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Hope International Development Agency Cow Bank Program

January 26, 2010

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW New HR chief at Dusit ahead of global expansion Dusit International, the country's leading hotel chain, is strengthening its operations by welcoming a veteran Shangri-La Hotel human resources executive to its team. Eng Leong Tan last week became the new HR director of the group, replacing a Thai executive who recently retired. As a former senior executive of a world-class hotel and resort chain, he is expected to strengthen Dusit International, which needs to recruit at least 3,000 workers over three years in preparation for aggressive global expansion. Working under Shangri-La Group worldwide, he oversaw 30,000 employees. Dusit CEO Chanin Donavanik said last week that aside from recruitment, Tan will focus on improving the productivity of the 8,000 staff here and abroad. The group plans to open six hotels this year in the Middle East, India, China and Samui in Thailand. It is negotiating to open more properties in Europe, the United States and Southeast Asia. Dusit also aims to double its global workforce over 10 years. "We want to become one of the successful Asian operators like Shangri-La, which now spreads across the globe," Chanin said. "Looking at the global trend, there are many Western hospitality chains settled in the US and Europe, against few from Asia. "But as Asia is the future's superpower, Asian hotel operators want to grow bigger. This is an opportunity for Asian operators to go outside," he said. Although Dusit College is churning out 2,000 hotel and tourism graduates and joining hands with a tourism institute in the Philippines to produce 4,000 graduates, the group cannot wait for them, as they will not be available for as long as four years. The Asean free trade agreement for tourism now has been postponed to 2015, which is also too far ahead to offer benefits by bringing in foreign staff. Chanin said the tourism industry should recover this year as the global economy improves. Only internal political problems could disturb the industry, he said. Hotels now are getting bookings from foreign tourists except big conferences and meetings, which are hoped to return in the fourth quarter. Last year, Dusit's revenue dropped 15-20 per cent while occupancy fell 20 per cent. It hopes that revenue would rise 15 per cent this year. Source by Tha Nation, January 26, 2010

October 30, 2009

Hemaraj foresees 20% gain Hemaraj Land and Development is confident of boosting sales of land and support services by 20 per cent next year when the global economic recovery and higher confidence are expected to give a fillip to investment.Ads by Google "Our revenue will drop significantly from Bt4.7 billion last year due mainly to the impact of the global financial crisis. However, I think this crisis is passing, which is different from the economic crisis of 1997, which took several years to recover from," president and CEO David Nardone said yesterday. Growth next year will be seen in all of Hemaraj's three businesses - industrial estates, utilities and property development, he said. Some 40-50 per cent of its revenue comes from industrial estates, for which demand is expected to pick up from this quarter. Land sales should about double from 300-500 rai this year to 500-1,000 rai next year since the company's customers in the logistics, consumer-packaging and automobile industries will likely expand capacity to serve demand growth. The company spent Bt1 billion in August to develop 1,000 rai of land in Chon Buri and Rayong to serve higher demand for plant rentals and sales. This project will take 18 months to complete. The country's investment climate will automatically be impacted if the 76 projects in Map Ta Phut and nearby areas that were suspended are finally ordered to stop, he said. "Those companies have no intention of operating their businesses at lower standards, so the environmental laws and regulations must be clarified as soon as the government can in a bid to allow those projects to carry on," he said. Construction on the Bt40-billion power plant in Laos under a joint venture with Glow Energy is ongoing, with Hemaraj chipping in Bt4.5 billion in the coming year. This is the company's first project outside Thailand. The company is now considering seeking more investment opportunities in Asean, such as wastewater treatment and utilities. However, he declined to reveal details. Source : The Nation, October 30, 2009

October 22, 2009

Magna seeks larger auto parts deals Published on March 24, 2006 Magna International Inc, an auto-parts supplier, has set up a representative office in Bangkok but that could be just the beginning of its local expansion.Ads by Google The company will spend the next 12-15 months studying the feasibility starting a parts-manufacturing venture here with either local or international joint venture partners. A Magna team of executives led by Steve Rodgers, vice president for Asia-Pacific marketing and business development, yesterday unveiled the company's plans. "This is a vibrant automotive market that we believe will experience continued local growth and regional expansion," said Rodgers, who added that Thailand had become a global centre for quality pickup design and production. The automotive market, combining a growing local automotive market and regional export potential, presents an exciting opportunity for Magna, he said. The company has spent more than a year studying the Thai market before deciding to set up shop. One of Thailand's advantages, he said, was the government's  aim to boost local production to 2 million units from a little more than 1 million last year. There has been a constant flow of investment in production, technology and development of a skilled workforce by most of the world's leading manufacturers. Magna aims to set the standard for auto parts in Thailand. "We want to help meet the growing demand for high-quality auto parts demanded by OEMs [original equipment manufacturers]," he said. Jerry Suyavong, executive director of Magna Thailand. said the establishment of the office demonstrated the company's commitment to the region. Magna designs, develops and manufactures automotive systems, assemblies, modules and components, and engineers and assembles complete vehicles, primarily for sale to original equipment manufacturers. Canada-based Magna sells US$22. 8 billion (Bt887 billion) worth of auto parts a year.

October 19, 2009

BBL expects to gain from relationship with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Bangkok Bank (BBL), the largest bank in Thailand, expects to benefit from its good relationship with the world's largest bank in terms of assets, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), as it expands in China.  Transactions between the two started in typical Chinese style, based on a personal relationship. BBL chairman Chatri Sophonpanich said he and ICBC chairman Jiang Jianqing have a good relationship. BBL sold all of its shares in ACL Bank to ICBC.  The BBL chairman said ICBC had shown its intention to buy the small ACL Bank's shares from the outset, wanting to use ACL Bank as its regional office in Southeast Asia. This was considered more practical than buying a bank in Singapore. The two banks plan to create other deals in the future.  "We are in talks with ICBC and have vowed that we will help each other. For example, if ICBC comes to Thailand and needs baht, BBL can help, while if BBL goes to China, it may need [yuan] from ICBC. We expect to become business partners in the future, but we have no other contracts at this moment," said Chatri.  He said banks needed to have partners when doing business. Currently, BBL and ICBC have agreed to support each other in cases where local BBL customers do business in China, and ICBC might also need BBL to provide some loans; if Chinese businessmen come to Thailand; and in instances where BBL might need help from ICBC to support its customers' investments.  Currently BBL has four branches in China, and has received a local banking business licence from Chinese authorities, so it can expand.  Chatri said that the bank expected to have 10-12 branches in the next three years. However, it will still mainly focus on providing service to customers from Taiwan and Southeast Asia.  However, the improving relationship between China and Taiwan has affected the bank's business in both positive and negative ways. BBL can expand its business in broader areas, but at the same time Taiwanese banks will take some of its customers.  Currently the bank's main customers are not from Thailand but from Taiwan and Southeast Asia. However, if more Thai customers enter the Chinese market, the bank will have more business opportunities, as the most important thing needed for entering a new market is a customer base, Chatri said. Source : by The Nation, October 19, 2009