BCCT Link Magazine - Issue 2 2017

Magazine of the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand Issue 2 2017

“Thailand International Business Awards�

Plus: Banking and the economy

.. ..

Contents This Edition

BCCT

Board of Directors 2017 CHAIRMAN Simon Matthews ManpowerGroup Thailand T: 02 2634 7273 matthews@manpower.th.com VICE CHAIRMEN

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Banking on success in Thailand

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Simon Landy Colliers International Thailand T: 02 656 7000 simon.landy@colliers.com Christopher Thatcher Anglo-Thai Legal Co., Ltd. T: 081 803 7377 christhatcher1@gmail.com David Cumming ONYX Hospitality Group (Amari Watergate Bangkok) T: 02 653 9000 david.cumming@amari.com DIRECTORS Ali Adam Arcadia (Thailand) Co., Ltd. T: 02 108 1822 ali@arcadia-engineering.com Mark Bowling Pattaya Realty Co.,Ltd. T: 038 412 301 mark@pattayarealty.com Billy Chomsakorn British Airways PLC T: 001 80044 15906 billy.chomsakorn@ba.com Viriya (Boyd) Chongphaisal GlaxoSmithKline (Thailand) Limited T: 02 659 3000 viriya.x.chongphaisal@gsk.com John Christie Ek-Chai Distribution System Co., Ltd. T: 02 797 9000 john.christie@th.tesco.com Stephen Frost Bangkok International Associates Ltd T: 02 231 6201/6455 sfrost@bia.co.th

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Thailand International Business Awards 2017

Kate Manning Adelphi Digital Consulting Group T: 02 662 1499 kate.manning@adelphidigital.co.th Carl Sellick Lucy Electric (Thailand) Limited T: 033 684 333 carl.sellick@lucyelectric.com Kelvin Tan HSBC T: 02 614 4000 kelvin.tan@hsbc.co.th Summer Xia British Council T: 02 657 5678 summer.xia@britishcouncil.or.th HONORARY TREASURER John Sim PKF Tax and Consulting Services (Thailand) Ltd. T: 02 108 1591-96 john.sim@pkf.com

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Increased demand for air travel in 2017

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More Chinese tourists set to visit Thailand

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Contents Issue 2/2017 The Link is published by the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand.

Every Edition

6 Executive Director’s Message

Advertising enquiries: Greg Watkins Email: greg@bccthai.com

8 Chairman’s Message

Editor: Dale Lawrence Email: dalelawrence2008@gmail.com

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Front cover design: GSBI

IP considerations for European SMEs

Production: Scand-Media Corp., Ltd

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The views expressed by individual authors are not necessarily those of the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand or of the publisher. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand is strictly prohibited.

Are there any cheap lunches let alone free ones?

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Member News: Tesco Lotus makes low prices pledge

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Harrow Bangkok climb for charity

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HSBC Thailand backs Thai Union Group

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54 British Chamber of Commerce Thailand 7th Floor, 208 Wireless Road Bangkok 10330, Thailand Tel: 02-651 5350/3 Fax: 02-651 5354 Website: www.bccthai.com Email: greg@bccthai.com Greg Watkins, Executive Director

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By the Numbers

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Comings & Goings

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Chamber Events: Life & Style Garden Party

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Final Word: Eternal optimism

Chairman’s Message

W

elcome to the second issue of The Link for 2017. I am writing this message on June 6th and before I talk about news at the BCCT I am sure that you were all saddened, as I was, by the tragic events that have happened recently in Manchester and London. In sending our condolences to all the families that have been affected we must also express our admiration for the emergency services that rushed to the aid of those involved without considering the risk to themselves.

SIMON MATTHEWS Sterling Partner

By the time The Link is published the UK General Election will have taken place and the UK will have a new government. We expect no change to the British Government policies that drive the current trade and investment relationship between UK and Thailand.

On that note, the Second Meeting of the Thai-UK Business Leadership Council was held at Lancaster House in London with around 70 participants.

I would like to thank John Christie, CEO of TESCO Thailand, who agreed to serve as Co-Chairman.

Sustaining Partners

The event was very successful and focused upon the three main working groups, namely Export Opportunity and Trade Promotion, Ease of Doing Business and Technology, Innovation and Investment. For more details and updates, please visit our website: www.bcct.org.

I recently attended two very interesting meetings. The first involved my participating on a panel discussion hosted by the Thai National Legislative Assembly and the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand on the topic ‘Eastern Economic Corridor and SEZ : the new investment opportunity in Thailand’.

This certainly appears to be an exciting proposition but it is important that the proposition becomes reality with clarity on specific incentives and how major infrastructure projects will be funded. Your Chamber is planning an event around this topic and details will be confirmed in the near future.

I also attended the Thai Chamber of Commerce/Board of Trade Board meeting. Many topics were discussed including one of interest to many of our readers. It would appear that there is a strong possibility that the 90 day reporting rule will be amended so that such reporting is required only if there has been a change of address. We will continue to work on this and other work permit/visa issues via our many advocacy channels and keep you updates on a regular basis.

We have had two major events in the past few weeks. The always-popular Life and Style Garden Party at the British Embassy was attended by some 400 guests and we express our sincere thanks once again to Ambassador Brian Davidson and his team.

The inaugural BCCT Business Awards was also a great success and I offer my congratulations to all the winners and my thanks to all those that participated.

We will be working hard to make these Awards bigger and better in 2018.

Finally, we have some fantastic events lined up for you in the coming months – business and social – so keep a close eye on our event calendar for all the latest details. I look forward to meeting you soon.

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Executive Director’s Message

A

s I compose this message I am flying back from the UK after a short but very eventful visit. I was there, ostensibly, to attend a board meeting of British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) in Belfast. There was a premeeting dinner on Thursday 8th June, the day of the General Election. Amid much speculation, senior BCC executives were predicting a majority of 60-100 seats for the Conservative Party right up to the first exit poll at 10 pm which predicted a hung parliament!

GREG WATKINS Supporting Partners

Being in UK as the result unfolded, it was interesting to observe how it was reported in the media and just how important context is. Someone looking at the result from afar unaware of the context would have been mystified by the reporting. The Conservatives won with a 55-seat margin but suffered a ‘crushing defeat’ losing 13 seats and failing to secure the desired increased majority in advance of Brexit negotiations with the EU. The Labour Party lost by 55 but gained 30 seats in what the media regarded as a ‘victory’. The third largest party, The Scottish Nationalists, lost 21 of their 56 seats which passed by with barely a mention.

In an interesting feature of the British first-past-the-post electoral system the largest party, the Conservatives, secured 13.7 million votes and 317 seats; Labour secured 12.9 million votes and 262 seats; the Scottish Nationalist Party 978,000 votes and 35 seats, while the Liberal Democrats secured 2.4 million votes but only 12 seats. With the two main parties in the ascendancy there seems to be even less inclination for the UK to move to a system that more accurately reflects the proportion of votes cast across the nation.

What does all this mean for Britain’s trade and investment relationship with Thailand? Likely very little change from the status quo. Many commentators are suggesting that Britain will now seek to remain in the EU Customs Union - at least during the transitional exit period. This would be widely supported by companies in UK and is a softer position than previously envisaged. This would preclude any bilateral trade deals for UK with countries outside of the EU for the time being. However, the UK-Thai trade and investment relationship will continue to flourish. Progress is being made on specific bilateral issues through the work of the Thai-UK Business Leadership Council and BCCT’s close engagement with the Board of Trade of Thailand and Thai Chamber of Commerce.

We are now approaching mid-year. Where has the time gone? We have organised two very successful ‘big ticket’ events in the inaugural Annual Awards and the Life & Style Garden Party. We have the Christmas lunch to come on Thursday 14th December and the possibility of another major event in October or November. Board Director Kate Manning re-launched the BCCT Young Professionals Group with its first event earlier this month. If you, or any of your colleagues, are aged 35 years or less then please engage directly with Kate and support these events.

Airline Partners

The membership team continues to work hard collecting annual fees and recruiting new members. I am now involved directly in chasing invoice late payers. While understanding that business conditions may be difficult, if you have yet to settle your BCCT invoice please now do so as quickly as possible and advise our membership team accordingly. If you would like to discuss how you can make the most of your BCCT membership, including introductions to potential customers, please contact me or Khun Jina.

Please forgive the selfie photo (above). It was taken from a balcony at Pearson’s office in The Strand and shows a great background shot of the River Thames.

Views in this message were expressed to me during my visit to the UK and may not represent the views of BCCT.

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COVER STORY

Banking on success in Thailand

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COVER STORY

Earlier this year Khun Somboon Chitphentom, Assistant Governor at the Bank of Thailand, stated that the Thai banking system’s performance in 2016 had witnessed ‘subdued loan growth and loan quality deterioration’ but he added that ‘the Thai banking system remained resilient with high level of loan loss provision and capital fund and increased net profit from management of deposit portfolio’.

We asked BCCT banking members for their reactions to Khun Chitphentom’s claims and also enquired about actions being taken, including incentives for their clients, to stimulate business expansion in Thailand. We received responses from Standard Chartered (Thailand) and Citi.

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lakorn Wanglee is the Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank (Thailand) and its representative offices. He told The Link that being a responsible company is about using the bank’s position as a leading financial institution to promote the behaviours, values and principles that enable the bank and its clients to make the right decisions in terms of driving investment, boosting trade and creating wealth throughout the country.

“Our approach is less about capitalintensive business and more about making sure that our clients and the bank achieve long-term competitiveness and sustainability of our businesses,” said Khun Plakorn.

“In addition to providing our clients with differentiated products, solutions and services we also offer valueadded services through partnerships with various industry, government and private associations in arranging seminars and training to equip our clients with know-how and networking opportunities. These sessions tap in to our team of local and international experts covering wideranging and ground-breaking topics that help clients to navigate through volatile economic environments and

help them to achieve their growth ambitions.”

He added that the bank was maintaining maintain strong capital and liquidity positions and a robust compliance and risk governance structure designed to enable Standard Chartered to continue to support its clients.

Darren Buckley was appointed Country Head for Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia in early 2012 – coinciding with Citi’s 200th anniversary.

He told The Link that the rapid adoption of mobile and other digital channels had transformed how and where retail customers bank, sign up for cards or loans, pay their bills and invest. For their institutional clients it had transformed how they trade, invest, manage their cash and pay their bills.

“We have responded to this by accelerating our digital capabilities and driving into new digital ecosystems to be compatible where many of our customers are active, and investing in our e-banking platform. While the conversation around innovation and technology can be quite broad we believe that it all boils down to removing

friction from the lives of our clients to make banking easier, faster and better for them,” explained Darren Buckley.

“The digital revolution is transforming the behaviour of customers as they access financial products and services. To stimulate growth and increase relevance to our clients, we are linking deeper into key digital ecosystems of our customers in the country such as with Line here in Thailand. We digitise our business from end-to-end to deliver a better customer experience, and drive more efficient growth.”

Mr Buckley explained that Citi had introduced a newly-refreshed Citi Mobile App featuring easy-to-use functionality and interfaces such as Snapshot and Touch ID which had seen over two million downloads.

Citi was also the first bank to launch voice biometrics across the region with more than one million customers registering for the service.

Q: What are the main benefits to Thailand’s banking sector – and its broad base of consumer and business clients – from the ASEAN Economic Community? Please illustrate real, tangible benefits?

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COVER STORY

Standard Chartered’s Plakorn Wanglee said that the ASEAN Economic Community promises to be a few bright spots in the increasingly turbulent world. “Businesses including banks can thrive through exploiting the emerging opportunities in ASEAN. Capturing the growth will require agility, new connections and finding opportunities geographically closer to home. Targeting ASEAN is a logical and practical move for businesses.

“The region has a population of around 626 million people and is the third largest combined market in Asia. The 10-nation region is expected to remain resilient, with emerging Southeast Asia economies growing at approximately five to seven percent.

ASEAN is the world’s seventh largest economy in the world and continues to have potential to expand. With the sluggish world economy and drop in capital inflows in emerging markets ASEAN seems to be one of the few bright spots in the world today.”

Khun Plakorn said that ASEAN’s GDP growth had outpaced global growth by two percent between 1980 and 2013 with the region leading others in terms of growth. The bank’s research shows that many ASEAN member economies have room to grow faster, potentially exceeding seven percent.

“Despite the large potential of the ASEAN consumer market, however, there are significant challenges in tapping this market. It is worth remembering that ASEAN countries are highly diverse – historically, culturally, politically and economically.

More help is needed for businesses venturing into the ASEAN marketplace to make sense of the vastly differing administrative policies and regulatory standards. Companies already operating across all 10 ASEAN member states have a clear role to play in promoting the benefit of closer integration. We do believe the AEC will help ASEAN create more jobs, attract foreign investment, in12

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Plakorn Wanglee

crease cross-border trade and grow wealth.”

meaningful stimulus to the national economy?

Khun Plakorn was keen to stress that Standard Chartered was the only international bank to do operate in all ASEAN markets.

Citi’s Country Head Darren Buckley stated, “We expect strong contribution from infrastructure spending to materialise in 2017 based on strong project launches and completed bids in 2H2016. So far, the delay in project contracts and paperwork has resulted in most projects being delayed.

Q: Are you seeing evidence that the Thai government’s infrastructure investment programme is generating

COVER STORY

Darren Buckley

However, recent finalisations of yellow and pink lines indicate that momentum will improve in 2H2017 after a muted 1H.” At Standard Chartered, CEO Plakorn Wanglee believes that transport infrastructure investment is vital to putting Thailand on a higher growth trajectory, strengthening its competitiveness and improving the investment climate.

“Assuming good progress of its implementation we expect Thailand to return to its potential growth of four to five percent by 2018. We have, in fact, seen how the government’s infrastructure investment programme is keeping the nation’s economy afloat. Thailand’s economy growth depends largely on exports, approximately 60 percent of its GDP,” he said.

“In 2015 and 2016 exports contracted, coupled with a slowing down in domestic consumption. GDP, on the other hand, was still able to grow by 2.9 and 3.2 percent respectively because of steady increase in the government’s public investment spending – roughly an increment of 30 percent in 2015 and another 10 percent on top in 2016. It is evident

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that public investment is a key driver for growth. We also believe that public investment will keep the country’s economic recovery on track amid persistent global headwinds characterised by growing anti-globalisation sentiment in the West. “ Q: Finally, how does your bank provide help and support to foreign companies seeking to invest and/or expand in Thailand?

Citi’s Global Subsidiaries Group (GSG) is a part of the bank’s core client coverage organisation serving the financial needs of top-tier multinational clients with a presence in Thailand. GSG is organised primarily along industry lines and serves clients in more than 100 countries.

“This organisational model draws upon a deep understanding of industry trends and market knowledge, based on a local presence dating back 100 years in many of these markets, “ explained Darren Buckley. “It is an integral part of Citi’s global network which acts as a gateway to offer our subsidiary clients unprecedented access to global services and solutions. It also enables us to provide a steady stream of innovative cross-border and local

financial solutions tailored to the specific needs of our clients.

“Our seasoned bankers partner with product specialists to provide a full array of corporate banking solutions, from cash management, foreign exchange, trade finance, custody, clearing and loans, to capital markets, derivatives, and structured products as well as investment bankers to deliver investment banking capabilities to our relationship clients, both here in Thailand, and elsewhere in the over 160 countries in which we operate,” Darren Buckley concluded.

At Standard Chartered, Khun Plakorn Wanglee explains, “Take, for example, a client that started the relationship with us in Singapore.

When that client is keen to explore and expand to Thailand the easiest and most straightforward way is to connect with our office in Thailand. That client would not have to start his banking relationship from scratch, and does not have to possess in-depth knowledge of Thailand’s laws and requirements. Financial services companies such as Standard Chartered can play an integral role in supporting companies in their crossborder investment and business activities across the ASEAN region.”

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Thailand International Business Awards 2017 Thailand International Business Awards (TIBA) was organised by the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand (BCCT) in cooperation with the Big Chilli magazine to celebrate business excellence displayed by companies and individual entrepreneurs.

The ceremony took place in the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit on the 7th March 2017 16

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This new initiative aimed to recognise Thailand’s most successful and dynamic businesses and entrepreneurs.

The inaugural TIBA featured a range of categories to reflect the wide diversity of businesses operating in Thailand. It did not focus on specific sectors or nationalities. All were welcome to enter whether they were nominated by others or self-nominated. Nominations were open to any company registered in Thailand regardless of size or affiliations. It was an opportunity to recognise and celebrate outstanding achievements across all sectors in the business community in Thailand.

Awards existed in order to acknowledge excellence in performance, process and creativity, to compare against peers, to highlight best practice and to reward supporting staff. BCCT sought to make this a meaningful and successful Awards competition. We started small, embraced what went well and learnt from what didn’t, and build this into an initiative that engages more and more companies and entrepreneurs.

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The eight categories broadly reflect excellence in the business community in Thailand were: Corporate • •

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•

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Most Innovative Company – kindly sponsored by Mazars Outstanding Small Company – kindly sponsored by Infobip (Thailand) Most Promising New Business – kindly sponsored by Samitivej Hospitals Outstanding Company – kindly sponsored by Edge Worldwide Logistics Social Impact – kindly sponsored by D8ii Limited

Individual • Young Professional – sponsored by BCCT • Thai Entrepreneur – sponsored by BCCT • Expat Entrepreneur – kindly organized by The Big Chilli Thank you to all our sponsors.

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In each category we asked each candidate to produce 500 words covering five key aspects: • Clear explanation of overall business • Performance • Creativity/Innovation • Contribution to the Thai economy • Level of staff participation/involvement Those candidates who best reflected these criteria were selected by our judges Why ‘International’?

Businesses in Thailand have a multi-national customer base and operate in an international environment. BCCT did not want to be limited by only British branding.

A big thank you to our judges for the first seven categories: • • • • •

Sukhavichai Dhanasundara Jayne Harvey Gavintorn Atthakor David Nardone Rolf-Dieter Daniel

Thank you to our host the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, the MCs Khun Bee Xoomsai and Mr Andrew Biggs and, most importantly, the BCCT team for working many hours to organise this event.

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Congratulations to the winners and runners up: Winners • Most Innovative Company AstraZenenca (Thailand) • Outstanding Small Company FactoryTalk Co Ltd • Most Promising New Business Adelphi Digital Consulting Group • Outstanding Company GrabTaxi (Thailand) • Thai Entrepreneur Khun Sunsanee G Davies • Young Professional Maxim Sheaib • Social Impact International School Bangkok (ISB)

Finally, thank you all, a truly multi-national audience, for supporting the first Thailand International Business Awards.

We had some fantastic entertainment for the evening from VieTrio, described by those who have experienced their music as a ‘unique phenomenon’.

Runners up • Most Innovative Company Infobip (Thailand) and Plaza Athenee Bangkok • Outstanding Small Company D8ii Limited and Parker Bridge Recruitment • Most Promising New Business D8ii Limited and TCH Hua Hin • Outstanding Company AstraZeneca (Thailand) and Bumrungrad International • Thai Entrepreneur Billy Chomsakorn and Pachara Yongjiranon • Young Professional Jayson Ho and Kate Manning • Social Impact Diageo Moet Hennessey (Thailand) and Mr Tim Beaumont The Link

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News from the IPR SME Help Desk

IP considerations for European SMEs

By Helika Jurgenson

T

hailand is currently the second largest buyer of ICT products and services in the ASEAN region and its ICT market is expected to grow at a fast pace in the near future, propelled by increased consumption and urbanisation, as well as the growing middle class. Underpinned by the Thai Government’s new Digital Economy Policy, aiming to develop hard and soft digital infrastructure across the country and modernising the economy through digitalisation, Thailand is expected to offer many promising business opportunities for European SMEs. European SMEs engaged in developing solutions for telecommunications, e-commerce, internet banking and mobile banking as well as offering solutions geared towards facilitating the transition to a digital economy could enjoy major business opportunities in Thailand, as these are the sectors receiving the lion’s share of the Thai government’s expenditures on ICT. At the same time, companies offering third platform technologies such as cloud services and big data analytics can also prosper in Thailand as recent years have registered an increasing market demand for these services.

European ICT companies should, however, pay attention to protecting their IP rights when planning their business strategy for the Thai market, because IP infringements are still relatively common in the country.

Well-managed IP is often a key factor for business success and neglecting to register IP rights in Thailand could easily end SMEs’ business endeavour in the country. Thus, a robust IPR strategy is needed, when entering Thailand’s market.

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Apply for patents to protect your inventions ICT companies, wishing to market new inventions in Thailand, should consider applying for patents, because patent owners acquire, for a fixed period, the exclusive right to prevent others from using, commercialising or importing the patented inventions. It should also be kept in mind that patent rights are territorial, meaning that patents granted in Europe are not protected or recognised in Thailand.

Inventions need to be new, involve an inventive step and be industrially applicable (this means capable of industrial production) to be granted an invention patent. Invention patents are valid for 20 years after the filing date in Thailand.

It is also possible to apply for petty patents, which do not require an inventive step. Petty patents last for six years from the filing date in Thailand and are extendible twice for two more years (i.e. maximum term of 10 years). Petty patents are generally easier to grant and they can be obtained faster than standard invention patents (within 3-5 years as opposed to 5-6 years), which would suit better for SMEs engaged in the fast developing ICT sector.

Thailand is a member of the Paris Convention and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), which means that applicants for invention patents and petty patents are entitled to a ‘right of priority’ (i.e. the same filing date the original application made in the home country can be used in Thailand), if the same filing is made in Thailand within 12 months from the first filing in any other country that also belongs to the Paris Convention. In using the PCT Route, the same filing must be made in Thailand within 30 months from the first filed application.

News from the IPR SME Help Desk

plying for a design patent, innovation patent or a petty patent, it is important to do so as early as possible.

Semiconductor topographies protected in Thailand As semiconductors play the central role in the ICT industry, SMEs focused on R&D might also want to protect their semiconductor topographies. In Thailand, semiconductor topographies are protected under the Protection of Layout-Designs of Integrated Circuits Act, which is separate from design patents or invention patents.

Design patents protect appearance of products Design patents are used to protect the aesthetic aspects of products, but not their functionalities. Design patents are increasingly used in the ICT industry to protect the appearance of products, like smart phones, tablets, and media players.

Good news for the ICT companies is that, in Thailand, it is also possible to apply for a design patent that covers the Graphical User Interface (GUI). Given the central role of GUIs in ICT sector and the fierce competition on Thai ICT market, it is important that GUI owners apply for the design patent in order to protect their inventions.

A design patent application for a GUI has the same requirements as standard design patent application.

Design patents must also meet the absolute novelty requirement like invention and petty patents. Design patent protection in Thailand lasts for 10 years and the application procedure generally takes about three years.

Similarly to invention patents and petty patents, the application form and other relevant required documents must be submitted in the Thai language or accompanied by a Thai translation. Additionally, a notarised Power of Attorney is requested from foreign applicants.

European SMEs should keep in mind that Thailand operates under a ‘first-to-file’ system. Hence, for SMEs ap-

The layout-design certificate is valid for the term of 10 years from the date of filing or from the date of the first commercial exploitation whether within or outside Thailand, whichever occurs first, but not exceeding 15 years from the creation of the lay-out design.

The application for registration of the layout-design has to be done within 2 years from the date of the first commercial exploitation of the lay-out design. SMEs should, however, keep in mind that semiconductor topography registration also functions under the ‘first-tofile’ system in Thailand, so it would be wise to register the design as early as possible.

Copyright protects expression of SME ideas Since the ICT sector features cumulative innovations with short product cycles, SMEs may wish to also take advantage of other IP rights, such as copyrights. One of the main values of copyright protection is simplicity, as copyright protection arises automatically as soon as the work is created. It must, however, be brought in mind that copyright protection extends only to expressions of ideas, and not to ideas per se.

In Thailand, copyright protected items can include works of literature, music, drama, visual and graphic arts, including (but not limited to) books, movies, songs, computer software, websites and photographic works. Copyright protection in Thailand is automatic and it is valid for the life of the author plus an additional period of 50 years after author’s death. If the author is a legal person, the copyright exists for a period of 50 years after the work is first published or, if unpublished, after its creation.

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News from the IPR SME Help Desk

Although copyright protection arises automatically, formal recordation of copyright at the Thai Copyright Office is recommended for EU SMEs, as it is useful as evidence of ownership in the event of a dispute. In some cases, Thai authorities may not even start legal proceedings without the copyright recordation certificate. Recordation of copyright is free of charge in Thailand.

numeral, signature, combination of colours, figure or shape of an object, sound, or any combination thereof.

Additionally, three-dimensional signs can also be registered as trademarks. SMEs should keep in mind that Thailand adopts the ‘first-to-file’ system, meaning that the first person to register a trademark owns that mark and therefore, it is recommended to register the trademark as early as possible.

Keep your trade secrets

Trademarks are registered at the Department of Intellectual Property of the Ministry of Commerce and registration costs between EUR 50 and EUR 420 for one class, depending on how many items of goods and services are registered and if agents are needed. SMEs should bear in mind that they need to be represented by an agent when registering trademark in Thailand.

The importance of trade secret protection cannot be overemphasized in high-tech companies. By protecting trade secrets, most businesses can take advantage of the lead time, meaning the ability to commercialise the innovation well ahead of competitors, so that substantial revenue can be captured before copycats are introduced in the market. This is especially helpful for companies with products that are expected to have a short run in the market like ICT products.

SMEs should also be aware that trademark application form and other required documents must be submitted in the Thai language or accompanied by a Thai translation.

Trade secrets do not require registration and are protected under Thai IP laws as long as appropriate measures are taken to protect the confidentiality of the information.

These measures may include limiting the number of employees exposed to the critical know-how, restricting employees’ access to confidential information and using non-disclosure clauses in employment contracts to avoid making trade secrets public.

Companies should include confidentiality clauses within employee contracts covering not only the duration of employment, but if possible, even after the employee has left. It should also be of paramount importance to ensure that confidentiality agreements are signed with business partners whenever disclosing confidential information.

Don’t forget to protect your brand Considering that ICT products tend to have shorter product cycles, and at the same time, improvements are added at a consistent pace, SMEs will benefit from consistent branding. Since there is a strong interaction and interoperability among ICT products in the market, having a consistent source identifier would be useful to drive business value. Along with the branding strategy, it is essential to undertake the protection of such brands through trademark registration.

In Thailand a trademark may be composed of a photograph, drawing, device, brand, name, word, text, letter,

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The South-East Asia IPR SME Helpdesk supports small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) from European Union (EU) member states to protect and enforce their Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in or relating to South-East Asian countries, through the provision of free information and services. The Helpdesk provides jargon-free, first-line, confidential advice on intellectual property and related issues, along with training events, materials and online resources. Individual SMEs and SME intermediaries can submit their IPR queries via email (question@southeastasia-iprhelpdesk.eu) and gain access to a panel of experts, in order to receive free and confidential first-line advice within 3 working days.

The South-East Asia IPR SME Helpdesk is co-funded by the European Union.

To learn more about the South-East Asia IPR SME Helpdesk and any aspect of intellectual property rights in South-East Asia, please visit our online portal at http://www.ipr-hub.eu/.

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Further inquiries: Please contact kissummer@kis.ac.th, 022743444 ext 2102, 1106 All classes are in English The Link Issue 2/2017 KIS International School, 999/123-124 Pracha-Utit Rd., Samsennok, Huay Kwang, Bangkok 10310

27

Are there any cheap lunches let alone free ones?

By Paul Gambles

R

ecently, Vanguard UK announced a 50 percent reduction in its UK closed-platform fee structure for online clients. This caused quite a stir: it was one of the major topics of conversation at an investment conference held just a few days later here in Bangkok .

The offer has been heralded as ‘throwing down the gauntlet to high-charging rivals and financial advisers by slashing fees to less than half the UK average’. While that may be true it is, in itself, perhaps less attractive than Vanguard’s perpetually energetic marketing may suggest. It also leaves unanswered many key fundamental questions about end-user costs for clients.

In announcing the extension of its offering directly to individuals in the UK, Vanguard is aiming to take business off the advisors, private banks, stockbrokers and investment platforms it has used until now (see chart).

My view, and the one that seemed to prevail at the gathering of the wealth-management community here, was that the reality of Vanguard’s announcement fell some way short of the hype. Still, it has at least generated discussion on how the wealth management industry generates its income from clients.

This is particularly relevant at present in Thailand with the SEC’s recent liberalisation of investment regulations that allows far wider access to global assets, although Thailand doesn’t yet offer the same wide choice of investment structures available in the UK.

Private banks Offshore Life Wrappers

Internaitonal platforms

Broker accounts

Closed loop (1 provider only e.g.

Vanguard)

UK platforms

The above diagram is to be used purely as an example and is not be taken as an accurate illustration of any real-life scenario. MBMG Investment Advisory cannot be held responsible for any errora that may occur.

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In my experience, there are three main types of clients: DIY clients typically make all decisions themselves. They may pay fees for specific expertise in related areas and also pay subscriptions or fees for research. Many might also want to execute transactions themselves online; some may prefer to use a broker, RM or advisor.

Collaborators want to be involved in the decision-making process but tend to place a higher value on external input. Collaborators might generally be less inclined to execute transactions themselves online.

Delegators are generally investors who prefer to have a high-level overview of setting strategy but little or no ongoing day to day involvement.

The best approach is very much a client’s own decision and can change over time. However, services and fees are frequently misunderstood and far from clear. The complexity of intermediation and disintermediation relationships appears to be changing faster today, as the role of technology increases.

All clients face similar challenges trying to identify the most cost-effective solutions. The visible fees are the tip of the iceberg. The majority of financial-institution profit may lurk below the surface:

Investment firms’ visible and hidden income sources Activity

Visible

Hidden

Management/Advisory:

Periodic management/advisory fees

Service/product rebates and commissions

Service fees:

Custody etc. fees

In-house products (e.g. structured) fees

Transaction fees:

Client transaction fee

Undisclosed transaction profits

Financial institutions have been able to benefit from multiple income streams, mainly: 1) Their own (or affiliated) product or service fees 2) Transaction fees and profits 3) Incomes received from third parties Each of these have visible and hidden facets. Once having apparently ‘unbundled’ their services and fees, many banks (and other financial institutions) have rather furtively buried many of them again.

Broadly, the essential links in an investment-service chain consist of the custody of the assets, the transaction of assets and the asset allocation/selection decision-making process. Investors, or their delegated agents, have to choose what assets to hold, buy and sell etc.

Visible transaction fees might amount to only a fraction of a percent or a flat fee per trade. But these might also be just the thin end of a fat wedge. Hidden fees can be much higher. In addition to the fees received from genuinely third party providers, institutions frequently promote the funds of their affiliated fund management company thus capturing, for their parent company or group, the entire up-front and ongoing fees.

There has also been a growing trend for private banks to promote structured and other products created by their investment banking division, in which product structuring has in many cases now become a major activity.

Structured products typically pay explicit fees (to private banks and also to advisors or brokers) which, in markets where generally such distribution fees have to be disclosed, have averaged around two percent – they may be higher in less regulated markets. They also generate further fees for the investment banks involved in structuring them, which can be many times greater than this.

It should be noted that Thai banks and brokers have generally been far less guilty of this than their international counterparts but there seems to be an increasing danger of these creeping into the Thai marketplace.

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Brokerage accounts in particular are finding their fee margins squeezed on traditional market-traded assets (stocks, ETFs and mutual funds etc.) which may explain their apparent new-found appetite for structured products to generate significant extra income.

Vanguard’s initiative in the UK is definitely a move in the right direction but their reduced offering is certainly far from cheap for a closed investment universe (i.e. one that only offers access to a single provider’s products) and, like any closed or restricted universe, it inevitably compromises client outcomes in most foreseeable situations.

Therefore, the extent of the savings compared to more open architecture alternatives is the most significant metric to assess here. Vanguard remains more expensive than the most competitive restricted-architecture solutions available and not sufficiently cheaper than the best value open-architecture solutions.

Overall, Vanguard’s UK solution also remains short of the kind of value-added extras many clients require. Thailand’s financial services providers can undoubtedly learn from this.

Ideally, what Vanguard has done in the UK will start a broader discussion globally, that will resonate in Thailand, about how the conflicts that still pervade the investment profession to the detriment of end-users can be addressed, leading to transparency regarding all fees.

In Thailand, the profession is suddenly developing quickly. Until now, the range of investment products people were legitimately able to buy had been relatively limited. However, the Thai SEC recently allowed providers of assets from reputable jurisdictions to apply for temporary distribution permits or to fly clients overseas to visit them. In addition, Thai life insurance products have begun to offer unit-linked savings that enable an investor to be covered by an insurance policy and simultaneously buy into other investments.

The difficulty, of course, is for investors to decipher which products best suit their needs and how hands-on they want to be in making investment decisions. The answer to that question differs with every person. This should be a positive development, an opportunity to ensure that the Thai regulatory environment continues to offer a good standard of protection for investors, without remaining prohibitive in a way that massively narrows people’s options.

However, the transition won’t be easy. The headwind tends to come from a lack of knowledge. Most legitimate investment products are still sold in banks where staff might only have experience of offering their employers’ own products.

Consequently whilst many solutions – including digital advisory – are available they are not yet being widely used. One other side of this coin is that, despite moves to prevent any repetition of the mis-selling scandals that have dogged Thailand, there still seemingly exists a residual culture of unregulated advice. Now that investors have a wider choice through regulated channels, it’s hoped that all advisors will decide to operate on a regulated basis.

So, on the face of it, digital platforms offer seemingly cheap, user-friendly services. But the reality is that most people will need advice on whether the platforms available are the most beneficial way for them to invest and help in watching out for hidden costs.

To ensure investors get reliable, independent advice, they should speak to a regulated advisor that charges a fee, rather than one who might be taking a commission for doing so.

Paul Gambles is co-founder of MBMG Group – a professional research and advisory firm that provides seamless advice to individuals, corporations and institutional clients.

Tel: +66 2665 2536 Email: info@mbmg-group.com Linkedin: MBMG Group Twitter: @MBMG_Group Facebook: /MBMGGroup 30

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1 https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/16/vanguardfunds-investment-isa-uk-fees-hargreaves-lansdown-fidelity 2 https://www.hubbis.com/event/thailand-wealth-managementforum-2017-2017-5-18/ 3 The Future of Financial Services - How disruptive innovations are reshaping the way financial services are structured, provisioned and consumed, June 2015, World Economic Forum 4 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-04-04/fees-onstructured-notes-tied-to-stocks-climb-to-three-year-high 5 The Devil’s Derivatives: The Untold Story of the Slick Traders and Hapless Regulators Who Almost Blew Up Wall Street - and Are Ready to Do It Again: Harvard Business Review Press, ISBN: 978-1-4221-7781-5 6 https://www.ftadviser.com/2015/06/05/investments/unregulatedadvisers-under-fire-YyFN0ZnWNuXYjK7K7l8qiK/article.html

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The Link Issue 2/2017 Bangkok Patana is a not-for-profit, IB World School, accredited by CIS and NEASC

31

Increased demand for air travel in 2017 T he International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced global passenger traffic results for March 2017 showing that demand (measured in revenue passenger kilometers, or RPKs) rose by 6.8 percent compared to the same month a year ago. Capacity grew 6.1 percent and load factor climbed by half a percentage point to 80.4 percent – a record for the month.

March demand growth represented a moderate slowdown relative to performance in February after adjusting

UK occurred too late in March to have an effect on traffic figures.

for the distortion in the year-to-year comparisons owing to the extra day in February 2016. The imposition of the ban on large electronics in the cabin on certain routes to the US and

“Strong traffic demand continued throughout the first quarter, supported by a combination of lower fares and a broad-based upturn in global economic conditions. The price of air travel has fallen by around ten percent in real terms over the past year and that has contributed to record load factors. We will have to wait another month to see the impact of the laptop ban on demand,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

Tourism boost for Thailand T he 2017 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI) released by management consulting firm A.T.Kearney shows that Thailand’s re-entry has been driven by a boost from a record 33 million tourists in 2016.

The government is pushing hard for tourism, with related revenues expected to grow by 10 percent this year. The expected influx of foreign tourists, coupled with rising consumer incomes, is expected to provide a boost to the retail sector, which is forecast to grow six percent per year through 2020.

The GRDI, now in its 16th edition, ranks the top 30 developing countries for retail investment worldwide.

The Index analyses 25 macroeconomic and retail-specific variables.

The study is unique in that it not only identifies the markets that are most attractive today, but also those that offer future potential.

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“Thailand’s young population is driving the country’s consumption growth. The convenience sector, popular with young urban consumers and those with rising incomes, is growing as it caters to consumers’ busy lifestyles with services such as bill payments, mobile top-ups, and free Wi-Fi. 7-Eleven, for example, has more than 9,000 stores in Thailand, its largest market (by store count) outside of Japan,” said Soon Ghee Chua, Partner and Head of Southeast Asia at A.T. Kearney.

“E-commerce is also on the rise thanks to a young population, high mobile penetration and heavy access to mobile data. This is evident from the fact that 50 percent of e-commerce transactions are now happening on the mobile platform. This has been encouraging ecommerce giants to enter Thailand which will likely further improve the overall shopping experience as well as bringing more variety to consumers,” he added.

Alibaba has announced it will bring more Chinese products to sell through Lazada, whose third biggest market is Thailand. Ezbuy, a Singaporean e-commerce website, has also expanded its footprint. In April 2016, retail giant Central Group acquired online fashion seller Zalora’s businesses in Thailand and Vietnam to expand its e-commerce presence in the region.

Asia Pacific is the most dynamic region in the Index - accounting for five of the top ten countries. India is leading the pack with a rapidly expanding economy and a consumption boom.

China drops to second place but the country still leads in other areas, most notably e-commerce. Vietnam is emerging as an important market for retail expansion with its liberalised investment laws. Elsewhere in the region there has been steady growth in modern retail despite rising inflation in Indonesia and a depreciation of the Malaysian ringgit.

Thailand set to launch long term retirement visa

By Stephen Frost

T

hailand has offered retirement visas for some considerable time but the government plans to introduce a long-term retirement visa, possibly as early as August 2017 with a view to attracting more foreign retirees to the country.

In this article we examine and comment upon the existing law and the new proposals.

The existing retirement visa concept is relatively simple in its requirements.

• It is valid for one year (renewable) • A retirement visa may be applied for by a person of any nationality, aged over 50 • The applicant must have savings of not less than 800,000 Baht in a bank account in Thailand, or income of not less than 65,000 Baht per month, or a combination of the two totaling 800,000 Baht (the savings/income thresholds are halved if the applicant is legally married to a Thai spouse) • A re-entry permit is required if the applicant wishes to exit and re-enter Thailand during the term of the visa • 90 day reporting of address is required by the applicant • No health insurance requirement • No requirement for police criminal records check • If the applicant wishes to work then the retirement visa must be given up and applications must be submitted for a non-immigrant visa and a work permit The proposed long stay retirement visa will be, if introduced,

subject to the following terms and conditions: • Valid for a term of five years, extendable to 10 years • It may be applied for by a person aged over 50 who is a citizen of Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Japan and Australia • Applicants must show a minimum of THB 3 million in a Thai bank account or a combination of THB 1.8 million in savings and an annual income of not less than THB 1.2 million. The THB 3 million savings must held on account at the bank for a period of one year but this may be reduced to THB 1.5 million under certain conditions • Criminal background checks are required on all applicants • All applicants must maintain health insurance in Thailand from a Thai insurance company with outpatient coverage of a minimum of THB 40,000 and in-patient coverage of not less than THB 100,000 • A re-entry permit would be required if the applicant wishes to exit and re-enter Thailand during the term of the visa • 90 day reporting of address is required by the applicant • If the applicant wishes to work then the retirement visa must be surrendered up and applications must be submitted for a non-immigrant visa and a work permit Several matters merit comment.

The ordinary one year retirement visa has lower savings/income requirements and no requirement

to take out health insurance which may be problematic for those aged over 60 or with pre-existing medical conditions.

Regarding both visas, if the applicant wishes to work - even on an unpaid basis, for a charity or foundation, or to teach English language to schoolchildren, a non-immigrant visa and a work permit is still required.

Neither visa carries a right to purchase a limited amount of land on which to build a home as land ownership is, in general, still prohibited to all foreigners.

Given the comparative ease with which an ordinary one year retirement visa may be obtained with its lower income requirements and lack of any requirement for health insurance, one wonders how popular this new long-term retirement visa concept will prove to be in practice.

Stephen Frost, Bangkok International Associates 2017.

Bangkok International Associates is a general corporate and commercial law firm. For further information, please contact Stephen Frost by email at sfrost@ bia.co.th or telephone (66) 2 231 6201/6455.

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More Chinese tourists set to visit Thailand K asikorn Research Centre estimates Chinese tourist arrivals to Thailand will rebound in the second half of 2017.

The Centre is reporting that Thailand’s Chinese tourist market is making adjustments following last year’s overdue ban on the so-called ‘zero dollar’ tours.

During the first four months of this year the number of Chinese tourist arrivals to Thailand dropped by 7.4 percent to 3.19 million (compared to 2016). However, this figure is a substantial improvement on the final quarter of 2016 when numbers of Chinese arrivals fell by 20.7 percent year-on-year.

Kasikorn Research Centre states that ‘over the short term this inbound tourism market will be supported by the resumption of marketing efforts by Chinese tour operators in Thailand, while prob34

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lems between China and South Korea that have undermined Chinese tourist arrivals will continue to see tourists go elsewhere’.

half of this year which embraces the high season for Chinese tourists during their school and National Day holidays in October.

The research centre estimates that the number of Chinese visiting Thailand this year will rise by between five and 7.5 percent, totalling in excess of nine million. The centre added that the increase should become apparent during the second

Thailand’s receipts from Chinese tourists should reach as much as THB480 billion in 2017 – equivalent to an increase year-on-year of between seven and 9.4 percent.

This compares with the 15.2 percent growth reported for 2016.

Airline shares take off I ATA reports that global revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) grew by 10.7 percent year-onyear in April 2017 – the fastest pace in six years. Industry-wide passenger demand continued to be supported by a pick-up in economic activity and lower airfares, although the ban on personal electronic devices looks to have affected traffic between the Middle East and North America.

Every region saw double-digit annual international RPK growth in April with Russia recording the fastest domestic growth. The seasonally adjusted load factor posted a fresh alltime high. The latest data published

by IATA provides further evidence of a strong start to 2017 for passenger demand growth.

Airlines based in Asia Pacific posted year-on-year growth of 10.9 percent in April (a 14-month high) and the upward trend remains strong. Traffic between cities in Asia and Europe

continued to recover strongly, having been affected by terrorist acts in early 2016.

Goh Choon Phong (pictured above), CEO of Singapore Airlines is the new Chairman of the IATA Board of Governors. He serves a one-year term

and succeeds Willie Walsh, CEO of International Airlines Group that includes beleaguered British Airways and Iberia. Mr. Goh joined Singapore Airlines in 1990 and held senior management roles in Singapore and overseas before being appointed CEO in 2011.

Keynote role in Bangkok for David Cameron F ormer UK Prime Minister David Cameron was the keynote speaker at the recent World Travel and Tourism Council Annual Summit, held in Bangkok. The Summit was opened by General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand. General Prayut said that Thailand’s tourism revenue rose by 21 percent in 2015 to 2.26 trillion Baht (US$66.47 billion). Despite unfavourable world economic conditions, Thai tourism sector registered an 11 per cent growth in 2016 to 2.52 trillion Baht (US$74.1 billion).

“I am proud that Thailand has been

selected to host one of the world’s most important international tourism conferences. This reinforces Thailand’s readiness to host global conferences in addition to its potential to be a leading travel and tourism hub in Asia and the world,” added General Prayut. More than 800 travel and tourism industry representatives attended the event, hosted by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Dr. Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), was a notable guest of honour.

David Cameron

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Member News

Harrow jazz band at Queen’s official birthday celebrations T

he Harrow Bangkok jazz band performed at the British Embassy’s celebration to mark the official birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11. The young musicians impressed guests at the glittering party, organised by the British Embassy in Bangkok and held at the Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel in Bangkok, with a varied set list lasting for more than two hours.

British Ambassador to Thailand Brian Davidson (pictured top centre with the band) thanked the students personally.

Students showcase life of Thomas Telford G uests attending the British Embassy’s official birthday celebrations of H.M. Queen Elizabeth 11 were treated to an impressive display showcasing the life and achievements of Thomas Telford - the renowned British engineer, architect and stonemason noted in particular for his landmark works near Shrewsbury in Shropshire.

The display was organised by six students from years 9 and 10 at Shrewsbury International School in Bangkok.

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British Ambassador Brian Davidson discussed the display with the Shrewsbury students. It was a fit-

ting tribute to one of the UK’s finest civil engineers after whom the town of Telford, east of Shrewsbury is named.

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Member News

Tesco Lotus makes low prices pledge T

esco Lotus has reiterated its commitment to strategically important Thailand by expanding retail channels, enhancing its fresh food offers, keeping prices low and contributing to the community.

“Tesco Lotus is the (parent company’s) largest business outside of the UK (home market). Hence we remain committed to growing and investing in Thailand, and serving our customers here,” explained CEO John Christie (pictured right).

The company operates more than 1,900 stores in 73 provinces and three online shopping platforms. The stores range in size from about 180 hypermarkets to 200 Talad stores and 1,500 Express shops, he said.

“Our plan for this year is to open stores in both large and small formats, while enhancing the online shopping platforms, to provide customers with access to high-quality products at affordable prices.

“With more store openings this year, our total number of stores will be close to 2,000 by the end of our 2017 fiscal year. At the same time, we will continue to refurbish existing stores.

“Last year we refurbished 18 hypermarkets, and this year we plan to upgrade a similar number of stores to provide customers with a better shopping experience,” he said.

Christie declined to reveal the capital investment and types of branches to be developed and opened this year.This is Tesco Lotus’ 23rd year

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of operating in Thailand, and the company remains very much devoted to supporting its customers and the economy here, he said. The company’s goal is to continue finding ways to serve shoppers better every day and to contribute to communities in which it operates, he added.

“In addition, we will invest in state-ofthe-art machinery for packinghouses, transportation systems and distribution centres to preserve freshness.

“We will also continue on the journey we began last year, to improve the fresh-food value chain from end to end, in order to uplift quality and drive down prices for our customers, while helping farmers gain a higher income.

As part of a global network, Tesco Lotus shares expertise and draws on the strengths of other businesses within Tesco Group, Christie said.

“In doing so, we work closely with local farmers through every link of the supply chain, from planning production volume to giving them knowledge about safety and quality standards, which help increase yields and therefore farmers’ income.

“At our stores, we will focus on providing great shopping experiences for our customers with |exciting product displays and enjoyable activities,” he said.

“What we do particularly well at Tesco Lotus is customer engagement, both in our stores and online. Our colleagues take part in fun activities that deliver a better shopping experience for our customers in our stores and shopping malls.

“At the same time, we use the power of online to engage in two-way com-

Member News

munications with our customers,” he said.

“Aside from communicating to them about our exciting promotions and discounts, we also build an emotional connection on popular digital platforms including Line and Facebook.

“Every day, we talk to 39 million customers via these channels, as well as our own mobile applications.

“Last year, Tesco Lotus was the first within the Tesco Group to have launched a Clubcard mobile app, so our customers can now check their points and redeem them very conveniently,” he said.

Besides fresh food, Tesco Lotus will continue to keep prices low for the products that matter the most to customers, Christie said.

Last year, prices of baby products, rice and snacks were brought down and customers responded warmly.

One of Thailand’s most experienced hoteliers has stepped down from his duties as General Manager at the Ramada Plaza Bangkok Menam Riverside hotel. Klaus Sennik (left) held the position for six years and transformed the property into one of Bangkok’s most popular hotels for guests from many continents. Taking over from Klaus Sennik is Willem Pentermann, a Dutch national with some 30 years of work experience in the Asia Pacific region.

“We aspire for Tesco Lotus to be famous for great-quality fresh food at affordable prices, and for doing good things for our customers, colleagues and communities. Hence we will invest our resources and energy in developing our colleagues and supporting our communities, from helping people during natural disasters to arranging donation programmes for the underprivileged.

“In addition, we have incorporated social contributions into our business operations, such as being the first retailer in Thailand to donate surplus food from our stores and distribution centres to people in need and equipping farmers with business knowledge as we purchase fruit and vegetables directly from them.

“We are proud that we have provided a great place to work for over 60,000 Tesco Lotus employees and contributed to communities in every part of Thailand. We remain committed to continuing to do good things for them,” he added.

Khun Wynn Pakdeejit (pictured right) has been appointed as Managing Partner at Baker McKenzie Thailand. He replaces Khun Thinawat Bukhamana, who steps down after four years in this role.

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Member News

Thailand set to become ‘hyper aged’ – bank research

O

ne in five Thais and Chinese will reach 65 years of age by 2035, making the countries statistically ‘hyper-aged’ – according to new research from Standard Chartered. Investing in education, maintaining low government debts and raising female participation rates in labour market could mitigate the impact of ageing and the bank notes that there is considerable growth potential in senior consumer markets in emerging Asia, particularly China In the West, ageing populations has been a theme for decades but the most rapidly ageing societies will be in Asia. China has 131 million citizens aged over 65, more than twice as many as Japan, Germany and Italy combined. Asia’s population is getting old much faster than Europe and the US did in the 20th century.

“This means that some countries in Asia, such as Thailand and China, will grow old before they get rich.

These countries need to find ways to manage their already rapidly ageing populations or they will end up stuck in the middle-income trap,” said Samantha Amerasinghe, Economist at Standard Chartered Bank.

Korea and Singapore are already ageing, which means that between seven and 14 per cent of the population is aged 65 and over. By 2030, more than one in five Koreans and Singaporeans will be seniors - making these countries statistically ‘hyperaged’.

Ageing impacts economies, primarily because it reduces the supply and quality of labour. After decades of enjoying a demographic dividend China, Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand will start to see an economic drag

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Asian countries – with their relatively low government debts – can also help by taking on some of the increased costs of ageing through the pension system. Pension systems remain unsustainable in many parts of Asia, with China’s nationwide pensions possibly running deficits as early as 2030. Governments need to also step up their efforts to support ageing populations, through health care provision and social security.

from ageing before 2020. Singapore will experience this before 2025.

Despite multiple new policies, attempts to raise fertility rates across Asia have so far proven unsuccessful.

For the major economies, including China, Thailand, Japan, Singapore and Korea, fertility rates remain well below the 2.1 it would take to replace the current population.

Raising female participation rates will have the biggest immediate impact. Countries like Korea, Singapore, China and Japan have launched various initiatives – including childcare subsidies and allowances and employer incentives – to become more family friendly. This is likely to be the quickest way of mitigating the impact of ageing.

A greying population could also affect consumption and investment, though, again, this need not be the case. There’s a considerable growth potential in the senior consumer markets in emerging Asia, particularly in China.

However, whilst the greying of Asia is unavoidable, the economic effects may not be. By making even modest improvements in the quality of labour through investing more in education, China could postpone the effect of ageing on economic growth by as much as ten years.

The trend in more developed markets may point the way. In the US, for example, by 2020, only 11 per cent of investable assets will be held by people younger than 45. As their economies develop, we should expect spending patterns to mirror more closely what is happening in the West.

On current trends, China is set to have the world’s biggest pool of educated workers within the coming decades. This will help to underpin economic growth before the impact of ageing sets in. More investment would stave off the effects for longer.

While governments in Asia have shown willingness to tackle the challenges of ageing demographics, their continued attention to balancing the negative effects with rising consumption among the ‘silver economy’ will prove crucial over the longer term.

Member News

Opportunities knocking in Asian real estate

N

ow is the time to grab opportunities in the Asian property sector. That’s the view of JLL Asia Pacific CEO Anthony Couse who told Tech in Asia Singapore conference panel discussion that ‘while real estate has been viewed as a traditional business the time is right to embrace technology, digitisation and collaboration’.

“We’re taking an agile approach to technology that will allow us to meet our clients’ needs today while preparing for the opportunities of tomorrow,” added Anthony Couse. “We believe in big corporations being part of the larger tech ecosystem, engaging with the start-up scene and academic researchers, and learning from entrepreneurs and innovators. Proptech is an opportunity for us all to work together and that is really exciting.”

Indian start-ups: Foyr.com, which uses virtual reality and augmented reality to facilitate the customisation of interiors; and Cloud 1 Enterprises, a cloud-based platform that enables companies to provide safe and secure transportation for their employees.

Proptech, a portmanteau of the words ‘property’ and ‘technology’, describes a burgeoning new sector whereby technology solutions are used to solve real estate problems.

On the panel in Singapore with Anthony Couse were Darius Cheung, founder and CEO of 99.co - a property search portal that has secured US$7.9 million in funding - and Associate Professor Wen Yonggang of the newly launched Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Research Centre (DSAIR). DSAIR is a research centre for artificial intelligence and big data analytics at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Darius Cheung observed, “Real estate is one of the last industries that has not yet been transformed by technology and it’s the natural next step in the tech revolution. But it is also a much bigger and more com-

Anthony Couse

plex landscape to navigate compared to other industries like retail and transportation. As one of the most innovative firms in Southeast Asia for proptech, 99.co believes in collaborating with existing industry players to accelerate disruption.”

JLL is now making forays into the start-up sector with the launch of its India technology investment arm.

The subsidiary has invested in two

Anthony revealed that JLL has developed a number of home-grown technology applications which support the three main ways the company serves its clients: analysing, managing and transacting real estate. These include Acumen, a dashboard and reporting tool for property management; Hawk, an app that allows brokers to access the latest information on buildings and asset stocks; VR 360, a virtual reality service for design and build; and dichandadang. com, an online marketplace for finding office space in China.

“At JLL we are real estate experts first and foremost. By pairing deep, strategic knowledge with best-inclass tech expertise we are confident of achieving our goal to be a world leader in real estate technology,” Mr. Couse concluded.

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Asian investors undeterred

by Brexit factors A

sian investors remain confident in the UK, despite many unanswered questions about Brexit, according to a new report from JLL. The property consultancy reveals that real estate transaction volumes in the UK for the first quarter of 2017 are at their highest level since 2015 (in local currency terms).

The research shows that the UK led the way as the most active real estate market in Europe and became the world’s most traded city, compared to third place last year.

cent on average to overseas capital since the June 2016 referendum. The net yield of City prime buildings is also very attractive.”

Hong Kong buyers spent nearly US$3 billion exclusively on UK properties in Q1 2017, compared to only US$842 million in Q1 2016, snapping up offices in London’s City and West End, outspending global funds and all other foreign groups combined by nearly US$1.3 billion.

Impact of China’s capital controls

“With the sterling depreciation and slight drop in capital values, Asian investors – particularly private buyers from Hong Kong and China – have been the most active in London since last year’s Brexit vote,” says David Green-Morgan, Head of Research, Global Capital Markets at JLL.

Despite increased government scrutiny, Chinese outbound capital increased by 84 per cent in Q1 2017 to US$7.5 billion, compared to US$4 billion in Q1 2016. Chinese buyers continued investing in Hong Kong, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

“The depreciation and capital values drop means that UK commercial real estate is now discounted by 16 per

However, overall outbound real estate transaction volumes were down by 36 per cent compared to Q4 2016.

The shortfall in outbound capital was confined to investments in Australia and Hong Kong, with cross-border buyers focusing mainly on core CBD office assets, retail malls and properties in niche sectors such as senior housing.

“The new outbound capital control measures are likely to slow down overseas investments, as Chinese corporates and individuals will find it harder to invest outside of China.

This is driving an increase in demand for domestic real estate investment going forward,” says Dave Chiou, Director of Capital Markets Research, China at JLL. “However, for Chinese companies with established overseas presence, the impact could be limited as they can use funds regenerated from overseas branches for investments.”

For more information, download the latest “Global Capital Flows at this link: http://www.theinvestor.jll/ global-capital-flows-1q-2017/

A famous English public school has launched a ‘Global Pass’ campaign in celebration of its 450th anniversary.

The campaign by Rugby - the school that boasts the origins of rugby football thanks to the actions of pupil William Webb Ellis in 1823 - features a rugby ball fitted with a GPS tracking device. The ball is being circulated amongst former pupils in various parts of the world. The ball recently arrived in south east Asia when Rugby School Thailand hosted the Global Pass event attended

by M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra (pictured with the rugger ball) and other former pupils.

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Member News

Harrow Bangkok climb for charity

H

arrow Bangkok climbed the equivalent height of the Matterhorn Mountain as part of a charity fund raising event which proved to be an outstanding success.

The aim of the fundraiser was for the children to climb the total distance of the Matterhorn Mountain (4,478m) inside Harrow Bangkok’s bouldering wall. To do this they either traversed around the wall (20m), or climbed up and down the wall (6m).

There was a catch! The children couldn’t climb the same route more than once which meant they had to create a variety of their own routes at the wall. In total, the whole team collectively managed to climb a distance of 4,928m, exceeding the height of the Matterhorn!

the longest plank and the longest traverse.

Alongside the climbing charity fundraiser, the parents and children of class 5M also got involved by setting up a bake sale stall and all the money raised, went to The Healing Families Foundation.

This charity supports many fami-

lies in Chiang Mai which have children with learning difficulties by teaching them arts and craft skills to enable them to earn a living.

Harrow Bangkok is very proud of its climbing team, and the facilities at the school include a bouldering wall to enable students to develop their climbing skills.

During the event two climbers stood out by climbing for the full eight hours of the event with short regular breaks. These children, alongside the child that raised the most money, were awarded prizes from our sponsor, CMRCA, and both went home with chalk bags and vouchers for private lessons with the Chiang Mai Rock Climbing.

Other prizes included passes to two climbing gyms in Bangkok called Rock Domain and Urban Climbing. Mini fitness competitions went on throughout the day which included most press ups,

Staff at Baker McKenzie Thailand and members of the Royal Thai Air Force joined hands to support hill tribe children living in northern Thailand. Representatives of the Royal Thai Air Force received the donations from Khun Wynn Pakdeejit (pictured third from right), the newly-appointed Managing Partner at Baker McKenzie.

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Member News

Dusit International to open hotel at Bangkok’s Chatuchak market

D

usit International has signed a hotel management agreement with Dhanasansombut Development Co., Ltd. to operate the first-ever hotel in the heart of Bangkok’s world-famous Chatuchak Market.

Forming part of the Dhanasansombut Development Company’s new mixed-use development Mixt Chatuchak the new hotel, with around 250 rooms, will be located a short walk from both Mo Chit MRT station and the BTS Chatuchak station.

Chatuchak Market, also known locally as Jatujak or JJ, is located in the north of the city next to Chatuchak Park, one of Bangkok’s largest green spaces.

JJ is one of Bangkok’s top tourist destinations, attracting more than 400,000 shoppers every weekend.

It is estimated that six out of every 10 tourists in Bangkok will visit the market during their vacation.

Bang Sue Grand Station, which will replace the Bangkok Railway Station at Hua Lamphong as the terminus for all long-distance rail services from Bangkok, is also currently under construction next to JJ Market and is scheduled to open in 2019. The new station will be surrounded by several new commercial, business and residential projects.

“JJ Market is a true Bangkok icon and we are delighted to have this

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opportunity to become part of its vibrant fabric,” said Miss Suphajee Suthumpun, Group Chief Executive Officer of Dusit International.

“With several exciting developments set to open near the market within the next few years the area will only become even more appealing. Our new hotel will be perfectly positioned to meet the needs of young, sophisticated travellers who visit the area seeking a distinctive localised experience.”

Miss Nontaya Apitanotai, majority owner of Dhanasansombut Development Co., Ltd., said, “Mixt Chatuchak is the only building located directly within JJ Market, making the mixed-use project and Dusit’s new hotel a unique proposition for guests who will ben-

efit from the large array of shops and services within our building as well as on their doorstep. Our companies share a complementary vision to impress the world with Thai hospitality, and by drawing on the energy, culture and vibrancy of the iconic JJ Market, we are confident this synergy will be a huge success.” *Dusit International has become the first hotel operator in Thailand to accept WeChat Pay, which allows Chinese guests to pay their hotel bills via the mobile e-payment platform at Dusit-owned properties in Thailand.

Member News

Interest mounts in Aussie embassy land sale

J

LL, the sole sale agent for the Australian Embassy’s site on Sathorn Road, reports that more than 10 parties have expressed interest in acquiring the property.

The firm is also expecting more parties to participate in the expressionof-interest tender before it closes.

The seven rai/382 square wah site is for sale on a freehold basis by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The new Australian Embassy is located off Bangkok’s Wireless Road.

Suphin Mechuchep, pictured above, Managing Director of JLL, said, “As expected, this rare opportunity to secure a large prime site in the heart of Bangkok’s central business district has received overwhelming interest from listed and non-listed developers, financial institutions and multinational companies.”

Apart from its strategic location the site’s long, rectangular shape measuring approximately 70 metres (Sathorn road frontage) by 160 metres makes it particularly attractive. It allows any real estate project devel-

oped on the site to benefit fully from the Bangkok town plan that defines Sathorn as an area for high-density mixed-use development.

“We expect the sale transaction to be completed in the final quarter of 2017 when the successful tenderer will be unveiled,” added Khun Suphin.

UKABC boosts exports team T he UK-ASEAN Business Council (UKABC) has appointed two ASEAN Export Specialists. Geoff Charlesworth and Paul North, with their knowledge of ASEAN and experience of exporting to businesses throughout the UK, will now be working with UK companies to ease their passage into south east Asia – one of the

most exciting export destinations in the world.

new airline partners – Royal Brunei Airlines and Vietnam Airlines.

They will match UK companies to ASEAN markets and work with UKABC’s in-market partners – the British Chambers of Commerce in ASEAN – to deliver business support services for UK exporters. The UKABC has also announced two

DIT Cambodia and the British Chamber of Commerce Cambodia have produced reports on the fmcg and agriculture sectors that are expanding. For more details, contact Georgina Martin at: georgina.martin@ukabc.org.uk.

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Member News

Regent’s School promotes importance of Thai literature

B

ilingualism and highly developed language skills are essential for the next generation of students studying in Thailand.

Regent’s International School in Bangkok is an English-speaking environment but recognises the importance of Thai language and literature. The school hosted Thai Literature Day in support of the aim to create well-qualified and wellrounded leaders.

The event was hosted by the Thai Department when three national artists visited the school to share their experiences in Thai literature. The guests were three former recipients of the annual S.E.A. Write award: Khun Naowarat Pongpaiboon (1980); Khun Sila Komchai (1993) and Khun Rewat Panpipat (2004).

All three award-winners are inspirational and highly regarded speakers as well as talented and successful authors.

They shared their ideas with students on the power of reading and thinking.

They also offered valuable guidance on how to develop the skills necessary to become a successful writer.

Principal Peter Hogan said, “Reading Thai literature is an important factor in developing the Thai language skills of young people. We realise and support fully the value of Thai literature and Thai studies as part of a broad and balanced international curriculum.”

Focus on dining experiences at Radisson BLU

N

ew Executive Assistant Manager – Sales and Marketing Bastian Gaerner is overseeing operations with a strong focus on promotional activities at the Radisson BLU Plaza hotel in Bangkok.

“I am delighted to be part of the team at the Radisson BLU Plaza Bangkok. Venues is very inspiring. It’s not just another restaurant concept but a full experience that combines the flavours of the world with top-class

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service, tasteful surroundings and beautiful views.”

Venues is a collection of six distinctive restaurants and bars, offering local and international guests a ‘fun and exciting dining experience’, according to Bastian Gaerner.

The choices include the TwentySeven Bites Brasserie offering international buffets with delicacies from around the world, prepared freshly at interactive live cooking stations.

Member News

Dusit International forms China strategic partnership

T

hailand-based, global hospitality company Dusit International has signed a strategic partnership with Dossen International Group to operate and develop DusitPrincess resorts and residences in China.

In line with Dusit’s strategy for sustainable and profitable growth, which includes aggressive expansion in China, Dossen - one of the fastest growing hotel groups in China - aims to sign at least 40 DusitPrincess properties in major leisure destinations throughout China within the next five years. Twenty seven of these properties are expected to open before 2022 with the remainder following in subsequent years. Dossen operates more than 1,200 hotels under eight brands in over 200 cities worldwide.

China’s tourism industry has seen unprecedented development in recent years following the continuous development of the country’s ecomomy. The UNWTO predicts that China will become the largest travel destination by 2020 with more than 137 million international arrivals, equating to 8.6 per cent of the global share.

With per capita income in China increasing at an average 11 per cent per year since 2010, domestic tourism has also risen significantly, leading to a growing demand for quality leisure and wellness holiday destinations within the country.

Dusit believes its new partnership with Dossen Hotel Group will facilitate the rapid expansion of the DusitPrincess brand within China, allowing Dusit to focus on scaling its luxury and upscale brands as well

Executives of Dusit International and Dossen Group officially signed the Strategic Partnership at a signing ceremony held in Bangkok. Pictured (from left): 1) Mr Li Xian Feng, Senior Vice President of Dossen International Group; 2) Mr Allan Cheng, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Dossen International Group; 3) Mr David Wu, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Dossen International Group; 4) Mr Giovanni Angelini, Vice Chairman of Dusit Fudu Hotels and Resorts; 5) Ms Suphajee Suthumpun, Group Chief Executive Officer of Dusit International; 6) Mr Lim Boon Kwee, Chief Operating Officer of Dusit International

as city hotels, while Dossen explores development options for DusitPrincess branded resorts and resort residences.

“This strategic partnership marks a significant milestone in our mission to increase the scale and reach of our brands and operations in China,” said Ms Suphajee Suthumpun, Group Chief Executive Officer of Dusit International. “Dossen International Group’s local knowledge and expertise, combined with our own experience, regional distribution channels, and distinctive brand of gracious hospitality, will provide a truly compelling proposition for owners. We are confident this will

expedite the expansion of the DusitPrincess brand within China. We look forward to establishing a long and prosperous relationship with the Dossen Group.”

Mr Allan Cheng, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Dossen International Group, said, “Like Dusit International, we are passionate about the quality of our products and services and always aim to exceed expectations in our pursuit of excellence. We have rich experience localising international brands, and by improving market share and brand awareness of the DusitPrincess brand within China, we are confident we can make it a huge success.”

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Member News

Harrow concert full of fond farewells H arrow Bangkok’s Concerto Concert this week was one of fond farewells, as the school enjoyed the last concert in the current Music Department.

The audience revelled in two delightful mini concertos accompanied by the Senior School Orchestra, one for Violin (Miki in Year 13) and the other for the Guzheng (Pao Pao in Year 11).

Miki made the Violin Concerto No 22 in A Minor by Violitti come alive with her highly accomplished mastery of this instrument. Pao Pao’s performance on Guzheng, Dance of the Yao, was all the more impressive as he created the arrangement himself. Director of Music Christopher Johnson paid tribute to these two exceptionally talented students who are moving on from Harrow Bangkok this year.

This was also our last official concert in the Mini Theatre before moving

into our brand new Creative and Performing Arts Centre.

Music and Drama, as well as the new Design and Technology Department.

This new centre, opening for the new academic year, marks a major milestone in the school’s extensive HBuild campus redevelopment project. Situated in the heart of the school, it accommodates a range of state-of-theart facilities for the teaching of Art,

Mr Michael Farley, Head Master comments: “Just as our educational and pastoral programmes are continuously being improved, so are our facilities. All of our community is benefitting from our outstanding, 21st-century appropriate campus.”

The iconic Dusit Thani Bangkok, once the city’s tallest structure, will be making way for a new mixed-use development on this prime site at the top of Silom Road.

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HSBC Thailand backs Thai Union Group H SBC Thailand has arranged a USD 50 million term loan for Thai Union Group PCL, a leading seafood company. Thai Union’s global brand portfolio includes John West and Fisho. The funds will be used to continue Thai Union’s international expansion. HSBC’s geographic network and local expertise in 70 markets across the world enables them to support companies like Thai Union with their global expansion plans.

Pictured are Thiraphong Chansiri (far right), CEO of Thai Union Group; Joerg Ayrle, Group Chief Financial Officer, Thai Union Group with Kelvin Tan (2nd right), CEO of HSBC Thailand and Krisda Phatcharoen (far left), Head of Commercial Banking of HSBC Thailand.

Top ranking for artist Vivien

V

ivien Zheng, from NIST International School’s Class of 2008, has been named by Forbes magazine as one of the ‘30 Under 30: The Arts’ – a list that profiles 30 of the most promising young artists across Asia. Educated at NIST in Bangkok, Vivien graduated from University College London with a BA in Fine Art. She then obtained her MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art. As described in Forbes, Vivien ‘creates intricate oil paintings with repetitive patterns and abstract, bright colours and forms. Her work is heavily influenced by a sense of geographical fluidity and an interest in the intersections of cultures and forms’.

Her work has been highlighted at exhibitions in London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Hong Kong and Beijing.

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HSBC and British Council launch ‘Kids Read’ programme

H

SBC, in tandem with the British Council, has launched ‘Kids Read’ 2017.

It follows success for similar programmes in 2015 and 2016.

‘Kids Read’ is a reading scheme developed to help children to love and appreciate reading - both inside and outside of classrooms across the Asia region.

The programme is designed to take reading to the next level through a variety of activities that cater to the different needs of students throughout the academic year. They are encouraged to participate in storytelling, class activities, select books to read and to enter competitions.

Community events supported by volunteer staff are taking place throughout the year.

‘Kids Read’ is sponsored exclusively

by HSBC and was developed by the British Council to provide an engaging and child-friendly reading programme in primary schools. It was created initially to help children in the Middle East and North African and has since been expanded to six countries in Asia: China, Bangladesh, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand. This year there are eight official participating schools in the programme which is expected to benefit more than 1,000 students.

Miss Varanandha Sutthapreeda, Head of Communications at HSBC Thailand, explained, “HSBC places emphasis not only on its business but also on improving sustainable society, environment and economy in Thailand. We have initiated a number of projects that support the sustainability of our society such

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as education and environment. In supporting education, HSBC aims at helping children to discover and reach their maximum potential and contribute to their society.”

HSBC spends US$50 million (approx. THB 17.5 billion) each year to support education projects globally with thousands of HSBC staff participating as volunteers.

“We are very proud to support the ‘Kids Read’ programme. Results from the past two years have shown that ‘Kids Read’ helps to improve children’s English skills, makes them love reading and strengthens a good relationship between the children and their parents at home from reading together,” added Miss Varanandha Sutthapreeda.

Britain in South East Asia (BiSEA) Tel: +60 3 2163 1784 Fax: +60 3 2163 1781 Email: info@bmcc.org.my Website: www.bmcc.org.my Chairman: Andrew Sill Executive Director: Aurelia Silva CAMBODIA British Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia British Embassy Phnom Penh 27-29 Street 75, Sangkat Srah Chak, Khan Daun Penh Phnom Penh 12201 Tel: +855 (0) 12-323-121 Email: director@britchamcambodia.org Website: www.britchamcambodia.org MYANMAR Chairman: David Tibbot British Chamber of Commerce Myanmar Executive Director: Ritchie Munro 4th Floor, 192, Bo Myat Htun St. (Middle Block) Pazundaung Township Yangon, Myanmar Email: info@britishchambermyanmar.com Website: http:// www.britishchambermyanmar.com INDONESIA President: Peter Beynon FCA British Chamber of Commerce in Project Director (OBNi): Chloe Taylor Indonesia Wisma Metropolitan I F/15, Jln. Jend. Sudirman Kav. 29 - 31, Jakarta 12920 Tel: +62 21 5229453 Fax: +62 21 5279135 Email: busdev@britcham.or.id Website: http://www.britcham.or.id Chairman: Adrian Short Executive Director: Chris Wren

MALAYSIA British Malaysian Chamber Of Commerce (BMCC) Lot E04C1, 4th Floor, East Block Wisma Selangor Dredging 142-B Jalan Ampang 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

PHILIPPINES British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines BCCP Business Centre 8F W Fifth Avenue Building 5th Avenue corner 32nd Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig 1634, Metro Manila, Philippines Tel: +63 2 556 5232 Fax: +63 2 519 6889 Email: info@britcham.org.ph Website: www.britcham.org.ph Chairman: Chris Nelson

SINGAPORE British Chamber of Commerce Singapore 39 Robinson Road, #11-03 Robinson Point, Singapore 068911 Tel: + 65 6222-3552 Fax: + 65 6222-3556 Email: Info@britcham.org.sg Website: http://www.britcham.org.sg President: Bicky Bhangu

THAILAND British Chamber of Commerce Thailand (BCCT) 7th Floor, 208 Wireless Road Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Tel: 66-2651-5350-3 Fax: 66-2651-5354 Email: greg@bccthai.com Website: www.bccthai.com Chairman: Simon Matthews Executive Director: Greg Watkins

VIETNAM British Business Group Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City, G/F 25 Le Duan Blvd.

District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Tel: +84 (8) 3829 8430 Fax: +84 (8) 3822 5172 Email: info@bbgv.org Website: www.bbgv.org Executive Director: Peter Rimmer Chairman: Kenneth M Atkinson Hanoi, 193B Ba Trieu, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi, Vietnam Tel: +84 (4) 3633 0244 Issue 2/2017 51 The Link

Dataconsult

Chamber Events

By the Numbers

Chris Bruton Director, Dataconsult Ltd.

D

espite a somewhat unimpressive economic performance to date, forecasts are bullish while the outlook appears bearish. The Fiscal Policy Office now projects 2017 economic growth at 3.6 percent, as compared with 3.2 percent achieved in 2016 and 2.9 percent in 2015. However the IMF takes a more cautious view, forecasting 3.0 percent, with future grown rates for 2018 through 2022 only marginally over 3.0 percent throughout the period. This would leave Thailand close to the bottom of the ASEAN / China / India league table.

Just how extensive could be Thailand’s fall from economic grace is evidenced by comparison, with the Philippines, once rated the basket case of ASEAN. According to the IMF, in 2011 Thailand’s GDP at current prices was US$370.8 billion, compared with the Philippines at US$224.1 billion. But with significantly higher growth rates in the Philippines compared with Thailand, by 2022 the Philippines GDP at current prices would reach US$579.3 billion, compared with US$519.1 billion for Thailand. This would dislodge Thailand from its present position as second largest ASEAN economy after Indonesia, declining to the third place, after the Philippines.

69.3 million persons. Over the period from 2011 to 2022, Thailand will have added only 1.7 million to total population. During the same period, Indonesia will have added 37 million people, the Philippines 22.5 million and Vietnam 10.1 million. These comparisons give emphasis to what has now become a recurring theme, that Thailand is now an ageing yet still relatively poor society. This is a less favourable combination when compared with the young but poor populations of Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Unfortunately the missing links are education and skills. Recent international test comparisons have suggested that Thailand falls far behind, even when compared to Vietnam. The Philippines is also known for its sometimes over-educated workforce, with master-degree maids performing household chores in regional as well as far-distant countries. There is certainly no risk of that situation occurring in Thailand. Hereabouts some at least of the workforce are lacking the necessary skill development for the tasks that they are already hired to perform. This situation results in the forecast low growth rates which will hold Thailand back from prosperity for years to come.

Thailand’s solution is to stress greater valuecreation, less emphasis on labour-intensive industries, and a more skilled labour force.

Economic Projections for 2017 2015

2016

Average Economic Growth of Major Trading Partners (percent y-o-y)

3.48

Dubai Crude Oil Price (USD/bbl)

51.2

Export price in U.S. dollar (percent y-o-y) Import price in U.S. dollar (percent y-o-y)

Range

3.63

3.51

3.26 to 3.76

41.3

53.7

50.7 to 56.7

-4.1

-0.4

2.4

1.9 to 2.9

-10.8

-2.7

4.5

4.0 to 5.0

Exchange Rate (Baht per U.S. dollar)

34.25

35.30

35.50

35.00 to 36.00

Policy rate at year-end (percent y-o-y)

1.50

1.50

1.50

1.25 to 1.75

Public Expenditure (Trillion Baht)

3.23

3.39

3.63

3.59 to 3.67

Number of foreign tourists (Million)

29.9

32.6

35.0

34.5 to 35.5

2.9

3.2

3.6

3.3 to 3.9

2.2

3.1

3.0

2.7 to 3.3

3.0

1.6

3.0

2.7 to 3.3

- Real Private Investment (percent y-o-y)

-2.2

0.4

2.7

2.4 to 3.0

- Real Public Investment (percent y-o-y)

29.3

9.9

10.9

10.6 to 11.2 2.1 to 2.7

MAJOR ASSUMPTIONS Exogenous Variables

Policy Variables

PROJECTIONS GDP Growth Rate (percent y-o-y) Real Consumption Growth (percent y-o-y) - Real Private Consumption (percent y-o-y) - Real Public Consumption (percent y-o-y) Real Investment Growth (percent y-o-y)

Export Volume of Goods and Services (percent y-o-y)

0.7

2.1

2.4

Import Volume of Goods and Services (percent y-o-y)

0.0

-1.4

2.8

2.5 to 3.1

Trade Balance (USD billion)

26.8

35.8

29.3

29.0 to 29.6 3.0 to 3.6

- Export Value of Goods in USD (percent y-o-y)

-5.6

0.0

3.3

- Import Value of Goods in USD (percent y-o-y)

-10.6

-4.7

7.5

7.2 to 7.8

32.1

46.8

39.0

38.7 to 39.3

Current Account (billion U.S.)

Regarding population, Thailand is also falling behind ASEAN neighbours. According to the IMF, Thailand’s population will cease to grow from 2019 onwards, remaining at

2017f Average

8.1

11.5

9.2

8.9 to 9.5

Headline Inflation (percent y-o-y)

- Percentage of GDP

-0.9

0.2

1.4

1.1 to 1.7

Core Inflation (percent y-o-y)

1.0

0.7

0.7

0.4 to 1.0

Source: Fiscal Policy Office, Ministry of Finance, April 2017

Gross Domestic Product at current price (total value) (countries ranked by 2017 size) Country China India Indonesia Thailand Philippines Malaysia Singapore Vietnam Myanmar Cambodia Lao Brunei

2011 7,522.1 1,823.0 892.6 370.8 224.1 298.0 275.6 134.6 60.0 12.8 8.1 18.5

2012 8,570.3 1,828.1 919.0 397.6 250.1 314.4 289.2 155.5 59.7 14.1 9.4 19.0

2013 9,635.0 1,857.2 916.6 420.5 271.8 323.3 302.5 170.4 60.1 15.2 10.8 18.1

2014 10,534.5 2,033.7 891.1 406.5 284.8 338.1 308.2 185.8 65.6 16.8 11.9 17.1

2015 11,226.2 2,088.2 861.1 399.2 292.5 296.3 296.8 191.3 59.5 17.8 12.6 12.9

2016 11,218.3 2,256.4 932.4 406.9 304.7 296.4 297.0 201.3 66.3 19.4 13.8 11.2

2017 11,795.3 2,454.5 1,020.5 432.9 329.7 309.9 291.9 215.8 72.4 21.0 15.0 12.3

(US$ billion) 2018 12,796.8 2,685.7 1,113.1 458.9 371.8 338.2 301.0 232.6 80.0 22.8 16.3 12.5

2019 13,863.0 2,959.7 1,206.1 486.5 418.6 375.1 310.3 250.4 88.7 24.8 17.8 13.3

2018 7.6 7.7 6.8 6.7 6.9 6.2 6.3 5.3 4.7 3.3 2.6 0.7

2019 7.5 7.8 6.8 7.0 7.0 6.0 6.2 5.4 4.9 3.2 2.6 9.2

Gross Domestic Product at constant prices (growth) (countries ranked by 2017size) Country Myanmar India Cambodia Lao Philippines China Vietnam Indonesia Malaysia Thailand Singapore Brunei

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2011 5.6 6.6 7.1 8.0 3.7 9.5 6.2 6.2 5.3 0.8 6.2 3.7

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2012 7.3 5.5 7.3 7.9 6.7 7.9 5.2 6.0 5.5 7.2 3.9 0.9

2013 8.4 6.5 7.4 8.0 7.1 7.8 5.4 5.6 4.7 2.7 5.0 -2.1

2014 8.0 7.2 7.1 8.0 6.2 7.3 6.0 5.0 6.0 0.9 3.6 -2.5

2015 7.3 7.9 7.0 7.5 5.9 6.9 6.7 4.9 5.0 2.9 1.9 -0.4

2016 6.3 6.8 7.0 6.9 6.8 6.7 6.2 5.0 4.2 3.2 2.0 -3.2

2017 7.5 7.2 6.9 6.8 6.8 6.6 6.5 5.1 4.5 3.0 2.2 -1.3

2020 15,066.7 3,252.7 1,320.1 512.9 471.6 410.5 320.0 269.9 98.4 26.9 19.5 14.1

2021 16,340.9 3,577.1 1,465.8 539.3 525.6 448.6 330.3 291.3 109.0 29.1 21.3 15.5

2022 17,706.6 3,935.3 1,615.6 519.1 579.3 489.0 340.8 314.2 120.2 31.6 23.1 16.5

(Percentage change year-on-year) 2020 7.5 7.9 6.5 6.9 7.0 5.9 6.2 5.5 4.9 3.1 2.6 9.3

2021 7.5 8.1 6.3 7.0 7.0 5.8 6.2 5.5 4.8 3.0 2.6 11.3

2022 7.5 8.2 6.3 6.7 7.0 5.7 6.2 5.5 4.8 3.0 2.6 5.3

Gross Domestic Product per capita (countries ranked by 2017 size) Country Singapore Brunei Malaysia China Thailand Indonesia Philippines Vietnam Lao India Myanmar Cambodia

2011 53,167.7 47,092.3 10,252.6 5,582.9 5,482.4 3,688.5 2,363.9 1,532.1 1,236.2 1,497.4 1,196.9 877.6

2012 54,432.2 47,640.8 10,655.5 6,329.5 5,850.3 3,744.5 2,591.4 1,751.7 1,414.5 1,470.7 1,181.9 945.7

2013 56,028.8 44,540.2 10,699.7 7,080.8 6,157.4 3,684.0 2,768.6 1,900.4 1,593.6 1,475.2 1,179.6 1,010.4

2014 56,338.3 41,509.3 11,009.1 7,701.7 5,921.1 3,533.6 2,844.1 2,047.4 1,718.0 1,594.3 1,275.3 1,095.6

2015 53,628.8 30,995.0 9,500.5 8,166.8 5,799.4 3,370.9 2,862.9 2,086.5 1,786.9 1,615.8 1,148.4 1,144.5

(Current prices US$)

2016 52,960.7 26,424.4 9,360.5 8,113.3 5,899.4 3,604.3 2,924.3 2,173.3 1,925.2 1,723.3 1,269.3 1,229.6

2017 51,431.3 28,740.4 9,623.3 8,480.7 6,265.3 3,895.3 3,102.4 2,305.7 2,051.1 1,850.2 1,374.6 1,308.5

2018 52,457.4 28,858.5 10,328.9 9,146.9 6,632.9 4,195.3 3,429.6 2,458.7 2,189.1 1,998.3 1,509.7 1,400.8

2019 53,557.6 30,172.5 11,264.3 9,851.0 7,024.7 4,489.1 3,785.8 2,620.3 2,350.3 2,173.5 1,662.1 1,501.2

2020 54,735.9 31,703.5 12,121.6 10,643.7 7,400.9 4,851.8 4,181.1 2,795.1 2,521.6 2,357.7 1,832.1 1,605.4

2021 56,048.5 34,482.7 13,023.6 11,476.3 7,777.6 5,319.7 4,568.4 2,995.1 2,700.3 2,559.2 2,016.9 1,713.5

2016 87,855.4 76,884.0 27,266.7 16,887.6 15,398.6 11,720.3 7,728.1 6,615.8 6,428.6 5,831.8 5,709.6 3,736.9

2017 90,724.0 76,567.6 28,636.3 17,749.7 16,676.5 12,432.3 8,270.5 7,153.3 6,925.2 6,360.6 6,115.6 4,022.1

2018 94,089.8 77,781.5 30,140.9 18,715.5 17,995.5 13,216.4 8,861.8 7,773.2 7,448.3 6,948.1 6,549.2 4,325.5

2019 97,635.8 85,742.2 31,771.2 19,726.0 19,379.6 14,057.2 9,501.4 8,451.4 7,999.9 7,580.0 7,026.4 4,649.3

2020 101,242.3 94,445.2 33,425.5 20,733.4 20,814.5 14,939.8 10,169.8 9,184.0 8,577.4 8,261.1 7,520.2 4,978.2

2021 105,194.7 106,007.4 35,142.1 21,782.6 22,336.3 15,879.2 10,885.9 9,996.4 9,229.1 9,008.7 8,057.1 5,319.4

2016 7.2 7.0 2.7 4.9 3.5 1.8 3.0 2.1 2.0 0.2 -0.5 -0.7

2017 7.3 6.9 4.9 4.8 4.5 3.6 3.2 2.7 2.4 1.4 1.1 -0.1

2018 7.4 6.7 5.0 5.1 4.5 3.3 3.1 2.9 2.3 1.5 1.8 0.0

2019 7.6 6.5 5.0 5.0 4.3 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.6 2.1 1.9 0.1

2020 7.7 6.4 5.0 4.9 4.1 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.3 1.9 0.2

2015 103.2 65.6 69.6 58.3 57.9 42.6 42.7 34.9 32.5 36.3 26.9 3.0

2016 112.0 67.3 69.5 62.4 56.3 46.2 42.2 35.8 33.0 33.7 27.9 3.1

2017 112.0 71.6 67.8 63.4 56.0 49.3 41.8 36.2 33.6 32.6 28.2 2.7

2018 109.8 75.0 66.1 65.1 54.9 52.0 42.0 36.3 34.3 31.7 28.5 2.6

2019 108.1 77.0 64.3 66.2 53.2 54.4 42.2 36.6 34.9 30.9 29.0 2.4

2020 106.2 77.9 62.6 66.8 51.3 56.3 42.2 36.8 35.4 30.2 29.1 2.3

2014 19.7 3.7 30.7 5.1 4.4 2.2 3.8 -1.3 -3.1 -3.3 -12.1 -20.7

2015 18.1 8.1 16.0 0.5 3.0 2.7 2.5 -1.1 -2.0 -5.2 -10.6 -16.8

2016 19.0 11.4 9.5 4.7 2.0 1.8 0.2 -0.9 -1.8 -6.5 -8.7 -17.0

2017 20.1 9.7 8.3 4.1 1.8 1.3 -0.1 -1.5 -1.9 -6.6 -8.5 -18.8

2018 19.2 7.8 4.3 3.4 1.8 1.2 -0.3 -1.5 -2.0 -6.7 -8.5 -19.2

2019 18.7 6.0 14.0 2.6 1.8 1.2 -0.5 -1.6 -2.0 -6.6 -8.5 -19.4

2020 18.3 4.6 18.3 2.1 1.8 1.1 -0.7 -1.6 -2.1 -6.5 -8.4 -18.8

2014 1,367.8 1,275.6 252.2 100.1 90.7 68.7 51.4 30.7 15.3 6.9 5.5 0.4

2015 1,374.6 1,292.3 255.5 102.2 91.7 68.8 51.8 31.2 15.5 7.0 5.5 0.4

2016 1,382.7 1,309.3 258.7 104.2 92.6 69.0 52.3 31.7 15.8 7.2 5.6 0.4

2017 1,390.8 1,326.6 262.0 106.3 93.6 69.1 52.6 32.2 16.0 7.3 5.7 0.4

2018 1,399.0 1,344.0 265.3 108.4 94.6 69.2 53.0 32.7 16.3 7.4 5.7 0.4

2019 1,407.3 1,361.7 268.7 110.6 95.6 69.3 53.4 33.3 16.5 7.6 5.8 0.4

2020 1,415.5 1,379.6 272.1 112.8 96.6 69.3 53.7 33.9 16.7 7.7 5.8 0.4

GDP Purchasing-power-parity per capita (countries ranked by 2017 size) Country Singapore Brunei Malaysia Thailand China Indonesia Philippines India Vietnam Myanmar Lao Cambodia

2011 75,013.2 82,567.7 21,498.4 13,513.5 10,290.5 8,973.6 5,734.8 4,749.2 4,717.0 3,932.9 4,022.1 2,646.5

2012 77,429.5 83,492.2 22,742.2 14,690.3 11,252.1 9,554.3 6,121.7 4,997.0 5,003.4 4,262.7 4,336.9 2,842.0

2013 81,287.2 81,729.5 23,630.7 15,258.8 12,265.1 10,108.4 6,546.3 5,341.0 5,304.4 4,655.8 4,671.0 3,056.5

2014 84,593.5 79,984.1 25,089.2 15,592.0 13,326.6 10,661.2 6,939.0 5,751.3 5,657.0 5,074.0 5,038.2 3,282.0

2015 86,128.1 79,494.1 26,211.2 16,180.4 14,328.1 11,155.5 7,282.3 6,192.9 6,036.6 5,457.5 5,369.8 3,498.3

(Current US$)

Inflation: average consumer prices (countries ranked by 2017 size) Country Lao Myanmar Vietnam India Indonesia Philippines Cambodia Malaysia China Thailand Singapore Brunei

2011 6.5 2.8 18.7 9.5 5.3 4.7 5.5 3.2 5.4 3.8 5.2 0.1

2012 6.6 2.8 9.1 9.9 4.0 3.2 2.9 1.7 2.6 3.0 4.6 0.1

2013 6.8 5.7 6.6 9.4 6.4 2.9 3.0 2.1 2.6 2.2 2.4 0.4

2014 6.9 5.1 4.1 5.9 6.4 4.2 3.9 3.1 2.0 1.9 1.0 -0.2

2015 7.0 10.0 0.6 4.9 6.4 1.4 1.2 2.1 1.4 -0.9 -0.5 -0.4

2011 101.0 56.9 69.6 45.8 52.6 33.6 39.1 46.1 30.3 41.4 23.1 2.1

2012 105.7 62.2 69.1 47.9 54.6 34.3 41.9 40.7 32.1 40.6 23.0 2.1

2013 102.2 61.5 68.5 51.8 56.4 37.0 42.2 33.2 32.1 39.3 24.8 2.2

2014 97.9 65.3 68.6 55.1 56.2 39.9 43.4 29.9 32.3 36.4 24.7 3.2

2011 22.1 2.5 34.7 0.2 10.9 1.8 2.5 -4.3 0.2 -1.8 -10.2 -18.6

2012 17.4 -0.4 29.8 6.0 5.2 2.5 2.8 -4.8 -2.7 -4.0 -11.0 -29.9

2013 16.9 -1.2 20.9 4.5 3.5 1.5 4.2 -1.7 -3.2 -4.9 -12.3 -29.6

2022 8.0 5.7 5.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.5 1.9 0.2

2021 104.3 78.2 60.9 67.2 49.2 57.7 42.0 37.0 35.7 29.8 29.3 2.0

2022 102.4 78.2 59.3 67.2 46.8 58.9 41.8 37.3 35.2 29.3 29.3 1.9

(Percentage of GDP)

Population (countries ranked by 2017 size) Country 2011 2012 2013 China 1,347.4 1,354.0 1,360.7 India 1,217.4 1,243.0 1,259.0 Indonesia 242.0 245.4 248.8 Philippines 94.8 96.5 98.2 Vietnam 87.8 88.8 89.7 Thailand 67.6 68.0 68.3 Myanmar 50.1 50.5 51.0 Malaysia 29.1 29.5 30.2 Cambodia 14.6 14.9 15.1 Lao 6.5 6.6 6.8 Singapore 5.2 5.3 5.4 Brunei 0.4 0.4 0.4 Source: World Economic Outlook Database, April 2017

2021 7.9 6.3 5.0 4.9 4.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.5 1.9 0.1

(Percentage of GDP)

Current Account Balance (countries ranked by 2017 size) Country Singapore Thailand Brunei Vietnam Malaysia China Philippines India Indonesia Myanmar Cambodia Lao

2022 109,472.2 112,650.4 36,966.7 22,910.4 23,959.7 16,886.7 11,658.8 10,893.2 9,935.7 9,833.8 8,614.9 5,689.2

(Percentage change year-on-year)

General Government Gross Debt (countries ranked by 2017 size) Country Singapore Lao India Vietnam Malaysia China Thailand Myanmar Cambodia Philippines Indonesia Brunei

2022 57,451.4 36,110.0 13,958.1 12,362.7 7,485.0 5,789.5 4,936.9 3,208.2 2,883.4 2,778.8 2,211.5 1,830.1

2021 17.9 3.5 17.6 1.3 1.8 1.1 -0.8 -1.8 -2.1 -6.4 -8.2 -16.4

2022 17.1 3.0 18.9 0.6 1.8 1.0 -1.0 -2.1 -2.1 -6.4 -8.0 -14.5

(Million persons)

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2021 1,423.9 1,397.8 275.6 115.0 97.3 69.3 54.1 34.4 17.0 7.9 5.9 0.5

2022 1,432.3 1,416.2 279.0 117.3 97.9 69.3 54.4 35.0 17.3 8.0 5.9 0.5

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Chamber Events

Life & Style Garden Party On Thursday 23 March, the British Embassy in Bangkok once again opened its gates to welcome BCCT members and guests for the Annual Life & Style Garden Party. The event was a great success with over 400 guests attending. Many thanks to all our generous sponsors.

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Thank you to our sponsors.

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Chamber Events

Taste of Britain

Rajaprajanugroh Foundation

On Monday 6th March, British Chamber of Commerce Thailand and UK Trade & Investment, in partnership with Central Food Retail, launched the “Taste of Britain” campaign, promoting the arrival of new and existing British products at every branch of Central Food Hall, Tops market and Tops superstore nationwide.

On Thursday 9 March, on behalf of BCCT, Chairman Simon Matthews presented a cheque for THB 232,420 to Vice Chairman Prawit Harnnarong of His late Majesty Rajaprajanugroh Foundation. The money was raised from BCCT Christmas raffles. Thanks to all who donated so generously.

Guest of Honour HE Ambassador Brian Davidson, British Ambassador to Thailand (fourth from right) and VIP guests were welcomed to the launch event at Central World. Pictured from the left Mr. Billy Chomsakorn, Mr. Greg Watkins, Mr. Simon Matthews, Mr. Sudhitham Chirathivat, Mr. Alistair Taylor, Mr. Nick Reitmeier, and Ms. Nareenart Tangkanobon.

BCCT Chairman Simon Matthews (left) makes the presentation to Khun Prawit.

Cambodia & Myanmar Briefing

Ellesmere College Informative Evening

On Tuesday 14 March, BCCT held a Boardroom Briefing on “Cambodia & Myanmar Market Outlook & Opportunities” at the British Business Centre. Following the briefing was a series of one-to-one meetings between speakers and the audience. This was an exciting opportunity for businesses to learn about market developments in two dynamic markets in the ASEAN region.

On Thursday 16 March, guests were welcomed to Ellesmere College Informative Evening on “The Power of Education Why a British Boarding School?” by the Director of Trade and Investment, Mr. Marcus Winsley and the Director of Ellesmere College, Mr. Nick Pattingale at the British Ambassador’s Residence.

Guest speakers Chloe Taylor (left), Acting Head of the British Chamber of Commerce Myanmar, and Ritchie Munro (right), Executive Director British Chamber of Commerce Cambodia delivered market briefings.

BCCT Chairman Simon Matthews (5th from right) welcome members and guests.

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Leading High Performance Teams

BCCT After Hours

John McNulty (standing) facilitated members on ‘Leading High Performance Teams’ at the one-day workshop held on Wednesday 22 March. Participants learned how leaders can utilize facilitation skills to effectively communicate, problem-solve and manage change within teams. The programme was practical and skillfocused and included interactive fun exercises and discussions.

On Tuesday 4 April, BCCT members learned about how to drink Johnnie Walker scotch whisky responsibly at the BCCT After Hours at Sawadee Bar. Many thanks to General Manager Kaan Baral and team at Diageo Moet Hennessy (Thailand) for kindly hosting the event.

John McNulty makes a point to delegates attending his course.

Members and guests enjoy sampling Scotland’s finest export.

T3 Business Networking BCCT T3 Business Networking on Thursday 20 April was held at BarSu. Food, drinks and great conversation were shared.

Special thanks to Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit for kindly hosting the event.

From left: BCCT Chairman Simon Matthews, BCCT Events Group Chair Chris Thatcher, GM Sheraton Grande Sukhuvmit Richard Chapman and BCCT Executive Director Greg Watkins

From left: Robert Kawada (KIS International School), Lloyd Wilson (Berkeley International School) and John McBirnie (Bangkok Sausage House)

Thank you to our sponsors.

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Chamber Events

BCCT/AustCham HR Briefing

T3 Business Networking

On Wednesday 26 April, BCCT in cooperation with AustCham hosted the boardroom briefing on ‘The Future of HR - Are you ready?’. Speaker Emma Jackson, Lead Employer Engagement, CIPD Asia covered what new challenges and new opportunities HR professional are facing and what the key trends that are changing the world of work, how are these impacting HR, and what does this mean for HR Teams and HR professionals.

On Thursday 18th, BCCT hosted a monthly May T3 Business Networking at the beautiful Pool House. Thanks to our generous sponsors Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park and Axcel Electronics Thailand. Guests enjoyed fruitful conversations with fine food and drinks.

Thais and expats shared a keen interest in ‘The future of HR’.

From left: Alex Stewart, BCCT Events Chairman Chris Thatcher and Karl St. George.

Multi Chambers Eastern Seaboard Networking On Friday 28 April, BCCT hosted the multi chambers eastern seaboard networking evening at Movenpick Pattaya. The event was well attended by over 180 guests. Many thanks to our generous sponsors: KC Cuijpers (RE/MAX - Town&Country), Porntip Utsahaphan (Samitivej Hospital), Joanna Kearney (Regents International School Pattaya) , Kiatchai Kittitirakorn (Wall Street English) and Marc Sittl (Movenpick Pattaya).

Board members, sponsors and guests at the multi chambers event on the Eastern Seaboard.

From left: GM Siam@Siam Pattaya Dmitry Chernyshev, GM Mövenpick Pattaya Marc Sittl and BCCT Chairman Simon Matthews

Thank you to our sponsors.

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Social & Organisational Networks Richard Brady, CEO of Mentis Global and Paul Marks, Founder/CEO of Change Works Ltd. and author of “Perfect Presenter” (both pictured standing), facilitated the workshop on Social & Organisational Networks on Monday 29 May at British Business Centre. The course was enjoyable and interactive with fun workshop activities.

Multi Chambers Travel & Tourism Evening Panel (CSR) Multi Chambers Travel & Tourism Evening Panel on “What is the impact of CSR initiatives on a company’s top and bottom lines?” was held on Wednesday 31st May at Oriental Residence Bangkok.

The workshop allowed participants to understand the powerful insights of team development and human relationship for the business and to enhance their knowledge in Social & Organisational Network Analysis Reporting (SONAR) system to explore the nature of human networks.

Guest speakers included Alex Mavro, Co-Founder of the Corporate Responsibility & Ethics Association for Thai Enterprise, CSR Consultant & Educator, Debdyuti Dasgupta, Cluster Director of Finance of JW Marriott Hotel, Renaissance Resort and Spa Koh Samui and Courtyard Bangkok by Marriott, Geoffrey Fordham, Senior Vice PresidentEngineering, Safety and Security, Onyx Hospitality Group and Simon Ramsay, General Manager, Radisson Suites Bangkok Sukhumvit.

BCCT After Hours

Sales Skills

On Tuesday 6 June, BCCT members enjoyed drinking and making new business connections at the BCCT After Hours at The Sportsman Bar & Restaurant, Sukhumvit soi 13. Many thanks to Joseph Veriato of The Sportsman Bar & Restaurant for kindly hosting the event.

BCCT Two-Day Thai Language Workshop on “Sales Skills” was held on 15-16 June at Pathumwan Princess Hotel Bangkok.

Pachara (Billy) Yongjiranon (pictured centre), Corporate Trainer & Presentation Coach at SpeakPro Training, facilitated the workshop. This two-day course enhanced participants’ understanding of sales skills.

From left: BCCT Events Group Chair Chris Thatcher, Sue Barton and Joseph Veriato of Sportsman Bar & Restaurant.

Delegates sharpen their sales skills with Corporate Trainer Billy Yongjiranon.

Thank you to our sponsors.

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Chamber Events

BCCT Young Professionals: Boost your career in style On Wednesday 14 June, BCCT welcomed a group of young professionals at Oriental Residence Bangkok. Great ideas were shared in the brainstorming session, followed by an evening of networking.

Pictured are Mentorship group discussion leader, Kate Jackson (left) and BCCT Young Professional Chair Kate Manning.

Young professionals based in Thailand enjoy a round table discussion.

Multi Chambers Lunch: Minister of Transport On Wednesday 21 June BCCT, in collaboration with Netherlands, Irish-Thai, Franco-Thai, BeLuThai, German-Thai Chamber of Commerce and European Association for Business and Commerce held the Multi Chambers Lunch with H.E. Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, Thailand’s Minister of Transport. Special thanks to our generous sponsors LawPlus Ltd., PCS Security and Facility Services Ltd., Jamie’s Italian Siam Discovery and Jardine Lloyd Thompson.

From left: Kowit Somwaiya (LawPlus), Phil Corrigan (Jardine Lloyd Thompson), H.E Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, Sebastian Power (PCS Security and Facility Services) and Sirisopa Tanbunpherm (Jamie’s Italian Siam Discovery)

BCCT Property & Infrastructure Group Chair Ali Adam presenting gift to H.E Arkhom

Thank you to our sponsors.

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T3 Business Networking On Thursday 22 June, over 100 members and guests enjoyed T3 Business Networking kindly hosted by Bangkok Marriott Sukhumvit 57. The Residence Lounge was filled with variety of creative cocktail menus and a great bar.

Pictured from left are BCCT Events Manager Rungjit Jarenponganarn, BCCT Events Group Chair Chris Thatcher and Director of Catering of Bangkok Marriott Sukhumvit 57 Aumporn Pornsakhan

From left: BCCT Director Carl Sellick, BCCT Executive Director Greg Watkins and Tom Sorrensen of Boyden

Digital Transformation

BCCT/British Embassy Briefing

On Tuesday 27 June, BCCT Digital Technology Group (DTG) organised a Multi Chambers Lunch Panel on Digital Transformation - The Implementation of PromptPay - Pushing Forward a Cashless Society at So Sofitel Bangkok. The panel, moderated by Gareth Davies, included Yos Kimsawatde, Anuchit Anuchitanukul and Wanna Noparbhorn. Special thanks to our generous sponsors Mazars, Digital Monopoly and Citibank.

On Thursday 29 June BCCT, in collaboration with The British Embassy, hosted the breakfast briefing with British Ambassador Brian Davidson (pictured standing) at The Residence, The British Embassy. BCCT members took an advantage of this opportunity to listen to important updates and information from the UK and Thailand.

Pictured from left are BCCT Vice-Chairman Chris Thatcher, AustCham Board of Director Peter Emblin, Mazars Acconting Manager Lambert Boivin, Head of Payment System Office of Thai Bankers Association Yos Kimsawatde, Executive Vice President of Kiatnakin Bank Anuchit Anuchitanukul, Managing Director of National ITMX Wanna Noparbhorn, Citibank TTS Business Head Patrick O’Neill, Senior Operations Manager of Digital Monopoly Ben Barling, Managing Director of Fluxus Thailand Gareth Davies and Chair of BCCT Digital Technology Group (DTG) Paul Phenix.

Ambassador Brian Davidson briefs BCCT members and guests.

Thank you to our sponsors.

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Comings and Goings The British Chamber of Commerce Thailand welcomes the following new members:

Anglolang Academy of English 20 Avenue Road, Scarborough North Yorkshire YO12 5JX Tel: +44 (0)1723 367141 Fax: +44 (0)1723 378698 Email: communicate@ anglolang.co.uk Website: www.anglolang.com

Representatives Ms. Linda Polkowski - Vice Principal Ms. Sarah Wall - Business Development Manager Background Anglolang is a British Councilaccredited, Quality English school which has recently been voted the Best English Language School in Northern England (English Language Stars 2015) and awarded the title of Centre of Excellence (EL Gazette 2015). Anglolang is located in the traditional British seaside town of Scarborough on the beautiful North Yorkshire coast of England.

Anglolang has provided English courses for individuals, families and groups since 1986. Our courses include Intensive English, Business English, Teacher Training, Summer Vacation, Family Courses, Examination Preparation (IELTS, Cambridge, GMAT and TOEFL) and English plus Golf. Courses are delivered in

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our 19th Century English building, which has a spacious interior with modern facilities.

With a friendly and professional team, all students can receive individual attention while studying at Anglolang.

Axcel Electronics Thailand Co., Ltd 45/33 Moo 4, T. Tonmamaung A. Meung, Phetchaburi 76000 Tel: +66 26485114 Email: alexaxcel@icloud.com website: www.axcel-electronics. com

Representatives Mr. Alex Stewart - Commercial and Supply Chain Director Khun Nichanan St George - Financial Director

Bloomsbury International School Hatyai 2119 Moo 6 Airport-Lopburirames Road Kuanlung, Hatyai, Songkhla 90110 Tel: +66 74 251 255 Fax: +66 74 251 254 Email: admin@bloombury.ac.th Website: www.bloomsbury.ac.th

Representatives Mr. Watchara Saisomboon - Licensee Mr. Andrew Elliott - Head of Sixth Form Capital Springboard AXA Tower 8 Shenton Way #34-01 Singapore 068811 Tel: +65 6704 7429 Email: s.mitchell@ capitalspringboard.com Website: www.capitalspringboard. com Representatives Mr. Scott Mitchell - Sales Director, Asia Pacific Mr. Roger Crook - CEO Background www.capitalspringboard.com We connect businesses with investors to create a win-win situation – giving Singapore based companies quick turnaround financing, and a profitable, risk-manageable investment for individuals and institutional investors.

In invoice financing, companies sell invoices to raise short term funds.

In return for immediate cash, invoices are sold at a discount.

Investors can profit from buying invoices at this time.

DMT Asia Co., Ltd 1780 Teo Hong Bangna Building Bangna-Trad Road, Bangna Bangna, Samuthprakarn 10540 Tel: +66 234 950 28 Fax: +66 234 950 29 Email: Paul@DMTglobal.net Website: www.DMTglobal.net

Representative Mr. Paul G Barker - Owner Background DMT Global is a Thailand/Hong Kong based company specializing in bespoke web-based training services to airline Emergency Management & Response Teams throughout Asia.

As a long-term consultant to numerous airlines within Thailand & Asia, the DMT team have developed the latest and most exciting product to date. ACE-IMS. Airline Crisis & Emergency Incident Management System EHC Asia Co.,Ltd 227/417 Wang Tan, Soi 5C6, T. Sanpakwan, A. Hang Dong Chiang Mai 50230 Tel: +66 85 7052740 Email: richard@ expatshealthcover.com Website: www.expatshealthcover. com Representative Mr. Richard Prouse - Director Euro Asian Aviation Company Limited 29/175 Sukhumvit Klongtoey Nua, Wattana Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 2651 3939 Email: info@ euroasianaviation.com Website: www.euroasianaviation. com Representatives Mr. Richard McGready - Director of Flight Training & Consultant Ms. Krongthong Chuaiprasit - Business Manager

Guardforce Aviation Security Company Limited 1780 Teo Hong Bangna Building Bangna-Trad Road, Bangna Bangna, Bangkok 10260 Tel: +66 2134-2749 Fax: +66 2134-7789 Email: kittima.pram-on@ guardforce.co.th Website: www.guardforce.co.th/ en-US/aviation-security-services Representatives Ms. Arunsri Tepmonthien - General Manager Ms. Kittima Pram-on - Customer Relation Hempson Consulting Ltd 5th Floor, Leadenhall Street, London EC3V 1LP Tel: +63 9770111719 Email: dale@hempsonbusiness. com Representative Mr. Dale Skidmore - CEO & Founder

HLG (Thailand) Co., Ltd. 1 Empire Tower, River Wing East 29th Fl., Unit 2904 South Sathorn Road, Yannawa Sathorn, Bangkok 10120 Tel: +66 2 670 1848 Fax: +66 2 670 1848 #107 Email: bangkok@ harveylawcorporation.com Website: www.harveylaw corporation.com

Representatives Mr. Bastien Trelcat - Managing Partner Ms. Pinyapa Pichaipalakorn - Attorney at Law

Industry Platform Pte. Ltd. 46 Km Yam Road, #03-08 Singapore 239351 Tel: +65 6733 1107 Representative Mr. Irza Fauzan Suprapio - Director Mrs. Laura Smith (Individual Member) Millennium Residence D301 Sukhumvit Soi 16-20 Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110 Email: laurajane1709@gmail.com

Linn Products Ltd. Glasgow Road, Waterfoot Eaglesham Glasgow G76 0EQ Tel: +44 7768520152 Email: russell.maycock@ linn.co.uk Website: www.linn.co.uk

Representative Mr. Russell Maycock - International Market Opportunities Background Linn design and make the best music systems in the world.

Based in Scotland and established since 1973, Linn manufacture everything in-house, from the electronics in their industry-leading Linn DS technology to the loudspeakers found in homes around the world. The iconic Sondek LP12 turntable continues to set the standard for vinyl playback and the latest digital stream players out-perform any CD or network music player available.

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Linn systems are sold through a worldwide network of specialist retailers who also share a passion for enriching people’s lives through music. Linn were awarded a Royal Warrant in 2002 as suppliers of entertainment systems to the Royal Household, and received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation in 2012.

MontAzure Kamala Beach Resort and Hotel Management Co., Ltd. (Head Office) 167 Phibulsongkhram road, Suan Yai, Muang Nonthaburi 11000 Tel: +66 2 207 8699 Email: sales@montazure.com Website: www.montazure.com

Representatives Mr. Henri Young - Director of Marketing Mr. Setthaphol Boottho - Executive Director MSNA LTD 65/62 Chamnan Phenjati Business Center Building, 6th Floor Rama 9 Road, Huaykwang Bangkok 10310 Tel: +66 2-6432403 Fax: +66 2-6432403 #555 Email: natasha@msnagroup.com website: www.msnagroup.com Representative Mrs. Natasha Stewart - Director

Omni Co., Ltd. TA-To Contacts Co., Ltd. 75/34 Ocean Tower II, 20th Floor, Sukhumvit 19, Sukumvit Road, Klongtoey-Nua Wattana, Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 2661-6236-8 Fax: +66 2661-6239 Email: soniay@ta-to.com Website: www.ta-to.com Representatives Ms. Sonia Yamdagni - Managing Director Ms. Vorraporn Sunthree - Sales Manager Orion Investigations Co., Ltd. Unit 1601, 2001-2002, 2501 16th, 20th ,25th Floor, 29 Bangkok Business Center Building, Sukhumvit 63 North Klong Tan Wattana, Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 2-714-3801-3 Fax: +66 2-714-3803 Email: ghaff@orioninv.co.th Website: www.orionlawoffice thailand.co.th Representatives Mr. Ghaff Khan - Director of legal Services Mr. Peter Holmshaw - Managing Director Park Hyatt Bangkok Central Embassy Hotel Central Embassy 88 Wireless Road Lumpini, Pathumwan Bangkok 10330 Tel: +66 2 0121234 Email: bangkok.park@hyatt.com Website: www.bangkok.park. hyatt.com

Representatives Mr. Michael Golden - General Manager Mrs. Coralie Houplain - Director of Sales and Marketing

Pattaya Realty Co.,Ltd. 420/185 M.9 Soi Buakhaow Nongprug, Banglamung Chonburi 20150 Tel: +66 38-412-301 Fax: +66 38-429-462 Email: info@pattayarealty.com Website: www.pattayarealty.com

Representatives Mr. Stuart Daly - Managing Director Mr. Mark Bowling - Partner, Commercial Background Pattaya Realty Co., Ltd was established in 2001 making us one of the first and longest established real estate companies in Pattaya and on the Eastern seaboard.

Our English, Chinese, Russian and Thai speaking staff are fully trained to a high standard to provide you with the very best service. Helping you make effective decisions whether you are a property buyer, seller or investor. We can provide you with details on houses and condos of all budgets on the Eastern Seaboard.

Our Commercial department holds a good portfolio of hotels,

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shops, offices, land and factories in Pattaya and surrounding areas, a new company was formed in 2012 dedicated entirely to providing the owners who have entrusted us with their commercial/ business properties to us over the years, an even higher level service and exposure of their commercial real estate than before and to ease the path for those looking to invest in commercial or industrial property here on the Eastern Seaboard.

PennWell Corporation The Water Tower, Gunpowder Mill, Powdermill Lane, Essex Waltham Abbey EN9 1BN Tel: +44 (0)1992 656 600 Fax: +44 (0)1992 656 700 Email: LeeC@Pennwell.com Website: www.pennwell.com

Representatives Dr. Heather Johnstone - Event Director/ Group Publisher Mr. Lee Catania - Senior Marketing Manager Professional Wills Limited 5/F., 659 King’s Road, Quarry Bay City: Hong Kong Tel: +44 (0) 20 7590 8800 Fax: +66 2 561 9031 Email: matthew@profwills.com Website: www.profwills.com Representative Mr. Matthew Lloyd TEP - Managing Director

Rhenus Logistics Co., Ltd. 75/57, 75/237-240 Tungtrakulsup Building, 2nd Floor, Moo 10 Sukhumvit Road, Thungsukla, Sriracha Chonburi 20230 Tel: +66 38494297 Fax: +66 38494483 Email: info@th.rhenus.com Website: www.rhenus.com

Representative Mr. Patrick Thorpe - Sales & Marketing/Head of Route Development - Europe Background For more than 20 years, Rhenus has been an established logistics service provider in Thailand and, thanks to its extensive experience and dense network, an ideal partner for the strong local industry.

Rhenus Thailand provides tailormade logistics solutions for a large variety of industries, such as the electronics, semiconductor, chemical, pharmaceutical, engineering and automobile industry.

Established in 1994, the company has been growing ever since, opening its office at Bangkok airport in 1996 and being a full-fledged service provider for air freight, sea freight, domestic distribution, cross-border trucking and customs brokerage by 1997.

Currently, Rhenus operates four branch offices and six warehouses in the country, which cater to the freight logistics and warehousing solution needs of Thai and multinational customers. In and around the capital, Rhenus maintains 30,000 square meters of warehousing capacity. Rhenus in Thailand holds the AEO licence

(Authorized Economic Operator) and is therefore able to offer privileged customs clearance services to its clients.

Thailand is a leading member of ASEAN and one of the fastgrowing economies in South East Asia. In addition to its well-developed semi-conductor and electronics industry, Thailand is also a leading automotive manufacturer and exporter. The main airport in Bangkok is a regional transportation hub with over 100 airlines flying on a regular basis. Thailand’s deep-sea port at Laem Chabang has direct access to the Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estates, which are the manufacturing hubs for the country. To ensure operative excellence, Rhenus in Thailand operates its own offices in those important locations.

Rhenus in Thailand is a subsidiary of the Rhenus Group, a logistics service provider with global business operations and an annual turnover of 4.6 billion euros.

The group has business sites at over 500 locations worldwide and employs more than 26,000 people. In four business areas – Contract Logistics, Freight Logistics, Port Logistics and Public Transport – the Rhenus Group manages complex supply chains and provides a wide range of innovative value-added services.

Rugby School Thailand 6th Floor, President Tower Ploenchit Road Lumpini, Pathumwan Bangkok 10330 Tel: +66 2 656 0055 Email: enquiries@ rugbyschoolthailand.com Website: www.rugbyschool thailand.com The Link

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Representative Mr. Nigel Westlake - The Founding Head Master Background Rugby School, one of the UK’s leading and most prestigious private schools, is a co-educational boarding and day school situated in the English county of Warwickshire. Founded in 1567 and celebrating its 450th anniversary next year, it is one of the original ten English public schools defined by the Public Schools Act 1868.

Today the School has 800 pupils aged 13 to 18 housed in 16 houses, 13 of which are for boarders.

Rugby School is where Britain’s private education heritage began – an education of the character as well as of the mind. Rugby School is now coming to Thailand.

Siam JI Company Limited No. 989 Siam Discovery, Room G06 BM01 G, B Floor, Rama 1 Road Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Tel: +66 2-2555-222 Email: enquiries-siamdiscovery@ jamiesitalian.co.th Website: www.jamieitalian.co.th Representatives Ms. Sarah Smith - General Manager Ms. Sirisopa Tanbunperm - Sales & Marketing Manager Background The operating company of Jamie’s Italian restaurants in Bangkok.

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Jamie’s Italian began as a partnership between Jamie Oliver and his mentor, Gennaro Contaldo. The first restaurant opened in 2008 in Oxford and there are now 42 Jamie’s Italian outlets in the UK and over 25 internationally, including South Africa, Dubai, Brazil and Singapore.

Mr. Steven Beaumont (Individual Member) Apt 22c, Grand Mercure Residence, Sukhumvit Soi 19 KlongToey-Nua Wattana, Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 92 515 6609 Email: steveb@aughtoncs.com

Sumisho Global Logistics (Thailand) Co., Ltd 589/159 Central City Tower Room OI-30-C1B, Bangna-Trad (km3) Bangna Bangkok 10260 Tel: +66 2745 7401-5 Fax: +66 2 745 7406-7 Email: kannika.t@sgl.co.th Website: www.sgl.co.th Representatives Ms. Sawarot Baiya - Chief, Sales Department Ms. Thanawan Khajornsakchai - Chief, Sales Department Background We are SUMISHO GLOBAL LOGISTICS (THAILAND) CO., LTD. “SGL”. SGL is a subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation Group, a global trading and investment organization with headquarter located in Japan. The history of Sumitomo dates back to more than 4 centuries ago and its founding principles, stressing integrity and sound management,

have been guiding the growth and evolution of all SC Group companies, Based in Thailand.

Since the establishment, we have made concerted effort in the expansion of our logistics business in coordinating with every kind of logistics scheme throughout Thailand., Malaysia, Laos, Vietnam and South China by Land, Ocean and Air. Our business is not limited only to the Indochina region. The worldwide network of our group and that of our associates allows us to perform in the international business, catering to our clients needs through the coordination of harmonized multimodal transportation from & to Thailand.

Swissotel Le Concorde Bangkok 204 Ratchadapisak Road Huay Kwang, Bangkok 10320 Tel: +66 2694-2222 Fax: +66 2694-2218 Email: bangkok-leconcirde@ swissotel.com Website: www.swissotel leconcordebang.com Representatives Mr. Bruno Rotschaedl - General Manager Ms. Nutnaphin Wongapiwattanakul - Director of Sales Center Background 407 beautiful Rooms and Suites – all featuring Bathrooms with separate Bath and Shower and complementary Wi-Fi internet access.

The hotel has 19 elegant banquet and conference rooms with state of art facilities including a 7.3 meters high Ballroom capable of seating over 1000 people in theatre style, and with 18 additional state of the art Meeting Rooms,

there is no hotel in Bangkok better equipped to deliver the perfect Meeting or Event.

The hotel also offers a wide selection of recreational facilities including outdoor swimming pool, Fitness Centre with steam and Spa De Concorde offers an exclusive spa treatments.

Adjacent to Huay Kwang subway station, with quick and easy access to all parts of Bangkok – Central Plaza Rama 9, Terminal 21, Sukhumvit Road, Silom Road, MBK, Siam Square, Jatujak Market, Chinatown, Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre and more.

Synectics Systems Group Limited 3 - 4 Broadfield Close Sheffield. S Yorkshire S8 0XN Tel: +44 (0) 114255 2509 Email: chris.bishop@synx.com Website: www.synecticsglobal.com

Representatives Mr. Christopher Bishop - VP International Business Development Mr. Greg Alcorn - Director Transportation and Infrastructure

Zi-Argus Ltd. 278 B1, Raintree Office Garden Soi Soonvijai 4, Rama IX Rd. Bangkapi, Huaykwang Bangkok 10310 Tel: +66 2319-9933 Fax: +66 2319-9949 Email: bangkok@zi-argus.com Website: www.zi-argus.com

Representatives Mr. Frank van Baal - Regional Director Asia Mr. Andre Geertsma - Key Account Manager Resignations & Cancellations 1. Anglo Asia Projects & Engineering Ltd. 2. BAE Systems (International) Limited 3. David Game Education Co., Ltd. 4. e2v 5. EEC WSP Co., Ltd. 6. Factorytalk Co.,Ltd. 7. FM Advance Service Co., Ltd. 8. Golfasian 9. Hong Kong Transpack Co., Ltd. 10. Hua Hin Golf 11. Navinlaw 12. Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Bangkok 13. Phachara Suites Sukhumvit 14. Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd., The 15. Sheraton Hua Hin Resort & Spa 16. Staedtler (Thailand) Ltd. 17. Swissôtel Nai Lert Park Bangkok Change of company name 1. AngloINFO Bangkok changed to Expats In Bangkok 2. Cowan International (South East Asia) changed to Artemis (South East Asia) 3. IMS Health Inc. Thailand changed to Quintiles IMS Incorporated - Thailand Branch 4. Langdon & Seah (Thailand) Limited changed to Arcadis (Thailand) Ltd.

Change of company representative 1. Destination Resort co., Ltd. Branch (HOOTERS PATTAYA) from Mr. Tee Bale to Ms. Phoongern Sakaew 2. G4S Secure Solutions (Thailand) Limited from Mr. Chroong Kanjchanapoomi to Mr. Worapong Padungkirtsakul 3. GKN Driveline (Thailand) Ltd. from Mr. Hannes Hellweger to Mr. Jonathan Michael Rose 4. Holiday Inn Bangkok Silom from Mr. John Kim to Mr. Ian Reid 5. Jardine Lloyd Thompson Ltd. from Mr. Mark Johnson to Mr. Phil Corrigan 6. Mode Sathorn Hotel from Mr. Thawee Kugasemrat to Ms. Vaninthorn Wongshaiboon 7. Plaza Athenee Bangkok, A Royal Meridien Hotel from Ms. Eriko Yokoyama to Ms. Potjanee Darakamas 8. Quintiles IMS Incorporated - Thailand Branch Thailand from Mr. Suyong Chung to Dr. Kanokwan Pornprasit 9. Thailand Privilege Card Co., Ltd. from Pol.Maj.Gen. Thirayuth Tumsaroj to Mr. Pruet Boobphakam Change of company address 1. Expats In Bangkok 199/59 Moo 9, Phuttamonthon Sai 4, Kratum Lom, Sam Phran Nakon Pathom 73220 2. Virgin Active (Thailand) Limited – (The Head Office) Unit no. 1214, 12th Floors, Empire Tower, 1 South Sathorn Road, Yannawa, Sathorn, Bangkok 10120

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FINAL WORD

Skirting the issue

By Dale Lawrence

T

he announcement by Adam Pettitt, Headmaster at Highgate School in north London, that he would be consulting parents about introducing a ‘gender-neutral’ uniform that would allow boys to wear skirts will no doubt have caused some concern with many of the parents now being asked to shell out £6,790 per term.

Pettitt told Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper that if being allowed to wear skirts meant some boys ‘feel happier and more secure in who they are, it must be a good thing’. It’s not clear whether this policy, if adopted, would stretch to the boys in skirts skipping rugby practice in favour of a gentle work-out with the girls on the netball court.

With so-called ‘equality’ groups pushing gender-neutral lavatories and bans on phrases such as ‘manup’ and ‘boys will be boys’ it’s not surprising that they have welcomed the announcement by Highgate’s Headmaster (or is it Headperson?).

Susie Green, CEO of Mermaids UK a charity working to raise awareness about gender nonconformity in children - is hoping that ‘we are getting towards a time when a boy choosing

England and Middlesex cricketer Phil Tufnell

to wear a skirt is ‘no longer an issue’.

She added, “It sends a very strong message of inclusion to students.

We know that transgender children often have a difficult time when socially transitioning. It can be a nervewracking experience. Knowing there is no gender conformity within the uniform and having an inclusive school environment can help take the sting out of it.” That’s certainly one way of putting it.

Former pupils at Highgate School include former politician Charles

Clarke, sacked by Tony Blair as Home Secretary, and England and Middlesex cricketer Phil Tufnell (pictured) who took 121 Test Match wickets – all of them while wearing more traditional white flannel trousers. * In a curious twist, boys studying at Exeter’s ISCA Academy wore skirts in protest at a ban on shorts during the country’s recent heatwave. The Academy responded by including shorts as part of the official uniform from 2018. It’s a funny old world.

Bumpy landing in the Atlantic The islanders of St Helena have finally welcomed their beleaguered new airport’s first commercial service. Readers may recall my reference last year to the plight of St Helenians waiting anxiously for the island’s airport to open for business.

signed off by the UK government in 2010. However, plans to establish a long-overdue air bridge with St Helena hit turbulent times when the runway was closed to large commercial traffic because of wind shear problems on final approach.

The project, with an estimated cost approaching £300 million, was

But history was finally made in May this year when a chartered

aircraft from Cape Town touched down with 60 passengers on board that included the island’s Governor Lisa Phillips. No news yet about regular flight operations between St Helena and the mainland. The St Helena government website teases visitors with a link to the ‘airport newsroom’ which, alas, is void of any news.

The views and opinions expressed on this page by Editor Dale Lawrence are entirely personal and do not reflect official BCCT policy.

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I N T E R N AT I O N A L S C H O O L

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