (BCCT)

ABOUTEstablished since 1946, British Chamber of Commerce Thailand (BCCT) currently has a member-ship of approximately 600, with nearly 3,000 named representa-tives covering a broad cross-sec-tion of business interests in Thai-land.

The BCCT is one of the most ac-tive foreign chambers in Thai-land, holding close to 100 events throughout the year. These range from special lectures, presenta-tions and panel discussions with guests from the Thai and UK gov-ernment representatives, and the business sectors. Networking eve-nings are held monthly in Bang-kok and the Eastern Seaboard.

BCCT aims to foster partnerships and strengthen ties between Thai-land and the UK. Activities are dedicated to building networks, connecting business and creating opportunities for members. Our focus is on serving the needs and facilitating opportunities for our members. The BCCT has a seat on the Board of Trade of Thailand and is active in representing mem-bers’ interests.

Membership is open to companies and individuals of all nationalities.

ACTIVITIES/SERVICESBCCT Website: www.bccthai.comThe BCCT website is the major communications vehicle for the BCCT. Members can find the lat-est business reports, access to comprehensive list of contacts of the BCCT members list, news and special members benefits offered by other members, amongst other useful information collected in one site.

Networking OpportunitiesNetworking Evenings are held once a month in Bangkok and the Eastern Seaboard. Events are also held in Chiang Mai and Phuket throughout the year. Networking events are open to members and non-members thus widening the networking base for BCCT mem-bers and providing public rela-tions exposure. Business PresentationsA number of special interest top-ics are presented by experts ei-ther over breakfast briefings, luncheons, or evening panel dis-cussions. Guest speakers have in-cluded Prime Ministers of Thai-land, key government ministers from Thailand and the UK, British Ambassadors to Thailand, senior officials or senior executives from Thailand and the UK. Training workshops Workshops on key business and management skills for junior and mid level are conducted several times a year. Workshops are con-ducted in Thai and adopt a partici-pative approach. They range from half day to three days. Business Introductions/ReferralsMembers can utilise the experi-ence and knowledge of BCCT executive office staff to facilitate direct business introductions to other member companies, for face-to-face meetings with visitors from overseas, etc. The Executive Director also meets businessmen during his visits to the UK. CharitiesThe BCCT also supports a wide range of children’s and education-based charities in Thailand. The Chamber works closely with the British Community in Thailand Foundation for the Needy (BCT-FN), which organises the Annual Ploenchit Fair.

Sports & SocialThe BCCT organises annual foot-ball tournament and occasional golf events. The Annual Christmas Luncheon is the BCCT’s major social event with approximately 700 guests consisting of members, their friends, families and busi-ness associates coming together to celebrate the festive season.

Office HoursOpen weekdays from 8.30 am – 5.30 pm, the BCCT office also in-

corporates a small library provid-ing access to UK and Thai trade directories/CD ROMs, Chambers of Commerce handbooks, busi-ness journals and magazines. There is also a small meeting room available for members use during office hours.

For more information visit www.bccthai.com or like us on Facebook ‘British Chamber of Commerce Thailand’.

















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The ChambersUse your smartphone’s QR Code scanner or enter the short code to go directly to a Chamber’s website.

Belgian-Luxembourg/ Thai CC (BeLuThai)15 Soi Tonson, Ploenchit RoadLumpini, PathumwanBangkok 10330Tel: +66 (0)2 309 5250 Website: www.beluthai.orgEmail: [email protected]

Japanese CC (JCC) 3601 36th Floor, Q Houses Lumpini Bldg.,South Sathorn Rd., Tungmahamek, SathornBangkok 10120Tel: +66 (0)2 677 7393 Fax: +66 (0)2 677 7394 Website: www.mtcc.or.thEmail: [email protected]

India-Thai CC (ITCC)No. 13, Sathorn Soi 1, Thungmahamek, Sathorn, Bangkok 10120Tel: +66 (0)2 287 3001 Fax: +66 (0)2 679 7720 Website: www.itcc.or.thEmail: [email protected]

Franco-Thai CC (FTCC)5th Floor, Indosuez House, 152 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330Tel: +66 (0)2 650 9613-4 Fax: +66 (0)2 650 9739 Website: www.francothaicc.comEmail: [email protected]

Japanese CC (JCC)15th floor Amarin Tower, 500 Ploenchit Road,Kwang Lumpini, Khet Patumwan Bangkok 10330Tel: +66 (0)2 256 9170-3 Fax: +66 (0)2 652 0931 Website: www.jcc.or.thEmail: [email protected]

Thai-Canadian CC (TCCC) 139 Pan Road, Sethiwan Tower, 9th Floor,Silom, Bangrak,Bangkok 10500Tel: +66 (0)2 266 6085/6 Fax: +66 (0)2 266 6087 Website: www.tccc.or.thEmail: [email protected]

Danish-Thai CC (Dancham)34 C.P. Tower 3, 9th Floor Tower A, Phayathai Road, Ratchathewi, Bangkok 10400Tel: +66 (0)2 354 5220 Fax: +66 (0)2 354 5221 Website: www.dancham.or.thEmail: [email protected]

Irish Thai CC (ITCC)Maneeya Center Bldg, 7th Fl, 518/5 Ploenchit Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330Tel: +66 (0)2 652 0848 Fax: +66 (0)2 652 0671 Website: www.irishthaicc.comEmail: [email protected]

German-Thai CC (GTCC)25th Fl., Empire Tower 3, 195 South Sathorn Road, Yannawa, Sathorn, Bangkok 10120Tel: +66 (0)2 670 0600 Fax: +66 (0)2 670 0601 Website: www.gtcc.orgEmail: [email protected]

South African-Thai CC (SATCC) 10/143 (1503A), 15th Fl, Trendy Bldg, Soi Sukhumvit 13, Klongtoey-Nua, Wattana Bangkok 10110Tel: +66 (0)2 168 7416-7 Fax: +66 (0)2 168 7418 Website: www.satcc.netEmail: [email protected]

New Zealand Thai CC (NZTCC) 9th Floor, ITF Tower, 140/26 Silom Road,Bangrak, Bangkok 10500Tel: +66 (0)2 634 3283 Fax: +66 (0)2 634 3004 Website: www.nztcc.orgEmail: [email protected]

Netherlands-Thai CC (NTCC) 15 Soi Tonson, Ploenchit RoadLumpini, Pathumwan,Bangkok 10330Tel: +66 (0)2 309 5250 Website: www.ntccthailand.orgEmail: [email protected]

Singapore-Thai CC (STCC) 193/8 Lake Rajada Office Complex, 1st FloorRachadapisek Road, Klongtoey, Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110Tel: +66 (0)2 264 0680-4 Fax: +66 (0)2 264 0688 Website: http://goo.gl/WrTpXContact: http://goo.gl/L727M

Swiss Thai CC (STCC) Bangkok Business Centre Building, 18th Floor, Unit 1802#29, Sukhumvit 63 Road, Bangkok 10110Tel: +66 (0)2 714-4177 Fax: +66 (0)2 714-4179 Website: www.swissthai.comEmail: [email protected]

Thai-Norwegian CC (TNCC) 888/142 Ploenchit Rd, 14th Fl., Mahatun Plaza, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330Tel: +66 (0)2 650 8444 Fax: +66 (0)2 627 3042 Website: www.norcham.comEmail: [email protected]

Korean-Thai CC (KTCC) 6th Fl. Rajapark Bldg, 163 Asoke Sukhumvit 21 Rd, Klong Toey Nua, WattanaBangkok 10110Tel: +66 (0)2 204 2503 Fax: +66 (0)2 204 2504 Website: www.korchamthai.comEmail: [email protected]

Thai-Pakistan CC (TPCC) Thai Samut Asset Co., Ltd., Unit J, 16th Floor, 163 Suriwongse Road, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500Tel: +66 (0)2 634 0147-8 Fax: +66 (0)2 634 0149 Website: http://goo.gl/Z1VOdContact: http://goo.gl/OKPmC

Joint Foreign CC of Thailand (JFCCT) 38th Floor, State Tower 1055/914 Silom Rd, Silom, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500Tel: +66 (0)2 630 6307Fax: +66 (0)2 630 6303 Website: www.jfcct.orgEmail: [email protected]

Thai-Russian CC (TRCC) 14th Floor Loxley Bldg, 102 Na Ranong Road, Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110Tel: +66 (0)2 348 8873 Fax: +66 (0)2 240 3307 Website: www.trcc.or.thEmail: [email protected]

Thai-Taiwan Business Association (TTBA) No. 30/207 Sukhumvit Soi 39, Sukhumvit Rd., Kiongtannua, Bangkok 10110Tel: +66 (0)2 662 7335-6, 662 7385Fax: +66 (0)2 662 7382 Website: www.ttba.or.thEmail: [email protected]

Thai-Swedish CC (TSCC) 34 C.P Tower 3, 9th Floor Tower A, Phyathai Rd, Ratchathewi Bangkok 10400Tel: +66 (0)2 354 5229-31 Fax: +66 (0)2 354 5232 Website: www.swecham.comEmail: [email protected]

Thai-Chinese CC (Thai-CC) Thai C. C. Tower 9th Fl., 889 South Sathorn Rd., SathornBangkok 10120Tel: +66 (0)2 675 8577-84 Fax: +66 (0)2 212 3916-7 Website: www.thaicc.orgEmail: [email protected]

Thai-Italian CC (TICC) 1126/2 Vanit II Bldg, 16th Fl, 1601B New Petchburi Rd., Makkasan, Rajdhevee,Bangkok 10400Tel: +66 (0)2 255 8695 Fax: +66 (0)2 253 9896 Website: www.thaitch.orgEmail: [email protected]

Thai-Hong Kong Trade Association (THTA) Empire Tower, 25th Floor, 195 South Sathorn Road, Yannawa, Bangkok 10120Tel: +66 (0)2 343 9000 Fax: +66 (0)2 343 9029 Website: www.thta.or.thEmail: [email protected]

Thai-Israel CC (TICC) 14th Fl., Manorom Building, 3354/45 Rama 4 Rd., Klongton, Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110Tel: +66 (0)2 672 7020 Fax: +66 (0)2 672 7021 Website: www.thaisraelcc.comEmail: [email protected]

Thai-Finnish CC (TFCC) C/O Netpoint SEA Ltd. 2nd Floor Wandee Siam Bldg, 58/84 Muangthong Thani, Chaengwattana, Klongklua, Nonthaburi 11120Tel: +66 (0)2 574 2879-80 Fax: +66 (0)2 574 2877 Website: www.thaifin.or.thEmail: [email protected]

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Asia. That’s why things are booming here. I was just down in Singapore, and I didn’t see one shop that was vacant. You can’t say that about the Phila-delphia area, that’s for sure.

I liked history. I understood what was available. I thought, “Gee I could put together the monetary system and see what happened.” Rome collapsed, everybody knew about that, but how fast? When I actually starting put-ting the database together, I saw that it wasn’t a 1,000-year decline; it was a 13-year drop. Boom! It was fast. I did Venice and Byzantine, they were all very rapid. When China hit 1989 and then the Berlin Wall falls six months later, everyone said it was because of communications. No. That’s the way it’s always been. Rome overthrew it’s tyrants in 509 BC, and in less than a year, Athens is creating a democracy and overthrowing its tyrants. It’s the same thing. These things spread very rapidly. You didn’t need phone lines to go from Rome to Athens. You could take a ship in a few days. It was good enough.

But when you put all this stuff together, which is what my background en-abled me to do, I knew that the data could be extracted from it. What was interesting is you begin to see that as empires rise and fall, the financial capital of the world moves.

BBB: How does that fit into your Pi theory, the 8.6-year cycle? How far back can you extrapolate that?

MA: All the way back. I’m putting out a book – it declines even in the late Roman/Byzantine period, 52-year decline, and then it reverses. The timing of it has been universal. Everything is incorporated in war, weather, a lot of it is natural functions. People misinterpret... they think a ‘cycle’ means it’s predetermined. It’s not. Each of us has our own cycle of learning when we’re young, you’re the guy that’s buying high and selling low, then we get older and we become the guy who sells high. I think maybe it’s a generational

cycle where we take the opposite view of our fathers.

BBB: For our fathers, there was a housing boom in the 1950s. Now, cor-relate that to Asia, where a housing boom is just beginning.

MA: Yes, 1997 was the first push out. Then you had the Asian currency crisis. But it built it’s base. You look at the charts and the currency has been coming back. There’s a much more stable base now than it was back then. China still has some of the same problems too, like the early volatility. But longer term, the financial wherewithal is coming this way.

As far as the legal system is concerned, you’re starting to see a little bit of it in Singapore, where they’re kind of anti-foreigner. They think outside the box a little bit more than in the West, which I think is good.

The cycle is generally about 50-some years. It’s an anomaly that people don’t understand. When an economy is actually collapsing, people need money, so then they bring back their foreign investments back. And as they do, currency actually rises. The peak of the U.S. dollar comes at the low in 1932. You would think it should go the opposite way. It feeds it in. As the yen goes up to record highs, it reduces exports, increases unemployment, so it’s actu-ally part of the cycle of the ‘final low.’

It’s the same way central banks don’t understand interest rates: “We’ll take them to zero, maybe then somebody will borrow.” Well, you’ve wiped out all the elderly, there’s no way you can earn anything from savings and even-tually what happens is people see 7% dividends versus 0.5% in a bank and they begin to move into the equities, as what happened in 1925. Taking interest rates to zero isn’t going to get people to borrow unless they see an opportunity.

The only concern with the ‘carry trades’ is the question of sovereign debt. All southern Europe is a concern. The attitude is that “if the Euro cracks, we’ll have the Deutsch Mark.” But I think the elections [in Germany] will be interesting.

BBB: Let’s go back to Asia, specifically Thailand. How much experience do you have in Asia and Thailand personally?

MA: We haven’t done a lot of business in this particular area. Singapore, and we had an office in Hong Kong for years, and China. China is substan-tially different than a lot of people realize. When the Asian currency crisis hit, I was invited there. At first, I was expecting the same bureaucratic non-sense, and I wasn’t really sure why they were calling me rather than a pure academic. When I got here and I met the central banker and the guys came into the room, I found it very unusual – they were all traders. They had sent people out working on all the desks in Tokyo, London, and then they came back to run the bank. Whereas you meet the Fed, you’re just meeting with a bunch of Ph.Ds that can’t tie their shows and chew gum at the same time. At the Bank of China, they only hire people with experience.

Then I understood why they called me. They took me to a building with huge satellite dishes, surrounded by tanks, with 300-400 people surfing the Internet, just pulling down absolutely everything. They wanted me to help them answer questions. They were monitoring 249 varieties of tea. Unlike the Russians, they just actually stood back and watched. And they were dumbfounded by the fact that one tea was trading at one price in this part of the country and another price over here. The Russians would interfere. Coming out of communism, they were used to one price. So the Chinese wanted me to explain why this was happening.

I think that’s why China has boomed, more so than any other reason. Un-like Japan, because Japan is very bureaucratic. That’s the way Japan is. It’s as if the government is still god. They ask you to do something, you do it.

BBB: Where do you see China in this 40-50 year window?

MA: China is going to become the #1 spot around. Working with the Bank of China was good because I got to see the inner workings, and then I understood. It’s substantially different. It’s very much laissez-faire.

Story continues on Page 20


The Life of PiStory continued from Page 19.

BBB: If you follow what’s happen-ing in Thailand, the leadership here has pushed the minimum wage up to about US$10 a day, which will affect consumer spend-ing. They have also announced plans to spend a huge amount of money on infrastructure. And they seem to be targeting the Chi-nese as the dominant tourists here in the near future. But democracy is still a ‘work in progress’ here. Your thoughts?

MA: Well, some say the best form of government is a benevolent dic-tatorship, don’t they? And I think Singapore has shown that. I worked with the U.S. House Financial Ser-vices Committee. It’s terrible. They actually had me writing a plan on how to revise the entire world mon-etary system.

Then they stick it in the drawer be-cause they know they can’t present a plan to be voted on. They have to wait until everything collapses, and then they pull it out, and it’s voted on like the Patriot Act within 24 hours and nobody reads it. It’s man-agement by crisis now.

There is no such thing as “Let’s cre-ate a plan, and we’ll all debate it. There’s no Bretton Woods. It’s just “This is what we’re going to do, so do it.”

BBB: Can you touch on how the banks seem to get preferential treatment from the government when seniors are robbed of their pension plans to benefit those banks?

MA: Yes, because they basically run the Fed.

It’s not all banks. It’s the primary dealers. The primary dealer system in the States is very bad. When the U.S. didn’t have a national debt, then came the Civil War and they went to a guy named Jake Cook out of Phil-adelphia. He was a big bond guy, they called him the ‘PT Barnum of finance’ back then. They went to him and said, “We need to raise money, can you sell our bonds?” He said, “Yeah, sure.” And that’s how it started.

After that, the U.S. government has always gone to some private banker to sell their bonds. And what’s come back to bite them is that when you

get a crisis like we had in 2007, the bankers said if you don’t bail us out, who’s going to sell your bonds? It’s blackmail.

The other problem is that they low-ered the interest rates. Everybody said it’s going to be super-inflation-ary and it hasn’t been. Why? Because all they’re doing is paying 0.5% for three years. But then go ask for a fully-secured car loan, it’s 4%. The banks are making a huge amount of money and they’re not passing it on to the average person on the street.

Then Goldman-Sachs puts in Ru-bin, Rubin then got rid of Glass-Steagall, and then they can wheel and deal. They’re no longer banks. They’re trading with other people’s money all the time. (These are the New York banks, not the local/re-gional banks.) It’s really bad.

That’s why you don’t get any reform. Every time there’s a crisis, they’ll go with their hands out: “If you don’t bail me out, you’re dead.” The Fed stands up and says “Okay, we gotta take care of them.” You give them US$700 billion and you don’t even put in any details of what they’re going to do with the money? They

say, “We just trust you. Go ahead.” It’s crazy.

I think the United States has seen its day. If you look at it historically, it’s made all the same mistakes. The Pa-triot Act eliminated the 4th Amend-ment, search and seizure, and they just do whatever they want now. The Supreme Court case, Boyd vs The U.S., it explains historically how the Revolution came about. It was over the 4th Amendment. John Adams said there and then that’s how the Revolution came about. It’s become George Orwell’s 1984, maybe +10. It’s all because they’re collapsing. The more they collapse, the more they try to grab and grab and grab, and that actually makes them col-lapse even more. It’s following the same patterns.

Part of the reason I’m running all over the world on this trip right now is because the #1 question from clients, particularly in the States, is “Where should I go?”, “Where do I put my money?”

I’m looking around. I like to kick the tires. The capitalists are coming here to Asia, and these economies are booming. –BBB–

One criticism often levelled at life in an apartment is that it can be lone-ly and impersonal. All too frequently the best opportunity to meet your neighbours is a chance encounter in the lift.

Planners of the pure Na Jomtien development were set the twin tasks of providing its residents with the maximum level of peace and privacy while creating an environment in which community spirit could flourish.

They succeeded superbly with the resort-style seafront paradise now being constructed on 33 rai of prime beachfront property at Na Jomtien. While superior construction techniques on the low-rise, low density development create maximum peace and privacy through sound-dampening double-cavity brick walls and canopied, 30cm-thick concrete ceilings, the lush, tropical park in which it is set creates an ideal environment for social inter-action.

A central amphitheatre, constructed below a golf practice area with bun-kers and putting greens, houses shops in which to browse and a golf simu-lator facility in which players can hone their skills on some of the world’s top courses. Two swimming pools, a well-equipped gymnasium, a Jacuzzi, steam room and sauna provide further opportunities to get acquainted with each other while the Beach Club with media library, restaurant and cocktail bar are ideal places to sit and chat while watching the sun set over the horizon at the end of the day. Beach lovers can get together to enjoy the pure Na Jomtien’s 120 metres of private beach while youngsters will quickly get to know each other in The Jambo Kids’ Club.

The pure Na Jomtien lifestyle is like no other to be found on the Eastern Seaboard, combining privacy, comfort and a luxurious and stress-free exis-tence with all the opportunities for social interaction normally found only in the finest resorts.

The fully-funded, eco-friendly development is located on prime beachfront property at the end of Sukhumvit Road, Soi 48, in one of the most sought-after locations on the Eastern Seaboard. All its residences have guaranteed sea views and can be customised to fit the owner’s personal needs, includ-ing changing layouts and combining units to create very large ones. Prices start from as little as Bt2.7 million.www.pureNajomtien.com

Pure Community Pure Na Jomtien helps build community spirit


The CalendarFor event details, enter the short code below the event into your browser:

goo.gl/6ngBgBangkok Trader Networking Partyhttp://goo.gl/6ngBg

Monday Tuesday

AMCHAM: Business Economics Cmte http://goo.gl/8EM54

AMCHAM: Board & Committee Roundup http://goo.gl/mnLWs

AustCham: Board of Dirs. http://goo.gl/EkoO8

BCCT: Board Meeting http://goo.gl/EnBSc

AMCHAM: HR Cmte http://goo.gl/rxAOX

AMCHAM: Tax Planning http://goo.gl/MmhNj

AMCHAM: ICT Cmte http://goo.gl/8GxM3

Nov. Sunday

Bangkok Trader Netwkghttp://goo.gl/EnNbR

AMCHAM: Professional Women Cmtehttp://goo.gl/2Hpt4

BCCT/AMCHAM: Breakfast Briefinghttp://goo.gl/rDb4ehttp://goo.gl/bX5CyAMCHAM: ICT Cmtehttp://goo.gl/r20KnAMCHAM: Travel &

Tourism – Global Bus. Travel Outlook Reporthttp://goo.gl/MsZ6g

AMCHAM: Legal Cmtehttp://goo.gl/hqqfr

AMCHAM: Food & Agri Bus. Cmtehttp://goo.gl/kXxsb

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18

25

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13

26 27

32 4

109 11

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AMCHAM: Joint Food & Agri-Bus/SME/CSR Cmteshttp://goo.gl/srWzo

AMCHAM: Legal Cmtehttp://goo.gl/DQ4Ud

BCCT: Northern Thailand Networking Eveninghttp://goo.gl/fTZ3PD

ec.

AMCHAM: HR / Health /SMEhttp://goo.gl/kS3QK

AustCham: 2012 Australia-Thailand Business Conferencehttp://goo.gl/jA3Lh

PPi Professional Hourhttp://goo.gl/QGpcQ

Bangkok Entrepreneurshttp://goo.gl/U98Ux

AMCHAM: Health./Travel & Tour: Medical Hubhttp://goo.gl/Zq8Vf

AustCham: Conf. Golf Tournamenthttp://goo.gl/iAWO2

BCCT: Remembrance Day in Kanchanaburi and at British Embassy in Bangkokhttp://goo.gl/R55n8

AustCham: The Convoy for Kids Day Outhttp://goo.gl/Y6eqt


Send us your event details for the Mid-December/January issue by December 4th to [email protected]

Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

BCCT: Boardroom Briefing on Indonesia http://goo.gl/qGBr6

AMCHAM: Special Luncheonhttp://goo.gl/ece35

BCCT: ½-Day Wkshp http://goo.gl/xeovU

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76 8

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BCCT: Evening Presentation (Visas and Work Permits)http://goo.gl/QhzLv

AMCHAM: Young Professional Cmtehttp://goo.gl/80TOA

AMCHAM: Festive Holiday Eggnog Partyhttp://goo.gl/sy1cT

AMCHAM: Customs & Excise Cmtehttp://goo.gl/Z5MbX

BCCT: Board Meetinghttp://goo.gl/om1rrBCCT: Third Thursday Networking Eveninghttp://goo.gl/tK60a

AMCHAM: Social Networking Nighthttp://goo.gl/hEoyA

AMCHAM: Myanmar Bus. Summit in Yangonhttp://goo.gl/xq2Gc

AMCHAM: Security / OSAC Cmtehttp://goo.gl/SJTeK

AustCham: Voluntary English Teachinghttp://goo.gl/nq09x

Joint Chambers: Eastern Seaboard Networking Eventhttp://goo.gl/0fVnq

Movers & Shakershttp://goo.gl/xOfWr

Movers & Shakers Galahttp://goo.gl/xOfWr

AMCHAM: Turkey Charitee Golf Tournamenthttp://goo.gl/RLjts

AMCHAM: Charitable Foundation Cmtehttp://goo.gl/nxwuzAMCHAM:

CSR Excellence Awards / Monthly Luncheonhttp://goo.gl/Qeem3

Ploenchit Fairhttp://goo.gl/LRdp5http://goo.gl/nPzg6

14 15 16

5

AMCHAM: Transpo Logistic Cmtehttp://goo.gl/G8jyqAMCHAM: Professional Women Cmtehttp://goo.gl/9pzXo

AustCham: Christmas Sundownershttp://goo.gl/2NepH

AMCHAM: Monthly Luncheonhttp://goo.gl/zu1Wn

AMCHAM: SME Cmtehttp://goo.gl/eOmJX

BCCT: Xmas Lunchhttp://goo.gl/7bGsp

All Chambers: Eastern Seaboard Festive Networkinghttp://goo.gl/UiHFJ

AMCHAM: Auto Council Committee Meetinghttp://goo.gl/z0bgb

AMCHAM: Customs & Excise Cmtehttp://goo.gl/eXBrX

AMCHAM: Energy Cmtehttp://goo.gl/rjAqm

AustCham: Phuket Sundownershttp://goo.gl/Ow1hL

AMCHAM: Luncheon mtg with Ambassador Toddhttp://goo.gl/aBavX

News & Politics

Bandkok Business Brief Magazine - November 2012