THE COUNTDOWN has begun for one of the world’s greatest sporting events.

Russian Ambassador to Thailand Kirill Barsky has urged football fans nationwide to enjoy the 2018 World Cup, which his country is hosting, not only for the sporting excitement but also for the exciting insights into his country. The Fifa World Cup will take place in 11 Russian cities from June 14 to July 15.

“There will be a lot to see during the broadcast from Russia beyond the football itself. Please take note of the beautiful stadiums we have built, the scenic views of the cities where the matches will be played and the smiling faces of the Russian people,” Barsky told The Nation.

A view of the video assistant refereeing (VAR) operation room of the 2018 World Cup International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in Moscow, Russia 09 June 2018. /EPA-EFE

The opening match of the quadrennial football extravaganza kicks off on Thursday.

“So my suggestion to football fans is to enjoy this spectacular festival of sports and friendship,” he said.

As the host nation, Russia is providing special treatments or privileges for fans going to watch the World Cup, he said.

Every football fan going to Russia to watch the games will get a Fan ID, which gives the bearer the right to visa-free entry and free travel on days of the matches in the host cities. Special city tours will be organised for the Fan ID owners free of charge.

Those who fail to get tickets need not be disheartened; they can enjoy the games at Special Fan Fests to be organised in every host city. In addition to watching the game on a large screen, visitors will enjoy live music and be able to hobnob with football stars.

The ambassador said he would be watching the games on TV in Bangkok and be cheering wholeheartedly the Russian team.

“All the teams at the World Cup are strong, so every match should be played like it’s your last match,” he said. The embassy plans to organise friendly football games with its Thai associates from several governmental agencies one of these days, the ambassador said.

A woman poses for pictures in front of a banner featuring Zabivaka, the official mascot of the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup, outside Olymp Stadium, Iceland’s national football team’s training site, in the village of Kabardinka outside Gelendzhik on June 9, 2018. /AFP

The number of people in the Kingdom watching the matches this year is likely to be around 11 million due to the nationwide free broadcast and the convenient time at which the matches will be played, Kasikorn Research Centre forecast on Friday. Most of the matches start as early as 7pm while the last match is at 1am.

Thanks to the “must-have” rule of the broadcast regulator, holders of broadcasting rights for seven major sports programmes, including the Olympics and the Fifa World Cup, must broadcast the events on free TV channels.

TrueVisions Group, owned by True Corporation, acquired the right to broadcast all the 64 Russian World Cup matches. The matches will be broadcast on Amarin TV, Channel 5 and True4U stations live in high definition (HD).

The country’s leading pay-TV operator is also the first country in Asean to offer live coverage in 4K format for its platinum and gold package subscribers. Broadcasts on 4K are four times clearer than the high definition format.

High spending expected

The football world’s biggest event is also expected to boost the economy and stimulate more spending.

Thanawat Pholwichai, director of the Centre for Economic and Business Forecasting of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said recently that his centre forecasts cash flow to reach Bt78.385 billion.

The figure can be broken down into Bt15.434 billion for purchase of consumer products and social fests, Bt2.467 billion for purchase of consumer electronics items and signal receivers, and Bt58.995 billion for gambling and other activities.

He expected the Cup to help the economy expand by 0.2-0.3 per cent this year. However, only Bt50 billion would boost gross domestic product but the rest will flow out of the country for online gambling.

Many business operators have launched new campaigns and promotions ahead of the tournament. The windfall will go to consumer products, fast food and food delivery services.

The best-selling potato chips Lay’s, a product of Pepsi-Cola (Thai) Trading Co Ltd, a local arm of PepsiCo Inc, is launching its football-inspired campaign “Lay’s United” to celebrate the upcoming football cheering season.

The campaign focuses on five-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi, who is featured in Lay’s commercials and other supporting media.

Kurt Preshaw, general manager for foods of Pepsi-Cola (Thai) Trading, said Thailand’s Bt10-billion potato chips market has continued to grow at a double-digit rate.

During the first four months of 2018, the market grew by 17.8 per cent compared to the year before and has been among the top three segments with the highest growth, he added.

Coca-Cola by the Coca-Cola system in Thailand, as an official sponsor of the 2018 World Cup, recently launched its Coke Fifa Limited Edition Packs – specially designed Coca-Cola packaging with national flag-inspired prints of eight popular teams vying for the Cup – Brazil, Germany, Portugal, Spain, France, Russia, Japan, Argentina – plus England, produced exclusively to please Thai fans.

Food delivery service is another sector that is expected to benefit.

Noppadol Vashirakovit, product manager of Line Man, an on-demand-assistant service, said football fans’ behaviours this time might be different from the past, especially for people living in the hustle and bustle of Bangkok and having less time to hang out with friends to watch the matches together at night.

They would rather enjoy watching the match at home or with nearby friends in small groups, for which Line Man would be the best solution, he said. With a variety of special promotions from popular restaurants that it has provided, especially for World Cup fans, Line Man believes that its food delivery service will see big growth and believes the demand for its service during this period will increase by at least 15 per cent.

A woman walks in front of The Local Hotel, Egypt’s national football team’s base camp hotel, in Grozny on June 9, 2018, ahead of the Russia 2018 World Cup. / AFP

During the World Cup broadcasts, ride-hailing company Grab, which provides GrabFood, expects to see its food delivery service gain from the increased demand for delivery of meals after 6pm, as customers tend to have more gatherings and parties, requiring group meals, drinks and snacks, said Tarin Thaniyavarn, country head of Grab Thailand.

Grab found its daily orders for GrabFood – a ride-hailing app for deliveries – have grown by more than 440 per cent during the first quarter of this year. Grab has prepared various promotions to cater to football fans, such as extending delivery hours from 9am-10pm to 9am until midnight, and is also partnering with merchants for special promotions.

“We need investors to expand their outlays to develop Asean’s infrastructure and the range of tourism projects required to support the rise in the number of visitors to the region,” Rashidi Hasbullah, secretary general of Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism and Culture, said at the Asean-Korea Tourism Investment Seminar 2018 in Seoul yesterday.

He said that efforts to attract tourism investments form part of the key strategic actions outlined in the Asean Tourism Strategic Plan 2016-2025. The Asean tourism ministers at the gathering in the South Korean capital reaffirmed that “driving investments in infrastructure to keep pace with tourism growth” is one of the main priorities for this year.

The member states of the regional bloc have forward-looking plans to attract investors in strategic tourism sub-sectors of interest to individual countries, Hasbullah said.

The region’s increased infrastructure investment will have significant multiplier effects on consumption in the future through increased employment, higher incomes and corporate earnings, he said.

Asean had a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of US$2.6 trillion in 2016, making it the world’s sixth-largest economy. It is expected to become the fourth-largest economy by 2030.

“If we look at the demographics, Asean has a combined population of 634 million people where 65 per cent of the population will be classified as middle income by 2030, compare to a mere 29 per cent in 2010,” he said. “This growing number translates into spending power that enables growth in consumption demand.”

Thailand’s permanent secretary of the Tourism and Sports Ministry, Pongpanu Svetarundra, told participants at the seminar of the government’s policy to develop infrastructure projects in the country’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), which covers the provinces of Chon Buri, Chachoengsao and Rayong. The targeted projects are worth Bt1.5 trillion under a spending programme to 2022. The investment outlays form a key part of the government’s efforts to boost the economy and support growth in tourism businesses, Pongpanu said. “Thailand welcomed 35 million foreign tourists last year and that number is expected to be 38 million this year, before rising to 60 million in 2030.

“We need more investment to develop the country’s infrastructure to support the strong demand in the future. The opportunities are open to the private sector in both the domestic and overseas markets to expand the investment in our country.”

Pongpanu estimates that the number of tourists to visit the Asean region will increase from 120 million last year to 198.57 million in 2030, based on the average growth rate of 4 per cent a year from now.

Laos’ director of the tourism planning and development division of the Tourism Development Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Somxay Sipaseuth, said that the country had succeeded in attracting more investment to develop the country’s infrastructure projects to serve the growing number or tourists. At the end of last year, the country recorded 3.86 million foreign tourists and they brought in revenue of US$648.06 million.

Cambodia’s deputy director general of international cooperation and tourism investment under the Ministry of Tourism, Rothasak Thong, said the number of foreign tourists to the country last year rose 12 per cent from 2016 to 5.6 million. Cambodia expects tourist arrivals to jump to 13 million in 2028.

More investment in infrastructure would be required to manage this growth in tourism, Rothasak Thong said. He pointed to the country’s aggressive investment to develop new airports for Siem Reap and Phnom Penh and an expressway from Phnom Penh to the coastal resort of Sihanoukville. The projects are supported by investment from the Chinese government.

“We also open to investment from other sources, including South Korea, to develop our country’s infrastructure projects,” he said.

Myanmar’s deputy director general of directorate of hotels under the Tourism Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, Khin Than Win, said Myanmar’s government provides tax holidays for foreign investors of between three and seven years, depending on the location of their investments.

The incentives are part of the country’s efforts to encourage foreigners to expand their investments and develop the country’s infrastructure in line with the rising number of tourists.

Representatives from Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines also presented their incentives for foreign investors in the infrastructure and tourism sectors.

The first Thai-Portugese friendship and trade treaty was signed in 1518 during the Ayutthaya period.

Pedro Siza Vieira, the visiting PM’s Office minister of Portugal, said major Thai companies such as Minor Group, Indorama and Thai Union Group have already invested substantially in Portugal but newcomers are welcome to take advantage of the Portugese economy growth, which was nearly three per cent last year.

According to the minister, the Portugese economy has fully recovered from its previous crisis.

So far, Minor Group has invested 400 million euro in a hotel chain in Portugal    , while Indorama’s investment in the petrochemical industry is worth about 150 million euro.

The minister said Portugal has a liberal economic and investment policy offering tax and other incentives to foreign investors as well as the right to own their business and property 100 per cent. The country is seen as a competitive platform for Thai firms to tap the vast EU market of 28 countries as well as to reach more than 300 million Portugese-speaking consumers in South America and Africa.

Automobile, IT, energy, real estate, hotel and tourism, food and beverage as well as petrochemical are among the sectors being promoted by the Portugese government while Portugese companies are also interested in tapping Thailand as a platform to enter the Asean market.

The minister said a delegation of software, cyber-security and digital tech companies will visit Thailand shortly as Portugal joins hands with the Thai Ministry of Digital Economy and Society to boost bilateral cooperation.

Dr Pichet Durongkaveroj, the digital economy and society minister, also held a meeting with Vieira to exchange opinions on development of digital government and tech start-ups in the two countries. Regarding the Thai government’s Pracharat village internet project, the Portugese minister said it is an important infrastructure to implement the digital government policy and help reduce economic inequalities.

In addition, both countries hope to work closely to promote the software and digital tech sectors while Portugese firms are invited to visit a new industrial and digital innovation zone at Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project, which covers parts of Chonburi, Rayong and Chaserngsao.

These strengths are balanced by weaker structural features relative to peers, such as lower income per capita and World Bank governance indicators.

Political uncertainty around the anticipated transition back to civilian rule also constrains the rating, Fitch said.

Fitch expects the current-account surplus to remain large on the back of strong goods and tourism services exports, but to narrow modestly to 8.1 per cent of GDP by 2019, from 10.6 per cent in 2017, as improved domestic demand spurs import growth.

Sustained current-account surpluses and higher capital inflows over the past several years have driven an appreciation of the Thai baht and facilitated the accumulation of foreign reserves to US$213 billion in May from $156 billion in 2015.

The country’s net external creditor position has continued to improve, reaching 46.3 per cent of GDP in 2017, according to Fitch estimates, substantially higher than the BBB and A medians.

GDP growth in Thailand accelerated to 3.9 per cent in 2017, from 3.3 per cent in 2016, bolstered by favourable global economic conditions and a nascent pickup in domestic investment.

Exports grew at their fastest pace since 2012, at 5.5 per cent. Higher private investment in export-oriented industries helped mitigate a decline in public investment due to delays in project disbursements.

Fitch forecasts ongoing growth momentum following strong 1Q18 growth, with the economy likely to expand by 4.2 per cent in 2018 – above the BBB median of 3 per cent, but below Southeast Asian peers.

Fitch expects a modest deceleration in growth to 3.9 per cent in 2019 as global growth edges down from its 2018 peak.

A potential increase in trade protectionism poses a downside risk for the economy, given Thailand’s reliance on external demand.

It also expects the Bank of Thailand’s policy stance to remain accommodative, with the policy rate on hold at 1.5 per cent for the remainder of 2018 as inflationary pressures remain subdued.

Relatively weak governance scores constrain Thailand’s rating – in the 43rd percentile of the World Bank’s governance indicators compared with the BBB median score in the 58th percentile.

Continued delays to the general election date over the past year, which is now expected in February, add further uncertainty to the political landscape.

It does not appear that political uncertainty has significantly weighed on growth and investment outcomes over the past few years, but the potential for renewed political fissures remains during the transition back to civilian rule.

In what is seen as a economic road show before Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s high-profile trip to Europe later this month, the government said yesterday it was accelerating six key investment projects worth Bt600 billion in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).

Despite upcoming political changes after the next election, key ministers told diplomats from 56 countries that they expected the next cabinet to continue the projects. “There are about six to eight projects for which bidding would be held by the end of this year,” Kobsak Pootrakool, minister attached to the Prime Minister’s Office, told the diplomats during a briefing session at the Foreign Ministry.

Thai ministers and senior officials briefed the envoys about the progress of investment projects in the EEC after the legislation came into effect last month.

The government is expected to submit the names of the bid winners for Cabinet approval in December or January next year, paving the way for construction work to begin, Kobsak said.

“I have talked with Pheu Thai and Democrat parties and they all agree to continue the EEC. Moreover, investors are also interested in it,” he said of the two major parties who are the frontrunners to form the next government.

Kobsak showed the envoys the timeline for six potential projects – high-speed railway, extension of two deep seaports, U-tapao airport, MRO center, and digital park – with an estimated total investment of Bt 608 billion.

They will be financed by public-private partnership (PPP). The EEC legislation would ensure the projects get off the ground within only eight months instead of 40 months that was previously stated, he added.

Senior officials from relevant agencies also shared details of eight infrastructure projects, most of which are at the feasibility study stage. Kanit Sangsuphan, secretary-general of the EEC Office, said that key projects could be accelerated as the government had done a lot of preparatory work in the past two years.

“We have succeeded in launching the first international bids for the high-speed rail,” he said, referring to completing the terms of reference (TOR) a few days ago.

It has cleared the path for other projects, he said. To draw more investors, the prime minister would lead a road show in the United Kingdom and France later this month, Industry Minister Utama Savanayana said.

Prayut is scheduled to make a high-profile visit to the two countries from June 20-25 after the European Union softened its stance on Thailand’s military-backed government, with the resumption of political contacts at all levels.

Economic tzar Somkid Jatusripitak would also accompany the PM on the trip to woo potential investors for the EEC and for the maintenance, repairs and overhaul hub at U-tapao.

Thai Airways International and Airbus are expected to ink an agreement when Prayut’s delegation is in France.

Utama projected investments in the EEC over the next five years would reach $43 billion (Bt1.3 trillion). The EEC is not an isolated project but an integral part of Thailand 4.0, which is aimed at driving innovation, he said.

The government has given generous incentives to investors who invest in the EEC zone, which covers Chon Buri, Rayong and Chachoengsao provinces.

Duajai Asawachintachit, secretary-general of the Board of Investment (BOI), said investors have to invest in designated areas in order to get top-up incentives. They also have to invest in selected industries or so-called S-curve industries such as next-generation automotives, smart electronics, robotics and the digital economy. Investors could get a tax holiday of up to 13 years compared with the BOI’s basic package incentive for investment outside EEC, where investors get a tax holiday ranging between five and 10 years, she said.

Eligible investors could rent land for up to 99 years, or enter into a 50-year contract renewable for another 49 years.

Foreign ownership will be as per Thai law and depend on the type of business. If the company needs to own land, it must have local partners who hold a majority stake – 51 per cent and up. In some cases, foreign ownership could be 75 per cent or 100 per cent, according to Kobsak.

Investors from Japan, Europe, the United States, South Korea and China have shown greater interest in investment opportunities in the EEC. During the first quarter of this year, applications worth more than Bt200 billion were received for BOI incentives of which 80 per cent were for the EEC, added Duajai.

By the end of 2017, South Korea investors had expanded their investments in hotels and restaurants in Asean countries to US$5 million, up 92 per cent from the US$2.6 million recorded in 2015.

They also increased their investment in leisure and sports in Asean to US$2.9 million in 2017, up 383 per cent from a combined investment budget of US$600,000 in 2015, Lee Hyuk, secretary general of the Asean-Korea Centre, said in an interview with The Nation yesterday in Seoul, South Korea.

He said that the number of tourists from Asean countries and South Korea had increased in 2017, The number of travellers reached 9.64 million, an increase of 8.07 per cent from the 8.92 million in 2016. Up to 7.5 million of the total 9.64 million were South Koreans visiting Asean countries. The rest were Asean tourists visiting South Korea that year.

“We hope that both Asean and South Korean tourism and investment will increase following our cooperation to promote the tourist investment between the two sides,” he said.

Top three counties for South Koreans visiting Asean were Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines last year. Thailand was ranked top as the biggest source market for Asean tourists going to South Korea, followed by the Philippines and Vietnam.

The number of tourists travelling between Thailand and South Korea reached 2.208 million in at the end of 2017, up 14 per cent from the 1.934 million in 2016.

Up to 1.709 million tourists of the total 2.208 million tourists were South Koreans visiting Thailand, with 499,000 Thais visiting South Korea, Lee said.

Lee said that South Korea has been expanding its collaborative efforts with the Asean bloc in various fields under President Moon Jae-in’s “New Southern Policy” unveiled last November to further strengthen the Asean-Korea partnership. Among other initiatives, people-to-people exchanges through travel is considered one of the most effective tools in connecting the peoples of Asean and South Korea.

Following the collaboration between Asean and South Korea, the Asean-Korea Centre is conducting its first seminar, Asean-Korea Tourism Investment, in Seoul. The event, which opens today and ends tomorrow, is for investors from the Asean and South Korean tourism sectors to share their ideas on developing tourism and investment opportunities for both sides.

The event will provide up-to-date information on investment environment and opportunities in tourism industries of the 10 Asean member states. It will be followed by a one-on-one meeting between potential Korea investors and tourism representatives from Asean states from the public and private sectors.

In line with the Asean Tourism Marketing strategy 2017-2020, the most notable trend in the Asean tourism industry is the changes in visitors’ expectation. Today’s travellers seek special experience. For example, free independent travel (FIT) is becoming more popular, at the expense of group tours, Lee said.

Lee said tourism is one of the key drivers of the Asean economy. In 2017, Asean nations recorded a total of 120 million international arrivals. It is estimated that tourism contributes 12.4 per cent of GDP in Asean, which is about four per cent higher than other regions in the world.

Thailand has also seen the number of tourists increasing from 32.6 million in 2016 to 35.4 million last year. The contribution of the Thai tourist industry to its GDP was 6.5 per cent ten years ago , compared to 10 per cent today.

“When we look at the trends, we can say that tourism will increasingly be an important industy for the regional economy. This is the best sector for our cooperation,” Lee added.

Pakorn Peetathawatchai, the 13th president of the SET, said the continuous growth of the Thai exchange is the result of the entries of 40 new listings per year with a combined market cap, based on initial public offering prices, of Bt250 billion in addition to the capital increase of Bt250 billion. The SET Index has risen an average of 10 per cent annually.

If the Thai bourse is able to maintain its growth at this level, its market capital can be equal to that of the Singapore bourse in a few year, Pakorn said.

In the past five years, the Thai exchange’s market cap stood at US$350 billion, while the total of the Singapore exchange amounted to US$700 billion.

Currently, the total capital of the Thai exchange stands at $550 billion conpared to $850 billion at its counterpart in Singapore.

He said the SET is confident of maintaining the private sector’s fund mobilisation in the capital market in the next five years.

Foreign companies will likely be allowed to raise capital in the Thai exchange through various means in order to create supply, he said.

Pakorn said that he would develop the stock market by focusing on “Creating Partnership Platform to Drive Inclusive Growth” in four dimensions.

Turning point

By creating a turning point, innovation and technology will be adopted for the exchange’s end-to-end services with information exchange which will allow capital markets to cope with technology disruption and changes in customers’ needs, while infrastructure such as a system for mutual fund intermediaries, payment, know-your-customer (KYC) will be set up as standards.

To foster the bourse’ adjustment, SET and capital market human resources will be well equipped for higher efficiency and new businesses. Regulations and work procedures with supervisory units will also be reformed for more flexibility and less obstacles in doing businesses and investment.

Thai capital markets will also be promoted as “Market of Well-being” in the global stage, given Thailand’s strength in infrastructure, transportation, tourism and services, medical services and food businesses.

Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong said that Thaitrade.com would expand from its status as a cross-border platform for exporters running small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to become the national online business gateway with the full features of business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), and business-to-business-consumer (B2B2C) transactions.

Sontirat, speaking at the E-Commerce Big Bang event, said the latest feature to be offered on Thaitrade.com, Thaitrade Shop, provides an e-commerce platform for SMEs selling into the domestic market.

Thaitrade Shop also connects with business partners, including local e-marketplace and e-commerce players, as well as e-payment and e-logistic service providers.

The move is aimed at helping to strengthen local SMEs and local e-marketplace vendors as well as to increase the country’s competitiveness in the e-commerce sector.

“E-commerce is the right solution for cross-border commerce, in order to be competitive with the fast-growing giant e-commerce players. The government and business need to work together,” said Sontirat.

Thaitrade.com has partnered with global e-commerce players including Alibaba, JD.com, Amazon, eBay and Gosoko.

Under the Alibaba link, Thaitrade.com has opened the Thai Flagship Store on the company’s Tmall platform.

Thai products can be sourced for the Chinese market under this initiative.

Thaitrade.com aims to increase the number of merchants on the site from 25,000 now to 100,000 and the number of products listed from around 250,000 to 1 million stock-keeping-unit (SKUs).

Arada Fuangtong, director of the digital commerce market office under the Department of International Trade Promotion, said that according to UNCTAD, the value of worldwide e-commerce is US$25.3 trillion, with 90 per cent of transactions done as B2B.

The B2C and B2B2C channels are growing rapidly. Some 10 per cent of the whole B2C segment is cross border e-commerce, which is growing at 20 to 30 per cent per year. With these numbers, Arada said, Thai e-commerce players should adjust to the market and turn to the B2B2C and B2C channels.

“Thaitrade.com formally is a B2B e-marketplace platform helping Thai SME exporters to sell product to the global market.

Now, Thaitrade.com has also become a B2B2C platform offering small-order online retail items to 170,000 buyers worldwide,” Arada said.