Bangkok Business Brief - Volume 2, Issue 9 - Mid-August/September 2013

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Mid-August/September 2013Vol. No. 2, Issue No. 9

The rise of IsanKingdom for hundreds of years. It has set the tone, started the trends, and driven the economy. And for much of that time, the rural north-east has been the poor backwater of the country, what Lonely Planet travel guides famously described as “a forgotten backyard.” Despite hav-ing the largest area and being the most populated region with a third of Thailand’s 68 million people, Isan (or Isaan) has never attracted much attention from the outside world… until now. In recent years, after the red shirt protests in 2010 and the flooding in 2011, Isan has been at-tracting investment, not only from major Thai corporations, but from foreign investors as well. In short,

Isan is booming.

While the most cynical observer would argue that the rise of Isan is happening because of ‘politi-cal strategy’ at best, and ‘political manipulation’ at worst, it’s hard to ignore the factors that are contrib-uting to Isan’s economic growth. Government money is certainly pouring into the region through a combination of subsidies and eco-nomic stimulus programs, the two most well known being the mini-mum wage increase and the rice scheme. Despite the debate as to the effectiveness of these two programs for the rural poor in the region, there seems to be little doubt that

this influx of capital is stimulating other areas of the Isan economy.

The flooding in central Thailand in 2011 has also had an affect on Isan. New factories and industrial estates have opened in the region, and lo-gistics providers and other manu-facturers have moved to the north-east as a direct consequence of the devastating floods two years ago. This economic development has seen an increase in the labor force in the region with many workers returning home after years working in the capital. Isan is now able to compete with Bangkok in the labor

Story continues on Page 13

By Navin Johnson

For much of its history, Thailand has marched to the beat of the Bangkok drum. Krung Thep Maha Nakhon has been the political, cul-tural and economic center of the

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General Interest

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New research by Hay Group has found that 27% at companies not perceived as fostering a satisfac-tory work-life balance leave the firm within two years. As well, most em-ployees in Thailand do not feel their organisations support a satisfactory work-life balance.

“Only 47% of employees feel that their organisations support them in achieving a work-life balance,” said Nongnuch Obsuwan, a senior consultant at the Pennsylvania-based firm. “Organisations need to ensure better support more than ever before and be aware that the importance of a work-life balance to employees is increasing. Direct

Is foreign tax credit relief available in Thailand? The answer is yes. If you pay tax in two or more coun-tries due to cross-border business travel, the first question that pops up in your mind is which country should provide tax relief to you. The simple answer is that generally it is the country where you are a tax resident. In the case of a Thai work-ing outside Thailand and subject to tax in another country, if he main-tains Thai tax resident status, which is staying in Thailand for 180 days or more in the tax year, Thailand must grant the tax relief. However, Thailand will only grant relief in the form of a foreign tax credit if a...Full story at http://goo.gl/yX07X

Asian companies need to invent their own business models for long-term sustainability, models that address social and environmental costs, highlight brand building, and capitalise on the diversity of Asian culture, said panellists at The Nation International Conf. New models are a must as Asia has to strengthen its resilience to global uncertainties, which are not likely to end soon as long as most global trade is denomi-nated in US dollars, agreed partici-pants. “Asia is going to be a primary engine of growth, but that growth can come to a sputtering stop if our business models are not sustainable,” said Ho Kwon Ping, exec. chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings. Asia may be driving the world, it is possible that it may “drive itself off the road and end up in a car crash”, he said.

Survey: Work-life balance concerns growing among staff

How to be sure you’re not paying tax in two countries

Urine proves fertile ground for students

Experts call for Asia-based models

Quite often we see men urinat-ing openly in dark corners, giving natural fertiliser to the bushes and trees alongside streets. So if urine can be used to grow crops, why not pee in gardens instead of disposing of it elsewhere? Students at King Mongkut’s University of Technol-ogy Thonburi thought that idea less realistic, so they ended up produc-ing an alternative _ Thailand’s first men’s urinals equipped with a fertil-iser producer.

The innovation received a creativity award at a water management in-novation competition held for the third year by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry and East Water Resources Development and Management Plc. Bussarakam Kunwong, a fourth-year student in

Citing computer giant Dell’s recent potential takeover as a cautionary tale, Ho stated that Asia must make a conscious commitment to...Full story at http://goo.gl/E3tfGx

KMUTT’s engineering faculty, said the innovation was developed from a project she created during her sec-ond year. She devised a water-recy-cling system for flushing by using...Full story at http://goo.gl/y5VUi

managers need to address this issue proactively, or else your best people will burn out or walk away.”

She said firms must start by asking...Full story at http://goo.gl/q1Yxz

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Preventing Bangkok from sinking biggest challenge

Grow with the flow of cycles

Asia stands to gain from West slowdown

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

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

mains above the European average.In India, China and Thailand, roughly 12 percent of the popula-tion contribute to a pension, while the weaknesses of Thailand’s pen-sion system are...Full story at http://goo.gl/rtpH3Government / Economy

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The Commerce Ministry said 56 companies in Phuket are suspected of breaching the Foreign Busi-ness Act by having Thais acting as nominees so that foreigners can hold majority control. A total of 153 companies were investigated by the ministry. Most of the suspected companies are owned by Russian interests, and are involved in food and beverage trading, and financial agencies, Deputy Commerce Minis-ter Natthawut Saikua said.

The Business Development Depart-ment will deepen its investigation into all 56 companies by question-ing their directors and examining documentation. If any of the busi-nesses have committed offences, their cases will be forwarded to state agencies for prosecution, he said. Among the 56 suspected companies in Phuket, 24 firms have been set up this year and are not yet operating, 13 conduct a business listed in An-nex III of the FBA, eight have not cooperated in the investigation,...Full story at http://goo.gl/7wjx4

The head of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Develop-ment has recommended that Thai-land develop 10 areas to become a real hub of Asean and bring more trade and investment into the re-gion. ASEAN has been urged to adopt four key strategies to ensure achievement of ASEAN integration by 2015. Supachai Panitchpakdi, secretary-general of Unctad, said that Thailand has a lot of potential to link the regional value chain. It should promote more value-ad-dition in various industries such as automobile, medical and retail sectors, which can add value to all ASEAN countries.

Second, he said economic corridors of the Greater mekong Subregion will significantly contribute to mak-ing Thailand a hub of Asean. The only obstacle now is the software side, such as regulations, which...Full story at http://goo.gl/dQbgv

Leading businessmen who lost most of their empire during the tom yum kung crisis are warning of a nascent economic bubble, blaming policies that have encouraged consumers to take on debt while the government borrows hugely to spur the econ-omy. Boonchai Bencharongkul, a founder of No.2 mobile operator To-tal Access Communication, voiced concern about a potential new crisis forming. “I think the current situa-tion is worrisome. As one of those who had such an experience, I can smell it now. People are rushing and competing to buy condos while more and more people are driving Ferraris. These are the same things we saw before the 1997 crisis oc-curred,” Mr Boonchai told a forum. He said populist policies such...Full story at http://goo.gl/G83Ao

Imagine for a moment that you could look into the economic future of China. What would you find in say five years? Some commentators talk of bubbles and crisis, but we see an economy with more diversified financial markets that welcome for-eign participation, a place where the urban middle classes spend more and save less. Well-funded private investment would flourish in areas that were previously the domain of state-owned industrial giants.

We also see a China that is comfort-able with having a fully convertible currency and allows its citizens to invest overseas. In short, a nation with a leadership confident about opening up the country’s financial system and at ease with China’s place in the world economy. But how will this happen? After all, the

56 Phuket firms suspected of breaching FBA

Despite slowdown, China reform aims for long-term gains

UNCTAD recommendation Thailand ‘must develop 10 areas’

Snakebit tycoons urge caution

China of today is dominated by big state-owned banks and companies, a clogged-up credit system, hard to access stock and bond markets, in-terest rates that have yet to be fully liberalised and a currency that is only just starting to be let off a tight leash. The answer is through reform. The country’s new leaders have...Full story at http://goo.gl/cY1jD

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When it comes to communicating monetary policy, no one makes it clearer than Ben Bernanke, chair-man of the US Federal Reserve. Signalling the beginning of the end of QE3, Mr Bernanke sent shock-waves through financial markets on May 29 when he said the Fed may moderate its monthly pace of asset purchases this year. If that was not terrifying enough for investors, he went on to say the Fed may stop the third round of quantitative eas-ing altogether in mid-2014. Right after Mr Bernanke spoke, yields on government bonds including highly coveted US Treasuries jumped as investors demanded higher risk pre-miums. Thailand’s financial markets

Investors ‘must focus on region’

BAY eyes bigger Japanese client base

As QE3 winds down, Is bank liquidity in danger of draining out of Thailand?

Bank of Ayudhya, the country’s fifth-largest commercial bank, hopes an early benefit once Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ becomes its new major shareholder is that it will be able to tap into the strong em-ployee base of Japanese companies in Thailand, which will lead to cross-selling in retail banking. A source at BAY said the bank sees a number of advantages from the deal, especially in terms of gaining customers from both Japanese firms in Thailand and the employees of those companies, which will boost the bank’s pay-roll

were no exception. The SET index fell by 2.47%, while government bond yields at longer maturities jumped more than 10 basis points in one day. The baht lost 0.55% against the US dollar in a day, continuing its weakening trend since its mid-April peak. All attention was focused on the stock, bond and foreign-ex-change markets, but such routs in the main arena have distracted us...Full story at http://goo.gl/Ki3L9

accounts. The pay-roll account is a basic product that could help broad-en the cross-selling of products in retail banking, especially auto loans and unsecured loans.

“After the tender offer is complete, we will look forward to a synergy in retail banking with the new share-holder, with a larger number of Japanese manufacturers in Thailand initially being the focus of BAY in...Full story at http://goo.gl/ziXQQ

Citibank suggests investors shift their assets from bonds to equities for higher returns from long-term investment in these times of uncer-tainty. “Plenty of liquidity around the world will spur stock markets globally,” said Haren Shah, Ci-tibank’s chief investment strategist for wealth management in Asia-Pacific. Global equities are expected to continue to outperform other asset classes in the second half of this year despite high valuations in recent years. “Therefore, investors

Thai investors should consider in-vesting in regional bonds and stock markets to soften the blows caused by fluctuating capital flows, said Kobsidthi Silpachai, head of market and economic research at Kasikorn-bank. Investors currently focus on local markets and assets, although Asean integration has led to col-laboration among regional mar-kets and the opportunity to make returns from regional assets. “The development of regional bond and stock markets has fallen behind re-gional trade and investment such as imports and exports,” Mr Kobsidthi said. “Thai entrepreneurs have es-tablished strong trading channels with neighbouring countries, but they have neglected investing in re-gional in regional capital markets....Full story at http://goo.gl/ny5bJ

Citibank suggests transfer to equities

should overweight on equity assets on global markets and underweight those that are fixed income,” said Mr Shah. Global liquidity is expected...Full story at http://goo.gl/gxpbH

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

http://goo.gl/UrVpE

Setting up a bioplastics plant in Ma-laysia would be more financially feasible than in Thailand due to bet-ter government subsidies and tax holidays, says an executive from a polylactic acid producer. Although US-based NatureWorks, the world’s leading bioplastics company, decid-ed to set up a regional office in Thai-land, the source admitted Thailand’s Board of Investment is less flexible than Malaysia’s in negotiating for incentives. “Thailand has an ad-vantage in terms of the variety and quantity of feedstock, but these ad-vantages cannot offset the financial costs,” said the executive.

NatureWorks, with annual capac-ity of 150,000 tonnes at its first and only bioplastics plant in Nebraska, is looking to build a second plant in Asia. Last year, the SET-listed PTT Global Chemical Plc, Thailand’s largest petrochemical producer,...Full story at http://goo.gl/W1a57

Ch. Karnchang Plc, Thailand’s third-largest contractor by market value, is set to sign a development agree-ment for the 17-billion-baht Nam Bak power project in Laos. The sign-ing with the Laotian government in Vientiane on Aug 8 will pave the way for a concession agreement, with construction due to begin later this year. The 160-megawatt plant will be the third hydropower project of holding company CK Power Plc in Laos following the Nam Ngum 2 and Xayaburi projects. With a capacity of 1,285 MW, Xayaburi is scheduled to operate in 2019.

CKP managing director Supamas Trivisvavet said the company is studying the possibility of investing in new power projects in neighbour-ing countries with a combined ca-pacity of 1,000 MW. It plans to have capacity of 2,300 MW in the next 5-6 years and more than 4,000...Full story at http://goo.gl/sCP06

Ch. Karnchang ready for third Laos power project

Thailand likely to miss out on bioplastics plant

Honda Automobile (Thailand), Honda’s automobile production and sales joint venture company in Thailand, will see its annual produc-tion capacity rise to 420,000 units in 2015 through new investment in its existing and new plants.

“Thailand has long been one of our key markets and an important R&D and production base for Honda in the Asia/Oceania region. Honda will continue to create high-quality automobiles that meet customer needs and to fulfil our strong en-vironmental commitment to leave ‘Blue Skies for Our Children’ while continuing to grow our business along with the growing prosper-ity of Thailand,” said Takanobu Ito, president of Honda. Ito was in Thai-land to join the ceremony marking the beginning of the construction of a new plant. The ceremony was pre-sided over by Prime Minister Yin-gluck Shinawatra. The new plant, to be located in the Rojana Industrial Park in Prachin Buri province, re-quires an investment of Bt17.15 bil-lion, including land acquisition and construction costs. The latest...Full story at http://goo.gl/vjnD1

Honda begins construction of new plant in Prachin Buri

Pfizer (Thailand), a biopharmaceu-tical company, remains optimistic about its healthcare business despite signs of declining purchasing pow-er. General manager Krit Matatratip said the distributor of Caltrate cal-cium tablets is confident its prod-ucts will continue to enjoy greater growth than the industry as a whole.

First-half sales were weak in sev-eral categories, but Mr Krit sees many factors that can benefit the company’s health-care operations. He cited the rise in middle-income earners, especially in the provinc-es, and growing urbanisation due to the property and retail boom upcountry. The upcoming Asean single market in 2016 is expected to ease the regional drug business since member countries tend to rely on the same rules. “As Thailand is located in a strategic location, the...Full story at http://goo.gl/7Bo3I

Pfizer’s local boss likes prospects for pills

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Amid stagnant growth of out-of-home media in the first half of this year, transit and digital screen me-dia appeared to be big gainers while conventional outdoor and in-store media lost favour. Surachet Bum-rongsuk, manager of Kinetic World-wide (Thailand), a leading planner and buyer of out-of-home media, said that local advertisers and prod-uct owners had changed their ways of spending via out-of-home me-dia, which include outdoor, transit, in-store and digital screen media. They tend to relocate budgets for conventional billboards to cutting-edge media such as digital screens and moveable media including ur-ban rail. Though big billboards in Bangkok’s prime locations are ex-

Advertisers move to digital screens, transit displays

We Fitness set for Thai debut

Nok Air adds fresh route to Yangon Flight of fancy

Ten new Villa Markets this year

posed to high traffic – commuters on jammed roads – their returns re-main limited mainly because of low utilisation from long-term clients in line with the high cost of...Full story at http://goo.gl/ECLjO3

Angel Chan, who heads a chain of well-known fitness centres in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand, will open her latest centre, We Fitness Society, with the intention of mak-

Nok Air is intensifying its foray in Myanmar, its first foreign country upon resumption of its interna-tional services, with a route from the Thai border town Mae Sot to the former capital Yangon. The daily Mae Sot-Yangon flight is due to commence on Oct 1, one month af-ter the inauguration of its Myanmar service, also daily, from Mae Sot to Mawlamyine, formerly known as Moulmein. Mae Sot-Yangon was not previously planned by the Thai budget carrier, but it saw an oppor-tunity for traffic on Myanmar’s sec-ondary routes, said executives of the SET-listed airline.

The two Myanmar-bound routes originating from Mae Sot will be operated by a Saab 340B turbo-

The 21-metre-long fore section of a real Boeing 737 that greets children at the entrance of KidZania Bang-kok in Siam Paragon shopping mall is not there solely for children’s flight of fancy after its retirement from Thai AirAsia. The fuselage, which was cut off from an aircraft at Bang-kok’s old Don Mueang airport a year ago, has found a new home and new duties at the edutainment centre, with a primary mission of embed-ding the airline’s brand in the minds of children as young as four.

Its secondary role is to inspire youngsters to become future pilots and cabin crew, demand for which will skyrocket over the next couple of decades as airlines around the world take delivery of tens of thousands of new commercial jetliners. Boeing, the US plane maker, projects a need for 460,000 new commercial airline pilots worldwide by 2031. It expects Asia-Pacific will continue to present the largest growth in pilot demand, requiring 185,600 new ones during that period. The fuselage’s cabin and cockpit have been largely carried over from the real...Full story at http://goo.gl/CjZzE

Villa Market JP Co plans to accel-erate its expansion this year, with a budget of 300-400 million baht. Director Pisit Poosanakhom said 10 new Villa Markets will open this year compared with only two last year, when it felt the impact from the floods in late 2011. Each super-market will cost 30-40 million baht to open and have saleable space of 1,000 square metres. Each new store will create 40-50 new jobs. By year-end there will be 32 Villa Markets. The company opened three outlets in the first half of this year includ-ing the latest one, its 25th branch, in Phuket. More Villa Markets will be opened in new tourist destinations in the second half of this year. Sev-eral new retail chains are branch-ing out into supermarkets, but Villa Market will maintain its sustainable strategy, said Mr Pisit. “We move at a slow pace, but each move is,...Full story at http://goo.gl/RCbZgz

prop, capable of carrying 34 pas-sengers, chartered from Nok Mini, an affiliated airline with different ownership. Nok Air’s previously announced plan to offer Bangkok-Yangon service in the...Full story at http://goo.gl/ZhG0HN

ing fitness part of Thai people’s ev-eryday lives. Chan, who is COO of We Fitness Company, said that the first centre would officially open next month at Major Cineplex Ratchayothin. The team, comprising 50 staff – including personal train-ers, sales and office administrators – was formed in January. “We plan to open four We Fitness Society clubs this year at Major Cineplex Ratcha-yothin, Major Cineplex Ekamai, Major Cineplex Pinklao, and Espla-nade Ratchadaphi-sek, at a total cost of Bt600 million,” she said. Includ-ing this year’s outlay, the company expects to invest about Bt1.5 billion to open 10 fitness centres at Major Cineplex complexes and other malls over the next three...Full story at http://goo.gl/5v1H1

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mains above the European average.In India, China and Thailand, roughly 12 percent of the popula-tion contribute to a pension, while the weaknesses of Thailand’s pen-sion system are...Full story at http://goo.gl/rtpH3Tourism

http://goo.gl/fxE4d

Centara to add new luxury hotel in Pattaya

Taiwan, China eye easier visas

Erawan branches into budget hotels

Khiri named Thai agent for space tourism venture

Travellers want cinemas, sleeping pods, libraries

Three promising markets for Thai tourism in 2014

Centara Hotels & Resorts is pre-paring to open a new luxury hotel in Pattaya. The new-build, five-star Centara Grand Phratamnak Resort Pattaya will soft-open in Septem-ber 2013, featuring 165 rooms and suites, all with private balconies, Nespresso coffee machines, LED flat-screen TVs, DVD players and free Wi-Fi. The property will also feature the Ruffino’s Restaurant & Bar, a rooftop outlet with sea views, plus a rooftop swimming pool with pool bar, a beach house and spa. There will also be meeting facilities for up to 80 people.

“Phratamnak Hill is… the city’s most prestigious address, and in creating our new five-star resort ho-tel we have been very much aware that it will form a centerpiece and a landmark for the district,” said Chris Bailey, Centara’s senior VP for...Full story at http://goo.gl/KZ800

China and Taiwan will likely be the next countries after Japan to relax visa rules to woo foreign tourists, es-pecially Thais, say industry experts. Visa facilitation has become a new marketing tool for the tourism in-dustry, said Charoen Wangananont, an adviser to and former president of the Thai Travel Agents Associa-tion. Japan’s recent visa waiver will definitely put pressure on China and Taiwan, the other two markets favoured by Thai travellers, he said.

Sharing his view was Sansern Ngao-rungsi, the deputy governor for in-ternational marketing in Asia and the South Pacific at the Tourism

An international survey has re-vealed 10 complimentary features that travellers want to see at a dream airport. About 49% of more than 10,000 travellers interviewed in 25 countries excluding Thailand by travel search site Skyscanner nomi-nated cinemas like those at Singa-pore Changi Airport.

Shuteye also scored highly, with 36% of respondents voting for sleeping pods, which Abu Dhabi In-ternational Airport unveiled in May at about 375 baht per hour.

Voted in third place by 32% of re-spondents in the poll was a library that allows travellers to borrow their holiday reading, showing that the traditional paperback is still a popu-lar choice for travellers despite the rise of e-books.

Outdoor space is also a highly de-sired feature, with a park the fourth...Full story at http://goo.gl/vMyE8

China, Russia and India will be the fastest-growing markets for Thai tourism in 2014, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. However, the three markets are mostly in the medium- and low-end segments. To expand these markets, the TAT will try to attract medium- to high-end tourists as their econo-mies have a positive outlook, said Pongsathorn Kessasamli, deputy governor for policy and planning.

To boost the Chinese market, the TAT opened its fifth office in China in Guangzhou by the end of the year to cover South China. The first four offices are in Beijing, Kunming, Shanghai, and Chengdu. TAT ex-pected the number of Chinese tour-

Bangkok-based Khiri Voyages has been appointed as exclusive Thai-land agent for Space Expedition Corporation, which will hold its Asia-wide media launch in Hong Kong on Monday. The first flights into space will be late this year or early 2014. The cost per trip is ap-proximately Bt4.2 million. Exclu-sively for the Thai market, the price includes the training mission to the Netherlands and the space jour-ney from the Spaceport in either Curacao – a Dutch-controlled is-land in the Caribbean – or the US, business-class flights from Bangkok to both destinations, transfers, and deluxe accommodation for two people. Additional modules of pre-flight training, such as zero-gravity flights, are available, at extra cost, if the space traveller wants to sub-scribe to these.

SXC says space travel is no longer the exclusive domain of govern-ments. It is now coming into reach for private individuals and organ-isations. SXC will facilitate space adventure travel for Thai nationals who book through Khiri Voyages, which has an introductory Thai-language website up at www.space-voyages.asia. After booking through Khiri Voyages, Thai space travellers will undergo training in the Nether-lands, which includes a flight in an...Full story at http://goo.gl/HRxIa

ist arrivals to Thailand to reach 5.4 million in 2014, compared to the projected 4 million this year. The Guangzhou office will also cover Shenzhen. At present, per-capita revenue for Guangzhou people is on par with that of Beijing and Shang-hai, at around 100,000 yuan, while Shenzhen is 150,000 yuan.

For the Indian market, TAT projects the number of visitors from India will reach...Full story at http://goo.gl/HlsPD

The Erawan Group is spending Bt2 billion on expanding its network into the budget-hotel segment with 30 openings through 2015 under its new Hop Inn brand. The first opening will be during the second or third quarter of next year and the brand’s launch will make it the first Thai-owned budget chain in the Kingdom, competing head-on with the Tune chain from Malaysia. Kasama Punyagupta, CEO of The Erawan Group, said the budget-ho-tel segment had big potential, with low risk and a high return.

Twenty-five of the planned Hop Inn hotels will be located in Thai-land, and the other five elsewhere in Asean. The first five properties are under construction, and nine openings in total are scheduled by the end of next year. Each hotel will have 79 rooms and guests will...Full story at http://goo.gl/2SO9I

Authority of Thailand. Mr Sansern said Beijing is expected to offer mul-tiple-entry visas or triple the period of stay to 90 days for Thai tourists. “Visa waivers not only stimulate tourism but also help to build...Full story at http://goo.gl/mwD5B

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Amata expands industrial estates as Chinese flock in

Wooden prefab shops on sale

Border provinces attract foreigners

Strong demand for campus condos

Promotions aplenty at upcoming showsHome-buyers will benefit from a host of special promotions offered by developers and others at major property-related exhibitions be-ing held over the remainder of the year. The main events are being held from August 22-25 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, and the Business Housing Associa-tion’s show from August 29 to Sep-tember 4 at CentralPlaza Lat Phrao. The organiser of the “Home Buy-ers Expo 2013”, said more than 300 new residential projects worth over Bt100 billion would be showcased at the show.

The Government Housing Bank is also launching a special promo-tion on July 20 at all branches with a view to sharply reducing the more

Amata Corp, Thailand’s major de-veloper and manager of factory es-tates, is set to expand its industrial zones to cater to Chinese investors, who are expected to set up 300 to 500 plants in its zones in the next five years. There are around 60 Chi-nese factories in Amata zones cur-rently. The firm’s zones are expected to have 100 plants by the end of this year.

Viboon Kromdit, chief marketing officer, expects the company to see better operating performance in the

Prize of Wood Industry Co, a wooden products and flooring manufacturer, expanded its prefab-ricated wooden houses to include karaoke and coffee shops, and plans to launch two-storey units in three months. MD Khomwit Boontham-rongkit said these karaoke and coffee shops can be customised, removed and reassembled as re-quired, all quite speedily. Cafe Ama-zon is the first customer, locating its first prefabricated shop near Thai Chamber of Commerce University. The unit size is 30 square metres and it is scheduled to be completed in 15 days priced at 780,000 baht.

“Our prefabricated wooden house is based on a Lego system. It can be as small or large as desired,” he said. “A resort owner does not need to invest a huge sum of money. He can spend maybe 5 million baht for five units...Full story at http://goo.gl/t2p0N

Thailand’s border provinces and those along main transport routes and future economic corridors are drawing interest from foreign inves-tors who bought land plots for trade and industrial expansion. Surachet Kongcheep at property consultant Colliers International Thailand said potential destinations in the North are Tak’s Mae Sot district and Chi-ang Rai’s Chiang Khong district.

In Mae Sot, on the Myanmar border, hotels and condominiums are being developed. The area will become more attractive for investment after the cabinet approved the develop-ment of 5,600 rai south of the Moei River to support new investment. In Chiang Khong, Chinese investors are buying land to develop...Full story at http://goo.gl/mbxjsX

Campus condominiums are the lat-est trend for property firms seeking to develop new market segments, as they face a period of intense com-petition in traditional parts of the residential market that is expected to continue well into next year. Developers are trying to find new segments with reliable purchasing power, and have been focusing in particular on university students, many of whose families can afford to buy a condo located close to where their child is studying. For example, Pruksa Real Estate plans to intro-duce its latest condominium on Phaholyothin Road, located close to Kasetsart University. Property Per-fect, meanwhile, has introduced two Uniloft campus condominiums, at...Full story at http://goo.gl/OHpCu9

Real Estate

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than 3,000 non-performing assets on its books. The lure is zero interest for the first year of a loan taken out to purchase one of the NPAs.

Meanwhile, property firms them-selves also plan to run special pro-motional campaigns in a bid to boost sales during the rest of the...Full story at http://goo.gl/7IVq5

second half of this year, following greater investment in Amata City in Rayong by foreign companies, par-ticularly those from China, which have relocated production bases after facing trade barriers to their exports from some trade partners. China is also expected to experience a decline of economic growth to 7.5 per cent this year from the previous-ly estimated 8.5 per cent, encourag-ing investors to look to overseas markets, a move supported by the Chinese government.

“We’ve prepared the land plots to serve rising demand for business es-tablishments. We will expand phase by phase, each comprising between 1,000 and 2,000 rai,” Viboon added...Full story at http://goo.gl/lBQDc

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mains above the European average.In India, China and Thailand, roughly 12 percent of the popula-tion contribute to a pension, while the weaknesses of Thailand’s pen-sion system are...Full story at http://goo.gl/rtpH3IT / Comms

http://goo.gl/VwYn9 Challenging environment limits growth prospects of Asian Internet firms: EIU report

IT firm turns focus to TV-network providers

Specialised websites now main channel for job recruitmentAbout 10% of social-

media users now shop online

TrueVisions: new channel for Man United fans Conferencing shifts

from boardrooms to smart gadgets

Thais are spending more time on-line and amid boom times in so-cial media, fewer than 10 per cent of social-media users shop online. Pawoot Pongvitayapanu, president of the Thai E-Commerce Associa-tion, confirmed the 10-per-cent fig-ure of 19 million Facebook users in Thailand. Surangkana Wayuparb, director of the Electronics Trans-action Development Agency, said the social commerce tends to grow further. The agency’s annual survey showed that almost all participants used social media and almost half of those who did (49.7%) had pur-chased items via those platforms, defined as social commerce. The survey also found that more women conduct social commerce than men. The top three goods purchased via social media were clothes, shoes or bags; information-technology gad-gets, computers or mobile phones;...Full story at http://goo.gl/MbjD1

About 91% of employers now rely on online recruitment websites as their main channel for job advertising, in-dicating that social media networks and other job posting channels can longer meet their needs, according to JobStreet.com. Eric Sito, regional GM, said that one of the challenges facing most companies is how to engage and convince top talents to work for them. Many firms are fo-cusing on image making or brand building to be more attractive, while job candidates want more informa-tion. To make it easier for employ-ers to find qualified candidates via online recruitment, JobStreet.com has introduced new features such as salary matching, location map and company insights. Candidates can now easily see which companies match their salary range, the first...Full story at http://goo.gl/ZotlJ

Determined to cash in on the transition to digital terrestrial-TV broadcasting, International Re-search Corp, a leading IT company, plans to diversify into broadcasting business by providing hardware and software for national digital-network providers. Amid intense competition from key rivals such as Loxley, Samart Corp, Cisco System (Thailand) and Planet Communica-tion Asia, the listed company aims to secure a transmission-installation project with a state media agency that has already obtained a licence to provide a network for digital broadcasting.

Under a key condition of these li-cences, a digital-TV network pro-vider must build and expand its service area for digital broadcasts to 50 per cent of the nation’s 22 million households within the first year, 80

Polycom Inc, the California-based maker of videoconferencing equip-ment, is tapping cloud-based con-ferencing software to help firms capitalise on the growing influ-ence of social networking. Thep Ritrangkla, the regional manager of Polycom Thailand, said the increas-ing popularity of social media and smart wireless devices is reshaping demand for conferencing.

Polycom’s real-presence cloud soft-ware lets users bring their social me-dia contacts from Skype, Facebook, Google Talk and business email into the company’s video communica-tions system, he said. Mr Thep said users can expand videoconferenc-ing to any IP telephony connection with suppliers, partners or custom-ers rather than using video commu-nications within the internal system as in the past.

TrueVisions partnered with the Manchester United Fan Club to launch the MUTV Channel as a part of its customer-retention plan, particularly for soccer fans, before the new season of the English Pre-mier League kicks off on arch-rival CTH. “We are now happy with the churn rate, which is still below our estimate. We also expect that our existing subscribers who want to watch live EPL matches will opt to stay with us and buy a new set-top box provided by the EPL rights holder,” said Ong-ard Prapakamol, chief commercial officer.

In the past several months, the lead-ing subscription-based TV operator has rolled out marketing events to introduce new packages, relaunch a mobile application called “TrueVi-sions Anywhere”, and premiere this new soccer channel, which aims to attract the more than 14 mil-lion Manchester United fans in the country. With MUTV on its plat-

Asia’s Internet businesses, notably those outside of North Asia, con-tinue to face a challenging business environment that prevents them from growing to the scale of their counterparts elsewhere, according to new research from The Econo-mist Intelligence Unit. The report, “Good to grow? The environment for Asia’s Internet businesses”, notes that while Asia accounts for nearly 50 per cent of the world’s Internet users, it has yet to produce an Inter-net giant on the scale of an Amazon or a Facebook.

The report, which was commis-sioned by the Asia Internet Coali-tion, examines why this is the case. Among the main findings of the research is that online payment channels are fragmented and un-derdeveloped, hindering business. Improving the payments landscape is a pressing issue for many Internet entrepreneurs in...Full story at http://goo.gl/kGrsV

form, TrueVisions believes it can maintain its position as the “King of Sports” with a variety of sports...Full story at http://goo.gl/2t3XU

He acknowledged that while some web-based videocalling services such as Google Hangouts are of-fered free of charge, they are de-signed specifically for...Full story at http://goo.gl/90upTe

per cent in the second year, 90 per cent in the third and 95 per cent in the fourth. Chatree Chatreekul, vice president for digital broadcasting at International Research, estimated that the overall investment cost...Full story at http://goo.gl/K9Sqa


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
















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

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

TWO NATIONS, ONE FRIENDSHIPIn 2013, AMCHAM is celebrating Two Nations, One Friendship - 180 years of Thailand-U.S. relations. The Friendship officially began in 1833 with the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, but the first U.S.-Thai (then Siam) encounter occurred 12 years before, when an American ship commanded by a “Captain Man” sailed into Bangkok.

As a gift to King Rama III, the American captain presented His Majesty with 500 flintlock guns. In return, the king bestowed the title of “Khun Pakdiraja” upon Captain Man and granted a partial tax exemption on the ship’s cargo.

Treaty of amity and commerceIn 1833, King Rama III received a more significant American visitor, U.S. President Andrew Jackson’s appointed envoy, Ed-mund Roberts. The two men exchanged gifts, and more importantly, negotiated the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, which included a free trade agreement between the two countries, except in rice, firearms, and opium. The treaty was the United States’ first with an Asian nation.In 1856, U.S. diplomat Townsend Harris and King Rama IV negotiated a revised ‘Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Naviga-tion,” which placed limits on import duties and export taxes. That same year, the J.W. Parker Company became the first Ameri-can firm to open in Bangkok, followed by the American Rice Mill in 1858. By 1910, Standard Oil and Singer Sewing Machine had entered Thailand and Ford had begun importing automobiles. In 1941, American imports to Thailand were an estimated U.S.$8 million annually.

World War II: A test of friendshipThe start of World War II and Japan’s cap-ture of French Indo-China halted U.S.-Thailand trade. On December 8, 1941, Japan invaded Thailand and in January 1942, Prime Minister Field Marshal Phi-bun signed a mutual defense pact withja-pan and declared war against the United States.

Many Thais considered the war declaration invalid and the Thai ambassador to the U.S.. M.R. Seni Pramoj refused to deliver the document, believing that it did not represent the will of the Thai people. Throughout the war, the United States refrained from declaring war on Thailand.

Growth of American businesses in ThailandAmerica’s private sector recognized post-war Thailand as an appealing investment destination. Pan American Airways started flights to Bangkok in 1947, helping to grow Thailand as a tourist destination. Bank of America opened their first Thailand branch on New Road.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (AMCHAM)

And adventurous Americans, such as Jim Thompson, stayed in Thailand after World War II and began notable local businesses.

With the intention to establish an entity dedicated to furthering American business interests in Thailand, eight companies and 24 other members registered The American Chamber Of Commerce In Thailand (AMCHAM) in February 1957. AMCHAM’s stated objectives were to pro-mote commerce between the U.S. and Thailand, maintain a high level of civic and commercial reputation, promote American interests in Thailand, and give legal and business opinions within the American community.

By 1965, U.S. exports to Thailand totaled U.S.$128 million and during the 1960s and 1970s many of America’s largest companies opened Thai based operations, including Dow Chemical (1967), Johnson & Johnson (1970) and Bristol-Myers Squib (1972).

1960S and 1970s: a changing business and political environmentDiplomatically, the 1960s began on a high note. His Majesty King Bhumibol visited the United States and was welcomed with a ticker-tape parade in New York City. In 1966 President Lyndon Johnson became the first American chief executive to visit Thailand and a new ‘Treaty of Amity and Economic Relations” was agreed upon and the reformed treaty granted both Thais and Americans, with some exceptions, “national treatment” to make investments and conduct business activities in the partner country.

President Johnson’s visit coincided with a surge in travel between the two countries. A greater number of young Thais were going to the U.S. for their studies and they returned with more than simply a degree, but also a taste for American fashions and consumer goods.

[...to be continued next issue]

H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, flanked by U.S. Ambassador to Thailand John E. Peuritov, and members of the royal staff, after inspecting the Chevrolet Corvette at the American exhibit at Constitution Fair in Bangkok in 1954.


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

The Australian-Thai Chamber of Commerce (AustChamThailand)

An Unbeatable Mix: Thai and Australian HospitalityBy James Illes

[Below is an exert from the lead article in the August edition of Advance magazine, the Chamber’s monthly publication. The article is based on a video produced by Mufasa Co., Ltd. for AustCham highlighting three leading Australian hoteliers in Bangkok. Please visit www.mufasa.co.th for more information about Mufasa. The video will be available for viewing online on the AustChamThailand YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/AustChamThailand and on the website at www.austchamthailand.com]

Hospitality is big business in Thailand, and forms a major contribution to the country’s economy: the Ministry of Tourism and Sports reported over 22 million tourists visited Thailand in 2012 and with literally thousands of hotels throughout the country, it is a highly competitive business. Three Australian General Managers of leading Bangkok hotels spoke about their recipes for success in this high-profile industry and their enthusiasm and optimism was infectious. All three particularly stressed the complementarity between the Australian and Thai perspectives on life: there are differences and similarities, but the two, particularly in their approach to hospitality, come together perfectly to deliver a standard which is second to none.

Join us for September Sundowners

Sundowners is AustCham Thailand’s monthly business networking function. It is a great opportunity for members and guests of the Chamber to meet, network and exchange views in a social environment.

Date: Wednesday, 4 September 2013Time: 18:00 - 21:00 (last drinks served at 20:30)Cost: Baht 550 for members Baht 1,000 for non-membersLocation: Sambal Bar, Royal Orchid Sheraton, Bangkok

Charles Jack has been General Manager of The Westin Grande Sukhumvit since 2009; Charles Wrightman has been General Manager at Natural Ville managed by Accor since 2003; and Michal Zitek has been General Manager at the Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel from 2010.

All three are career hoteliers who have been through the ranks, studied for appropriate qualifications along the way and have a thorough grounding in all aspects of running a hotel.

Charles JackGeneral Manager of The Westin Grande Sukhumvit, Bangkok

Charles WrightmanGeneral Manager of Natural Ville and Lenotre

Michal ZitekGeneral Manager of the Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel


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

News for UK expatsIn June Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced cross-government plans to ensure legal migrants make a fair contribution to key public services such as the National Health Service (NHS). The proposals include giving expatriate UK citizens access to free NHS care after they have paid up to 10 years of National Insurance contributions. Currently British expatriates do not necessarily qualify for free NHS care. Many stopped regular national insurance contributions when they moved overseas but have at some time worked in the UK. Therefore, a key issue is how to check how many years’ contributions have already been made. BCCT Executive Director Greg Watkins contacted the Department of Work and Pensions via their website and received a reply within 24 hours including a form to apply for a state pension statement.

Many BCCT members wish to send their Thai employees to the UK for training, work experience, conferences, business meetings, and so on. There are many myths and much rumour and hearsay about problems securing UK visas. The standard advice of applying well in advance particularly if it is the applicant’s first visit and studying the information on the UK Visas and Immigration website remain valid. In addition, last year the UK Border Agency introduced a Priority Visa Service. For an additional fee of THB 3,000 the visa application processed can be fast tracked. Further details may be found on the the UK Visas and Immigration website’s Thailand section

under additional services.

Further reports on these two issues will be available in the next BCCT rebranded magazine The Link.

Investment by Thais in the UK continues to growWith all the activity around UKTI’s outsourcing of new functions to BCCT, the Chamber has been delving deeper into the market for UK businesses in Thailand market.

Of importance to note is that an increasing amount of business is also going from Thailand into the UK. A seminar on UK investment organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in late July re-emphasised this point. The seminar highlighted the strong trend of Thai businesses to look to the UK as an investment destination.

A panel consisting of prominent Thai business leaders who have made successful investments in the UK shared their views on the attractions of investing in the UK, citing in particular the quality of life, technological infrastructure and the rule of law. The business potential of the UK as a mature market in itself and as a base for investing in and trading with the rest of Europe and elsewhere was another important factor.

The UK is the largest offshore FDI market for Thailand in Europe and ranks second amongst Thailand’s trade partner in Europe. The strategic dialogue initiated by Prime Minister Yingluck and Prime Minister David Cameron aims to double trade from the current level of GBP 5.5 billion in the next 5 years.

This will involve each side exporting from their home bases, as well as Thais exporting from the UK and Brits exporting from Thailand back to their mother countries. BCCT will continue to assist our members on both sides of this equation.

Companies wishing to join BCCT to benefit from our services should contact BCCT Deputy Director at [email protected]. Joining the BCCT before the end of August will still allow time for your company profile to be included in the 2013/2014 of the Annual Handbook & Directory.

British Chamber of Commerce Thailand (BCCT)


Bangkok Business Briefwww.BBBrief.com

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Volume 2, Issue 9 • Mid-August/September 2013Copyright 2011-2013. All rights reserved.

The rise of IsanStory continued from Page 1.

market, as wages are on par with wages in the capital.

With increased wages, the people of Isan, all 21 million of them, now have more disposable income. According to a report by research firm GfK, sales of smartphones in the first quarter this year have quadrupled (344%) in the region, while the rest of the country only saw 11-17% growth. Thai-land’s retailers and consumer product manufacturers are taking notice. CP Group, SCG, and other major companies are increasing their pres-ence in the region. New malls and supermarkets are being built, with even high-end retailers like Central and Villa Market expanding in the region. In April, Central Pattana Group opened a 2.75 billion baht mall in Ubon Ratchatani, while the 168 Platinum Mall in Udon Thani is currently un-der construction, and more shopping malls are being planned. And prop-erty developers like Sansiri are planning a number of multimillion-dollar condo projects in Khon Kaen. According to the Bank of Thailand, in 2012, overall investment in Isan jumped to $2.3 billion.

Actually, this growth has been happening for a number of years now. Be-tween 2007-2011, Isan’s economic growth was 40%, while Bangkok re-corded just 17% growth and the rest of the country was at 20%. On top of that, household income in Isan has risen 40% over the same period.

To illustrate how dramatic the shift of focus from Bangkok to Isan has become, just look at the Bangkok government’s refusal earlier this year to sanction the staging of an F1 race in the capital. That refusal has opened a door for Isan, according to the U.S.-based sports network ESPN, which recently floated the possibility of Isan hosting an F1 event sometime in the future. With all of the infrastructure improvements planned for the next seven years, the idea doesn’t sound too far-fetched.

But much of Isan’s continued economic growth will depend on those infra-structure improvements. The Thai government is planning to spend $71 billion (2.2 trillion baht) on rail, highway, and seaport projects between 2014-2020. If the government can push this ‘Thailand 2020 Bill’ through parliament, Isan will be one of the main recipients of these new projects.

At a recent presentation at an American Chamber of Commerce Thailand luncheon, Minister of Transport Dr. Chadchart Sittipunt called the past ten years “the lost decade.” He noted that with all of the political upheav-al and natural disasters in Thailand since 2004, there have been no new major infrastructure developments approved by the government in this period. As a result, Thailand has lost momentum in its pursuit of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), dropping from second in Southeast Asia in 2004 (behind Singapore), to fourth in the region behind Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia. He also pointed out that Thailand was only ranked 49th in the 2012-2013 rankings of global competitiveness on infrastructure, with Singapore ranked second and Malaysia ranked 29th.

With the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) scheduled for 2015, Isan can take advantage of its prime geographical lo-cation and benefit from the relocation and establishment of regional dis-tribution centers and facilities. Isan would also be part of the proposed AEC East-West Corridor, a highway and infrastructure trade route that would run from Vietnam – through Laos, Thailand (via Khon Kaen), and Myanmar – to the Andaman Sea. Isan could also become the ‘entrance to Thailand’ and the rest of Southeast Asia for trade from China.

But if Isan’s economic boom is to continue, the proposed infrastructure projects will have to be approved by parliament and implemented faster than the major projects of the past. If not, Isan’s miraculous transforma-tion to prosperity will start to stall, and will jeopardize Thailand’s overall economic growth for many years. As the Bangkok Post columnist, Khun Voranai Vanijaka, wrote in a recent column about the booming northeast, for now “where Isan goes, so goes Thailand….”

Read today’s business news briefs about Bangkok, Thailand, and Asean every weekday at www.BBBrief.com


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

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

Monday Tuesday

Bangkok Trader / Mango Metro Networkinghttp://goo.gl/EnNbR

AMCHAM: SME/F&Ahttp://goo.gl/pZwcJFAug. Sunday

18 19

25

1

26

2

8

15

2422

Sept.

20

Joint: Chambers Lunch with Dr. Mechaihttp://goo.gl/1HLi0Thttp://goo.gl/tHLDdT

AMCHAM: Board of Governors Meetinghttp://goo.gl/yaa7B4

AMCHAM: Professional Women Cmtehttp://goo.gl/lEwwod

AMCHAM: Bus. Eco. Cmtehttp://goo.gl/TVMCOK

PPI Professional Hourhttp://goo.gl/EbSqX

BCCT Board Meetinghttp://goo.gl/44oWYz

BCCT: Membership Mtghttp://goo.gl/7MCDgO

AMCHAM: ICT Cmte http://goo.gl/Moj5dW

AMCHAM: HR Cmte http://goo.gl/KK9UX

AMCHAM: BOT Directors Meeting http://goo.gl/7rZOV4

10

AMCHAM: U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Acthttp://goo.gl/vwKPCS

AMCHAM: Legal Cmte – Extradition and International Crimehttp://goo.gl/MvWOMZ

AMCHAM: Lao Chapter – U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Acthttp://goo.gl/JlLf0k

17

27

3

BCCT / Bangkok Entrepreneurs: Evening Presentation (Bitcoin)http://goo.gl/QhmzAj http://goo.gl/JihG3

AMCHAM: Business Economics Cmte – 2H13 Outlookhttp://goo.gl/pBdAAT

9

16

23


Send us your event details for the Mid-September/October issue by September 9th to [email protected]

Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

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30

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12 14

20 21

25

31

18 19

27 28

Movers & Shakershttp://goo.gl/xOfWr

Movers & Shakershttp://goo.gl/xOfWr

AMCHAM: Joint Travel & Tourism / Security & OSAC Committeeshttp://goo.gl/LZKCMR

AMCHAM: Social Network.http://goo.gl/tDHoNt

BCCT: Evening Presentation (Intellectual Property Law)http://goo.gl/IPXyCE

BCCT: European Pavilion in Clean Energy Expo Asiahttp://goo.gl/YxzVkA

AMCHAM: Ambassador Coffee Briefing http://goo.gl/SZhL0lAMCHAM: New Member Orientation http://goo.gl/NocjSY

AustCham: Sundownershttp://goo.gl/jmttPv

AMCHAM: Transportation & Logistic Cmte http://goo.gl/UiJNJp

AustCham: Voluntary English Teachinghttp://goo.gl/dwpy2M

AustCham: The Coffee Club 2013 AFL Grand Final Family Dayhttp://goo.gl/krLdnP

TFI Charity 80s Nighthttp://goo.gl/e6OU0z

Living in Bangkokhttp://goo.gl/nJCdV3

WebMob Thailandhttp://goo.gl/dEu8F

BCCT: Prof.Women’s Group Speed Networkinghttp://goo.gl/Y0lLLU

AMCHAM: Santa Fe ChariBowl Tournamenthttp://goo.gl/xN2BMg

AMCHAM: Adopt- a-School Dedication http://goo.gl/LTpxF8

AMCHAM: US Rep. Tammy Duckworth Briefhttp://goo.gl/04Y0WW

AMCHAM: CSR Cmtehttp://goo.gl/dNBb0S

AMCHAM: Greater Phuket Chapterhttp://goo.gl/Thfia4

AMCHAM: Joint Energy & Food & Agri-Business Cmte – Mitrphol Biomass Planthttp://goo.gl/6bNLhW

Movers & Shakers Pattayahttp://goo.gl/fYXvN

BCCT: Ice Breaker ‘TEDxChiangMai Experience’http://goo.gl/sfyij9

AMCHAM: Government Appreciation Night - Celebrating 180 Yearshttp://goo.gl/Q3NB3g

AMCHAM: Joint Legal & Myanmar Task Force: FCPA Compliancehttp://goo.gl/ptcbIJ

BCCT: EABC/Chiang Mai Business Group Seminar & Networkinghttp://goo.gl/k1oqY5

Joint: Eastern Seaboard Networking Eveninghttp://goo.gl/Qcyvsv

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AMCHAM: Professional Women Cmte – DRINKiQ by Diageo Moet Hennessyhttp://goo.gl/U9H0Fn

AustCham: AustralianAlumni Healthy Living Presentationhttp://goo.gl/VdPEd3

AMCHAM: Tax Cmte – BOI Tax Changeshttp://goo.gl/I8gBYU

BCCT: Board Meetinghttp://goo.gl/za6V91

BCCT: Third Thursdayhttp://goo.gl/DeqTzA

AMCHAM: Customs & Excise Cmtehttp://goo.gl/q8OV6J

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Documents

Bangkok Business Brief - Volume 2, Issue 9 - Mid-August/September 2013