“We are still in talks with the State Railway of Thailand on the specifications of the carriages,” said Yasuo Mizutani, managing director of Hitachi Asia (Thailand) Co.
At press briefing before the Hitachi Social Innovation Forum in Bangkok yesterday, Mizutani said that after the contract was signed in March, the date for delivery of the carriages had been set to start in 2020.
According to the SRT’s schedule, the Bt80-billion Red Line running through 10 stations from Bangkok to Rangsit, a distance of 26.3 kilometres, is expected to open for service in 2020.
Hitachi’s two partners in the MHSC joint venture are Mitsubishi Heavy Industry Ltd and Sumitomo Corporation.
The Red Line’s third contract covers designs for railway construction, electrical and signalling systems, an autonomic ticketing system, and train carriages. The contract is valued at about Bt32.39 billion.
Hitachi is also interested in bidding for the Pink Line and Yellow Line urban-rail projects, said Ichiro Iino, chief executive for Asia-Pacific.
“We are now in talks with our partners, setting the scope of works, and preparing to participate in the bidding this year,” he said, declining to provide details about the names of the company’s local partners.
The Hitachi Social Innovation Forum is the Japanese company’s global flagship event, and this is the first time it has been held in Thailand as part of its business-expansion plans here.
Besides Thailand, Mizutani said the forum would be held in the United States, China and Japan.
He said Thailand had potential to help the company launch innovative solutions, as many of its subsidiaries are here in Thailand along with other Japanese companies.
“For instance, the social innovation business will take part to … play a role in the Red Line,” Mizutani said.
Meanwhile, Iino said the social innovation business was not just about railway systems, but also how to resolve traffic jams or how to use transport-system tickets mutually for other payments such as at supermarkets and fuel stations. However, any solutions to be used in Thailand have not yet been discussed with Hitachi’s stakeholders.
According to its recently announced 2018 mid-term management plan, Hitachi aims to increase its overseas sales proportion to more than 55 per cent, compared with less than 50 per cent currently.
With half of Hitachi’s headcount and its the biggest operations in Southeast Asia, Thailand will play an instrumental role in helping the company achieve the target.
Thailand’s production base has been in transition, shifting its focus to more high-end products. However, Hitachi has not yet determined which part of the sector it will invest in over the next three to five years, Mizutani said.
As the government has been ramping up spending on infrastructure development to boost the country’s economy and competitiveness, Hitachi says it stands ready to provide support through its areas of expertise.
Hitachi last year recorded |revenue of 10 trillion yen (Bt3.44 trillion) globally, of which 10 per cent was from Asia excluding China.
In Thailand, Hitachi has around 16,000 employees in 15 registered companies, which posted 200 billion yen in sales last year.

Speaking to Vietnam News Agency reporters on the sidelines of the 29th Diplomatic Conference now underway in Hanoi, the ambassador said Vietnamese businesses have not paid proper attention to Asean markets in general and the Thai market in particular.
On the contrary, Thai firms, from large to small- and medium-sized enterprises, are very interested in the Asean markets, especially Vietnam.
He said while several Vietnamese localities have established twinning arrangements or affiliations with their Thai counterparts, their relationships have focused on cooperation or investment while neglecting trading of goods.
Several trade promotion events that |the embassy helped to organise recently |in Thailand have proved that there are many ways for Vietnamese goods to enter this market, which is a major one with 70 million people.
Ambassador to Indonesia Hoang Anh Tuan said following the conclusion of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, Indonesian investors were very interested in the Vietnamese market, as through Vietnam they could enter other markets of the TPP agreement.
At the same time, the AEC framework facilitated trade and investment ties not only from Indonesia to Vietnam, but also from Vietnam to Indonesia, the ambassador said.
According to head of the Vietnamese delegation to Asean Ambassador Nguyen Hoanh Nam, the formation of the Asean community has brought about a new change for the member countries.
In order to make full use of the advantages created by the community, member countries should create better linkages in production and services, he said.
The ambassador said the member countries must improve their investment environment to make Asean more attractive to outside investors.
Ambassador to Malaysia Pham Cao Phong said the economic community held great potential, but it was formed at a time when the region’s economy was suffering from many negative impacts and faced numerous challenges. Therefore, the Asean countries should work together for development.
Vietnam and Malaysia should enhance economic ties on the basis of supplementing each other, in order to bring into play each country’s comparative advantages, he said.

Mydin Mohamed Holdings’ principal architect Hiew Hong Keat said the five new outlets included three hypermarkets here and one each in Malacca and Kedah.
“Mydin has invested 25 million ringgit to open its 25th hypermarket outlet in CityOne Megamall Kuching here which will be ready by December.
“We also invested 70 million ringgit in a Mydin hypermarket in Bandar Baru Samariang which will open today and another hypermarket in Vista Tunku, Petrajaya, soon.
“With the three projects, Mydin will create about 1,000 jobs,” Hiew told reporters after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Kenbest Sdn Bhd and Mydin Mohamed Holdings Bhd, witnessed by Deputy Chief Minister Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg.

Free admission to RubberLand is offered for Thais from today to September 30. The museum is in Central Pattaya.
PP Siam Latex managing director Thanayuth Thongchindavong said RubberLand was a new marketing strategy to improve the brand’s image and add business advantages by offering a new experience and creating exclusive content through “attraction marketing”.
He said it was not enough these days to offer traditional products and services. Consumers now look for content and experience, and brands have to create awareness and confidence in their products.
Since the company’s main customers are foreigners who come to Thailand to travel and shop, the company had the idea of creating a destination where they can learn about rubber.
Marketing director Dhwat Sommanobhat said the company’s revenue last year was Bt1.2 billion, up by 30 per cent from 2014.
RubberLand covers an area of 4,400 square metres on Sukhumvit Road in Central Pattaya. It is conceptualised as a creative museum and learning centre that uses edutainment tools such as three-dimensional projection mapping and creative decorative elements that reflect the Thai way of life, agriculture, and wisdom.
It is divided into two main areas. The learning area includes The Plantation, The Factory, Rubber in Life Zone and Rubber Fantasy Zone. The second area is a shopping zone selling rubber products and souvenirs.
RubberLand is now open. Admission fees for Thai citizens and expatriates are Bt100 for adults and Bt60 for children standing 90-135 centimetres tall. For foreigners, admission is Bt200 for adults and Bt100 for children. Seniors (60 years old and above) and children under 90cm receive free admission.
Free admission is offered to all Thai citizens from today until September 30.

“To reach this milestone, we need to respond to increasing demand not only from future expansion of BJC and its affiliates such as Thai Beverage but also from outside clients, particularly those who are expanding overseas,” Pattaphong Iamsuro, president of the company’s packaging supply-chain business, said recently.
“As we are in the packaging supply-chain industry, having a strong base in glass and can production appears not to be enough for future growth and evolving demand in the market, particularly in food and beverage businesses.”
He said options would range from the company’s own investment to joint ventures to mergers and acquisitions.
He said several deals were under negotiation, with at least one expected to be sealed by the end of this year, but no further details could be revealed at this stage.
Last year, the packaging industry was valued at Bt30 billion, posting single-digit annualised growth. Plastic packaging took the lead, followed by aluminium cans and glass containers.
Euromonitor’s latest research suggested that convenience remained a key factor in the packaging business, while small pack sizes were gaining prominence.
This week, BJC announced a Bt2-billion investment in the construction of a new furnace with production capacity of 300 tonnes of glass a day, to cater to rising demand for glass containers. The new plant in Saraburi province is scheduled to commence operations by the end of next year.
The plant will be on a 95-rai (15.2-hectare) plot comprising three sites managed by BJC’s subsidiary Thai Malaya Glass. It will be the second site where BJC manufactures glass containers for beer and other beverages, food, pharmaceuticals and other products.
When fully operational, the new furnace will give the group an overall daily glass-production capacity of 3,800 tonnes, which is seen as sufficient to meet demand from domestic customers and those in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
In the first half of the year, sales from the group’s packaging business were Bt5.356 billion, some 15.7 per cent higher than in the same period last year – with small and medium-sized enterprises accounting for 20 per cent of the client portfolio.
Buoyed by this performance, BJC is maintaining this year’s revenue target at Bt11 billion, representing a 16-per-cent rise, Pattaphong said.

Yang Xiaolin, president of the trading and producer of the Chinese household-appliance brand, said yesterday that domestic demand for Haier in the second half would continue to grow, bucking the overall trend that is expected to slow.
Haier expects its sales to increase by 16 per cent for the whole year.
Overseas, there are new emerging markets in the Middle East.
Currently, its refrigerator-manufacturing capacity is 1 million units per year and production is 800,000 units, air-conditioner capacity is 300,000 per year and production is 170,000 units, washing-machine plants are running at full capacity of 150,000 units, and freezer capacity is 50,000 units per year and production is 35,000 units.
In Thailand, Haier has appointed more than 300 dealers. It ships to South America, Australia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
About 60 per cent of its output is sent overseas and 40 per cent serves the domestic market, gaining lower than 3-per-cent market share in home-appliance products, after Japanese and Korean brands.
Last year, the group’s worldwide transactions increased by 184 per cent.
After acquiring a refrigerator factory form Sanyo in 2007, Haier has expanded production lines.
It is the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for many brands for the domestic market. It makes refrigerators, washing machines and freezers for Singer, refrigerators for Mirage and small refrigerators and air-conditioners for Electrolux.
It has also established its own research and development unit here.
“We have entered into Thailand to expand our business here. We will launch new products every year,” Yang said.
The company employs about 200 foreign workers or 20 per cent of its workforce. Most of them are from Laos or Cambodia.

SCG’s board of directors has approved the co-investment with Yamato Asia in SCG Yamato Express Co – a nationwide, full-service logistics provider in Thailand specialising in the business-to-consumer (B2C) and customer-to-customer (C2C) segments of the small-parcel delivery market.The expansion to a new business is the first for the group under Roongrote Rangsiyo-pash, who became chief executive officer at the start of this year.
SCG operates three core businesses – cement and building materials, chemicals and packaging.
The growth drivers for the B2C and C2C segments of the Thai logistics industry are expected to be e-commerce, m-commerce and urbanisation. The growth of the delivery segment is forecast to be in excess of 10 per cent over five years.
SCC’s 65-per-cent stake in the Bt633-million JV will be made through its subsidiary SCG Cement-Building Mat-|erials, which recorded logistics-related sales of Bt14.5 billion in fiscal 2015. Yamato Asia is a subsidiary of Yamato Holdings Co, a conglomerate that is No 1 in express home delivery in Japan.