General News

Medical hubplan ready to woo 2m foreign patients

The Public Health Ministry targets two million foreign patients and annual medical receipts of Bt80 billion from abroad by 2010.

To achieve the target the ministry has drawn up six strategies to promote Thailand as a medicalservice hub, said Dr Supachai Kunarattanapruk, directorgeneral of the Health Services Support Department.

Mingkwan upbeat on his new post

Newly-appointed Industry Minister Mingkwan Sangsuwan sets the priority to restore foreign investor confidence.

On the first day in office, he said that the first mission is to attract foreign investment. He insisted that the "Thailand Investment Year" campaign would be carried on.

He also vows to modernise the country's industrial sector.

Record export growth in June

Thailand witnessed a 27.4 per cent annualised increase in June exports to a record US$16.3 billion, against the $15.6 billion imports which resulted in a trade surplus in the month, according to the Commerce Ministry.

The ministry said in the press conference on Tuesday that imports rose 30.7 per cent to $15.6 billion last month after increasing 15.7 per cent in May.

Megaprojects roadshow focus

Thailand's 1.6-trillion-baht megaproject programme will be the highlight of the country's roadshow presentations to investors next month, Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee said yesterday.

The infrastructure projects involve new investments in mass transit, water, education, health care and airport facilities and systems over the next several years.

The Finance Ministry plans to invite local ambassadors to also attend the briefing on the investment plans in a bid to attract investors and contractors to participate.

Thailand economy steady amid political tremors-IMF

Thailand's economy is resilient despite domestic political uncertainty and global financial market turmoil, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.

Thai authorities should monitor signs of rising inflation closely and stand ready to adjust interest rates if necessary, but the Bank of Thailand's policy of keeping interest rates on hold is appropriate, the IMF said in a statement on the conclusion of an Article IV consultation.

Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand agree on transportation cooperation

Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have agreed to establish cooperation in the transportation sector, partnership and international relations division chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Medan chapter, Khairul Mahalli said in Medan on Tuesday.

The keen wish for cooperation in the transportation sector, he said, was marked with the signing of an agreement at the 25th joint business council meeting of the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) in Banda Aceh recently.

World Bank ranks Thailand as 15th best place for business

Thailand is now ranked 15th out of 178 countries throughout the world by the World Bank as the most attractive place to conduct business, according to Gianni Zanini, a leading economist of the World Bank.

Mr. Zanini said Thailand's ranking was obtained from the World Bank's world trade indicator for 2008, launched recently and covering global trade.

Business News

Consultant plans to open office in Rayong

The engineering and architectural consultant Chuchawal Royal Haskoning will set up an office in Rayong within a few months to support its new customer, PTT Chemical, and potentially other clients of the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT), according to the president Wybe de Jager.

The office would be the first outside Bangkok since De Weger of Rotterdam entered Thailand through a joint venture with Chuchawal Pringpuangkeo in 1974.

1-Tuna exporter Thai Union Frozen ups sales target

Thai Union Frozen Products PCL (TUF), Asia's biggest canned tuna exporter, said its 2008 sales may exceed $2 billion, up 11 percent from an earlier target of $1.8 billion, on strong tuna sales and new products.

"We anticipate strong growth in our second-half operation this year based on our past proven records that usually show good performance during the second-half periods," company president Thiraphong Chansiri said in a statement.

Paradise for retirees

With nothing certain in life including their retirement pensions, Europeans are actively searching for good places to live, and Hua Hin is emerging as a prime destination.

Tapping the rising trend are the Austrian developers of The Falls Hua Hin, a 70-rai estate on a hillside in Khao Takiab. Paul Derstroff and Michael Ruess, through their Swiss-owned company Vital Residence Ltd, have obtained Board of Investment privileges for the 1.3-billion-baht project.

Japan still keen on Thailand

Japanese investors still see Thailand as a strong destination for investment despite the political tension, according to Akao Nobutoshi, the secretary-general of the Asean-Japan Centre.

He said there were a few questions on the kingdom's political situation for Japanese manufacturers and even newcomers.

''Their major concerns are focused on the local market, investment facilities and privileges for investment as well as investment promotion measures that Thai state agencies will provide to them,'' he added.  

Mizuho happy with quality over quantity

The joint general manager of Mizuho Corporate Bank in Thailand, Mr Wakaume says the focus for the bank is sustainable growth.

''Despite being a smaller bank, we believe Mizuho is beautiful enough,'' he said with a smile. ''For our business operations, we place importance on both quality and quantity.''

The bank is one of three major Japanese banks operating in Thailand, with the others _ Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ _ boasting larger portfolios.

Energy

China, Thailand team up on energy

China and Thailand have agreed to partner on renewable energy.

The two countries, both facing huge growth in energy demand, will work together to develop sustainable energy sources and address global climate change, Asian news agency SinoCast reported.

The agreement was made between government officials and research institutions when they met at a symposium in Kunming City in the southern Yunnan province.

A-Power Energy Generation Systems to build new power plant in Thailand

The Chinese company A-Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd. will build a power plant in Thailand.

A-Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd. announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with National Power Supply Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Advance Agro Public Co.

A-Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd. will construct a $300 million, 600-megawatt distributed power generation plant in Thailand's Chachoengsao province.

Marubeni wins cogeneration power plant order in Thailand

Major Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp. said Wednesday it has received an order to build a gas-fired cogeneration power plant from an electricity producer in Thailand.

Marubeni won the order, worth some 33 billion yen, from Glow Energy Public Co., in a consortium with major U.S. engineering firm Black & Veatch.

Organic Potential

Thai food producers should consider more investment in organic products to meet high world demand, say Mr Yutthasek Supasorn, the director of the Nation Food Institute (NFI).

The market vakue of global organic food industry will hit 2.2 trillion bath [US$ ,,,] in 2012, a 53.6% increase from 2007, according to the NFI.

Asia lighting the way in solar-cell technology

Several solar-cell manufacturers have emerged in Asia in recent years to tap increasing demand for alternative energy in the wake of growing concerns of the effects of global warming - a central theme of the G-8 Summit now underway in Hokkaido, Japan.

Taiwanese and Chinese companies are leading the pack in Asia, according to a report by a Japanese securities house. The report noted that the newcomers had gained a fast-growing share of the global market with Japanese market leaders suffering most, seeing their share falling from 50 per cent since 2004. In China, the sector has also been expanding rapidly, making the country the world's largest maker of solar cells.

Automotive

Mercedes opens regional centre here

Motorcycle sales in May expand for fourth month

Toyota sets up new TMAP office in Bangkok

Toyota has announced that it will start production of a petrol-electric hybrid

Honda adds safety centres

Kia expects to sell more light trucks

Eco-car policy a major boost for thai summit