briefs
New Qantas head for Thailand, VN
Qantas has appointed Bob Everest as manager for Thailand and Vietnam, effective immediately.
Based in Bangkok, Everest is responsible for all the Australian airline’s commercial activities in the two countries. He has extensive experience in sales and revenue management.
Before his appointment, Everest was the Qantas manager for South Australia based in Adelaide. He also has a strong knowledge of the Asian region, having worked in Indonesia for four years as Qantas’ country manager and in Singapore as revenue development manager for both Qantas and British Airways for another four years.
Business solution from AquaOrange
AquaOrange Software has launched a total business solution in the Thai market.
ThaiCRM is a software pack featuring sales, marketing and customer support as well as other modules that extend beyond traditional customer-relationship-management software including modules for products, vendors, and quote and invoice processing.
Managing director Shahan Farid said ThaiCRM would attract interest in the coming months as the company expands its market to Southeast Asia, particularly in Malaysia and Vietnam.
The new business software is especially effective in the healthcare and real-estate industries as it provides organisation-wide strategic planning, communication strategies, consulting services, database construction and sales-generating strategies, the company says.
Honda bike sales rise 12% in Q1
AP Honda posted year-on-year growth of 10-12 per cent in its motorcycle sales in the first quarter, with company's market share rising from 70 to 73 per cent. It expects total sales of 1.58 million this year.
Suchart Arunsaengroj, general manager for sales, said the strong baht had had no significant impact so far on the export of Honda motorcycles, and the export volume was expected to grow in the second half of this year. However, the rise in excise tax had affected the sales of its 1,000cc bikes as prices had risen by about 20 per cent. Sales of the big bikes are expected to drop by 10-20 per cent this year.
The company is unveiling the “Wow” concept in the final year of its three-year medium-term plan focusing on “fun with a Honda motorcycle” through marketing events. For sports marketing, Honda has become an official partner with soccer powerhouses such as Manchester United and Liverpool. It also supports the much-awaited visit of FC Barcelona to Thailand.
Charoen’s group to keep F&N listing status
Fraser and Neave’s board of directors announced that the company’s shareholders TCC Assets (TCCA) and Thai Beverage had jointly indicated in writing to the company yesterday that they intended to maintain the listing status of the F&N, according to a filing to the Singapore Exchange (SGX).
TCCA and ThaiBev also informed the company that they were in discussions with SGX Securities Trading regarding the restoration of the free float in the company and would update F&N in due course.
Thai liquor tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, chairman of ThaiBev, recently appointed his son Panote Sirivadhanabhakdi as a member of the board’s executive committee at F&N.
Baht woes
Some exporters of frozen seafood have suffered sharp rises in business costs of 35-50 per cent from the combined impacts of the strong baht and the increase in the minimum wage, which rose to Bt300 a day nationwide in January, according to Prantalay Marketing chief executive officer Anurat Khokasai.
He wants to see closer collaboration between the government and Bank of Thailand to tame the baht’s rise. If they fail to do so, Thailand will lose this currency war, he said.
He is concerned that the strong baht will hurt the export sector’s competitiveness in the long term and foreign customers of exporters would feel uncertain of about the direction of the currency.
The company’s parent, Thai Union Frozen Products, has felt some impact from the strong baht since the first quarter but says it will still meet its targets thanks to backlogged orders.
