CMO looks to museum business
In light of the increasing demand both from government bodies and corporations to exhibit their success history via their own museums, CMO plans to turn its focus to museum management.
The country’s leading event-management company expects to realise at least Bt120 million in revenue from this service next year.
Chief executive officer Sermkhun Kunawong said yesterday that some key ministries, departments and organisations had been in existence for more than 60 years, so there were many stories to be told by them.
Medium to large local companies are also seeking an opportunity to set up their own museums to present their history and great successes from the past, the present and in the future.
Once the Asean Economic Community takes effect in less than three years, companies wanting to expand outside the country will look for a professional museum-management company to take care of their learning centres and museums. These facilities will be used to attract and impress potential overseas partners or clients during a visit to the local company here.
There are about a hundred museums in Thailand owned by the public and private sectors. This could double in five years, Sermkhun said.
CMO is now managing 11 museum projects worth Bt70 million. It is involved in turnkey management, design and construction, and research and planning.
The projects include the Laem Chabang Port Museum in Chon Buri, Bueng Boraphet Aquarium Commemorating the King’s 80th Birthday in Nakhon Sawan, the Administrative Court Museum, and the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives Archives.
CMO also designed and decorated the Angkor National Museum in Siem Reap, Cambodia, Sermkhun said.
Wanna Issarangkul na Ayutthaya, acting director for the museum business, said that next year there were six confirmed projects valued at about Bt120 million. They would account for 10 per cent of next year’s revenue.
The museum-management market is worth about Bt2 billion and growing at 10 per cent a year. The established key players are Pico Thailand, Right Man and CMO, while Index Creative Village is considered a newcomer.
CMO projects 15-per-cent growth in revenue to Bt1.1 billion this year from Bt870 million last year. Of that, 70 per cent will come from event management, including the museum business, and the rest from audio-visual leasing.
