Businesses unfazed by protests
Some businesses believe that the tense political situation at the moment would not threaten their business and consumer spending during the final two months of this year.
The Information and Communications Technology Ministry was also confident that the situation would not derail two international ICT events that Thailand will host this month.
Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, executive vice president for marketing at Central Pattana, a major shopping mall developer, said yesterday that the overview of consumer purchasing power right now depends on the consumers’ mood in relation to the impact from the political situation.
But he believes that consumers will continue to splurge on gifts, as this is the festive season. The company allocated Bt150 million for the rest of this year to organise countdown events at eight CentralPlaza shopping malls countrywide, up from Bt120 million last year. It has also launched many sales campaigns to boost consumers’ spending mood during these two remaining months.
Suthitham Chirathiwat, executive chairman of Central Group, said it is too early to evaluate the ramifications of the political instability.
Protesters around the country continued to rally against the amnesty bill. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra went on TV to issue an urgent plea to all groups of demonstrators to stop their protests, saying the government has already aborted the amnesty effort.
MC Group
Sunee Seripanu, CEO of clothing retailer MC Group, said the company has maintained its net profit growth target at 20 per cent this year.
The company’s products are not pricey and customers do not regard them as luxury goods, so it would not be thrashed by the political storm, she added.
Executive chairman Pratana Mongkolkul said MC Group plans to launch continuous roadshows in local and overseas markets to let investors know about its business.
Political polarisation would not hit the company as most of its branches and main markets are in the provinces.
ICT Minister Anudith Nakornthap said he does not think that the rally against the amnesty bill would jeopardise the Connect Asia-Pacific Summit and the ITU Telecom World 2013. These two events would benefit the country, so everyone would support them.
All parties confirmed their readiness to play host to these two premier ICT industry events. It is also the first time Thailand will host a global-level event for the International Telecom Union (ITU).
The Connect Asia-Pacific Summit will take place on November 18, when heads of state and governments will meet to share views on the digital challenges and opportunities facing the region.
The ITU Telecom World 2013, the leading event for networking, knowledge sharing and debate at the highest level, will follow from November 19-22. Both events will be held at Impact Muang Thong Thani.
Connect Asia Pacific Summit will be co-hosted by the ICT Ministry and the ITU, while ITU Telecom World will be jointly held by the ministry, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission and the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB).
TCEB estimates that these two events would generate over Bt3 billion in revenue for the country, of which Bt2.6 billion will come from spending related to event participation and the rest from space rentals for booths at the fair. Global ICT firms are expected to send 20,000 representatives to the events.
TCEB president Nopparat Maythaveekulchai said these events would help further boost the growth of the MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) industry here. The MICE market in Thailand next year would be worth Bt96 billion with 987,000 MICE visitors.
The theme of the Connect Asia-Pacific Summit is "Asia Pacific 2020: Smartly Digital", while that of ITU Telecom World is "Embracing change in a digital world". Thailand has already invited the government leaders of 38 countries that are members of ITU in Asia-Pacific to join the event.
As of November 5, eight heads of state or government have confirmed their presence at the Connect Asia-Pacific Summit including those from Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tonga and Vanuatu, as well as over 20 ministers in Asia-Pacific.
Eun-Ju Kim, director of the ITU’s office for Asia-Pacific, said Bangkok is one of Asia’s most important business and commercial centres, while the ICT industry is transforming lives by driving economic development and social transformation.
