In the news

Thailand is at risk of not being able to keep pace with China, Asia’s largest economy, as its productivity lags its rivals and there is a lack of brand building and less product differentiation, according to the Bank of Thailand.
Thailand needs industrial upgrading to grow along with rapidly expanding China, it said. In the short to medium term, China is estimated to grow at least 7 per cent a year. China, with its high-consumption market, also plays a major role as a gateway for Asia’s exports, said BOT Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul at a symposium yesterday.

Tsingtao plans brewery here 
China’s brewery giant Tsingtao Beer has announced that it plans to set up its first overseas plant in Bangkok in a significant step towards globalisation for the brand that was introduced by the Germans 108 years ago.
The plant, which will begin operations in early 2013 with an estimated total investment of US$100 million (Bt3 billion), will have an annual production output of 200,000 litres and will create hundreds of local jobs, said Jin Zhiguo, chairman of Qingdao, Shandong-based Tsingtao Brewery. – Asia News Network