Briefs

Central Retail Corporation is optimistic that seamless trade under the Asean Economic Community (AEC) which will draw more shoppers to Phuket.
Lertvit Pumipitak, CRC executive vice president for business development, said the AEC, which will be fully effective in 2015, would increase the number of local tourists and in-bound travellers from outside and within Asean, especially China and Russia, to Phuket by 35 per cent on average.
CRC itself plans to promote additional investment on the island. It has already invested Bt200 million in the facelift of Central Festival Phuket, which was completed in June.
Lertvit said consumers’ purchasing power in Phuket had increased, as seen from average transactions in the mall by both Thai and foreign shoppers. Central Festival Phuket achieved Bt350 million in sales in the first six months of this year, up 20 per cent over the same period last year, thanks to more foreign tourists coming to Phuket over the period, up 12 per cent compared with the first half of 2011. The shopping complex expects to earn Bt700 million in sales for the full year, up 25 per cent over last year. – The Nation