ADVANCE ~ May 2009

AustChamThailand

A MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE AUSTRALIAN-THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE AUSTRALIA THAILAND BUSINESS COUNCIL

www.austchamthailand.com

May 2009

EMBASSY NEWS Information Materials for Thai Victims of Trafficking

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BUSINESS AWARDS 2008 Bosch Chassis Systems (Thailand): Best Manufacturer Award Recipient

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Community Services Community Services Project 2009

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chamber events Sponsors’ Cocktails at the Ambassador’s Residence

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Contents

Business Briefs 06 SEO: How to Bring Your Website to the Top of Google

EMBASSY NEWS 12 Australia and Thailand Launch Information Materials for Thai Victims of Trafficking austcham business awards 2008 14 Bosch Chassis Systems (Thailand): Best Manufacturer Award Recipient

chamber Events 29 AFG Seminar, 13 March 2009 29 Luncheon Meeting 29 Breakfast Briefing 29 Public Speaking Workshop 30 ESB Sundowners at Hard Rock Pattaya 32 Sponsors’ Cocktails at the Ambassador’s Residence 34 Bangkok Sundowners at Plaza Athenee Bangkok

PATRON His Excellency Paul Grigson Australian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand PRESIDENT Andrew Durieux Coverage Portfolio: Key Links VICE-PRESIDENTS Sutipong Ittipong Siam City Bank Portfolio: Community Services John Anderson Meinhardt Portfolio: Strategic Reviews; AFL TREASURER Nigel McKinnon Boral Thailand Portfolio: Treasury DIRECTORS David Armstrong Post Publishing Portfolio: Marketing and PR; SME Services Achara Boonyahansa Grant Thornton Portfolio: Alumni

17 ANZAC Day Supplement 17 Prisoners of War on the Burma-Thailand Railway 20 In Memoriam 22 New Zealand Ambassador’s Address at the Dawn Service: ANZAC Day 2009 – Hellfire Pass

COMMUNITY SERVICES 24 Community Services Project 2009 26 Voluntary English Teaching

on 14 March 2009

Amanda Canavan Energi Design Asia Portfolio: Business Awards; Australia Day Anne Lewinski AL Consultancy Portfolio: Sundowners Bangkok Chatrutai Masue Raimon Land Portfolio: Regional Sundowners; Alumni Belinda Skinner The Capstone Group Recruitment and Consulting Portfolio: Communications

New Members 36 New Members and Changes

Ben Yong Baker & McKenzie Portfolio: Governance; JFCCT and Policies

From the Chamber Office 38 Message from the ED

Saeed Zaki dwp Portfolio: Industry Groups; Regional Sundowners

Cover Photo: We will remember them. ANZAC Day 25 April 2009

Ex Officio Maurine Lam Trade Commissioner, Austrade

v From the Board

Drowning… and Life Saving COORDINATORS Paul Whyte Tinfish (Thailand) ESB Coordinator Email: esb@austchamthailand.com Paul Wilkinson AGS Four Winds International Moving ESB Coordinator Email: esb@austchamthailand.com Steve Brajak Raimon Land Phuket Coordinator Email: phuket@austchamthailand.com Harry Usher Lady Pie Phuket Coordinator Email: phuket@austchamthailand.com Executive Director Brett Gannaway Australian-Thai Chamber of Commerce 20th Floor, Thai CC Tower 889 South Sathorn Road Bangkok 10120 Tel.: +66 2 210 0216 Fax: +66 2 675 6696 execdirector@austchamthailand.com www.austchamthailand.com

H

appy New Year! By the time you read this Songkran will be over and we will all be back working hard. I trust everyone had a safe and wet holiday and the batteries are all re-charged and ready for the coming period.

As I write this, it seems the political events of the past few years are back in full swing. Those who said the last couple of peaceful months were just a “rest period” have been proven correct it seems. For business to operate and provide employment and profits, the political environment must remain calm and allow for regulatory changes and process improvements.

AustCham can only hope that the current situation is resolved quickly and smoothly and the business community is not left to drown when the rains start...

The global economic problems, which started elsewhere, are now affecting Thailand. Unemployment is on the rise and many companies are delaying new investments and cutting costs. Manufacturing and exports have been hard hit. If the political problems continue, the sensitive tourism sector will be damaged further, creating a bigger drag on the economy and business.

Those who have been here for many years know that the Thais have a way of bouncing back despite being surrounded by doom and gloom.

Editorial Committee Andrew Durieux, Belinda Skinner, Robert Taylor, Gary Woollacott, Gregers Moller Marketing & Production Scand-Media Corp. Ltd 4/41-42 Moo 3, Thanyakarn Village Ramintra Soi 14, Bangkok Tel.: +66 2 943-7166/8 Fax: +66 2 943-7169 scandmedia@scandmedia.com Advertising Finn Balslev Email: finn@scandmedia.com Opinions expressed in Advance do not necessarily reflect the views AustChamThailand Advance of the Chamber.

Being a member of AustCham is helpful during these times. The benefits of being part of one of Thailand’s most active and successful chambers of commerce far outweigh the costs. In the past month or so, we have provided investment advice, economic updates, and HR ideas at our events – not to mention valuable information in Advance and on the website. Then there are the direct networking opportunities at Sundowners in Bangkok, Phuket and the Eastern Seaboard.

past President John Hancock was invited to join the board. The ATI’s aim is to promote Thai/Australian links through various means – one of which is assisting educational activities. I urge you to take a look at this if you are interested in this area.

AustCham is also encouraging involvement in sub-committees. We have our major events, Alumni, ICT and are now expanding Community Services as well as starting the SME sub-committee. The idea is that many of these will feed into the Joint Foreign Chambers committees, which is now taking on a greater advocacy role – a good thing for AustCham and its members. If you have an area of interest and would like to get involved please contact the AustCham office or any of the directors.

Dare I say it? AustCham can act as a life saver in these wet and troubled times.

We are also planning further Alumni functions to create even better links and opportunities for our members.

In last month’s Advance we also had an article about the Australian Thailand Institute. AustCham is very proud that our

Andrew Durieux President, AustCham Thailand www.austchamthailand.com

May 2009

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Business Brief

This month, Bernard Collin, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Safecoms Co. Ltd. Explains the mysteries of search engine optimisation and offers some helpful advice on how you can improve your website ranking and get more potential customers to visit your site.

SEO: How to Bring Your Website to the Top of Google

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hat would you say if the owner of Siam Paragon, one of Thailand’s premier shopping malls, offered you a prime location on the main floor for half your current rent? Assuming there were no strings attached, you would probably say ‘yes’. This is the effect professional Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO, can have on your company website.

Your website might look fantastic and your products and services can be stateof-the-art at ‘can’t resist’ prices, but 85% of the potential customers searching the World Wide Web don’t look past the first page of their search results. Unless your site is one of the ten sites listed on that critical first page, chances are you are losing sales.

Most customers are not very skilful when it comes to searching for information on the web. Potential customers will spend a few minutes, at most, looking for a product or service. If your website isn’t listed on the first screen, chances are a competitor who invested in Search Engine Optimisation will get the business.

If you have only recently heard about SEO, don’t feel left out. The constant pressure on companies to be ever more competitive is driving the search for new internet technologies to extend their reach and to have more impact in the marketplace. We are going to see websites without effective SEO fall farther down the rankings very quickly over the next few years.

Great return on investment SEO could be the best investment you make in your website. It’s estimated that

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May 2009

15 percent of all sales in the Thai economy are now completely online. For 90 percent of the people using the internet, search engines like Google and Yahoo are how they find what they are looking for. Of those people, 85 percent never look farther than the bottom of page two of the search results, and 77% never click on paid or sponsored ads.

SEO offers tangible, measurable benefits to your business. The first, and perhaps most important, is that SEO helps more potential customers find your site. It’s working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year and can give your products and services a high international profile for a comparatively low cost.

Google search engines rank sites by how often other sites link to you, not by the content on your site.

On the technical side, a well optimised site will work with all World Wide Web compliant browsers, which means your site can be viewed by the greatest potential number of visitors. SEO also ensures that all your links are working correctly and that all the pages in your site are accessible to search engines, which makes your site easy to index. What this means is that visitors to your site have a much more enjoyable experience, which encourages them to come back for more.

Making the grade: Getting listed on the first page of search results While not exactly new, SEO has become an increasingly important factor in website impact. Simply put, SEO is a way of getting internet search engines like Google, Yahoo or MSN to list your website near the top of the list. It displays in response to whatever keywords a potential customer types into the search box. Sounds simple enough.

But remember, you are competing with thousands, perhaps millions of websites that may be using the same or similar key words.

First, you need to understand a little about search engines and how they rank those 100 million websites. A ‘search engine’ is just a fancy name for a set of computer programs that search an index or master list of websites and returns matches to the specified keywords. According to Nielsen NetRatings, the most popular search engines by market share are Google, Yahoo and MSN. Exactly how that works isn’t important; what’s important is how a search engine ranks your website within an index. Google search engines rank sites by how often other sites link to you, not by the content on your site, they do of course use content to determine whether your site is relevant to the keywords in the search, but more about that later. The point is, the higher your site ranking, the more likely customers are to find your website quickly and start looking at your content.

High ranking the first step There is a difference between Search Engine Optimisation and Search Engine

AustChamThailand Advance

Business Brief

Marketing, or SEM. SEO helps get your website to the top of the search engine ranks. That’s an important first step. If visitors don’t immediately see good information, well written copy, great visuals and easy navigation, they very quickly move on to the next website and you’ve lost a potential sale. SEO helps potential customers find your site, SEM helps ensure they actually look at your pages and transform into customers. This means well organised, high quality content, good writing and an easy flow leading to a purchase. It’s the basic principle of good sales. When a visitor opens your website, it should immediately be clear what you want them to do, like download a test version or a white paper; send an email to get more info or click on the buy button. SEM ensures there is a flow from finding your site on the search engine to transforming a visitor into a customer. You need both for an effective website.

Boost your website ranking Getting a high ranking for your website is not rocket science, but it does take some work. The theory is simple enough if you pay attention to a few simple guidelines.

Do not do-it-yourself. The bookstores, and the Internet itself, are full of do-it-yourself website design guides. They all tell you how easy it is and how you can have your website up and running in no time at all at little or no cost whatsoever! That’s fine if your website is a family photo album or your passion for Dutch tulip bulbs. If you have sales targets to reach, you need a professional design team. Website design and search engine technology has got to the point where a single individual can no longer master all the skill sets needed to construct an effective website. A professional website design team needs, at minimum, a graphic designer, a copywriter, and a programmer who understands the numerous technical ins-and-outs of exciting and mysterious topics like domain name registration, hosting, HTML, meta tags, spiders, Cascading Style Sheets and Search Engine Optimisation.

Provide quality content. People who shop on the Internet want solid information, not advertising. People don’t read web pages, they scan a page looking for keywords.

Good copywriting can increase reader attention by over 100 per cent. On a web page, less is more.

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May 2009

Focus on the goal. The goal of SEO is to bring new customers to your website. It is not about getting every possible keyword listed in a search engine index. Many people try to get as many high search engine rankings as possible. It’s not important that your website is listed for a lot of keywords; it’s important that your site is listed for the right keywords. Pick the wrong keywords and all your efforts are wasted.

Use effective keywords. ‘Effective’ key words are words that potential customers are most likely to use. This is where SEO really makes a difference, because it isn’t possible to guess what thousands of potential customers might be thinking when they sit down to do a search. The term ‘keyword’ is actually misleading.

Hardly anyone uses single keywords anymore. Nearly 30 percent of all searches use two-word phrases, another 30 percent use three-word phrases, and about 20 percent use four-word phrases. Getting the right keywords is just the beginning.

When a visitor opens your website, it should immediately be clear what you want them to do.

A critical aspect of optimising your website is gathering and analysing user statistics. For this, an SEO professional will use tracking tools that will tell you not just how many people visited your site, but who they are, where they are, how they found your site, what search engine they are using, how your site performs compared with other web sites in the same category or country and lots more useful information. SEO uses this information to fine tune your keywords so you know which keywords lead to sales and which are just taking up space. This can push your ranking up another notch or two, more than enough to make the difference between a miss and a live customer contact.

Create convincing web pages. If you don’t have web pages that appeal to potential customers through quality visuals and brilliant copy, visitors don’t become customers. That’s why you need the graphic

designer and the copywriter. Here are some simple guidelines for creating effective web pages: • Use a plain English writing style and the minimum number of words necessary to get your message across; • Use Cascading Style Sheets for layout, avoid using Frames; • Use page titles that describe page content; • Use lots of headings and sub-headings; and • Write an opening paragraph that summarises page content.

Link or die Search engines are constantly evolving.

A fully optimised website is no guarantee that your site will retain its rank forever.

From the day the World Wide Web took form, people started looking for ways to manipulate their rankings. The cat-andmouse game continues, which means that search engines are constantly developing increasingly sophisticated methods to rank pages. You have to understand the mathematical algorithms and keep pace with new developments and trends to keep your ranking at or near the top. It’s a never-ending learning curve.

One of the big factors these days is the number of links into and from your website pages. Suppose, for example, your company sells an exciting new fire fighting technology. If you put links on your website pages that connect to websites for fire fighting associations, municipalities using your product, and sites for international fire safety standards, that’s going to be very good for your ranking. If those sites put your website address on their pages, that’s going to be really fantastic for your ranking!

Why are links so important? Because most search engine designers feel that when one page links to another page, it’s like casting a vote for the other page. The more votes that are cast for a page, the more important the page must be. Also, the importance of the page that is casting the vote determines how important that vote is.

Search engines calculate a numeric value or Page Rank that reflects the importance of a page based on the number of votes cast for it. Page Rank isn’t the only factor that search engines use to rank pages, but it is an important one.

AustChamThailand Advance

Business Brief

Today, search engines incorporate a wide range of undisclosed factors in their ranking algorithms to reduce the impact of link manipulation. Google says it ranks sites using more than 200 different factors; information it guards closely. The trend in ranking algorithms these days is toward factors such as the age, sex, location and search history of people conducting searches.

Effective SEO is not a hobby. Professional SEO practitioners invest a great deal of time participating in online forums and attending conferences, workshops and seminars to keep pace with developments in search engine technology.

Good versus bad SEO SEO practitioners talk about ‘white hat’ SEO and ‘black hat’ SEO. No mention of magic wands, at least not yet. White hat techniques are about creating content for users, not for search engines, and then making that content easily accessible.

Black hat SEO uses deception to trick search engines into giving them a high rank. White hat techniques tend to produce results that last a long time. Black hat SEO works on the principle that a site will eventually be banned, either temporarily or permanently once the search engines discover what they are doing.

Successful SEO for international markets often requires professional translation of web pages.

Search engines may penalise sites they discover using black hat methods, either by reducing their rank or by banning them altogether. Such penalties can be applied either automatically by the search engines’ algorithms, or by a manual site review. Don’t think it doesn’t happen! In 2006, Google removed both BMW Germany and Ricoh Germany websites for using deceptive practices. Both companies quickly apologised, fixed the offending pages, and were restored to Google’s list. If you are tempted to use tricks, keep in mind that both those companies have lots of clout and lots of lawyers.

Expand your market If your market is international, you need SEO that takes this into account. Search engine market share varies from one country to another. Google is currently the US market and overall world market leader with about 85%, followed by Yahoo

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and MSN. In markets outside the US, Google’s share is often larger.

In Thailand, Google claims 98% of the search engine market. In Russia, local search engine Yandex has 50% of the paid advertising revenue, while Google has less than 9%. In China, Baidu leads in market share, although Google has been gaining. Successful SEO in international markets often requires professional translation of web pages, registration of a domain name with a top level domain in the target market, and web hosting that provides a local IP address. A good SEO company should be able to advise you on these matters.

and specialise in phishing detection and countermeasures.

SEO News http://www.seo-news.com/ Offers “search engine strategies for webmasters.”

Jakob Nielsen’s Website http://www.useit.com/ Jakob Nielsen is the world’s leading expert on website usability.

Plain English http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/ Practical advice on writing crystal clear web page copy.

Be on top According to the latest survey, as of August 2008, there were 176,748,506 websites on the Internet. How do potential customers find your site before they find a competitor? SEO is the key advantage.

SEO is a positive, proactive step you can take to help ensure that potential customers see your website on the search results page before they see a site offering the same or similar products and services.

Want to know more?

Netcraft Web Server Survey http://news.netcraft.com/archives/web_ server_survey.html Netcraft provide monthly Internet research reports on the hosting industry

SafeCom’s SEO expert Bernard Collin advises people interested in SEO that, “Search Engine Optimisation is not a just a technical solution, it has to be part of your overall marketing and communications strategy and include effective SEM as well. In terms of return on investment, it’s hard to think of anything that gives you a bigger ‘bang for your buck’ than SEO.” SafeComs Network Security Consulting 21/16 Premier Condominium, 4th Floor, Unit 401 Sukhumwit 24 Road, Klongton Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110 Tel: 02-259-6281-3 Email: info@safecoms.com Website: www.safecoms.com

AustCham Thailand Business Awards 2009 Open to Australian and Thai companies and to other companies which can demonstrate a contribution to the Thai and/or Australian economies.

Nomination forms and guidelines for applicants can be downloaded at: www.austchamthailand.com Applications due by 3 July 2009.

If you have any questions please contact: Brett Gannaway, Executive Director, Australian-Thai Chamber of Commerce at: execdirector@austchamthailand.com Tel: 02 210 0216 Take the first step and apply now.

AustChamThailand Advance

Embassy News

Australia and Thailand Launch Information Materials for Thai Victims of Trafficking

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inistry of Social Development and Human Security Permanent Secretary Wanlop Phloytabtim and Australian Deputy Head of Mission to Thailand Bronte Moules recently presided over the launch of information materials for victims of trafficking to show their firm commitment on providing support for those who have been trafficked.

“Australia has a responsibility to combat trafficking in persons and make sure that trafficking victims are adequately supported in Australia. In addition to this, we must ensure that the support on return and reintegration is strengthened in countries of origin,” said DHOM Moules on her opening remarks.

The information materials are one of the key achievements of the Regional Pilot Project for Returning Victims of Trafficking from Australia to Thailand.

The Project worth AUD472,000 (Bt 11.6 million) is funded by Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).

The Project is being implemented by International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Key counterparts in Thailand are led by Department of Social Development and Welfare within the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS) and include other agencies such as Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Royal Thai Police (RTP), and Foundation for Women. From the Australian side, it has also been a whole-embassy effort

by AusAID, Australian Federal Police, Department of Immigration and Citizenship as well as Office for Women in Canberra.

The goal of this project is to put in place an operational framework for cooperation between the governments of Thailand and Australia to support Thai victims of trafficking returning home from Australia.

Thailand was selected as a first partner in piloting this project for its existing legal and police frameworks, committed bureaucracy and strong NGO network on trafficking victim support.

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From left: Khun Yanee Lertkrai, Director of Bureau of Anti-Trafficking in Women and Children; Monique Filsnoel, Chief of Mission, IOM Thailand; Khun Wanlop Phloytabtim, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security; and Brontë Moules, Deputy Head of Mission, Australian Embassy.

IOM Chief of Mission Monique Filsnoel said the information packages were produced through joined efforts to help trafficking victims regain hope, dignity and to access existing resources provided by government, NGOs and international organisations in Thailand.

The information packages include “Returnee’s Manual”, developed by Foundation for Women, and “When I Return Home”. Both provide information on trafficking victim support services available in Thailand. 14,000 copies of “Returnee’s Manual” and 1,000 copies of “When I Return Home” will be distributed among authorities and NGOs working on trafficking victim support in Thailand and Australia.

Apart from the information packages, the Project also develops “Case Management Manual” to outline steps for return and reintegration processes and small pool of funds has been establish to support direct

assistance for Thai victims of trafficking returning from Australia.

“Victim support is one of our highest priorities in the fight against trafficking in persons. We trust that the information package launched today will assist the safe return of trafficking victims and give them new hope for the future,” said DHOM Moules.

The Regional Pilot Project for Returning Victims of Trafficking from Australia to Thailand runs from March 2006 to August 2009. Across the South East Asia region, the Australian Government, through AusAID, is also supporting other projects that aim to fight trafficking in persons, including the funding of AUD21 million on the Asia Regional Trafficking in Persons (ARTIP) Project and complementary work on protecting children vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation.

AustChamThailand Advance

AustCham Business Awards 2008

Bosch Chassis Systems (Thailand): Best Manufacturer Award Recipient

Congratulations to Bosch Chassis Systems (Thailand) on receiving the AustCham Best Manufacturer Award.

Bosch Chassis Systems (Thailand) is recognised as a world leader in lightweight braking technology.

Formula For Success Bosch Chassis Systems (Thailand) depends on its parent, Bosch Chassis Systems Asia Pacific (Melbourne), for technical support and product design.

With this assistance and encouragement of local knowledge, they have been able to achieve high standards of quality, productivity and safety standards. To maintain this high standard, consistency is the key. The enabler to this key is their GMS, or Global Manufacturing Systems, which is based on lean manufacturing principles and a discipline of standardisation.

Competitive Advantages in the Thai Market Bosch Chassis Systems (Thailand) is primarily an exporter of the products it manufactures at its site in Rayong. The company has a product portfolio that is ideally suited to the growing demand for improved efficiency and in turn reduced impact on the environment.

Bosch’s Global Manufacturing standard delivers a low cost, high quality product that can be implemented across a number of vehicle variants. This flexible process compliments the capability to deliver full system integration to the customer.

Current Market Position and Future Plans Revenue has grown ten fold over the last four years primarily from exports. Future growth is enhanced with Bosch being a tier one supplier to many of the OEMs.

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“All employees are encouraged to take ownership within their respective areas.”

Being situated in Thailand, where the automotive market is maturing fast and gaining a reputation in the export market for improved quality, the opportunities are boundless. With Government incentives and various free trade agreements within the region, capital investment is economically viable.

With the huge resources of Bosch, the Sales and Marketing team have embarked on an aggressive campaign to secure new customers and contracts. This has already started to bear fruit with new contracts coming on stream as early as the first quarter 2009. The export business is healthy, but securing more local customers is the key to contributing to the Thai community and economy.

Clear Communication and Leadership Bosch Chassis Systems (Thailand) has prided itself on the communication model used company wide. It is a two way communication model with open channels. All employees are encouraged to take ownership within their respective areas.

A Winning Concept As a world-class manufacturer, Bosch Chassis Systems (Thailand) is measured by its customer satisfaction with both internal and external customers. Internally, all employees are treated as each other’s customers and as a result, the company provides a safe working environment. External customer satisfaction is measured by the quality, on time delivery and competitive cost of the product. By encouraging employees to live and practice the company’s values of responsibility; initiative and determination; openness and trust; fairness; reliability and credibility; this is a successful formula towards personal growth and a strong base for future generations to come.

AustChamThailand Advance

ANZAC Day Supplement

ANZAC Day Supplement

Prisoners of War on the Burma-Thailand Railway Following the “Building the Railway from Thailand to Burma – World War II” article in the May 2008 issue of Advance this article provides statistics on Australian POW movements to Thailand and Burma.

AustChamThailand Advance

May 2009

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ANZAC Day Supplement

In all, 13,000 Australian prisoners of war worked on the construction of the Burma-Thailand Railway which ran from Baan Pong, Thailand to Thanbyuzayat, Burma.

Of that total, 2,802 died (see Australian War Memorial figures). Building commenced from Burma and Thailand with prisoners from Java (and elsewhere) and Singapore divided into forces to work on the railway. The railway was completed on 16 October 1943.

The majority of the force was set to work on runway repairs at Victoria Point, Mergui and Tavoy and unloading aviation fuel drums and rice from ships, loading drums of fuel onto trucks for the airfield and roadwork.

Forces to Burma

In all, 479 Australian soldiers died on the Burma section of the railway. Following its completion, in October 1943, A Force returned to Singapore.

A Force was comprised of 3,000 men commanded by Brigadier A. L. Varley (2/18th Battalion) and was the first Australian group to leave Singapore for Burma on 14 May 1942. It was drawn principally from the 22nd Australian Brigade (Varley had been promoted to Brigadier by Gordon Bennett in February 1942 and given command of this brigade.

After surviving the “railway” he had the misfortune to drown with the sinking of the Rakuyo Maru en route to Japan), the 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion (under Major C. E. Green), the 2/30th Battalion (under Lieutenant Colonel G. E. Ramsay), the 2/10 Field Regiment (Major D.R. Kerr). The 2/12th Field Company (Major J.A. Shaw) with a medical group drawn mostly from the 2/4th Casualty Clearing Station (under Lieutenant Colonel T. Hamilton). A Force sailed in the Celebes Maru and the Toyohashi Maru from Singapore arriving Victoria Point in Burma on 21st May where Green’s battalion and some other groups (a total of 1,016) disembarked. Ramsey’s Force (1,000-strong) disembarked at Mergui and the remainder continued to the Burma Peninsula near Tavoy. Sailing past Medan near Sumatra, the convey joined three small ships transporting a group known as the British Sumatra Battalion. comprised of 498 British and 2 Australians from Pedang in Sumatra under Captain Authored and including Australian surgeon Colonel Coates. (They worked at the 18-kilo camp then joined the Americans under Capt Fiztsimmons. These were the only British prisoners working on the Burma end of the railway).

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After constructing airfields, A Force moved to Thanbyuzayat.

Java Parties 3 & 4. Williams and Black forces. Williams Force, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel J. M. Williams, and Black Force, including 593 Australians, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel C. M. Black travelled via Singapore and thence to Moulmein, arriving in Burma on 29-30 October 1942. Williams Force was based at Tanyin and Black Force at Beke Taung camp at Kilo 40. In October 1942 survivors from the HMAS Perth were shipped to Singapore, and then to Burma. In October 1942, 385 Australians commanded by Major L.J. Robertson, left Java on board the Moji Maru ; they joined up with A Force on 17 January 1943.

Forces to Thailand The majority of Australian prisoners from Changi and Java were sent to Thailand to assist in the building of the railway. D, F, H Forces and K and L Forces (Medical) left Changi in 1942-43 for Thailand. Prisoners of war were also transported from Java. Hospitals were established at Tanbaya, Tarsau, Kanchanaburi, Tamuang and Nakom Pathon.

Dunlop Force, commanded by Colonel E. E. “Weary” Dunlop arrived at Konyu in Thailand from Java in January 1943. It was divided into two battalions, each 450-strong: O battalion (commanded by Major H. G. Grenier) and P battalion (commanded by Major F. A. Woods). Dunlop Force was the first group of Australians to reach the southern end of the railway. Captain J. L. Hands commanded A battalion (337-strong), and the Dutch R battalion also came under Dunlop’s command. The force eventually moved to Hintok.

D Force (2,242-strong under Lieutenant Colonel C. A. McEachern) left Changi for Ban Pong in four groups between 14 and 18 March 1943.

Later, D Force moved to Hintok (to work on and in the area of Pack of Cards Bridge), where McEachern took over the command of Dunlop Force. D Force was also stationed at Kanburi, Tarsau and Konyu, where they worked on Hell Fire Pass.

AustChamThailand Advance

ANZAC Day Supplement

F Force, a mixed Allied force including 3,662 Australians under Lieutenant Colonel S. W. Harris (18th British Division) left Changi for Thailand on 16 April 1943. Lieutenant Colonel C. H. Kappe commanded the Australians. Transported by train to Ban Pong, F Force then marched to Nieke, some 180 miles north and thence to Lower Songkurai. At the end of May, F Force was distributed among five main camps, with 1,800 Australians at Lower Songkurai, 393 at Upper Songkurai and 700 at Konkoita. Some 1,438 men of F Force did not return.

1944 to work in heavy industry. They were concentrated in Saigon before moving to Japan. Some were returned to Singapore for shipping; others stayed at Saigon until the end.

H Force, including 600 Australians commanded by Lieutenant Colonel R. F. Oakes, left Changi on 5 May 1943. From Ban Pong, they marched 140 kilometres north to Tarsau. H Force joined D Force in cutting Hell Fire Pass; 179 men in H Force died.

This brief description of the parties of prisoners that were sent to the Burma Thailand Railway and some statistics on the terrible toll taken by conditions imposed, is based on various reports but mainly on materials from the Australian War Memorial.

K and L medical forces left Changi in June and August 1943 for Thailand. These personnel were used as labourers in various hospitals along the railway. Major B. H. Anderson commanded K Force, including 5 medical officers and 50 other ranks.

Major A. L. Andrews commanded the AIF party of 3 officers and 70 other ranks included in L Force.

The railway was completed on 16 October 1943 . Most prisoners were returned to Changi and some were sent as technical workers to Japan between April and June

AustChamThailand Advance

Disposition of Forces and Approximate Deaths

MILITARY British Dutch Australian American TOTAL

CIVILIANS Malayan Burmese Javanese Singaporean TOTAL

NO. of POWs 30131 17990 13004 686 61811

DEATHS 6904 2782 2802 131 12619

N0 OF SLAVES 75000 90000 7500 5200 177700

DEATHS 42000 40000 2900 500 85400

Article prepared by Bill Haskell Ex WX3279 2/3RD Machine Gun Battalion. Member of Dunlop Force in Thailand and later at Ohama Coalmine in Japan.

May 2009

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ANZAC Day Supplement

Belinda Skinner, Talent Plus Recruitment and AustCham Director reflects on ANZAC day at Kanchanaburi.

In Memoriam They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them...

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n 25 April 1915 the ANZAC legend was born at Gallipoli.

Australian and New Zealand soldiers joined forces in an expedition to capture the Gallipoli peninsula. They landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 and were met with fierce resistance.

Their efforts continued for eight months, with both sides suffering heavy causalities. Over 8,000 Australian soldiers were killed. This made a significant impact on those at home and soon after 25 April officially became the day on which Australians and New Zealanders remembered the sacrifice of those who died in war.

In subsequent years, the ANZAC day meaning broadened to include all those Australians and New Zealanders killed in any military operation in which Australians or New Zealanders were involved.

On ANZAC day 1943, Australian POWs began work on building the railway in Hellfire Pass (a small section of the Burma-Thailand railway aptly named by the POWs after being forced to work at night, resulting from the view from above when lit from fires under which they worked gave the impression of the jaws of Hell). The Konyu Cutting was soon behind schedule and reinforcements of additional Australian, British and some New Zealander POWs together with 1,500 Tamil labourers were specially brought in. Prisoners were forced to work 12 to 18 hour shifts. Work was finally completed in August 1943, but at what cost? The cost was a significant number of lives and devastation to hundreds of families at home.

It is 5.30am, dark, humid and there is an eerie glow from candles being held in bamboo holders. There is no laughter, no joy, very little chatter. The atmosphere that is descending amongst us overwhelms people. Rev Peter Cook commences the service “There is no greater love than this, that someone should lay down their life for their friends.

Their bodies are buried in peace, but their names live forever�. The lady standing in front of me breaks down and, as I watch her daughter consul her, I wonder what her story is. I wonder why do all these people

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ANZAC Day Supplement

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ANZAC Day Supplement

come here – what is it that causes people to make the pilgrimage to Kanchanaburi for the dawn service. Each person has their own story: some have family members who were involved with the railway; some have family members who were involved in one of the wars; some actually experienced first-hand the horror and misery of war; others just have that Aussie or Kiwi spirit that ANZAC day brings.

Personally, it is a time for me to reflect how lucky I was that my father survived the atrocities of World War II. He survived the bombing of a hospital ship that left hundreds stranded in lifeboats; he endured D-Day at Normandy; and was also a pre-liberator at Bergen-Belson Concentration Camp, a horrific experience that haunted him for the rest of his life. Although British, he fought alongside many Australians and to him ANZAC day was an important event and an event in which he taught me not to take lightly. He was awarded a military send off at his funeral approximately five years ago and, to this day, The Last Post still haunts me.

I observe people at both the dawn service and at the cemetery and I witness so many moved by these services. If you can say, with your hand on your heart, that you are not affected in some way by the address given by Bill Haskell, OAM (2nd/3rd Machine Gun Battalion)

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Ex-POW, then you have no heart. Not many of us can honestly say that we have any idea how these men felt or even what they went through, nor can we say we can understand what they must go through each ANZAC day – bringing back the haunting memories of their comrades and their suffering.

If you have not had the opportunity to experience ANZAC day at Kanchanaburi, I strongly urge you to make the effort. Two services are held, the dawn service at Hellfire Pass followed by a wreath laying service at the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery. I strongly advise wearing sunglasses as even the strongest of us will shed a tear at some stage!

AustCham would like to thank those involved in the ceremonies and who made it a truly moving experience: Rev Peter Cook; The Australian Ambassador, His Excellency Paul Grison; The New Zealand Ambassador, His Excellency Dr Brook Barrington (whose emotive address we have included); The New Zealand Defence Attaché to Thailand, Col Kevin Burnett, ONZM; Ex-POW Mr Bill Haskell, OAM (2nd/3rd Machine Gun Battalion); and Ex-POW Mr Neil MacPherson (2nd/2nd Pioneers).

Lest we forget.

AustChamThailand Advance

ANZAC Day Supplement

New Zealand Ambassador’s Address at the Dawn Service

ANZAC Day 2009 – Hellfire Pass Veterans, Families of Veterans, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.

ANZAC Day is a day when Trans-Tasman cousins stand shoulder to shoulder, just as they did ninetyfour years ago. That is true enough, and important.

But in the midst of that ANZAC solidarity I want to acknowledge that this is hallowed ground for Australians.

The far-off echoes you hear when you sit here quietly in the dark come from Australian pain. The distant cries you hear come from Australian hearts.

Whether you are religious or not, this cutting represents something which goes beyond our ordinary lives. Men – many of them no more than boys – lived and suffered and fell and died here.

Where we stand.

Memories of home – of shimmering heat and cicadas and cold beer – sustained life here and were lost here. Where we stand.

The best of what it is to be an Australian – tough, generous, laconic, quick to laugh, to lend a helping hand, decent, unflinching – these values were tested here. Where we stand.

And they were not found wanting.

The victims of the Burma-Thailand Railway came from many lands. They, and all those others who have served their country in time of war, remind us that the peace we now enjoy has been paid for in blood, and in sorrow.

As dawn breaks, full of hope and renewal, we especially remember all of those Australians who sacrificed their lives for their friends, and for peace.

There can be no greater gift. This New Zealander, honoured to be in this place, thanks them for it.

Thank you.

HE Dr Brook Barrington

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Community Services

Community Services Project 2009 AustCham is working to help children living close to Hellfire Pass in Kanchanaburi. Our target is Baht 1,500,000 and we have made a start already.

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ustCham Thailand is calling for donations to complete our Kanchanaburi kindergarten project. The desperately under-resourced Wat Putakian kindergarten close to Hellfire Pass needs your help.

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This kindergarten and day-care centre is essential for local families with up to 100 children attending the facility daily. At present, the kindergarten is overcrowded and under-resourced, with kitchen and toilet facilities in very poor condition (picture 1 and 2). The current “kitchen� is just an open-sided tent with an earth floor situated well away from the school (picture 3).

Three AustCham member companies, Hassell, Meinhardt and EEC Lincolne Scott, have generously designed an upgrade for

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the children (illustration below). Another member, Boral Concrete and Quarries will donate the concrete. We have offers of goods, including sanitary products from Designers Bathware and paint from Dimet. Pathumwan Princess Hotel has also donated cash of Baht 50,000.

But we need much more to complete the project.

We need pledges of cash or donations of goods such as roofing, electrical wiring and/or fittings, PVC piping/fittings for water or

3 drainage, as well as assistance to provide a clean drinking water supply for the children. If you can act quickly and pledge your support now, the kids will enjoy the facilities before the wet season.

If you are able to assist or need further information on this worthy project please contact the AustCham office by telephone 02 210 0216 or email at: execdirector@austchamthailand.com.

We need your help.

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Community Services

Voluntary English Teaching on 14 March 2009 On Saturday, 14 March 2009, volunteers (together with AustCham staff), visited Wat Pra Pathranporn School, Sri Ra Cha. It was a successful day enjoyed by all. We thank the volunteers for their generous participation. Thank you to Toll Logistics (our English Teaching sponsor) for their continued support.

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Announcing the 7th Convoy for Kids Charity Golf Day Sponsored by Volvo Truck & Bus (Thailand) Friday 22 May at Laem Chabang International Country Club Registration starts at 10:00am - Shotgun start at 12:00pm

Venue The 7th Annual Volvo Truck & Bus sponsored Convoy for Kids Charity Golf Day has become a main event in the Thailand Golfing calendar.

This year we are changing the venue to Laem Chabang International Country Club and by popular demand we are scheduling for a later start time of 12:00am with registration opening at 10:00am.

The picturesque setting of the Jack Nicklaus designed course belies its challenging nature. The course is accepted as one of Thailand’s best and for all golfers it is a course worth playing.

Cost The golf fee for the day remains the same as last year’s event at Baht 3500 per player and represents great value including green fee, caddy fee, golf buggy and early evening meal.

How to get there.

Located only 109 kilometres (1.5 hours) from Bangkok, and 30 kilometres (half an hour) from Pattaya, Laem Chabang International Country Club is easily accessible from both locations.

For a map and instructions of how to get there, please visit the convoy web site at www.convoyforkids.com or check out the course site at www.laemchabanggolf.com AustCham Eastern Seaboard Sundowners Event From 6:00pm the same day, AustCham will be holding their ESB event at a venue yet to be named in Pattaya.

The fee for attandance is Baht 400 for members and participants in the golf event.

For those players wishing to stay overnight in Pattaya we have special rates at a few hotels down there.

The venue will be announced shortly on the Convoy web site.

Convoy for Kids was started in 2000 by a few transport and logistics companies which form The Logistics Sub Committee of AustCham.

Our main event each year is the Convoy Day in November when we take a total of around 250 children for a fun day out.

The children include kids from the Pakred School in Nonthaburi, Sister Joan’s Klongtoey Slum Project and other deserving causes.

Our Golf day was started in 2003 to increase revenue and we have been successful in achieving this.

Over the years thanks to the contribution by the transport companies, their clients and the many golfers who participate in our events, we have raised a total in excess of Baht 8 million which has gone to finance many projects and has put a great deal of happiness into the lives of children who have not had a great start in life.

We appreciate that this year has started with a steep downturn in the economy.

Whilst it is tough for the business commmunity, it will be even tougher for the organisations we are trying to help as they depend mainly on support from individuals and companies to top up the modest support they receive from the Thai Government.

This is why we need your help to come play golf with us, perhaps become a sponsor and help put something special into the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves.

We hope you can join us for what will be an enjoyable days golf for a worthwhile cause.

Help us by becoming an event sponsor Baht 50,000 Company logo on tournament polo shirt Tournament fees for 4 players Hole naming rights & posters at hole Display stand at registration desk and in restaurant Company brochure in handout bag Company logo on stage banner Company logo on our website

Baht 30,000 Company logo on tournament polo shirt Tournament fees for 2 players Hole naming rights & posters at hole Company brochure in handout bag Company logo on stage banner Company logo on our web site

Baht 10,000 Hole naming rights & posters at hole Company brochure in handout bag Company logo on web site

Sponsors also welcome for food stands, drink stops, golf balls & technical and lucky draw prizes Check our web site for full details www.convoyforkids.com

Chamber Events

AFG Seminar, 13 March 2009 On Friday 13 March 2009 (prior to ESB Sundowners) at the Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya. AustCham’s Automotive Focus Group (AFG) invited Khun Supachai Manusphaibool to discuss “Downsizing in a Troubled Time”.

Luncheon Meeting, 18 March 2009 On 18 March 2009, AustCham Thailand was delighted to invite members to attend a Luncheon Meeting at the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit. The guest speaker was James Pitchon.

James briefed AustCham Thailand members and guests on: “Prospects for the Thai Property Market in 2009” James Pitchon is the Executive Director of CB Richard Ellis (Thailand) Co., Ltd. He is responsible for the agency teams, property requirements of multi-national corporations in Thailand, and property management. Mr. Pitchon has been responsible for the co-ordination of more than 1,000 multinational corporation property transactions in Thailand over the last eighteen years. James is certainly one of the most interesting and entertaining speakers in Bangkok .

AustChamThailand Advance

Breakfast Briefing, 24 March 2009 On Tuesday 24 March 2009, AustCham Thailand was delighted to invite members to attend a Breakfast Briefing at the AustCham Office. Guest Speaker, Geoffrey Storey (Principal Consultant Supply Chain & Change Management at “Your Supply Solutions”) discussed “Supplier Enablement: the effects on Purchasing and Accounts Payable”.

Public Speaking Workshop, 26 March 2009 On Thursday 26 March 2009 AustCham hosted a public speaking workshop at the AustCham office. The workshop was conducted by Speaking Energy founding director, Bjorn Turmann. Bjorn has coached executives, entrepreneurs, educators, politicians and artists from over 20 different countries to approach public speaking in a much more inspired, powerful way. His clients come from a long list of multinationals, SMEs, NGOs and government organisations including Microsoft, Net Suite, the Four Seasons Hotel Group, Sheraton Hotels International, the United Nations (UN), Bangkok Bank, Siam Ocean World, Thammasat University, and the Embassy of Australia (Thailand).

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Chamber Events

ESB Sundowners at Hard Rock Pattaya on 13 March 2009 On Friday 13 March 2009, Eastern Seaboard Sundowners (ESB) was held at Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya. We thank Toll Logistics (event sponsor) and Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya (catering and venue sponsor) for their generous support.

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1) Khun Chararin Green - Kitchen Solutions; Mike Green - Regional consultant; Khun Kitirak In-Nok - Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya. 2) Andrew Durieux - AustCham President, Coverage. 3) David Armstrong - AustCham Director, Post Publishing; David Bell - Crestcom. 4) Khun Sucheera Chankam - Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya; Khun Somboon Nasueb - Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya; Khun Romyakorn Jirakanjanakit - Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya. 5) Dr. Peter Morley - Bumrungrad International Nigel McKinnon - AustCham Treasurer, Boral Concrete & Quarries. 6) Peter Scott - Coverage; Shane Torr - Past AustCham President, ISM Technology Recruitment. 7) Khun Paula - Travel Central; Rodney Pattison; Khun Nongnuch Pruengam - Travel Central; Paolo Randone - dusitD2 baraquda pattaya; Mark Bateman - Travel Central. 8) Michael Holt - gH Design; Simon Nash - gH Design; Andrew Durieux - AustCham President, Coverage.

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Chamber Events

Sponsors’ Cocktails on 26 March 2009 at the Ambassador’s Residence On Thursday 26 March 2009, AustCham Thailand was pleased to invite sponsors to cocktails, hosted by HE Ambassador Paul Grigson at the Ambassador’s Residence, Australian Embassy Bangkok.

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1) Andrew Durieux - AustCham (President), Coverage; HE Ambassador Paul Grigson - Australian Embassy Bangkok. 2) John Andrews-Manley, The Westin Grande Sukhumwit Kylie Winters - Sodexo Charles Jack - The Westin Grande Sukhumwit. 3) Bronte Moules - Australian Embassy Bangkok; Jonathon Glonek - Bangkok Fine Wine; John Anderson - AustCham Director, Meinhardt. 4) Sam Mizzi - McConnell Dowell Constructors; Khun Supa Chaisittiporn - Qantas; Khun Kasemsri Eufemio - Thana Burin; Khun Kanjana Jonjanawan - Qantas. 5) Khun Sutipong Ittipong - AustCham Vice President, SCIB; Dr. Peter Morley - Bumrungrad International; Khun Charn Saralertsophon - SCIB; Dr. Somsak Chaiyaporn - TICON. 6) Saeed Zaki - AustCham Director, dwp; Gary Woollacott - Past AustCham President, Opus Recruitment. 7) Sam Mizzi McConnell Dowell Constructors; HE Ambassador Paul Grigson - Australian Embassy Bangkok. 8) Raine Grady - Capital Television; Belinda Skinner - AustCham Director, Talent Plus Recruitment. 9) Glenn Connell - Australian Embassy Bangkok; Ben Yong - AustCham Director, Baker & McKenzie. 10) Michal Zitek - Pan Pacific; Khun Thitakorn

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Chamber Events

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Ussayaporn - dtac; Khun Boonsong Haruchaiyasak - Qantas. 11) Shane Torr - Past AustCham President, ISM Technology Recruitment; Gareth Hughes - RSM; Khun Achara Boonyahansa - AustCham Director, Grant Thornton. 12) Khun Nareerat Cotchatorn - Servcorp; Michaela Julian - Servcorp; Shane Torr - Past AustCham President, ISM Technology Recruitment. 13) Valerie McKenzie - Thana Burin; Andrew Durieux - AustCham President, Coverage; Stuart Winters - Sodexo. 14) Gareth Hughes - RSM; Gary McEwan - Opus; Paul Gambles - MBMG. 15) Saeed Zaki - AustCham Director, dwp; Gary McEwan - Opus; Ben Yong - AustCham Director, Baker & McKenzie. 16) Warwick Baglin - Meinhardt; William Vaughan - Capital Television; Henri Young - Raimon Land. 17) Graham Spillane - Toll Logistics; Valerie McKenzie - Thana Burin. 18) Brett Gannaway - ED, AustCham Thailand; Ross Edward Marks - Central Food Retail. 19) Phillip Hill - HASSELL; Warwick Baglin Meinhardt. 20) Bronte Moules - Australian Embassy Bangkok; Belinda Skinner - AustCham Director, Talent Plus Recruitment.

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Chamber Events

Sundowners is AustCham Thailand’s monthly business networking function. It is a great opportunity for members of the Chamber to meet, network and exchange views in a social environment.

Sundowners at The Plaza Athenee Bangkok on Wednesday, 1 April 2009 On Wednesday 1 April 2009, Bangkok Sundowners was held at Plaza Athenee Bangkok, A Royal Meridien Hotel. We thank Boral Thailand Concrete & Quarries (event sponsor) and Plaza Athenee Bangkok (catering and venue sponsor) for their generous support. Thank you to the Boral ‘Fundowners’ team for providing April Fool’s Day fun and thank you to Artinian Co., Ltd. for generously donating a spectacular topaz, sapphire and diamond white gold ring for auction. Congratulations to the winning bidder, the successful bid will go entirely to our Community Services Kanchanburi Kindergarten Project.

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1) Nigel McKinnon - AustCham Treasurer, Boral Concrete & Quarries; Deborah McDiarmid - Plaza Athenee Bangkok; Andrew Durieux - AustCham (President), Coverage. 2) Nigel McKinnon - AustCham Treasurer, Boral Concrete & Quarries; ML Laksasubha Kridakon - The First Steps International Pre-School; Tricia Balmer - State Government of Victoria; Paul Fox - Credenda Associates; Pauline Craig - The First Steps International Pre-School. 3) Khun Anucha Chintakanond; Khun Thiti Boonyanukhroh - Boral Concrete & Quarries. 4) Simon Leslie - NIST; Khun Ekjaree Thanasawangkul - Dataconsult; Martin Kyle - Tanayong. 5) Khun Rungnapha Kaewduangsri - Santa Fe; Belinda Skinner - AustCham Director, Talent Plus Recruitment; Joanna Thumiger - Progress U. 6) Peter Bush - Boral Concrete & Quarries; Ivan Kovarik - The Siam Gypsum

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Chamber Events

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Industry (Saraburi); Khun Wichai Jetsadaapichon - Boral Concrete & Quarries; Douglas Webb - KPMG. 7) Khun Achara Boonyahansa - AustCham Director, Grant Thornton; Rick McGill - SafeComs; Khun Nantiya McGill - Media Partners International. 8) Gary Woollacott - Opus Recruitment; Gary McEwan - Opus; James Ramage - Starwood. 9) Andrew Gray - CETA; John Pollard - Meinhardt; John Anderson - AustCham Director, Meinhardt. 10) Gareth Marshall - Kinnaree Media Marketing; Khun Chatrutai Masue - AustCham Director, Raimon Land. 11) Bryan Balmer - State Government of Victoria; Eugene Cody - Toll. 12) K. Prapas Kianpotiramard - Steelcase Asia Pacific; Jacques Bennet - HBO+EMTB Thailand. Khun Teerawan Kongkhuntod - Callan School of English;

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Members’ Changes

New Corporate Ordinary Members

AustAsia-Connextions (Thailand) Co., Ltd 2 Ploenchit Center, G Floor Sukhumvit Road, Klongteoy Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 (0) 2305 6663 Email: info@austasia-connextions.co.th Website: www.austasia-connextions.com.au

Principal: Mrs. Nipaporn (Jum) O’Keefe Alternate: Mr. Leonard (Len) Patrick O’Keefe AustAsia Connextions has many opportunities to offer you and your business aimed at helping you prosper.

With years of experience and a broad network in connecting businesses with others who offer importing, exporting, manufacturing, sourcing and sales opportunities, we now extend an offer of our full range of services to you.

AustAsia Connextions offers you our expertise in researching, identifying, representing, and introducing businesses to partner with each other throughout the international community.

AustAsia Connextions has offices and representatives in several countries to provide a professional and complete endto-end service package and solution. We can represent your products and services offering exposure in several countries at the one time, thus, providing you with a better chance for continued growth and prosperity.

AustAsia Connextions and its representative officers have extensive experience in a variety of areas including international trade, importing and exporting guidance, marketing, manufacturing, business development, banking, logistics, coordinating international trade events, Australian property investment, and have assisted many businesses both large and small in the private and public sectors.

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Regardless of the complexity of the product and process, AustAsia Connextions assists you in delivering quality professional service and facilitates the process, allowing clients at all times to actually assess the product quality and their competitive edge. More importantly, the cost benefits to your business of exporting to or sourcing products and services from overseas.

Budget Car and Truck Rental 19/23 Building A, Royal City Avenue New Petchburi Road Huay Kwang, Bangkapi Bangkok 10310 Tel: +66 (0) 2203 9222 Fax: +66 (0) 2203 9299 Website: www.budget.co.th

Principal: Mr. Stig Vagt-Andersen Alternate: Ms. Ousra Chalitapanukul OPP (SEA) Co., Ltd. is the license holder for in South East Asia for On Product Publishing (OPP). OPP is the inventor and owner of Labelzine, an award winning innovation that converts the space on your product into a media and communications space ringing the worlds of packaging and publishing together.

Companies such as Coca Cola and Tetra Pak use Labelzine regularly to increase product sales; communicate and bring innovation and rewards to consumers.

New Corporate Affiliate Member Principal: Mr. Vanchai Tangpanichdee Alternate: Mr. Bhirayu Oop-pala Worldclass Rent a Car Co., Ltd. is an independent Budget System Licensee.

The company was formed in 1995 on a joint venture basis to provide the following services to world standards in Thailand: The company runs a very modern fleet of highly maintained vehicles. It uses the latest technology and training techniques available to ensure that worldclass levels of customer satisfaction are achieved.

Budget is a partner of Thai Airways International, United Airlines, Continental Airlines, Qantas Airways, Air New Zealand, Air France, Air Canada, Emirates.

Alltech Biotechnology Corp. Ltd. 3031 Catnip Hill Pike Nicholasville, Kentucky 40356 USA Tel: +66 2 260 0888 Fax: +66 2 260 0866 Email: aleary@alltech.com Website: www.alltech.com

Principal: Ms. Alison Leary Alternate: Ms. Tara Jarman

On Product Publishing (SEA) Co., Ltd. Labelzine 10/115 The Trendy Building, 9th Floor Sukhumvit Soi 13 Klongtoey Nua, Wattana Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 (0) 2168 7206 Fax: +66 (0) 2168 7212 Email: stig@onproductpublishing.com Website: www.onproductpublishing.com

Alltech is a global animal health company providing natural, nutritional solutions to the food and feed industries. Alltech’s mission is to improve animal health and performance by adding nutritional value to animal feed and, through this, enhance the performance of the animal and increase animal production.

Headquartered in Kentucky, USA, Alltech trades in 113 countries, has 1900 employees – and turns in 25% annual growth. Alltech has been established

AustChamThailand Advance

Members’ Changes

in Thailand for over 10 years. Alltech has a strong regional presence in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia-Pacific, with fourteen production facilities strategically located across the globe.

Alltech provides scientifically-proven, natural animal health products that add value to feed, including Bioplex organic minerals, Bi-Mos, Sel-Plex an organic selenium source, Allzyme SSF the complete enqyme solution, Yea-Sacc 1026, NuPro a functional nutrient and Mycosorb.

New Individual Ordinary Member Mr. Trent Whatley Venezia Restaurant 24 Soi Sukhumvit 11, Sukhumvit Road Klongtoey Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 (0) 2255 3377 Fax: +66 (0) 2254 6357 Email: trent@veneziabkk.com

Have a Hotel & Ball’s hospitality background, also have textile wholesaling background.

Change of Representative Ms. Heather Coley, Human Resources Consultant is a new representative of MBMG Group.

Mr. Hubert Viriot, CEO is a new representative of Raimon Land Public Company Limited.

Dr Adisak Chandprapalert, is a new representative of Hewitt Associates (Thailand) Ltd. Khun Krisda Leeaphorn, Director is a new representative of Global Turf Consulting Co., Ltd.

Change of Company Name GoIndustry (Thailand) Ltd. changed company name to be GoIndustryDoveBid (Thailand) Ltd.

Mr. Sam Mizzi, Managing Director is a new representative of McConnell Dowell Constructors Thai Ltd. Khun Boonsong Haruchaiyasak, Commercial Manager is a new representative of Qantas/British Airways.

Mr. Michael Chick, General Manager is a new representative of The Minor Food Group PLC.

The AIT goes to “The Beach Quiz Night 2009”

Fare:

Saturday 30 May 2009 Westin Grande Sukhumvit AIT goes to The Beach Outside the ballroom from 6.30pm for nibbles Just Baht 1,000 for Members and Baht 1,300 for non-Members Buffet dinner inclusive of water and soft drinks

- BYO wine only – no corkage - Full cash bar service available

Prizes:

1st and 2nd Tables in the Quiz, wooden spoon, best dressed table and other spot prizes A raffle will be held with fantastic prizes donated by sponsors

When: Where: Theme: Surfs up: Cost:

Raffle:

AustChamThailand Advance

Booking • Please confirm your booking before 22 May 2009 Email: noblefour@hotmail.com • Tables of 10 people • Singles/Couples/Smaller groups no problem • Please book early as seating is limited • Please note it is AIT policy that no-shows will be charged.

We are non-profit making so it does cost real money.

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From the Chamber Office

Message from the ED

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irst of all, welcome back. I hope that you all enjoyed the time off during the Songkran/Easter break.

One of our priorities for the Chamber this year is business advocacy and to work closer with the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce (JFCCT). As the JFCCT with be meeting with various government departments on a regular basis throughout the year, they have opened channels for AustCham members to express any comments or concerns that you may have and present them to the appropriate government agency. The next meetings the JFCCT has scheduled are with the National Anti Corruption Commission (NACCC) and the Board of Investment (BOI). If you have any comments or suggestions that you would like to raise, please send them directly to me at execdirector@austchamthailand.com and I will pass them on to the JFCCT. All comments will be submitted from AustCham rather from individuals or companies and will be held in the strictest confidence.

This year the Convoy for Kids Charity Golf Day will be held on Friday, 22 May 2009 at the Laem Chabang International Country Club. The day’s events will begin with a shot gun start at 12pm (registration opening from 10am) and as always promises to be a great day of golf with proceeds going to a very worthy charity. For registration and further details please visit the CFK website www. convoyforkids.com. Immediately following the Convoy for Kids Golf day is our AustCham Eastern Seaboard Sundowners.

For those wishing to stay overnight on Friday evening in Pattaya, we have special rates on offer from our hotel sponsor and further information and updates will be sent via email very shortly.

As always the Chamber is working hard to prepare a selection of events that will provide you with interesting business updates as well as good networking opportunities. Some you may wish to diarise are as follows: • Luncheon briefing, with Mr. Steve Douglas, Co-founder and Managing Director of Australian Taxation Services (ATS): Australian Budget Review 2009 – Thursday, 14 May 2009; • Joint BCCT/AustCham Briefing on Managing Downsizing. This panel event preceding cocktails and networking afterwards is scheduled to start at 5 pm, Wednesday 27 May 2009. Venue TBC. • Phuket Sundowners – the first of two scheduled Sundowners in Phuket will be held at the Chedi Hotel Phuket on Friday, 29 May 2009. The May event will be preceded by a short seminar on “Emerging Trends in Hospitality Design” – Why not plan a weekend in Phuket and kick it off with Phuket Sundowners!

• AustCham Thailand Business Awards 2009 - gala black tie dinner on Wednesday 26 August 2009. Time to apply for one of the prestigious awards or nominate a company you know. The simplified, easy to fill in application form can be downloaded from our website.

Calendar of Events WEDNESDAY, 6 MAY Sundowners

18.00 – 21.00 Corporate Sponsor: Standard Chartered Venue: Grand Millennium Sukhumvit THURSDAY, 13 MAY Information Bite Luncheon Australian Budget Review 2009

12.00 – 14.00 Venue: TBC Guest Speaker: Steve Douglas, Australasian Taxation Services; SMATS Group TUESDAY, 19 MAY Breakfast Briefing Retire to Australia and Pay No Tax

Venue: AustCham Office Guest Speaker: Brett Waller, ipac FRIDAY, 22 MAY CFK Charity Golf Day

Venue: Laem Chabang International Country Club Please visit convoyforkids.com for details ESB Sundowners

18.00 – 21.00 Corporate Sponsor: TICON Industrial Connection Venue: TBC SATURDAY, 23 MAY Voluntary English Teaching

Venue: Baan Khao Huay Mahad School, Rayong THURSRDAY, 28 MAY NZTCC Networking

Brett Gannaway Executive Director, AustCham Thailand www.austchamthailand.com

Venue: Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit Please visit nztcc.org for details FRIDAY, 29 MAY Phuket Sundowners

18.00 – 21.00 Venue: TBC

Thank you to all April event sponsors

WEDNESDAY, 3 JUNE Commonwealth Sundowners

18.00 – 21.00 Corporate Sponsor: Hassell Catering & Venue Sponsor: Pan Pacific Bangkok

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