News feed
Amcham offers input on FBA amendments
The American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand has offered “to review and provide input” to plans by the government to amend the Foreign Business Act, urging “a thorough and transparent consultative process”.
“We sincerely hope the Royal Thai Government will not rush to enact restrictive and damaging amendments that will adversely impact the Thai economy,” said Darren Buckley, president of Amcham’s board of governors.
Amcham said it believed that the current government, as repeatedly stated by the prime minister to the foreign community, was sincere in its commitment to support and encourage further foreign investment.
“We stand ready to assist in amending current restrictive and outdated legislation and regulations for the benefit of Thailand and foreign investors alike,” it said in a news release.
Amcham’s member companies have invested more than US$50 billion (Bt1.6 trillion) in Thailand and provided more than 250,000 local jobs, it said.
Bangkok a ‘fun city’
Among 1,830 cities across the world, Bangkok earned 22nd place in a list of the 25 most fun cities for travel, scoring well in the “adult entertainment” category, according to a survey.
To define what exactly makes a city fun for travellers of different age groups and interests, the survey by GetYourGuide and GoEuro covered 11 factors, from visits to clubs and bars, to shopping, adult entertainment, museums and concerts.
Among the top 25 cities, Bangkok scored the highest points in the adult-entertainment category. Yet it still lags behind several cities in other categories, particularly shopping, museums and concerts.
The top 10 list also includes London, Paris, New York, Tokyo, Hamburg, Rome, Vienna, Barcelona and Istanbul.
COFFEE WORLD GROWS
Coffee World revealed a three-year plan to invest Bt360 million to open 100 coffee houses in Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. With this expansion, the company expects its coffee houses to number 200 within three years, said Darren White, managing director of GFA (Thailand), an operator and franchiser of Coffee World.
IVL TAKEOVER BUDGET
Indorama Ventures has budgeted Bt20 billion for business takeovers next year, said chief executive officer Dilip Kumar Agarwal.
Part of the same budget will also be spent on increasing its production capacity for purified terephthalic acid (PTA) in a plant in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
ACTING CAT PRESIDENT
CAT Telecom’s board is expected to appoint one of its members, Sanpachai Huvanandana, as acting president next week, replacing Viroj Tocharoenvanith, according a source in the state agency.
Viroj will then concentrate on his other role at CAT, as senior executive vice president for marketing and sales.
Effie Awards publicised
The organisers of the 2015 Effie Awards are trying to attract more entries from Thailand.
Ratthanin Sakdamrongrat, founder and editor of BrandBuffet, a marketing website, said his company had joined forces with the event organisers in a bid to raise public awareness here about this world-class competition.
The 2015 awards feature 34 single-market categories and two multi-categories.
Yesterday the organisers and their Thai partner conducted a seminar to introduce the details and deadline for the competition to a dozen advertising agencies.
The event aims to promote effective marketing campaigns in Asia. It is organised by the Confederation of Asian Advertising Agency Associations and Singapore-based Tanasia Group.
Thailand No 7 for expats
Thailand ranks as the world’s seventh-best location for expatriates, and is in the top rank in terms of affordable quality living, according to the HSBC Expat Explorer 2014 survey.
Among the top 10 locations for expats, Switzerland is rated best, followed by Singapore, mainland China, Germany, Bahrain, New Zealand, Thailand, Taiwan, India and Hong Kong.
For expats’ expenses, Thailand was rated first for cost-effective quality living. It is followed by Vietnam, Taiwan, mainland China, Bahrain, India, Turkey, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.
Low-interest ‘Car for Cash’
Krungsri Auto has launched a new campaign for its “Car for Cash” programme, offering an interest rate of 2.98 per cent per annum, the lowest in more than a decade.
It requires no guarantor and comes with an accelerated approval process and a 120-per-cent loan-to-value ratio, said Pairote Cheunkrut, first executive vice president of Bank of Ayudhya.
New TrueVisions packages
TrueVisions says it has introduced new packages for mid- to low-tier families under the “quality – fun – value” concept, offering quality content from leading channels for only Bt490 a month.
Three packages have been designed to fit each family’s lifestyle – the Smart Family Package, Sports Family Package, and Super Family Package. It aims to attract 150,000 new subscribers each year.
A new campaign, “Platinum and Gold Rewards”, will also be introduced to offer exclusive privileges to premium subscribers every month, starting now, said chief commercial officer Birathon Kasemsri na Ayudhaya.
