Korean duty-free giant Lotte praises Thai govt for opening up sector
LOTTE Duty Free (Thailand) has praised the military-led regime for liberalising the duty-free segment, and says it will open its first branch at Show DC near Rama IX Road next month.
Managing director Robert Sangyeong Park said the company was confident in the potential of the Thai business sector.
“As a foreign investor, we feel secure under the leadership of General Prayut Chan-o-cha, prime minister of Thailand,” he said.
“With the commitment of the PM to facilitate international investors using the government’s readiness to support investors from South Korea with fairness, the company officially decided to invest in duty-free business in Thailand in 2015.
“Show DC is our definite choice for the establishment of a duty-free store for departure passengers, which is [our] first in Thailand and the 14 branch in the world. Our [first store in Thailand] at Show DC has total space of more than 10,000 square metres.”
The company said it would start operating the Lotte Duty Free at Show DC in May and that it would be fully functional by July.
It said it was grateful for the government support in the liberalisation of the duty-free segment, particularly Prayut.
“We also would like to thank other ministers who [were involved in] this matter, public agencies, state enterprises and the Thai Duty Free Shop Trade Association for your support and precedence you have provided,” Park said.
“We vow to serve customers with integrity using our rich experience and IT knowledge we have continued to develop for decades to support Thai tourism with regard to bringing good things to Thailand in the years to come.
“In the near future, Lotte [plans] to pour more investment into Thailand, which could be hospitality business,” he said.
Sanga Ruangwattanakul, director of Lotte Duty Free (Thailand), said Korea-based Lotte was the No 1 duty-free operator in the Asia-Pacific region.
“With the potential of the Lotte Group’s networking system in the global tourism industry, which has continued for more than three decades, we are certain that the opening of Lotte Duty Free in Bangkok, which is the heart of the world’s top tourist destinations, will help to promote the growth of the Thai economy and tourism by leaps and bounds,” Sanga said.
