Biz Buzz

At its management forum early this month, SCG quietly disclosed its goal to use English as its corporate language by 2018, making it one of the first Thai companies to do so, even though the chemicals and materials-packaging giant does not have any foreigners in its highest management ranks or on its board of directors.

SCG will be two years ahead of Honda, which last month said it would make the shift from Japanese to English as its corporate language for international communications within the company by 2020.

The Thai industrial group has expanded vigorously over the last several years to other Asean markets and now has more than 15,000 workers based in Southeast Asian countries outside Thailand, representing about one-third of its total workforce.

As SCG wants to be an “Asean corporate citizen”, it is unavoidable that the group shifts to using English, which is practically the most commonly used corporate language in the region.

And we would not be surprised if the Thai conglomerate appoints more foreign executives, particularly Asean natives, to join its senior management team during the next three years and beyond.

Contributed by Pichaya Changsorn