Ministry to pick franchises for inroads into Myanmar, RP
The Commerce Ministry is selecting 25 Thai franchises with strong potential to tap opportunities in Myanmar in April and the Philippines in July, to be followed by at least 100 local franchises seeking to penetrate Asean markets.
Ratana Theanrvisitskool, deputy director-general of the Business Development Depart-ment, said yesterday that the department would help prepare the local franchises for international business by briefing them on laws and regulations, accompanying them to trade fairs and exhibitions, helping them source suppliers and clients and facilitating the matching of business partners and ventures. The department will soon receive an extra budget from the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion to help support about 100 local franchises to expand in Asean markets.
Already 22 franchises are operating in Asean and 38 countries, including China, Japan, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Austria, Switzerland, Maldives, United Kingdom and the US. The Thai franchises overseas are in the foods and beverages (11), services (1), education (3), spa and beauty (2) and retailing (5) businesses.
Thailand has 1,200 franchise operators with combined registered capital of Bt70 billion and combined market value of over Bt200 billion, or 9 per cent of the entire retail industry.
There is room for both domestic and international expansion, she added.
