Thai-Norwegian Business Review 2-2013 by Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

Thai-Norwegian Business Review 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 02

Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

Thailandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Economic Prospect Trond Giske: The Scandinavian Economic Model as a Goal for Thailand

Contents President’s foreword

Investing in competence: the Scandinavian model as a goal for Thailand

New president for Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

Thailand’s economic aspects

Jospeh Stiglitz: finding a better way’ in world economics

The allure of the Land of Smiles

EFTA-Thailand free trade negotiations on course to resume

Analyses of Thailand’s current economy: where we go from here

Business delegation to Myanmar

Norway Asia Business Summit (nabs) in Jakarta

NextLevel Consultancy: performance, productivity and people psychology

Area Digital: rethinking creative online sites in Asia

Can plastic bags be profitable for the environment?

New approach to commercial building rules in Bangkok

Connie Mangskau, a key link between Norwegians and Thais here in the kingdom

Chef Sven Erik Renaa: seafood master class

Celebrating Norway’s Constitution Day

Thailand’s economy at a glance

Members’ directory

Editor: Kristine Hasle Journalists: Eric Baker, Ezra Kyrill Erker Nellie Willow Artwork: Andrew Spaulding

Cover: Trond Giske, Norway’s Minister of Trade and Industry, during his visit to Thailand on 5 April. Photo by Kristine Hasle

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Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foreword A new opportunity in challenging but exciting times I would like to thank the Thai Norwegian Chamber of

Chamber more active and more attractive for our members.

Commerce members for the confidence in me. It is a great

A small work group under the competent leadership of Bent

honor for me being elected president for the next two years.

Axelsen, has through a survey (thank you to all who took the time to reply), tried to find what our members and readers

As president, I have big shoes to fill after Axel Blom. His

expects from their membership in the Chamber and how

in-depth know how of business and government policies in

we can bring added value to our members. It is very clear

Thailand and Norway are of enormous value to the Chamber,

from the survey that our main role as a Chamber is to build a

and we will continue to enjoy his expertise through his

network, both business and social, for Norwegian businesses

position as one of the Vice Presidents. I would like to thank

in Thailand and Thai business with interests in Norway.

Axel for building the Chamber into a trustworthy, strong and respected Chamber over the past six years.

From the survey, we clearly see that the magazine is a HIT! 63% say the Business Review is of high value. This has result

I would also like to thank Kristine Hasle for her

in that we now aim to publish four Business Reviews in 2014

professionalism in the job as Executive Director. Together

and aim to double our distribution by 2015. Input and ideas

with Axel and our highly skilled journalists, Kristine has built

from our readers would be very much appreciated to both

the Thai Norwegian Business Review into what it is today â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

content and distribution channels.

a well respected Chamber Magazine of excellent quality! Our aim is also to double members before 2016. We plan to Mrs. Thitikul Opdal has replaced Kristine as the Executive

increase activities under the TNCC umbrella, but in order to

Director, and only one month into her job, we can already see

do so; we need support and attendance from our Members!

she will be a great asset to the Chamber. Thitikul is Thai and has a Bachelor in Business and Administration at Thammasat

Bent Axelsen and the working group have proposed a

University in Bangkok. She has lived many years in Norway

strategy for the new Executive Director and the Board of

and speaks fluent Norwegian. She is married to Svein Opdal

Governors, which is based on the input we have received

and has two teenage daughters. She has in her years in

from our member.

Norway worked for some leading Norwegian companies, mainly in the financial sector.

Our ambition: higher energy and member engagement. In an

For the past five years, Thitikul has been very active in the

opportunities!

Norwegian community in Bangkok and is still active with her volunteer work and position as a Chairman for Nordic Light, a Norwegian â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Thai aid organisation. Her strength in understanding both Thai and Norwegian business cultures is an important asset for the Chamber.

economical challenging time, let us focus on the strength and

Sincerely, Vibeke President Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

It is a time of change for the Thai Norwegian Chamber of Commerce- we will continue with a strong foundation built by the previous team, but we also have a vision to make the

Thai-Norwegian Business Review

Investing in competence: The Scandinavian economic mod text by Eric Baker photo by Kristine Hasle

t may not seem obvious, but Thailand is not that different from Norway, at least in terms of economies. That is the view of Trond Giske, Norway’s Minister of Trade and Industry. The Business Review had a chance to catch up with Mr Giske before his luncheon talk to the Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce on April 5, during his tour of Southeast Asian countries for trade negotiations. “I see some similarities between Thailand and Norway,” said Mr Giske. “In the mid-19th century, Norway was one of Europe’s poorest countries. But by the time we integrated into a free-market European Union, most countries had lower wages than Norway. We were grouped together with Switzerland for investing in competence, specialisation, and clusters of excellence. “Thailand faces somewhat the same situation, with Asean, liberalisation of trade, and neighbouring countries with wage levels far below your own. This is partly because of an abundance of cheap labour, and this is a good thing. Standards of living are improving because of it. But Thailand has to compete with Indonesia and Vietnam to defend its development. “ Norway does not have a major manufacturing industry. Rather, it focuses on building competence and know-how—detail-oriented traits that cannot be easily exported, meaning Norway keeps its competitive advantage, said Mr Giske. For Thailand to move up the wage ladder, it needs a similar commitment to the service sector and competence, he added.

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“In 1969 Phillips found the first trace of natural gas in Norway, at a time when we had no gas infrastructure,” said Mr Giske. “We now export more gas services and equipment than natural gas. It’s possible in a generation to build this kind of expertise by 1) inviting foreign expertise, and 2) building capacity at the same time through tech transfers and investing locally, especially in education. “If you are stuck on the idea that the only way to grow is low wages and exports, you will be stuck in the middle-income trap,” he said, mentioning a popular catchphrase for economists. “Norwegian businesses tend to be quite satisfied because of 1) the efficiency

of the bureaucracy, meaning there are transparent regulations and predictability in the system so companies feel comfortable strengthening foreign direct investment, and 2) demand for skilled labour can be met. You have to invest in education, both vocational and higher education. This is the only way

del as a goal for Thailand

Mr. Trond Giske at the Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce Luncheon talk on 5 April.

forward: to increase the value of every work hour— productivity—you have to have the necessary skills.” Despite this specialisation, Norway has quite a small population, meaning it relies on the free movement of labour in Europe to meet industry demand. “Norway has never exceeded a 4% unemployment rate during the EU era, and we’ve had a strong growth rate the last few years,” he said. “In fact, we’ve even had a labour shortage. Norway couldn’t cope with this growth without foreigners looking for jobs, so it has been positive for us. Especially in engineering, there is a shortage of labour in Norway.”

There still exists, and probably always will, critics who object to the Scandinavian economic model. They just can’t get their heads around how such high taxes can be good in a multinational environment, said Mr Giske. “But The Economist wrote recently ‘if you were going to be reborn anywhere in the world with average income, you would want it to be in Scandinavia. Scandinavia is the next economic supermodel.’ That’s because safe people are braver than insecure people— they invest, innovate and take chances,” he said.

Thai-Norwegian Business Review

Continued from page 7

“The Scandinavian public sector is quite efficient. There is no tolerance of corruption. There is a huge amount of public trust in Scandinavian culture, meaning there are less lawyers, less red tape and less consultants.

“Thailand should welcome competition with its Asean neighbours. As in football, if you never face stiff competition, you always think your team is the best. But you will be disappointed when you finally do compete.”

“Education is free for all and is merit-based, meaning there are equal opportunities all the way up to university. There is a public-funded health sector, which companies like because it takes the burden off of them. And there are partially public-funded pensions, which again companies prefer because this removes the burden from them. This also creates a wider talent pool of labour if everyone is educated and healthy. In addition, much of the innovation in Norway is employee-driven because students are taught to think for themselves in school.”

Mr Giske was in Southeast Asia to negotiate trade pacts. Norway already has a free-trade agreement with Singapore and is in negotiations with Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. The European Free Trade Association (EFTA), comprising Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Iceland, is the 10th-largest trade pact in the world.

In terms of advice for Thailand, Mr Giske said higher wages have to be balanced with an increase in skills and competitiveness. “Thailand needs to invest in education, first and foremost, in order for it to specialise in certain industries. And it needs to build an efficient and transparent government sector. The way the government handles licences and regulations sets the tone. If the manner is transparent, it encourages others to invest,” he said.

Norway is also on the lookout for investment opportunities in Asia, as the country’s sovereign wealth fund is the largest in the world and plans to increase its Asia exposure from 11% to 20%, he said. Excess money from Norway’s oil and gas earnings are put into the fund, as spending them on the domestic economy would inflate costs, Mr Giske added.

Mr. Giske with guests

Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

“Norway believes in free-trade agreements more so because of the predictability they bring than the lack of tariffs,” he said.

Vibeke L.L. Conselvan and Mr Trond Giske

New President for Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce by Kristine Hasle Vibeke Lyssand Leirvåg Conselvan was elected as the new

started as the president in 2006, when the Thai-Norwegian

President of Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce at the

Chamber became an independent chamber, co-located with

Annual General Meeting 19 March. Axel Blom resigned after

Innovation Norway forming a Norwegian Business Centre at

six years as President for the Norwegian Chamber.

Ploenchit. Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce is a small, but solid and a very active chamber. Axel will continue in the

Vibeke Leirvåg moved to Thailand more than 25 years ago,

board as Vice President.

and is running Felicia Design in Bangkok. Vibeke has been an active member of TNCC´s board since 2006.

Board member Niels Henrik Hansen, General Manager in SAS also resigned from the board. From April 2013 SAS will stop

“I am looking forward to start as a president of the Thai-

their direct flight from Copenhagen to Bangkok, and SAS will

Norwegian Chamber of Commerce,” said the new president

move their business in Asia from Bangkok to Singapore.

Vibeke Leirvåg at the Annual General Meeting. There are also other changes in the Chamber. Executive “I think it is important for the business community in

Director Kristine Hasle will move back to Norway this

Thailand to have an organisation that can create relationships

summer. We are happy to introduce our new Executive

among businesses and between businesses and the

Director Thitikul Opdahl, who started in the position 1 April.

community. I want the Chamber to be a forum where

She is Thai of origin and has been living several years in

people can meet and openly discuss issues they encounter in

Norway, and moved back to live in Thailand for 4 years ago.

Thailand. I will work for an increased number of members to

She holds a bachelor in Business and Administration from

the Chamber and I hope to see more members attending our

Thammasat University in Thailand, majoring in Accounting

events. In addition I see the value of continuing the work with

and Auditing. She has 15 years working and managing

the popular Thai-Norwegian Business Review.”

experience in Business and Administration in Thailand, Singapore and Norway.

Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce would like to thank Axel Blom, who resigned after six years as a President. He

TNCC’s Executive Director Thitikul Opdal with outgoing Executive Director Kristine Hasle

Vibeke L.L. Conselvarn, Trond Giske, Ambassador Katja Nordgaard and Axel Blom

Thai-Norwegian Business Review

Thailand’s economic prospect In this issue of Thai-Norwegian Business Review, we have been looking at Thailand’s booming economy from several aspects. Recently Trond Giske, Minister of Trade and Industry visited Thailand and several other countries in South East Asia. Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce hosted a luncheon where about 50 guests attended. We asked Mr. Giske to give his thoughts on the following theme: Better of Cheaper-What’s the right way forward? Ahead of the seminar, Thai-Norwegian Business Review had a chance to interview the minister. Mr Giske compares Norway and Thailand, saying that Thailand is not that different from Norway. Read the interview on page 6. We also took the opportunity to interview Dr Roong Poshyananda Mallikamas, director of the Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Group, to find out what lies ahead for the Thai economy. While interest rates are the exclusive purview of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), Dr Roong’s answers on a number of questions facing Thailand are candid and may surprise you. In addition to ASEAN Economic Community, a free trade agreement between EFTA and Thailand is coming up within this year. Business

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Review interviewed Norway’s Minister Counsellor Erik Svedahl at the Norwegian Embassy in Thailand. He says that European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and Thailand are likely to resume this year. Nobel laureate in economics and prolific author Joseph Stiglitz believes Asia has a chance to develop a sustainable economy, apart from the West’s reliance on consumption and GDP. Although there are no urgent warning signs yet for the economy, we still need to keep our guard, according to Dr Roong Poshyananda Mallikamas, director of the Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Group. There are no asset bubbles or financial imbalances, and the minimum wage hike has had a relatively mild macro-effect, though there has been some job migration across sectors, said Dr Roong. The environment of low interest rates, however, coupled with stimulative fiscal policy makes the economy prone to a build-up of bubbles.

Finding a better way Noted economist Joseph Stiglitz believes Asia has a chance to develop a sustainable economy, apart from the West’s reliance on consumption and GDP

he world economy is going to get worse before it gets better. So says Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel laureate in economics and prolific author.

but here’s a quick refresher from Stiglitz: some countries in Europe are in double-dip or triple-dip recessions, while Greece and Spain are in depressions. The decrease in Italian GDP is larger than during the Great Depression.

Addressing a packed house in Bangkok in March, Stiglitz said “What makes it so depressing is there is no end in sight. There is no law that the restorative forces of the economy work quickly.”

“The economic collapse that started in 1929 didn’t end until the recovery during WWII,” said Stiglitz. “So don’t believe that the economy automatically corrects itself.”

by Eric Baker

Part macroeconomics lecture and part wide-ranging polemic against a number of political leaders, Stiglitz showed how we got here, what we can do to fix it, and why he doesn’t think it will happen anytime soon. But along the way, he had kind words to say about the Thai economy and in particular Scandinavian countries. Most people know about the state of the world economy,

“When I look around the world, I see huge unmet needs... We have seen for over 30 years now that Adam Smith’s ‘invisible hand’ doesn’t exist—markets don’t always correct.” — Joseph Stiglitz

Thai-Norwegian Business Review

Continued from page 11

“Both the situations in Europe and the US are man-made disasters, but it is much worse in Europe. The US growth forecast is 2% this year, but that is probably optimistic. Even 2% growth is too slow to solve the unemployment problem, as one out of every six Americans who want a job just can’t find one. When you have productivity growth of 1.5% and population growth of 1%, you need economic growth of 3-4% for job creation. There are almost 25 million Americans unemployed, and the country is not forecast to reach full employment in this decade.” One of the key lessons Stiglitz preaches is that governance matters—you don’t leave everything up to the market. “The markets are not working,” he said. “When I look around the world, I see huge unmet needs: helping Africa develop, changing the economy to deal with global warming, reducing income inequality. Some 4-7 million Americans have been thrown out of their homes. Markets on their own are unfair and inefficient. We have seen for over 30 years now that Adam Smith’s ‘invisible hand’ doesn’t exist—markets don’t always correct. “Meanwhile executives have walked away with megabonuses as this downturn continues. For two centuries economics textbooks have put forth the theory of marginal productivity theory, but [former chairman of the Federal Reserve] Paul Volcker put it best when he said he couldn’t think of a single innovation from the finance and banking industry that increased innovation. By that measure, executives in these industries should have seen their salaries cut. All this is a way of saying this crisis has undermined several of the theories that formed the basis of economics. “I feel economists know what to do to solve these problems in the US and Europe, but the politics remains gridlocked. We need fiscal stimulus, not monetary stimulus. In the 1920s, people should have been increasing their skills, otherwise the unemployed become alienated. The level and nature of inequality in the US has a price, and it costs us.

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“Republicans want a balanced budget by reducing taxes and reducing spending, but this will hurt the economy. I predict both the US and EU will stay gridlocked or do something to make the situation worse.” Stiglitz is a harsh critic of austerity, which several countries and policymakers in the EU keep pushing. “Angela Merkel keeps saying ‘households can’t run debts, so neither can a government’. This comment shows she doesn’t understand economic policy. I shouldn’t need to explain why austerity is a bad idea— we have a long history pointing to its failure. In fact nobody knows this better than here in Thailand, with your Tom Yam Kung crisis. Austerity turns recession into depression. Argentina experienced this as well. And the IMF finally learned its lesson and stopped trying to push austerity.” Stiglitz lumps Thailand together with other emerging markets and China, saying there is still great hope for this region, but it needs to develop a new economic model apart from the West. China has started by focusing on domestic consumption, but needs to include environmental and shared resource concerns. Economic growth would be more moderate under this model, but it would be a higher quality growth, leading to a higher standard of living. “The government needs to make sure it gets value for the money its spending,” he said. “The notion that the private sector is more efficient and competent than the government is false—this is one of the best lies they’ve sold the public. By any measure, the Scandinavian countries are always at the top of the list for standard of living, and they clearly spend the most as governments. Quality of life matters, not GDP.” Like Scandinavia, he wants China and emerging markets to focus their economies on service, specifically health, education, culture and tourism. “If you follow the US model, the planet will not survive,” said Stiglitz. “GDP is not a good measure of how an economy works.”

“The government needs to make sure it gets value for the money its spending. The notion that the private sector is more efficient and competent than the government is false—this is one of the best lies they’ve sold the public.”

Joseph Stiglitz

For Thailand, Stiglitz is optimistic about the Asean Economic Community developing a single market, so long as it doesn’t include a single currency, which is not planned. But he warned Thailand to be wary of the Trans-Pacific Partnership that the US is pushing. First, the negotiations are secret, so the people of countries that agree to it don’t know what is included. “If it was just free trade, you could write all the stipulations down on one page,” he said. But more importantly, this agreement wants to force Thailand to change its drug laws, which Stiglitz views as a mistake. Thailand has strong laws that allow generic drugs and keeps life-saving drugs affordable for those that need them. “Bilateral investment can be negative,” said Stiglitz. “In Canada, companies are moving subsidiaries to the US to sue Canada through NAFTA’s laws, because NAFTA provides more protection to companies than do Canada’s laws.” Though he lives and works in the US, Stiglitz sees an increasingly broken system there and seemed to be imploring people of this region not to follow that model.

“Only 8-9% of students at Ivy League schools have parents in the bottom half of income brackets in the US,” he said. “The parent’s income and education in the US is more of a determinant of the child’s future income than in any other developed country. This is the opposite of how the US portrays itself. “Innovation in the US often focuses on how to replace workers with machines. We need to work on innovations to save resources, save the environment, and make areas livable. “Median income in the US is now lower than it was 15 years ago. Median male income in the US is lower than it was 40 years ago. One of the biggest problems is inequality of opportunities. “Some 80% of young people in the US did not vote in the 2010 midterm elections, mainly because of apathy. And the major cause of that apathy was the Citizens United Supreme Court decision. The court ruled that corporations are people and thus can pay to influence campaigns, meaning a citizen’s influence is muted. “There was one sentence in the last US budget that added $500 billion to the debt. People rightly talk about corruption in Asian countries, but this is corruption American-style. Both political parties spent $1 billion in the last US election. But for corporations, the returns on their political investments have been enormous. We have gerrymandering, which means the party in power gets to draw the congressional districts in contorted shapes to guarantee election. But most

Thai-Norwegian Business Review

Continued from page 13

Americans when polled say they want what is close to the Democratic agenda.” Stiglitz took time to debunk a few more myths before parting. One is that productivity increases improve everyone’s standard of living in a globalised world. Increased farm productivity in the US meant less families were needed to farm in the US, he said. This structural reform led in part to the Great Depression, as more people moved to manufacturing and farm incomes dipped by over 50% from 1929 to 1932, while crop prices dropped by 50-75% over the same period. The government needed to spend money to employ and train these people, and the same thing needs to be done now with investment in health, education, infrastructure and technology, said Stiglitz. Another pet peeve of his is premature currency unions, which he deems the euro, because governments don’t control their own money supply. “In Europe, Frankfurt controls the euro printing presses,” he said. “And when a government gets weak, the banks get weak and money leaves, meaning the private sector doesn’t have much liquidity. So if you’re an Irish citizen and you decide to stay in Ireland, you’re going to have to pay for the debts of your parents when the EU decided you had to pay for failing Irish banks. Debt went from 30% to 130% overnight. “The general consensus is that the best solution is for Germany to leave the euro, but most likely Europe will be caught in a muddling through period with meagre growth for several years. Some have said Germany did with the banks what it couldn’t with the tanks. The prescription is simple: End austerity, break up the euro currency, create a fiscal union with euro bonds, have a common dispute resolution mechanism, and an industrial policy that allows laggards to catch up. Stiglitz finished with an admonishment to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that internal devaluation would not work. “Lower prices and lower wages will not solve the problem—if so, nobody would have abandoned the gold standard,” he said.

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The allure of th by Steed Koh Wei Teck, CFA, CAIA Nordea Private Banking, Singapore

ack in 2011, a flood devastated the Land of Smiles; it disrupted worldwide supply chains and jammed the brakes on her booming economy. Then, the authorities tried but failed to stop the water from inundating a large part of Chao Phraya river basin – just like how it seems impossible now to stem this raging economy from reaching ever greater heights. Post crisis, Thailand has seen soaring economic growth; elevated to a certain extent due to post-flood rebuilding. The question is, is she still able to continue attracting investments and enjoys superlative growth in 2013 and beyond?

High Investments Thailand encourages free trade with a strong state and supportive government agencies, which lend a backing for foreign investments. A range of incentives is offered through the Board of Investment (BOI). Gross Fixed Capital Formation enjoyed double-digit growth last year and BOI application approvals for 2012 came in at nearly Bt 1000tr, showing an increase of more than 100% yearon-year; a clear sign that investments will contribute meaningfully to economic growth. The BOI applications received value data is a commonly used leading indicator for private investment, which contributes 22% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Public investment accounts for 6% of the GDP. Both private and public investments’ contribution to real GDP growth reached 3.1% in 3Q2012. If previous trends and cycles prevail, Thailand will continue to enjoy a prolonged period of high investment contribution to GDP in the coming years. Thailand’s cabinet recently approved a multibillion dollar plan for Thailand’s infrastructure development.

he Land of Smiles The seven years US$64b spending includes upgrading the nation’s road and rail links. Projects in the pipeline include a 2500km high-speed rail linking Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Padang Besar, Nong Khai and Rayong. Other improvements includes upgrading of the existing rail system, more electric train routes linking Bangkok to its suburbs and road improvements covering more than 6000km, which link rural areas with tourist and industrial districts. The new projects are expected to lower logistic costs, create half a million jobs and raise GDP growth by a full percentage point. In addition, this investment is excluded from the national budget and as off-budget spending will give the investors greater confidence as the projects will continue even if the country faces political turmoil. The infrastructure improvement will be funded by debt and the borrowing is expected to push the country’s debt from only 44% to 50% of its GDP, far less than many developed countries. Low External Debt Thailand’s gross external debt currently stands at 37% of GDP. This is substantially lower than the 60% during the Asian Financial Crisis and has more room to expand. For Thailand, there is a strong correlation between the capital account and the stock market performance; high capital inflow is a strong Stock Exchange of Thailand Index (SET) performance driver. With this, there is enough capacity for the country to fund even more infrastructure spending with debt. Strong Domestic Consumption Economically, this country of 67 million people is characterized by strong consumption. The asset price wealth effect is a strong impetus for consumption. The stock market performance has seen a strong correlation to the consumption expenditure. SET is

up 35% in 2012 and 11% so far this year. Together with the increase in Thailand’s property prices over the years, the huge wealth effect created is a driver for economic growth which will translate to better corporate earnings performance. High investments, low external debt and strong domestic consumption lead to the possibility of better than expected earnings performance of companies in the next two years. The SET Index is currently trading at 14 times price-earnings (PE) ratio for 2013, a 14% discount to the average of the other ASEAN5 markets consisting, besides Thailand, of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines. The price-earnings ratio is a valuation ratio of a company’s market price compared to its per share earnings. A high PE suggests that investors are expecting higher earnings growth in the future compared to one with a lower PE. In view of the above, we see SET end 2013 PE ratio to be on par with its ASEAN peers. This suggests SET will trade substantially higher by year-end.

All smiles: Thailand’s economy has bounded back after the floods in 2011. Photo by Jørgen Udvang

Thai-Norwegian Business Review

EFTA-Thailand free trade negotiations on course to resume by Ezra Kyrill Erker

talled by political instability in Thailand after 2006, negotiations on implementing a free trade agreement (FTA) between members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and Thailand are likely to resume this year.

-I think a free trade agreement would be beneficial to Norway and Thailand, whose companies are currently missing out by not having one, said Erik Svedahl, Minister Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission at the Norwegian Embassy. Once at the forefront of free trade initiatives in Asia, Thailand had two rounds of negotiations with EFTA from 2005, which were then stalled by the country’s domestic perturbations in 2006. Now it lags behind countries in the region such as Malaysia and Vietnam, which are further along in FTA negotiations. Singapore, the first Southeast Asian country to enact a free trade agreement with EFTA, is now the association’s 23rd biggest partner in world merchandise trade and its eighth largest outside of Europe, with total bilateral trade at €4.39 billion in 2011. -In Asia so far we have only FTAs with Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong, but we are also negotiating with Indonesia, India, Vietnam and Malaysia, said Mr Svedahl, who is serving his second stint in Asia. In Bangkok for the past three years, his previous posting was in Beijing. “Thailand was at the front of the queue when we turned our eyes towards Asia, as it had a very active policy of trying to engage trade and getting free trade agreements with others, including the United States, which were also suspended in 2006. Since then

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Thailand has been more inward looking, only recently looking into FTAs again.” There was a petition at the EFTA ministerial meeting last summer to approach Thailand more formally to see if they were interested. The decision hasn’t been made by Thailand yet, but the Ministry of Commerce is very positive. It needs to be approved by the cabinet and then by parliament. “They’re hoping to get parliamentary approval in August or September. If that’s decided, then hopefully we can resume formal negotiations before the end of this year.” EFTA trade with Thailand is already quite healthy, and has continued to climb despite the riots and floods of recent years, totalling US$3.01 billion in 2011, comprising $1.48 billion in imports to EFTA and $1.53 billion in exports to Thailand. Norway is second to Switzerland among EFTA states, but trade between Norway and Thailand amounted to USD 674 million in 2011. Main imports from Thailand include electrical machinery, mechanical appliances, vehicles, meat and fish, footwear, gems and metals, vegetables, fruit and cereals. “From Norway we export artificial fertilisers, fish and other seafood, and machinery,” said Mr Svedahl. Other items include mechanical appliances, iron and steel products, and optical, medical and surgical instruments. Expanding trade freedoms between EFTA and Thailand is expected to benefit both parties. EFTA, comprising Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein, was the world’s 12th largest trading zone in

terms of merchandise trade in 2011, and its seventh largest in commercial services trade (with the EU, US, China and Japan comprising the top four in both categories). As The 2011 signing of the Free Trade Agreement in Hong Kong. Credits: efta an integrated member of the European Economic Area (minus FTAs concluded by EFTA states follow different Switzerland) along with the European Union, patterns, but most agreements liberalise business and greater access to the EFTA market for Thailand help facilitate other aspects such as the promotion of would also mean greater access to the EU, with capital flows and investments. Mr Svedahl said that an whom Thailand is also set to begin separate FTA FTA with Thailand would likely have similar knock-on negotiations. The EU collectively is first in global benefits. GDP, and EFTA a respectable tenth, freer access to the single market would be a boon to Thai products “There is quite a big interest for Norwegian companies and services. to come to the region. Norwegian companies will often look to areas where there is an free trade Mr Svedahl is quick to stress that trade between agreement already in place before deciding where to Norway and Thailand is complementary rather set up a head office or invest in companies, so that will than in conflict, making deregulation of trade be beneficial for Thailand. Some companies already especially favourable. The different types of have production facilities here and I’m sure that will seafood or electronics being traded, for example, expand, provided that the framework conditions are mean local producers on either side are unlikely to predictable and transparent.” be negatively impacted. -We think there are other areas that we could expand in, -he said. -We hope for better access for our seafood, but also other commodities and services. Norway is a big player in ship financing and offshore services, and the maritime sector is an important one for us. There is potential for increased cooperation in those areas. -We would also be looking at having the import duty on seafood reduced or eliminated. That’s not something Thai fishing would have to worry about, as our products are not competing.

Cultural and education exchanges might also increase. “There are a lot of people-to-people exchanges between the countries already. As there is contact and people travel, I’m sure other interactions will be a natural consequence. Norwegians love to come to Thailand anyway; 150,000 come here every year, and out of a population of 5 million that is very high. Something like 15,000 Thais live in Norway, making them one of the largest groups of foreigners. Large numbers of Norwegians live here permanently too, so there are a lot of exchanges already. Expanding

Thai-Norwegian Business Review

Continued from page 17

“Norway and Thailand are complementary rather than in conflict, making deregulation of trade especially favourable.” — Erik Svedahl

Erik Svedahl, Minister Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission at the Norwegian Embassy.

economic cooperation will naturally boost other types of cooperation.” Norwegian companies have received positive reports recently in Thai media about successful local corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Mr Svedahl said that the individual companies rather than the government deserve to take credit. “CSR mainly occurs on the initiative of the companies. It is something that Norwegian companies are equipped with when they enter foreign markets — companies are expected to behave a certain way in countries and uphold certain environmental and social standards.” “The impetus for implementing EFTA free trade agreements, however, comes from both the government and private sectors,” he said. “There’s both a political motivation and a private one. Norway has always been an open economy exposed to the rest of the world and depending on trade with other nations, and we want to continue to expand that for the benefit of the companies.” “When the European Union would establish free trade agreements outside of Europe, EFTA would try to follow, so that their companies wouldn’t be disadvantaged. The EU has also started negotiations for a free trade agreement with Thailand. They are a little further along in the process; it has parliamentary

Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

approval and they will have the first rounds of negotiations this summer. For us it will be a simpler process, though, as we are only four countries that need to come to an agreement, as opposed to 27 – soon to be 28 – countries in the EU. In recent years we haven’t just followed the EU around but also followed our own interests. We have a large network of agreements outside Europe.” Those agreements include 24 FTAs with 33 partner countries and territories outside of Europe, and nine others with negotiations already in progress. Of nonEuropean countries, the 33 FTA partners follow only the US and China in bilateral trade volume, with imports and exports at 24.2% and 32.7% respectively, totalling $45.7trillion in 2011. Resumption of negotiations with Thailand is still at a stage described as ‘pending’, and Mr Svedahl said it is impossible to predict how long negotiations might take. “If the agreements are approved this year, I imagine it wouldn’t take too long. Negotiations will be held in tandem with other free trade agreements, though, and depend on capacity on both sides. There are a lot of negotiations ongoing on the EFTA side, and Thailand will also be negotiating with the EU. We hope it will be a simpler matter for Thailand to reach an agreement with EFTA.” He is confident in the prospect of further strengthening trade between the two kingdoms. “Bilateral trade has been increasing progressively year by year, maybe with the exception of the floods in 2011, but I don’t think political instability has had any significant effect on the numbers. That we’ve come back to the table now signifies our confidence in the stability here.”

Analyses of Thailand’s current economy: where we go from here by Eric Baker

hile the Thai economy is percolating, there still appears to be some public anxiety about where the country goes from here. Growth is positive, domestic consumption is on the upswing, and unemployment is low, so interest rates are unlikely to drop. But rapid baht appreciation this year has hurt exports and led to massive foreign inflows of capital into Thailand. And with Asean integration around the corner, where does Thailand fit into the wide rainbow of economies?

The Business Review took the opportunity to interview Dr Roong Poshyananda Mallikamas, director of the Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Group, to find out what lies ahead for the Thai economy. While Dr Roong Poshyananda Mallikamas interest rates are the exclusive purview of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), Dr Roong’s answers on a number of questions facing Thailand are candid and may surprise you. First things first—there are not any urgent warning signs yet in the Thai economy. There are no asset bubbles or financial imbalances, and the minimum wage hike has had a relatively mild macro-effect, though there has been some job migration across sectors, said Dr Roong. Still, she thinks we need to keep up our guard. The environment of low interest rates coupled with stimulative fiscal policy makes the economy prone to a build-up of bubbles.

“In an emerging economy like Thailand where there’s demographic and structural changes going on, it is difficult to pinpoint a bubble. In fact, when a bubble is identified it is usually too late. So the Bank of Thailand is monitoring the situation closely,” she said. Her group makes macro-assessments and forecasts of the Thai economy, which she said are key to the MPC, the team that sets the policy interest rates eight times a year. Given the domestic conditions stated above, Dr Roong’s group is watchful of the economic progress. “The real estate market has strong demand as there are several structural changes happening in Thailand: mass transit expansion, urbanisation, family units breaking down into smaller units. The floods in 2011 also raised demand for second homes. These factors mean many people are looking for first or second homes,” said Dr Roong. “But when you also see mortgage teaser rates being so low, often zero percent, you can’t help but worry about speculation.” One of the barometres the group uses is confidence— is there any speculative behaviour and how much leverage is being used? Dr Roong’s office asks banks how they view their credit standards, and so far banks say they have not relaxed these criteria. This is one comforting point, but at the same time people have a lot of confidence in the stock market and price-toearnings ratios have risen. Household debt is certainly rising. The central bank doesn’t have a target range for household debt, but it checks to see if it’s overly leveraged and whether it is going into productive uses. When the initial minimum wage hike to 300 baht per day was enacted in April 2012 in seven pilot provinces, namely surrounding Bangkok and Phuket, folks were fearful of the effect it would have on business. But Dr Roong noted it had very little overall impact with no change in unemployment and a very minimal inflation pass-through. Thai-Norwegian Business Review

Continued from page 19

“The labour market was very tight, and even though some people were laid off, they could find new jobs quickly,” she said. “We did find workers moved to the seven provinces with the higher wages, and they moved from the service sector to manufacturing. We also found workers moved from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to larger firms because of higher wages and more jobs, which the larger companies can offer because of bigger margins. Firms told us they’re worried if they increase retail prices it will affect their market share. We do find when we go out for interviews that, instead of raising prices, companies have worked to decrease costs, improve logistics, and raise productivity. We saw a lot more money being spent on machinery.” The Asean Economic Community (AEC) is poised to start in 2016, which could mean relatively free movement of goods as well as some capital and skilled labour. Thailand is slowly transitioning from an economy based on low-wage manufacturing for exports, and some companies are worried about what Asean integration will mean for their competitiveness. Dr Roong is blunt in her analysis. “Several labour-intensive industries are likely to move across the border,” she said. “Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar are going to have a big effect on how the AEC benefits Thailand. Thailand has liberalised outward foreign direct investment, and we’ve already seen some smaller companies investing in these three neighbours the past two years. “Thailand does need to continue to move up the value chain, and everyone needs to change, including SMEs. The government needs to facilitate their adaptation. I even see a higher investment-per-GDP ratio than I did a decade ago. The issue right now is how to keep this momentum going.” But Thailand is unlikely to change its stripes anytime soon. “The country cannot totally delink from exports because we are still a small nation. There is stronger domestic demand, but the point is we don’t want to be 20

Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

“Norway does not have a major manufacturing industry. Rather, it focuses on building competence and know-how—detail-oriented traits that cannot be easily exported, meaning Norway keeps its competitive advantage. For Thailand to move up the wage ladder, it needs a similar commitment to the service sector and competence.” as dependent on exports as we were the past 10 years. Thailand has started to move its exports from the US and Europe to China and Asean, as regional and domestic demand is more sustainable.” But some matters still puzzle Dr Roong. “How come relative prices have not adjusted enough if companies say they would like to employ more vocational school graduates and not university graduates? The wages of vocational graduates have closed compared to university graduates, so how come more students aren’t enrolling in vocational school if there is a shortage?” she said. “How come prices don’t adjust for the shortage of science majors? If the market cannot clear itself, does the government need to intervene? If Thailand wants to move to higher-value chains, then we are going to need more scientists. The kinds of questions this office is interested in include if there is a labour shortage in both quantity and quality, does that impede investment?” Education is near and dear to the heart of the Harvard and MIT alum, but one question that absolutely stumps her is how Thailand improves its education system. In other interviews in this issue, economists such as Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz talk about the importance of an educated workforce in order to become a high-income country. But when asked about Thailand’s educational system, Dr Roong is literally speechless. “It’s just such a big problem,” she said after a lengthy pause. “There are so many things that need fixing.”

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Business delegation to Myanmar by Axel Blom pictures from Ministry of Trade and Industry, Trond Viken

n connection with the visit of Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Trond Giske to Myanmar, a business delegation of 32 persons from Norwegian industry accompanied him. Companies participating were DNV, Eltek, Jotun, Roll Royce Bergen Engines, SN Power, Snøhetta, Statoil, Telenor and Yara in addition to officials from Norway’s Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Bangkok as well as Innovation Norway. This delegation visited Myanmar almost a year after the first delegation organised by Norwegian Business Association Singapore and Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce in co-operation with Innovation Norway, and it was apparent to see how the country had moved forward in a course of a year. Trade relations between Norway and Myanmar have been insignificant in the past, but Norwegian companies are now looking at new opportunities

Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Trond Giske meets the President U Thein Sein and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

opening up in Myanmar. Jotun has entered into a partnership with a local company and have opened a Multicolor Centre in Yangon. Telenor is committed and has expressed interest in one of two mobile licenses announced. The last six months have seen a continuation and implementation of reform policies of President U Thein Sein. Three major reform processes are running simultaneously: • The transition from military dictatorship to democracy • The economic transformation • The peace process Political prisoners have been released, freedom of press has been initiated, there no longer are restrictions on number of people allowed to assemble and full freedom of expression has been introduced. 400 local unions and six employer’s association have been established and over 18,000 names have been removed from the visa denial lists. The country has opened up to international engagement, investment and aid. In November 2012 the Foreign Investment Law was published and since then a number of supporting regulations and clarifications has also been initiated. The Norwegian business delegation started in Yangon, with a Business Seminar arranged at the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI). The purpose

Heritage Walk of Yangon

of this seminar was to get an update on the latest developments in Myanmar. H.E. the Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Trond Giske, opened the seminar with a speech encouraging Norwegian companies to invest in Myanmar in a responsible and sustainability manner. U Win Aung, the Chairman of Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry thanked the Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry for bringing the delegation to UMFCCI and stated that he looked forward to closer trade relations between Myanmar and Norwegian industry. The luncheon was followed by a Heritage Walk of Yangon led by Dr. Thant Myint U, Founder and Chairman of the Yangon Heritage Trust and grandchild of third UN Secretary General U Thant. Yangonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s invaluable heritage is at risk from long decades of neglect and, more pressingly, a new wave of commercial development. Beautiful century-old buildings in the downtown area are being demolished with alarming speed. The Yangon Heritage Trust has been established to promote and protect Yangonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s built heritage as part of a comprehensive urban planning process. The heritage walk ended at the magnificent Shwedagon Pagoda, dating back 2,600 years.

Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Trond Giske meeting the President U Thein Sein and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi On 4 April, the delegation left for Nay Pyi Taw, the new capital of Myanmar. Giske paid a courtesy visit to President U Thein Sein. According to the Norwegian newspaper, Aftenposten, Giske emphasized how Norwegian companies can contribute to the rebuilding of Myanmar for the President. After the meeting, Giske stated that the President expressed his desire to continue the democratisation process in the country. Giske also addressed the importance of rule of law and a transparent legal framework for Norwegian businesses when entering Myanmar. Following the lunch, Giske made a courtesy visit to the Parliament, where a number of delegates were received by Parliamentary President U Thura Shwe Mann and a group of parliamentarians. Minister Giske and a part of the Norwegian delegation also had a chance to meet Nobel Peace Prize winner Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at her home in Nay Pyi Taw. In her conversation with the delegation, Suu Kyi emphasized the importance of democratic countries outside Myanmar to follow the democratisation process closely. She stated that the democratisation process is not finalised and that continued pressure from outside was necessary.

Thai-Norwegian Business Review

Norway Asia Business Summit (NABS) in Jakarta by Kristine Hasle

he Norway Asia Business Summit (NABS) was organised in cooperation with the Royal Norwegian Embassy, Indonesia and Indonesia Norway Business Council’s (INBC) Board and members between April 25 and April 27, 2013.

NABS is an invaluable platform for Norwegian business executives represented in Asia, to engage with Norwegian Foreign Affairs, politicians, Innovation Norway and support organisations who’s objective is to ensure easier execution of business between Asia and Norway. A number of speakers discussed Norway’s position in Asia. Themes that were brought up at the Norway Asia Business Summit were: ‘Are Norwegian companies competitive in Asia?’, ‘What do others do different from us?’, ‘Growing a responsible business in Asia’, ‘Where are we today and what is our strategy?’ and ‘What is Brand Norway and how do we brand Norway?’. The first day of the summit, changes in Asia were highlighted through a session named ‘New opportunities and Changing Trade Patterns in a changing Asia’. One of the biggest changes in Asia in the near future is asean Economic Community (AEC), ASEAN’s goal of regional economic integration by 2015. Subash Bose Pillai, Director for Market Integration and asean Secretariat shared his views on the AEC. He envisages the following key charac-

Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

teristics: (a) a single market and production base, (b) a highly competitive economic region, (c) a region of equitable economic development, and (d) a region fully integrated into the global economy. asean trade increased significantly from USD 430 billion in 1993 to USD 2.4 trillion in 2011. FDI into asean-countries has also grown strongly the last decade. More of the investments and trade is coming from within the asean. The Indonesian Minister of Trade, Mr. Gita Wirjawan, offered the programs closing remarks emphasising Indonesia’s close ties with Norway and the prosperous future both counties are bound to experience, if further cooperation is extended. The location of the next nabs summit will be decided by July 1, the INBC Board encourages everyone to participate as the valuable relationships between government and Norwegian business are created with ease and transparency.

You can find more information about the business summit on Indonesia Norway Business Council’s website: www.inbc.web.id

Performance, productivity and people psychology text by Nellie Willow photo by Kristine Hasle

ave you ever through about improving your leadership skills or the performance power of your staff through the work of a psychologist? What do you think Clinical Psychology and Peak Performance Consultancy could do for your bottom line and the wellbeing of your business? Henrik Haaland is showing how effective, efficient and successful business is all connected to your mind and your ability to source your own expertize and capabilities.

Henrik Haaland is the founder and CEO of Next Level Consultancy and works with Thai-based companies, as well as sports teams and educational establishments, to improve performance and productivity through facilitation strategies and one-on-one coaching and psychotherapy tools. While support and practical solutions are the aim, Henrik explains that the Next Level approach is allowing businesses to find their own inner strength. -We can’t make change happen for individuals and businesses, they can. Our expertise is helping to initiate and facilitate the process for those who want to take an active part in a change process, he says. Business in Thailand seems to be booming, and continues to attract investors. However, during good and bad times the real sticking points don’t change, regardless of culture, size of company or industry. Henrik identifies the top three issues with individuals and businesses as, lack of honesty, accountability and engagement within the organisation. All concerns that need to be addressed at all levels of an organisation. Business leaders who are more open to the value of what Next Level is doing are mainly foreign company

owners or businesses from abroad represented here. “Thailand is a cultural melting pot where multinational companies with expatriate leaders are trying to implement global organisational structures with Thai employees. I think this is where Next Level’s expertise is most applicable,” Henrik confirms. Next Level works in partnership with enpeo, a ThaiSwedish consulting company which helps businesses identify core strengths and limitations in their workforce. One tricky issue for many international or expatriate-owned companies is finding the right staff. Henrik puts the focus back on the businesses, rather than the potential employee base. “We work with companies to create a clear trademark of who they want to be as a company,” he explains.

“We work with companies to create a clear trademark of who they want to be as a company. [This facilitates] the recruitment process, with increased employee engagement, work satisfaction and a reduction in jobturnover.” “With that platform we believe that the expectations for responsibilities of those working within the company, or about to work there, will facilitate the recruitment process, with increased employee engagement, work satisfaction and a reduction in jobturnover”. Recruitment forms that ask for in-depth personal information that would never be expected abroad, strict hierarchical internal structures, and a culture

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Continued from page 25

“We can’t make change happen for individuals and businesses, [only] they can. Our expertise is helping to initiate and facilitate the process for those who want to take an active part in a change process.” Henrik Haaland, founder & CEO of Next Level Consultancy

that doesn’t always stimulate initiative. While there are many Thai companies that operate successfully at home and abroad, and could teach their Western counterparts a business tip or two, it’s difficult to imagine a Thai company accepting the need for a performance psychology intervention or individual therapy sessions. Some Thais are starting to open up to alternative ways of running their business, reveals Henrik, mainly because they are seeing an opportunity to improve performance and productivity. However, positive signs don’t deny there are entrenched attitudes to overcome. “There seem to be strong stigma attached to working with psychologists here in Thailand. Psychology seems to be a synonym for ‘there must be something wrong with me’,” says Henrik. However, even for companies abroad, or from another country and culture, there is undoubtedly an emphasis on psychology being solely about working with people with mental illnesses. “Next Level is about creating awareness locally and about what a psychologist can do within an organization, without necessarily delving into personal issues beyond work.” Asean Approaches a Different Mindset With asean 2015 fast approaching there’s a palpable shift happening in Thailand for home-grown companies and those set up under the influence of foreign investment. It’s a time of excitement, great expectations and change. As markets open, competition

Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

— Henrik Haaland

will be key and the skills of keeping a company healthy in terms of business strategy and team wellbeing and not just about sustainability but sharpening a competitive edge. This also comes at a time where there are internal changes in Thailand too. “In family businesses there are generation shifts in top-management at the moment, where the next generation, who completed a good chunk of their education abroad, wants to apply some of the ideas of ‘running a business’ which were introduced to them overseas.” Where Next Level is coming from Henrik first came to Thailand from Australia nearly three years ago. Once a professional skier, Henrik’s interest in psychology was sparked by recognizing how psychological factors affected his own performance. After competing his BA in psychology in Norway, he moved to Australia for four years, completing two additional degrees and began his working career within psychology. He is a qualified psychologist both in Australia and Norway. Next Level works with individuals and organisations beyond the boardroom, with a variety of partners that varies depending on the project. The nature of the work means that the support is hands-on, rather than remote. -I don’t believe that much change will happen by passive listening and often find PowerPoint presentations to be a waste of time. Most often the presenter has skills to help and assist, but without interaction the message does not coincide with the needs of the audience.

Though management, consulting has become a big focus for me and Next Level. I am a psychologist and I enjoy working with individuals in that capacity. I have made sure that at least 2 days pr week are set aside to provide evidence-based psychological interventions to Bangkok’s expatriate community. We are two clinical psychologists here at Next Level who work with children, adolescents and adults, whether they come to therapy on their own, as part of a couple or as a family. A new generation of Thai business leaders pushing new boundaries in different directions, his thoughts also turn to home. “We are focusing on SEA region at the moment, but are looking towards Norway to run workshops etc. in the future. I miss home from time to time and I have colleagues there who I would like to run some projects with.” Because Thailand is an

evolving market, with a business psyche that is open to new ideas, Henrik’s work undoubtedly looks set to expand in his Asian home. Many companies concerned with profits might argue that this intervention is a luxury they simply cannot afford, or they may not accept its power to transform. “Psychology is so much more. It concerns all processes of mental activity. Try not to think for five seconds and see how you go,” suggests Henrik. “That is psychology. So much is automatic, and these automatic processes affect how we feel, how we act and what we work towards. That goes for organisations as well as individuals.” In the new era of enlightened business, it’s certainly something to think about!

www.feliciadesign.com

EMOTION THROUGH INNOVATION

Rethinking creative online sites in Asia by Nellie Willow photo by Area Digital

hordur ‘Thor’ Adalsteinsson is the Managing Director and Founder of Area Digital, a web strategy and development company focusing on creative solutions through graphic design, program architecture and online marketing. The year 2000 might have heralded the dawn of a new Millennium but in the realm of Internet marketing in Scandinavia, it marked an end to the Golden Age of the 90s before the Internet business bubble burst, or at least deflated. Creative agencies producing quality websites and online strategies struggled to compete against the glut of people who’d been attracted to the industry during its hay days. For Thor, an Icelandic working in Denmark, it was time for a big rethink so that his skills, experience and expertise were not blown away by the strong winds of change that swept across the economic climate. After their business went under, Thor and his Swedish friends realised that they needed to regroup so that they could offer less expensive solutions and make these more accessible. Denmark didn’t seem viable to sustain their new business model. Spurred on by the success of a friend overseas, they decided to move to Asia. “We looked at Hong Kong and Singapore before deciding on Thailand”, explains Thor. “It made economic sense and Thailand seemed more accepting of foreigners starting a business. We needed to start quickly and easily and we set up Area Digital in just a few weeks here.” Just a few years ago, having a company website was something of a status symbol, regardless of whether it was necessary. There was a prestige to having your own business site and this was often because hiring a company to design, build and possibly manage your online presence was expensive. Large organisations

Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

with budgets of over the equivalent of 2 million Thai baht were attracted to this type of marketing campaign. After the bubble burst however, the market changed, with the advent of open source technology. Whereas previously it was necessary to buy an expensive license from Microsoft, open source meant more companies could afford customisation without this hefty fee. A knock back and an understanding that the industry was changing brought Asia onto Thor’s business plan map. Settling in Thailand When working remotely Chiang Mai is an obvious choice, both in terms of lifestyle and business costs. While this worked for the first year or so, about six years ago Thor was driven out of the North by the smog. The annual March pollution proved detrimental to everyday business, as well as to the equipment. The decision made sense all round for Thor. “We’d been regularly coming to Bangkok anyway to meet clients and network and we soon realised what a dynamic, cosmopolitan city it is and how we just had to be there to be in that mix too”. Since making the move they haven’t looked back and whilst the vast majority of their clients are in Europe, being in the hub of the city has helped keep them connected with the business dynamics of Thailand as well as foreign companies with bases in Asia. As an ad agency specialising in online solutions, Area Digital found its home in Asia but has firmly had its door open to business from Europe. The company is a very creative company with technical know-how. Site implementation can take anything from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, depending on the level of system development and graphics, with costs ranging from 75,000 Baht to over a million. This focus on quality is established with European businesses. “Companies know that they are paying less because we are based in Asia, but at the same time they are aware that they are getting the same skill set as they would in Europe. We’re in Asia but can offer the same quality

“Previously some businesses didn’t appreciate the value of a quality website and were not willing to pay the price for this. There is a big change among Asian and Western owned and operated businesses in Thailand [in] promoting different ideas on what online presence can mean”. — Thor Adalsteinsson Area Digital

as a Scandinavian company operating in Europe. We are ‘hands on’ with the business and we have in-effect outsourced ourselves”, explains Thor. The Thai experience It might be a perfect business marriage of costs and accessibility, but there are inevitable challenges associated with running a successful creative Internet agency in Thailand. “It was difficult at first to get motivated staff. In Europe we grew up with the Internet boom of ‘95/’96 and it was an exciting, ‘can-do’ time”, admits Thor. “They haven’t had the same culture here in Thailand so there’s sometimes less enthusiasm”. However, he believes this is changing. “Asia is open to new ideas which means there’s room for change. The boom and hype didn’t come in the same way as it did for us. We’ve learnt from experience and mistakes and understand the market better. We’re looking to focus on this growing client awareness in Thailand the rest of South East Asia”. Area Digital not only designs, develops and builds sites but recommends how businesses should market themselves online by looking at the brand, product and industry. They come up with full design details and create websites through brainstorming, concept building and mock-ups. The sites are generally maintained by the clients themselves although content can be advised on or supplied. The idea is to provide all-encompassing advanced solutions rather than simplified template choices. While a high level of quality is established in Europe, historically there’s been less of a demand in Asia,

according to Thor. However, with the fast-moving world of smart phones, tablets and 3G, the times are definitely changing. It is an interesting and exciting time for Thor and Area Digital. “Last year business changed. Budgets dropped in Europe and there was more demand in Asia where we’ve been doing a lot of work through referrals and word of mouth. Previously some businesses didn’t appreciate the value of a quality website and were not willing to pay the price for this. There is a big change among Asian owned companies and Western owned and operated businesses in Thailand and, also, Westernised Thais are also promoting different ideas on what online presence can mean”. Asian projects inspire growth Not only has Area Digital created the Norwegian Chamber of Commerce site, www.norcham.com but also sites for big Malaysian holding company Sime Darby, which operates in many industries such as hospitals and healthcare. The company also serves a number of Scandinavian companies in Bangkok such as Hyde and Seek – a stylish gastro bar owned by two Swedish brothers – and a Danish-owned travel website called Visit Beyond which features six destinations including Thailand, Vietnam, China, India, Nepal, and the Philippines. With Asian businesses waking up to the value of a quality online strategy, Thailand is not only attractive for companies trying to reach out to Europe for less, but also for those wanting to make solid profits from initiating business closer to home. Their new Thai home that is! Thai-Norwegian Business Review

Can plastic bags be profitable for the environment? by Kristine Hasle

n 2003, BioBag International had changed all production to biodegradable and compostable plastic products primarily based on renewable raw materials. Their strategy was to become the world’s leading company within bio-plastic production. BioBag is currently a world leading provider of bags and films for the collection of organic waste for the purpose of composting. Unlike regular plastic, BioBags are made from plants, vegetable oils & Mater-Bi and can be “consumed” by micro-organisms that live in our soils. Because of this, their bags can be composted along with organic waste in municipal composting facilities. BioBag’s head quarter is situated in Askim, Norway. Anders Fransson, CFO of BioBag, tells us about a market that has grown significantly during the last 10 years. Today, all municipalities in Norway have a system for waste disposal. BioBag is contributing with their biodegradable plastic bags for food waste, and serves about 60 percent of Norwegian households with bioplastic bags for food waste. Norway has a steady market, but also the other Nordic countries and the European and North American markets have a growing demand. “EU’s directive for waste disposal, especially separation of food waste, is forcing changes in the way countries organize source separation of organic waste and private households to take responsibility for the environment. This gives BioBag a huge market to supply,” says an optimistic Fransson about the company’s future.

Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

Manufacturing in Thailand Between 2005 and 2010, BioBag has set up manufacturing partnerships with four companies in three countries; in Norway, Belgium and Portugal. In January 2013, BioBag attended the Inno Bioplast 2013 conference in Bangkok where they disclosed a partnership with U.S. Thantawan. Thailand will be their fourth county in which they produce their environmentally friendly products. Why did you choose a partner in Thailand? “Thailand has a long industrial history, and has a more innovative approach than many of the other country in South East Asia. The production cost is lower than in Europe, although not significantly lower,” says Anders Fransson. “We found two partners in Thailand specializing in some interesting and innovative products in which serves our product line perfect. From before, BioBag makes biodegradable plastic bags. They will add more supplementary products to their product range, like disposable cups and plates and zip-lock bags.” Peter Lofvenholm, project sales manager for BioBag was present at the Inno Bioplast 2013 conference, held 24-26 January in Bangkok. Lofvenholm said in an interview to Plastic News that the company chose Thailand for its first Asian production because the country is developing quickly as a bio-plastics manufacturing location, and companies there are familiar with technical standards for biodegradability and composting in North America, Europe and other major markets. “It’s a partner agreement, meaning that we are giving them volumes and they are giving us production capacity,” said Lofvenholm. “Instead of building

Unlike regular plastic, BioBags are made from plants, vegetable oils & Mater-Bi and can be ‘consumed’ by micro-organisms that live in our soils.

that capacity ourselves, we went to a very competent supplier. Supplementary future products A new product line BioBag recently started with another Thai partner is the production of disposable cups and plates made of sugarcane. “We want to offer supplementary products to our existing line,” says Fransson. “We are aiming for the festivals segment, focusing on the environment. Organising a festival or a huge event will normally create immense amounts of waste. We can now offer a whole line of complementary environmental products. From disposable cups and plates, to the waste bags they are using,” explains Fransson.

Today, BioBag mostly offers their products to the public market. The next step will be to start selling to the private consumer market. “The raw material we use for our products is much more expensive as for normal plastic production, which makes our products higher priced than existing products,” says Fransson. “We need to make people aware of our environmentally friendly products. Consumers are however conscious about the negative effect normal plastic bags have on the environment.” BioBag International has committed to take clear actions on sustainable development. They are constantly on the search for the best raw materials and production methods available representing minimal negative effects on the environment. This includes a clear commitment to use as much renewable raw materials in their products as possible.

Thai-Norwegian Business Review

New approach to commercial bu by Napat Siri-armart Attorney-at-Law, Tilleke & Gibbins

ocation, location, location—the old adage about the three things that matter in real estate continues to be true today, especially for retailers. Commercial real estate developers and retailers face a fiercely competitive market and shifting consumer patterns as Bangkok continues to expand geographically. To reach the city’s expanding consumer base, it is essential for retailers to understand local zoning requirements, especially with a new city plan set to come into effect in May.

BMA Ordinance The key regulation dealing with zoning issues is officially known as the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) Ordinance re: Determination of Areas Restricted from Construction, Modification or Change of Usage of Certain Constructions in Bangkok Metropolis 2005. It states that a commercial building for retail and wholesale (CBRW) is a building used for commerce with a total area of 300 square meters or more, whether under one or more roofs. Under this ordinance, there are specific zoning limitations that differ across the city. CBRWs are not allowed in some areas in Bang Bon and Klong Sam Wa districts, while they are allowed in Prawet, Bang Kapi, Saphan Sung, and Suan Luang if they have a total area not greater than 2,000 sq m. In Dusit, the maximum area allowed is 1,000 sq m, while in some communities on Phahon Yothin Road, the figure is up to 4,000 sq m. Each area has specific criteria for construction, including distance from the public road, buffer

Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

area adjacent to other land plots, and free space for landscaping. The one common requirement for each permitted area is a CBRW must be located at least 500 meters away from a religious place, archaeological site, school, and/or hospital. New City Plan While the BMA ordinance sets the regulatory environment for construction of retail space, developers and retailers also need to be aware of the overall direction of city planning, as this too can affect their operations. The current city plan, which has been in place since 2006, will soon expire, and a new plan will come into effect on May 15. While the previous plan did not determine space area and location of commercial buildings, the new one provides explicit provisions for commercial building zones. Based on the current draft, the 2013 plan appears set to offer some modest new opportunities for retail zoning. One major change is that “commercial activities” will be more broadly defined to include all trading and service activities but excluding hotels, entertainment places, offices, markets, petrol stations, and scrapyards. According to the new city plan, most areas in Phra Nakhon district will be reserved for art/cultural preservation, strictly prohibiting commercial buildings or offices with utility area greater than 1,000 sq m. In addition, most areas in Bang Bon, from about Kanchanaphisek Road to Samut Prakan province, will be classified as an agricultural/rural zone and no commercial buildings exceeding 100 sq m will be allowed. Exceptions will be made on public roads with a width of at least 16 meters, in which case a commercial building of up to 300 sq m will be allowed.

uilding rules in Bangkok

The current city plan, which has been in place since 2006, will soon expire, and a new plan will come into effect on May 15. While the previous plan did not determine space area and location of commercial buildings, the new one provides explicit provisions for commercial building zones.

On a road with a width of 30 meters, the limit will be 500 sq m. Also under the new plan, all of Saphan Sung and more than half of Lat Phrao, Wang Thonglang, and Bung Kum districts will be classified as minimum-density residential zones. Commercial buildings with usable area exceeding 1,000 sq m will not be allowed, but the limit is 2,000 sq m on roads at least 16 meters wide or sites within 500 meters of a rail mass-transit station. However, construction of commercial buildings with a maximum of 300 sq m may be allowed in some areas in these four districts. Within a commercial zone, a commercial building— whether mall or shop, retail or wholesale—could be constructed with a maximum usable area of up to 5,000 sq m. This could be extended to 10,000 sq m if the building is located on a public road with a width of at least 16 meters or 500 meters from a rail mass-transit station.

Compared with the 2006 city plan, the new scheme seems to expand a few commercial areas on PrasertManukitch, Ram Intra, and Krung Thon Buri roads, where the SkyTrain extension has begun, and on Ramkhamhaeng Road around Khlong Song Ton Nun to Soi Min Buri Square. The new city plan may also result in new malls on the extended subway Blue Line and the new Orange Line. Following public hearings last August, the BMA’s City Planning Department revised the city plan in response to comments by the Town and Country Planning Board, and it is now being reviewed by a legal draft committee set up by the Interior Ministry. Next, it will go to the Cabinet and the Council of State before being enacted. Commercial real estate developers and retailers will be closely following the implementation of the plan in May. But before making new investments, businesses need to ensure they fully understand both the new city plan and the existing BMA ordinance, which will continue to be in effect. By carefully understanding this regulatory environment, retailers can take full advantage of the new zoning opportunities and position themselves for success in Bangkok’s competitive real estate market.

This article was first published in the Bangkok Post on February 22, 2013. Please send comments or questions to Andrew Stoutley at andrew.s@tilleke.com.

Thai-Norwegian Business Review

Connie Mangskau, a key link bet Norwegians and Thais here in th by MaryAnne Stanislaw

rom 1930 until her death in 1990, Connie Mangskau was the person most Norwegians contacted when they arrived in Bangkok. Many came with introductions, others came with friends. Her home was open to all on Christmas, December 24th the traditional Norwegian celebration with friends and family. Connie was not born Norwegian but adopted the country and customs through her marriage to Fridtjof Mangskau.

Connie was born on April 25th, 1907 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Her father was an English Forest Manager for the Borneo Company. Her mother, Kunkaew, was Thai from Chiang Mai. Connie had two sisters, Bea and Jean. Just before the First World War broke out, Connie’s father returned to England on home leave and while he was there, he joined the war effort and was sent to France as a Cavalry Officer. He was wounded twice and stayed in England, as he was unable to work in the teak forest any longer. As their father was preparing to leave for England, Connie and Bea were sent to Bangkok to attend St. Mary’s School. Kunkaew visited the girls when she could. She sold exquisite silk brocades of the north (pasins) to her friends in the palace to support her family. Connie and Bea went to Singapore to study at the Raffles Girls School in 1922, after which Connie joined the General Hospital as a nursing student. In 1926, she passed the General Nursing exam, and married Fridtjof Mangskau, who had been her patient. He was a district manager for Bruce Petrie & Co in South Johore. In September 1928, their first child, Margrethe, was born. She became ill with malaria in early 1930, so Connie took her to Bangkok. She and Fridtjof were having marital problems. Connie did not

Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

realise she was pregnant with their second child, Joan, who was born in Bangkok, until later that year. For the next four years, Connie did everything she could to reconcile with Fridtjof, including making several trips to see him. In 1934, during a sea voyage to Hong Kong, Fridtjof died of peritonitis. Connie’s hopes of moving to Norway with her husband to raise their children were dashed. After Fridtjof’s death, Connie discussed what to do with his sister. It was decided that Grethe would travel to Norway to live with her Aunt Tullik in Oslo. Connie and Joan remained in Bangkok. Connie was resolved to make the best of her life in Bangkok. She spoke impeccable English and was very charming. She was a beautiful young widow who hoped to find love with a new husband. Sadly most European firms would not allow their staff to marry Eurasians. She never remarried and carried this sad burden all her life. It made her more determined to succeed. During the war, Connie was afraid to keep Joan in Bangkok, so she sent her to the “Couvent des oiseaux” in Dalat, Indochina. Both Jean and Connie were active couriers and spies for the “Free Thai Movement”. Having Joan in Dalat was a wonderful cover that would enable the sisters to monitor Japanese troop movements and report back to Bangkok. In early 1945, Connie was captured in Phnom Penh and imprisoned by the Japanese. Jean was taken prisoner in Bangkok at the same time. Their mother was able to negotiate Jean’s release within a week, but it took a month to negotiate Connie’s. Joan was still in Dalat, but finally she was smuggled to Saigon through the Japanese checkpoints, hidden in a vegetable truck. The Thai Consul in Saigon brought her safely back to Bangkok. Connie worked as a secretary and interpreter for the OSS after the war. She met Jim Thompson and they became close friends. Connie opened her first “Monogram” shop in 1948 in the Trocadero Hotel on

tween he kingdom Surawong Road. Jim opened a small Thai Silk shop nearby. Jim suggested that Connie begin selling antiques and for the first time, being a Eurasian had its benefits. Connie was Thai to the Thais and foreigners considered her as one of them. Soon museums and serious art collectors began buying Southeast Asian art for their collections. Connie quickly became the “go to” woman in Bangkok. Connie and Jim often traveled together for business, but they also loved visiting sites for pleasure. During a boat ride in Ayutthaya, Jim became very interested in the teak houses along the river and he began sketching ideas for a house. He and Connie started discussing ideas and Jim convinced her that she needed a showcase for her art collection and a place to entertain. Once his house was built, he began working on Connie’s Thai house. Jim supervised the building himself and corrected the mistakes he had made in his house. Connie’s floor plan consisted of four separate teak houses with a large veranda. Connie’s Thai house was often featured in movies and magazine spreads. Each time he visited Bangkok, Crown Prince (now King) Harald enjoyed an evening of traditional Thai dinner and entertainment at Connie’s. In the week before Easter 1967, Connie suggested that Jim come with her to the Cameron Highlands, as guests of the Lings. On that Easter Sunday afternoon, everyone went for a nap, leaving Jim on the veranda below. They heard something being dragged across the gravel but thought it was only a lounge chair. When they arose, Jim was gone, and when he hadn’t returned by nightfall, Connie called Brig Gen Edwin Black, commander of US forces in Thailand, and told him what had happened. Gen Black joined the search. Jim had gone off before and had always come back, so everyone expected him to show up at any moment. As the days went on, they began to worry, and when he didn’t return, they slowly made plans to return to their lives.

Connie Mangskau

Connie opened her first ‘Monogram’ shop in 1948 in the Trocadero Hotel on Surawong Road. Jim Thompson, her close friend, opened a small Thai Silk shop nearby. Jim suggested that Connie begin selling antiques and for the first time, being Eurasian had its benefits.

“Monogram” grew and became very successful. Connie endeared herself to everyone she met. She was an excellent businesswoman with a very kind heart. She loved to help those in need, but was especially kind to Norwegians, who she felt were her extended family. Her support of several charities was quiet, as she did not seek recognition for it. King Olaf bestowed an award on her for her lifelong service to Norwegians. Without fail, she would travel to Norway on a yearly basis to visit her family. In 1987, Connie’s 80th birthday party was quite an event. She discovered she had terminal cancer a few months later and battled it for another three years. She finally succumbed in 1990 after a brave fight. Connie’s house is now part of The Siam Hotel. Three houses form the restaurant and one house forms a pool villa named after her.

Thai-Norwegian Business Review

Seafood master class text by Axel Blom photos by Innovation Norway

flown salmon from Norway is becoming ever more popular in Thailand.

he Norwegian Chef Sven Erik Renaa, owner of three distinguished restaurants in Norway and former captain of the Norwegian Olympic team visited Bangkok Monday, 4 March to present the best of Norwegian seafood.

“Norwegian Salmon is well established in Thailand and can be found in fine hotels, sushi restaurants and retail stores alike. We still believe that the sales can grow further and that it is of great value to show different ways to prepare Salmon and inspire Thai Chefs and the public to try new Salmon dishes”, said Chramer.

Gracing the event was H.E. Norwegian Ambassador Ms. Katja Nordgaard who welcomed the audience with a speech describing Norway’s marine sector, Norway’s second largest industry after oil and gas. “Norway is the largest salmon exporter in the world and Thailand imports roughly 50.000 tons of salmon of which a quarter comes from Norway. 90% of fresh salmon imported to Thailand comes from Norway” said the Ambassador. She ended her speech on the superiority in quality of Norwegian salmon with very strict requirements in terms of fish health and traceability. “Chef Renaa is a formidable ambassador for Norwegian seafood and to combine his expertise chefs skills with a presentation of the best of Norwegian seafood in Thailand is a true joy”, said Christian Chramer, host of the Master Class event that took place at Westin Grande Sukhumvit. As a country situated in the northern part of Europe, large areas of Norway’s land and sea areas is part of the Arctic region. This gives ideal conditions for Salmon from Norway and a wide range of other seafood products that grow slowly in ideal conditions to produce the finest seafood. Norwegian Salmon is today one of the largest export products from Norway and the fresh, air

Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

Chef Sven Erik Renaa

Chef Renaa expertly demonstrates salmon and halibut filleting techniques

At the Master Class event Renaa also included Norwegian seafood favourites like King Crab and Norwegian Halibut to accompany the Salmon. “I work with seafood in all my restaurants and to bringing the products outside Norway is always exciting, said Chef Renaa. – The fresh, Norwegian Salmon is ideal for raw consumption and can be enjoyed as it is for sushi and sashimi that is so popular all over the world”, said Renaa.

The Master Class began with Chef Renaa showing with great technical skill and ease, how filleting of salmon and halibut should be done. After the filleting session, it was time to cook. Three special dishes from Salmon, Halibut and King crab were prepared and served to audience. The three dishes included: • Norwegian Salmon tartar with avocado ‘flying carpet’ and vendace roe • ‘Warm’ salmon sashimi crystallised ginger and sesame

The Master Class was hosted by the Norwegian Seafood Council, the joint marketing agency for Norwegian Seafood. Innovation Norway had been asked to take care of the practical arrangements. The objective of the event was to increase awareness of superiority of Norwegian seafood and especially the use of Norwegian Salmon among professional chefs, seafood-related businesses and Thai consumers.

• Lightly smoked Norwegian white halibut, Norwegian King Crab and Oyster ‘linguini’ The dishes were beautifully presented and the audience were both curious and happy to taste the Norwegian seafood dishes. 57 people attended the event, among them several celebrity chefs and food writers.

Thai-Norwegian Business Review

17 May...

Hipp Hipp Hurra!

Photos by JĂ¸rgen Udvang 38

Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

Ambassador Katja Nordgaard welcomed more than two hundred people in her garden to celebrate Norway’s constitution day. On 17 May, we are proud to be Norwegians. Wherever we are in the world, we celebrate traditionally, as we would have done in Norway. In the ambassador’s garden were served sausages, in addition to salmon, waffles and icecream. The children enjoyed traditional games and a parade took place in Sukhumvit soi 38, where the Thai Army Band played Norwegian marches. More than 100 guests gathered for the dinner party at Sheraton Grand Sukhumvit, having lovely food and dancing to live music. We like celebrating 17 May in Bangkok. Hipp hipp – HURRA.

Thai-Norwegian Business Review

Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

Thailand’sEconomy economy Thailand’s at a Glance at a glance

-2

Thai Consumer Price Index

Thai GDP Growth (%) 6

20.0

15.0

4 3

10.0

5.0

-2

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011p 2012p

Q4/12

Q3/12

Q2/12

Q1/12

2013p

2011

-1

Aug12 Sep12 Oct12 Nov12 Dec12 Jan13

0.0

Stock Exchange Index (SET)

Exchange Rates

1,600

7.00

1,400

6.50

1,200

THB/NOK

6.00

1,000

5.50

800

5.00

1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0

200 180 160 140

Oct12

Nov12

Sep12

Jul12

Aug12

2011

2010

2008

2009

120 2007

1301

1207

1201

1107

1101

1007

1001

Bilateral trade 2012

2000=100

100 Basic Figures: BOI. Comparisons: Wikipedia. GDP/Capita and Thai Population: Wikipedia/IMF. Thai GDP and CPI: Bank of Thailand. Quarterly GDP: NESDB. SET: Stock Exchange of Thailand. Exchange Rate THB/NOK: OANDA. Manufacturing Production Index: Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce. Bilateral Trade: Statistics Norway. Petrol and BigMac prices as of 24 February 2013

0907

0501 0507 0601 0607 0701 0707 0801 0807 0901 0907 1001 1007 1101 1107 1201 1207 1301

Manufacturing Index

0807

4.50

400

69.9 mill 5.0 mill 10,300,000 875,000 71/76 79/83 7.29 15.18 13.41 40.00

Female

-4

Mill

600

Other bits and pieces Petrol/litre (95 E10) NOK: TH Petrol/litre (95 Octane) NOK: NO McDonald BigMac price NOK: TH McDonald BigMac price NOK: NO

Male

0801

MY CN TH ID PH IN VN LA KH MM

80+ 70-74 60-64 50-54 40-44 30-34 20-24 10-14 0-4

Import 1,778 (1,394) MNOK Export 3,378 (2,352) MNOK

Chemicals Engineering Fish Pulp Other Metal Prod Food Electronics Machinery Cars Computers Others

Sources:

-5.0

Geography Geographic Area: TH 514,000 sq. km Geographic Area NO: 385,199 sq. km Highest peak TH: Doi Inthanon 2,565 m Highest peak NO: Galdhøpiggen 2,469 m Inland water areas TH: 2,230 km Inland water areas NO: 16,360 km Coastline TH: 3,219 km Coastline NO: 25,148 km Demographics Population TH: Population NO: Population Bangkok: Population Oslo: Life expectancy M/F TH: Life expectancy M/F NO:

2012p

Some comparisons

100

2010

Top 10 Exp. Jan-Nov12 %/value USD bill Motor Cars and automotive 9.7%/20.5 EDP equipment 8.4%/17.7 Precious stones/jewellery 6.0%/12.7 Refined fuels 5.7%/12.0 Rubber 3.8%/8.0 Polymers etc. 3.7%/7.9 Chemical products 3.7%/7.8 Rubber products 3.7%/7.8 Iron and steel 3.0%/6.2 Electronic integrated circuits 2.9%/6.0

NO US SG KE TW

10-23% 10-15% 7% 0-35%

Thai Population 2011

120

2009

Corporate income Tax Withholding Tax Value Added Tax Personal income Tax

GDP/Capita 2011 (TUSD)

2008

Export Growth 2011 16.4% Export Growth 2012 projected 5.5% Trade Balance USD 23.5 bill Current Account Balance USD 11.9 bill International Reserves USD 175.1 bill Minimum wage (Bangkok) Baht 300/day

0901

Basic Figures Thailand (2011)

Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce Thai-Norwegian Business Review

HÅG chairs bring Scandinavian comfort to your work place HÅG chairs encourage you to move even while sitting down, improving both your blood circulation and your concentration. Comfort is all about movement. Sit, but never be still. Work hard, but in complete comfort.

Discover HÅG’s unique active task chairs now also available in Asia.

HÅG Distributor in Thailand:

BW Furniture (Bangkok) Ltd 213/9, 4th A Floor, Asoke Tower, T + 66 (0)2 664 1722 bwthailand@bwfurniture.com

www.hag-global.com www.facebook.com/HAGchairs

With the compliments of

Attorneys at Law

Kamthorn, Surachet & Somsak 31st Floor, Sinn Sathorn Tower 77/131-132 Krungthonburi Road Klongtonsai, Klongsarn Bangkok 10600 Telephone: +66 (0) 2440 0288-97 Fax: +66 (0) 2440 0298-00 E-mail: kss@kss.co.th www.kss.co.th

Honorary member H.E. Mrs Katja Nordgaard New Ambassador Royal Norwegian Embassy Tel: +66 (0) 2204 6500 Fax: +66 (0) 2262 0218 Email: emb.bangkok@mfa.no

Honorary member and Senior Advisor to the Board Tove Bjerkan House 101/20 Na Jomtien Soi 38, Ban Amphoe, Sattahip, Chonburi 20250 Tel: +66 (0) 3823 7683 Fax: +66 (0) 3823 7683 Email: bjerkan@loxinfo.co.th

Senior Advisor to the Board Dr. Kristian Bø 234/237 Discovery Place, Soi 23 Khlong 7, Pathun Thani, 12110 Thanyaburi Tel: +66 (0) 2957 0111 Fax: +66 (0) 2957 0222 Mob:+66 (0) 8 9129 9993 E-mail: kristbo@truemail.co.th

Mr. Gunnar Thoresen Jotun Thailand Ltd Tel: +66 (0) 2664 1464 Fax: +66 (0) 2664 4002 Email:gunnar.thoresen@jotun.com

Ms. Piyanuj Ratpratsatporn Tilleke & Gibbins International Ltd. Tel: +66 (0) 2653 5555 Fax: +66 (0) 2653 5678 Email: lui@tillekeandgibbins.com

Dr. Paisan Etitum, Ph.D Thai Transmission Industry Co., Ltd. Tel: +66 (0) 2678 6640 Fax: +66 (0) 2678 6649 Email: paisan@tti-mail.com

Mr. Gunnar Bertelsen Telenor Asia (ROH) Ltd. Tel: +66 (0) 2637 4700 Fax: +66 (0) 2637 4726 Email:gunnar.bertelsen@telenor.com

Board of Governors President Ms. Vibeke Lyssand Leivåg Conselvan Felicia (Thailand) Ltd. Tel: +66 (0) 2627 3040 Fax: +66 (0) 2627 3042 Email: president@norcham.com

Vice President Major Choakdee Dhamasaroj Nera (Thailand) Ltd. Tel: +66 (0) 2664 1464 Fax: +66 (0) 2664 4002 Email: choakdee@neratel.com.sg

Vice President Mr. Axel Blom Blue Business Solutions Ltd. Tel: +66 (0) 2627 3040 Fax: +66 (0) 2627 3042 Email: axel.blom @blue.in.th

Vice President, Mr. Petter Børre Furberg Total Access Communications PLC Tel: +66 (0) 2202 8000 Fax: +66 (0) 2202 8828 Email:petterf@dtac.co.th

Bent Axelsen Yara Thailand Tel.: +66 (0) 2664 9498 Fax: +66 (0) 2664 7488 Email: bent.axelsen@yara.com

Mr. Torpong Thongcharoen Norske Skog (Thailand) Company Limited Tel.: +66 (0) 2661 3486 Fax: +66 (0) 2661 3485 Email: torpong-t@papcothai.com

Ms. Aina Eidsvik Aibel Tel.: +66 (0) 3300 4040 Fax: +66 (0) 3300 4041 Email: aina.eidsvik@aibel.com

Mr. Jon Anders Aas-Haug WebOn Tel.: +66 (0) 2207 2414 Fax: +66 (0) 2207 2525 Email: post@webon.no

Thai-Norwegian Business Review

Melvær&Lien The Idea Entrepreneur Photo: Tom Haga

SMARTER LABELLING SOLUTIONS Skanem is a leading producer of self adhesive labels with 12 labelling plants in 8 countries in Europe and Asia. Skanem Bangkok opened June 2007 and is Skanem’s first establishment in South-East Asia.

Skanem Bangkok Co. Ltd. Amata Nakorn Industrial Estate 700/247 Moo 1 Bankao, Panthong Chonburi 20160 Thailand Tel.: +66 (0) 38 465 315-19 Fax.: +66 (0) 38 465 320-21 www.skanem.com

Bridging Societies is our business Nera Networks provides wireless transmission solutions to communication network owners in most market segments including: • Mobile • Broadcast • Enterprises and Internet Service Providers • Government and Educational institutes • Defence • Offshore and Utilities • Retail Payment Solutions Nera (Thailand) Ltd. 26th Floor, 253 Asoke Tower 253 Sukhumvit 21 (Asoke) Road Klongtoeynua, Wattana Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 (0) 2664 1464, Fax: +66 (0) 2664 4002 www.nera.no

Premium Members

Felicia (Thailand) Ltd. 68-68/6 S&B Tower, 7th Fl. Room 701 704 - 706, 8th - 10th Fl., Pan Road Silom, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500 Tel: +66 (0) 2105 5688 Fax:+66 (0) 2105 5697 E-mail: info@felicia.com

Aibel (Thailand).

Ms. Aina Eidsvik

Ltd 4 Moo 6 Sukhumvit Road  Tambol Banchang, Amphur Banchang,  Rayong 21130 Tel: +66 (0) 3300 4040 Fax: +66 (0) 3300 4041 Activities and keywords: Aibel is a leading supplier of services related to oil, gas and renewable energy. The company has around 5,000 employees in Norway and abroad, working on fields and facilities, both on and offshore. Aibel Thailand was established in 2004 and the main activities in Thailand are manufacturing of modules and engineering.

Ms. Vibeke Lyssand Leirvåg

Jotun Thailand Ltd.

Blue Business Solutions Ltd. Mahatun Plaza, 14th Fl., 888/142 Ploenchit Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Tel: +66 (0) 2627 3040 Fax: +66 (0) 2627 3042 E-mail: contact@blue.in.th Website: www.blue.in.th, www.global-blue.net

Mr. Axel Blom

Mrs. Proadpram Piccini

Activities and keywords: Blue Business Solutions Ltd. is engaged in administrative outsourcing. The company is specialising in data capture, data analysis and management reporting using high-skilled Thais performing work that normally would be performed at company headquarters. In addition, Blue Business Solutions represents a number of foreign entities in Thailand, among them Innovation Norway, the Norwegian Government’s trading arm. Finally Blue Business Solutions Ltd. takes on consultative projects, mainly for companies wishing to establish themselves in Thailand.

Activities and keywords: Felicia Design is a High End Silver and Gold Jewellery Design and Manufacturing Company. The company’s jewellery products are set with precious and semi-precious stones. Felicia Design’s goal is to provide the best quality design, development, production and sale of tailor made collections. Felicia Design is 100% Norwegian controlled and owned. The company is customer-oriented and deal directly with proprietary customers to provide hands on implementation of the creation of jewellery collections from design to manufacturing to end product.

Mr. Gunnar Thoresen

700/353 Moo 6, Donhualoh, Muang, Chonburi 20000 Tel: +66 (0) 38214 450 Fax: +66 (0) 38214 373 Website: www.jotun.com Activities and keywords: Jotun Thailand is a fully owned subsidiary of Jotun A/S in Norway that has one of the most sophisticated manufacturing facilities of all companies in the Jotun group. Jotun claims to be market leader no.1 in Protective coatings and no.2 in Thailand for Marine coatings and a fast growing player in the Decorative segment. The company has been awarded the ISO 9000 version 2000(Quality), ISO 14000(environmental) Certificates and and OHSAS 18000.

Naka Racha Ltd. Mr. Frode Teigen

Mr. Ole Teigen

CRC Tower, Unit 4410 , 44th Floor, All Seasons Place, 87/2 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Tel: +66 (0) 2654 1470 Fax: +66 (0) 2654 1471

Thai-Norwegian Business Review

Q-Free (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

Premium Members

Nera (Thailand) Ltd.

Mr. Ang Seong Kang

Major Choakdee Dhamasaroj

253 Asoke Road, 26th Fl., Sukhumvit 21, Klongtoey Nua, Wadhana, Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 (0) 2664 1464 Fax: +66 (0) 2664 4002 E-mail: nerathai@nera.co.th Website: www.neraworld.com

c/o Casa Janneman, 2/10 Moo 5, Huay Yai, Banglamung 20150 Chonburi Tel: +47 6792 7600 Fax: +47 6792 7692 E-mail: post@normeca.no Website: www.normeca.no

Mrs. Gina Karlsen

Mailandvn 26, 1470 Lørenskog, Norway Activities and keywords: NORMECA is among the world leaders in the supply of disaster and preparedness solutions and services. Our disaster units are modular in design, from treating surgical injuries sustained in disasters or armed conflicts to health preparedness services in rural areas. We take pride in our Swift Response System, ensuring support at the disaster scene 24 hours after the first call. We supply the full range of mobile and semi permanent hospitals and clinics using and related equipment.

Mr. Villads SondergaardChristensen

Activities and keywords: Microwave equipment, radio link, Mobile and fixed satellite earth stations, power network communication

Normeca AS

Mr. Jan Karlsen

20/22 Moo 12 Kaset-Nawamin Rd. Lathprao, Bangkok 10230 Tel: +66 (0) 2553 2025 Fax: +66 (0) 2553 2024 E-mail: Villads.Sondergaard@q-free.com Website: www.q-free.com

Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

Activities and keywords: Q-Free (Thailand) is a 100% foreign owned company under BOI approval in Thailand and owned by Q-Free ASA in Norway. Q-Free is a leading global supplier of solutions and products for tolling systems. We have ambitions to modernise the systems for toll collection in Thailand coming years.

SAS Scandinavian Airlines International Glas Haus, 8th Fl., 1 Sukhumvit 25, Klongtoey Nua, Vadhana Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 (0) 2 645 8200 (Sales Center) +66 (0) 2 645 8210 # 8811 (Corporate Sales) +66 (0) 2 134 2020 (SAS Suvarnabhumi) Fax: +66 (0) 2 665 2900 E-mail: sas.th@sas.se Website: www.flysas.com/th

Mr. Niels Henrik Hansen

Activities and keywords: SAS is Northern Europe’s largest airline with more than 900 daily flights to over 150 destinations in Scandinavia, Europe, the US and Asia. The extensive network provides convenient connections to Scandinavian and European destinations from Copenhagen airport. Onboard SAS’ modern and spacious Airbus A340s between Bangkok and Copenhagen, there are a number of specific features, for example, personal entertainment touch screens across all classes. SAS is also one of few airlines to offer a premium economy product, Economy Extra. In a separate cabin, Economy Extra passengers enjoy wider and more comfortable seats than in Economy, Business class check-in and priority boarding. SAS Business Sleeper offers the highest levels of comfort with sleeper seats, the popular buffet bar with drinks, snacks and espresso machine, and a spacious restroom with feature windows. SAS’s ambition is to be amongst the most environment friendly airlines in Europe. The target is to have 20% lower emissions by 2020. SAS is also Europe’s most punctual leading airline, according to the latest statistics from Flightstats, which tracks over 150,000 flights per day.

Operations to Bangkok were commenced in 1949. In 1959, SAS co-founded Thai Airways International Ltd., with the Thai Government through Airways Co., Ltd.(TAC). SAS supplied aircraft, management and training to the Thais in order to build THAI into an international reputable airline. SAS’s 30% shareholding was released back to Thai Government in 1977, but the close co-operation has continued. Both SAS and THAI are founding members of Star Alliance.

Thai Transmission Industry Co., Ltd. TPI Tower 22nd Floor, 26/56 Chan Tat Mai Rd, Tungmahamek, Sathorn, Bangkok 10120 Tel: +66 (0) 2678 6640 Fax: +66 (0) 2678 6649 E-mail: paisan@thaitransmission.com Website: www.thaitransmission.com

Dr. Paisan Etitum, Ph.D Mr. Chokechai Chaikittisilpa

Total Access Communication Public Co., Ltd.

Starboard Co., Ltd. 175/5 Moo 12, Soi Suksawai 2, Bangna-Trad Rd Km.13, Bangpleeyai, Bangplee, Samut Prakarn 10540 Tel: +66 (0) 81 849 8140 Fax: +66 (0) 2 316 8097 Website: www.star-board.com

Mr. Svein Rasmussen

Activities and keywords: Support Starboard World limited

21st - 40th floor, 319 Chamchuri Square Building, Phayathai Road Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Tel: +66 (0) 2202-8000 Fax: +66 (0) 2202-8477 Website: www.dtac.co.th

Mr. Jon Eddy Abdullah

Telenor Asia (ROH) Ltd. Exchange Tower, 36th Floor, 388 Sukhumvit Road, Klongtoey, Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 (0) 2637 4700 Fax: +66 (0) 2637 4726 Website: www.telenor.com

Mr. Sigve Brekke

Activities and keywords: Telenor is an international provider of quality telecommunications services with a history of more than 150 years in communications technology. Today Telenor is among the largest mobile operators world wide with operations in 12 countries across Europe and Asia and a total subscriber base of more than 160 million. We are present in some of the world’s most advanced mobile markets and in some of the world’s fastest growing markets. The Telenor Group has a highly skilled local workforce dedicated to serving local markets and driving the advancement in their respective countries. Telenor is a shareholder in dtac, Thailand’s second largest mobile network operator.

Activities and keywords: Thai Transmission Industry Co., Ltd. (TTI) was founded in 1996 with the objectives to provide end-to-end solutions and services for all business and communications needs. Its target customers include large organisations in the government and private sectors of Thailand.

Activities and keywords: dtac is Thailand’s second largest mobile operator with a market share of 32 percent. The proportion of the population of mobile phone increased from 35 percent in 2003 to 82 percent in 2007, and dtac number of subscribers grew from 6.6 to 15.8 million. dtac offers mobile telephony, roaming and additional services to subscribers and prepay customers. dtac also offer mobile internet services.

YARA Emporium Tower 21st floor, Unit 21/4 622 Sukhumvit Road, Klongton, Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 (0) 2664 9498 Fax: +66 (0) 2664 7488 Website: www.yara.com

Mr. Bent Axelsen

Activities and keywords: Fertilizers. Sales and marketing of crop nutrition. Part of Yara International ASA

Mr. Miles Harriman

Thai-Norwegian Business Review

Corporate Members

Amata Corporation Public Company Limited

ABC Tech Thailand Ltd. Unit 1101, 11th Floor, Exchange Tower 388 Sukhumvit Road Klongtoey, Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110 E-mail: contact@abctech-thailand.com

Mr. Andreas Marienborg

Activities and keywords: ABC Tech, part of the Telenor Group, is a newly established subsidiary of the Norwegian web portal ABC Startsiden AS and media company A-pressen AS. ABC Tech aims at delivering leading products and services to ABC Startsiden, A-pressen and other members of the Telenor family, in tight collaboration with the respective development departments in Norway.

Mr. Viboon Kromdit

Ms. Janjira Yamyim

A&S Thai Works Co., Ltd. 98/7 Moo 16, Theparak Rd Km. 22, Bangsaothong, Bangplee, Samut Prakarn 10540 Tel: +66 (0) 2313 1540 Fax: +66 (0) 2313 1550 E-mail: sgolten@ksc.th.com Mr. Sverre Golten Website: www.fishmealmachine.com Activities and keywords: A&S Thai Works Co., Ltd (ASTW), previous AtlasStord Thailand, was established in Thailand in 1984. We design, manufacture and install state of the art fishmeal plants and processing plants for animal by-products like meat, bone, guts and blood. Fishmeal and meat and bone meal are used as high protein ingredients for animal feed, while tallow, fats and oils are used mainly to make soap and bio diesel. ASTW employs 200 people whereof one Norwegian, the owner Sverre Golten and has two workshops and offices in Samutprakarn near Bangkok’s new airport Suwarnabhumi. More than 250 plants and machinery have been exported to mainly South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

Mr Hervé Moulin

Activities and keywords: Airline Business. AIR FRANCE KLM has been voted as “The Best European Airline” by TTG Travel Award at the 21st Annual TTG Travel Awards 2010 Ceremony. The awards honor the most outstanding individuals and organizations! of the travel trade industry in Asia-Pacific. Year Established: Air France: 1954, KLM: 1929

Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

Activities and keywords: Established in 1989, is Thailand’s leading developer and manager of industrial estates on the Eastern Sea-board of Thailand and in Vietnam. Amata Nakorn is our biggest estate, with over 2,000 hectares (over 12,000 rai) and more than 360 multinational clients. Amata works in partnership with the Industrial Estates Authority of Thailand, so that investors can own land on a free-hold basis, operate on a 100% foreign equity basis, and enjoy other important incentives from the Board of Investment.

AquaFence AS Trudvangveien 67, 3117 Tønsberg, Norway Tel: +47 69 20 71 70 Fax: +47 69 00 48 91

Mr. Marcel Wismer

Mr. Tor Oskar Jørgensen

Air France KLM 849 Vorewat Building, 21 Floor Silom Road, Silom, Bangrak Bangkok, 10500 Tel: +66 (0) 2680 9694 Fax: +66 (0) 2680 9680 E-mail: nakhantahiran@airfrance.com Website: www.airfrance.co.th www.klm.co.th

Kromadit Building, 2126 New Petchburi Road, Huay Kwang, Bangkapi, Bangkok 10320 Tel: +66 (0) 2318-0007 Fax: +66 (0) 2318-1096 E-mail: marketing@amata.com Website: www.amata.com

Activities and keywords: AquaFence AS is a company developing and offering systems for flood protection. The flood protection system are patent protected in Norway and internationally. The products are highly competitive with respect to price, and they have many benefits over alternative medium and large scale flood protection solutions, such as the traditional sandbag wall. AquaFence’s R&D and production takes place in Tønsberg, Norway.

Baan Sabaijai That Phanom 148 Moo 9 That Phanom 48110 Tel: 0897 439 501 Fax: 042 540 246 Email: Oskar@proff-norway.no Website: www.baan-sabaijai.com Activities and keywords: Baan Sabaijai is a rehabilitation centre set up for Scandinavians in Thailand.

Mr. Napon Hensakul Mr. Finn Zetterstrøm

Baezini Co. Ltd.: 121/90-91 RS Tower 32nd Fl Din Daeng, Bangkok 10400, Thailand Tel: +66 2642 2445-7, +66 2642 2450-2 Fax: +66 2248 6821 info@baezeni.com Activities and keywords: Civil Engineering, 3D Modelling and Project movie animations, Photo editing, 2D and 3D Floorplans and Interactive Web Designa. Baezeni are located in Bangkok, Pattaya and Hanoi. www.youtube.com/user/beazeni

Chamnan International Trading Co., Ltd.

Ben Adisti Co., Ltd.

Mr. Stig Vagt-Andersen

Phayathai Plaza Building, 17th Fl., 128/183 Phayathai Road, Thungphayathai, Ratchathewi, Bangkok 10400 Tel: +66 (0) 2129-3771-2 Fax: +66 (0) 2129-377 E-mail: ousra@adisti.dk Website: www.adisti.dk, www.adisti.com Activities and keywords: Hotel reservations and package tours: TAT licensed in-bound tour operator provides hotel reservations, golf and package tour nationwide as well as tour programs and hotels in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

Mr. Jan Kleiven Ms. Mintra Kleiven

Activities and keywords: Food processing equipment in co-operation with US and European partners

Mr. Geir Gule

Benchachinda Holding Co., Ltd.

Mr. Vichai Bencharongkul

Mr. Wiwat Suttipak

Benchachinda Bldg, 499 Moo 3, Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, Ladyao, Chathuchak, Bangkok 10900 Tel: +66 (0) 2953 1111 Fax: +66 (0) 2953 2265 E-mail: kaanporn_p@bencha.co.th Website: http://www.bencha.co.th

Mr. Rolf Næslund

Mr. Knut Østbø

United Center, Level 41 323 Silom Road Silom, Bangrak Bangkok 10500, Thailand Tel: +66 (0) 2631 0344 Fax: +66 (0) 2631 0346 www.crt.no Activities and keywords: Carbon Reduction Technologies AS is a consortium of Norwegian companies with long experience in the waste industry focusing primarily on WEEE (Waste from Electric and Electronic Equipment). Norway is a market leader in this industry having been the first country in Europe which introduced regulations and a recycling system handling everything from metals, plastics, refrigeration gases and other dangerous materials. Thailand is set to introduce WEEE regulations in 2015 and Carbon Reduction Technologies is positioned as one of the stakeholders in Thailand’s waste management system.

Christiania Stillas Christiania Stillas A/S Svennerudvegen 32, 2016 Frogner Norway Tel: +47 4666 9990 E-mail: post@cstillas.no Website: www.cstillas.no Activities and keywords: Scaffolding and rental business for the construction industry.

Det Norske Veritas (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

Activities and keywords: Information and communication technology companies through management vision and expertise. Broadband Business, Mobile Phones and Refill Cards Distribution, Telecommunication Network Solution and E-Learning.

Carbon Reduction Technologies

140/9 Moo 7, Nongmaikaen Soi 2 Nongprue, Banglamung Chonburi 20150 Telephone : 038 733 790 Fax : 038 114 134 E-mail : jank@chamnantrade.com Website : www.chamnantrade.com

Mr. Boonphop Dankool

No. 1, MD Tower, 9th Fl., Room A, Soi 947 Moo 12, Bangna-Trad Road, Bangna, Bagna Bangkok 10260 Tel: +66 (0) 2361 8288-90 Fax: +66 (0) 2361 8291 E-mail: dnvban@dnv.com Activities and keywords: Classification and statutory certification of ships and other floating installation – 16% (115.5 million GRT) of world fleet in class as of early 2007. Certification of materials, components, equipment, systems, machinery, pipelines and process plant. Certification of oil & gas offshore installations, pipelines. Risk management consultancy and assessment. Asset integrity management and risk based inspection programming. Certification of management systems to standards like ISO9001, ISO14000, OHSAS18000, SA8000 and etc. As of early 2003 DNV has more than 8% of world market for management system certification and 80 accreditations in different countries.

Thai-Norwegian Business Review

Corporate Members Mr. Frederik Ericson Mr. Marcus Nilsson

Ms. Isaraporn Kongchana

Diakrit: 253 Asoke, 27th Floor, Sukhumvit21 Rd., Khlong Tan Nuea, Bangkok

Eltek Power, Co., Ltd. Unit 3/2, 111/3 Prayasurain Road, Sam Wa Tawan Tok, Klong-Samwa, Bangkok 10510 Tel: +66 (0) 29143603-4 Fax: +66 (0) 29142023 E-mail: sven@eltek.co.th

Go fast. Go convenient. Go Finnair

Website: www.eltek.com Activities and keywords: Eltek Valere develops and markets Innovative & Green Energy Solutions incl. solar power for telecom, industrial and commercial applications. Leveraging the strength of our global organization and brand, we aim to empower our customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; businesses in more than 100 countries by providing highly efficient power solutions, backed up by an unparalleled commitment to customer service. Thailand market is very important for us and especially now when 3G coming up.

Ocean Insurance Building, 18th Fl., Unit F 163 Surawongse Rd, Bangkok 10500 Tel: +66 (0) 2266 3260 - 5 Fax: +66 (0) 2266 3266 E-mail: finnairbkk@finnair.com Website: www.finnair.com/th Activities and keywords: Finnair is one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oldest continually operating airlines, established 1st November, 1923. Finnair flies the fast and short northern route from Asia to Europe, via Helsinki. The efficient and uncongested airport at Helsinki saves you time. Helsinki airport is rated as one of the best and most convenient transfer airports in Europe. We offer daily departures from Bangkok. As a member of Finnair Corporate Program you can cut your travel costs. We offer your company excellent travel solutions.

Activities and keywords : Floor plans, home plans, and architectural 3D renderings. Diakrit provides marketing solutions for realtors and property developers.

Mr Sven Skaug

Finnair PLC

Highland Maritime Co., Ltd. Mr. Andrew J. Airey Mr. Duenrung Airey

Address : 36th Floor, CRC Tower, All Seasons Place, 87/2 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Phatumwan, Bangkok. 10330. Tel: +66 (0) 8 1845 6269 E-mail: Andrew@Highland-Maritime.com Website: www.Highland-Maritime.com Activities and keywords: The International Thai Ship Management Service for Shipowners and Investors. To carry your cargo, care for your ship, deliver your charter commitments and enhance your business success with a great team of people, strong systems and every-day f! ocus on all round performance!.

Euro Center (Thailand) Co., Ltd. Evergreen Place, 10th Floor, Suite 10A 318 Phyathai Road, Ratchathevi, Bangkok 10400 (close to Asia Hotel & Ratchathevi BTS station) Ms. Mai Ellegaard Tel: +66 (0) 2696 3626/27 Fax: +66 (0) 2696 3628 E-mail: bangkok@euro-center.com Website: www.euro-center.com Activities and keywords: Providing travel and medical insurance service.

Mr. Mikael Johan Westerholm 50

Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

Hove D.K. Co., Ltd.

Dr. Kulthorn Silapabanleng

81/1 Moo 3 Tepparach, Banpho Chachoengsao 24140 Tel: +66 (0) 3859 5133-5 Fax : +66 (0) 3859 5136 E-mail: suwaree@hovedk.com Website: www.hovedk.com Activities and keywords: Laminated parawood furniture components, stackable chairs and lounge chairs. Hove D.K. was established in 1987 as a Thai-Norwegian joint venture company but currently is a Thaimajority owned company.

IMG Asia Co., Ltd.

Mr. Nils Gunnar Hjellegjerde

Jotun Powder Coatings (Thailand) Ltd.

81/3 Moo 3, Tepparat, Ban Po, Chachoengsao 24140 Tel: +66 (0) 38525 662 Fax: +66 (0) 38595 223 E-mail: office@imgcomfort.com Website: www.imgcomfort.com Activities and keywords: Producer of comfort furniture like Sofa, Scandinavian recliners, Senior chairs, Lounge chairs and Easy chairs. Specialised manufacturer of comfortable and agronomical correct seating furniture.

Mr. Pornchai Phaungsuwan

Innovation Norway

Mr. Axel Blom

c/o Blue Business Solutions Ltd. 14th Fl., Mahatun Plaza, 888/142 Ploenchit Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Tel: +66 (0) 2627 3040 Fax: +66 (0) 2627 3042 E-mail: bangkok@innovationnorway.no Website: www.innovationnorway.com Activities and keywords: Innovation Norway offers products and services intended to help boost innovation in business and industry all over Norway, foster regional development and promote Norwegian industry and Norway as a tourist destination. Innovation Norway has offices in all of Norway’s counties and in more than thirty countries worldwide. Innovation Norway’s main focus is to help and promote entrepreneurs, newly-founded enterprises as well as small and medium-sized enterprises that seek to grow, as a rule in an international market. Innovation Norway, represented through Blue Business Solutions Ltd. in Thailand, offers doorto-door solutions from Norway to Thailand; in Norway, Innovation Norway helps enterprises with financing, profile building, and market introductions, while Innovation Norway in Thailand assists companies with company establishment including assistance to identify business opportunities, partner search, market reports, as well as assistance with government applications and networking with government bodies.

Mr. Christoffer J. Falchenberg Mr. Joshua Konechny

Interactive Group Co., LTD Two Pacific Place, Room 1703, 17th Floor, 142 Sukhumvit Rd. Bangkok Tel : +66 (0) 89445 5653 E-mail : cf@interactivethailand.com Website : www.interactivethailand.com

Amata Nakorn Industrial Estate (BIP 2), 700/353, Moo 6, Donhualoh Muang, Chonburi 20000 Tel: +66 (0) 3846 8744/5 Fax: +66 (0) 3846 8755/6 Website: www.jotun.com Activities and keywords: Jotun Powder Coatings (Thailand) Ltd. has been operating within the multinational Group in Norway since 1978. Today, Jotun Powder Coatings is one of Thailand’s leading Powder Manufacturer representing new concepts of powder coating under slogan “We offer tomorrow’s technology today for Decorative and Functional Business Segment”.

Kamthorn Surachet & Somsak Co., Ltd.

Mr. Kamthorn Ounhirunskul

31st Sinn Sathorn Tower, 77/131-132, Krungthonsai Rd. Klongthongsai, Klongsarn, Bangkok 10600 Tel: +66 2440 0288-97 Fax: +66 2440 0298/99 E-mail: kss@kss.co.th Website: www.kss.co.th Activities and keywords: Legal Services

Mr. Promyos Snitwognse

Mconzult Asia Co., Ltd. Jangprasit Building, 3rd Fl., 99/161 Chaengwattana Road, Tungsonghong, Laksi, Bangkok 10210 Tel: +66 2982 1785/6 Fax: +66 2982 1787 Mr. Morten Eriksen E-mail: mail@mconzult.com Website: www.mconzult.com Activities and keywords: MCONZULT Asia is the subsidiary of MCONZULT established in 1995. MCONZULT has Nordic heritage, ownership and operation, helping clients around the world building wireless telecom networks. Our technical solutions and focus on delivering quality and achieving targets for our customers is paramount to our way of doing business.

Activities and keywords : Premium accounting, immigration, real estate, and legal services in Bangkok.

Thai-Norwegian Business Review

Corporate Members Mr. Mons Tore Lyssand

Norske Skog (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

Moly AS Postboks 25, NO - 5200 Os Norway Tel: +47 56 30 11 51 E-mail: mons-tore@moly.no

Mr. Torpong Thongcharoen

Activities and keywords: Newsprint paper mill: Owned by Norske Skog (Thailand). It is the only newspaper mill in Thailand. The paper is mainly sold in Thailand. The raw material base is 100% recycled old newspaper and magazines, from local and imported sources.

NorCiv Engineering Co., Ltd. (NCE)

Mr. Sittisak Imsombat

Ms. Tidarat Tirakiat

RS Tower, 32nd Floor, 121/91 Ratchadaphisek Road, Din Daeng, Bangkok 10400 Tel: +66 (0) 2642 2450-2642 2445-6 Fax: +66 (0) 2248 6821 E-mail: nce@norconsult.co.th Website: www.norconsult.co.th Activities and keywords: Providing consulting services within the whole range of civil engineering disciplines : Since its establishment in 1994. NCE has been involved in design of several factories and major road and bridge projects in Thailand, including the Industrial Ring Road, Rangsit Interchange and Tha Pra Underpass in Bangkok, Chiangmai Middle Ring Road, Ratchaburi Bypass and New Phra Nang Khlao Bridge.

Nordea Bank Finland PLC, Singapore Branch

Haavard P. Farstad

Vibulthani Tower 1, 10th Fl., 3195/15 Rama IV Road, Klongton, Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 (0) 2661 3486-92 Fax: +66 (0) 2661 3485/2661 3012 Website: www.norskeskog.com

NRS Consulting Ltd.

Mr. Martin Bae

Ms. Waraporn Choksangeam Mr. Kjell H. Ovtun

3 Anson Road #20-1 Springleaf Tower Singapore 079909 Tel: +65 9658 7855 Fax: +65 6597 1080 E-mail: haavard.farstad@nordea.sg Website: www.nordeaprivatebanking.com

RS Tower, 32nd Floor, 121/91 Ratchadaphisek Road, Din Daeng, Din Daeng, Bangkok 10400 Tel: +66 (0) 2642 2980-2 Fax: +66 (0) 2642 2447 E-mail: nrsthai@truemail.co.th Website: www.nrsc.co.th Activities and keywords: NRS Consulting is world leading in engineering design of Bridge construction equipment, NRS equipment are today involved in the biggest bridge projects in China, Korea, England, Greece, Spain, USA, Thailand, Bahrain

Ovtun Eiendom AS Valkyriegaten 15, NO - 0366 Oslo, Norway Tel: +47 22 59 66 00 Fax: +47 22 59 66 09 E-mail: kjell@ovtun-eiendom.no Website: www.ovtun-eiendom.no Activities and keywords: Property Investment and Administration.

Pacific 2000 Recruitment Co. Ltd. Nordic-Wind Ltd.

Mr. Narudul Matchimanon

12/3 Soi Pasna 2, Ekamai Road, Prakanong Nua, Vadhana, Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 (0) 2381 1881 Fax: +66 (0) 2 81 1771 E-mail: admin@nordic-wind.com Activities and keywords: Nordic- Wind has Thai and Norwegian shareholders, operating export and land development in North Pattaya. Norwegian partner is a land developer in Norway while Thai counterpart is a merchant for import equipment for tunneling.

Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

Mr. Anders Lundqvist

Ms. Wiyada Attagowitwong

All Seasons Place, M Thai Tower, 8th Floor, 87 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Tel: +66 (0) 2654 0300 Fax: +66 (0) 2654 0299 E-mail: info@pacific2000.com Website: www.pacific2000.com Activities and keywords: Search and Selection of personnel for international companies with Thai and regional operations. It assists primarily international companies in the search and selection of high-caliber personnel in Thailand and other South East Asian markets. We focus on retained search where we work on a continuous basis with our Clients building mutual trust based on high quantity standards.

ProAware

Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, a Luxury Collection hotel

Forskningsparken P.O Box 6456 9294 Tromsø, Norway Tel: +47 907 26 347

Mr. Steinar Høier

Mr. Jan Fjelddalen

Activities and keywords: ProAware is run by three experienced and innovative entrepreneurs with a background as customers, consultants and suppliers to the Energy and IT industries. ProAware delivers a unique service based on a completely new methodology and a web solution assessing for Future Awareness.

Mr. Richard Chapman

Activities and keywords: A luxury hotel, located in the heart of the city, provides 20MB High Speed Internet Access, meeting facilities, International restaurants, the Spa and Fitness Centre.

48/23 North Sathorn Road Silom, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500 Phone: 02-697-3860 Fax: 08-697-3869 E-mail: infod@prospectd.com www.prospectd.com

Skandinaviska Enskilda Bangkok S.A.

Activities and keywords: Real Estate, Property Development

Mr. Bjørn Hermansen

Nils Hansens vei 20 0667 Oslo Postbox 46 Bekkelagshøgda 1109 Oslo Tel: +47 22 72 33 33 Fax: +47 22 72 20 60 E-mail:post@reide.no www.reide.no

Mr. Ole Fredrik Hamre

Mr. Bo Carlsson

Activities and keywords: Reide AS is based in Oslo, importing engraved and customised patches, metal tags, awards, trophies made of sterling silver, glass, porcelain, buttons, belts and embroidered caps. Their customers are the armed forces, government agencies, horse racing sport and bands etc.

Mr Ronny Mulstad Mr Chatchai

Scandinavian Law Office 315/430 moo 12 Thapraya Road Nongprue, Banglamung Chonbury 20150 ronny@thailawoffice.com www.thailawoffice.com

E-mail: grande.sukhumvit@ luxurycollection.com Website: www.sheratongrandesukhumvit.com

Prospect Development CO. Ltd

Reide AS

250 Sukhumvit Rd, Klongtoey, Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 (0) 2649 8888 Fax: +66(0) 2649 8000

50 Collyer Quay #12-3 OUE Bayfront, Singapore 049321 Tel: +65 622 35644 (General) +65 635 70829 (Private Bank) Fax: +65 622 53047 (General) +65 653 24538 (Private Bank) E-mail: singapore@sebprivatebanking.com.sg Website: www.sebgroup.com/ privatebanking Activities and keywords: Providing a full range of commercial banking activities with emphasis on trade finance, structured finance and treasury services aimed at the needs of Nordic companies and their counterparts in the Asian region, as well as international offshore private banking services for Nordic individuals.

Skanem Bangkok Co., Ltd.

Mr. Paul A. McKay

Amata Nakorn Industrial Estate, 700/247 Moo 1, Bang-kaow, Panthong, Chonburi 20160 Tel: +66 (0) 3846 5315 Fax: +66 (0) 3846 5321 E-mail: sirilak.s@skanem.com, pafhun.k@skanem.com Website: www.skanem.com Activities and keywords: Production of self adhesive labels.

Activities and keywords: Scandinavian Law Office is an international Law Office specialising in legal assistance to Scandinavian customers. The Law office is registered at the Lawyers Council of Thailand and also offers notary services and has an insurance broker license.

Thai-Norwegian Business Review

Tilleke & Gibbins International Ltd.

Ms. Piyanuj Ratpratsatporn

Supalai Grand Tower, 26th Fl. 1011 Rama 3 Road, Chongnonsi, Yannawa Bangkok 10210 Tel: +66 (0) 2653 5555 Fax: +66 (0) 2653 5678 E-mail: bangkok@tillekeandgibbins.com Website: www.tillekeandgibbins.com

Vianova Systems As

Mr. Wanlop Luanwuttipong

Activities and keywords: Legal Services: Tilleke & Gibbins is one of the largest independent law firms in Thailand offering a wide range of legal services. It is well known for its expertise in corporate and commercial, dispute resolution, and intellectual property matters.

Mr. Finn ZetterstrĂ¸m

Muang Thai Phatra Office Tower II, 23rd Fl., 252/117, Ratchadaphisek Road, Din Daeng, Din Daeng Bangkok 10310 Tel: +66 (0) 2694 3988 Fax: +66 (0) 2694 3989 E-mail: vianova@vianova.co.th Website: www.novapoint.com Activities and keywords: ViaNova (Thailand) represents the 23 ViaNova companies in 8 countries. ViaNova are specialist within Civil Engineering Design and Software development. Established in 1988, ViaNova consists of 350 engineers and 130 of them are dedicated to software development under Novapoint and Ouadi concept, sold in 9000 licenses in 18 countries.

Tohkaiya Co., Ltd.

Mr. Patrik Malmstrom

164/68 Thepharak rd, Bangpla, Bangplee, Samutprakarn 10540 Tele: +66 (0) 2752 5506-7 Fax: +66 (0) 27507370 E-mail: info@tohkaiya.com Website: www.tohkaiya.com

Mr. Totto Befring

Activities and keywords: Food company specialized in the supply, storage, distribution and marketing of temperature controlled food products. Tohkaiya imports chilled/frozen seafood, beef, lamb, foie gras and frozen French fries from various countries, including Norway. All raw materials imported by Tohkaiya have been tested and analyzed on chemical, physical and biological properties from the government units of each country which has a Health certificate as a guarantee in every shipment.

Mr. Reidar Bjerkelid

Tong Tong AS 9146 Olderdalen Tel: +47 99331255 Reidar.bjerkelid@gmail.com

Mr. Tom Stenshavn

Jomtien Plaza Condominium, Floor 1, 472/73 Thappraya Road, Moo 12, Nongprue, Banglamung, Chon Buri 20150 Telephone: 038 304051-53 / 0819837210 Fax: 038304054 E-mail: post@vipreiser.no Website: http://vipreiser.no Activities and keywords: Norwegian travel agency and service centre, located in Thailand.

Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

Q. House Sathorn Bldg, 8th Fl., 11 South Sathorn Road, Thungmahamek, Sathorn, Bangkok 10120 Tel: +66 (0) 2677 3477 Fax: +66 (0) 2677 3478 Website: www.2wglobal.com Activities and keywords: Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) is a leading independent provider of global factory-to-dealer transport solutions for the automotive, agricultural and construction equipment industries.

WebOn (Thailand) Limited

Mr. Jon Anders Aas-Haug

Activities and keywords: Import of 3D paperdolls.

VIP Reiser (Thai Tour Golf Co Ltd)

Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines Thailand

Mr. David Lysnes

Unit 1901, Level 19, Exchange Tower 388 Sukhumvit Rd, Klongtoey, Khet Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 (0) 2260 4120 Website: www.webon-thailand.com Activities and keywords: A leading Norwegian supplier of ecommerce software and solutions. WEBON (Thailand) will support the Norwegian organization with expert skills in developing new products and solutions.

Individual Members Mr. Jan Olav Aamlid House of Coins, Ltd., Part 391/110 Moo 10, Thappraya Road, Soi 13 Banglamung, Nongprue Chonburi 20150 Tel: +66-2515-6138 Fax: +66-3823-1370

Mr. Erling S. Andersen 758/504 Waterford Diamond Tower Apt. Sukhumvit Soi 30/11, Klongtoey, Klongtoey Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 (0) 2 204 1198 E-mail: erling.s.andersen@bi.no

Mr. Trond Arnstad P.S. Tower Building, 21st Fl., 36/73 Asoke Road, Sukhumvit 21, Klongtoey Nua, Vadhana Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 (0) 2664 0009 Fax: +66 (0) 2259 3045 E-mail: santilak@nekta.co.th

Henrik J. Haaland

Dr. Svein Tore Opdal

Next Level Consultancy CO., LTD. 108/3 Sukhumvit soi 23, 3rd Floor Khlong Tan Nuea, Vadhana, Bangkok 10110 E-mail: henrikjh@nextlevelpsychology.com Website: www.nextlevelconsultancy.com Telephone: 026640692 Fax: 026640692

PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited PTTEP Office Building 555 VibhavadiRangsit Road, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900 Phone: 66 (0) 2537-4000 Fax: 66 (0) 2537-4444 E-mail: SveinT@pttep.com

Mr. Knut Hauslo

Mr. Harsh Vardhan Sethi

273-2 Soi Sukhumvit 31 (Swasdi) Klongton-Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110 E-mail: knuthauslo@hotmail.com

Prof. Dr. Ellen Hertzberg Sandbukta, N-4910 Lyngør, Norway E-mail: ellen@ehertzberg.com

Mr. Jan Olav Johannesen

Neon Infotech South Asia Co., Ltd. Unit 27A, 27th Floor, Ocean Tower II, 75/60 Soi Sukhumvit 19, Klongtoey Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand Tel: +66 (0) 2 6617112-3 Ext.109 E-mail: harsh_sethi@neoninfotech.com www.neoninfotech.com

Mr. Kjell Skyllstad

Norwegian Church Abroad - Pattaya 162/50 Moo 10, Thappraya Rd. Soi 7 Jomtien, Banglamung Tel: +66 (0) 85 135 7755 E-mail joj@sjomannskirken.no

Intermusic Center Park Beach Condo Room 2003 592 Moo 5, Soi 16 Pattaya-Naklua Road Banglamung Chonburi, 2015 Thailand

5/47 Soi Srinakarin 46/1 Promote Nongbon, Pravet Bangkok 10250 Tel: +66(0)89 669-8822 E-mail: henning@bragge.net

Mr. Baard Magne Karlsen

Mr. Torkild Waagaard

Dr. Kristian Bø

87 Naradhiwas Rajanagarinda 15 Rd, Sathorn, Bangkok Email: mongkol@tourlines.co.th www.tourlines.co.th

Mr. Henning Bragge

234/237 Discovery Place, Soi 23 Khlong 7, Thanyaburi, 12110 Pathun Thani Tel: +66 (0) 2957 0111 Fax: +66 (0) 2957 0222 Mob:+66 (0) 8 9129 9993 E-mail: kristbo@truemail.co.th

Steinar Gjerde Get IT 66/52 M. Hua Naa, Nongkae, Hua Hin Prachuabkrikhan 77110, Thailand Tel: +66 (0)32 533641-2 Fax: +66 (0)32 533640 E-mail: steinar@greenenergytechnology.asia Website: www.greenenergytechnology.asia

Arvid Gjerstad KM Communication 1/316 Saimai Soi 23/1 Saimai, Saimai Bangkok 10220 Tel: +66 (0) 2 996 3900 Fax: +66 (0) 2 996-3627 Ext.18 E-mail: km.communication@hotmai.com Website: www.km-communication.com

Dyrdalsveien 7 5300 Kleppestoe Tel: +47 92 01 18 43 E-mail: bm-karlsen@hotmail.com

Mr. Mongkol Kuprasert

Thailand: 33/237 Ladawan Soi 6/5, Srinakarin Road, Samut Prakarn 10540 Livveien 4 3513 Hønefoss, Norway Telephone: +66 (0) 2 758 6936 E-mail: torkild@st-olaf.no

Mr. Phonlavit (Ernie) Manchakra Italthai Building 2 956 Sukhumvit 71 Road Klongton-Nua, Wattana Bangkok 10110 Thailand Tel: +66 2 3815-6216 Fax: +66 2 381 5628 E-mail: thailand@vcegroup.com

Mr. George Ole Olson Am-Thai Norsk Consult Home in Park Soi 12, 250/270 Canal Road, Hangdong, Chiang Mai 50230 Tel: +66 (0) 89 482 5054 Fax: +66 (0) 53 43 5212 E-mail: kalasin2007@yahoo.com

Please visit www.norcham.com for the latest updates. Deadline for the next issue is 1 September 2013. Email: director@norcham.com

Thai-Norwegian Business Review

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