The EIC said it had decided to revise its previous export-growth estimate of 5 per cent due to strong overseas demand.

The centre also revised upward its forecast of the country’s import-value growth for this year, from 9 per cent to 12.2 per cent.

Its survey indicates the Thai economy will grow between 3.8 and 4 per cent.

“These will be underpinned by the nation’s shift towards a digital economy under the Thailand 4.0 roadmap, which will drive employment and wages as technology opens up new opportunities for workers,” said Wanna Assavakarint, managing director of Kelly Services Thailand.

“Workers can look forward to moderate salary increases following a successful year for the economy. Industries undergoing digital transformation will experience expanding challenges as they steer away from the ‘middle-income trap’ and work towards an innovation-led model.”

Wanna said one of the biggest growth opportunities ahead would lie in expanding human capital to keep pace with the digitisation of the economy.

“There will be tremendous demand for workers in STEM – science, technology, engineering, mathematics – fields, with investment in building these specialised skills crucial to fulfilling Thailand’s digital economy vision.

“We expect a greater demand for technology-literate workers as businesses in relevant sectors shift towards more technology-based production activities and services to better compete internationally,” she said.

DIF expects estimated distribution per unit (DPU) to increase from July 1 this year through June 2019 by at least Bt1.04 per unit, compared with Bt0.98 per unit in January-December 2017.

The preliminary offering price is Bt13.60-Bt13.90 per unit and existing holders can subscribe for more during business hours from May 2-8.

The subscription period for the general public will be May 2-11, said Smith Banomyong, chief executive of SCB Asset Management Co Ltd, which manages DIF.

Smith said DIF – Thailand’s first and largest digital telecommunications infrastructure fund – would invest in additional assets with total value not exceeding Bt55.236 billion by offering up to 3,831 million new units.

The total value of investment units issued and offered for sale would not exceed Bt53.236 billion and borrowing up to Bt2 billion from financial institutions had been approved in accordance with resolutions set out at a DIF unitholders meeting last November.

The investments are designed to enhance Thailand’s competitiveness and meet demand for smartphone, Internet and broadband use, which is expanding with the change to the 4G LTE system, Smith said.

It will also help Thailand become a more advanced digital society in response to the government’s “Thailand 4.0” policy, he said.

The result boosted exports for the first quarter to a record $62.829 billion, up 11.3 per cent from Q1-2017 and representing a seven-year high.

The trade surplus was $1.956 billion, the ministry said.

The value of baht exports in March was Bt697.074 billion, down 4 per cent from the same month last year, but for the first quarter hit Bt1.99 trillion, up 0.5 per cent.

Export growth was greatest in India, the United States and other Southeast Asian countries, especially CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam).

The products enjoying most growth were computers and accessories, finished oil, plastics and electronic chips.

The stricter new policy also aims to tackle how rich countries contribute to corruption in the developing world by failing to prevent bribery and money laundering or by allowing anonymous corporate ownership.

“We know that corruption hurts the poor, hinders economic opportunity and social mobility, undermines trust in institutions and causes social cohesion to unravel,” IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement.

“We have now adopted a framework for enhanced engagement on governance and corruption that aims for a more systematic, evenhanded, effective and candid engagement with member countries.”

Corruption and poor governance sap economic growth and exacerbate inequality, according to the IMF, and the new policy framework attempts to ensure the institution will hold all members to the same standards — something the fund said it had not always done.

The new policy comes as Ukrainian authorities work to implement stringent new anticorruption reforms at the behest of the IMF, which has held up the latest instalment of a $17.5 billion aid package.

The revised good governance guidelines, which take effect on July 1, follow a recent review of the IMF’s 20-year-old policy framework which concluded the fund had sometimes employed euphemisms when discussing corruption in member states — leaving local officials unclear about IMF concerns.

– ‘More intrusive’ –

And IMF analysis sometimes failed to apply the same standards evenly to all members.

Under the new guidelines approved by the IMF board on April 6, the fund will discuss good governance concerns in all annual economic reviews of member countries.

IMF officials however say they do not expect the policy will lead to more stringent conditions on loans, which go to a minority of the fund’s 189 members and which already include anti-corruption provisions.

The fund also will rely on the findings of outside transparency campaigners who have criticized the existence of tax and corporate havens in advanced economies as a conduit for illicit financial flows to and from poorer countries.

However, the IMF will not investigate specific instances of corruption.

Rather, it will focus on the strength of key economic institutions: fiscal and central bank governance, market regulation, the rule of law and policies on money laundering and countering terrorism financing.

IMF analysis suggests falling 25 notches on a corruption index could shave as much as 0.5 percentage points off a country’s annual growth — amounting to tremendous economic losses over multiple years.

In unveiling the new policy on Sunday at the close of the IMF-World Bank spring meetings, Lagarde said the fund’s board supported a “more intrusive” approach to member state evaluations.

“Because it is a macroeconomic issue, the IMF is really perfectly legitimate in acting, especially when we have a program in a country,” she said.

This is higher than the country’s economic growth of 3.9 per cent last year.

Meanwhile, the first quarter of this year saw the economy grow by 4 per cent, the bank’s president and chief executive officer, Chatchai Payuhanaveechai, said on Sunday.

Jon Erik Steenslid, Southeast Asia regional director of the Norwegian Seafood Council, said that 2017 was an all-time high record value of export of Norwegian seafood with NOK 94.5 billion (Bt380 billion) in total value and 2.6 million tonnes in volume. Such export value was up by 3 per cent compared to 2016.

Breaking down into regions, the European Union is the largest market taking about 70 per cent of the export sales of all Norwegian seafood, and then Asia accounting for about 20 per cent.

“The potential in Thailand, especially for Norwegian salmon, is considerable. Over the past few years, we have seen very strong growth in export from Norway, and in 2017 alone it was close to 40 per cent. Thailand is one of our fastest growing markets. Thai consumers are becoming more trendy and international, and are demanding and appreciating high quality seafood. Consumption of salmon is especially growing as a result of the Thai’s love for Japanese food, and particularly sushi and sashimi where salmon is by far the most popular fish. However, most consumers believe the salmon they eat in Japanese restaurants is from Japan, when the fact it is from the cold clear waters of Norway. This is a trend we see in many countries and markets across Southeast Asia,” said Steenslid.

“The share for Southeast Asia is about 8 per cent of total Norwegian seafood export, and the key driving factor is increased consumption of salmon in particular,” he added.

“I believe in a continued growth in seafood export from Norway to Southeast Asia as this is a region with one of the highest levels of seafood consumption combined with increasing purchase power and stagnating local supply. It is however difficult to predict exactly how much, but I feel confident that a total growth of at least 4-5 per cent annually should be possible given normal market and product conditions,” said Steenslid.

Steenslid said that sustainability and protection of the environment are key principles to all development of the seafood industry in Norway, combined with what is considered by many as the world’s strictest regulation and management system. All our major wild fish stocks are responsibly managed and sustainably certified through continuous monitoring and research.

The same principles also apply to our aquaculture. The key challenge in salmon farming today is combating sea lice, a small crustacean that attaches itself to the skin of the salmon and can negatively affect the condition of the fish. It is important to note that this has no effect on food safety, it is an issue of animal welfare, another important condition in Norwegian aquaculture.

The Norwegian salmon industry together with research organizations are investing substantially to overcome and solve this challenge with promising results, which is a requirement for continued future growth in production of Norwegian salmon. The current annual production of Norwegian farmed Atlantic salmon is 1.3 million tonnes, which is 55 per cent of the world production, making Norway the world’s largest producer.

The Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC), the representative of the world’s number one salmon exporter, in partnership with Thammachart Seafood Retail Co Ltd, has introduced the “Seafood from Norway” country-of-origin logo, as a trademark of quality.

The NSC works with the Norwegian fisheries and aquaculture industry to develop markets for Norwegian seafood. In Thailand, Thammachart is using the NSC’s Seafood from Norway brand, particularly for salmon.

“Nobody knows salmon like the Norwegians”, said Steenslid. “Norway is a country with a long, celebrated tradition of living as one with the ocean. The locals over generations have worked to preserve the ocean with the utmost care, and it is this culture that makes Norway truly a nation of seafood, and the second largest seafood exporter in the world.”

The Incredible Flavours of Norway retail campaign is bringing Norwegian seafood to Bangkok. Thammachart will be the first retailer in Thailand to use the logo.

Julian Davies, CEO of Thammachart, said: “Thammachart Seafood is run by seafood experts who personally visit fisheries and farm owners to select the highest quality products, and ensure fair trade to farmers. We pride ourselves on supplying the freshest seafood and guarantee that all products sold are traceable to their places of origin. We believe that this ‘Seafood from Norway’ mark of origin will assure our consumers of the quality products we deliver to every seafood counter, fresh from Norway.”

The launch event at Siam Paragon hosted a giant Norwegian cod, flown from Norway. The promotion lasts until April 25 at the mall’s Gourmet Markets.

Thai subcontractors will be able to secure foreign deals and partners at an event “capable of generating more than 6,500 business matches” and “create business valued at over Bt12 billion”, BOI secretary general Duangjai Asawachintachit said.

“With the readiness of infrastructure and the government’s plan to move ahead with the Thailand 4.0 policy, Thailand has become one of the most attractive business destinations and the centre for attracting high-technology industrial investment,” he said.

“It has also become a bridge to link subcontracting and parts manufacturing industries. With this readiness, BOI has a policy to link Thai subcontracting industry to higher development for serving Industry 4.0, which is focusing on research and development, innovation and value added for future industry or New S-Curve, such as automation and robotic industry.”

Subcon Thailand 2018 will have a zone for Thai enterprises in automation and robotic clusters, along with enterprises in System Integrator-SI in engineering, electronics and software development.

More than 350 companies in Thailand and from “more than 10” other countries will exhibit.

There will be pavilions from Japan and Taiwan and more than 25,000 buyers from various industries, such as automotive, electronic and machinery and future industries including aviation, medical equipment, robotics and automation and digital.

SUBCON Thailand 2018 will be ASEAN’s largest industrial subcontracting and business matching event, held in conjunction with INTERMACH 2018. It will be held from May 16 to 19 at the Bangkok International & Trade Exhibition Centre (BITEC), Bangna Bangkok.

In a survey of 1,108 workers, 60 per cent of respondents said they were happy with their work, for an average ranking of 4.55 points on the “happiness index”.

The happiest workers were in management (4.95 points), administration and human resources (4.94), engineering (4.86), IT (4.74) and transportation (4.73).

Compared to their counterparts in Hong Kong, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, Thais ranked fifth, slipping two spots from last year.

Indonesia was at 5.27 points, Vietnam at 5.19, the Philippines at 4.97, Malaysia at 4.65, Hong Kong at 4.45 and Singapore at 4.31.

In Thailand, the least happy workers were fresh graduates and employees with less than a year’s experience, together scoring 4.35 points, followed by people with 1-4 years’ experience at 4.45 points.

Top executives scored best, with an average of 5.19 points, while managers averaged 4.64 and supervisors 4.54.

Asked what would make them happier in the next six months, 37 per cent of the Thai respondents hoped for better opportunities and jobs elsewhere, 20 per cent were prepared to remain with their current job if they got a raise, and 8 per cent wanted more recognition or a promotion.

In the past, workers tended to prioritise job security, but now there is more ambition to rise to the executive level.

Younger employees put a high premium on “inspiration” as a factor in choosing which company to join. They’re not afraid of leaving their comfort zone.

However, both generations share keen interest in having a convenient work location, a company with a good reputation and good rapport with colleagues.

The factors that most make them want to quit are working with inefficient executives, chances elsewhere to advance in their careers and lacking challenges in the development of work skills.

Changes affecting the workforce in the past year have included the growth of the ageing society, robotics and AI technology, and startups attracting younger people who prefer to be self-employed.

There were also more young people using social media as earning tools.

The survey revealed that the key elements in retaining employees are to offer support and encouragement to enhance their capabilities, provide opportunities for career growth, and be able to see them as competent and successful role models.