briefs

Thailand Post Co has expanded its Logispost World service to 25 more major destinations from the present seven countries. 

   The service is for the delivery of bulk items weighing 20-200 kilograms to overseas destinations. 

 

Air-fare deals 

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair are offering a “Smart Saver” promotion on flights from Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai to major destinations in Asia including Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and mainland China. Passengers can book tickets now for travel up to June 30. 

   Flights to Hong Kong start at Bt7,020 and to Singapore at Bt5,185. Those to major cities in Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka) start at Bt11,340 and to major cities in Korea (Seoul, Busan and Jeju) at Bt10,800. Flights to major cities in mainland China (Beijing and Shanghai) start at Bt7,560.

 

419 projects launched

A total of 419 residential projects were launched in 2012, for a combined 103,481 units worth Bt304.62 billion, according to a survey by the Agency for Real Estate Affairs.

   Nearly half or 48 per cent were condominium projects worth Bt146.22 billion, 26 per cent worth Bt80.20 billion were detached-house projects, and the rest, worth Bt56.09 billion, were for townhouses. 

   At the end of the year residential inventory stood at about 128,934 units for sale. Of these, 32 per cent were condominiums (40,853 units), 30 per cent or 38,778 units were detached houses, and 38,617 units, or about 30 per cent, were townhouses. The remaining 7,937 units were duplexes, the research found.

 

Flat panel sales boom

Flat-panel television sets continued to register a surge in demand in Southeast Asia last year, selling more than 8.3 million units in the first 11 months and reflecting 26-per-cent volume growth over the same period 2011, according to global research house GfK.

   LCD (liquid-crystal display) is the most sought-after TV type across the region, making up more than nine out of 10 sets purchased by Southeast Asian consumers. Four of the six markets tracked by GfK – Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia – registered spikes in sales ranging from 10 to 70 per cent for LCD TVs. 

   The total LCD TV market across the region increased by 13 per cent over 2011, spurred largely by the strong demand of LED TVs (those backed by light-emitting diodes), which contributed to a significant chunk of the LCD TV pie, said Gerard Tan, account director for digital technology at GfK Asia. 

   Indonesia is the largest and fastest-growing market, thanks to the population’s ongoing high rate of conversion from the traditional CRT (cathode-ray tube) TV. Nearly 2.9 million LCD TVs were sold from January to November, up 68 per cent year on year. In Singapore on the other hand, 77 per cent of all flat-panel TVs sold were LED sets, with the rest being plasma TVs. 

   “Consumers in the region are willing to splurge on TVs, having spent over US$3 billion [Bt89 billion] on LCD TVs last year – 13 per cent more compared to the year before,” said Tan. “One of the key drivers of the strong sales is greater affordability due to price erosion attributed to keen competition among major brands, and the introduction of more advanced technologies, for instance, Internet content, 3D etc.”