AustChamThailand
A MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE AUSTRALIAN-THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE AUSTRALIA THAILAND BUSINESS COUNCIL www.austchamthailand.com June 2011
Australian Carbon Markets Mission to ASEAN
In This Edition
Uncertainty and Opportunity in the Global Carbon Markets business brief Will My Building Survive the Next Big One?
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AustChamThailand Advance
members advancing Akara Mining’s Environmental Sustainability Initiatives
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community services Voluntary English Teaching at Baan Khao Huay Mahad School
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chamber events Eastern Seaboard Sundowners at Centara Grand Mirage
June 2011
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Contents PATRON His Excellency James Wise Australian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand
Business Brief 6 Uncertainty and Opportunity in the Global Carbon Markets 10 ASEAN Seeks Low Emissions Future: Australian Carbon Markets Mission to ASEAN 12 Carbon Trading Mechanisms Put Greater Emphasis on Energy Reduction 14 Will My Building Survive the Next Big One? 15 Inspiration from the AusTrade’s Carbon Markets Mission to ASEAN
PRESIDENT John Anderson Meinhardt Portfolio: Regional Links VICE PRESIDENTS M.L. Laksasubha Kridakon Baan Laksasubha Resort Portfolio: Alumni Belinda Skinner Top Talent Asia Portfolio: Communications and English Teaching
chamber Events 22 Bangkok Sundowners at Dusit Thani on Wednesday, 11 May 2011 24 Eastern Seaboard Sundowners at Centara Grand Mirage on Friday, 13 May 2011 members Advancing 19 Akara Mining Limited Chatree Gold Mine Environmental Sustainability Initiatives 19 NIST Service Project Helps the People and Animals of Thailand COMMUNITY SERVICES 20 Voluntary English Teaching at Baan Khao Huay Mahad School on14 May 2011
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NEW MEMBERS 26 AustCham’s New Members and Changes of Member Companies
TREASURER Leigh Scott-Kemmis DBM Portfolio: Advancing Trade and Commerce DIRECTORS David Bell Crestcom – Ra-Kahng Associates Portfolio: Speakers and Talks Andrew Durieux Coverage Portfolio: Member Benefits
Members’ offers 28 AustCham Members’ Offers
Khun Jurairat Jammanee HASSELL Portfolio: AustCham Ball
From the Chamber Office 30 Message from the AustCham Office
Warwick Kneale Baker Tilly Portfolio: Community Services
William Haskell Ex POW Burma-Thailand We are saddened to report the passing of one of our wonderful POW’s of the Burma-Thailand Railway Mr William (Bill) Haskell. Anyone attending ANZAC day will have met Bill as he was a regular attendee and often gave the address. This wonderful human being gave us so much not only during WWII but long since then he still battled along for his mates. William was a thorough gentleman and an icon for Australian youth. A man whom endured the worst yet sort life for the betterment of himself and loved ones for future years. He was a man of respect, a person you could rely upon. This man is an Australian who gave his all and his encouragement to our younger generation to live life on a better path. He will not be forgotten. Lest We Forget William Haskell.
Sam Mizzi McConnell Dowell Portfolio: AFL and Eastern Seaboard Industry Khun Suganya Ransigutta TMF Portfolio: Business Awards Ben Yong Baker McKenzie Portfolio: Legal Saeed Zaki , Ph.D. dwp Portfolio: Breakfast Briefings EX OFFICIO Maurine Lam Regional Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner, ASEAN
From the Board
COORDINATORS Paul Whyte New Asia Pacific ESB Coordinator Email: esb@austchamthailand.com Paul Wilkinson CEA Projects ESB Coordinator Email: esb@austchamthailand.com Steve Brajak Raimon Land Phuket Coordinator Email: phuket@austchamthailand.com Harry Usher Lady Pie Phuket Coordinator Email: phuket@austchamthailand.com Australian-Thai Chamber of Commerce 20th Floor, Thai CC Tower 889 South Sathorn Road Bangkok 10120 Tel.: +66 2 210 0216 Fax: +66 2 675 6696 execdirector@austchamthailand.com www.austchamthailand.com
Editorial Committee Belinda Skinner, Robert Taylor, Josh Hyland, Gregers Moller, Gary Woollacott Marketing & Production Scand-Media Corp. Ltd 4/41-42 Moo 3, Thanyakarn Village Ramintra Soi 14, Bangkok Tel.: +66 2 943-7166/8 Fax: +66 2 943-7169 scandmedia@scandmedia.com Advertising Finn Balslev Email: finn@scandmedia.com Contributions to Advance magazine are welcome. Please submit content to josh@austchamthailand.com by the first day of the month for publication in the following month’s magazine. Opinions expressed in Advance do not necessarily reflect the views of the Chamber. AustChamThailand Advance
President’s Message
M
ay was a very busy month for AustCham. June is shaping up to be an equally hectic month, with many events planned including the AustCham Masked Ball to be held on Saturday 11 June at the InterContinental Bangkok. If you have not purchased your ticket yet, there is still time. It promises to be a fun-filled evening. A simple theme this year, so dress to impress and mask up! This year unfortunately we had to rearrange some of our events. The AustCham Ball, which is normally held around Australia Day, was postponed so we could honour the success of our Australian-Thai businesses at our AustCham Business Awards night which were due to be held last August, but due to political disputes and rallies we decided it best to postpone that event. With careful cost management and budgeting, in order to reward our members for any inconvenience caused in our rearrangements of events, we have even managed to reduce this year’s ticket price. It’s great value for money so get a table together and come and join us if you haven’t already booked. Important for Thailand this month are the Thai elections. This is the first time an election has been held since 23 December 2007 and has been eagerly awaited. You may recall that this was one of the main issues that kept the red shirt protestors on the streets! Those who attended our Key Issues dinner on 19 May with Chris Baker should have a good appreciation of the issues surrounding the election and the significance the result will have for Thailand’s future. During May many of our members, including myself, participated in various Round Table discussions held in Pattaya and at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok. Separate sessions were held for manufacturers and professional services companies. The Australian Embassy has sought our members’ opinions to obtain a better understanding of the issues and various challenges of doing business in Thailand. This input will be used by Embassy to progress the forthcoming negotiations of the Thailand Australia Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA). We were very fortunate to have John Larkin, Senior Trade Nego-
tiator participate in these discussions. John will be handling services matters in relation to the planned negotiations on TAFTA. I am hopeful that participation in forums such as this will yield positive results and benefit not only the participants, but all Australian Businesses operating in Thailand. A member’s briefing was held in Bangkok before Sundowners at the Dusit Thani Hotel on 10 May. This presented the Directors and myself an ideal opportunity to meet up with some of AustCham’s new members and not so new members. Membership has grown now to over 430 members! As a member organisation, AustCham values your feedback, positive or otherwise. Finally it gives me much pleasure to officially introduce our new Executive Director, Mark Carroll, to AustCham members. We are indeed very fortunate that Mark has accepted the position of Executive Director and look forward to have him managing our office. Mark is a former diplomat and brings with him a wealth of experience from both public and private sectors, having worked in Australia and internationally. My fellow Directors and the AustCham staff look forward to working with Mark. If you get a chance, please make Mark welcome.
John Anderson President, AustCham Thailand www.austchamthailand.com
June 2011
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business brief
Uncertainty and Opportunity in the Global Carbon Markets By Guy Watson,Managing Director, Global Edge Carbon Carbon markets The global trade in emission reduction offsets has been active since only 2004. The most successful mechanism for trade of credits, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), has been used primarily by the European countries, and to a lesser extent Japan, to meet their national quotas of targeted emission reductions under the Kyoto Protocol. However, the greatest risk to the market is the uncertainty that underlies the carbon markets and carbon policy globally. Australian businesses have only been engaged in the market after Australia ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2007, and as well as having to compete with established European players, have had to deal with the uncertainty in the local Australian carbon market, which should in the near future, form the best market for projects from the region to sell into. Existing opportunities in the carbon markets The Clean Development Mechanism has created a global trade in the generation and sale of carbon credits of over two billion Euros per year. The asset side of the market, where the credits are generated requires low carbon, high efficiency technologies in processes and power generation. This offers opportunities for commodities traders, project developers, consultants, manufacturers and suppliers in the renewable sector.
Other markets for carbon credits In addition to the CDM market, a number of countries have their own emission trading schemes (ETS), operating outside of the European scheme (Korea and NZ for example), and there is also a trade in voluntary credits which are bought buy companies who want to present a ‘’carbon neutral’ position to their market. Voluntary credits however, trade at a lower value than the ’compliance’ credits generated under the CDM. Key risks in the market The uncertainty in the market stems from the well-known problems that have hindered the negotiation of a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, beyond 2012. It is broadly accepted that there will not be a binding, broad-based successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol, and as the commitment period for the current treaty expires in December, 2012, there are no agreed targets for individual nations to meet, or mechanism to bind nations to meet these targets. So beyond 2012, the European Union, being the largest buyer of credits, is under no legal obligation to continue developing new projects. Thus the first major risk, is that it will soon not be possible for project developers to sell credits into the European market under the current rules. However there is a short term reprieve. Recently the European countries have, fortunately, committed to extending their commitment period from Decem-
ber 2012 to December 2020, but have made it clear that unless other countries implement their own means to meet Kyoto targets, then they will not extend this period. So the second major risk is that even with an extension, it is possible there will be no European market at all past 2020. The third key risk centres around where the European countries have agreed to source credits. Around 60 per cent of all CDM projects so far have been developed in China (and to a lesser extent India), where the central government has
One of the most important aspects of the trade of carbon, is that the underlying projects that generate the credits, must be designed, built and monitored to exacting standards defined by highly refined methodologies developed by the UNFCCC. 6
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been highly active in encouraging the growth of CDM projects. Recently however, there has been increasing concern in European policy circles about such a large amount of “development capital� being transferred to China, instead of more needy countries. As a result the European policy makers have decided that CDM projects should only be developed in countries deemed to have a status of less developed (LDCs). So the third major risk is that will be much harder to identify and originate suitably valid projects in our region which can be sold into the European market.
So what opportunities will remain for the global carbon market?
there will also be a market in voluntary credits, filling the gap between emerging these compliant schemes.
There are two main shifts in thinking around the opportunities in the carbon markets. The first is the fragmentation of national trading schemes, and less reliance on the European market. The prospect of an Australian emissions trading scheme is an example of this, as could create a profitable and expanding demand for carbon credits generated offshore. As these schemes begin legislate to allow offshore generated credits to be traded for national reduction targets
The second shift in thinking in the ASEAN region has been the encouragement of new and innovative developments in renewable energy generation, on top of which a revenue stream of carbon credits is an added bonus, rather than a fundamental driver. With the ability to sell into voluntary markets, these projects require the same skillset of project engineers and managers, carbon traders and finance providers as the CDM market does, it is here that Australian companies have the best opportunity to offer their skills and expertise to develop these projects. One of the most important aspects of the trade of carbon, is that the underlying projects that generate the credits, must be designed, built and monitored to exacting standards defined by highly refined methodologies developed by the UNFCCC. This then ensures that the providence of credits can be verified and guaranteed when sold into global markets.
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Australian firms are well placed to provide this level to quality of project procurement, delivery and financing This opportunity is now clearly shifting from a demand only to provide the skills in the carbon take-off, to managing and delivering the underlying asset as well. So the key opportunities for smaller, more flexible companies is that as many carbon players are looking to exit the global market, there is more room for players who focus on the underlying assets of energy efficiency projects can that can also sell into existing voluntary and emerging compliance markets. GE Carbon is a Sydney-based carbon asset management company, working across the Asian region identifying renewable energy generation and energy efficiency projects that benefit from crossborder project management and the sale of carbon credits on the global markets. Guy Watson qualified as an architect before establishing a project management and carbon asset management business, and has a Master degree in International Relations from the University of NSW. For more details, contact: carbon@gecarbon.com.au
AustChamThailand Advance
business brief
ASEAN Seeks Low Emissions Future: Australian Carbon Markets Mission to ASEAN By Chau Duncan, Trade Commissioner
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he Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) in Bangkok hosted the Australian Carbon Markets Mission to ASEAN 29-31 March 2011 to showcase Australian and ASEAN cooperation in jointly promoting sustainable growth in a low emissions future. Australian participants COzero, Global Edge Carbon, Greenearth Energy and Regain Services, and regional ASEAN Designated National Authorities (DNAs) from Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam, shared their experiences in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and discussed the future of CDM post 2012.
The three day mission included regional updates from ASEAN DNAs and their respective Ministries, with panel discussions and renewable energy development updates, business meetings and industry networking. Mission delegates had the opportunity to meet with over 100 companies in Thailand. The mission concluded with a tour of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) and a discussion/workshop on their renewable energy projects, including projects undertaken under CDM. Thailand was an obvious choice for Austrade’s second Carbon Mission to ASEAN (the first was in 2010 in Kuala Lumpur). • As at December 2010, there are more than 123 CDM projects approved, with expected Certified Emissions Reduction (CERs) of 7.96 MtCO2e per year. 40 of these projects are registered CDM projects under United Nations Framework for Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). • There is significant potential in the Voluntary Emissions Reduction (VER) market and the Thailand Carbon Market, particularly in commercial and manufacturing sectors. 10
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TGO gap analysis launch at the Australian Ambassador’s residence with mission participants.
• There is very strong government commitment to low-emissions outcomes. The carbon industry around the world depends on agreement towards reducing carbon dioxide and equivalent emissions. It relies on collaboration between developed and developing nations. Climate change threatens all three important sectors of Thailand’s economy: agriculture, tourism and trade. In response, Thailand has implemented various policies and programs including a strategic plan on climate change and is currently developing its 10-year climate change plan. The Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Public Organisation (TGO), established in 2007, is the DNA in Thailand and is responsible for issuing Letters of Approval (LoA) for CDM projects in Thailand. The TGO, with Austrade’s support, commissioned the report on “Energy and Climate Change in Thailand: Analysis of policy environment and capability gaps” to summarise the situation for Thailand. Thailand’s renewable energy target is set at 20 per cent by 2022, which will require significant investment and commensurate policy response. In 2007 Action Plan
on Global Warming Mitigation calls for reductions in Bangkok’s greenhouse gas emissions by 15 per cent below 2007 projections by 2012. The TGO has provided an insight into Thailand’s energy policy and strategy, renewable energy plan and carbon market analysis. TGO has identified opportunities for Australian investment and collaboration with Thai businesses and governments in research and development, in the areas of: • Renewable energy – particularly solar power generation (solar photo voltaic), small scale hydropower in existing downstream dams and biogas from agricultural, industrial and municipal waste. • Energy efficiency – two funds (Energy Services Companies (ESCO) Fund, Energy Efficiency Revolving Fund) exists to promote private investment in renewable and energy efficiency projects. Energy efficiency is focused on industrial, transportation and household sectors. TGO has also highlighted the need to consider CDM projects as a way to reduce social and environmental impact AustChamThailand Advance
business brief
as well as greenhouse gas emissions. Biomass, biogas energy and municipal solid waste are the main elements of CDM in Thailand.
nologies and services, energy efficiency, and clean technology solutions for other industry sector priorities, such as green buildings and planning.
There are plenty of opportunities for Australia and Thailand businesses to work together, to reduce emissions, mitigate against climate change and secure a sustainable energy future. Austrade’s mission participants were able to explore some of these business opportunities, as well as establish closer relations and partnerships with people, business and government in Thailand and across ASEAN.
In 2010, Austrade produced a Clean Energy and Environment Export Directory to bring together innovative Australian companies active in off-shore markets to showcase Australia’s clean technology capability internationally. It is used by business and governments seeking products, services and technologies to enhance their business capability, and to reduce their environmental footprint. Businesses in these sectors supply markets in Asia, as well as Americas, Europe and the Middle East.
Australian clean energy and environment companies are recognised as: a global leader in the design and delivery of integrated water management; having strong capabilities in low emission technology and services, including carbon trading; a leader in research and development of renewable energy, environmental tech-
We look forward to supporting further opportunities and trade and investment, research and development, education and training, and lasting partnerships and friendships across Australia, Thailand and ASEAN.
About Us The Australian Trade Commission – Austrade – is the Australian Government’s trade and investment development agency. Through Austrade’s global network of more than 100 locations in over 55 countries, we assist Australian companies to succeed in international business and attract foreign direct investment into Australia. Austrade helps companies around the world to source goods and services from Australia as well as identify and take up investment opportunities in Australia. The Australian Clean Energy & Environment Export Directory can be found at: www.austrade.gov.au/ Buy/Australian-Industry-Capability/ Environment-and-Energy/default.aspx For further information, contact ASEAN. clean.energy@austrade.gov.au
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AustChamThailand Advance
June 2011
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business brief
Carbon Trading Mechanisms Put Greater Emphasis on Energy Reduction
T
he need to reduce energy has never been more pertinent than it is currently. It is an interesting period for reducing energy – an economic downturn coupled with troubles in the Middle East, Civil War in Libya and the fall of the Egyptian and Tunisian governments. But despite the apparent global instability, many developing countries such as China, India and Brazil are thriving economically, which is continuing to drive up the price of all commodities be it copper, steel, cocoa or oil.
As oil prices rise beyond the critical amount of 70 dollars a barrel, much more alternative methods are now becoming more and more viable. Organisations are trying to be green, embarking on energy efficient projects such as new boilers and heat recovery systems to name but a few.
Green is clearly a good thing to be. It makes simple economic sense with the speed at which you get a financial return on projects such as new boilers and HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning). However, there is a balance between these things; the higher the oil prices go, the larger the oil reserves become also. This is because some of the oil reserves are in places where it doesn’t make economic sense to get the oil out. Big events like those in the Middle East all affect oil prices and oil reserves. Ultimately though the balance between consumption and production will dictate the price of energy and most analysts predict and continued rise. Essentially, Oil Price is Critical We are still recovering from a massive global economic slump, with most economies in a weak state. Oil prices are unlikely to fall going forward as demand increases and supply decreases coupled with availability of alternative methods of producing energy and its correlation to historic prices (the price of a barrel of oil is similar to that of what it was in the 1970s taking inflation into account). But this is now not the only cost to take into account when looking into a new air conditioning system or boiler. Legislation in the form of incentives, taxes and trading schemes will have more and more relevance going forward. The UK kicked it off with their unpopular legislation, the Carbon Reduction Commitment, mandating that organisations reduce their consumption by demanding they pay £12 per tonne of carbon emitted, mandating they report their emissions and naming and shaming those who are non compliant or who are performing badly. There is also the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) scheme, an
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emissions trading scheme launched in 2005 for organisations with a certain size of installation. Other schemes are in the pipeline all over the world, Germany, France, Australia, New Zealand and some States of the US. This is definitely seen as the beginning of a push towards cleaner energy on a global scale. It is not just the forward price of energy or the legislation impact that organisations need to be aware of but the increased relevance of Corporate Social Responsibility or Greener ways of working to give you that competitive edge. Consumers worldwide are becoming savvy when understanding how the goods they buy are being produced. Large corporations have not been slow to realise this. Wal-Mart, the American supermarket giant, are using schemes such as the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) (1,550 worldwide organisations disclose their energy efficiency strategies and carbon footprint) to not only flex their green muscles but are asking their supply chain to do the same. This demonstrates to their consumers that they care about how the goods they sell in their stores are produced and distributed with the added benefit of gaining more transparency in their supply chain. Schemes such as the CDP even have enough weight to affect the value of the company participating in it. This may just be the beginning, but reporting your carbon emissions and understanding how to reduce them has never been so critical and it will only get worse. Early Adopters will gain that competitive edge. To tackle this problem is to firstly understand your position from an energy and carbon perspectives – understanding your baseline, your position and establishing a carbon management plan. Identifying the opportunities within your organisation taking into account the price of energy and any legislation cost is essential. The price of energy will affect the level of return on a renewable pro-
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ject and organisations should be developing methods of targeting, monitoring and ultimately hitting carbon reduction targets. Delivering the right energy efficiency projects is paramount and there are some examples below of how savings and efficiency can be made. Case Study: Enhanced HVAC Control at Electronics Manufacturer Following the completion of an energy survey and presentation of the resultant Energy Survey Report, the customer agreed to implement three energy saving recommendations, all of which centred on the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems within their factory. The implementation of the three energy saving recommendations in the first year, achieved Carbon Savings of 736 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and financial savings of AU$173,555. These savings have come about through significant reductions in both electricity and Natural Gas consumption at the site. Recommendation 1 on Centralised Cooling Plant: Plant consists of three electrically driven vapour compression chillers with a cooling capacity 600kW. The local and central BMS were reconfigured enabling greater control of the cooling plant to achieve annual savings on
AustChamThailand Advance
electricity consumption of 302,220 kWh (162 tonnes CO2) and financial savings of AU$41,154.33 . The following power profile shows the reduction in power consumption following implementation. Recommendation 2 on Centralised Boiler Plant: Plant consists of three Natural Gas fired LPHW boilers with a heating output capacity of 3,000kW. The central BMS was reconfigured enabling better control of the heating plant, removing all identified instances of double heating and cooling, through improved valve and damper control, widening of the dead band and also made improvements to existing time and temperature control. This achieved sizeable annual savings on Natural Gas consumption of 2,121,203 kWh (392 tonnes CO2) and financial savings of AU$86,181. The following Regression Analysis shows the reduction in consumption following implementation. Recommendation 3 on Factory HVAC Air Distribution: Plant consists of ten electrically driven centrifugal fans with an electrical power input capacity of 370 kW. The air distribution system was significantly reconfigured, altering from fixed to variable volume by installing a Variable Speed Drive on a pressure feed back loop. The addition of a pressure sensitive system, to provide a clean room environment, also allowed for the
isolation of five of the original ten fans, whilst continuing meeting the pre-requisite air change and safety standards. This achieved annual savings on electricity consumption of 339,002 kWh (182 tonnes CO2) and financial savings of AU$46,204. The following power profile shows the reduction in consumption following implementation of the VSD. The global theory on climate change and economic uncertainty has dictated the need for more robust carbon management plans, greater need for cleaner energy and improved methods of reporting emissions. However, irrespective of the view or theory of the individual, undertaking these kind of practises will save your organisation money and allow your business to operate more effectively. M&C Energy Group is the world leader in energy procurement and compliance services, with over 35 years’ experience of helping clients save money and improve energy efficiency. Detail, diligence and determination underpin every aspect of our global operations. With a network of offices that stretches around the world, we have an unrivalled local presence, allowing organisations to understand what opportunities there are to reduce their emissions and reduce costs through effective carbon management. This ranges from compliance services to Engineering and Risk Management services For more information, contact: enquiries@mcenergygroup.com
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business brief
Will My Building Survive the Next Big One? By John L. Pollard, Managing Director and John Anderson, Director - Meinhardt
P
lanet earth is in the midst of instable times. A change in the environment has not come about discreetly, with over five natural disasters taking international headlines this year alone. The recent earthquake that occurred at fault lines in northern Burma and sent shock waves to many parts of Thailand on 24 March, together with earthquakes that struck Christchurch and Japan has renewed focus on whether buildings in Bangkok are at risk of collapse. The BMA has warned that many buildings in the capital could be damaged by an earthquake. Is there really that much cause for alarm? Although Thailand is fortunate enough to boast a wealth of natural wonders, like everywhere else in the world, it isn’t immune to natural disasters. Who could forget the most infamous example of the tsunami tragedy of 2004. Not surprisingly, in the months following the Tsunami disaster and most recently following the Burma and Japan Earthquakes, many have been asking about earthquakes, and how buildings are designed to withstand them. The most common question asked is: “What Richter scale earthquake can my building withstand?” To answer this, you need to know a little bit about earthquakes. An earthquake is a shaking of the earth caused by a sudden movement of rock beneath the earth’s surface. An earthquake occurs on a fault, which is a thin layer of crushed rock between two blocks of rock. There are no known active fault lines below Bangkok. The nearest known active fault however is less than 200 km from Bangkok in Kanchanaburi, where the Chedi Sam Ong fault line is located, and 800 km from Chang Mai where Mae Ta and Mae Chan fault lines are located. There are in fact 13 active fault lines in total in Thailand across 22 provinces. A new fault was recently found in Nakhon Nayok, just a few kilometers from Bang14
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kok. This fault is being investigated for its seismic potential. Hopefully, it will not be active fault number 14! All these faults are considered secondary fault lines in that they occur within the earth’s plates rather than at the boundaries of plates. The large earthquake that caused the Tsunami occurred on a plate boundary. Movements occurring on the secondary fault lines are characterised by lesser magnitude seismic events. A fault can range in length from a few centimeters to thousands of miles. The San Andreas Fault in California is 1,000 kilometers long and 16 kilometers deep in places. Stresses in the earth’s outer layer push the sides of the fault together. Stress builds up and the rocks slip suddenly, releasing energy in waves that travel through the rock to cause the shaking that we feel during an earthquake. There are about 12,000 to 14,000 earthquakes annually. That’s about 35 a day. The Richter scale (devised by Dr. Charles Richter) is a measure of the largest seismic wave recorded on a specific type of seismograph located 100 km from the epicenter of an earthquake. The Richter scale was designed to allow easy comparison of earthquake magnitudes regardless of the location. Interestingly, the Richter scale is no longer used, being replaced by the moment magnitude scale (abbreviated as MMS; denoted as MW). The moment magnitude scale is used by seismologists to measure the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released. The magnitude is based on the seismic moment of the earthquake, which is equal to the rigid-
ity of the Earth multiplied by the average amount of slip on the fault and the size of the area that slipped. The scale was developed in the 1970s to succeed the 1930s-era Richter magnitude scale (ML). Even though the formulæ are different, the new scale retains the familiar continuum of magnitude values defined by the older one. The MMS is now the scale used to estimate magnitudes for all modern large earthquakes by the United States Geological Survey. Based on long term historical records, about 18 major earthquakes (7.0 – 7.9 MW) and one great earthquake (8.0 or above) are expected in any given year. Designing building for earthquakes Earthquake loading is predominantly a lateral loading event – much like wind load. There are exceptions to this, such as the recent Christchurch quake where the Peak Ground Accelerations (PGA) was predominantly vertical. The forces generated due to an earthquake are related by the structures mass and the ground accelerations due to the quake. This means that if it is possible to estimate the acceleration of a structure due to an earthquake, the lateral force applied on the structure can be calculated. A map showing intensities at individual locations may be contoured with iso-seismal lines, to provide a representation of the broad variations of the shaking over the region surrounding the earthquake source. An iso-seismal map shows the different levels of ground acceleration experienced in the affected area.
Not surprisingly, in the months following the Tsunami disaster and most recently following the Burma and Japan Earthquakes, many have been asking about earthquakes, and how buildings are designed to withstand them. AustChamThailand Advance
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is given by the structural engineer to the main building frame. Interestingly in the most recent event, perhaps despite all the hysteria, there were no reports of any actual damage to buildings in Bangkok. In this respect it can be seen that it is very easy for authorities and the public to over react to such events. There is now rumor of the introduction of even more stringent requirements. A building can be safe guarded against earthquake; however it comes at a price. The question is how much building owners and developers are prepared to pay to safe guard against events of quite low probability? How much will seismic design cost?
The approach adopted by modern engineering codes to design for earthquake is to use simplified procedures to compute the design forces due to an earthquake and combine with other dead, live loads etc. One such approach is the Equivalent Lateral Force Method, first seen in the Uniform Building Code (UBC) of the USA and subsequently adopted by many other national building standards in modified form. The total seismic lateral force, also called the base shear is determined by a simple relationship between buildings response (structural framing system used, soil characteristics, height of structure, category of structure etc.) Most buildings in Bangkok are only designed for lateral loads arising due to wind in accordance with BMA building regulations. In 2007, in the wake of the large earthquake that produced the Tsunami, new building regulations were introduced in Bangkok for seismic design. This is not to say that older buildings do not have some capacity to resist an earthquake. As they are able to resist wind loads – this lateral load resistance can be mobilized to resist earthquakes as well. In many cases, the wind forces will still likely be stronger than those generated by the horizontal component of ground motions arising from most earthquakes. Although we may have felt the effects of the recent earthquake with minor tremors, relatively AustChamThailand Advance
speaking, Bangkok is still considered quite a low risk location. Most people that talk to us express concern about high rise buildings. In fact you stand a better chance of survival in a high rise building than a medium rise building of 5 to 12 floors. Medium rise buildings have a “natural frequency” closer matching the ground acceleration. In physics, resonance is the tendency of a system to oscillate with a larger amplitude at some frequencies than at others. You may remember from high school having seen a video of the original Tacoma Narrows bridge in the USA (nicknamed “Galloping Gertie”) famously shaking itself apart during high winds. This was due to the phenomenon of resonance. In general earthquake events, most of the buildings that collapse are in fact only a few stories high. Taller buildings on the other hand are more flexible. Although they may experience cracks in non-structural elements such as internal partition walls or in the façade, the structure will remain intact. In fact it is these non-structural elements of buildings that probably pose the greatest risk during a seismic event to human life in Bangkok. Most often little attention is paid in the design of such elements as awnings, in-fill masonry walls, parapet walls and even signage – whereas much attention
The biggest impact on cost of a reinforced concrete building is on the shear walls of the building and in additional “detailing” of reinforcement to ensure ductility. This is not unexpected, as conventionally the walls are the principle structural elements resisting lateral loads (for most medium/ high rise buildings designed in Bangkok). If applying the recently introduced seismic regulations, the earthquake load case will in many situations become the governing load case for the design of the shear walls. To a much lesser extent, columns may also be affected. The governing load case for columns is generally combined dead and live loads. We would expect columns in most instances to attract only a small portion of the total lateral seismic loads through framing action. The lateral loads are resisted by the columns as axial loads. Those columns carrying relatively low dead loads may be affected. Several references indicate that the typical range of cost difference between earthquake and without earthquake design for buildings is three to five percent of the total project cost and 10 – 15 per cent of the structural cost. Meinhardt (Thailand) Ltd. was established in Bangkok in May 1991 and now employs 250 staff, with an expertise focused primarily on designing buildings such as hotels, resorts, high-rise offices and condominium and factories. Among the company’s major projects in Bangkok are the Peninsula Hotel, 208 Wireless Road, Lang Suan Ville condominium, U Chu Liang building, Sofitel Sukhumvit, Millennium Residences, The Lakes, 185 Radjadamri, The Sukhothai Residences, Siam Kempinski Hotel, St.Regis Hotel and The River condominium. For further details contact: thai@meinhardt.net June 2011
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business brief
Inspiration from the AusTrade’s Carbon Markets Mission to ASEAN By Dr. Lily Lavanchawee Sujarittanonta
imparted to me through this ancient Siamese proverb “gum kee dee gua gum todd”, which translates as “grabbing poop is better than grabbing a fart”.
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pologies if you are munching something tasty while reading this! But do proceed if you are reading Advance in the loo. I just want to share my newfound enthusiasm in saving Mother Earth.
Since childhood, granny’s advice has been an eternal source of confusion for my aunts and uncles, including my dad and all the grandkids. Feces are not only smelly, but it also soils your hands, so how could it be better than holding fart which is just smelly and practically impossible to hold on to? Holding feces is a punishment. Last night’s game show even had the losing team members move elephant dung from one fish tank to another as penalty.
This inspiration transpired from within me during the Austrade’s Carbon Market Mission to ASEAN seminar on 29 March at the Australian Embassy, while listening to the four established Aussie companies share their expertise with ASEAN DNAs (Designated National Delegates). AustCham’s invitation gave me the opportunity to chit chat with all of them in person, to gather details to enrich the PowerPoint slides for my lectures. For starters, I got to learn a new environmental term. Many of you may not know what LULUCF is, or how this acronym is pronounced. Neither did I. But now I do know what this ASEAN DNA acronym means. The sound is very cute, pronounced “Loo Loo See Eff” (LULUCF). It means Landuse, Landuse Change and Forestry. To think I have been dilly dallying with ASEAN Valuers Association to appraise real estate prices, and serving as committee for the Wild Animal Rescue Foundation of Thailand, but yet this ticklish LULUCF term never
came my way! Let’s hope that one day, the ASEAN Afforestation/Reforestation Clean Development Mechanism (A/R CDM) can apply to private property like my Chiang Mai longan fruit orchard, to produce some tax incentives or direct financial benefits for individuals who loves trees like me. The presentations also helped to shed deep insights into Thai indigenous knowledge. One of my grandmother’s most valuable pieces of advice was
Poop gets processed by a digester tank where bacteria break it down to create methane, which then gets piped to a gas stove, heater, or anything that can be powered by natural gas. 16
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Over the years, perhaps out of traditional Asian respect for ancestors, my relatives try to rationalise and make sense of grandma’s teachings. Elder family members are always honored at annual family “tumboon” trips (temple service), reunion dinners, weddings andfunerals. This saying is constantly brought up during auspicious ceremonies such as the ones mentioned, especially towards the end of a meal, when people start to think of the restroom. Could it be that granny’s favourite proverb is linked to yet another Thai saying, about a drowning person trying to grab floating feces to save themself? Apparently, Thai language places great importance on the value of excrement. I googled “kee” (excrement in Thai), and it even turns up information on how to interpret your poop from how it floats in the toilet bowl; no, not for health reasons. Of course included on the websites were clues on how you should change your diet, but more interestingly than articles about feces and health were those relating to your floating turd
AustChamThailand Advance
business brief
and namely wealth and happiness. Yes! you can tell your future from your own poop, so observe carefully before you flush in the morning, in order to find out if you’ll close that multi-million dollar deal this afternoon! Another interesting poop-related Thai article talked about predicting your fortune from dreams – dreaming about seeing your poop floating in the toilet bowl – means that someone is going to come and bother you. Do not volunteer to help anyone or it will bring you lots of trouble afterwards (probably stress and hence, constipation?).
Every teeny tiny contribution from each individual counts. Not just from humans, but even pets. It all adds up! To think I have been teaching the course “World Environment”, preaching but never really practicing. Now I feel so guilty! For my next round of this course, my students are going to get hands-on experience collecting poop, rather than stepping on it by accident, or disrespectfully avoiding it. Dr. Lily Lavanchawee Sujarittanonta is a Committee at ASEAN Center, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University International College (SSRUIC).
COzero tells me that their biomass project in China works deep down to the level of pig farmers’ households in their villages, where methane gets produced from pig poop and cow pie. So I searched the internet and found that other kinds of poop work just as fine. For example, the population of entire cities such as San Francisco is embarking on a city-level project to turn dog doo into biofuel. Poop gets processed by a digester tank where bacteria break it down to create methane, which then gets piped to a gas stove, heater, or anything that can be powered by natural gas. Turning waste into valuable substances applies to all sorts of waste matter, not just poop. For example, Regain Services tell me they produce Hi-Cal: not an energy drink, but an industrial fuel made by detoxifying by-product/ waste from the aluminum production. It sounds to me very much like producing dog food from chicken feathers. I can’t help but link new information with things closer to home, such as my dogs. With the latest craze on trendy eco-cars that are coming out in the market, be it Nissan March, Honda Brio (six month waiting list), Toyota Prius, or any one of the other in-trend vehicles, I look forward to the next technological breakthrough – poop powered eco-cars. I have an edge over others with the number of production facilities at home. The powerhouse project: my three dogs, four cats, 20 plus budgies, three turtles and five fish, all need to hop on the production line and manufacture as much poop as possible to help get me to the shopping mall.
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Supporting Green Communities for release late 2011, and has the support of government, private industry and professional associations throughout Australia. The Green Star Communities Framework is a vision, a set of principles and aspirations to help guide and support the development of sustainable communities. The intention of this framework is to provide inspiration and to contribute to the conversation about how we plan, design, build, maintain and renew sustainable communities.
Hainan Masterplan
By Suzette Jackson
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he development of sustainable communities has become a global focus of the 21st century. In a move to mitigate and adapt to climate change, extreme events and excessive resource consumption, communities globally are endeavouring to transition to more sustainable community policies, social and physical infrastructure. Knowledge sharing, support and real application for the development of sustainable communities across regions are therefore critical to successful outcomes in our cities. HASSELL is a founding member of the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) providing long-term support and knowledge to the organisations rating tool development and policies across building sectors, typology, and sustainable communities. Recently HASSELL became one of the first organisations to sign up to the GBCA’s Green Star Communities Supporter initiative developed by the GBCA. The Green Star Communities Supporter status recognises the ongoing contribution of HASSELL to the Green Star Communities project including the contribution by our people on the Green Star Communities rating tool technical working committee. In particular Suzette Jackson, designer and sustainability advisor is providing expertise as the GBCA Chair of the Environment category group and committee member on the Implementation and Integration Committee, whilst Martin Rowland landscape architect is providing expertise on the Design category. The Green Star Communities framework and rating tool will set national voluntary benchmarks for the planning, design and delivery of best practice sustainable community development projects across Australia. The pilot rating tool is anticipated
As defined in the Green Communities framework ‘A sustainable community embodies the principles of sustainable development, respecting ecological limits and natural resource constraints, encouraging prosperity and well-being while optimising conditions for human development. It is liveable, resilient, diverse and adaptable. It strives for a lower carbon and ecological footprint. A sustainable community evolves through policy and collaborative practice that respects and embraces the aspirations of existing and future community stakeholders.’ HASSELL Chairman Professor Ken Maher, said “the GBCA’s Green Star Communities project is a significant initiative focusing on the critical challenge of our time: sustaining life in our cities, towns and countryside through ensuring more informed and better design and planning. Successful outcomes will only be achieved through the GBCA’s commitment to collaborative engagement across academics, professionals, government, industry and a wide range of people involved in shaping our communities.” Research both evidence based and new research being conducted by HASSELL is contributing to our understanding of community development and urban cities in Australia and internationally. With over twelve studios throughout China, Singapore, Thailand and Australia, and knowledge across current international rating tools and new rating tool development, HASSELL is well positioned to contribute to the transition to sustainable communities internationally. Recently in a ceremony in Beijing, HASSELL was recognised as one of the founding members of the China Green Building Council’s (China GBC) Foreign Membership Scheme. Foundation membership offers a unique opportunity to connect with the Chinese Government’s commitment to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions intensity of the Chinese economy by 40 per cent by 2020. Provision of support and direction for the green building and communities in China will be fundamental to sustainable development in Asia. The successful transition towards sustainable communities is critical to the opportunities of future generations, and will depend on our ability in this time to adopt and progress a sustainable community model for today. Suzette Jackson is Sustainability Leader at HASSELL. She can be contacted at: Tel.: +66 2207 8999 Website: www.hassell.com.au
members advancing
Akara Mining Limited Chatree Gold Mine Environmental Sustainability Initiatives
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kara Mining is committed to best practice environmental management in all aspects of the operation and has implemented standards and policies that provide the highest degree of protection for employees and the environment. Akara has achieved and maintained its accreditation for ISO 14001 for Environmental Management System.
Environmental initiatives that have been implemented on the mine to ensure that operations are environmentally sustainable include: • Carrying out a comprehensive environmental auditing and review programs to ensure best practice environmental management. • The site is designed as a zero water discharge site with all rainfall runoff is captured in sediment dams and final voids and reused in the processing plant over the dry season as a water source. This reduces the
mines demand on natural groundwater resources. • The mine site has an extensive recycling program for solid wastes. Special bins around the site aid in the segregation and collection of these wastes with waste audits conducted weekly of each bin. Chatree Gold Mine has set a target of 80 per cent correct disposal to all bins. • As part of rehabilitation trials to decide on the final land uses for the mine site, Biodiesel Trees (Jatophra curcas) are being planted on both waste rock
dumps tops and in tailings. If successful this species may provide an economic industry for the local community on closure of the mine. • Akara Mining has an Energy Conservation Policy and Energy Use Reduction Programmme. This programme to date has resulted initiatives such as: - Swapping to Biodiesel for all vehicles on site; - changing to variable speed energy efficient drives in the processing plant; - tuning the burner in the proces ing plant furnace to burn more efficiently thereby using less LPG. - installing low level stops on pumps in sediment dams and pits so that pumping only occurs when required; - checking and fixing leakage from compressed air systems in the pro cessing plant; and - using photovoltaic cells where ever possible.
NIST Service Project Helps the People and Animals of Thailand
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ften when students try to help endangered animals, they find heart-wrenching photos of the species, paste them together with some facts and figures, and raise money for an internationally established organisation such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). While this is a worthy way of contributing to environmental protection, the students do not fully understand the systems that cause animals to be endangered nor do they understand how their money is actually helping the problem.
At NIST students have taken a new approach. Two current Year seven students, Do Yeon Ahn and Miki Tujiyama, inquired into endangered animals as part of their Year six PYP (Primary Years Programmes) exhibition last year. Through their research, they learned about the FREELAND Foundation (formerly WildAid), an organisation
AustChamThailand Advance
dedicated to ‘making the world free of human slavery and wildlife trafficking’. For their exhibition, the students raised money and awareness for FREELAND’s ‘Surviving Together’ programme, which offers poachers in Thailand a sustainable and alternative income working as organic mushroom farmers.
This year, Yeon Ahn and Tujiyama are continuing their work with an innovative NIST project: the establishment of an organic mushroom farm on campus called MushieMushie. Students from the Early Years programme, as well as Year four and Year seven, work together to care for, water and harvest organic FREELAND mushrooms. In addition, two Year 12 students, Johan Oskog and Rachabadin Sirinarinthon, serve as MushieMushie’s marketing team, designing logos and developing the concept of MushieMan. MushieMan helps give a face to the project, appearing at cooking events and working with students from Food Technology classes, who clean and prepare the mushrooms. The money raised from events is given back to FREELAND to further support their efforts. In the future, MushieMushie plans to expand the farm and do even more to help animals and people in Thailand.
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community services
Voluntary English Teaching at Baan Khao Huay Mahad School on14 May 2011 Starting a new school year, many new students, in addition to other familiar faces, were seen attending AustCham’s Voluntary English Teaching program this month. Games, activities, English and songs were tied in with an Indian theme. Thanks go to all those for generously donating their time, as well as to John Duke and Bangkok Hospital for use of their van once again.
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AustChamThailand Advance
Chamber Events
Bangkok Sundowners at Dusit Thani on Wednesday, 11 May 2011 With the generous support of Dusit Thani and new Gold Sponsors, PeopleServe, AustCham held its monthly premium business networking event for May. AustCham trusts that many useful contacts were established and would like to thank all those who attended also.
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1) Chris McAleer - PeopleServe Asia; H.E. James Wise - Australian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand; John Anderson - AustCham President, Meinhardt; Alex Willats Dusit Thani Bangkok. 2) Gary Woollacott - Opus Recruitment; Anne Hutton - DBM; Sofi Booth; Sally Cowly - Desert Diamonds. 3) Claudio Wey - The Freight Co.; Raphael Wihelm - The Freight Co.; Khun Kamonwan Khamching - Inner Balance. 4) Rick McGill – People Serve; Khun Chonnicha Chaiwichit – PeopleServe Asia; Chris McAleer - PeopleServe Asia; Vincent Pourre - PeopleServe Asia; Khun Ekkarin Charoen - Peopleserve; Khun Pongsak Suteeolarn - PeopleServe. 5) Aicha
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Chamber Events
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12 S Woods - Pelli Clarke Pelli; Derek Angus - LincolneScott; John Stenton - dwp. 6) Anne Lewinski - AL Consultancy; Belinda Skinner - AustCham Vice President, Top Talent Asia; Josh Hyland - AustCham Thailand. 7) David Mills - Geodis; Richard Overton - Lognet Global. 8) Khun Sasiwimon Sadsadikraisorn - dwp; Dorothy Valerio - LeBlonde Associates. 9) Helen Featherstone; Jonothan Booth - Grant Thornton. 10) Philip Fletcher-Wilson - Fletcher-Wilson Partners; Kate Jackson - KPMG. 11) Khun Panrawee Meesupya - AIESEC Thailand; Khaniss Jand - G-Powerlube; Khun Charmvarine Puinongpo - AIESEC Thailand. 12) Cynthia Kramer – Microsoft; Caryn Taylor - Servcorp.
AustChamThailand Advance
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Chamber Events
Eastern Seaboard Sundowners at Centara Grand Mirage on Friday, 13 May 2011 AustCham members and friends enjoyed a great evening of networking on the eastern seaboard for their second time this year. AustCham wishes to thank Capital TV for hosting the evening and Centara Grand Mirage for providing us with great food and a great location at their Zulu bar.
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1) William Dewell - Centara Grand Mirage; Raine Grady - Capital TV; Sam Mizzi - AustCham Director, McConnell Dowell; John Anderson - AustCham President, Meinhardt. 2) Khun Thawatchai Moonbungong - dusitD2 baraquda pattaya; Larry Jackson - Arun Chaiseri Consulting Engineers; Khun Yaowadee Fangseeda - dusitD2 baraquda pattaya. 3) Stephen Caswell - Caswell & Associates; Eugene Cody; Andrew Durieux - AustCham Director, Coverage. 4) Khun Pragaiwan Mathurost - Centara Grand Mirage; Khun Alongkorn Ongboonmee - Centara Grand Mirage; Khun Patchaporn Josew Centara Grand Mirage. 5) Khun Juthamart Veerakul - Novotel Suvarnabhumi; Khun Janshine Wisuttiphat - Novotel Suvarnabhumi. 6) Sue Grogan; Ron Tyack - RMA Group; Irene Tyack - RMA Group. 7) Cees Cuijpers - Town & Country; Emma Crossley; Mark Bowling - Colliers International.
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since 1951. www.isb.ac.th
Chamber New members Eventsand Members’ changes
Chateau De Bangkok c/o Ruamrudee Estate Co., Ltd. 29 Soi Ruamrudee 1, Ploenchit Road Lumpini, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330 Tel: +66 2 651 4400 Fax: +66 2 651 4500 Email: hotel@chateaubkk.com
Ms Lalivan Karnchanachari, President Mrs Beatrice Baranger, General Manager Chateau de Bangkok, managed by Accor Contemporary Residence, boasts spacious rooms and apartments with private Jacuzzis. All are fully furnished and have a kitchen living area. Their warm hospitality will make you feel at home. Ideally located in the thriving business district of central Bangkok, the hotel is close to major department stores as well as being within walking distance of the skytrain and Lumpini Park. It features 135 luxurious studio rooms, one and two bedroom apartments and duplex penthouse. Including wireless hi-speed internet and large bathrooms with private Jacuzzi, facilities are provided for the comfort of the seasoned traveller or casual tourist.
Amari Orchid Pattaya 240 Moo 5 Pattaya Naklua Road T. Naklua, A. Banglamung Chonburi 20150 Tel: +66 38 418 418 Fax: +66 38 418 410 Email: orchid@amari.com Website: www.amari.com
Development Public Company Limited, one of Thailand’s leading companies with a wide range of commercial interests including construction and trading. The Amari Orchid Pattaya was the very first property the company had in Thailand and set the path of growth the company has clearly had. As of today there are 15 Amari properties in Thailand in addition to the recently launched new Onyx brands of Saffron, Ozo and aquisition of Shama, a unique serviced apartment brand. The 523 bedroom Amari Orchid Pattaya is at the very heart of hospitality business on the Eastern Seaboard and is to the leisure, corporate, conference and incentive guests sectors alike. The hotel plays an integral part in the local community through its events, supporting society in the number of corporate social responsibility programs it runs. The hotel is also known for its Mantra restaurant and bar, which raised the culinary bar on the Eastern Seaboard when it was opened five years ago.
Housed in a gorgeous boutique building in Asoke junction, it has stylish facilities and a superb location. Park Plaza offers personalised service and a unique experience for both business and leisure guests. Hotel amenities include chic on-site dining outlets, rooftop swimming pool and fitness center as well as the ‘business corner’, free wireless internet in all guest rooms and public areas and exclusive limousine service. Park Plaza has a second hotel located on Soi Sukhumvit 18. It is a mid-scale, stylish full service hotel that comprises of 125 modern-looking rooms and suites decorated with Thai fair. The hotel has creative and chic dining options a business center, and rooftop swimming pool also. Hotel outlets include: • Mezza Restaurant – Thai and Mediterranean cuisine; • Sway Bar and Terrace – exotic cocktails, wine and spirits bar; • CHAI Deli – freshly baked cakes and pastries. Change of Representative Mr Dean Curotta, General Manager is a new representative of Blackmores Ltd.
Park Plaza Hotel Asoke Park Co., Ltd. 16 Ratchadapisek, Klongtoey Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 2 263 5000 Fax: +66 2 263 5001 Email: vsirault@parkplaza.com Website: www.parkplaza.com
Mr Nicholas Lacey, Resident Manager is a new representative of Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok. Mr Jeffrey Brown, Examinations Manager is a new representative of IDP Education Services. Ms Melanie Smith, General Manager is a new representative of Anantara Bangkok Sathorn.
Veronique Sirault – General Manager Martin Fabiano – General Manager
David Cumming – General Manager Porntip Pibarnwong – Director of Sales Amari Orchid Pattaya is part of the Onyx Hospitality Group founded in 1965, which is privately owned by Italian-Thai
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A full-service, upper midscale hotel brand for business and leisure travellers, Park Plaza offers award winning staff who live the brand’s value proposition by going out of their way to show their appreciation to their guests. Park Plaza Sukhumvit Bangkok provides convenient services and a comfortable atmosphere.
AustChamThailand Advance
The 10th Volvo Convoy for Kids Charity Golf Event Volvo Truck & Bus (Thailand) Co.,Ltd
Course Sponsors: For your logo in one of these boxes as a course sponsor see sponsor benefits below.
Friday, 10 June 2011 Location: Time: Fee:
Siam Country Pattaya Club “Plantation� Registration at 10.30 / Shortgun Start at 12.00 Baht 4,000 per player or Baht 16,000 for a team of 4 players
Price includes green fee, buggy, evening meal, goody bag and the chance to win great prizes.
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Logo shown in Austcham "Advance" magazine
Logo shown on Convoy & Austcham web site
Promotional item / literature in goody bag
Logo on event cap
Logo embroidered on front of event cap
Logo featured on stage banner
Complementary players
Logo on event polo shirt
Booth at registration area
Logo on event welcome banner
Television interview on "Morning Talk" Show
Sponsor Type Event - Platinum 1 Course - Gold 3 Cap sponsor 1 Silver sponsor 5 Hole sponsor 27 Prize / goody bag donors No limit
No of holes on which advertising material can be displayed
Number of sponsors
All proceeds go to help refurbish The Foundation for The Welfare of The Crippled in Thailand building.
200,000 100,000 75,000 60,000 15,000
Proudly supported by Charity Golf Day 2011
AUSTCHAM Members’ offers
Advance reservations are required to take advantage of the offer.
Amari Orchid Pattaya Sivara Spa is offering a special two and a half hour package for only Baht 2,999. It includes a mint foot scrub, feeling fruity body scrub, aromatic oil massage and manicure or pedicure. For more information, contact sivaraspa@orchid.amari.com.
Baan Laksasubha Baan Laksasubha at Hua Hin is delighted to offer readers two nights stay in the Garden Veranda for only Baht 7,000. Set in plush landscaped gardens, spacious guestrooms are ideal for a romantic getaway or weekend retreat with the family. Enjoy dining at our Costanera Beach Restaurant and Tapas Bar which overlooks a private beach and serves a variety of culinary delights. To book this offer, kindly email rsvn@baanlaksasubha.com or contact us on 032 514 525-31 and quote ACOO1.
Clarity IT ClarITy will visit your office (CBD area) and carry out a half day audit and review for your use of IT (based on well proven principles) and then brief on ways you can improve your overall IT. Please contact: + 66 (0) 2 650 4770 or email: enquiry@clarity.co.th
Coverage SARS, Tsunami, Bird Flu, Coup, Swine Flu, Riots, - what’s the next X for Thailand? What’s next for your business? Are you prepared? Coverage knows and understands all parts of your business and can help provide a plan, training and exercise for you and your staff in English and Thai. Andrew is offering a 20 percent discount for all AustCham members. Call 02 261 8485.
Conrad Bangkok To celebrate their 25th Anniversary, guests will receive an extra night based on a minimum consecutive three-night stay. Travelers must take advantage of the offer by 12 June 2011 for travel now through 30 June 2011. To take advantage of this offer, contact: reservations@conradbangkok.com and ask for the Conrad 25th Anniversary package or request plan code “PBCN25”.
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Four Points Sheraton Bangkok Join us for delicious food and refreshing drinks during happy hours at BeerVault and AmBar with our buy one, get one free promotion on selected drinks. Dips and Dash tapas is on the house! BeerVault happy hours are from 17.30 to 19.30 pm every day. AmBar happy hours are from 23.30 until closing every night. For more information or reservation, please call +66 2 309 3000.
Hilton Pattaya We’re offering AustCham members a lunch special at Latest Recipe for only Baht 600. Book a table for 10 persons and get free lunch for two persons. 20per cent discount on beverages. Book a table for two to eight persons and get a complimentary four hours usage of a meeting room with maximum capacity for eight persons. (Meeting room reservation is subject to availability at the time of the booking.) Celebrate your special day with a minimum of four friends and you eat for free (e.g. graduation, jubilee etc.) For more information or reservation, please call 02 232 8888
Holiday Inn Bangkok Silom AustCham members can now receive a special 25 percent discount on food and beverages. Enjoy our sumptuous international buffet at The Brasserie, Northern Indian Cuisine at Tandoor, an outstanding a la carte selection for afternoon tea at Orchid Lounge, or relax after a long hard day of work at Hari’s Bar with tasty snacks and great music. For more information please call 02 238 4300 or email: reservations@holidayinnsilom.com
IMPACT Arena, Convention and Exhibition Center Convention Package: Make your convention an utmost success with our modern and integrated facilities, together with additional service as you wish. Complete convention packages to serve all your convention requirement for even thousand or just selected a few delegates for more information call +66(2)8335252, or email: sales@impact.co.th
Hua Hin Marriott Resort & Spa Choose and enjoy between a set menu of four or seven courses on the beach that fuse the finest ingredients and most tantalising flavors of Italian and Mediterranean specialties. Prices are Baht 1,800 per person for four courses and Baht 2,000 per person for seven courses. For more information and reservations, please call: +66 32 511 881 ext. 1804
InterContinental Hua Hin Resort Thai residents can enjoy a grand deluxe room with daily breakfast and late check out, with prices starting at Baht 5,500 for weekdays or Baht 8,000 for Saturday and Sunday, per room, per night. For bookings and enquiries, please call +66 32 616 999, or email: rsvn@ ichuahin.com
Intrepid We would like to offer 20 percent discount on all Intrepid Urban adventure tours worldwide. These are unique day trips ranging from three hours to full day in over 100 cities around the world. To make a booking simply go to our website: www.urbanadventures.com when you make a booking, enter the promotion code ‘AUSTCHAMTH’. This discount is open ended with no end date and no limit on the number of bookings.
I Visions We are offering a ten percent discount off all software packages for AustCham Members. For more information, please contact: +66 2 661 7899 or email: hinduja@ivision.co.th
LeMeridien We are offering a 20 per cent discount on food (only) at Latest Recipe, Bamboo Chic, Tempo and Latitude13, for one to 20 guests. Children between 3 - 12 years old receive 50 per cent discount and below three years old dine for free. This promotion cannot be combined with any other promotions. Please provide you member Name and card number when you make a reservation and present your card for identification at the venue. This offer is valid until 31 December 2011. For reservations, please contact 02 232 8888 or email fbadmin. bangkok@lemeridien.com
AustChamThailand Advance
AUSTCHAM Members’ offers
Mainstay Property Solutions In-conjunction with Loxley, MPS is now selling an energy saving device called the AirconMiser. The AirconMiser can save between 30 – 60 percent on air conditioner power consumption and generally pays for itself within 6-12 months. They are offering an introductory price of Baht 10,000 which is 20 percent off the RRP. AustCham members will also benefit from free installation. Further discounts are available for volume sales. To purchase, or for further details, call: +66 2 735 6823-5
Manohra Dining Cruises Board a Manohra Dining Cruise beautifully restored antique rice barge and take advantage of our silver selection which is now available at an incredible price of Baht 1,400 per person, promising a sumptuous variety of seven memorable courses. Our Gold set menu of nine courses is also available at Baht 1,990 per person. For further information or reservations, please call +66 2 476 0022 Ext. 1416 or email: manohra@manohracruises.com
Novotel Siam Areeba Areeba - It’ Mexico Night! Get hot every Wednesday night throughout May with the spicy Mexican Buffet for only of Baht 850. For those who want to know how to prepare Mexican cuisine such as Tacos and Tostadas at home, The Square’s talented chef offers a live Mexican cooking demonstration. For more information, please call 022098888
Novotel Bangkok Fenix Silom Until the end of July 2011, we are offering a 15 percent discount from regular buffet prices to all AustCham members. Buffet lunch is only Baht 540, buffet dinner only Baht 640 and Sunday brunch only Baht 760! For reservations, please call 02 206 9100, or email: H7172-FB2@accor.com
Phachara Suites Strike when the deal is hot with our unbeatable exclusive deal starting at Baht 2,500.For more information or reservation please call +66 2 262 9888. Marriott Resort and Spa Book any luxurious spa treatment and extend your relaxation with a complimentary neck and shoulder massage for additional 30 minutes. Offer from now until the end of 2010. This promotion can be used between 10.00 and 14.00 hrs. For further information or reservation, please call 02 476 0022 Ext. 1563, or email: ms_bmrs@minornet.com
Millenium Hilton Thai residents can take advantage of Baht 3,000 for room and breakfast with complimentary upgrade to Executive Room or Baht 3,500 for room and breakfast with Complimentary upgrade to Executive Suite and Thai Massage for two persons. For information and reservation please call 02 442 2000.
Nai Lert Swissotel Bangkok Swissôtel Nai Lert Park, Bangkok features endless opportunities for meetings and events of every description available. They offer a full day meeting package for local companies at Baht 999 per person which includes the advantage of our premium facilities and privileges. This offer is available from now until 30 September. For more details, please call: 02 253 0123
AustChamThailand Advance
Raja’s Fashions Buy any suit at Raja’s Fashions and get a shirt for free! Dress sharp – Look sharp – Feel sharp. For further details, call 66 2 253 8379 or email: rajas@ksc.th.com
Shangri La Experience exciting nautical-themed interactive live cooking where the freshest harvest of the sea is prepared for you á la minute. It’s fast, fun and fabulously delicious. Dine on Friday night for just Baht 2,100 per person or Baht 2,900 with a free-flow of selected beverages. To book, call: +66 2 236 9952
The Aetas Baht 2,750 is being offered to celebrate the opening of “The AETAS Bangkok”. This Superior Room offer comes with ABF and internet and will be upgraded to a Delux Room with a 20 percent discount on food and beverages at
‘Moments’ and ‘Pause’ if staying for three consecutive nights. For more information or to make a reservation, please call: +66 2 618 9000 or email: contact@aetashotels. com
The Barbque Store For AustCham Members only. Purchase a four burner Aussie barbecue for only Baht 12,000 (RRP 19,900). For more information, please contact 02662 6665 or email: info@bbqthai.com
The Landmark Bangkok Sunday Roast Buffet, a traditional British main meal served every Sunday lunch, is now available at the Huntsman Pub. The original British Pub located on Basement level of The Landmark Bangkok. Enjoy the incredible Sunday Roast Buffet, features roasted meat, roast potato, smoked salmon, prawn cocktails, fish and chips, yorkshire pudding and much more. From 11.30 - 14.00 this buffet is only Baht 490 net per person. Call for reservation at +66 2 254 0404 ext 7777.
The Sukhothai Bangkok To celebrate 20 years of excellence, The Sukhothai Bangkok is offering Baht 5,500 per room per night in a Superior Room or Baht 6,500 in a Deluxe Studio including buffet breakfast, one complimentary welcome drink at The Zuk Bar and a choice of either Chocolate Buffet for two persons at the Lobby Salon or “Krawaan” Thai set lunch or dinner (food only) for two persons at Celadon restaurant. This offer is for Thais and Thai residents and can be enjoyed from now until 30 November 2011. For further details and reservations, please call 02 344 8888
Tiny Seeds International School We would like to offer to waive our registration fee worth Baht 40,000 for all AustCham members who enroll their child(ren) at The Tiny Seeds International Preschool. For more information, please contact: +66 2 260 2926-7 or email: thetinyseeds.pre. school@gmail.com
June 2011
29
From the Chamber Office
Calendar of Events
Message from the Executive Director
I
t is a great pleasure to provide my first report as Executive Director of the Australian-Thai Chamber of Commerce (AustCham). I’d like to begin by thanking the Board of Directors for giving me the opportunity to serve AustCham and its members. I am thrilled to have been selected for the ‘ED’ position and it is great to be working again in Southeast Asia. I’m eager to hear from as many members as possible about your business interests in Thailand and Australia, the challenges you face and your expectations of the Chamber. AustCham serves a diverse membership with a broad range of interests. We try to provide something for everyone, but the best way to gauge our success – or otherwise – is for our members to tell us what they think! I come to the Executive Director role with three main priorities. The first is to ensure AustCham continues to excel in the areas where it has shined in the past – our highly successful Sundowners networking events for example. The second is to help the AustCham office to be as efficient and effective as possible. Our office consists of only a few staff and we operate on a tight budget. With our commitment to continuously improving service to members we have no choice but to critically review the way we operate, and continually find ways to be more efficient. The third area of priority is to build AustCham’s focus on hard-edged business issues. The AustCham office is well versed at putting on high quality events, and it has an impressive communications capability. But with a crowded events calendar and heavy administrative and committee workload, the capacity of the office to monitor and understand commercial issues is limited. My aim is to build in the office a business-focussed capability that drives our events and communications, and makes a measurable contribution to building Australia-Thailand business links. Looking ahead more broadly, the forthcoming period is certain to be an interesting and busy one for the Chamber and its members. As election campaigns enter full swing the next few weeks are sure to be colourful. Globally, the economic outlook is still somewhat uncertain and we continue to see economic aftershocks from the global financial
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June 2011
Wednesday, 1 June Bangkok Commonwealth Sundowners
This month AustCham invites Foreign Chambers of Commerce to join them for their premium business networking event 18.00 – 21.00 Venue: Grand Millennium Bangkok Friday, 10 June The 10th Volvo Convoy for Kids Charity Golf Tournament
Registration at 10.30 / Shotgun start at 12.00 Venue: Siam Country Club “Plantation”, Pattaya Friday, 10 June Luncheon: Australia – The Lucky Country?
crisis. With the Australian dollar soaring and commodity markets booming, Australia appears to managing well. But there are warnings of a multi-speed Australian economy, and of bubbles in the global commodity market bursting. To help us understand better the risks and opportunities arising from Australia’s economic environment – and its implications for businesses in Thailand – AustCham is delighted to welcome a luncheon address by Greig Gailey on Friday 10 June. Amongst his impressive list of professional achievements Greig is a former Chairman of the Minerals Council of Australia, President of the Business Council of Australia and Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of zinc producer Zinifex Limited. He is eminently well qualified to speak on the issues and I’d encourage members to attend what is sure to be an insightful talk.
Guest Speaker: Greig Gailey – Non Executive Director, Caltex Australia 12.00 - 14.00 Venue: Grand Hyatt Erawan Saturday, 11 June AustCham Masked Ball
18.30 – Onwards Venue: InterContinental Bangkok Saturday, 18 June Voluntary English Teaching
Bus departs from the Thai CC Building at 8.00 and returns around 16.00 Friday, 24 June Phuket Sundowners
18.00 – 21.00 Venue: IndoChine Resorts and Villa
Thank you to all May sponsors:
Speaking of which, it doesn’t get much better than our Key Issues Dinner with Chris Baker. Political analysis of such high quality is rare. We thank Chris for an impressive and engaging evening. (We are trying to convince him to do an encore post-election performance to tell us what the outcome means)!
Mark Carroll Executive Director, AustCham Thailand www.austchamthailand.com
AustChamThailand Advance