BOI, UBM to host 'Intermach & Subcon Thailand' next month
THE BOARD of Investment of Thailand and UBM (Asia), an event organiser, are expected to match as many as 30 partners during next week's "Intermach & Subcon Thailand 2015", a regional machinery and subcontracting exhibition.
Hirunya Suchinai, acting secretary-general of the BOI, said this would be the ninth consecutive year that it had hosted Subcon Thailand. That continuity is based on the BOI’s confidence that Thai parts manufacturers have the potential to grow into various other businesses.
The BOI expects Subcon Thailand to give entrepreneurs the opportunity to meet and discuss business with world-class parts manufacturers. The expo will be held in Bangkok from May 13-16.
“Subcon Thailand hopes to attract more than 20,000 buyers and sellers from 15 countries this year. It is also expected to establish business links between Thai manufacturers and foreigners,” Hirunya said. “Manufacturers from Japan, after all, have long expressed an interest in the Thai market. Recognising the importance of Subcon Thailand, the BOI has continued to co-organise the event alongside UBM.”
Subcon Thailand 2015 is expected to achieve more than 3,000 business matches with total value estimated to be at least Bt7 billion. Exhibitors at the event will come from 15 countries, running a total of 300 booths. The event will include a special pavilion for Japanese manufacturers, another for Asean manufacturers, and for the first time ever, a specific pavilion for medical apparatuses.
The BOI believes the event will provide Thai entrepreneurs, particularly those in the automobile industry, opportunities to adjust themselves for business expansion. Thailand’s automobile sector has slowed down after the government’s tax-rebate scheme for first-car buyers ended. Still, overall, the annual worth of Thailand’s subcontracting industry is as high as Bt100 billion, with a growth rate of about 10 per cent each year. This industry has huge potential and plenty of room to expand further, the BOI believes.
Manu Leopairote, chairman of UBM Asia (Thailand), said the upcoming 32nd Intermach, Asean’s leading industrial manufacturing exhibition, and ninth Subcon Thailand, a well-recognised subcontracting event, would be held simultaneously next week at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (Bitec) in Bang Na district.
UBM Asia (Thailand), in collaboration with relevant government agencies, has been preparing these industrial exhibitions with the aim of raising industrial entrepreneurs’ competitiveness. The upcoming events will not only showcase manufacturing technology but will also provide a channel for business matching.
“With the Asean Economic Community materialising, UBM believes that Asean will become the world’s important economic zone. As the AEC turns all Asean nations into one single manufacturing base, their manufacturing sector will enjoy greater potential and higher competitiveness in the international market, particularly in parts manufacturing or supporting industries for automobiles, electrical appliances, electronics components, and machinery,” Manu said.
At Intermach, it is expected that more than 150 manufacturing innovations will be on display. With exhibitors coming from 35 countries around the world, this industrial exhibition expects to attract more than 40,000 visitors from as many as 40 countries.
“Even though Thailand is ready to develop its labour skills, machine technology and automated systems will play a greater role in the manufacturing sector in the future. This is because they can lower operating costs and boost competitiveness. Intermach and Subcon thus can help entrepreneurs stay updated and competitive in the international market,” Manu said.
In organising these two exhibitions, UBM has collaborated with the Ministry of Industry, the BOI, the Thai Subcontracting Promotion Association, and various other industry associations.
“By staging Intermach and Subcon Thailand simultaneously at the same venue, we offer Thailand’s only comprehensive industrial showcase. Our events are thus very important to entrepreneurs. Parts manufacturers that join in as exhibitors will get more business opportunities as they will meet with buyers from around the world. The events will stimulate demand for manufacturing machines,” Manu said.
