BCCT The Link magazine - Issue 3 2014

Magazine of the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand Issue 3 2014

Hotels seeking swift recovery

let’s feel good

Contents BCCT

Board of Directors 2014 Chairman Simon Matthews ManpowerGroup Thailand T: 02 634 7273 matthews@manpower.th.com Vice Chairman & Treasurer John Sim PKF Tax and Consulting Services (Thailand) Ltd. T: 02 679-5100 john.sim@pkfthailand.asia

11

Vice Chairmen Viriya (Boyd) Chongphaisal GlaxoSmithKline T: 02 659 3000 viriya.x.chongphaisal@gsk.com Simon Landy Colliers International Thailand T: 02 656 7000 simon.landy@colliers.com Chris Thatcher Anglo-Thai Legal Company Ltd. T: 081 803 7377 christhatcher1@gmail.com

18

22

Directors: Graham Balchin Salamander Energy (E&P) Ltd. T: 02 620 0800 graham.balchin@salamander-energy.com David Cumming Onyx Hospitality Group (Amari Orchid Pattaya) T: 02 255 3767 david.cumming@onyx-hospitality.com Michael Farley Harrow International School Bangkok T: 02 503 7222 m_farley@harrowschool.ac.th Stephen Frost Bangkok International Associates T: 02 231 6201/6455 sfrost@bia.co.th Charly Madan The Royal Bank of Scotland N.V. T: 02 679 5900 charly.madan@rbs.com Andrew McBean Grant Thornton T: 02 205 8222 andrew.mcbean@th.gt.com Siew Meng Tan HSBC T: 02 614 4040 siewmengtan@hsbc.com Rituraj Mohan Boots Retail (Thailand) T: 02 694 5900 Ritu.Mohan@bootsri.com Thana Thiramanus Property Care Services (Thailand) T: 02 741-8800 thana@pcs.co.th

32

This Edition

10

Is tide turning for hotels?

18

Investors face new dilemma in Thailand

34

Rohullah relishes life at school in Bangkok

36

New UK visa centre at Trendy Tower

22

37

32

39

Bradley makes switch to be new Seoul man Turning knowledge into action

EABC stays on track with infrastructure working group TBCA seeks support from private sector The Link

Issue 3/2014

3

We “sweat” the fine print . . so you don’t have to

Issue 3/2014

Contents

The Link is published by the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand.

Advertising enquiries: Greg Watkins Email: greg@bccthai.com Editor: Dale Lawrence Email: dalelawrence2008@gmail.com Front cover design: GSBI Production: Scand-Media Corp., Ltd 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.

26

45

40

54

47

55

Every Edition

7

42

9

52

26

54

Chairman’s Message Executive Director’s Message

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

British Council: IP legal eagles set for UK trip

40

Helping the needy: Foundation remains focussed in Thailand

Member News By the Numbers Chamber events

60

Comings and Goings

64

Final Word: Too little, too latte

The Link

Issue 3/2014

5

Chairman’s Message

I

t’s been an interesting few weeks in Thailand. On 22 May, as we were having our regular monthly Board meeting at the residence of the British Ambassador prior to the popular annual Life & Style Garden party, mobile phones began buzzing with the news that another coup had taken place in Thailand – with a curfew also announced.

Simon Matthews

Sustaining Partners

Now, thankfully, the curfew has been lifted in time for the FIFA World Cup football tournament and more importantly the military administration is starting to approve projects as well as rice payments to the farmers. These actions will have a positive impact on the country’s GDP as consumer spending starts to increase.

For our part we have sent a short paper to General Prayuth Chan-ocha, Head of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). The paper highlights three key areas where the Chamber believes firmly that Thailand can make improvements for foreign companies doing business in the Kingdom, namely the Foreign Business Act; visas and work permits, and property ownership.

I attended a meeting at the Royal Thai Army headquarters with General Prayuth, NCPO officials and Permanent Secretaries from various ministries in the company of our Vice Chairman Simon Landy. Representatives from the American, Canadian, Australian, South African, German and French Chambers of Commerce were also in attendance.

At the meeting we heard the reasoning behind the coup and the NCPO’s plans for the next 18 months. Much of the detail presented and discussed at this briefing has since been reported in local and international media.

I was heartened by the supportive response of General Prayuth and his colleagues when we raised with them some of the challenges facing our members when doing business in Thailand. General Prayuth proposed that we pursue these matters directly with the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Commerce. Although BCCT has already submitted its suggestions directly to General Prayuth and separately to the Board of Trade we are now working closely with other Chambers of Commerce on a final ‘wish list’ to be submitted to the ministry and to the NCPO in the very near future. I shall, of course, keep members fully informed on developments as we pursue these important business discussions with the new administration.

On a separate note I am also pleased to announce that our Overseas Business Network initiative has received a timely boost with the signing of the Year 2 grant letter by our Ambassador Mark Kent, countersigned by myself as your Chairman.

On 21 June Bradley Jones, Director of Trade & Investment at the British Embassy, left Thailand to take up a new posting in Seoul. On behalf of the BCCT Board, members and staff I would like to thank Brad for his invaluable contribution to the Chamber during his almost four years in Thailand and I wish him much success in his new role. I welcome warmly his successor Marcus Winsley who took up his post in Thailand in early July.

I look forward to meeting you at our forthcoming Chamber events upon my return from the United Kingdom.

The Link

Issue 3/2014

7

8

The Link

Issue 3/2014

Executive Director’s Message

Greg Watkins

Annual Airline Partners

Supporting Partners

BCCT members may have seen this issue grab the headlines in the UK in midJune in the context of British holidaymakers unable to take summer vacations due to a large backlog in processing passport applications. This is an issue faced

by British businesspeople in Asia for more than three years. In 2011 BCCT was assigned responsibility by Britain in South East Asia (BiSEA) to engage with the British Government in the hope of reducing the then maximum four weeks processing time for a new British passport. The BiSEA Chairman wrote to British Prime Minister David Cameron flagging this issue. At the same time the British Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong wrote to Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills.

Unfortunately the situation has worsened. In May of this year Her Majesty’s Passport Office (HMPO) increased the maximum expected processing time from four to six weeks. However, the experience of some BCCT member applicants has been far worse. One member recently received his new passport after nine weeks. A major British legal practice has reported processing times of seven to 11 weeks for their British nationals based in Asia Pacific. The problem is further exacerbated in Thailand due to the requirement to submit applications at VFS, the British Government’s appointed agent. VFS recently quoted a wait of three weeks for an appointment simply to submit a passport renewal application. This is clearly unacceptable and is being looked in to by HMPO. The British Government has just introduced a measure that extends the life of a passport by one year but effective work-arounds are difficult to identify - particularly for regular travellers whose passports expire long before the expiry date because all pages are used up. We have therefore suggested several short-term fixes: - Allow British passport holders overseas to apply for the fast-track service from overseas direct to a processing centre in UK. The work-around of engaging someone with a UK address to submit the fast-track application, receive the new passport back and send to the applicant overseas is not possible because the fast-track applicant is required to be in UK - Allow passport holders to purchase new pages to fix in their passports. The US government allows this and charges US$80 for 25 pages to be added to their standard passport. US nationals purchase new pages at the relevant American Embassy - Increase the length of British passports from 48 to 96 pages as a short term measure to alleviate the high volume of application by effectively doubling the life of the passport - As a medium-term measure, develop a secure system that allows the applicant to keep the old passport active until they receive the new one i.e. much like a credit card - Frequent travellers may apply for a second passport and then synchronise renewals in order to avoid being left without a passport. The issue here is whether the Immigration Bureau will issue Thai business visa stamps in both passports - Return to the process of submitting the renewal application direct to a processing centre in UK in order to avoid the additional three week wait for an appointment at VFS Bangkok just to submit an application - Plan renewal in October or November when the volume of applications is at its lowest. Six months of validity can be transferred from the old to the new passport

W1.5”

H1.75”

100% Yellow

11% Cyan

100% Magenta

65% Black

Now that the wider issue is public in UK it is hoped that British Ministers will accept that corrective action must be taken swiftly. British Chambers of Commerce in UK is representing BCCT and BiSEA members’ interests in UK and has written to the Home Secretary emphasising that action is necessary in order to avoid British business interests being adversely affected by the ‘grounding’ of British nationals while they wait for new passports.

The Link

Issue 3/2014

9

cover story

Is tide turning

for hotels?

By Dale Lawrence

T

hailand’s hotel and hospitality sectors face more challenges in the wake of the extended anti-government protests and the coup d’état on 22 May. Occupancy levels in recent years, stretching back to the SARS crisis in 2003, have been undermined by a series of natural and man-made disasters. Hotel owners and operators are taking some comfort from the fact that Thailand’s tourism traditionally bounces back from every adversity – but real challenges remain.

10

The Link

Issue 3/2014

Figures released by STR Global for Q1 2014 merely added to the general despondency across the tourism sector with occupancy levels in Bangkok hotels falling to 55.2 percent compared to 79.7 percent in the first three months of last year. RevPAR (revenue per available room) dropped to THB 1,778 and the city’s ADR (average daily rate) also decreased marginally.

In speaking to BCCT members about their plans for recovery we asked about any short-term measures being implemented to boost

occupancy, RevPAR and ADR pending a long-term resolution to the nation’s political problems.

Ed Brea is General Manager at the Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok. He said, “Whilst our occupancy has obviously taken a nose dive in all key markets across the board, we have maintained our rate positioning and our ADR has actually increased marginally. Maintaining rate integrity is paramount and in the end usually proves to be the right strategy when business conditions improve.

“In the short-term we have maintained a line of personal communication with our well-seasoned returnee guests that are accustomed to the political proceedings. Keeping them informed of the situation while advising them to exercise caution has assisted in gaining their confidence to return. We have also concentrated more on local corporate meetings which due to our normally high demand for MICE we sometimes have trouble finding space for.”

room rates but also service consistency and quality. Positive feedback, especially in social media, about travel in Bangkok including hotel services and facilities will be the perfect trigger to bring back tourists,” he said.

Khun Temsiri Kidchob, General Manager at the Centra Government Complex Hotel & Convention Centre (CGC) in Chaeng Watthana, is taking a cautious approach.

Khun Temsiri Kidchob

“To boost occupancy, RevPAR and ADR at the same time might not be achievable. The busy was contracting for many months and our priority is to achieve high levels of occupancy. Then we will see better figures for ADR and RevPAR.”

Khun Temsiri added that high occupancy in the city’s hotels will ‘reflect the market’s perception and restore confidence to Bangkok’.

“To raise occupancy it is not only

At the Ramada Plaza Bangkok Menam Riverside hotel, General Manager Klaus Sennik said, ”It was clear during my visit to ITB Berlin in March this year that we would be facing tough times after Songkran. We enjoyed healthy levels of occupancy through the high season but there has been a significant drop in both numbers of guests and business enquiries in recent weeks.

It seems clear that travel industry wholesalers have been diverting tourists away from Bangkok and our task is now to tell the international community that Thailand is safe, open for business and better value than ever before.”

It’s been a slightly different scenario in Phuket as David Coyle, General

Hotel General Managers joined senior tourism industry figures at the launch of the Bangkok Riverside Marketing Partnership. From left to right: Katja Henke, The Peninsula Bangkok; Nicolaus Priesnitz, Anantara Bangkok Riverside & Spa; Edward Brea, Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok; Sugree Sithivanich, Deputy Governor for Marketing Communications - TAT; Dirk de Cuyper, Millennium Hilton Bangkok; Klaus Sennik, Ramada Plaza Bangkok Menam Riverside; Amanda Hyndman, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Bangkok; Nopparat Maythaveekulchai, President of TCEB; Tuangporn Supsakorn, Director of Tourism Division Culture, Sport and Tourism Department of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration; Keith Hardie, Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers and Sumate Sudasna Na Ayudhya, President of TICA. The Link

Issue 3/2014

11

cover story

Manager at the Maikhao Dream Villa Resort & Spa, explained. “Phuket has been somehow cushioned from this political situation compared to Bangkok where most of the news coverage is focused. As one of the country’s major destinations the island has become more self-sufficient – especially with direct flights from different countries around the world. Most of our guests are long staying and were already with us when we heard about the imposition of martial law and then the coup d’état. Other guests have extended their stay in Phuket and skipped plans to spend time in Bangkok.”

The current crisis has prompted hotels to target new source markets and, in some cases, make changes to sales and marketing strategies by increasing the number of rooms sold via online travel agencies (OTAs).

Online travel agencies continue to play an important role in producing business at the Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao. “OTAs have always been important to us and we continue to focus upon them. For our source markets we are looking at generating more business from Asia, especially from groups, but also from FITs,” explained General Manager Andre Brulhart.

Klaus Sennik

Temsiri Kidchob is heartened by the efforts of Governor Thawatchai and his team over the past six months but he called for the TAT to stage more consumer events in Bangkok. “They mostly hold events in upcountry locations but now is the time to focus upon events in the capital city.”

Temsiri Kidchob said that his two main preferred source markets ‘are not actually new’ as they continue to target FITs (independent travellers) from within Thailand and from China PRC. “We absolutely need OTAs,” he added, “The CGC operates as a hotel with a convention centre attached. If we can have 50/50 market mix of MICE and online FIT business then growth will clearly come soon.”

Ed Brea at the Shangri-La observes,” The pent up demand for Thailand’s wonderful culture and its people, coupled with our value for price proposition, gives us the confidence in the destination rebounding quickly once again. The current platforms for bookings will certainly remain with OTAs gaining more market share and popularity due to ease of booking and instant confirmation.

“This holds true for direct online hotel bookings where potential guests want more information on the hotel beyond rates and bed type before making a choice.”

12

The Link

Issue 3/2014

TAT Governor Thawatchai Arunyik took up his role in December 2013 as street protests in Bangkok were gaining momentum and attracting widespread international media coverage. Once again the pressure is on the Tourism Authority of Thailand to produce creative and imaginative marketing initiatives to bring back the millions of missing business and leisure travellers.

Ed Brea

At the Centara Watergate hotel in Bangkok, General Manager Wim Fagel admits that there are challenges ahead in meeting budgets for the current year. “We have to be creative with add-on promotions. Most of the room nights are now booked via OTAs and I do not expect that this will change in the coming months.

However, we remain focussed upon our corporate business and retail travel agents.”

Klaus Sennik is also impressed with the work of the TAT and believes that efforts to identify and cultivate new source markets will pay dividends. “We know that are visitors from traditional regional markets such as China, Japan, Hong Kong and Korea are notoriously sensitive to events in Thailand and are influenced by the travel advisories of their respective governments. We can certainly claw back some lost business in this calendar year but now we must plan for 2015 and beyond.”

Ed Brea said,” The TAT has been active on the travel trade front with media familiarisation trips from countries such as France, China, Spain and Brazil. One key initiative will see the TAT joining hands with airlines and tour operators in

The Link

Issue 3/2014

13

cover story

Maikhao Pool Villa, Phuket

launching special promotional tour packages as well as cooperating with online travel agents in introducing tactical campaigns via digital platforms while planning roadshows in various European countries. The TAT will also partner with Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways to organise familiarisation trips to Thailand for media and travel agency staff.”

“In the end, until a credible and neutral government is established and the certainty of peace amongst the populace is assured, the reality is that large numbers of tourist from Japan, China and the US in particular will just not be coming in numbers. As the situation is fluid the TAT will adjust accordingly and hopefully just keep planting seeds for us to water. We all need to be more aggressive in organising more media trips and roadshows to renew confidence amongst potential travellers,” added Ed Brea.

“We believe that the TAT will continue to retrace its steps to the right path by restoring confidence in our

14

The Link

Issue 3/2014

key source markets. It is reasonable to be confident that TAT’s strategies will support and complement our own efforts in rebuilding consumer confidence.”

For many hotel owners and operators in Thailand it is the lost of major MICE business that is causing much bigger headaches and the role of the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau is critical in rebuilding the confidence of events planners around the world.

Temsiri Kidchob has forthright views on the importance of the Bureau in planning for any further disruption to MICE business. “TCEB needs back up and support from all concerned in order to have a practical and smooth contingency plan that includes prompt transfers for delegations to safe places or to airports and clear accessibility in case we experience another ‘Bangkok shut-down’. It must not be just a verbal plan but an MOU. TCEB can then reassure MICE business prospects and meeting planners and this

will make them more comfortable in the event that another crisis occurs in Bangkok. MICE organisers have no trust in Thailand’s political situation. Hotels and convention centres need contract clauses to secure protection from last minute cancellations.”

Klaus Sennik places great faith in the new Bangkok Riverside Marketing Partnership. The BRMP embraces eight hotels, including the Ramada Plaza Bangkok and the Shangri-La, that enjoy prime positions on the banks of the city’s Chao Phraya river.

“Each of the eight BRMP properties offers a very special leisure experience for tourists. The combination of some or indeed all of the hotels provides an exceptional opportunity for event planners. The eight hotels offer a wealth of facilities for every MICE and leisure event with a combined total of 10 ballrooms, 109 meeting rooms and the ability to accommodate up to 1,600 guests. The hotels also offer a combined total of

Finally, is this is now the time to abandon the 2015 target of 30 million international visitors set by former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra that appeared in part reliant upon large numbers of lowspending tourists from mainland China.

4,152 bedrooms, 42 restaurants and 17 bars,” said Klaus.

Ed Brea is thankful for the ‘solid relationship’ his hotel enjoys with TCEB and he believes that they are ‘ahead of the game’.

“They have multilateral messages and varied approaches for each target market and they deliver what they commit. Their credibility is well established with professional MICE organisers and Thailand remains one of the most preferred MICE destinations as a result.

He added,”TCEB just needs to keep doing what it does well - continued emphasis upon the unique Thai culture and hospitality along with our unlimited MICE options. Our continuously improving infrastructure of five star hotels and resorts, multiple shopping, entertainment and dining complexes and skilled service professionals are key selling points.”

Chris Bailey, Senior VP for Sales and Marketing at Central Hotels, offers a

Andre Brulhart

clear message. “Bangkok is still a safe place for MICE groups. All services relating to MICE groups, including flights, events and activities, are 100 percent functional. Nothing has been stopped. The curfew was the only source of disruption for visitors.

“We are still organising and staging events and doing so successfully.”

Klaus Sennik is firm in his belief that the country stays focussed upon this target. “Every visitor is important to Thailand and we must continue to retain our position as one of the region’s top tourist destinations.

There have been some concerns expressed about the numbers of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand as part of packaged tour groups. Our evidence suggests that the average spend per head is now beginning to increase and we are encouraged by the efforts of tour group leaders to educate their clients about the standards of behaviour expected.”

At the Centra Government Complex Hotel in Chaeng Watthana, Temsiri Kidchob says that the forecast for international arrivals should be ‘realistic and achievable’.

Time to relax at the Centara Watergate Pavillion hotel in Bangkok

The Link

Issue 3/2014

15

cover story

“We are happy to accommodate Chinese tour groups and work with travel agents that agree with our best offers and have no issues on payment. We have accommodated many Chinese FIT booking online and we focus seriously focus upon this market because demand is huge and the average room rates paid are higher than by tour groups,” he said.

tour groups and the high spending tourists. We do not have the luxury of picking and choosing our market segments.”

We left the last word on this issue to Ed Brea at the Shangri-La in Bangkok.

In Phuket David Coyle said,” The country’s hotel industry has a vast selection of accommodation levels that can cater to all kinds of markets and this will open more opportunities for the industry here.

Andre Brulhart said, “It is our firm belief that the entire hospitality industry should continue to focus on the target of 30 million tourists by doing everything possible to restore confidence for international visitors

Wim Fagel

to come to Thailand. To achieve this goal, the focus has to be on Chinese

“In most cases quality supersedes quantity, especially when average spend trumps volume. There is a misguided perception that all business coming from China is lower spending tour groups. Having just spent four years in China I can attest to this as inaccurate. There is a huge opportunity to attract sophisticated and well-seasoned Chinese travellers who are seeking unique luxury experiences and we are confident that the luxury segment of the Chinese market will be flowing after the current crisis is resolved.”

Cash boost for Thailand tourism

T

he National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has indicated that the Tourism and Sports Ministry can now apply for additional funds totalling more one billion baht to revive tourism and maintain the sector’s revenue target of two trillion baht this year and 2.2 trillion baht in 2015, according to a report in the Bangkok Post.

Admiral Narong Pipattanasai, who supervises the ministry, has met permanent secretary Suwat Sidthilaw and other high-ranking officials to discuss the tourism situation. He told media that the restoration of confidence amongst foreign tourists is the first priority of the revival measures.

“We will quickly communicate with

international travellers that Thailand is safe for them to visit,” he said.

The ministry will draft a proposal to seek the extra budget for tourism revival while the process of budget approval will be shorter than normal, according to the Bangkok

TAT holds firm on forecast

T

hailand is maintaining a target of 30 million international visitors in 2015.

TAT Governor Thawatchai Arunyik (picured right) told media that revised figures for 2014 predict some 25.6 million arrivals – down from the forecast of 28 million made at the start of the year.

“A coup in Thailand is very differ-

16

The Link

Issue 3/2014

ent from a coup in other countries,” he said, stressing that Thailand remains a safe place to visit.

The TAT says that regional source markets such as China, Japan and Korea have reacted to recent political events in Thailand but that arrivals from Europe have been virtually unaffected by both the street protests and the coup d’etat.

www.salarattanakosin.com

brunch with a view.

sala rattanakosin Bangkok, introducing the Sunday a la carte brunch menu.

1,200* baht per person includes a buffet selection of delicious cold cuts and cheeses, chilled poached seafood and fresh salads. then order as much as you like from our a la carte brunch menu to be served at your table. for an additional 700* baht per person include free flow wines. *15% Discount for BCCT Members. every Sunday from June 1, 2014. 11.30am until 3.30pm. for reservations contact wineanddine@salarattanakosin.com or call 02 622 1388 rates quoted are subject to 10% service charge and 7% value added tax

Investors face new dilemma in Thailand

By Paul Gambles

T

he change in government on 22nd May seems to have occasioned a very different response from inside Thailand as opposed to the world outside.

International media have generally been quick to condemn the military’s actions, despite the first local opinion poll following military intervention indicating 75 percent support for military action. Many business leaders have welcomed what they hope will be a return to stability within the Kingdom.

Similarly, international investors accelerated their already significant sell off of Thai assets. Foreign SET sales since January 2012 wiped out the balance of overall foreign purchases made in the previous six and a half years.

This year alone, foreign investors have sold nearly THB 33 billion of equities on the SET more than they have purchased. However, the SET has rallied strongly in the aftermath of 22 May as the foreign loss of confidence in Thailand has been offset by the return of local investors. The SET’s rally has been largely driven by the return of local individual investors.

In addition, foreign money that had flowed into the Thai bond market, largely on expectations of rate cuts, quickly turned tail and headed out of the sector whilst FDI has been under pressure for some time. It is too early to tell whether the removal of the previous interim government has made any impact – a major part of the reduction has

18

The Link

Issue 3/2014

been due to the bureaucratic paralysis that had seized Thailand for several months, with the Board of Investment procedures being affected. Meanwhile the Baht has seen relatively little change, despite the strong downward pressure of the outflows reflected to the foreign equity and bond sales.

Where does that leave investors?

Firstly, we should remember that Thailand’s economic headwinds were not all due to the political crisis. The Bank of Thailand highlighted three reasons for the economic contraction in Q1. Only one of these was down to the economic protests. The greater factors were the slowdown in private consumption, caused by consumer debt levels having reached such high levels in 2012 that consumers were unable to continue borrowing and spending at the same rate, and also the global slowdown in trade in Q1.

This has had a huge impact for a Thai Economy where GDP (and GDP growth) are primarily driven by exports, which make up around 70 percent of Thai GDP according to the Thai Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB).

Despite all the headlines about

Thai politics, it may be events in the rest of the world that have the greatest impact on Thailand’s economy – a global recovery would benefit Thailand’s exports and have the greatest knock-on effects.

Paradoxically, a slowdown in any one of Thailand’s four major trading partners (China, Japan, USA and the EU) would have a major impact on the country’s economic recovery. Simultaneous or related problems in all four markets would probably be akin to the damage suffered by the Titanic in its first five compartments.

This is why I believe that it’s vital to align investment solutions more than ever with risk and liquidity profiles. My range of forecasts for the SET over the coming years are as low as 750 and as high as 2000.

This range is so wide as to be largely meaningless over such a timescale meaning that investors shouldn’t expose themselves to the risk of an almost 50 percent drawdown unless they have a much longer term outlook or can afford the loss.

However their equity valuations are not generally expensive in relative or absolute terms and Thai fundamentals remain relatively attractive. In the long term, this combination of attractive valua-

...we should remember that Thailand’s economic headwinds were not all due to the political crisis.

Bank of Thailand headquarters

tions and solid fundamentals could combine to produce Thai equity returns above the global average.

Medium-term investors could do worse than have exposure to Thai income producing assets as part of an overall portfolio. Short-term (3-month) income opportunities are still available yielding over three percent per year while assetbacked paper yielding over six percent on a one year basis has been available in recent private placements.

For those investors for whom Baht is a base currency, the current Baht levels are pretty much in the middle of the range that I forecast over the coming years. Some of the alarmist predictions where Baht weakens to 36 or more would really require extreme global or local conditions and, barring a major global contraction, are unlikely to occur on any sustained basis unless Thailand achieves ‘failed state’ status which I see as a much lower

probability than global contraction.

In such an environment I believe that an active approach, buying equities on SET weakness, increasing Baht exposure if the Thai currency fails in value and seeing reasonable but not outstanding opportunities in property and fixed income, indicate that many investors in Thailand should consider aboveaverage cash weightings within a balanced portfolio, unless they have long-term outlooks and high risk tolerance.

In other words, this may be the start of a golden era of investing in Thailand, especially in private equity opportunities, but most investors should be aware that the risks remain very elevated - although probably not for the reasons that much of the world’s press would have you believe.

Please Note: While every effort has been made to ensure that the infor-

mation contained herein is correct, I cannot be held responsible for any errors that may occur. Views and opinions expressed herein may change with market conditions and should not be used in isolation. With investment comes risk.

Please study all relevant information carefully before making any investment decision.

Paul Gambles is co-founder and Managing Partner of the MBMG Group. Paul is licensed by the Thai SEC as a Securities Fundamental Investment Analyst.

Tel: +66 2665 2536 E: info@mbmg-international.com Twitter: @MBMGIntl

The Link

Issue 3/2014

19

British architects have more designs on Phnom Penh

By Jeffrey Lamb

A

s Phnom Penh hurtles toward modernity, British firms are playing a big part in crafting the Cambodian capital’s aesthetic. The cut and thrust of the traditional market is being replaced by gleaming shopping malls filled with international brands. The simple wooden home is making way for two-bedroom condominiums with a swimming pool and gym. Even shophouses are being usurped by 25th floor, air-conditioned offices with city views.

Phnom Penh is changing, of that there is not doubt. Surprisingly, however, a good proportion of that change is being brought to fruition

by British companies and nowhere is that more apparent than in the architecture sector where British expertise is leading the way for the Cambodian capital’s most impressive structures.

“The first one is the Vattanac Tower project, a mixed-use tower,” said Jason Simpson of ARUP, a global firm of consulting engineers founded in London. “The architecture firm on that is TFP Farrells and Terry Farrell is one of the big five architects who came out of the UK in the 1970s and 1980s. You could say the Vattanac is the most iconic modern building in the city now and it’s also the tallest building in Cambodia.

ARUP was the lead engineer on that job so I would say that was the

20

The Link

Issue 3/2014

starting point for new British architecture in Cambodia.

FDIs are increasing, as are business registrations.

“The next stage will be the Zaha Hadid project, the Sleuk Rith Institute which is planned to be the leading centre for genocide studies in Asia. That is really moving onto the next phase of British architecture. Farrell, while still being very relevant, comes from an earlier period, while Hadid, an Iraqi-born British architect, has really come to prominence in the last 10-15 years.

These are two very significant British architects who are doing work in Cambodia.”

“It’s driven by demographics as well. About 18 percent of the Cambodian population lives in urban areas and that is expected to increase to 30 percent by 2030,” said Daniel Parkes, general manager for the Landmark Phnom Penh project by Hong Kong Land - part of the Jardine Matheson Group. He added that the city’s population is expected to double to some four million.

Indeed, Cambodia’s general macro situation serves as a harbinger of big movements in the capital’s landscape. The economy is growing and

According to a recent report by the Phnom Penh office of the property consultancy CBRE, three new condominium projects will be completed this year along with a further four developments in the following two years.

“I think general experience on how cities grow, on urban planning, patterns of growth, advice on improving housing, infrastructure, electricity supply and drainage – there’s room for professionals in any of those fields to come forward with good advice,” added Daniel Parkes. “British companies have good experience of getting on with the job and getting stuff done.”

With such expected growth comes a need for improved infrastructure.

Currently, much of the infrastructure in Cambodia is funded by the ADB. While this is all well and good it also creates a space where private investors can really make a difference.

“Private developers don’t only put a road in – they put in a road, they put in an economic zone, they put in an energy centre, and they tie all of these key elements together to make projects that are financially viable but that also contribute to the country,” said Simpson. “The developments that are going on need to be linked in with infrastructure, with transport, with other aspects of planning.

“People familiar with Cambodia are aware that the energy prices are pretty high. Certainly there is opportunity in the future for private investment in energy. British companies are quite

well developed in some of the technologies that could be useful in Cambodia but I think we’re looking at three to five years down the line here.”

The real estate sub-committee of the International Business Chamber and the British Embassy combined to fly in two consultants from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors who helped produce a report into the legal and regulatory framework surrounding building and fire safety in Cambodia. This represents the first genuine plan of how to get from the current situation to having fully functioning building controls and safety standards – all of them certified and regularly inspected by trained professionals.

“To be able to do that, you need university courses that are teaching the skills that are required to fill those positions.

And those university courses don’t exist at the moment,” said Parkes. “So we’re even looking at bringing British universities here as partners to set up those courses so that we have a stream of graduates coming through with the requisite skills.”

For now, the highest-grade buildings have to rely on overseas expertise. ARUP is the only international consultancy with an office in-coun-

try, but it is joined by British firms including the project managers ACH Management and quantity surveyors WT Partnership. With investment in Phnom Penh’s property market totalling an estimated US$ 1.9 billion in the first half of last year, the opportunities are there to be taken, thus continuing the burgeoning British invasion.

“We’re just brilliant at everything to do with construction and property,” said Parkes. “The way that London developed so quickly meant that property became an important thing. We’ve been doing it for hundreds of years.”

To learn more about trade and investment opportunities in Cambodia please contact Jeffrey Lamb, Head of UK Trade & Investment, at the British Embassy, Phnom Penh.

Tel: +855 (0)23 427 124 Mob: +855 (0)17 333 469 Email: jeffrey.lamb@fco.gov.uk

The Link

Issue 3/2014

21

Bradley makes switch to be new Seoul man

By Bradley Jones

T

ter than I do that this country has an incredible resilience and capacity for bouncing back.

ime can play disconcerting tricks on us. It is hard to imagine that I have been in Bangkok as Director of Trade and Investment at the British Embassy for nearly four years now and will very shortly be packing my bags for my next overseas posting. Somehow, in the course of those four years, I have managed to get through three Ambassadors, four Deputy Ambassadors, one Royal visit, one Prime Ministerial visit, several hundred Food By Phone orders and, of course, one coup.

It has also been a busy period for UK-Thailand trade relations too. We have refocussed our priorities to give more attention to inward investment, because, as Sahaviriya Steel’s ground-breaking investment in Redcar demonstrates, there is huge potential for investment by major Thai corporates across the UK in a range of sectors, and we want to harness that curiosity and support these companies in establishing their UK footprint.

We have also set up a defence and security section within our team, to assist British companies in this sector and to complement the work of the Defence Attaché, and, perhaps most importantly, we have now joined forces with the British Chamber to enhance the provision of business support to British companies seeking opportunities in Thailand.

22

The Link

Issue 3/2014

I saw it for myself after the floods in 2011 – I was greatly impressed by the way in which Thai people pulled together to rebuild their communities.

I think Thailand has a lot of promise in the long term – the nation has an entrepreneurial mindset, and is truly abundant in natural resources: whatever you plant in the ground seems to spring up with a tenacity that could act as a metaphor for the entire country.

In the space of just over a year, the new British Business Centre has become fully operational, and the Chamber Project is already delivering real value to UK companies, especially SMEs, seeking to do business here. This has been a real game changer in terms of the support we can give, and it would not have been possible without the enthusiasm and commitment from the BCCT Board, Greg, Barry and the Chamber team. The Thailand project is now held up as a model for other British Chambers around the world planning to set up similar initiatives.

Without doubt Thailand is entering a challenging time in its history, but I am reassured by the Chamber members who have been here a lot longer than me and who understand far bet-

Much as we like to moan about the traffic in Bangkok, Thailand does have a good infrastructure, albeit in need of modernisation, and a talented labour force, and it is well-placed to capture all the advantages of being right at the heart of the ASEAN region.

One of the things that I have learnt during my time here is that the Thais seem to have a deep affinity with the UK. This is no doubt partly due to the 50,000 Brits here evangelising the virtues of the Premier League and English beer. But there is also a more fundamental connection, which partly manifests itself in the strong business relationship we have.

The BCCT has, without doubt, played a major role in putting the UK at the heart of Thailand’s international priorities, championing our reputation for integrity, innovation and corpo-

rate social responsibility, and being a powerful advocate for UK companies on a whole range of issues, from labour standards to regulatory barriers and trade policy issues. It’s also been a fun organisation to work with and I have enjoyed the networking evenings and panel discussions immensely.

I have learnt so much during my time here. Before coming to Thailand, I thought the pomelo was some kind of exotic south American dance.

But slowly I have learnt a little about Thai culture and a smattering of the language which I speak in my hybrid Bangkok-Chingford accent. It has been a great journey.

I have also experienced some difficult moments, such as when I escorted a group of Thai business leaders on a tour of pig abattoirs in the UK. This was not exactly the most edifying UK experience for a lifelong vegetarian like me and the less said about my fact-finding visit to Rayong the better. Suffice to say, since that day, I

have never travelled anywhere without a bottle of Gaviscon in my bag.

I shall be moving on to my next posting in August to Seoul where I will be Head of Trade and Investment. I have four years of karaoke, kim chi and K-pop to look forward to but Simon Matthews’ unforgettable Gangnam dance at the BCCT’s Christmas Party in 2012 has truly inspired me to embrace Korean culture in its entirety (apart from all the meat eating and whisky drinking….).

I’ll certainly visit Thailand in the nottoo-distant future as I really do want to experience more of this wonderful, welcoming and exhilarating country and I hope to catch up with you all when I do.

But in the meantime, I shall be handing the reins to my successor, Marcus Winsley, who arrives in early July after completing his current posting as Head of Press and Public Affairs at the British High Commission in India. Some

of you will have already met Marcus at the opening of the British Business Centre earlier this year. I’d like to wish him all the very best for what I know will be a terrific diplomatic posting.

Finally, I’d like to thank my team, who have tolerated my foibles and faux pas (of which there have been many!) over the years, but who have also taught me so much and been so hospitable and supportive – it’s a rare thing to be able to say that I have enjoyed every single day in the job, but in case, it’s absolutely true (…apart from that visit to Rayong, of course). It’s been a real privilege to work at the British Embassy in Thailand, and to have the BCCT as colleagues and friends.

Greg, his team, and the Board have been great to work with and I’d like to thank them for all their support over these last few years and wish them all the very best for the future. * For more information about the work of UKTI in Thailand please visit: www.ukinthailand.fco.gov.uk

The Link

Issue 3/2014

23

Investing in the future

By Jason Marsh

W

hen investing, most people aim or think about where they want themselves and their families to be in the future. Some typical choices for consideration would be: • Saving with a bank - not ideal at present due to unattractive interest rates unless they wish to be ultra conservative and are not concerned about inflation erosion • Saving for retirement so that they can finally pursue other interests • Saving for their children’s higher education • Saving to buy a house or put down a deposit for a mortgage Nowadays in the UK it’s not unusual for parents to save more to help their children put a deposit down on a house so that they can get on the property ladder. That is if you don’t mind your kids staying at home until they are 36 years old - the current average age for first time buyers.

All of the above are extremely relevant and determine why and how people invest. Notably, most personal investment strategies are based on investing either directly or via collective schemes in cash, bonds, listed equities, property, commodities and alternative investment strategies such as hedge funds.

So I found it extremely interesting when PPI agreed terms with Harwell Capital. Harwell Capital was established to offer private retail investors the opportunity to invest in privately held technology companies at lower levels than offered by other venture capital funds, allowing investors to build their own technology portfolio with the potential to deliver superior returns and capital growth.

They focus on technology companies based in the UK, which has a reputa-

24

The Link

Issue 3/2014

tion for world-class research with 70 Nobel Prizes won by UK scientists and four UK universities - Oxford University, Cambridge University, Imperial College London & University College London - ranked in the top six worldwide with research income of over GBP 1.2bn per annum.

The company is affiliated with Midven, a successful venture capital fund manager authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Midven operates five funds including the Rainbow Seed Fund.

The Department of Business Innovation and Skills chose Midven to manage this fund when it was established in 2001. It uses UK Government investment capital to finance the commercialisation of technology developed across the UK’s range of publically funded research establishments.

Harwell Capital works with a dedicated team at Midven to identify the most attractive opportunities that meet its investment criteria derived from amongst the 70 companies in Midven’s portfolio and more broadly across the UK. They also identify technology companies from other groups with a strong research pedigree. One of these is Imperial Innovations Group plc, which was founded as the technology transfer office of Imperial College, London. In 2011 Imperial Innovations expanded its scope to invest in opportunities arising from Intellectual Property (IP) developed at Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London and University College London.

The strategy is to source opportunities offering superior long term capi-

tal appreciation through investments in technology companies, a focus underpinned by the global drivers of demand for innovative future technology. These include: • Ageing demographics and health fears driving demand for medical applications • Environmental awareness has heightened the need for sustainable solutions to many problems from waste to energy • Squeezed corporate budgets focusing on enhancing efficiency and reducing costs through use of technology • Terrorism & security threats demand for security technology • An ever increasing global population requiring innovative products Harwell look for companies that are patentable; offer differentiated technology with strong IP; clearly identified addressable markets; Scalable business models; attractive valuations and, most importantly, strong management teams.

Track record is all important when evaluating investments. Midven has a track record of delivering class leading returns, including 13 exits in the last six years. The most high profile recent exit, Scriptswitch delivered a 35 times return. Scriptswitch is the leading provider of software to support GPs with patient safety information, drug switch recommendations and dosage optimisation information at the point of prescription.

investor needs to make sure that they have an emergency cash buffer in their bank to cover them for at least three to six months without employment, international medical insurance, life insurance to protect their families and at least one retirement plan.

Once these foundations are in place you may wish to look at some higher risk investments, such as Harwell Capital’s portfolio of technology companies.

Midven invested at a time when the company was still largely focused on product development, had minimal sales and was operating without a fully-fledged management team.

Scriptswitch was sold for a cash multiple return of over 35 times and an internal rate of return in excess of 100 percent for Midven.

Private Equity (PE) investments, however, are not for the faint hearted.

Venture Capital is high risk, the flip side being high returns. PE should not exceed ten to fifteen percent of your overall financial portfolio. Every

Jason Marsh is a Senior Advisor at Professional Portfolio International.

Email:jason.marsh@ppi-advisory.com Tel: +662 664 0968 Mob: +66 812 789 425s

Yangon demands top price for office rent D

evelopers continue the process of trying to absorb anticipated demand as the Myanmar opens up to more inbound investment. That’s according to the latest report from Colliers International.

occupied. As a result, rents continue to trend upwards although less acute than witnessed in 2012 and 2013.

Yangon’s office stock is calculated at 112,000 m2, with over 230,000 m2 of new projects in the pipeline, scheduled to be completed from 2014 to 2018.

Yangon currently has the highest average monthly rent in the region with the average prime rent in the city now some US$87 per m2. The market has seen a resurgence of new office developments amid political reforms that brought about renewed interest among local and foreign investors.

The Colliers report adds at the end of this year’s first quarter Yangon occupancy rates improved to 87 percent with over 98,000 m2 of stock

But there is a lack of sizeable supply in the pipeline and premium office buildings of international standard remain non-existent in Yangon.

The Link

Issue 3/2014

25

BRITISH COUNCIL

IP legal eagles set for UK trip B

ritish Council Thailand, in partnership with the Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court (IP&IT Court), the Department of Intellectual Property and the Ministry of Commerce Biodiversity-Base Economy Development Office, has joined True Visions in the selection of the country’s ‘Best Young IP Law Ambassadors’.

The winning team, comprising Paramee Kerativitayanun and Napasa Cheydet, students from the Faculty of Law at Chulalongkorn University, will have the privilege of experiencing IP practice first hand with top academic institutions, government bodies and law firms during an all expenses paid trip to the UK for two weeks.

The project has been held for eight consecutive years with the aim of raising awareness of the legal and cultural issues surrounding Intellectual Property (IP) among the younger generation as well as creating an informal network for those university students with a strong interest in IP issues. It is also the only moot court competition in Thailand which is conducted in English.

The first stage of the competition involved an essay contest on Intellectual Property and Equal Opportunities for All. Sixteen teams were selected to undergo an intense interview by the panel judges. Only eight were invited to enter the English language moot competition in a real courtroom.

The eight teams were coached by both IP judges and law firms on how 26

The Link

Issue 3/2014

to present themselves in a real courtroom. They also had the opportunity to learn about different IP cases and how to find evidence to defend their positions.

The knockout round was held at the IP&IT Court, and was televised on TNN2. Two final teams had to present their sides of the Intellectual Property case to the court in front of a panel of judges, a plaintiff counsellor and a defendant counsellor.

The winning team also receives a trophy from the Supreme Court.

“The Young Intellectual Property Law Ambassador Award competition grants us an invaluable experience outside the legal textbooks,” said winning team member Napasa Cheydet. “The UK trip will broaden my IP law horizons in that it will al-

low me to witness the practice of IP law in different organisations ranging from government bodies and academic institutions to private law firms. The experience we will gain this time will help complete our larger picture of IP law.”

The Link

Issue 3/2014

27

Thailand’s intellectual property regime T

hailand has made considerable progress in the development of intellectual property rights (IPR), with the establishment of a dedicated intellectual property court in 1997, followed by the ratification several international treaties on intellectual property in the following decade. It was also amongst the earliest Southeast Asian countries to adopt Geographical Indication certification, in order to capitalise on the numerous unique regional goods that it produces.

However, there is still a long way to go. The legal framework that exists to protect and enforce IPR does may not give an accurate picture of the risks that still exist for businesses, not least for European SMEs who possess valuable intellectual property assets and are unfamiliar with the system. Knowing the realities of protection and enforcement of IPR in Thailand, and the differences to the European framework is vital for any European SME looking to do business there.

In the previous part of this two-issue article, the ASEAN IPR SME Helpdesk took a look at copyright and trade marks. In this issue of the The Brief the Helpdesk outlines two types of intellectual property recognised in Thailand: patents and trade secrets, providing some tips and ‘watch-outs’ for European SMEs doing business in the country.

Patents tips and watch-outs in Thailand • While applications for Design Patents and Petty Patents are still largely dominated by domestic applicants, applications for Patents of Invention are mostly filed

28

The Link

Issue 3/2014

by foreign applicants. Since 2011 the trend among foreign applicants has been to file fewer direct national applications, and instead there has been a sharp increase of applications through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) route – an international filing option that can be applied for in-country. Accordingly, the backlog has been increasing over the years, which has become worrisome: among the 23,000 pending applications made in 2012, less than a quarter were granted by the end of the year. Therefore it is recommended for EU SMEs to apply via the

direct national application system rather than the PCT route where possible, as the application wait time may be reduced.

• Given the above, in most cases it is currently recommended for EU SMEs to make a direct national filing rather than to apply via the PCT route, if the objective is to obtain a quicker grant. This makes sense however only if parallel applications of the same patent which have been filed in other countries are expected to end up with quick grants, as in Thailand the examination of foreign patent applications depends on the

Trade Secrets are any piece of information that can satisfy the below 3 criteria in order to make them enforceable before a court: 1. It must be non-public information 2. It can offer business advantages to the owner 3. You must be able to prove that you took measures to protect the confidentiality of the information Typically, trade secrets could include new products or business models, special techniques, formulas, customers and suppliers’ lists, technical know-how, etc.

About the Helpdesk The ASEAN IPR SME Helpdesk supports European Union (EU) small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to both protect and enforce their Intellectual Property (IP) rights in or relating to ASEAN, through the provision of free information and services.

These take the form of jargon-free, firstline, confidential advice on intellectual property and related issues, plus training, materials and online resources.

The ASEAN IPR SME Helpdesk project is co-funded by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry under the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP).

The current project runs until August 2014 and comprises a total budget of EUR 1.2 million over a period of 20 months. The Helpdesk’s free services for European SMEs include a Helpdesk Enquiry Service.

Individual SMEs and SME intermediaries can submit IP enquiries directly to the Helpdesk via phone, email or in person, gaining access to a panel of experts to receive free and confidential first-line advice.

Training The Helpdesk arranges training on ASEAN IP protection and enforcement in Europe and ASEAN, tailored to the needs of SMEs, including IP registration and establishing an IP protection strategy.

Helpdesk IP clinics offering SMEs free 20 minute one-on-one consultations with an IP expert are available at most training events.

outcome of any patent application already filed abroad at other Patent Offices. Otherwise, filing an application for a Petty Patent in place of a Patent of Invention should be considered, if the invention is eligible, and if 10-year protection is sufficient.

Trade Secrets tips and watch-outs in Thailand

have discovered and developed pharmaceuticals). This means that in Thailand regulators, such as health authorities or generic drug applicants, are not prohibited from using the originator pharmaceutical companies’ data (ordinarily classified as a trade secret) to approve generic versions of the originator’s product.

rights is still crucial in order to have a chance of defending and enforcing them. Thailand operates under a ‘first-to-file’ system, meaning that the first person to file an IP right in the Thai jurisdiction will own that right once the application is granted – given this situation it is vital that every SME takes a proactive and pre-emptive approach regarding IP in their business strategy.

Take-away message • As trade secrets are ‘unregistered rights’, there is no formal registration system for these. However, trade secrets can actually be voluntarily recorded with the Thai Department of Intellectual Property (DIP). Only basic information is required for this recordal, and efficient recording strategies can be set up without actually disclosing essential contents of the trade secret. Recordal with the DIP could be advantageous as it can be used as fundamental evidence in the case of legal disputes.

• Thai law does not yet grant data “exclusivity”, which would guarantee additional market protection for originator pharmaceutical companies (i.e. companies that

Whatever the efforts of the authorities to improve the implementation and enforcement of IPR in Thailand, timely application by European SMEs for the registration of their IP

Check out the previous issue of The Link for a look at copyright and trade marks. For more information on IP in Thailand see the Thailand Country Factsheet, free to download from the Helpdesk website.

The ASEAN IPR SME Helpdesk is a European Commission co-funded project that provides free, practical, business advice relating to ASEAN IPR to European SMEs. To learn about any aspect of intellectual property rights in South-East-Asia, visit our online portal at www.asean-iprhelpdesk. eu. For free expert advice on ASEAN IPR for your business, e-mail your questions to: question@aseasn-iprhelpdesk.eu. You will receive a reply from one of the Helpdesk experts within five working days. The ASEAN IPR SME Helpdesk is jointly implemented by DEVELOPMENT Solutions, the European Business Chamber of Commerce Indonesia and the European Business Organisations Worldwide Network.

Premium travel growth G

rowth in the number of passengers travelling in premium seats on international routes increased by 3.8 percent in April compared to a year ago. This is also an improvement on figures for March 2014 when the year-on-year growth was a more modest 1.9 percent, reports the International Air Transport Association. IATA states that ‘the demand environment for premium travel had shown signs of wavering but it appears that conditions are now stabilising’.

The IATA announcement added that ‘accelerated growth in premium travel had been supported by positive developments in the business environment, including solid increases in

world trade and business confidence.

Improvements in the Eurozone and US economies have been the key drivers of the pick-up in global business conditions. Momentum in advanced economies has helped negate some of the slowdown in emerging market growth seen over recent months’.

Route-level growth rates reveal a pick-up in the Far East market, rising some 7.2 percent in April compared to year ago. A slowdown in the Chinese economy in Q1 had restricted growth in premium travel within the region during previous months.

IATA concludes that ‘the outlook for premium travel markets is broadly

positive. Global business confidence continues to signal economic growth and May data suggests that conditions could be picking up. Improvements in advanced economies will help sustain growth in premium travel ahead, as should easing downward pressure from emerging markets like China’.

• Worldwide airline share prices rose five percent in May compared to April, attributable mostly to the performances of US carriers. IATA figures state that Q1 financial results show strong gains for US airlines but also display weakness in the Asia Pacific region linked partly to Chinese carriers and the depreciating Yuan.

The Link

Issue 3/2014

29

UNESCO report highlights importance of education A

new UNESCO report suggests that many have been trying to move away from solely focusing on hard skills to an education that imparts empathy, tolerance and respect of other cultures.

The extent to which these values and attitudes are being embedded in teaching processes and learning assessments varies. The report, ‘Learning to Live Together: Education Policies and Realities in the Asia-Pacific’ was launched in Bangkok by UNESCO Director Dr Gwang-Jo KimKim (pictured right).

The publication examines how 10 countries (Afghanistan, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, The Philippines, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand) are using education as a vehicle to promote peace and mutual understanding. UNESCO has been advocating for countries to embrace the concept of ‘Learning to Live Together’ (LTLT) in education since 1996.

Dr Kim spoke of the importance of the LTLT approach. “We are living in a world where rapid development is taking place, which has generated a growing gap and disparities between different groups within and among countries, leading to heightened tensions,” he said. “This is a strong reason for us to promote the notion of LTLT and this starts with education. In today’s world, no individual, community, group, society or country can be self-sufficient. For all these reasons, we must signal the importance of LTLT.”

30

The Link

Issue 3/2014

rated LTLT-related competencies.

In countries such as Sri Lanka and Australia, these concepts are explicitly included as part of the national education agenda.

Mr Gwang-Chol Chang, Chief of UNESCO Bangkok’s Education Policy and Reform Unit, said that the overall message of the report is positive – countries are increasingly embracing LTLT – but it also illustrates the extent of the work yet to be done.

In this spirit, the study examines how countries are pursuing the LTLT vision through their education systems, both to promote understanding among groups within their own borders as well as among other countries – an especially pertinent theme in this region with the looming onset of the ASEAN Economic Community and increasing regional cooperation.

The report shows that the 10 countries studied have incorporated the concept of LTLT into their education policy and curriculum frameworks to varying degrees, giving weight to areas such as peace, human rights, gender equality and the environment. Thailand and other countries such as the Philippines that have recently undergone curriculum reforms have incorpo-

“What this research shows us is how this dream of ‘Learning to Live Together’ can actually become a reality in practice. We can see a shift in some countries that have recently reformed their curriculum to focus more on so-called ‘soft skills’ in the social and emotional domains,” added Mr Chang.

“At the same time, the subjects that are well placed to convey this concept of LTLT – history, social science or physical education for instance – are often allocated the least time in class as opposed to other subjects.

There is need to broaden the purpose of education beyond the areas confined by reading, maths and science. Teachers also need more time to prepare interactive and creative lessons which can promote teamwork and good communication among students.”

The report aims to inform policymakers and those on the front lines on how to steer education systems toward the promotion of more peaceful, just and equitable societies.

www.harrowschool.ac.th Leadership for a better world

The Link

Issue 3/2014

31

Turning knowledge into action

By James MacDonald

W

hen I was working as a headmaster at an international school in Japan, an annual event for the community was the ‘Headmaster’s Quiz Night’.

Always an entertaining evening, it required that I gather together questions in various categories to challenge the parent audience.

This always took a lot of time in order to create fun, interesting challenges that were not too easy or too difficult for the diverse audience. The parents were an impressive bunch, and I imagine each of them had at least one university degree.

32

The Link

Issue 3/2014

There were a few rules, though, and one of them was to put away your mobile phones: it would not be fair if people were able to use their iPhones to ‘Google’ the right answer.

In fact, if one of the teams comprised 10-year-olds with iPhones it’s a good bet that this team could likely beat all the adults despite their combined education, life experiences and wisdom.

This for me, as an educator, is a wonderful illustration of why education needs to change. Why is it that a 10year old with the right tools and the skills to use those tools could feasibly outperform the graduates of

some of our best universities? What does this mean for our educational systems? When educators used the word curriculum 30 years ago, it was often synonymous with knowledge or content. This is changing, and what we are starting to see in many school systems around the world is a shift in emphasis to developing key skills, understanding issues deeply, recognising connections between subjects and, perhaps most importantly, knowing how to ask great questions.

With the workplace undergoing radical transformations and continuing to evolve at a rapid pace,

schools are now seeking to align their philosophies and teaching to these new understandings. Calls for education reform have spread from the U.K., North America and Europe into Asia and other regions.

Curricula have moved increasingly toward a holistic approach that emphasises the connections between academic disciplines. The most successful systems, which include Finland, Singapore, and some provinces in Canada, have systematically adjusted their approaches over decades and embraced education as the responsibility of all citizens.

Our understanding of what is it to be ‘smart’ in school has evolved far beyond the ability to list capitals or memorise historical dates. In education, many of us have come to understand that success beyond school, in the workplace and in life, depends on far more than content knowledge: students today must be able to critically analyse and evaluate knowledge, to apply it in differing contexts and to collaborate with others.

The role of knowledge has changed now that it is literally available at our fingertips through modern technology. As evidenced by studies such as What Employers Look for When Recruiting the Unemployed and Inactive, sponsored by the U.K. Department for Work and Pensions and surveys like Top Five Personality Traits Employers Hire Most, reported

by Forbes, many industries are increasingly seeking employees who possess more abstract skills, including leadership, creativity and flexibility.

As an example of what is possible, one organisation that I think has done a particularly good job of inspiring educational change is the International Baccalaureate (IB).

Its programmes have taken a lead in modeling this new mode of education and have proven to be resoundingly successful in preparing students for university-level studies.

IB programmes focus on exploration, trans-disciplinary learning and a global outlook. As an organisation, its approach is not tied to

any political or national system, but is rather based upon best practices.

Today there are IB schools in over 150 countries globally, and in the Asia Pacific region, there are over 400 recognised IB schools, a figure that is growing rapidly.

As an international educator living in Thailand, one trend that troubles me is how few of these IB schools are in Thailand. Quite recently both Malaysia and Japan announced major initiatives to increase the number of IB programmes in their countries because they believe this style of education is critical in preparing their citizen for a modern economy and globalised world. But thus far there seems to be no interest in Thailand for this type of educational reform.

I am the first to say that the IB is but one possible educational option and that the IB is not for everyone. But it does represent educational change and is forward thinking, so I cannot help but think that at some point Thailand will realise that its educational systems and, by extension, its citizens are losing ground compared to its peers.

Facts and figures have their place in education and there will always be a need for schools to ensure student learn ‘critical content’. But, unlike a quiz night, modern schooling is about much more than acquiring knowledge and sharing it with others.

For better or worse, this generation of students faces daunting issues from climate change and political unrest to the increasing divide between the ‘have’ and ‘have nots’ around the globe. Adding to this, graduates are rarely hired anymore just because they ‘know’ more than any other candidates: employers are looking for skills and people with the right dispositions.

It follows then that our responsibility as adults is to provide our children with an education that will enable them to make a positive difference and thrive in the world they will inherit-not produce quiz night winners.

James MacDonald is NIST International School’s Head of School, having taken on the role in 2013. He is Chairman of the International Baccalaureate Asia Pacific Regional Council and is a board member of East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS).

More details, contact Khun Supranee Taecharungroj. Email: SupraneeT@nist.ac.th

The Link

Issue 3/2014

33

Rohullah relishes life at school in Bangkok

By Dave Green and Rohullah Mirzai

F

or most people, adjusting to new surroundings can pose many new challenges. New places, new faces and unfamiliar languages can all take time to absorb and digest until they become familiar. There are fewer bigger contrasts than growing up in war torn Kabul to starting at a dynamic, thriving International School in Bangkok. However that is the reality for Rohullah Mirzai, the first-ever Round Square Scholar at The Regent’s School, Bangkok (RBKK).

school should be a place where students prepare for life, not just further education. Throughout their time at RBKK, students are challenged to step outside their own ‘comfort zones’ to not only achieve academic excellence, but also to gain life skills.

These experiences are based on the six Round Square principles called IDEALS: Internationalism, Democracy, Environmental Awareness, Leadership and Service to others.

The benefits of Rohullah’s arrival at RBKK are reciprocal. He has been exposed to many opportunities that he would not have had in his native Afghanistan, both academically and also through the Round Square philosophy. All the while, our current students can learn much from him, his cultural background and the experiences which have shaped him.

The contrast between life in Kabul compared to life in Bangkok is huge.

Last year our country was widely regarded as a country suffering with problems of poverty, drugs and of course years of war. Alongside this plight it’s not very developed, it’s mostly in primary and secondary industries: 80 percent of people are farmers with an overall literacy rate of 28 percent in the country, thanks to the ongoing war in the country of 33 years.

Rohullah gave a fantastic presentation about his home country and his life there at our very first whole school International Day shortly after arriving which enabled students, parents and the local community to learn more about his country, beyond the images we see so often on the news, and truly get a feel of the difficulty the country and its people face. The thought provoking speech allowed many to ponder their own place in the world as a whole, in the true spirit of international understanding. Rohullah’s plight was put to the school by Peter Dalglish of UN Habitat.

Round Square is the framework which embodies RBKK commitment to holistic education. We believe that

34

The Link

Issue 3/2014

From Kabul to Bangkok

At least 80 percent of all women are illiterate, with a life expectancy of 50 years. People are dying in the country every minute, every second.

Incidents of suicide bombings or terrorist attacks to the government and civilians, including the schools and universities, are common. The worst of all is violence against women, such as the attacks on the girls who attend school.

We were always living with suicide bombs threats; students would go to school not knowing if they will be alive today or not. Students faced lots of difficulties and challenges; it wasn’t just the quality of the educa-

tion but the learning environment too - we couldn’t study with a relaxed mind.

For me one of the worst parts was to see people, in particular mothers, crying out for a member of their family and seeing human blood everywhere on the streets and in the streams. There is nothing at all people can change - it’s just the political situation which seems to be getting worse day by day. Feeling helpless, some people gave up everything after they lost someone they loved.

There is still hope in every person’s heart and we all want to live in peace, yet it feels like the terrorists’ violent activities encourage the world to think that everyone in Afghanistan are all terrorists and criminals. For instance, it is especially difficult for an Afghan to acquire visas; for me, it was a miracle to get a visa for Thailand. Even at airport when I was departing Kabul the police officials didn’t let us go because they didn’t believe my visa was real. People often pay a lot of money for fake visas to declare asylum in different countries in order to escape the war. All they seek shelter and survival.

Rohullah’s reflections In September 2012 I arrived at The Regent’s School, Bangkok. I was very excited and my first impressions of the school were very good, though I found the transition to a whole new culture and a different education system extremely challenging. I found over the months that I started to feel very homesick as I really missed my friends and family.

Rohullah Mirzai (right) keeps busy during his stay in Thailand

Of course we feel very protected in Thailand and there is no threat of a suicide bomb or any terrorist attack daily. In Afghanistan if you are working for the government, going to school or university (especially the girls), working or volunteering with foreigners and the United Nations which I and my mother have been you are putting yourself in danger. We experienced suicide bomb attempts close to our school, close to the UN offices and basically to most foreigners.

However, here my life is completely different. As time went on I developed ways to cope with homesickness, and got used to the education system at Regent’s, Bangkok. Now I’m coming up to the end of the first year in IB. This was something I never dreamt I would have the opportunity to do. I am so grateful for this because IGCSE and IB was something I had never heard of before and now I am able to take advantage of this education.

Before I came to RBKK I had no idea or whatsoever about Round Square.

At first I was not used to having all

these new experiences in my studies.

But through Round Square projects I have had the chance to leave my comfort zone, develop a stronger and more creative personality with coping strategies for the new challenges in life. This has been the first time I have ever been able to do all the different types of community service or any Round Square related projects and actually give something back and help others.

I was not very confident at first but as time went on it enabled me to become a much better at being involved in these sorts of projects. At first I was hesitant and felt strange to be doing all these different activities. However it made me become more creative, a more critical thinker and has given me a global perspective on world issues that people face every day. I feel a sense of pride from helping others and after getting the great skills I took from every single Round Square project. I’m not just a student who lives for passing exams and tests; it has contributed to shaping me as a person and prepared me for life.

I believe the only way I can achieve the best future is from this opportunity to study in Thailand at Regent’s, Bangkok. In Afghanistan the education is not as efficient and is quite old fashioned. I recognise that it was mostly composed of rote memorisation, now that I can compare it to alternative academia found in IGCSE and IB. IB is the best education system in the world and I have been given a chance to study this course and then hopefully go to a university with hope of gaining a scholarship. Eventually I would really like to volunteer for the UN for some years but my biggest aspiration is to support all my family as they are having difficulties in the daily life.

I would like to thank Dr. Virachai (Chairman) and Mr Kneath (Principal) for giving me the opportunity to study at Regent’s, Bangkok. I would also like to thank all the other staff at school for their support and guidance throughout this past year. I am so grateful that I’ve been given the chance to become who I want to be.

The Link

Issue 3/2014

35

New UK visa centre at Trendy Tower V

FS Global has opened a joint UK and Australia Visa Application Centre (JVAC) in Bangkok for Thai nationals.

The JVAC, located at Trendy Tower in Sukhumvit Soi 13, includes a ‘premium lounge’ and offers fast track, priority and courier services. The JVAC is open weekdays from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.

Australia’s Ambassador to Thailand James Wise said that the new Centre ‘will allow Australia and the UK to build further our relationship in terms of immigration cooperation and demonstrates the value we place on collaboration between our countries’.

Paul Bute, Chargé d’Affaires at the British Embassy in Thailand, said, “The UK is open for business and these new contracts will allow us to maintain a world class, competitive visa system to support Britain. This new visa application centre will provide improved services and facilities for the increasing number of Thais who are choosing the UK as a destination for travel, business and study.

We look forward to welcoming them to our shores.”

Sriram Narayan is the COO – Australasia at VFS Global. He said,

“We are honoured to be associated with the governments of Australia and the United Kingdom and delighted to offer applicants from Bangkok a new visa application

centre with state-of-the-art facilities.

We support our client governments in their efforts to make the visa application service an efficient and well managed experience.”

UK Visa Application Centre, Bangkok Website: www.vfsglobal.co.uk/thailand Address: The Trendy Office Building, 28th Floor, Sukhumvit Soi 13 Klongtoey-Nua, Wattana Bangkok 10110 Passport Collection: 10:00 am to 4:00

36

The Link

Issue 3/2014

pm Monday to Friday and 8.30 am to 12 noon Saturdays

*VFS Global is responsible only for accepting applications for UK visas. All applications continue to be assessed and processed by British Embassy staff in Bangkok.

EABC stays on track with infrastructure working group T

he EABC’s new Working Group on Infrastructure (Rail & Road) has met for the first time. The meeting discussed potential issues of interest and agreed upon the following three points as the basis for the Group’s advocacy agenda.

1. Adoption of the European standard for rolling stock. The European standard is widely regarded as the best and adoption of the standard by Thailand would enhance the European industry’s competitive advantage.

2. Skills development for Thai engineers in the rail industry. In order to support the adoption of higher standards it is important that the Thai engineers have good knowledge and skills in relevant fields.

3. Public procurement system. Thailand’s public procurement for the rail development has been dominated by the Thai contrac-

tors, and, to a lesser extent, the Japanese. For the Europeans to have a better chance in Thailand’s public procurement it was viewed as helpful to have a supporting mechanism similar to JICA where financial institutes,

contractors and developers are brought together.

Minutes of the first meeting are available from Khun Wanrawee at policy@eabc-thailand.eu or call the EABC on 02 670 0624.

Harmonisation key to AEC

M

ichael Grewe, chairman of the EABC Automotive Working Group, has emphasised the importance of harmonising the technical standards and the elimination of non-tariff barriers to trade among the member countries in order for the AEC to become a single market. He was speaking at a panel discussion at the Automotive Summit 2014, co-

organised by Thailand Automotive Institute and Reed Tradex and cosponsored by EABC. On Thailand’s green mobility goal, Michael Grewe gave examples of supportive policies in the European Union which might be shared with Thailand including the fiscal subsidies for electric cars, CO legislation, the EU2020 CO target and the en-

try regulation for city centres based upon on CO exhaust emissions.

He urged Thailand to aim for technological improvements in addition to production volume expansion. He anticipated that labour skills development would continue to be a crucial factor in the further development of the Thai automotive industry.

The Link

Issue 3/2014

37

New treatment for prostate cancer

By Dr Isares Saisorn, M.D.

O

ne in every six men is diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lives.

Recent research reveals that some 80 percent men reaching the age of 80 had prostate cancer when they died without anybody knowing – including their doctors.

Prostate cancer develops mainly in prostate gland cells. Fortunately it’s a slow growing cancer and most times remain harmless for decades. However it also gives no warning signs before becoming aggressive with the symptoms only appearing when the tumor causes the prostate gland to swell, or once cancer spreads beyond the prostate.

Symptoms include the patient experiencing a frequent need to urinate, difficulty in controlling the urine particularly when laughing or coughing, a painful or burning sensation during urination or ejaculation or even blood in the urine or semen. If the cancer has spread beyond the prostate gland, the case becomes more complex making it difficult or untreatable.

Screening for prostate cancer should start at the age of 50 for all men and 40 for men with higher risks. If you’ve crossed the age of 50 include a PSA test in your annual check-up. You could have higher risk due to your age, diet or genetics. The disease is detected more in men from countries where meat and dairy products are dietary staples compared to countries where the basic diet consists of rice, soybean products, and vegetables.

Current standard treatments for prostate cancer like surgery or radiotherapy are effective but there is a high chance that it comes accompanied

38

The Link

Issue 3/2014

with side effects such as incontinence and impotence due to the need to remove the entire gland or kill all cells in the area. Now, there is another alternative to treat prostate cancer called the robotic assisted High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU). It is unlike other traditional treatments; the side effects are less drastic, minimal incontinence, minimal impotence, no incision required, and can be used to target and kill only the cancerous cells.

HIFU is performed by putting an ultrasound probe into the patients’ rectum. From that position, the ultrasound can direct beams more accurately at the prostate. It destroys the diseased tissue non-invasively in less than 4 hours. Cancerous cells targeted by ultrasounds will overheat, liquefy, and then be eliminated by natural urine passage. There is no extended hospital stay and very little downtime post-procedure. You may experience pain for 3-4 days post the procedure.

HIFU waves do not pass through either solid bone or air so the procedure is not suitable to treat all types of cancer. Currently it is used effectively only for men who have early stage, localised prostate cancer that has not spread beyond the prostate.

It destroys cancerous tissue only, leaving healthy tissue unharmed.

If the cancer has infected only one side of the gland, this procedure is probably the only one that can treat only the infected area without needing to destroy the whole gland. This means the patient can live a normal healthy life post treatment. HIFU does not expose patients to any radiation and HIFU is safe to repeat as well as to treat recurrent cases of cancer. Nonetheless, each case is different and to monitor recurrence, post treatment check-up is recommended every 3-6 months.

Dr Isares Saisorn is a Urological Surgeon at Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital. For more details please contact: Khun Pawita Chantracharoen, International Marketing Associate, Samitivej Public Company Limited, 133 Sukhumvit 49, Klongton Nua, Vadhana, Bangkok 10110.

Tel: (66) 2-711-8473 Fax: (66) 2-711-8472 Email: pawita.ch@samitivej.co.th www.samitivejhospitals.com

TBCA seeks support from private sector E

very year corporations and organisations seek projects to support in order to meet their CSR objectives and commitments.

Normally there is an annual budget allocated for this purpose. More often than not, since there is no permanent unit for this purpose and it requires extra effort and delegation to identify, plan and implement these CSR projects.

The TBCA, operating as a non-profit civil service organisation for over 20 years in the health and wellness sector, invites the private sector into partnership as its CSR project.

TBCA aids awareness workshop

TBCA projects are centred upon education, training and counselling for sustainable, healthy practices to secure a good life with focus on preventive education and awareness about life-threatening illnesses and infections such as HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria, breast cancer, womb/uterus cancer, diabetes and drugs as well as good hygiene and healthy practices.

TBCA also places high importance upon activities and education with focus on the behaviour and health of teenagers. The Campus Project also involves training young people to be youth leaders on good, healthy practices.

The Coalition works with several Thai ministries and agencies as well as international organisations that provide both technical assistance as well as some funding.

Since Thailand is no longer classified as an underdeveloped nation the international organisations are looking to the Thai government and private sector to take-up the challenge for sustainability of the various projects launched. CSR is the best strategy to

Running for a good cause

securing partnerships and sponsorships from the business community.

However, the international organisations will continue to give technical assistance and advice to TBCA. The Coalition invites private sector operators to allocate part of its annual CSR budget to support its various projects which can save lives, and improve the wellness and quality of life for future generations. TBCA is be happy to visit interested corporations to make more detailed presentations of its various projects and activities,

including designing a tailor-made CSR project to meet the needs and objectives of the partnership/donor corporation.

More details from: Thailand Business Coalition on AIDS 2nd Floor, Tanakul Building, 77 Rama 9 Road, Huaykwang, Bagnkok 10310 Thailand Tel: (66 2) 643-8080-7 Fax: (66 2) 643-8089 www.tbca.or.th

The Link

Issue 3/2014

39

helping the needy

Foundation remains focussed in Thailand

By Don Wilcox

I

n 1992 the first disabled-managed and legally registered foundation in northern Thailand was established. Over the years, as is common with nearly all fledgling organisations, the Chiang Mai based Foundation for the Disabled pursued its share of trial and error projects as it sought to define the most vital, significant, and life affirming needs of Thai disabled persons.

The Foundation initially provided free classes in English and computer; start-up support for disabled-owned businesses (including one of the first city-centre Chiang Mai internet shops); established a care centre for children with cerebral palsy; provided home care therapy and often raised funds to provide surgical corrections for persons with limb disabilities.

Once the Chiang Mai Disabled Centre began operating it received frequent requests for mobility aids.

In the beginning the Foundation purchased these locally and donated them free of charge but it was clear that they could not hope to keep up with demand. At this point the Foundation was visited by a retired British engineer Geoffrey Thorsby who suggested that, with his help and expertise, they could set up their own wheelchair production.

This was also the point at which the Foundation made its first contact with BCTFN and requested funding to purchase tools and equipment.

BCTFN agreed to this request and the Freedom Wheelchair Workshop was born.

40

The Link

Issue 3/2014

Helping those in need in northern Thailand

With the help of Geoffrey Thorsby, the Foundation trained disabled staff and began producing a local version of the three-wheel all-terrain wheelchair designed by Motivation in Bristol. Because the Foundation’s chairs were offered free it was vital to provide maintenance, training, follow up, home visits and therapy whenever possible.

BCTFN assisted in achieving these new goals by underwriting the salary of a staff therapist who visited 24 home-bound disabled persons every week. As this outreach expanded, the Foundation found itself unable to keep up with the demand for wheelchairs and its own production involving salaries and housing for up to 10 staff was no longer cost effective.

At that point they began to import containers of knock-down donated wheelchairs from abroad. BCTFN once again assisted in constructing secure storage space and supported

the import transport costs and by April 2014 the Foundation had provided more than 4,400 free wheelchairs to disabled people in Northern Thailand.

A final project supported by BCTFN involves a frame-making workshop at the Mae Taeng regional disabled school where more than 12,000 frames for spectacles were made from stainless wire.

That project remains ongoing and has provided more than 20,000 rural Thais with free reading glasses.

With so little support available for the disabled from local sources, it is hugely satisfying to have been able to improve the lives of so many disadvantaged Northern Thais.

What is clear if that none of the above could have happened without the extraordinary support of BCTFN.

Rearing pigs project supports community development

By Paul Hancock

L

ast year the BCTFN provided a grant to Khom Loy Development Foundation to support a programme to train schools and communities around Mae Sot in a new, low-cost way of raising pigs to provide nutrition and income.

KLDF was founded 10 years ago in Chiang Rai to assist people living along the Thai-Burma border via agricultural and educational programmes. After some research, KLDF discovered that the rising cost of food (coupled with falling donations to border projects) as was leading to a shortage of nutrition in some schools and communities. Research led to two new projects: vegetable garden training programmes and intensive pig-rearing training.

For the pig-rearing project, KLDF uses a traditional Korean method based upon fermenting freely-available plant matter (in this case the discarded stems of banana plants).

The fermentation process uses the same natural bacteria which produce yoghurt, and when applied to banana stems, produces a mash which has sufficient nutritional value to substitute for 50 percent of the usual store-feed diet.

KLDF’s plan involved the setting up of a small training/demonstration centre outside Mae Sot where people could come to receive training in a real-life context and practice the pig-rearing methods in action.

The KLDF undertakes important work in the local community

BCTFN supported the project with a grant of THB 176,250 towards important elements of the set-up and operation of the project including 300 banana plants (to ensure sustainability), banana chopping equipment, a store-room for making and storing the fermented banana feed and store-feed for the initial batch of piglets.

Since the project was launched in April 2013 we have been busy training over 140 teachers at the nearby Teacher Preparation Centre, pupils

and teachers from schools in the area and members of different communities around Mae Sot who can visit the centre to decide whether they wish to start a project of this sort. We are hoping that some of these visits will lead to pig-rearing projects at local schools in the coming year. The need continues to develop sustainable programmes of this type that substantially improve the lives of the disadvantaged in Northern Thailand.

We would like to thank BCTFN once again for their support.

The Link

Issue 3/2014

41

Member News

Agency stays upbeat on Thailand property sector C BRE reports that although the political turmoil and economic slowdown in late 2013 had an impact on the overall real estate sector in Thailand there was minimal impact on luxury and well-located projects.

Aliwassa Pathnadabutr, Managing Director of CBRE Thailand, said, “In Q4 2013, there were four new condominium projects officially launched and represented by CBRE Thailand with a total of 1,369 units offered for sale.

We managed to generate a total sales volume of over THB eight billion with

a sales rate of 90 percent achieved in most of the new projects and one project was 100 percent sold out.”

“Key factors leading to the successful sales performance despite the overall market slowdown include the developers’ in-depth understanding of their target markets which led them to create and offer products that matched high-end buyers’ requirements. In today’s competitive market, developers creating a highend or luxury product need to match customers’ requirements, especially in terms of unit size, layout, quality

of specifications and building architecture as well as decoration style. I believe there is still room for innovation in new product development,” she added.

This year, CBRE Thailand will launch six new condominium projects for developers in the second half of 2014 with a total value of approximately THB 11 billion, including a resort condominium and villa project in Khao Yai, a freehold condominium project on Langsuan Road and a luxury riverside condominium project.

More awards for CBRE C BRE has been named Best Real Estate Agency in Thailand for the fifth consecutive year. This was one of 11 national awards presented to the company at the recent Asia Pacific

Property Awards 2014 in Kuala Lumpur. CBRE also picked up awards for Best Property Consultancy Website and Best Property Consultancy in Thailand. CBRE Thailand Chairman David Simis-

Douglas Glen has been appointed General Manager for The Landmark hotel in Bangkok. His previous experience embraces working at several leading hotels in London including Hilton Park Lane, Hyatt Carlton Tower and The Grosvenor House.

Her also worked for 13 years at The Landmark in London where he held various management positions including Hotel Manager and Director of Conference and Banqueting.

42

The Link

Issue 3/2014

ter said the awards were ‘testament of our continuous success and our dedicated Thai team and it is very gratifying to receive international recognition of our expertise and experience’.

All smiles from Year 13 students at The Regent’s School, Bangkok with the news that many have secured places to study at some of the highest ranked universities in the world.

New challenge for William

S

iam@Siam Design Hotels and Resorts Group has appointed William Pang as Executive Director and Group General Manager.

His responsibilities embrace the ‘refresh’ of vision, products and services at the company’s flagship Siam@Siam hotel and the over-

Diageo Moët Hennessy (Thailand) is expanding cooperation with the country’s Highway Police to promote road safety. The company launched a series of campaigns in 2011 with the aim of preventing alcohol-related road accidents. DMHT has since conducted workshops to educate officials and the public about the importance of responsible drinking and has provided equipment to support the work of officials that work to enforce road safety during long holiday periods.

seeing of operations at Siam@Siam Design Hotel Pattaya and the Mode Sathorn Fashion Hotel Bangkok.

William Pang joins the company from Accor Group where he was Regional Manager for Crisis and Risk Management, Security, Safety and Operations Support for south east Asia.

New President of Hotel Public Relations Association Khun Kanokros Sakdanares (pictured centre receiving bouquet) has been elected President of the Hotel Public Relations Association of Thailand. She succeeds Khun Earth Saiswang. Khun Kanokros (Aom) is Corporate Director of Marketing Communications at Centara Hotels & Resorts.

Maikhao Dream Hotels & Resorts has received Thailand Tourism Standard certificates from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports under the office of the Tourism Department of Thailand. The Maikhao Dream Villa Resort & Spa and Maikhao Dream Resort & Spa Natai have been assessed and granted continuous Five-Star Resort Standard from 2014 to 2016.

This certification is only awarded to establishments that provide quality in service which contributes to higher hospitality and tourism standard in Thailand.

Sangkom makes switch to Swissôtel At the Swissôtel Le Concorde Bangkok, Sangkom Nasuan has been appointed Director of Sales and Catering. He was previously Executive Assistant Manager (Sales) at Indra Regent Hotel and has also worked at Marriott Bangkok Resort & Spa, Montien Hotel Pattaya and Siam City Hotel.

The Link

Issue 3/2014

43

Member News

Samitivej celebrates with new concept for care S amitivej has celebrated its 35th anniversary with a commitment to enhancing customer experience through a new concept that offers a customised service to individual patients the expansion of social contributions through its well established New Life Fund. The fund aims to provide free bone marrow transplants for five paediatric patients.

Dr Chairat Panthuraamphorn, CEO of Samitivej Public Company Limited, said, “Since its inception Samitivej has been strongly committed to offering high quality medical treatment and services to all customers. This has enabled Samitivej to win customers’ trust and loyalty throughout the past 35 years.

To leverage on this strength and offer even better experience to our customers, Samitivej has created a new concept ‘Totally, Truly Care’ that emphasises comprehensive service offerings based on its insight of customers’ needs.”

Under the new concept Samitivej is driving improvements across the board and further developing all services to increase customer satisfaction.

Training is offered to all employees to ensure that they are ambassadors for Samitivej and remain committed to providing outstanding services to patients and visitors. New technologies have been deployed to increase efficiency in patient registration and record management, appointment with doctors, and faster patient transfer.

Dr. Chairat added, “Good service is the key to excellence. In addition to

44

The Link

Issue 3/2014

From left: Khun Saraichatt Kunjara Jirapaet, Professor Emeritus Chanika Tuchinda; Somsiri Sakolsatayadorn, Chairat Panthuraamphorn, May Fonpa and Dhun Damrongsak.

medical treatment quality and stateof-the-art equipment that all hospitals have to keep improving, pricing is one of the top factor patients consider in making decision on their hospital choice. What we are going to do is to show them that the service we offer and the experience they get are all worth every single baht they spend with us.

“This year, we will focus on enhancing children patient care through the opening of the Samitivej International Children’s Hospital, digestive system care by development of the Liver and Digestive Institute, and bones and joints through the development of the Sports and Orthopedic Centre.”

Professor Emeritus Chanika Tuchinda, advisor to Samitivej International Children’s Hospital, ex-

plained that the Samitivej New Life Fund had been providing free heart surgery for children with congenital heart disease since 2010 and has already completed 100 operations. The Fund will also support the ‘Bone Marrow for New Life’ project.

“The Samitivej New Life Fund aims to provide bone marrow transplant for five children patients within 2014. This is to save more lives and to celebrate the 60th birthday of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn in 2015. We also plan to offer surgery for scoliosis patients, from newborn to teenagers. Samitivej will organise a road show to various schools to provide health education and screenings,” added Dr Chanika.

Standard Chartered cashback offer is a gas R amakrishnan Subramanian, Senior Executive Vice President Retail Clients at Standard Chartered Thailand, Greater Mekong & Philippines promotes the bank’s latest credit card promotion offering up to five percent cash back per every THB 800 sales slip at every gas station throughout Thailand.

Cardholders register via SMS by typing ‘GAS’ space and followed by 16-digit credit card number and send to 4806026 (THB 3 per call).

Priority & International Banking customers are automatically entitled to this benefits. The offer ends 31 January 2015.

Standard Chartered economists have presented new information on the economics outlooks for Thailand, Asia and the world. Pictured at the seminar in Bangkok are Lyn Kok (left), President and CEO Thailand and Greater Mekong, David Mann, Regional Head of Research, Asia (right), Abah Ofon, Director of Agricultural Commodities Research (2nd from left), Usara Wilaipich, Senior Economist (3rd from left) and Callum Henderson, Global Head of FX Research (3rd from right).

More than 100 students, teachers and parents attended the Helping Hands Community Club Swinging 60’s Groovy Morning’ fundraiser at Bangkok Prep. The event was held on the school’s campus and was especially organised for children aged three to 12 years old.

Children performed on the stage to 60’s famous hits such as ‘The Twist’, ‘Summer in the City’ and ‘Good Vibrations’ (proper music – Ed!)”. The event raised over Baht 5000 which will support charity projects organised by the school’s Helping Hands Community Club.

The Link

Issue 3/2014

45

Member News

Royal honour for Central C entral Plaza Hotel Public Company Ltd has received a Royal Warrant of Appointment, the first hotel company in Thailand to receive this honour.

The Royal Warrant was conferred upon the company by HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej and the Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao in Bangkok has installed the Supreme Garuda to mark the honour.

Royal Warrants of Appointment in Thailand are a rare and prestigious bestowment, granted only to institutions and companies that are seen to have a good and unblemished name, that produce high quality products and services for the nation and that represent positively the Kingdom internationally. The Royal Warrant enables the company to display the Supreme Garuda on its buildings, company hoardings, letterheads and products.

“This is a proud moment for our company and a very great honour to be the first hotel company in our nation to receive this most gracious

From left to right: Rattana Norapallop; Suthikiati Chirathivat; Khunying Suchitra Mongkolkiti, Honorary Advisor to the Board; Suthichai Chirathivat - Vice Chairman of Central Plaza Hotel Public Company Ltd; Mookda Uahwatanasakul and Thirayuth Chirathivat, CEO of Centara Hotels & Resorts.

recognition,” said Board chairman Suthikiati Chirathivat.

“We have dedicated more than 30 years to helping develop Thailand’s hospitality industry, and to presenting the natural warmth and friendliness of the Thai people to interna-

Lebua offer T

he Tower Club at lebua and lebua at State Tower is offering a ‘five-star refuge for those wishing to rise above the political fray’.

New ‘Staycation Packages’ for Thai residents and expats are valid until 31st July 2014 with rates from US$ 125++ per night for a suite. Benfits include breakfast and vouchers for cocktails at the hotel’s Sky Bar. Terms and conditions apply. For reservations, please call: +66 (0) 624 9555 or email resvn@lebua.com.

Visit www.lebua.com/tower-club and www.lebua. com/state-tower for more information.

46

The Link

Issue 3/2014

tional visitors. Tourism is now one of Thailand’s greatest industries. We are immensely satisfied to have been involved during this formative period.”

Central Plaza Hotel Pcl was founded by the Chirathivat family and incorporated on 26 March 1980.

NIST Falcon fencers put opponents to the sword I n the first fencing tournament ever held on their home campus, the NIST Falcon Fencing Club team persevered against the odds by earning the highest overall team score, earning them first place at the 2014 Falcon Young Fencer Invitational.

Held at the NIST International School’s Sports Complex the event attracted more than 60 top fencers from across Thailand.

A national event supported by the Amateur Fencing Association of Thailand (AFAT), the competition included only the sabre and was divided into four age groups: under 10, under 12, under 14 and under 17. Boy and girl fencers from multiple clubs joined, including several who compete as members of Thailand’s national cadets.

Unlike their more experienced peers, the members of the NIST Falcon Fencing Club represent the first international school fencing club in Thailand. Having become a member of the Amateur Fencing Association of Thailand (AFAT) in July 2013, it

now includes over 30 fencers and has quickly gained recognition for its promising athletes, due in large part to the coaching.

Leading the young Falcons is Head Coach Wiradech (Willi) Kothny, a decorated fencing aficionado who holds the distinction of being the only fencing athlete to win medals for two countries: Germany and Thailand.

Willi plans to expand the club in the coming academic year, and plans to include epee duelling. Unlike the sabre, which allows fencers to strike

with the edge of the blade, hits with the epee must be with the point.

Willi and the club enjoy the full support of the NIST Athletics and Activities Director Paul Hodgkinson, President of the Falcon Fencing Club. He said, “Fencing is a sport that helps train the fencers in many ways. Apart from developing physical skills through the sport fencers learn about the importance of thinking and reacting quickly, making complex decisions, sportsmanship and teamwork. This helps complement their academic studies.”

Air France website takes off A

ir France KLM has launched a new platform www.euro-package. com together with 13 travel agencies. The new website meets the needs of customers looking for travel packages combining flights to Europe with hotels, bus tours, cruises, Club Med breaks or rail travel. The new website also features comments from bloggers. By combining the most attractive Air France KLM fares through packaging, customers can save up to 20 percent.

The Link

Issue 3/2014

47

Member News

Japanese runners dominate Laguna Phuket marathon

C

hikara Yanada of Japan has won the ninth Laguna Phuket International Marathon (LPIM).

More than 5,000 competitors from 48 countries took to the island’s roads to compete on a variety of distance courses. Chikara Yanada finished the 42km marathon in a shade over two hours and 52 minutes.

The women’s 42km race was won

by LPIM2013 defending champion Naomi Ochiai, also from Japan, Her race time of 3:08:54 broke her own winning record of 03:19:38 in the 2013 race.

Fund raising is an important objective of this annual spectacle and more than THB 4.6 million has been raised in recent years for initiative such as the Fully Booked Mobile Learning Centre which was launched in April 2014.

Ravi Chandran, Managing Director of Laguna Phuket, said that the Centre is now ready to serve students in Phuket and neighbouring provinces.

Some 140 Laguna Phuket staff volunteers from Laguna Resorts & Hotels Plc, joined local villagers, students and representatives of the Marine and Coastal Resources Station to plant 4,500 mangrove saplings at Baan Tappla, Phang-Nga. This annual tree planting event is part of the company’s community initiative that aims to raise awareness of global warming and help to create greener communities. Laguna Phuket has now planted 21,300 mangrove saplings in Phuket and neighbouring provinces.

The annual activity is one of many initiatives set up by Laguna Phuket to support its wider strategic goal on environment preservation according to Banyan Tree Global Fund (BTGF)’s worldwide guidelines set for each property within the group to plant 2,000 trees in each respective community each year.

48

The Link

Issue 3/2014

Champion Chikara Yanada presented with his winning trophy by Sriram Kailasam, General Manager of Banyan Tree Phuket and Prapa Hemmin, Laguna Phuket director of Sales, MICE and Corporate Events.

Expanded role for Lyn at Standard Chartered S tandard Chartered has named Lyn Kok as the new Chief Executive Officer for the Greater Mekong sub-region. In addition to her regional responsibilities Lyn continues in her current role as President and Chief Executive Officer for Thailand.

Lyn Kok said, “Thailand is well positioned to become the gateway for foreign companies seeking to invest in the Greater Mekong. As the only international bank present in all ten ASEAN countries, Standard Chartered is ideally positioned to help international corporates leverage investment opportunities in Thailand and the boarder Greater Mekong Sub-region.”

The Greater Mekong CEO role is a new regional leadership position that sees Lyn assume governance responsibilities for Greater Mekong, which comprises Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.

Lim Cheng Teck, Regional Chief Executive Officer for ASEAN, said, “The potential of the Greater Mekong region is huge. By aligning our business operations in those markets under the Greater Mekong umbrella we will be able to offer our clients and customers doing business in those markets targeted, region specific financial insights

and enhanced service. I believe Lyn’s deep experience and understanding of the region will help take our business to new heights in the region.”

Lyn was appointed President and CEO for Standard Chartered Bank (Thai) in July 2010. She is a member of the bank’s Executive Leadership Team and is a ‘Living with HIV’ for Standard Chartered worldwide. She is also one of 12 members of the Bank’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Council. She is also serving as Vice President of the European ASEAN Business Centre in Thailand.

JLL keeps close eye on property markets T he coup d’etat in Thailand is expected to have a negative impact on the country’s investment sentiment but the impact on the real estate sector has so far remained minimal, according to Suphin Mechuchep, Managing Director of JLL. “Our discussions with clients and business partners, including property developers, investors and corpo-

rate occupiers, showed that the coup came as no surprise. Most of the existing property players in Thailand have appeared immune to the current political situation. They have experienced many disruptions that the country has been through in the past, whether they be previous coups, political violence and natural disasters.

Experience showed that most of these disruptions had either short-

lived or limited direct impact on the real estate sector,” said Khun Suphin.

“It remains too early to tell if the military intervention could provide a solution to the country’s political deadlock and help reduce political uncertainty or would have negative or positive impact on the overall economy and the real estate sector in the later phase,” added Suphin Mechuchep.

The Link

Issue 3/2014

49

Member News

Yangon hotel market set for record year T

he hotel market in Yangon is set to continue its record growth in 2014, following a 46 percent y-o-y increase in international visitor arrivals in 2013, according to the latest report from JLL. The company’s ‘Yangon Hotel Market Snapshot’ highlights the huge opportunities for investors and operators with occupancy for the upscale and luxury segments increasing from 45.8 percent in 2009 to a record 80 percent in 2013.

The strong demand for international standard accommodation, which is predominantly driven by visitors from Thailand, Japan, China and Korea, is currently outpacing supply with less than a third of Yangon’s 9163 rooms considered to meet international standards.

Despite this, there are signs that the imbalance is being addressed with 4,518 rooms expected to enter the market in the next five years, of which 95 percent will be international standard. This will more than double the supply in Yangon.

Andrew Langdon, Executive Vice President – Thailand and Indochina at JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group commented, “Ever since Myanmar embarked on its journey to democracy in 2011, Yangon has seen an incredible improvement in hotel market performance as demand continues to outpace supply.

Over the past 12 months we’ve seen a number of international hotel operators, including Accor and Hilton, Twenty rock bands have performed in a charity concert at Harrow International School in Bangkok. The fourhour show ended with what was described as an action-packed, heart pounding performance from a popular combo called BodySlam.

Funds raised will help to support the new Beaumont School in north east Thailand.

50

The Link

Issue 3/2014

take advantage of these conditions with key projects slated to open later in the year.

“Recently unveiled plans from the Asia Development Bank, coupled with the expansion of the existing international airport and the opening of a new airport near the City in 2018, mean we don’t expect any let up in the growth of tourist arrivals to Yangon. With the majority of future supply concentrated towards upscale and luxury, this presents a strong opportunity for the mid-scale brands where the market remains relatively untapped.”

Mr Langdon added, “We expect occupancy to stabilise at current levels while a continued increase in supply will see the average daily rate (ADR) starting to moderate. The future remains bright for the Myanmar hotel market.” * Download the full report at: http:// www.jll.in.th/thailand/en-gb/Research/Yangon%20May%202014.pdf

Sports champions at Bangkok Patana School B

and winning the deciding doubles in three sets.

angkok Patana School’s Head Tennis Coach Daniel Ahl has won a Bronze Medal in the ITF World Team Championships in Florida. Having represented Great Britain in Tennis at the Under 18 level, England at Open level and recently in the over 35 and over 40 teams, Dan said it was still a very proud moment being selected for this year’s Over 45 team to compete in the World Team Championships.

Daniel played in a four man team with each match having two singles matches and one doubles match.

Twenty four teams entered and his team was drawn in a group with Mexico and Kazakhstan. Dan’s team progressed to last eight to face Chile. With the event being played

They succumbed to rivals France in the semi-finals, leaving them to compete against Germany in the bronze medal play off.

on clay, Coach Dan said they knew it would be tough and so it proved with Team GB edging the match 2-1

Sukanya Janchoo ( fifth from left), General Manager of Dusit Thani Bangkok, hosted a cocktail reception for executives from JTB Corporation, one of the largest travel agencies in the world. The visitors stated that Thailand continues to be a key destination for Japanese tourists.

There was success too for Primary PE teacher Lyndsey Fraser at the recent IRONMAN 70.3 in Putrajaya, Malaysia. The competition distance was a 1.9km swim, a 90km bike and a 21.1km run. Lyndsey’s finishing time was five hours and one minute, placing her first in her age group category and second female overall.

Lindsey qualifies to compete in the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships in Mont Tremblant, Canada later this year.

Students, parents, teachers and staff joined together to make merit and to observe Visakha Bucha Day on the Prem Tinsulanonda International School’s ‘Global Way’. Nine monks from three local temples were invited to conduct the ceremony.

The Link

Issue 3/2014

51

Dataconsult

Chamber Events

Economic Projection for 2014

By the Numbers

Actual Data

GDP (at current prices: Bil. Bht) GDP per capita (Bht per year) GDP (at current prices: Bil. USD) GDP per capita (USD per year)

Chris Bruton Director, Dataconsult Ltd.

T

he outlook for Thailand’s economic growth is becomes ever more sombre. Even the boldest and most bullish of forecasters are beginning to bite the bitter pill of reality.

As of February 2014, the NESDB was still forecasting growth of 3.0 to 4.0 percent for 2014 but, by 19 May, the prospect was down to 1.5 to 2.5 percent. In April 2014 the IMF, whose figures for the period to 2019 are attached, was forecasting 2.5 percent growth, rising to 3.8 percent in 2015.

While most business operators appear to have welcomed military coup action, as being a decisive step to resolve what appeared to be unresolvable political conflict, overseas commentators have taken a more negative attitude, bemoaning what they perceive as a step in the wrong direction, loss of democracy, and rejection of acceptable principles of government by and for the people.

Others may question such analysis, which suggests that democracy is supreme, even when that democracy

Projection

2012

2013

17/2/14

11,375

11,897

12,599

12,424

167,501

174,319

183,638

181,077

366

385

388

382

5,389

5,647

5,650

5,572 1.5-2.5

GDP Growth (at constant prices, %)

6.5

2.9

3.0-4.0

Investment (at constant prices, %)

13.2

-2.0

3.1

-1.3

Private (at constant prices, %)

14.4

-2.8

3.8

-0.2

Public (at constant prices, %)

8.9

1.3

0.3

-5.0

6.8

1.1

1.6

1.0

Private (at constant prices, %)

6.7

0.3

1.4

0.8

Public (at constant prices, %)

7.5

4.9

2.0

1.8

3.1

4.2

6.0

3.6

225.9

225.5

241.2

233.8

Consumption (at constant prices, %)

Export volume of goods & services (%) Export value of goods (Bil. USD) Growth rate (%)

3.1

-0.2

5.0-7.0

3.7

Growth rate (Volume, %)

2.5

0.2

4.0-6.0

4.2

Import volume of goods & services (%)

6.2

2.3

4.6

1.3

219.9

219.0

231.7

220.2

Growth rate (%)

8.8

-0.4

5.7

0.5

Growth rate (Volume, %)

7.1

1.7

5.2

1.0

Trade balance (Bil, USD)

6.0

6.4

9.6

13.6

Current account balance (Bil, USD)

-1.5

-2.8

-0.6

1.9

Current account to GDP (%)

-0.4

-0.6

-0.2

0.5

CPI

3.0

2.2

1.9-2.9

1.9-2.9

GDP Deflator

1.3

1.7

1.9-2.9

1.9-2.9

Import Value of goods (Bil. USD)

Inflation (%)

Source: Office of National Economic and Social Development Board, 19th May 2014 Note: Export and import base on the Bank of Thailand’s data.

comprises a flawed electoral system with arguably corrupt, self-seeking politicians who have squandered and diverted national resources for personal benefit.

Establishing a constituent assembly, writing a constitution, holding a referendum and election, as well as promised political and economic reforms, may require one or two years, beyond the 2015 inauguration of the ASEAN Economic Community.

Meanwhile the new regime is taking steps to pay off the farmers outstanding rice scheme receivables, to revive some parts of the infrastructure programme and to finalise the 2014/15 national budget – due to commence in October. The hope is that GDP growth can be brought back to 2.5 percent and international credibility might restore investment inflows.

Thailand is no basket-case and debtto-GDP and forex reserves are still in good shape.

Gross Domestic Product at current prices (total value) (countries ranked by 2013 size) Country China India Indonesia Thailand Malaysia Singapore Philippines Vietnam Myanmar Brunei Cambodia Laos

2006 2712.9 949.1 364.4 207.1 162.7 146.0 122.2 66.4 16.7 11.5 7.3 3.6

2007 3494.2 1238.5 432.3 247.0 193.6 178.3 149.4 77.5 23.3 12.2 8.6 4.2

2008 4520.0 1223.2 510.5 272.6 231.1 190.3 173.6 98.3 34.6 14.4 10.4 5.3

2009 4990.5 1365.3 538.6 263.7 202.3 190.2 168.5 101.6 38.1 10.7 10.4 5.6

2010 5930.4 1708.5 709.3 318.9 247.5 233.3 199.6 112.8 49.6 12.4 11.3 6.9

2011 7322.0 1880.1 845.6 345.7 289.0 272.3 224.1 134.6 56.2 16.7 12.9 8.2

2012 8229.4 1858.7 877.8 366.0 304.7 284.3 250.2 155.6 55.8 17.0 14.1 9.2

(US$ billion)

2013 9181.4 1870.7 870.3 387.2 312.4 295.7 272.0 170.6 56.4 16.2 15.7 10.0

2014 10027.6 1995.8 859.3 373.6 343.0 304.1 291.8 187.8 60.3 16.8 16.9 10.8

2015 10940.4 2172.3 900.3 392.8 380.5 317.7 332.6 204.6 64.8 16.7 18.5 11.9

2016 11878.7 2369.9 991.3 416.7 417.0 330.8 372.6 217.6 70.8 17.0 20.2 13.3

2013 8.2 7.7 7.5 7.2 7.0 5.8 5.4 4.7 4.4 4.1 2.9 -1.2

2014 7.5 7.5 7.8 6.5 7.2 5.4 5.6 5.2 5.4 3.6 2.5 5.4

2015 7.8 7.3 7.8 6.5 7.3 5.8 5.7 5.0 6.4 3.6 3.8 3.0

2016 8.0 7.0 7.8 6.2 7.3 6.0 5.8 5.0 6.5 3.6 4.8 3.7

Gross Domestic Product at constant prices (growth) (countries ranked by 2013 size) Country Laos China Myanmar Philippines Cambodia Indonesia Vietnam Malaysia India Singapore Thailand Brunei

52

The Link

2006 8.6 12.7 13.1 5.2 10.8 5.5 7.0 5.6 9.3 8.9 5.1 4.4

2007 7.8 14.2 12.0 6.6 10.2 6.3 7.1 6.3 9.8 9.0 5.0 0.2

Issue 3/2014

2008 7.8 9.6 3.6 4.2 6.7 6.0 5.7 4.8 3.9 1.9 2.5 -1.9

2009 7.5 9.2 5.1 1.1 0.1 4.6 5.4 -1.5 8.5 -0.6 -2.3 -1.8

19/5/2014

2010 8.1 10.4 5.3 7.6 6.1 6.2 6.4 7.4 10.3 15.1 7.8 2.6

2011 8.0 9.3 5.9 3.6 7.1 6.5 6.2 5.1 6.6 6.0 0.1 3.4

2012 7.9 7.7 7.3 6.8 7.3 6.3 5.2 5.6 4.7 1.9 6.5 0.9

2017 12908.4 2592.3 1068.5 439.2 452.8 345.3 416.8 232.0 78.3 17.3 22.1 14.8

2018 13996.7 2825.5 1156.3 464.3 491.0 361.2 466.5 249.2 87.1 18.3 24.2 16.7

2019 14839.2 3096.3 1251.9 491.5 538.0 378.2 522.3 265.4 96.9 18.9 26.4 18.9

(Percentage change year-on-year) 2017 7.7 6.8 7.8 6.0 7.5 6.0 5.9 5.0 6.7 3.6 4.7 5.5

2018 7.5 6.6 7.8 6.0 7.5 6.0 6.0 5.0 6.7 3.7 4.5 5.6

2019 7.5 6.5 7.7 6.0 7.5 6.0 6.0 5.0 6.8 3.8 4.5 3.5

Gross Domestic Product per capita (countries ranked by 2013 size) Country Singapore Brunei Malaysia China Thailand Indonesia Philippines Vietnam India Laos Cambodia Myanmar

2006 33,174 31,469 6,066 2,064 3,172 1,623 1,405 797 840 604 514 296

2007 38,848 33,102 7,144 2,645 3,757 1,898 1,684 920 1,081 703 603 404

2008 39,327 38,445 8,372 3,404 4,110 2,210 1,918 1,154 1,053 862 711 588

2009 38,127 28,237 7,203 3,740 3,943 2,299 1,851 1,181 1,159 893 703 635

2010 45,954 31,982 8,659 4,423 4,740 2,985 2,155 1,297 1,430 1,072 753 811

2011 52,533 42,436 9,979 5,434 5,115 3,508 2,379 1,532 1,553 1,252 853 900

(Current prices) US$ Dollars) 2012 53,516 42,402 10,387 6,078 5,390 3,591 2,612 1,753 1,515 1,380 926 876

2013 54,776 39,943 10,548 6,747 5,674 3,510 2,790 1,902 1,505 1,477 1,016 869

2014 55,568 40,859 11,387 7,333 5,450 3,417 2,935 2,073 1,584 1,567 1,088 910

2015 57,442 39,886 12,419 7,961 5,704 3,529 3,279 2,234 1,702 1,699 1,177 959

2016 59,225 39,955 13,385 8,601 6,024 3,832 3,602 2,351 1,833 1,853 1,273 1,028

2012 62,130 54,114 16,862 9,503 9,051 4,925 4,380 3,900 3,788 2,846 2,395 1,626

2013 64,584 53,431 17,748 9,875 9,844 5,214 4,682 4,077 4,012 3,068 2,576 1,740

2014 67,035 56,287 18,639 10,227 10,695 5,499 4,962 4,307 4,256 3,285 2,777 1,867

2015 69,945 58,082 19,585 10,752 11,619 5,838 5,273 4,601 4,531 3,537 3,003 2,008

2016 73,160 60,411 20,605 11,432 12,603 6,217 5,594 4,928 4,834 3,820 3,251 2,162

2012 10.2 9.1 4.3 4.0 2.8 2.9 3.2 2.7 4.6 3.0 1.7 0.1

2013 9.5 6.6 6.4 6.4 5.8 3.0 2.9 2.6 2.4 2.2 2.1 0.4

2014 8.0 6.3 7.5 6.3 6.6 3.8 4.4 3.0 2.3 2.3 3.3 0.5

2015 7.5 6.2 7.5 5.5 6.9 3.2 3.6 3.0 2.6 2.1 3.9 0.5

2016 6.9 6.1 7.6 5.4 6.5 3.0 3.5 3.0 2.4 2.1 3.0 0.5

2017 6.3 5.8 6.0 5.5 6.1 3.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 2.7 0.6

2018 6.2 5.4 5.7 5.3 5.3 3.0 3.5 3.0 2.4 2.0 2.7 0.6

2019 6.1 5.2 5.7 5.0 4.7 3.0 3.5 3.0 2.4 2.0 2.7 0.6

2018 94.0 60.9 54.4 50.2 62.9 46.0 43.2 27.6 27.3 23.4 15.4 2.1

2019 95.4 59.9 51.8 49.8 62.5 45.7 43.1 26.2 27.0 22.4 14.4 2.0

GDP Purchasing-power-parity per capita (countries ranked by 2013 size) Country Singapore Brunei Malaysia Thailand China Indonesia Philippines India Vietnam Laos Cambodia Myanmar

2006 49,377 51,860 12,715 7,387 4,740 3,415 3,255 2,509 2,567 1,840 1,624 1,133

2007 52,986 52,526 13,738 7,910 5,526 3,675 3,493 2,789 2,793 1,997 1,817 1,277

2008 52,179 51,814 14,417 8,193 6,145 3,917 3,636 2,914 2,976 2,150 1,944 1,322

2009 50,712 50,603 14,062 7,996 6,730 4,072 3,685 3,141 3,128 2,281 1,928 1,373

2010 58,019 51,636 15,018 8,674 7,487 4,316 3,945 3,457 3,334 2,446 2,050 1,435

2011 61,413 53,546 15,890 8,810 8,305 4,620 4,098 3,708 3,574 2,643 2,216 1,519

2006 7.3 7.5 6.8 13.1 26.3 6.1 5.5 1.5 1.0 4.6 3.6 0.2

2007 6.1 8.3 4.5 6.7 30.9 7.7 2.9 4.8 2.1 2.2 2.0 1.0

2008 8.9 23.1 7.6 9.8 11.5 25.0 8.2 5.9 6.6 5.5 5.4 2.1

2009 13.0 6.7 0.0 5.0 2.2 -0.7 4.2 -0.7 0.6 -0.9 0.6 1.0

2010 10.5 9.2 6.0 5.1 8.2 4.0 3.8 3.3 2.8 3.3 1.7 0.2

2011 9.6 18.7 7.6 5.3 2.8 5.5 4.7 5.4 5.2 3.8 3.2 0.1

2018 63,449 41,583 15,235 10,034 6,659 4,345 4,334 2,637 2,129 2,251 1,493 1,215

2019 65,790 42,313 16,417 10,586 7,023 4,638 4,757 2,780 2,302 2,493 1,614 1,325

(Current International dollar)

Inflation: average consumer prices (countries ranked by 2013 size) Country India Vietnam Laos Indonesia Myanmar Cambodia Philippines China Singapore Thailand Malaysia Brunei

2017 61,237 39,932 14,291 9,300 6,324 4,072 3,950 2,482 1,979 2,033 1,379 1,114

2017 76,576 63,991 21,699 12,162 13,656 6,627 5,931 5,291 5,168 4,118 3,530 2,331

2018 80,231 67,870 22,851 12,912 14,779 7,065 6,288 5,685 5,530 4,430 3,831 2,513

2019 84,142 70,549 24,072 13,712 15,984 7,533 6,669 6,113 5,919 4,769 4,160 2,707

(Percentage change year-on-year)

General Government Gross Debt (percent of GDP) (countries ranked by 2013 size) Country Singapore India Laos Malaysia Vietnam Thailand Myanmar Philippines Cambodia Indonesia China Brunei

2006 86.1 77.1 71.9 41.5 38.4 42.0 90.3 51.6 32.7 39.0 16.2 0.7

2007 85.5 74.0 64.2 41.2 40.9 38.3 62.3 44.6 30.6 35.1 19.6 0.8

2008 96.3 74.5 60.3 41.2 39.4 37.3 53.0 44.2 27.5 33.2 17.0 1.0

2009 100.7 72.5 63.2 52.8 46.9 45.2 55.0 44.3 28.9 28.6 17.7 1.2

2010 98.5 67.5 62.1 53.5 51.6 42.6 49.5 43.5 29.1 26.1 33.5 1.2

(%)

2011 102.2 66.8 55.9 54.3 47.6 42.1 49.2 41.4 28.5 24.4 28.7 2.4

2012 107.9 66.6 61.5 56.0 50.0 45.4 47.3 40.6 28.8 24.0 26.1 2.4

2013 103.8 66.7 62.0 58.2 55.0 45.3 42.7 38.3 28.1 26.1 22.4 2.5

2014 102.4 65.3 63.6 56.4 58.7 46.6 43.2 35.2 28.9 26.0 20.2 2.3

2015 100.0 64.0 63.5 54.3 59.8 46.7 44.3 32.8 28.7 25.9 18.7 2.3

2016 98.0 62.7 63.2 52.3 61.9 46.7 44.1 30.9 28.3 25.4 17.6 2.3

2017 96.0 61.8 59.1 51.0 63.1 46.2 43.6 29.2 27.7 24.5 16.5 2.3

2010 45.5 25.3 -3.8 10.9 4.5 4.0 3.1 -2.7 0.7 -1.5 -3.9 -18.2

2011 43.1 23.2 0.2 11.6 3.2 1.9 1.2 -4.2 0.2 -2.1 -8.1 -15.2

2012 46.9 17.4 5.8 6.1 2.9 2.3 -0.4 -4.7 -2.8 -4.4 -8.7 -28.4

2013 39.0 18.4 6.6 3.8 3.5 2.1 -0.7 -2.0 -3.3 -4.9 -8.6 -29.5

2014 39.3 17.7 4.3 4.1 3.2 2.2 0.2 -2.4 -3.0 -5.3 -8.4 -27.3

2015 37.9 17.1 3.5 4.0 2.6 2.4 0.3 -2.5 -2.7 -5.2 -7.4 -23.7

2016 36.3 16.5 2.5 4.1 2.0 2.6 0.2 -2.6 -2.7 -5.3 -6.6 -19.4

2017 37.1 16.0 1.8 4.1 1.5 2.7 0.3 -2.6 -2.7 -5.3 -6.0 -17.0

2010 1,340.91 1,194.62 237.641 92.6 86.933 67.275 61.187 28.589 14.953 6.396 5.077 0.387

2011 1,347.35 1,210.98 241.03 94.2 87.84 67.584 62.411 28.964 15.103 6.521 5.184 0.393

2012 1,354.04 1,227.19 244.468 95.8 88.762 67.892 63.659 29.337 15.254 6.646 5.312 0.4

2013 1,360.76 1,243.34 247.954 97.484 89.691 68.229 64.932 29.62 15.407 6.772 5.399 0.406

2014 1,367.52 1,259.70 251.49 99.434 90.63 68.554 66.231 30.124 15.561 6.901 5.473 0.412

2015 1,374.31 1,276.27 255.077 101.423 91.578 68.866 67.556 30.636 15.716 7.032 5.532 0.419

2016 1,381.13 1,293.06 258.714 103.451 92.537 69.166 68.907 31.157 15.873 7.165 5.585 0.426

2017 1,387.99 1,310.07 262.404 105.52 93.505 69.454 70.285 31.686 16.032 7.302 5.639 0.433

Current Account Balance (countries ranked by 2013 size) Country Brunei Singapore Vietnam Malaysia Philippines China Thailand India Indonesia Myanmar Cambodia Lao

2006 50.1 24.1 -0.2 16.1 4.4 8.5 1.1 -1.0 2.6 6.8 -0.6 -9.9

2007 47.8 25.6 -9.0 15.4 4.8 10.1 6.3 -1.3 1.6 -0.7 -1.9 -15.7

2008 48.9 13.9 -11.0 17.1 2.1 9.3 0.8 -2.3 0.0 -4.2 -5.7 -18.5

2009 40.3 17.2 -6.5 15.5 5.6 4.9 8.3 -2.8 2.0 -1.3 -4.5 -21.0

(percent of GDP)

Population ASEAN+2 (countries ranked by 2013 size) Country China India Indonesia Philippines Vietnam Thailand Myanmar Malaysia Cambodia Laos Singapore Brunei

2006 1,314.48 1,130.00 224.555 86.97 83.311 65.28 56.505 26.832 14.163 5.896 4.401 0.365

2007 1,321.29 1,146.00 227.758 88.71 84.219 65.74 57.641 27.1 14.324 6.013 4.589 0.37

2008 1,328.02 1,162.00 231.006 90.5 85.119 66.321 58.799 27.6 14.562 6.139 4.839 0.375

2009 1,334.50 1,178.13 234.3 91 86.025 66.88 59.981 28.082 14.805 6.268 4.988 0.38

2018 38.7 15.5 -1.0 3.9 1.0 2.8 0.3 -2.6 -2.6 -5.4 -5.5 -17.0

2019 38.8 15.0 -3.3 3.7 0.5 3.0 0.5 -2.6 -2.6 -5.4 -5.8 -17.0

(million persons) 2018 1,394.88 1,327.30 266.146 107.631 94.484 69.729 71.69 32.225 16.192 7.44 5.693 0.439

2019 1,401.81 1,344.77 269.941 109.783 95.473 69.991 73.124 32.773 16.354 7.582 5.748 0.446

Statistical source: International Monetary Fund, April 2014

The Link

Issue 3/2014

53

Chamber Events Life & Style Garden Party 22 May 2014 More than 200 BCCT members and friends enjoyed the Best of British food, drink and music at the 2014 BCCT Life & Style Garden Party.

Thank you to our sponsors and partners.

54

The Link

Issue 3/2014

Chamber Events

BCCT Bangkok Masters Football Tournament 31 May - 1 June 2014 The 11th BCCT Bangkok Masters Football Tournament took place on Saturday 31st May and Sunday 1st June. It was a great success with 25 multi-national amateur teams competing in four age groups.

The Link

Issue 3/2014

55

Chamber Events

BCCT Pub Night

‘Taste of Britain’ campaign launched

1 April 2014

9 April 2014

Hemingway’s Bar and Restaurant Bangkok kindly hosted and sponsored the BCCT Pub Night on Tuesday 1st April.

Central Food Retail in partnership with the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand and UK Trade & Investment launched the ‘Taste of Britain’ campaign on 9th April to promote quality British food and drink products across 64 Central Food Hall and Tops market stores nationwide.

From left: - Frank Holzer of General Motors (Thailand) Ltd. - BCCT Chairman Simon Matthews - BCCT Business Development Manager Jina Phenix - Hemingway’s Bangkok Business Development Manager Brian Brittain.

- At the launch event at Central World, Guest of Honour HE Ambassador Mark Kent, British Ambassador to Thailand (right), demonstrated his cooking skills with a chocolate truffle creation alongside Chef Cedric Rubellin, General Manager of International Bakery of Central Food Retail (left).

Joint Business Networking Evening

BCCT Bangkok Angels

9 April 2014

19-20 April 2014

On Wednesday 9th April BCCT and AMCHAM supported the Chiang Mai Business Group at a Joint Business Networking Evening in Chiang Mai. BCCT Vice Chairman Chris Thatcher (third right) represented BCCT at the event.

BCCT Bangkok Angels were runners-up to SPVGG Besigheim from Germany in the Masters competition at the 32nd International Far East Football Tournament at Bangkok Patana School on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th April.

- BCCT was delighted to support the excellent work of the Chiang Mai Business Group.

- Well played the BCCT Bangkok Angels.

Thank you to our sponsors and partners.

56

The Link

Issue 3/2014

Chamber Events

BCCT Boardroom Briefing

BCCT Half-Day Workshop

22 April 2014

23 April 2014

On Tuesday 22nd April, BCCT hosted the boardroom briefing on Safeguarding Corporate Data.

BCCT’s Management Development Group (MDG) organised a Thai language half-day workshop on ‘Smart Marketing & Competitive Strategies’ on Wednesday 23rd April from Smart World Asia Co., Ltd.

From left: - Mark Hailes - Dr. Chris Maden of CPMC Limited - Gary Yates of CPMC - BCCT Vice Chairman Chris Thatcher

- Thumbs up for our recent workshop held at the new British Business Centre.

Third Thursday Networking Evening 24 April 2014 Dream Hotel Bangkok kindly hosted the T3 at Flava Restaurant on Thursday 24th April.

From left: - David Cumming, BCCT Board Director - Chris Thatcher, BCCT Vice Chairman - Robert Ulrich Jaermann, GM of Dream Hotel

- Simon Matthews, BCCT Chairman - Geev André Bahrampoori, Executive Assistant Manager of Dream Hotel.

Thank you to our sponsors and partners.

The Link

Issue 3/2014

57

Chamber Events

Joint Chambers ESB Networking

BCCT Pub Night

25 April 2014

6 May 2014

BCCT hosted the Joint Eastern Seaboard Networking Evening with AMCHAM, AustCham, GTCC and SATCC on Friday 25th April at the Royal Varuna Yacht Club. The event was sponsored by Bumrungrad International Hospital, Lyreco and the Royal Varuna Yacht Club.

The Latitude Lounge & Bar at Banyan Tree Hotel kindly hosted BCCT Pub Night on Tuesday 6th May.

From left: - Thomas Whitcraft of RMA Group - Pitipong Suanyim of Lyreco - Roland Hohmann of Bumrungrad International Hospital, Chaiya Richard

From left: - David Attamana of Banyan Tree - BCCT Chairman Simon Matthews

Holt GM of the Royal Varuna Yacht Club, BCCT Chairman Simon Matthews, BCCT Vice Chairman Chris Thatcher and SATCC Chairman Graham Macdonald.

BCCT Boardroom Briefing

Joint ESB Networking Evening

7 May 2014

16 May 2014

Members and non-members joined BCCT Boardroom Briefing on ‘How do you measure candidate intelligence’ at the British Business Centre on Wednesday 7th May.

GTCC hosted the Joint Eastern Seaboard Networking Evening with BCCT, AMCHAM, AustCham, and SATCC on Friday 16th May at Dicey Reilly’s Pub & Eatery, Pattaya Marriott Resort & Spa.

From left: - Nannapat Sriwalai and Tom Sorensen of Grant Thornton - BCCT Vice Chairman Chris Thatcher

- All smiles on the Eastern Seaboard

Thank you to our sponsors and partners.

58

The Link

Issue 3/2014

Chamber Events

BCCT Trade Mission Briefing

BCCT Boardroom Briefing

20 May 2014

20 May 2014

BCCT hosted a briefing for the UK Food & Drink Trade Mission attending Thaifex. Briefing on the alcoholic beverages sector in Thailand was provided by Robert Murray, Importer and Distributor of Alcoholic Beverages in Thailand.

On Tuesday 20th May, Welf J Ebeling was guest speaker at the BCCT Boardroom Briefing on ‘The GBTA Global Business Travel Outlook with focus on APAC and Thailand’.

- The briefing was held at the BCCT’s British Business Centre.

From left: - David Cumming , BCCT Board Director - Welf J Ebeling, Vice President, Asia Pacific for the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA)

The Link

Issue 3/2014

59

Comings and Goings The British Chamber of Commerce Thailand welcomes the following new members: Bournville College 1 Longbridge Lane, Longbridge Birmingham B312AJ United Kingdom T: +44 (0) 12-1477-1600 Website: www.bournville.ac.uk

Representatives: Ms. Anjum Cave - Assistant Principal Business Activity: Mission statement: To be the education and training provider of first choice. Bournville College was established in 1913. In 2011 the College relocated to a new £66 million campus in Longbridge, kickstarting wider regeneration of the area.

The campus features state-of-the-art facilities including; Mac suites, motor vehicle workshops, music studios, training kitchens, 1000+ computers, Wi-Fi access, 3D cinema room, online learning material and much more.

Control Risks 331 North Bridge Road, #04-01/04, Odeon Towers, Singapore 188720 T: +65 6227-2038 F: +65 6227-2062 Website: www.controlrisks.com

Representatives: Mr. Dane Chamorro - Managing Director, South East Asia Mr. Sam Fox - Senior Consultant, Global Client Services Business Activity: Control Risks is a global risk consultancy specialising in political, security and integrity risk.

60

The Link

Issue 3/2014

We help our clients to understand and manage the risks of operating in complex or hostile environments.

Our unique combination of services, our geographical reach and the trust our clients place in us, ensures we can help them effectively solve their problems and realise new opportunities across the world.

We support clients by providing strategic consultancy, expert analysis and in-depth investigations through to handling sensitive political issues and providing practical on the ground protection and support.

DHL Global Forwarding (Thailand) Ltd. 209 K Tower A, 12th-12Ath Floor, Sukhumvit 21 Road (Asoke) Klongtoey-Nua, Wattana Bangkok 10110 T: +66 (0) 2791-8000 F: +66 (0) 2302-1810 E: dgfth-com-tls@dhl.com; thdgf-com-tls@dhl.com Website: www.dhl.co.th

Representatives: Mr. Thomas Tieber - Chief Executive Officer - South Asia DHL Global Forwarding Mr. Edwin Pinto - Head of Sales Business Activity: DHL Global Forwarding Thailand – a division of the global brand of DHL, is the leader in the Thai air and ocean freight markets.

In addition to providing air and ocean freight services, DHL Global Forwarding prides itself in cross border trucking transportation, multi-modal logistics, in-house customs brokerage as well as state-of-the-art general and free zone warehousing management & dedicated value-added services, combined with worldwide coverage and an in-depth understanding of local markets.

Excel Bangkok Co., Ltd. 15th Floor, Le Concorde Tower, Ratchadaphisek Road, Huaykwang Bangkok 10310 T: +66 (0) 2694-2446 Website: http://devsenses.com

Representatives: Mr. Ken Williams – CEO Business Activity: Excel Bangkok Co Ltd., part of the Excel group of companies spanning Thailand, Australasia and Europe is recognized as an industry leader in mobile applications and highend software systems.

With major systems in brand control, fulfilment software and gaming on a worldwide basis, our team focuses on delivering exceptional solutions to our clients. Our mobile applications division, Devsenses, enjoys top tier status throughout Thailand.

Golden Tulip Hospitality Management (Thailand) Ltd. Paso Tower, 12 A Floor, n88, Silom Road, Suriyawong Bangrak, Bangkok 10500 T: +66 (0) 2634 4944 F: +66 (0) 2634 4946 Website: www.goldentulip.com

Representatives: Mr. Mark Van Ogtrop - Managing Director South East Asia Business Activity: Hotel Management, Hospitality, and Hotel

owns 51% and Charoen Pokphand Group (CP), one of Thailand largest company that holds another 49%.

ICR (Thailand) Limited 17th Floor, 140/35, ITF Tower Silom Road, Suriyawongse Bangrak, Bangkok 10500 T: +66 (0) 2231-6093 Website: www.icrasia.com

Lancaster London Lancaster Terrace, London W2 2TY United Kingdom T: +44 (0) 20 7551 6000 Website: www.lancasterlondon.com Email: mmp@lanacsterlondon.com

Representatives: Mr. Matthew Patrick Ratcliffe - Partner, Corporate Services Business Activity: Business Activity: ICR is a provider of (1) corporate and commercial legal services and advice and (2) accounting, tax and payroll services.

Through our tight-knit, high-quality teams of lawyers and accountants, we offer you sensible, commercial advice and a wide range of tailor-made services, including structuring a suitable and bespoke corporate entity for your business, assistance with the purchase or disposal of various type of assets, assistance with applications for investment incentives, and the provision of ongoing corporate secretarial and accounting/tax services to operating businesses.

Infobip (Thailand) Limited 17th Floor, 140/36 ITF Tower, Silom Road, Suriyawong, Bangrak Bangkok 10500 T: +66 (0) 2627-9004 Website: www.infobip.com

Representatives: Mr. Ivan Rozic - Business Development Manager Mr. Bojan Savic - Operator Partnerships Manager Business Activity: Infobip is a cloud provider of mobile messaging and payments, serving 120.000+ business clients through 29 offices on 6 continents. All our solutions are fully inhouse developed, meeting exactly what is needed to establish a state-of-the-art mobile services ecosystem.

Representatives: Ms. Sally Beck - General Manager Mr. Mano Pierce - Business Development Manager Business Activity: The 416 guestrooms and suites at Lancaster London all boast luxurious and elegant décor and offer some of London’s most spectacular views. The hotel is located next to Hyde Park, and is well connected by bus and tube to the West End and shopping in Oxford Street and Westfield London.

There are two restaurants, Nipa Thai offering authentic Thai cuisine and Island Grill with a modern European menu.

The Thai guest relations team look forward to welcoming you to Lancaster London

SAIC Motor - CP Co Ltd is here to make the manufacturing base of wellknown British Car Brand, MG to serve both local and ASEAN markets. The sales operation base in Bangkok is established under the name “MG Sales (Thailand) Co., Ltd, and is responsible for Sales, Marketing, After-sales service and the Dealer network.

SAIC Motor-CP has decided to construct a new assembly plant in Chonburi Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate for right-hand drive vehicle manufacturing.

Ramada Plaza Bangkok Menam Riverside 2074, Charoenkrung Road Bangkorlaem, Bangkok 10120 T: +66 (0) 2688-1000 F: +66 (0) 2291-9400 Website: www.ramadaplazamenamriverside.com

Representatives: Mr. Klaus Sennik - General Manager

MG Sales (Thailand) Co., Ltd. 25th Fl., 191 Silom Road Bangrak, Bangkok 10500 T: +66 (0) 2118-6831 F: +66 (0) 2118-6809 Website: www.mgcars.asia

Representatives: Mr. Wu Huan – President Business Activity: Founding in 2013, SAIC Motor-CP Co., Ltd is a joint venture company between the largest auto group in China, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) which

Business Activity: Experience legendary hospitality by the majestic Chao Phraya River, the hotel feature 525 guest rooms & suites & accessible rooms,8 restaurants & bars,22 function rooms. Conveniently, it’s 500 meters away to Asiatique - The Riverfront.

Enjoy the hotel’s complimentary shuttle boat services to central pier.

Scenical Co., Ltd., The Maleenont Tower, 18/2 Floor, 3199 Rama 4 Road, Klongton, Klongtoey Bangkok 10110 T: +66 (0) 2661-2999 F: +66 (0) 2661-2389 Website: www.greeneryresort.com Representatives: Mr. Thawsirit Sivakom - Managing Director The Link

Issue 3/2014

61

Seri Manop & Doyle Ltd. 21 Soi Amnuaywat, Suthisarn Road, Samsen nok, Huay Kwang Bangkok 10310 T: +66 (0) 2693-2036 F: +66 (0) 2693-4189 Website: http://www.serimanop.com

Representatives: Mr. Somsuk Phoungnak - Partner Ms. Chulaporn Sam-arng - Associate Lawyer Business Activity: Seri Manop & Doyle advises international and Thai-based clients in the areas of corporate law, dispute resolution, real estate, tax law, labor law, insurance law, mergers acquisitions and intellectual property protection as well as project finance, securities law and energy and mining projects.

William Grant & sons (Singapore) Pte Ltd. 2, Kallang Avenue, CT Hub, #05-10, Singapore 339407 T: +65 6361-2332 F: +65 6361-2300 Website: www.williamgrant.com

Representatives: Ms. Thiemjan Skulpanich - Marketing Manager-Thailand Mr. Amorn Phukajee - Assistant Marketing Manager Business Activity: William Grant & Sons is an award-winning independent family-owned distiller founded by William Grant in 1886.

62

The Link

Issue 3/2014

Today, the luxury spirits company is run by the fifth generation of his family and distils some of the world’s leading brands of Scotch whisky, including the world’s favourite single malt Glenfiddich, the handcrafted range of The Balvenie single malts and Grant’s blended whisky, as well as selected other spirits, including Hendrick’s Gin, Sailor Jerry, Monkey Shoulder and Reyka Vodka.

Click on www.williamgrant.com for more information on the Company and its brands.

Mr. George Strampp Royal Cliff Garden Condo, 377/88 Pratumnak Road, Pattaya Chonburi 20150 T: +66 (0) 81-831-6718 Email: gstrampp@gmail.com Business Activity: Was a global executive for TRW Automotive, building new greenfield factories, starting them up and running until a suitable replacement was identified. I then moved on to another country for another new startup facility. I did this for 40 years and then retired from my final TRW greenfield startup here in Thailand. Even if I could, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Resignations & Cancellations: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

APM Group Solutions Co., Ltd. AVIS Rent A Car Baan Souy Siam Co Ltd. Blackmores Ltd. BMRS Asia Co., Ltd. Brenntag Ingredients (Thailand) Public Company Limited 7. Defence International Security Services 8. Grand Millennium Sukhumvit 9. Haad Sai Ngen Co., Ltd. 10. Halcrow (Thailand) Limited 11. HKR International (Thailand) Ltd. 12. Impact (Asia Pacific) Co.,Ltd. 13. Lampl Consulting Company Limited

14. M&C Energy (Thailand) Ltd. 15. MI Squared Ltd. 16. PPCNSEO Co., Ltd. New Company Representatives: 1. Brambles (Thailand) Co., Ltd., changed from Khun Alisa Udom, to Mr. Jamekorn Phuaksuwan 2. British Airways PLC, changed from Mr. Sriram Narayan, to Mr. Billy Chomsakorn 3. Coats Thread (Thailand) Ltd., changed from Mr. Peter Burgess, to Mr. Stephen Melrose 4. DKSH (Thailand) Limited, changed from Khun Somboon Prasitjutrakul, to Mr. Stephen John Ferraby 5. Dusit Thani Bangkok, changed from Mr. James Robert Wilson, to Ms. Sukanya Janchoo 6. GKN Driveline (Thailand) Ltd., changed from Mr. Duncan Alan Varnes, to Mr. Hannes Hellweger 7. RMA Group Co., Ltd., changed from Mr. Mark Tennant, to Mr. Thomas Whitcraft 8. Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok, changed from Mr. Kieran Twomey, to Mr. J. Edward Brea 9. Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit, changed from Mr. Christian Schlegel, to Mr. William Haandrikman Members with new addresses: 1. AA Insurance Brokers 565/62, Moo 10, (next to Big C South Pattaya), Nongprue, Banglamung, Chonburi 20150 T: +66 (0) 3841-5795-6 F: +66 (0) 3837-4 251 2. Albatross Logistics Company Limited 336/7 Moo 7 Tambon Bowin Amphur Siracha, Chonburi 20230 T: +66 38 344 400 – 29 F: +66 38 058 007 3. BELFOR Thailand Ltd. 55/28 Moo 15, Bangsaothong SubDistrict, Bangsaothong, Samut Prakan 10540 T: +66 (0) 2182-5186 F: +66 (0) 2182-5187

Britain in South East Asia (BiSEA)

Cambodia British Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia c/o Darren Conquest Hong Yang Corporation No. 11 Street 178, Sangkat Psar Thmey 3, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh, Cambodia Tel: 855-12-219-802 Fax: 855-23-997-493 Email: chairman@britchamcambodia.org Website: www.britchamcambodia.org Chairman: Darren Conquest Executive Director: Abigail Gilbert

Indonesia British Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia Wisma Metropolitan 1, 15th Floor, Jl. Jend, Sudirman Kav 29-31 Jakarta, Indonesia 12920 Tel: 62-21-522-9453 Fax: 62-21-527-9135 Email: chriswren@britcham.or.id Website: www.britcham.or.id Chairman: Adrian Short Executive Director: Chris Wren

Malaysia British Malaysian Chamber of Commerce E04C1, 4th Floor East Block Wisma Selangor Dredging

142-B Jalan Ampang 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tel: 603-2163-1784 /1786 Fax: 603-2163-1781 Email: britcham@bmcc.org.my Website: www.bmcc.org.my Chairman: Dato Larry Gan Executive Director: Molly Jagpal

Philippines British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines c/o The British Embassy Manila 120 Upper McKinley Road McKinley hill, Taguig City 1634 Metro Manila, Philippines Tel: 632-858-2255/858-2372/ 858-2373 Fax: 632-858-2390 Email: chairman@bccphil.com Website: www.bccphil.com Chairman: Roger Lamb General Manager: Chris Boughton

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

Singapore British Chamber of Commerce in Singapore 138 Cecil Street, #11-01 Cecil Court Singapore 069538 Tel: 65-6222-3552 Fax: 65-6222-3556 Email: info@britcham.org.sg Website: www.britcham.org.sg President: Mr. Hugo Walkinshaw Executive Director: Brigitte Holtschneider

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 Hanoi 193B Ba Trien Hai Ba Trung District Hanoi, Vietnam Tel: 84 4 6674 0945 Chairman: Nick Holder

The Link

Issue 3/2014

63

FINAL WORD

Too little, too latte

By Dale Lawrence

S

tarbucks is to pay college fees for its US workers in link-up with Arizona State University.

Employees working at least 20 hours a week are eligible for the Starbucks College Achievement Plan. Successful applicants receive partial tuition for the first two years and full tuition for the final two years. Annual fees for online courses at the university can exceed US$10,000.

UK corporation tax for several years.

It was in June 2013 that Starbucks announced a payment of £5m to the UK Exchequer in UK corporation tax - its first such contribution since 2009. The payment followed pressure from MPs and customers and was made days after Prime Minister David Cameron had attempted to tighten tax loopholes during the G8 summit of global leaders in Northern Ireland.

But before you order another overpriced cappuccino in celebration of this remarkable act of employer generosity do not forget that this is the same Starbucks that dodged paying

Michael Crow, President of Arizona State University, said that Starbucks was ‘establishing a new precedent for the responsibility and role of a public company that leads through the lens

Classical moves A t last - a worthwhile initiative from the BBC. The broadcaster has selected 10 pieces of music that it hopes will inspire children in primary schools to learn more about classical compositions.

BBC director general Tony Hall said he hoped the scheme reaches ‘virtually every UK primary school’ and added that schools will receive visits from members of BBC orchestras. “We want to excite and inspire children about the world of classical music,” said Tony Hall, who was chief executive of the Royal Opera House before taking over the BBC last year.

He was ennobled as Baron Hall of Birkenhead in 2010.

Lord Hall added that 150 arts organisations had signed up to take part in the scheme – set to begin in October. Children will hear such moving classical masterpieces as Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Grieg’s ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’ from Peer

Gynt and ‘Mars’ from The Planets orchestral suite by British composer Gustav Holst (pictured above). It will make a pleasant change from some of the rubbish schoolchildren watch today on television, such as the dubiously named ‘Britain’s Got Talent’.

of humanity and supports its partners’ life goals with access to education’. Starbucks students will enjoy the support of a dedicated enrolment coach, an academic advisor and a financial aid counsellor – presumably to give advice on making tax returns.

Chips are down in Jersey A decent spud in Thailand is rarer than hen’s teeth so spare a thought for potato growers in Jersey. A bumper crop of new potatoes has left growers in Jersey with a huge problem. This year’s crop has thrived in ideal growing conditions – but they’re too big for fussy British consumers and supermarkets are refusing to buy them.

Frustrated farmers are giving away potatoes by the barrow load to local charities or letting them rot in the fields. Tim Ward, Director of Sales and Distribution Director at Albert Bartlett, said that they aim to produce potatoes no bigger than 50mm ( just under two inches) in diameter. “The quality is exceptional but sadly people don’t want new potatoes the size of baking potatoes,” he explained.

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

64

The Link

Issue 3/2014

SO ALIVE, it’s OBSESSED WITH POWER. Once you have power, it’s difficult to let go. Something you’ll find with the F-TYPE R. Supercharged and super agile, it will give you control of the road you never thought possible. And with up to 550PS, capable of 0-100km/h in 4.2 seconds, there’s no doubting its power. Just remember, with great power comes great responsibility.

HOW ALIVE ARE YOU?