Some 4,000 Chinese business leaders to meet in Bangkok: WCEC
FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2023
Around 4,000 Chinese business leaders and entrepreneurs will attend the 16th World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention (WCEC) in Bangkok from June 24-26 at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.
Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong are the founding members of WCEC. The founders take turns in hosting WCEC around the world every 2 years.
Thai-Chinese Chamber of Commerce hosted the 3rd WCEC for the first time in 1995. After 27 years, WCEC has become the forum connecting Chinese entrepreneurs from all over the world in promoting international cooperation.
Narongsak Putthapornmongkol, president of the Thai-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, said that the 16th WCEC meeting will be held in Bangkok for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic.
WCEC had successful meetings 15 times. This meeting will look into trade opportunities in Thailand while discussing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), in addition to Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Narongsak said that in the past two years, the Covid-19 pandemic created uncertain situations and has impacted the world’s economy as well as the business of the Chinese globally.
He said, “We are ready to push the development of global Chinese entrepreneurs in this digital age, cooperating in various fields and promoting trade between Thai entrepreneurs and the world, linking investments and creating a future with Chinese business owners around the world to restore Thai’s and the world’s economy.”
According to Kasikorn Research Centre, Chinese tourists are expected to reach 5 million or 42% of the total Chinese visitors to Thailand in 2019.
The increase in tourists will begin in the second quarter and even more, will arrive in the second half of the year because of more flights and increased packaged tours.
Thailand’s economy, tourism and business will be boosted especially if Thailand will be chosen as one of the leading countries in revitalising travelling on large scale.
The Chinese usually travel during the summer school break in July-August and during the Chinese national day of the people’s Republic of China from 1-7 October every year.
Top CEOs offer 4 techniques for digital leaders to fulfil 2023 business goals
FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2023
Chanapat Komlongharn
Data, technology leverage, automation, and digital adaptability are the four key elements for business success this year, according to top Thai CEOs.
The industry chiefs unveiled their business plans for the year ahead at the “2023 Digital Leader’s Resolution” webinar hosted by the Thailand e-Business Centre (Tec).
The event saw Arinchaya Threekunprapa, head of the Research and Creative Development Centre (RCDC) and founder of RabByte Foundation, present her three main techniques for helping digital leaders accomplish their business goals.
The three techniques are:
– Data-driven decision-making
– Technology leverage
– Automation.
She explained it is vital for leaders to rely on data when establishing business goals – particularly action plans. Among other things, data can show whether the objectives set are achievable or not.
On the second technique, utilising technology, she gave the example of switching from print to digital advertising. Businesses can apply such technology to fulfil their objectives quicker and more easily,” Arinchaya said.
Moving onto automation, she explained that technology adoption can now take care of a wide range of routine or non-complex tasks, citing the simple example of using the Google calendar to manage time.
Technology automation helps in achieving business goals and keeping organisations on the right track, she added
The old business saying of “big fish eat the minnows” has now been replaced by “fast fish eat the slow”, she emphasised.
Pathom Indarodom, managing director of True Digital Group’s IoT & Digital Solutions, tossed in digital adaptability as another essential tool for business success in 2023.
Augmented reality (AR) expertise is now being replaced by mixed-reality (MR) expertise, while even crypto investing is being taken over by NFT (non-fungible token) assets, so businesspeople need to be ready to learn new things every day, said Pathom.
TeC is Thailand’s first e-business platform where CEOs from leading enterprises are offering entrepreneurs guidance on e-commerce and e-business.
UOB’s 2022 Smart Business Transformation Programme helps over 250 SMEs
FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2023
Digital adoption, sustainability practices and better people management were among the favourable outcomes for Thai SMEs who participated in UOB Thailand’s 2022 Smart Business Transformation Programme.
UOB and The FinLab, UOB’s innovation accelerator, assisted over 250 Thai small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to undergo digital transformation as part of the bank’s 2022 Smart Business Transformation Programme (SBTP).
SMEs achieved various positive outcomes through the programme, including improved business efficiency, lower operating costs, better organisational management, and improved readiness to integrate sustainability into their businesses.
These outcomes are consistent with the findings from UOB’s ASEAN SME Transformation Study 2022, which found that while 55 % of SMEs in the region are optimistic about their business recovery, 50 % of Thai SMEs remain concerned about the need to transform their business models, particularly in the areas of digitalisation, sustainability and customer engagement due to shifts in consumer preferences.
Sirinun Jiradilok, Head of Digital Engagement and FinTech Innovation, UOB Thailand, said, “The concept of sustainability has influenced the way SMEs think about their operations in addition to digitalisation. Two-thirds of Thai SMEs (65 %) surveyed indicated that sustainability is now an area of importance and concern to their businesses.”
“Since the launch of SBTP in 2019, we have helped around 900 SMEs in Thailand to innovate and transform digitally. We equipped SMEs with relevant digital skills and tools for them to stay relevant and competitive. They also learnt to integrate sustainability into their business strategy and were introduced to green finance alternatives for long-term success.”
During the three-month programme, Thai SMEs embraced digital solutions, business and sustainability practices under the supervision of UOB Thailand and its ecosystem of partners as they progress to make changes to their business models and adapt to new challenges.
The adopted solutions, particularly those related to data management, addressed various business challenges such as managing and analysing collected and internal data to better understand existing and new customers and improve digital marketing, and for optimising business processes and better cost management.
SMEs reported positive outcomes from the Smart Business Transformation Programme The SMEs participating in the 2022 SBTP reported higher productivity and customer engagement from business process optimisation, increased sales from using digital marketing tools, as well as lower operational and marketing costs. They also achieved a better understanding and willingness of the business owners and key decision-makers to embrace sustainability across their organisations.
Chonlawat Ruengpreechavech, Chief Executive Officer, of Clinton Intertrade, a wholesaler of electrical supply and water pumps, said “The 2022 SBTP has tremendously accelerated our digitalisation journey. We deployed SAP B1, one of the key software applications to manage and optimise collected data, which improved our documentation process while real-time data allowed incidents to be addressed immediately. In addition, one of the partners from the programme provided consultation on managing generational differences in the workplace, which I believe will eventually help boost our productivity and performance.”
Khunakorn Dhanasarnsombat, Managing Director of Thailand Knitting Factory Co. Ltd., the owner of the Double Goose brand, said, “We have participated in the SBTP for two years and have seen positive impacts since. Especially in the second year when we started implementing tech solutions like SAP B1, which has improved our cost management and business data collection. With the data gathered, we were able to produce more recyclable products from our production line, contributing to our green manufacturing journey. Additionally, we adopted business solutions such as UOB mCollect to ease our collection and reconciliation processes, freeing up more time for front-end staff/sales officers to provide customers better services.”
Pitiphat Mongkolariyanan, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, KMP Partner, a construction consultant company, said, “We have learnt to adopt the concept of customer centricity in our application development process, and by doing this, our application was able to address our customers’ needs. Our user base has consequently increased from 20 users to 700 users. Also, thanks to the SBTP that connected us to Zaviago, a CRM solution that gathers data and optimises the targeting process of online media, this helped us reach our targeted customers at lower costs.”
Jakkadej Asavasopon, Chief Executive Officer, A Ramen said, “Business and customer data has always been our top priority. The programme helped us to successfully install a data management tool, providing us with the ability to analyse the customer data, allowing us to save costs and increase sales, all while providing better experiences to our customers. Moreover, the programme has led us to pursue zero waste in managing our food business, which aligns with our sustainability goal of becoming a Zero Waste entrepreneur by launching a central kitchen in 2023.”
Paulovatchara Yuvanasiri, Managing Director of RainForest Green Community, said, “Our goal is to build our community mall to be recognised as a ‘green community.’ We not only gained insights from the experts but were also introduced to UOB’s sustainable financing solutions like U-Solar where I see opportunities in adopting renewable energy for our community mall. The SBTP connected us to ecosystem partners, which I strongly believe will reduce energy consumption and expenditure once the installation is complete. On digitalisation, we have seen an improvement in cost management, corporate taxation, and operational process due to the adoption of PEAKaccount, the online accounting and cost management solution that mandates data management.”
The SBTP is open to SME business owners or decision makers who are keen to explore new ideas, adopt technology and invest in digital tools, and can commit their time throughout the three-month programme.
‘Congress has to investigate’ – McCarthy on Biden classified documents
FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2023
US Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday announced the appointment of a special counsel to investigate President Joe Biden’s handling of sensitive government documents – an inquiry that could cast a shadow over the Democrat’s expected to run for re-election in 2024.
The top US law enforcement official made the announcement hours after a White House lawyer on Thursday disclosed that Biden’s legal team had found a second set of classified papers from his time as vice president at a storage space at his Delaware home. The White House on Monday disclosed that classified documents from his vice presidential days were discovered in November at a think tank in Washington.
Garland said Robert Hur, a former US attorney in Maryland, would serve as special counsel.
Special counsels are sometimes appointed to investigate politically sensitive cases and they carry out their responsibilities with a degree of independence from the Justice Department leadership including Garland, who was appointed by Biden. Special counsels sometimes, but not always, pursue criminal charges.
Garland in November named a special counsel, Jack Smith, to oversee Justice Department investigations related to Donald Trump including the Republican former president’s handling of classified documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Trump, defeated by Biden in 2020, in November announced a 2024 run for the presidency.
Biden, 80, is expected to formally launch a re-election campaign in the coming months. The disclosures about the documents already have caused him political worries.
The president told reporters on Thursday that he will get a chance to speak on “all of this soon,” before reading from a prepared statement that echoed the information.
Recently elected Republican Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy said on Thursday that Congress should investigate revelations that President Joe Biden kept classified documents at his private residence.
McCarthy told reporters that the discoveries demonstrated the Biden administration’s hypocrisy with regard to similar revelations about former President Donald Trump.
“Another faux pas by the Biden administration, but treating law differently based upon your political beliefs,” McCarthy said.
“I think Congress has to investigate this,” he added.
A single document was found in a room adjacent to the garage in Wilmington and no documents were found in the Bidens’ Rehoboth Beach home, Biden’s attorney said in a statement. The administration is “fully cooperating” to ensure that the records are handled properly, Sauber said.
There are differences between the revelation that Biden’s legal team found classified documents in his properties and the ongoing Justice Department investigation into former President Donald Trump’s refusal to hand over classified documents taken from the White House.
Trump kept thousands of government records, a few hundred of which were marked as classified, inside his personal residence in Florida for more than a year after departing the White House, and did not return them immediately or willingly despite numerous requests by the National Archives.
When he finally handed over 15 boxes of records in January 2022, the Archives discovered more than 100 were marked as classified. It referred the matter to the Justice Department in the spring and a special counsel has been named to oversee the investigation.
Take a peek at hundreds of thousands of baby turtles hatching!
FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2023
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) released video footage showing hundreds of thousands of baby giant South American river turtles, recently emerging from nesting beaches along the Guaporé/Inténez River along the border of Brazil and Bolivia.
The annual nesting and hatching of Latin America’s largest freshwater turtle species along sandbars in this region of the western Amazon Basin are considered the largest single aggregation of turtles on the planet.
Beginning in late September, an estimated 80,000 adult female turtles gather on these local nesting beaches to dig nests and lay eggs.
The footage, taken by WCS’s conservation partner Ecovale, shows beaches swarming with baby turtles as they emerge from the sand and then congregate along sand banks before eventually dispersing into the river.
The turtles began hatching in mid-December and continued into early January.
The Giant South American river turtle is the largest freshwater turtle in Latin America, reaching three and a half feet (1.07 meters) and 200 pounds (90 kg).
The turtles play an important ecological role by dispersing seeds that eventually help regenerate vegetation along river corridors.
In addition, they make a significant contribution of biomass to the food web of the river.
WCS is combining the efforts of its country programs in Bolivia and Brazil to develop a coordinated multi-national push to conserve this key population of the great South American river turtle, which used to number in the millions, but the population has been declining due to historical over-harvest for oil, meat, and trade.
“Safeguarding this population of giant South American river turtles takes a community approach,” said German Forero-Medina, Scientific Director with WCS Colombia. “WCS proudly works with local partners with a direct stake in ensuring that this species is part of their natural heritage.”
Collaborators are protecting the eggs from poachers, conducting a census of the nesting females, and collecting other data which will help inform a conservation plan for the species, which includes establishing a protected area to permanently safeguard nesting and hatching turtles.
Thailand targets 80m foreign tourists per year – 10m more than population
FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2023
Thailand is eyeing up to 80 million foreign tourists per year by 2027, twice the number in 2019 and far exceeding the Thai population of 70 million.
Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn set the five-year target on Thursday, aiming to generate 5 trillion baht in annual revenue by 2027 – almost tripling the 1.93 trillion baht generated by foreign arrivals in 2019.
This year, the ministry expects to see at least 25 million foreign tourists land in Thailand, helping the sector recover to 60% of pre-pandemic level. Total revenue from domestic and foreign tourists in 2023 is forecast at 2.4 trillion baht, or 80% of the level before Covid-19, driven by China arrivals after the country scrapped travel restrictions on January 8.
“Before 2027 arrives, we have to prepare our personnel and resources to welcome [more] foreign tourists,” said Phiphat, adding that his ministry will coordinate with the Labour Ministry to build up the size and skills of the tourism workforce.
Phitphat said that besides addressing the shortage of skilled tourism workers, Thailand needs to boost security and safety to welcome a high volume of foreign arrivals. This would require coordination between the ministry, related agencies and the general public.
Last year saw 11.81 million foreign tourists visit Thailand, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), helping generate total revenue from domestic and international tourists of 1.5 trillion baht.
The TAT said most foreign visitors last year came from Malaysia (1.95 million), followed by India (965,994), Laos (844,959), Cambodia (591,657) and Singapore (589,770).
Thai lawmakers endorse study on legalising casinos
FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2023
Thailand’s lower House endorsed a feasibility study on legalising casinos on Thursday, as the country seeks tax and tourism revenue to boost economic recovery from Covid-19.
The study report was produced by a special House committee and will now be sent to Cabinet for consideration.
Lawmakers debated the report – which covers revenue/tax collection and measures to combat illegal gambling dens – for about two hours on Thursday.
Several MPs asked the committee to beef up the report with measures to combat illegal online gambling and money laundering.
The committee plans to ask the government to legalise casinos in five regions, aiming to increase state income from tax while suppressing illegal gambling dens.
The five locations targeted for legal casinos are:
– North: Chiang Rai or Chiang Mai
– East: Pattaya
– South: Phuket, Phang-nga or Krabi
– Northeast: Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani or Khon Kaen
– Greater Bangkok.
Legalisation will be trialled with five casinos nationwide, featuring both traditional and international gambling games as well as gambling via online channels, said the committee’s vice president Phichet Cheumuangphan.
Entry to Thai casinos will reportedly be restricted to wealthy Thais and foreigners.
Underground gambling is endemic in Thailand, with billions of baht estimated to be flowing through illegal dens and websites every year.
Thai gamblers also flock to border casinos in neighbouring countries such as Cambodia, Laos and Singapore, which act as a magnet for foreign tourists.
Thailand passes baton to Vietnam for coordinating Asia-Europe summit
FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2023
Thailand handed over the Asean Group Coordinatorship for the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) framework to Vietnam on Thursday.
Asi Mamanee, director-general of the Department of European Affairs and the senior Thai official for ASEM, passed on his role to Tran Bao Ngoc, ASEM senior official for Vietnam, in a virtual meeting.
ASEM senior officials expressed appreciation for what they described as Thailand’s excellent coordination over the past two years, which they agreed was a very challenging period.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the group managed to form common stances on many global issues, especially during the 13th ASEM Summit hosted by Cambodia in November 2021.
Thailand was also commended for its active engagement with other ASEM coordinators.
Senior officials also exchanged views on how to further enhance cooperation between Asean and Europe.
ASEM is the only summit-level forum between Asia and Europe, covering three areas of cooperation: political, economic, and social and cultural. The summits give leaders from Asia and Europe the opportunity to exchange ideas in person.
Thailand is a founding member of ASEM. It hosted the first ASEM summit, which was held in Bangkok in 1996.
Unicef celebrates 75 years of unwavering commitment to children in Thailand
FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2023
As Unicef celebrates its 75 years of working with and for the children of Thailand, we call on all of Thai society on National Children’s Day to continue to prioritize the children’s needs and help create a promising future for every child.
Over these 75 years, Unicef has worked with the Government of Thailand and partners to improve children’s lives and advance their rights in every aspect, including health, education, protection from harm, and participation in society.
This shared commitment will be publicly celebrated in a new series of videos entitled Commitment For Children, beginning today and running throughout the year on Unicef Thailand’s social media channels. The series kicks off with Unicef Representative for Thailand Kyungsun Kim, Friend of Unicef Min Pechaya Wattanamontri and Watwareee Chaimongkol, member of Unicef’s Young People Advisory Board who make their pledges to promote and protect children’s well-being, particularly the most vulnerable. Unicef will continue to work with all partners to turn these commitments into lasting positive changes.
Unicef’s work in Thailand has already achieved many historic, lifesaving milestones. Some of these include the first nationwide vaccination programme against tuberculosis in 1953, a school milk programme created to alleviate protein deficiency in the 1960s, the promotion of early childhood and primary school education in 1964, legislation ensuring salt iodization in 2011, and the adoption of the Child Support Grant as a vital social protection scheme for children in 2015.
“The lives of children in Thailand have improved almost beyond recognition during the past 75 years and Unicef is proud of the part we have played in that journey,” said Kyungsun Kim, Unicef Representative for Thailand. “Throughout the decades, there have been great achievements across all aspects of children’s lives. Thailand has delivered child survival and eliminated extreme poverty while making access to birth registration, immunization, healthcare, and primary education almost universal.”
As Thailand has developed economically and socially, Unicef’s role in the country has also evolved. Unicef’s partnership with the Government of Thailand has moved from a donor/recipient relationship to a more strategic and collaborative partnership, where the focus is on supporting the country to develop its own capacity and expertise in fulfilling its long-term vision for children. At the same time, Unicef has worked to expand opportunities for Thai people to play a key role in supporting vulnerable children both in Thailand and overseas, through donations or volunteering to give back to their communities.
Today, Unicef works with the Government, civil society, private sector, media, academia, as well as children and young people themselves, to co-create solutions that ensure equal rights for every child in Thailand.
“As we celebrate these achievements on Children’s Day, we also reflect on the lives of Thai children today and in the future,” continued Kyungsun Kim. “Although so much has been achieved already, and can be achieved in the future, there are many challenges ahead such as the ongoing socio-economic impact of Covid-19, conflicts, the climate crisis, and increased disparities. These unprecedented challenges require unprecedented commitment, effort, and investment from everyone in society. To reimagine the future for every child, we must strengthen our partnerships and work ever more innovatively. Unicef won’t rest until every child in Thailand and the world has been given the opportunities they deserve to fulfil their potential.”
Bangkok taxis become more expensive with fares now starting at THB40
FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2023
Bangkok taxi fares will now start at 40 baht in line with the Transport Ministry’s announcement, which was published in the Royal Gazette on Thursday.
The ministry updated Bangkok taxi fares for the first time since 2014 to reflect the current economic and social situation, the announcement said.
Now, the flag down rate is 40 baht, up from 35 baht, and the fare for subsequent kilometres has been increased by 1 baht until the 61st kilometre.
The new fares for metred taxis in Bangkok are as follows:
• 40 baht for the first kilometre
• 6.5 baht/km for kilometres 2-10
• 7 baht/km for kilometres 11-20
• 8 baht/km for kilometres 21-40
• 8.5 baht/km for kilometres 41-60
• 9 baht/km for kilometres 61-80 (unchanged)
• 10.50 baht/km for kilometres 81 and above (unchanged)
The charge for traffic congestion and when the vehicle travels at less than 6km/hour has been increased by 1 baht to 3 baht per minute.
Call taxis will cost an additional 20 baht in service fees, while taxis to and from Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi Airports will cost an additional 50 baht.
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