BCCT Link Magazine - Issue 2 2019

THE Magazine of the British Chamber of Commerce Commerce Thailand Thailand Issue Issue 22 2019 1 2019

Education, including International Schools and Vocational Education in Thailand

Contents This edition

Education BCCT

Board of Directors 2019 CHAIRMAN CHRIS THATCHER Anglo-Thai Legal Co., Ltd. M: 081 803-7377 E: christhatcher1@Gmail.com VICE CHAIRS SIMON MATTHEWS ManpowerGroup Thailand T: 02 634-7273 E: matthews@manpower.th.com ANDREW MCBEAN PKF Holdings (Thailand) Limited T: 02 108-1591 Ext. 100 E: andrew.mcbean@pkf.com

12 Sarah’s passion for education leads her to Thailand 16 New Head for KIS as Sally takes on IB role 20 Music scholar Pun ponders next step 22 Formula for success 24 Does atomic theory have a place in a Primary School?

26 Patana swimmers set to make big splash in Glasgow

SARAH SMITH Jamie’s Italian T: 02 255-5222 or 09 2610-6725 E: sarah.smith@jamiesitalian.co.th

Member articles

DIRECTORS

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CALLIE BANGYEKAN GlaxoSmithKline (Thailand) Limited T: 02 245-5541 E: callie.x.bangyekan@gsk.com BILLY CHOMSAKORN British Airways Plc T: 001 80044 15906 E: billy.chomsakorn@ba.com GARETH DAVIES Fluxus (Thailand) Co., Ltd. T: 096 463-4704 E: gareth.davies@fluxus.io STEPHEN FROST Bangkok International Associates Ltd. T: 02 231-6201/6455 E: sfrost@bia.co.th

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Tale of two brothers Living a balanced life Tackling recruitment fraud Thailand approves International Business Centre 36 Thailand approves new property tax 38 Corporate events key to building teamwork

COLIN HASTINGS The Bigchilli Co., Ltd. T: 02 6355085 E: editorbigchilli@gmail.com MARTIN HURLEY Lancaster Bangkok Tel. +66 (0) 2262 8000 E: martin.h@lancasterbangkok.com SIMON LANDY Colliers International Thailand T: 02 656-7000 E: slandybkk@gmail.com

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PINYAPA SOMPHONG HLG (Thailand) Co., Ltd. T: 02 670-1848 E: psomphong@harveylawcorporation.com

General news

NICK SMART Tesco Lotus (Ek-Chai Distribution System Co., Ltd.) E: nick.smart@tescolotusfs.com CARL SMITH Triumph Motorcycles (Thailand) Limited T: 089 939-1539 E: Carl.Smith@triumph.co.uk HONORARY TREASURER JONATHAN FRYER Mazars (Thailand) Ltd. T: 02 670-1100 ext 124 E: jonathan.fryer@mazars.co.th

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40 TCEB targets Chinese incentive groups 41 TAT launches monsoon season travel packages 42 IATA figures show steady passenger growth

The UK’s leading school for children aged 2-18

Pre-Prep School

Prep and Senior School

Sixth Form (Opens Aug 2019)

Inspiring academic excellence with a culture of kindness, confidence and curiosity

www.brightoncollege.ac.th admissions@brightoncollege.ac.th +66(2) 136 7898 8/8 Krungthep Kreetha Soi 15 Yaek 4, Krungthep Kreetha, Hua Mak, Bangkapi

Contents Issue 2/2019

Every editions

The Link is published by the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand.

Advertising enquiries: Greg Watkins Email: greg@bccthai.com Jina Phenix Email: Jintana@bccthai.com

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Chairman’s Message

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Executive Director’s Message

Editor: Dale Lawrence Email: dalelawrence2008@gmail.com Front cover design: Lexicon Business Communications Production: Scand-Media Corp., Ltd The views expressed by individual authors are not necessarily those of the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand or of the publisher. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand is strictly prohibited.

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Member news

43 St Andrews cashes in on new HSBC collections service 44 Consumers eye AI home devices 48 KIS student wins NGO recognition for charitable foundation 50 Top awards for Bangkok’s Athenee hotel 62

By the Numbers

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52 Demand increases for industrial property 54 Chonburi developer targets European retirees 56 JLL alliance with Seekster 58 Dusit displays appetite for expansion 60 Top tips from Simon on job hunting in Thailand

Chamber events

66 BCCT Life & Style Garden Party 2019 67 BCCT T3 Business Networking 68 BCCT Multi-Chambers Evening Panel Discussion 69 BCCT Multi-Chamber Hospitality Presentation (Sales)

Comings and Goings 72

British Chamber of Commerce Thailand 7th Floor, 208 Wireless Road Bangkok 10330, Thailand Tel: 02-651 5350/3 Fax: 02-651 5354 Website: www.bccthai.com Email: greg@bccthai.com Greg Watkins, Executive Director

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Final Word

76 eBay gum – Matt sets tuk tuk speed record

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Asia’s Educational Oasis providing the best environment for world-class education Only 15 minutes from Don Mueang Airport, Harrow Bangkok offers an exclusive educational experience. Your child will enjoy world-class facilities, state-of-the-art classrooms, extensive sports fields and lakeside views, enriching their educational experience.

Unique in Bangkok, we provide open space and plentiful greenery. Our new and expanded Boarding Village, home to 40 nationalities of students, gives opportunity for academic and social advancement.

Following a British curriculum, leading to GCSE and A Level, with students graduating to Ivy League, Russell Group (UK) and Oxbridge universities, we offer an educational oasis in Bangkok.

Experience our spacious campus for yourself - contact our Admissions team today.

02 503 7222 ext. 1128 enquiry@harrowschool.ac.th www.harrowschool.ac.th Harrow International School Bangkok is committed to the safety and protection of children

Chairman’s Message

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ducation is fundamental to everything that we do. That in itself is a truism.

But increasingly in modern times we have lost sight of what this means and what value it can add to the ways that we live our lives.

It is a fundamental human right and no one should be denied it on the grounds of affordability or circumstance. That is, however, too simplistic for the complex societies in which we now live.

CHRIS THATCHER Sterling Partner

In my day the education system in the UK had, at its pinnacle, the university degree. You took a test at 11 to determine whether or not you had the potential to get a degree. If you didn’t you were placed in the second division of schools - the secondary modern - with little chance of going on to higher education.

You became fodder for industry leaving school at 16 to find work (which would probably last you throughout your life). A few more fortunate ‘also rans’ found their way into Technical Colleges and managed to get some training for jobs that needed more expertise.

Others managed to get apprenticeships and received their training ‘on the job’.

Many didn’t and they muddled along in poorer paid, unskilled jobs when they quite possibly were capable of much more.

Sustaining Partners

Fast forward 50 years or so and the situation is so different. Nowadays, degrees are much more common and indeed are expected for even the most basic jobs.

The quality of the degrees is variable and they are no real indication of suitability or aptitude.

My daughter obtained a good degree in Geography and a Masters in IT and yet was head-hunted by one of the top financial companies in the UK. Nothing she had studied was relevant to the job she eventually did. It made me wonder about the point of the ‘O’ levels, ‘A’ levels and four years at university.

Here we are now, with Thailand and the UK, starting to realise that there is much more that can be done. Vocational education, for long the much reviled sector of the education scene, is starting to come to the fore. Increasingly, businesses are recognising that good vocational qualifications make for much better prepared and capable employees.

A public school headmistress (they call them that! I prefer head teacher) recently stated that increasingly, girls (for it was a girls’ school) were skipping the degree courses and going straight into the workplace. There they got training, an immediate salary and just as importantly, no debt from student loans. And, as a bonus, they got a three year head start on others who took the more traditional university route.

Will that start to happen in Thailand as well? There is increasing presence from vocational education providers – Pearson BTECs and City and Guilds to name but two from the UK. The qualifications that they offer are well moderated to international standards and provide an ability to transfer to equivalent jobs in other countries. The EEC S-curve industries are well covered by vocational qualifications that can be achieved, as is the hotel and hospitality sector.

This change will not happen overnight - but the more that companies become aware of the potential for focused, industry-based training that will not only enhance their workforce’s ability but increase their productivity and decrease their need to provide training themselves, the more likely vocational education will become an essential part of the educational landscape in Thailand.

An amalgam of skills development, relevant background knowledge and an element of creative problem solving and thinking is the way that a dynamic business will evolve.

The BCCT is keen to help member businesses to develop good vocational models for future development. If you want to be part of this, or feel you can contribute in some way, please get in touch

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Executive Director’s Message

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n my message in the previous issue of The LINK I noted that the BCCT team was actively chasing up membership renewal invoices.

This work has been occupying much time and is not yet completed.

If you haven’t yet paid your 2019 invoice it will have been emailed to the main BCCT representative in your company from messaging-service@ post.xero.com in late November or early December 2018.

GREG WATKINS

Supporting Partners

If you need a copy of the invoice please email kingkaew@bccthai.com.

If you or any member would like to discuss how you can better maximise the value of your BCCT membership, please email me at greg@bccthai. com.

One of the main benefits of corporate BCCT membership is that unlimited representatives of member companies can engage in BCCT activities and events. However, we rely on company representatives who receive our emails to pass details of events and activities on to their colleagues. Given busy work schedules, this may be difficult.

If you would be happy for any of your colleagues to receive emails direct from the BCCT, please send details to jintana@bccthai.com. BCCT lead-organises 75-80 events each year and participates in a further 25-30 events with other chambers and organisations. All of our events thrive on the engagement, attendance and feedback of members. Let us know if any aspect of our events puts you off attending or if there are any topics or speakers who you would like to see at future events.

The BCCT team can also be commissioned by members to organise corporate events and meetings. These can be evening receptions, business presentations, sit-down lunches or dinners, product launches, press conferences and meetings with potential customers, joint venture partners or investors, sponsors, service providers, incountry representation such as agents and distributors, government representatives, importers or exporters. Please contact me if you would like to discuss how we can support you.

BCCT Groups (aka Committees) are an excellent way for members to engage more. Active BCCT Groups are: Digital Technology; Eastern Economic Corridor; Events; Human Resources; Legal & Tax; Property & Infrastructure; and Young Professionals. Each group works with the BCCT events team to run programmes of events that all members are invited to, often in co-operation with other chambers of commerce. If you would like to be involved in a BCCT Group, or start one in an area not already covered, please email me.

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The groups also discuss doing business issues and regulatory concerns affecting members’ businesses. They formulate positions for the BCCT board to lobby the Thai government for change. As I type this message we are waiting for the new Thai government to form with new Ministers appointed. When we know the government’s policies, and specifically how each ministry will implement central government policy, we will be able to identify opportunities to best represent members’ interests.

In order to proceed we would welcome feedback from members. Which specific issues are adversely affecting your businesses from day-to-day doing business hassles to major market access issues?

Airline Partners

As reported in my last message, the Foreign Chambers Alliance (FCA) is an alliance of the American, Australian, British and German chambers of commerce in Thailand. The four chambers work together in representing members’ issues and concerns with Thai government organisations. In April, FCA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Thailand Exhibition and Convention Bureau (TCEB). At the press launch Mr. Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, President of TCEB noted “The signing of this MOU – The Development and Promotion of MICE – between TCEB and Foreign Chambers Alliance (FCA), is considered another remarkable step of TCEB in altering our role to leverage MICE by serving as a business partner who joins hands with foreign organisations to promote the development of Thai MICE. TCEB expects that the collaboration will not only leverage the competitiveness of Thai MICE in long haul markets in Oceania, Europe and the USA, but will also help to attract international events into several regions in Thailand, especially those considered main markets in MICE City project, which are Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen. Definitely, we believe the rapport will encourage transfers of technology and knowledge of each industry among one another, and thus will promote advancement in all regions and stimulate income distribution to communities nationwide.” FCA is now working on developing action points and timelines from the MoU. A reminder that if you would like to consider standing for election to the BCCT Board of Directors at the January 2020 AGM, now is the time to start to become more active and visible to the BCCT membership.

Attend some events, perhaps even sponsor one or two, in order to become better known to members. Join or start an industry group, contribute an article to The LINK magazine, and so on.

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We think beyond traditional education to

transform learning.

We inspire our students to achieve academic excellence together with a sense of adventure and the compassion to make the world a better place.

Be Ambitious Be Regents Admissions@regents-pattaya.co.th www.regents-pattaya.co.th

Be Ambitious Be Regents

COVER STORY

Sarah’s passion for education leads her to Thailand Sarah Osborne-James is the Principal at Regents International School Pattaya. She spoke to The LINK about her passion for education.

I

grew up in Birmingham and I was the first person in my family to go to University. My role model was my best friend’s dad. He believed in me and taught me that anything was possible. This is a philosophy that I have carried with me throughout my life.

I was drawn to teaching as I found school a challenge.

It was my teachers who shaped my future and I wanted to do the same. I was always fascinated about why some people excelled at school and others did not. I couldn’t understand why children were given labels from an early age and I wanted to challenge these stereotypes.

I started on my leadership journey as a Head of Primary, progressed to Head of Middle School, Assistant Head of School and became a school Principal when I was 38.

This is my third Headship. Prior to joining Regents I was the Principal at Northbridge International School Cambodia, also a Nord Anglia School.

My educational beliefs are centred upon four words, namely empowerment, passion, integrity and intelligence. If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion - for your passion will lead you directly to your purpose.

I have always had an overwhelming desire to have a positive impact in the world and I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. A particular adult believed in me as a child and it is because of him that I am the person I am today.

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He believed in me, encouraged me and gave me the strength to pursue my dreams. He never gave up on me. I feel the overwhelming need to be that person for both my students and my teachers. I strongly believe in empowerment and enjoy coaching people and helping people grow.

I am a naturally positive person and feel very lucky to have found my passion in life. It is my desire to guarantee a safe learning environment in which anyone and everyone can find his or her passion, flourish and fulfil his or her full potential.

This desire is also translated to adults within the school learning community and the need to empower teachers to take calculated risks with cutting edge innovative teaching and learning methodologies.

I believe it is my obligation to inspire teachers; to make sure that teachers do not lose their passion and to ensure that learning is fun and meaningful for both students and teachers.

Integrity is a non-negotiable for me. Dispositions of honesty, truth and honour are fundamental and essential if we really want to see a change in the world.

I believe that we all need to experience some kind of failure in order to experience success. Our world is very competitive, I believe students need to learn how to win and lose gracefully.

Any failure in life has to be viewed as an opportunity for reflection and will lead to personal determination and purpose. From an early age, I identified different kinds of intelligences and grew up in a culturally diverse city.

Academic success at school was a challenge for me, I found school difficult. Looking back, I can see that my success was a result of failure combined with continuous opportunities and feedback.

Students need to have interpersonal awareness, empathy, commitment and self-esteem. I believe in providing opportunities for children, teachers and parents to facilitate aggression into assertiveness, demanding into ambitious, impulsive into persuasive.

I aim for my students to be good people, humble, balanced and stable. I know that emotional quotient (EQ) or emotional intelligence (EI) combined is the key to success.

For me the benefits of an international education are clear. Our students not only have a great academic education but they also develop the characteristics and attributes of emotional intelligence that will help them to be happy and successful in the future.

They are given many opportunities to develop their leadership skills, often on a global scale since we are a Nord Anglia school. In our multi-cultural community, the old stereotypes are destroyed. Learning new languages and discovering different cultures truly prepares our children for life in an ever changing and challenging world.

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Advertorial

Advertorial

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New Head for KIS as Sally takes on IB role KIS International School in Bangkok has appointed Paul Johnson as Head of School with effect from the start of the 2019/2020 academic year.

Paul’s appointment results from a rigorous international search, headed by the Council of International Schools Leadership Searches, which evaluated the qualities of the candidates against the needs of the school. Board members, staff, parents and students were also involved in the recruitment process.

Paul Johnson’s passion for nurturing a safe and vibrant learning environment, combined with his experience and his personality makes him well suited to the international culture at KIS, which combines a strong sense of community with high academic standards, according to a KIS announcement.

Paul is moving to Bangkok from the American Embassy School in New Delhi, India. He has also previously worked at international schools in Vietnam, China, Bangladesh, Morocco and the USA and has over 20 years of experience in education leadership.

He replaces Sally Holloway, KIS’s founding Head of School, who has served in that position for 21 years. Sally has been appointed Deputy Director General of of the International Baccalaureate.

Paul Johnson spoke to The LINK during a recent visit to Thailand.

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Q: What were your first impressions of KIS? A: Positive energy, friendliness, warmth; these are the immediate impressions I had of KIS. I spent time in all areas of the school and met a number of students, parents, and school staff. That first day sent me away with a good feeling about KIS in which I thought ‘Oh wow’ this school has really got its act together.

I can’t say I was completely surprised after having had some sense of that already but it was comforting confirmation that the community was strong and that students and faculty were happy.

When I met the student council members, one elementary student exclaimed ‘I love being here as much as my own home’. Parents I met with clearly loved the school.

Teachers were engaging and students were learning. I felt like everyone is really working towards a common goal and that the school is student-centred. It is pretty easy to tell when schools are not focused upon students and their experiences and, in my view, KIS delivered.

Q: How do you feel the school matches your personality?

A: My sense is that my calm and reflective approach and style is a match for KIS. My sense of humour and my ability to empathise should fit well in the close-knit, family-friendly community here.

The personal traits I mention have worked well for me in various schools in Morocco, Bangladesh, China, Vietnam,

and India. Working in all of these schools has emboldened me to keep a strong commitment to internationalism alongside strong respect for the host culture. Diversity brings out the best in everyone.

Additionally, there is a part of my personality that drives me to achieve and this desire for continuous improvement is aligned with schools that have chosen a rigorous and holistic curriculum. This matches with what I see in KIS. Q: What do you look forward to about joining KIS? A: Being the Head of School allows me to take KIS to a future where it is not only well respected within Thailand but also within the top international schools in the region. My experience in a variety of respected international schools and with the organisations that support schools like ours is extensive and wide-reaching and my commitment is to lead KIS in its journey of selfreflection and continuous improvement.

I’m impressed with what KIS has to offer and all schools have the responsibility to continue their growth. This is an exciting process and I look forward to my leadership and partnership in it. It was evident to me that KIS is a school on the move and I am excited to be part of that and to lead efforts to make the experience for students, teachers, and families a great one.

All of my previous schools have had a strong relationship with the IBO and so there is a comfort between the aims of KIS and the curriculum the school has chosen. I’m drawn to being part of a full IB continuum school.

On your marks at KIS The new sports complex at KIS is now fully operational with an indoor gymnasium, two full sized airconditioned courts and a competition swimming pool with starting blocks and touch pads for timing. The pool was recently opened with a workshop run by members of the Hungarian Olympic swimmers.

During the forthcoming summer holidays the playgrounds will be renewed and new features added such as a trampoline, climbing wall, tree house, sensory walk, sand pit, planting area and swings. KIS is stressing that the playgrounds will adhere to the highest level of safety standards – including the obstacle course and zip line for older pupils, The Link

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Advertorial

Advertorial

St. Andrews International School Dusit Green Valley Sathorn Sukhumvit 107

COVER STORY

Music scholar Pun ponders next step Harrow International School Bangkok music scholar Pun Punyasavatsut, 17, is pondering the next step of his glittering musical education. Pun has been offered a full scholarship at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, part of the National University of Singapore.

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e has also been offered a place at the Royal College of Music in London whose alumni include composers Benjamin Britten and Michael Tippett, rock star Rick Wakeman and violinist VanessaMae.

best music schools in the world, but I’ll choose NUS I think,” he said. Pun joined the school in Year 10 to further develop his piano studies. “When I found out that Harrow Bangkok were inviting Music Scholars I took up the offer.

I’ve played the piano since I was four.

Pun is leaning towards the offer from Singapore. “In my opinion it’s the number one university in Singapore and in Asia. The Royal College of Music is also one of the

I started off with local piano competitions but then expanded my competition short list to more international ones. I entered the International Beethoven Piano

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COVER STORY Competition when I was in Year 8 and I won second prize.

The next year they asked me to play in the Beethovenfest in Bonn, Germany. It was an eye-opening experience,” he explained.

only one electric piano and the acoustic piano was terrible. I was very excited to hear that Harrow Bangkok had a grand piano.

“Being a Music Scholar means I can use my musical skills to help in different areas. Music Scholars need to have a second instrument, which I didn’t have when I first joined Harrow Bangkok. I took up the French horn which I’ve now been playing for three or four years. I joined the orchestra at the start of Year 11. It’s a totally different experience because when I play the piano most of the time it’s a solo thing. You play alone and have a very closed mindset of your performance. Being in an orchestra opens your eyes, as you play for the audience,” added Pun.

Helpful staff

Playing for the audience “When I joined Harrow Bangkok I didn’t think that doing things like chamber music would be beneficial because when I came here my mindset was for solo repertoire practice. After only two or three months I had a change of mind. I can see the benefits of doing the orchestral: responsibility, time management – learning a new instrument I also had to find time to practice the piano,” he added.

“The staff are also extremely helpful and the full time and part time staff in the music department are very supportive. It’s rather like having a personal trainer.”

Pun also stressed the value of his scholarship, stating that he would not have been able to attend Harrow without that financial support.

“In Year 10 I joined as a Boarder at Harrow Bangkok, even though my family live in Bangkok, because I felt that it would help develop my self-discipline. I used to procrastinate a lot and do stuff last minute and I learned that you cannot do that if you’re a Music Scholar because stuff is just going to pile up. With Bangkok traffic, I was travelling for two hours and 30 minutes every day. I could spend that time on something else; homework or music practice. I like boarding. I really missed my parents on my first day as a boarder but after that I became immersed in the community,” concluded Pun.

“Sometimes it can be tough. Being a Music Scholar takes a lot of your time but it provides a good benefit to yourself. For example, if you are auditioning for university for a piano major most people who are applying would have a main instrument as piano. I don’t think many soloists take up a second instrument so having a second instrument sets you apart from the other applicants as having a greater experience, a bigger skills set.”

Pun was quick to praise the school’s Creative and Performing Arts facilities. “At my old school there was

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COVER STORY

Formula for success Congratulations to Siraprapa Wisitthipakdeekul, a Grade 11 student at the Prem Tinsulanonda International School in Chiang Mai, for recording the highest possible score in her recent SAT chemistry test.

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Siraprapa scored 800 marks, the maximum possible in this particular test. She has clearly found the formula for exam success.

first authorised IB World School in south east Asia to offer four International Baccalaureate programmes to students aged three to 19 years.

Prem Tinsulanonda International School is the

More details: https://ptis.ac.th/

Curiosity - Critical Thinking - Powerful Learning

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COVER STORY

Does atomic theory have a place in a Primary School?

By Mark Verde

Puffs of smoke, explosions, chemicals that change. These are reactions common to science labs and typically make for great excitement amongst young children. These reactions are all underpinned by atomic theory – yet understanding atomic theory is deemed too difficult for young minds and typically not taught to students until they enter secondary school.

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ne science teacher in Australia has questioned this practice and is at the heart of a growing movement to introduce atomic theory to young children.

Ian Stuart is a retired secondary school Chemistry teacher from Australia and the founder of Atomic School. He learnt from his own son that young children can grasp and understand the concepts of atomic theory.

Ian’s goal is to bring atomic theory to every primary school in the world, opening up student learning to this concept by motivating, engaging and critically thinking about atoms, molecules and elements in the periodic table.

He will do this by providing opportunities for the students to investigate, experiment and understand the learning that is atomic theory.

Most students around the world get the opportunity to learn about this essential scientific concept when they are in secondary school and some only when they opt to study this aspect of chemical science in their learning journey during IGCSE. So why wait until then? Ian’s research and practice with the University of South Queensland has shown that children are ready to explore atomic theory from the age of five upwards. In Thailand, Bangkok Patana School has decided to partner with Ian Stuart and introduce atomic theory learning into primary school.

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“We are excited to collaborate with Ian and open up a new concept of scientific learning for our students,” said Jason Cooper, Primary Principal at Bangkok Patana School.

Ian Stuart was introduced to Bangkok Patana School by Rubin Meerman, the ‘Surfing Scientist’ and well-known Australian TV personality. After spending a week at the school, Meerman observed that the students’ levels of engagement with discovery and excitement over science

COVER STORY

metals and non-metals that had specific symbols and numbers assigned to them dependent upon their weight.

Lesson 3 provided opportunities for the students to build molecules of varying length and complexity from atoms, starting with a simple H2O structure which grew into a string of 13 amino acids to form a protein molecule.

The whole week was captured on video so that the learning could be shared within the school community and with a wider audience.

were perfect conditions for the introduction of Ian Stuart and the idea of learning atomic theory in primary school.

Bangkok Patana School is the first school in Asia to work with Ian Stuart in pioneering the teaching of atomic theory at a primary school level.

In March 2019, Ian was at Bangkok Patana for a week when he collaborated closely with the Primary lead science teacher and the science advocates from each age phase to develop the concept of atomic theory.

He modelled a series of three lessons in Years 1, 3 and 5, beginning with the question of ‘What is an Atom’ and building up to the students in Year 3 and Year 5 constructing a protein molecule from various atoms.

The learning throughout the week was rapid, engaging and exciting and the students were more than capable and motivated to learn about this fascinating scientific concept that links into so many areas of learning.

Atomic Theory underpins learning in all science disciplines. By giving young students this backbone of knowledge we expect will make science accessible to them and help them to better transition to the challenges of Secondary science.

Lesson 1 introduced the atom by using investigations with microscopes of varying magnification to understand that all things are made up of atoms that cannot be seen by the human eye because they are so small; a million can be found on the tip of a pin.

“Ian Stuart’s discovery that young children are capable of and absolutely love learning atomic theory is a game changer that propels them a decade ahead of their peers.

Most adults are baffled by the Periodic Table but it is, quite literally, Mother Nature’s alphabet. Atoms are her letters making molecules her words. Chemical reactions are her sentences which makes life the most amazing story atoms have ever told. I can’t wait to see what Bangkok Patana School students will achieve with this knowledge,” said Rubin Meerman.

The next step at Bangkok Patana is to take the learning and, in collaboration with the science advocates and Curriculum Leaders, develop a specific unit of learning that opens up atomic theory to the students.

“The learning of atomic theory is often delayed until secondary school. Research from the University of Southern Queensland now shows that primary students can readily understand atomic theory and internalise it when their imaginations are fresh and enthusiastic.

Bangkok Patana School has shown that it is a world leader in the field of science education by developing a programme that enables primary students to learn about atomic theory,” said Ian Stuart.

Ian will be returning to Bangkok Patana School next year when he will help to embed this learning into the curriculum and deepen it further. * To watch the students learning atomic theory, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=octSYvZZ6LE

Mark Verde is Assistant Principal - Learning & Curriculum at Bangkok Patana School.

Tel: +66 (0) 2 785 2200 www.patana.ac.th https://atomicschool.com/

Lesson 2 built on the previous knowledge and introduced the periodic table, exposing the students to metals, semi The Link

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COVER STORY

Patana swimmers set to make big splash in Glasgow

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50m backstroke and 50m freestyle.

Prin Chantarangkul (14), ranked just outside the top 10, will race in the 50m and 100m freestyle.

British Swimming invites the top 24 athletes across each event and age group following a qualifying window.

Max Stockdale (14) will take part in three backstroke events over distances of 50m, 100m and 200m.

Max is ranked in the top 10 for his 50m and 100m races.

Prim Pingkarawat (13) will race against her 14-year-old peers in both

Andrew Bertoli (15) will swim in the 200m individual medley before

our teenage swimmers from Bangkok Patana School’s Tiger Sharks team are bidding for honours at the British National Championships in Glasgow this July.

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taking part in the second stage English Nationals in Sheffield, competing in the 200m freestyle, 100m butterfly and 400m individual medley.

Head Coach Rich Molloy and Assistant Head Coach Tim Tripp will be supporting the swimmers in the UK in what promises to be an exciting summer of racing for the Bangkok Patana Tiger Sharks.

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Member articles

Tale of two brothers

By Stephen Frost

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n 1991, I was working in a solicitors’ office in London. One morning, a man came in with his late mother’s will. She had just passed away. He asked me if we could handle the probate. He said that he and his brother were the sole executors and beneficiaries.

I read through the will and noticed that the two brothers had different family names. He said that his mother’s first husband was killed in the war. She had one son by him. After that she had remarried and his father was her second husband.

A few days later, the son of the first marriage also called into the office. He told me the family story.

“My father was my mother’s first husband. He was in the army during the war. He escaped from France during the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940 and returned to England. He was a corporal.

When she was pregnant with me, he went absent without leave to be with my mother for a few days. When he returned to barracks, he was demoted to private.

He returned to France after the D-Day invasion in June 1944. He was killed in battle and is buried in France.”

He had never seen his father’s grave. I was taken aback and saddened by his story. I was planning a holiday in France with my wife for later that year and I promised to look for the cemetery where his father was buried.

Later that year we drove to France. I must have bored her silly, imposing my interest in history on her and taking her to numerous places of interest (to me) in Normandy such as: • Pegasus Bridge – where the first British airborne troops landed at midnight on 5 June 1944 to secure the Orne river and Orne canal bridges, the eastern flank of the invasion area.

Since I visited it, the bridge has been moved to a new museum dedicated to the airborne forces nearby. It has

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been replaced by a new bridge • Ranville church cemetery –where Lieutenant Den Brotheridge, the first British officer to be killed in France during the battle, is buried along with many others killed in the early part of the battle • Bayeux Cathedral – in which can be seen the Bayeux tapestry depicting William the Conqueror’s invasion of England in 1066. Fortunately, there was little war damage in Bayeux as the Nazis evacuated it without a fight.

The largest British war cemetery, with 4,100 Commonwealth burials, is nearby • Memorial in Caen – the most impressive of the many museums in Normandy devoted to recounting the invasion of 1944. Even in 1991, work was still continuing in Caen to repair the massive amount of damage caused to the town during 1944.

I had researched the cemetery location before I left for France. St. Charles de Percy war cemetery is located 44 kilometres south west of Caen. It contains 703 burials. Like all cemeteries maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the lawns, flower beds and headstones are kept in immaculate condition.

Simplify me when I am dead Remember me when I am dead and simplify me when I’m dead. …Thus when in a year collapse particular memories, you may deduce, from the long pain I bore the opinions I held, who was my foe and what I left, even my appearance but incidents will be no guide. …Remember me when I am dead and simplify me when I’m dead.

(Keith Douglas (1920-44) Keith Douglas is remembered as one of the outstanding war poets of World War II and compared favourably with Wilfrid Owen and Siegfried Sassoon, poets of the First World War. He was killed in action on 9 June 1944, aged 24, and is buried in Tilly-sur-Seulles war cemetery.

Stephen Frost located the headstone of his clients’ father and was able to pass on photographs to the half brothers when he returned to England.

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Member articles

Living a balanced life

By Libby Heath

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ork-life balance. Eating a balanced diet.

Balancing the books. All of life is a balancing act. The human condition instinctively craves equilibrium in an increasingly busy world.

Even with structure, discipline and planning a true sense of well-being is elusive if your internal biochemistry is unbalanced. Could your hormones be undermining your best efforts?

Hormones are potent chemical messengers that are created by glands in the endocrine system. At every age these messengers regulate our bodily functions, growth, metabolism, sexual function and more. When in proper balance, hormones help our bodies to thrive.

When out of balance, even if only a small amount, our well-being is disrupted.

Many people assume that hormonal imbalances only affect middle-aged women. We all know someone who has struggled with ‘personal summers’ and other miserable conditions of the menopausal body and mind.

Female menopause is one of the most vivid examples of hormonal changes. What most people don’t realise is that the potency of hormones impacts multiple biological systems in both genders and across the adult timeline, not just middle-age.

If you struggle with symptoms such as fatigue and insomnia, memory loss, weight gain or have difficulty losing weight, loss of muscle mass or strength, hair and skin changes, sexual dysfunction or low libido, anxiety, lethargy and bad moods your hormones may be responsible.

Of course, hormones naturally change as you move through life’s stages but birthdays are not the only

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Member articles

cause of hormonal imbalances. There are also lifestyle influences and other physical conditions that disturb your biochemical equilibrium.

process, allowing the body to balance its metabolic needs.

The endocrine system can be disrupted by chronic or extreme stress, Type 1 or 2 diabetes, poor nutrition, a sedentary lifestyle, over/under-active thyroid, being overweight and exposure to environmental toxins.

Adrenal hormones

Consider the impact of chronic sleep deprivation and insomnia. Research shows that not getting enough sleep, or getting poor-quality sleep, increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.

It is also known that restorative rest enhances optimal hormone production and that optimal hormone levels produce quality sleep. Which is the chicken, which is the egg? The proverbial problem of cause and effect applies here. So what does a savvy, curious, protector of one’s own health do?

The easiest decision of your day is to get a hormone screening test. Via a simple blood test, a typical hormone screening test checks the following:

Thyroid hormones Produced by the thyroid gland, they help in controlling the metabolism of our body. These hormones regulate weight and determine energy levels, internal body temperature, skin and hair.

Growth hormones Secreted by the pituitary gland they stimulate growth, cell reproduction, cell regeneration and boost metabolism.

Insulin Produced by the pancreas, insulin allows the cells in the muscles, fat and liver to absorb glucose that is in the blood. The glucose serves as energy to these cells, or it can be converted into fat when needed. Insulin also affects other metabolic processes, such as the breakdown of fat or protein. In a healthy individual, insulin production and release is a tightly regulated

Located at the top of each kidney, the adrenal glands produce hormones that help the body control blood sugar, burn protein and fat, react to stressors like a major illness or injury, and regulate blood pressure.

Cortisol, known as ‘stress hormone’, is one of them. Too much cortisol leads to increased appetite, weight gain in the abdominal area, and disrupted sleep and anxiety.

Too little cortisol may impact inflammatory responses and metabolism.

Sex hormones Testosterone, estrogen, progesterone and others are found at some level in both men and women. They are secreted by multiple glands in the endocrine system to help the body stay balanced and function optimally. A decrease of sex hormones in both men and women is usually attributed to aging. Replacing those lost male and female sex hormones can restore feelings of wellbeing, energy levels, sex drive and sexual pleasure.

Sleep quality is improved, memory is sharpened and any loss of muscle mass and bone density is reversed.

Once results are determined, you can work with your physician to determine the optimal treatment programme that will restore your hormonal equilibrium.

It may be hormone replacement, nutritional supplements, lifestyle modifications or a combination of all three. Even if no action is taken, you will be doing yourself a favour by establishing a hormonal measurement benchmark. If symptoms worsen in the future, you will know what deviations have occurred by comparing against the benchmark. With knowledge comes power - and the power to restore a sense of energetic youth can be yours.

Libby Heath has spent more than 30 years in the Health and Wellness industry. She is now Brand Manager at VitalLife Scientific Wellness Center.

You can contact her at libby@vitallifecorporation. com or +66 (0) 83 023 8720.

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Member articles

Tackling recruitment fraud

By Tom Sorensen

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ave you ever been cheated, exploited, manipulated and jerked around by a candidate or applicant who wanted a job in your organisation?

You may have been - but perhaps you don’t know it.

It has happened to me on two occasions (well, at least twice that I know of ). The first time concerned a candidate that I had short listed for my client. It happened again when I was hiring for my own team.

I was cheated by a conman that I hired before I realising what had happened and I also short listed a candidate who pretended to be the reference person for herself.

There are lessons to be learned.

If you don’t take pre-employment processes seriously you are leaving the door open to financial loss and reputational damage to your organisation. That’s according to a report titled The Real Cost of Recruitment Fraud published by Crowe, a UK-based accountancy firm, in cooperation with the University of Portsmouth. The report established that the annual cost of recruitment fraud in the UK alone is more than US$30 billion.

Crowe carried out CV checks of an unnamed organisation’s 5,000 employees and found that 80 percent contained discrepancies, with 20 percent using inflated

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job titles and 12 percent falsifying educational grades.

A further study showed that almost a third of 619,000 pre-employment checks, undertaken over a year-long period by a company specialising in this task, had discrepancies.

Recruitment fraud is when someone lies about their experience, qualifications, employment history or previous integrity. It’s using false or fabricated documents or arranging false references. Such falsifications allow applicants and candidates to secure positions as senior executives and, even more worryingly, as doctors and pilots.

The most common recruitment fraud experienced by organisations was false qualifications, followed by fabricated references, use of false or fabricated documents and exaggerated exam grades.

Costs associated with a bad hire include lost money spent on training and the recruitment process, reduced productivity, internal investigations and disciplinary proceedings, aside from any external sanctions and reputational damage.

Once inside, fraudsters often engage in further misconduct against their host organisations such as fraud,

Member articles

theft or corruption. With access to sensitive data and private company information, unscrupulous employees pose a serious security threat and exacerbate the likelihood of a data breach.

Jim Gee, National Head of Forensic Services at Crowe in London and also Chairman of the Advisory Board at the Centre for Counter Fraud Studies at University of Portsmouth, said, “Recruitment fraud is a serious problem, for organisations of all shapes and sizes. Initial misrepresentation or misleading information presented on a CV is often seen as being little more than ‘a white lie’ but it can and does lead to bigger financial and reputational costs down the line.”

Types of false information provided include: • Claimed to have qualifications/status the person did not possess • Fabricated references • Use of false or fabricated documents • Exaggerated degrees or grades of educational qualifications • Fabricated past roles never undertaken • Failed to disclose past criminal convictions, which they should have • Claims of having registration/membership with professional body they did possess • Exaggerated work periods/roles/salary of past employments • Use of false identity • Exaggerated status of professional body or registered membership • Failed to disclose relevant financial information How I got fooled by candidates

my Business Development Manager. The signature was falsified.

When everything then obviously hit the fan and devolved into utter chaos, it came to light that one reference person I had spoken to was his own mother and the other a close personal friend. Both were obviously a part of the scam. Needless to say, his career in executive search was cut short. He was last seen several years ago in a beach resort being chased by a gang of thugs.

Case 2: A candidate, the last standing from the shortlist and the client’s preferred candidate, provided names and contact details of reference persons for us to talk to. A quick researcher in my team, who made the calls, reported to me that one of the persons she talked to had a familiar voice that sounded very much like our candidate. And even though the name and mobile number of that reference were different from the candidate’s details we had on file.

We decided to call her bluff and, after lots of swearing by the candidate, she admitted her guilt. She confirmed that the reference name and mobile number belonged to her.

How did it end? We informed the client immediately and agreed to move to the second choice.

The insights provided by Crowe prove clearly that recruitment fraud can have serious consequences and costs for the hiring organisation. If there is any good news in all this, it must be that quite basic and proper pre-employment checking of a candidate would be likely to identify falsehoods.

The small cost of effective checking in relation to the potential costs (both financial and reputational) suggests that organisations would be well served in undertaking such checks.

Let me put it this way. I know of three occasions where candidates tried to fool me. One succeeded but two didn’t.

Case 1: I was hiring a Business Development Manager for my executive search team to manage our international clients. He was a foreigner but already living in Thailand. The moron had provided two names and mobile telephones to people he claimed were former superiors. Fast forward six months.

When an invoice was way overdue and still not paid by a client, I called the client’s CEO whose signature was on the search agreement. It turned out that the CEO had never signed our agreement and in fact had never met

Tom Sorensen is a Partner at Boyden Thailand, a global Top 10 executive search firm.

Email: tsorensen@boyden. com. Web: www.boyden. com/tom-sorensen and www.boyden.co.th

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Member articles

Thailand approves International Business Centre

By Stephen Frost

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n late 2018 Thailand devised the International Business Centre as a new special purpose vehicle to replace previous similar corporate vehicles, namely the Regional Operating Headquarters (ROH), the International Trading Centre (ITC) and the International Headquarters (IHQ).

The underlying reason for creating the new vehicle was that Thailand was being accused by the OECD of breaching the BEPS rules to prevent profit shifting to more tax-friendly concepts/countries.

International Business Centre The IBC will replace the old ROH, ITC and IHQ vehicles. Under a regulation issued in January 2019, old ROHs, ITCs and IHQs may continue to exist in accordance with the regulation(s) under which they were set up, or convert to become an IBC. However, under a further regulation issued in April 2019, all tax incentives under existing vehicles were cancelled with effect from 1 June 2019 for corporate tax incentives and with effect from 1 January 2020 regarding personal income tax incentives.

Permitted activities of an IBC An IBC may only engage in the following activities:

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• General management, planning and coordination • Sourcing of materials and parts • Research and development • Technical support • Marketing and sales promotion • Human resource management and training • Advisory services in finance (except lending services) • Economic and investment analysis and research • Credit management • Treasury centre • International trading Except for international trading, all services may only be supplied to associated enterprises.

An IBC providing international trading services must perform at least one of the other business activities listed above.

cent provided that the IBC’s annual expenditure is THB 60 million, THB 300 million or THB 600 million respectively No tax is payable on dividends received from associate enterprises in Thailand or elsewhere.

Comment: One wonders how popular the new IBC vehicle will prove to be in practice. As noted above, it must generate a minimum of THB 60 million in annual expenditure to be eligible for any tax benefits. The limited scope of an IBC’s permitted activities may also affect the attractiveness of setting up such a vehicle. Time will tell. ©Stephen Frost, Bangkok International Associates 2019

Share capital and employees: An IBC must have minimum paid up share capital of 10 million Baht.

It must have at least 10 employees (only five are required if its activities are limited to being a treasury centre only.

Tax incentives: An IBC will be entitled to the following tax benefits: • The personal income tax reductions will be the same as for an IHQ namely 15% personal income tax subject to conditions • There are reduced corporate tax rates of eight, five and three per-

*Bangkok International Associates is a general corporate and commercial law firm. For further information, please contact Stephen Frost by email at sfrost@ bia.co.th or telephone +66 (0) 2 231 6201/6455.

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Member articles

Thailand approves new property tax

By Stephen Frost

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hailand has for many years been formulating a new property tax to replace the existing Land and House tax. The terms of the new property tax are now agreed. It will replace House and Land Tax and Land Development tax. It will come into effect in January 2020.

Tax rates: • Agricultural land will be taxed at 0.02 percent, 0.03 percent or 0.05 percent of annual value depending on the total land owned.

• Undeveloped land will be taxed at 0.3 percent of annual value. That rate will increase by an additional 0.3 percent every three years that the land remains unused, until it reaches a cap at 3 percent

Primary residences worth less than THB 50 million are tax exempt. If the owner owns only a building, no tax arises if the value is less than THB 10 million.

Commercial property will be taxed as follows: • • • • •

Less than THB 50 million: 0.3 percent THB 50 - 200 million: 0.4 percent THB 200 million - 1 billion: 0.5 percent THB 1 billion - 5 billion: 0.6 percent Over THB 5 billion: 0.7 percent

In the first three years of the law coming into effect, ordinary land and building owners and agricultural land owners will be tax exempt. © Stephen Frost, Bangkok Internatonal Associates 2019

Residential land and houses will be taxed as follows: • • • •

Up to THB 50 million: 0.02 percent annual tax THB 50 - 75 million: 0.03 percent annual tax THB 75 - 100 million: 0.05 percent annual tax Over THB 100 million the annual tax rate increases to 0.1 percent

*Bangkok International Associates is a general corporate and commercial law firm. For further information, please contact Stephen Frost by email at sfrost@bia.co.th or telephone +66 (0) 2 231 6201/6455.

Nominations invited for TIBA Business Awards Nominations are invited for the 2019 Thailand International Business Awards (TIBA) organised by the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand. Awards are presented in seven categories. Corporate categories are: Most Innovative Company; Outstanding Small Company; Most Promising New Business (less than 3 years old) and Outstanding Company. Awards to individuals are: Expat Entrepreneur; Thai Entrepreneur Thailand and Young Professional (less than 30 years old). For more details and nomination forms, please contact Jina Phenix at jintana@bccthai.com or call 02 651 5350.

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Member articles

Corporate events key to building teamwork

By Catherine Pucher

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orporate Events can be key to build teamwork, to show a client appreciation, to celebrate a new partnership, to launch a new product or service or simply to incentivise staff.

Whichever the end goal, all events require time, planning, detailing, preparation and flawless execution, allowing as little space for hiccups as possible. Planning an event can be extremely time consuming and puts a lot of pressure on members of a team.

Shloka is an Events Management company, based in Bangkok, with experience handling events all over Thailand as well as in various cities within south east Asia and the UAE. Shloka’s team consists of former hoteliers, understanding the importance of detailing, customer care, cultural sensitivities, time

management and remaining within budgets.

and presentation coming from every employee of a corporation.

Brand image and corporate values are what defines companies nowadays and these key factors need to be transmitted in every e-mail, meeting

At Shloka, understanding the importance of a brand as well as corporate identity is key to ensuring that these are transmitted through every detail within every event handled for a client, no matter how big or small.

Every part of an event is key to its success: from the cleanliness and ambiance of the venue, the presentation and taste of the food, how easily available the beverages are, the detailing in the table setting, the proper sound system ensuring all attendees can hear what is being said clearly, the visibility of any visual equipment or presentations, the clear enunciation of the speakers, the decorative details and the professionalism of the entertainment.

Although events are already a break from one’s daily routine they can also become repetitive and tedious. Many delegates do not wish to attend anymore after they have joined a few.

The team at Shloka provides clients with an array of options with the sole purpose of enhancing guest interaction and entertainment, ensuring that every event is different and has new highlights which get attendees excited for the next one to come.

A successful event is key to successful partnerships and relationships, both for internal and external clients.

Shloka Events helps companies execute successful events, whilst ensuring the goals of the event are reached and that all guests have a memorable experience.

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General news

TCEB targets Chinese incentive groups

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he Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) – Business is launching a ‘Golden Pig Reward’ promotion targeting MICE groups originating from mainland China. The campaign marks the Year of the Golden Pig in the Chinese calendar.

The Golden Pig Award includes incentives up to THB 200,000 exclusively for meeting and incentive (MI) groups originating from mainland China with at least 1,000 delegates.

They must also have a minimum stay of three nights at Thai Hotel Association member hotels with applications accepted until 31 July 2019 for events to be held between 1 April and 30 September 2019.

Mrs. Nichapa Yoswee, TCEB’s Senior Vice President - Business, said, “Since Chinese MI travellers make up the largest portion of MICE arrivals to Thailand, TCEB has designed a campaign exclusively for the mainland Chinese market.”

Chinese MICE travellers to Thailand in 2018 totalled 214,877, up 40.16 percent on 2017. During the first two quarters of TCEB’s current fiscal year which began on 1 October 2018 Thailand recorded 14 Chinese MI groups representing 42,963 delegates. These groups generated THB 3,270 million (US$102.7 million) in revenue.

For exhibitions, Chinese delegates attending international trade fairs in Thailand rose by 42.95 percent to 46,076 in 2018 from 32,231 in 2017.

To maintain the growth momentum, TCEB has developed support scheme to entice Chinese organisers, exhibitors and trade visitors under an innovative ‘360 Degree Exhibition

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Mrs. Nichapa Yoswee, TCEB’s Senior Vice President - Business

Success’ campaign which comprises three schemes.

The first scheme is a Bidding Fund to support collaboration between Thai and overseas organisers to bring new events to Thailand. An important part of bidding fund is the Site Inspection Program for international organisers who have an interest in Thailand.

They can apply for this program and TCEB will arrange meetings with government agencies and trade associations in Thailand, familiarising international organisers with the very industries with which their audiences hope to connect.

The second is an Exhibiz in Market campaign for overseas trade and business entities to bring exhibitors from their respective countries and set up national pavilions at international trade shows in Thailand. They are eligible for financial support from TCEB. The third and final component is

the ASEAN+6 Privilege campaign.

It targets Business Mission Organisers (BMO) including Chambers of Commerce, federations, trade associations, industrial publications and non-profit organisations seeking to enhance their member’s business opportunities through trade shows.

Members of these organisations will connect with the enterprises that enable their success in this lucrative segment by engaging in quality business meetings at Thailand’s trade shows with the aid of TCEB subsidies and accommodation.

To qualify delegations must have at least 10 persons hailing from the ASEAN+6 countries of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. They must also commit to three meetings per person, or a total of 30 meetings across the group.

General news

TAT launches monsoon season travel packages tourism during the monsoon season by working with public and private sector organisations to create travel packages that will increase income growth from tourism.

It also signed a partnership with luxury hotels and resorts to offer discounts of up to 65 percent during the rainy season and there are hotel and airline discounts from online travel agencies, Traveloka and Agoda in second tier provinces The TAT will continue to focus upon short-haul markets such as China and there are draft MoUs in place with China Travel Service and Alipay.

Mrs. Nichapa Yoswee, TCEB’s Senior Vice President - Business

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ourism generated over THB 885 million in revenues in the first quarter of this year, thanks to a five percent increase in foreign and Thai tourists. That’s according to the Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

eign tourists worth 764 billion baht (up 10%). The agency expects 9.4 million foreign tourists (up 6%) generating tourism income of 487 billion baht, and 43 million Thai tourists, generating income of 276 hundred billion.

He explained that foreign tourists had generated some THB 600 billion baht with domestic tourism raising around THB 285 billion.

“The numbers in the first quarter are quite impressive, even though we had to face various problems such as an unstable political situation, Brexit and the trade war,” he said. “We have to maintain tourism momentum in the low season to achieve our benchmarks for this year with tourism promotions and campaigns.”

The TAT said that the waiver of visaon-arrival fees for 20 countries and marketing activities in one special administrative region contributed to the increase in tourism in Q1, 2019.

This included the 39th Thailand Tourism Festival, tourism during the Chinese New Year and nationwide activities both in major and secondary provinces, such as the Buri Ram marathon.

From April to June, what the TAT terms the green season, it expects tourism income from Thai and for-

The TAT is expecting Thailand to enjoy 10 percent year-on-year growth in tourism income for the second quarter. Governor Yuthasak said that the TAT is taking steps to promote

Noppadon Pakprot, Deputy Governor for domestic marketing at TAT, said that measures to boost domestic travel during the monsoon season consist of cooperating with agencies and partners, including OTAs and hotels, as well as marketing campaigns presenting the beauty of nature, the fertility of green fields, and festivals. It plans to co-organise events with various hotels, restaurants and rental car services in upcountry regions Sujitra Jongchansitto, Deputy Governor for tourism products and business, said the TAT has collaborated with companies to organise travel packages along 80 routes.

These packages, valid until the end of September, are designed to encourage tourists to visit popular attractions.

Planned TAT activities include the Thailand Cultural Music Festival on Pattaya beach and the Amazing Thai Taste Festival in Siam Square, Bangkok.

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General news

IATA figures show steady passenger growth T

he International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced global passenger traffic results for April 2019 showing that demand (revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs) rose by 4.3 percent compared to April 2018. April capacity (available seat kilometres or ASKs) increased by 3.6 percent and load factor climbed 0.6 percentage point to 82.8 percent - a record for the month of April.

as a year ago. However, airlines are doing a very good job of managing aircraft utilisation, leading to record load factors.” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA Director General and CEO.

However, comparisons between the two months are distorted owing to the timing of the Easter holiday in 2018 band and 2019.

Alexandre de Juniac

“We experienced solid but not exceptional rising demand for air connectivity in April. This partly is owing to the timing of Easter, but also reflects

the slowing global economy. Driven by tariffs and trade disputes, global trade is falling and we are not seeing traffic growing at the same levels

Asia-Pacific carriers posted a 2.9 percent traffic rise in April, up from two percent growth in March but well below the long-term average. Capacity climbed 3.7 percent and load factor dropped 0.6 percentage point to 80.8 percent. Asia-Pacific was the only region to experience a decline in load factor compared to the same month a year ago. Results largely reflect the slowdown in global trade, including the impact from the China-US trade tensions on the broader region, which continue to weigh upon passenger demand.

Etihad dumps plastic for Earth Day flight

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tihad Airways has become the first airline in the Gulf region to operate a flight without any single-use plastics on board in a bid to raise awareness about pollution on Earth Day. According to the Abu Dhabi-based national airline of the UAE, ‘plasticfree’ flight EY484 landed in Brisbane on Earth Day (22 April).

The milestone flight was part of Etihad’s pledge to reduce single-use plastic usage by 80 per cent - not just in-flight but across the entire organisation - by the end of 2022.

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Etihad identified that removal of the 95 single-use plastic products used across its aircraft cabins avoided the disposal of more than 110 pounds of plastics on landfill sites.

Guests on board flight EY484 enjoyed replacement products including sustainable amenity kits, award-winning eco-thread blankets made out of recycled plastic bottles, tablet toothpaste and edible coffee cups while children were treated to eco-plush toys.

By the end of this year, Etihad aims to have removed 100 tonnes of singleuse plastics from its in-flight service.

Member news

St Andrews cashes in on new HSBC collections service

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t Andrews International School in Bangkok has mandated HSBC to provide omni-channel solutions to facilitate payments through extending collection channels with a one-stop solution featuring one point-of-sales machine, one reconciliation report and a single platform.

The continued expansion of international schools in Thailand brings stronger competition, a requirement for greater cost-efficiency as well as higher demand from parents for multiple payment methods that are reliable, safe and simple to use.

The omni-channel solutions allow corporates in Thailand to collect payments from customers via diverse payment methods including credit cards, bank transfers, e-wallets and cash. The service also enables corporates to experience greater operational efficiency by using one direct interface, eliminating their need to integrate with multiple payment service providers.

According to 2018 data from ISC Research, Thailand has around 170 English-medium international schools responding to the learning needs of pre-school, primary and high-school students with pupil numbers approaching 66,700. Bangkok dominates the market with 106 schools. Student enrolment has increased by 30 percent since 2012 and is predicted to expand further as the country continues to attract more expats.

Kelvin Tan, Chief Executive Officer, HSBC Thailand, said, “HSBC is committed to making banking simpler, faster and more secure and our digi-

tal solutions are market leading in this respect. Through a partnership with a leading payment service provider, our unique platform helps corporate clients to manage their cash more efficiently.

“As a global market-leading payment proposition, HSBC has made considerable investments in delivering the most secure and beneficial digital transaction services to customers in parallel with the provision of professional advisory services by dedicated industry-leading practitioners.”

Jason Tan, Regional Head of Global Liquidity and Cash Management, International, HSBC, said, “Marketleading, innovative cash management and treasury solutions at a regional level are now being rolled out in Thailand to cater to the nation’s evolving liquidity and payment collection needs.

“HSBC is committed to continued investment in our network markets

to ensure we bring cutting edge solutions to our customers and help them thrive through digital transformation and innovation. A number of unique and ground-breaking initiatives will be launched in Thailand as we continue to invest more in the region.”

Paul Steven Schofield, Head of St Andrews International School, said, “We are delighted to be an early mover in engaging with HSBC to embark on our digital journey.

Through our partnership, HSBC has enabled us to reduce operational costs, enhance liquidity management, and improve sustainable business efficiency.

“With omni-channel solutions, we are also well equipped to build overall customer satisfaction through the payment flexibility regardless of time or place. Moving towards a more cost efficiency and customer centricity, we believe they are key for our business to grow.”

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Member news

Consumers eye AI home devices A

lmost one third of consumers surveyed globally by PwC plan to buy an AI device including robots or automated assistants, with retailers watching closely as ‘voice commerce’ develops in the home.

The findings are included in PwC’s Global Consumer Insights survey which assesses the shopping behaviour, habits and expectations of over 22,000 consumers in 27 countries.

The study reports that 10 percent of respondents already own artificial intelligence (AI) devices such as robots and automated personal assistants such as Amazon Echo or Google Home with 32 percent stating that they planned to buy one.

Interest in the devices is strongest amongst consumers in emerging economies including China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. Demand is generally lower in developed countries. Brazilian and Chinese consumers surveyed are twice as likely (59% and 52% respectively) to plan to own an AI device, as their American (25%), British (24%) or French (25%) peers. Italy and Poland also showed strong interest with around 40 percent of respondents planning to buy an AI device.

Across all markets the early adopters of AI devices tend to be men aged 18-34 who are open to collaborative consumption, less likely to take action to reduce the risk of online security issues and fraud, and less price conscious.

John Maxwell, Global Consumer Markets leader, PwC, said, “AI is

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moving very rapidly into the consumer and retail sectors. Consumers are shifting their shopping behaviours.

As soon as they want something they can order it, rather than think about it until their next shopping trip.

Within two to three years, AI could revolutionise how companies profile, segment and serve customers.”

sumers shopping with online retailers. This has transformed shoppers’ expectations about shipments with 41 percent of respondents stating that they would pay an extra charge for same day or faster delivery; 44 percent would pay for a specific time slot, and 38 percent would consider a drone as a delivery method.

In addition to the growing popularity of AI, mobile devices are gaining traction with global shoppers. Mobile purchasing has more than doubled in six years to 17 percent of all shopping and is likely to soon overtake computer purchases (20%) which now accounts for only one in five of purchases made.

Despite the dominance of the big online retailers there is still room for physical stores to thrive. For the fourth consecutive year the number of respondents who stated that they shop at a bricks and mortar store on a weekly basis has risen. The latest figures have risen to 44 percent.

Convenience is also playing a part, with half of all respondents using smartphones to pay for purchases in store. E-commerce continues to dominate with 59 percent of con-

“Traditional retailers could be at an advantage as shopping behaviour in stores shifts more to the experience than just shopping,” added John Maxwell. “With experienced salespeople, lifestyle offers on-site such as

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exercise classes or image recognition allowing for tailoring of products being offered, consumers can expect showrooms as opposed to just shops.”

Both online and in-store, social networks remain the biggest influence on consumers looking for inspiration for purchases, despite consumers reporting a small dip in their influence (from 39% to 37%). Social networks’ influence is highest in the Middle East (70%), Indonesia (58%), Malaysia (58%) and China (52%).

On the issue of data privacy the survey reflects the ongoing tension for

retailers on customer data. Forty nine percent of respondents are comfortable with retailers monitoring their shopping habits to tailor special offers for them. Conversely, more than one third (37%) of consumers are protective about their privacy and are opposed to retailers identifying when they are nearby and targeting them with offers.

The annual survey also finds encouraging news about consumer confidence despite concerns about depressed spending and investing.

Globally, the majority of consumers surveyed plan to spend the same or more as they did last year with 38

percent maintaining the same spending as last year and 37 percent planning more.

Since 2010, PwC has annually surveyed consumers around the globe to track shopping behaviour and then chronicled these findings on the future of retail in the company’s Total Retail series. In 2018 the survey was renamed PwC Global Consumer Insights. PwC interviewed 22,481 consumers interviewed in 27 countries (49% male and 51% female).

Download the report series at www. pwc.com/consumerinsights

IPSOS on plastics war C

onsumers in south east Asia are increasingly aware of the environmental issues facing their countries, with waste being the top environmental concern. That was the message from Ipsos Business Consulting to BCCT members and guests.

is required if society is to have a meaningful impact on solving the plastic pollution crisis. He added that consumers were expecting ‘more leadership and direction from government and business, whilst not overlooking their own important role in the process’

Chukiat Wongtaveerat, Ipsos Business Consulting’s Country Head for Thailand, told the audience that 49 percent of respondents in an online survey of 3,928 consumers across three countries felt that dealing with waste is now the top priority for their country, with 55 percent of respondents considering the excessive use of plastics to be a serious problem. Sixty seven percent of those surveyed believed that there was a shared responsibility between government, business and consumers to find ways of reducing unnecessary packaging.

“Whilst there are some good examples of plastic reduction from packaging companies, makers of packaged goods and retailers, consumers seem ready for, and expect, much more ambitious action. I believe that the general sentiment expressed by the ASEAN consumers is sensible and aligns with our belief that the region needs a three point action plan to reduce waste and plastic pollution,” said Khun Chukiat.

Khun Chukiat added that the Ipsos survey showed that consumers were in tune with what action

Governments must bring forward policies and regulations which promote effective and efficient sustainable packaging practices across the entire value chain.

Brand owners must incorporate

Chukiat Wongtaveerat

sustainability within the complete packaging lifecycle and put in place waste management processes that maximise recycling.

Finally, consumers must practice responsible purchasing and consumption patterns, taking care to recycle at every opportunity and to minimise their use of single-use packaging.

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HSBC’s recommendations on sustainable infrastructure development

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SBC has announced a series of recommendations for how south east Asia can better attract private investment towards projects that are both economically and environmentally sustainable.

The recommendations, presented to ASEAN Finance Ministers at their recent summit in Chiang Mai, are in response to the region being disproportionately affected by climate change and the growing need for private investment to help bridge infrastructure funding gaps.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecasts that, if left unaddressed, climate change could reduce the region’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 11 percent by the end of the century.

The ADB adds that ASEAN’s public sector can cover less than 50 percent of the total investment required. To fill

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this gap, ASEAN member states must take steps to promote greater private sector participation in infrastructure financing.

Under a paper titled ‘Financing Sustainable infrastructure in ASEAN’, HSBC is putting forward three recommendations for attracting private financing for sustainability linked infrastructure development in ASEAN. There is no single, standardised, validated and dedicated report that governments, international organisations, development banks and the private sector may rely upon to evaluate progress and identify opportunities for further improvements in the ASEAN region.

Partnering with multilateral organisations, the report aims to provide: • A checklist of best practices that

countries and cities can consider to better enable financing of sustainability linked infrastructure • Periodic progress reports on ASEAN member states’ investment environments and efforts to promote financing for sustainable infrastructure • Recommendations on ways to increase financing for sustainable infrastructure based on key metrics and feedback from public stakeholders in government, international organisations and the private sector Creating ASEAN urban infrastructure network Building upon ASEAN’s Smart Cities Network, the ASEAN urban infrastructure network would aim to provide capacity building for municipal, procurement and other public sector leaders so that they are better equipped to work with the private sector to develop

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bankable and sustainable infrastructure projects.

The initiative could include: • Development of toolkits (e.g. templates, models, other resources) for officials to leverage when developing sustainable infrastructure projects • In-person or online training for officials on key topics in sustainable infrastructure, leveraging existing initiatives and training programmes • Annual Smart Cities Infrastructure Leaders Forum for officials to connect and share best practices ASEAN blended finance toolbox In partnership with development banks and the private sector, the tool box would aim to: • Standardise instruments that address common risks associated with sustainability linked infrastructure projects and meet the investment requirements of different sources of financing • Work with the industry and development banks to introduce a blended finance approach to structured finance in order to “crowd in” a broader spectrum of investors looking for long term returns • Work with international and national development banks to establish ASEAN-focused facilities and programmes for blending Mukthar Hussain, HSBC’s Head of Business Corridors for Asia-Pacific, said, “Addressing environmental challenges is no longer simply a moral dimension but an economic one.

The development of sustainability linked infrastructure, using public and private sector financing, is the only way that ASEAN can address the challenges that climate change presents to its economies.

“Climate change affects individuals, countries, corporates and investors

Mukthar Hussain

so finding and delivering constructive solutions should be a joined-up effort including global banks like HSBC. We hope these recommendations are a helpful contribution towards the delivery of long-term solutions.”

An estimated US$100 trillion of investment is needed in new sustainable infrastructure globally over the next 15 years – including financing for clean energy infrastructure, sustainable transport, energy efficiency and waste management – to meet the goal of the Paris Climate Agreement to limit global temperature increases to ‘well below’ two degrees Celsius over pre-industrial times.

The third commitment under the Paris Agreement is ‘making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development’.

South east Asia has already taken important steps to unlock private sector financing around addressing climate change.

The launch of the ASEAN Green Bond Standards in November 2017 by the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum. This created a common framework to promote the growth of a new green asset class while enhancing transparency, consistency and uniformity of new issuance. This was

followed by the launch of the ASEAN Social Bond Standards and ASEAN Sustainability Bond Standards in October 2018.

Last year, Malaysia set the goal of increasing the share of its electricity generated from renewable sources to 20 percent by 2030. Indonesia announced it will adjust its fiscal policies to incentivise the production of environmentally friendly vehicles.

Vietnam is working to complete several mega solar power plant projects later this year.

In March 2019, the Philippines (together with Bhutan, Mongolia and Vietnam) signed a Declaration on South-South Cooperation to access climate finance, particularly the Green Climate Fund (GCF). This called for the highest policy commitment to combating climate change and pursuing green growth as an urgent priority.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore launched the Singapore Green Bond Grant scheme in June 2017 which provides financial subsidies for the advisory fees associated with undertaking green financing.

Finally, Thailand plans to build the world’s largest floating solar farms to power south east Asia’s second-largest economy and boost the country’s share of clean energy.

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KIS student wins NGO recognition for charitable foundation

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aloni, a Grade 12 student who has been at KIS International School in Bangkok since Kindergarten, has established the Aboli Foundation as her IB Middle Years Programme Personal Project in Grade 10.

Together with her sister Saniya, a KIS alumna, Saloni has now further developed the charity which was recently granted NGO status. The Foundation helps underprivileged children to access healthcare, dental care, nutritious meals and educational resources through schools in India and has recently been granted NGO status.

Saloni explained, “My mother comes from a small village 100 km north of Mumbai called Mahim. My family and I go there every year to visit my extended family (on my mother’s side). It’s a beautiful place with rice fields and farmland and I usually spend most of my days on my bicycle.

I noticed a government-run school called Temki Paada and always felt horrible that the students there didn’t have access to the same resources or opportunities as me.

“But I never got around to really doing anything because I kept making excuses for myself. Then, in the tenth grade, I realised I could make some sort of difference to that school as part of my Personal Project and so the Aboli Foundation was born.”

Recent activities include health and science camps for three schools with around 100 students. “For the health camp, we had the support of two paediatricians and one dentist. The biggest health concern for the students is malnutrition.

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The students’ families come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

Their parents work as farmers and labourers and so they often do not have enough to eat at home – especially because some have rather large families. Several of the students also

needed urgent dental care.”

For more information about supporting this very worthy cause, please email: stsaloni@edu.kis.ac.th or ngoaboli@gmail.com.

Member News

Cash support for cancer sufferers

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aker McKenzie Thailand has presented a cheque for US$1,100 to the Queen Sirikit Centre for Breast Cancer Foundation and the Pink Park Village. The Queen Sirikit Centre for Breast Cancer Foundation supports underprivileged women during their treatment for breast cancer and is aligned with Chulalongkorn Hospital, Bangkok. The Pink Park Village, Thailand’s first non-profit holistic centre for underprivileged, terminally ill women suffering from stage-4 breast cancer, is due to open this year.

The presentation was made by Baker McKenzie Partners Say Sujintaya and Waranon Vanichprapa to Assoc.

Prof. Dr. Kris Chatamra (centre) – founder of the Queen Sirikit Centre for Breast Cancer Foundation and the Pink Park Village.

The Queen Sirikit Centre for Breast Cancer Foundation supports underprivileged women during their treatment for breast cancer and is aligned with Chulalongkorn Hospital, Bangkok. The Pink Park Village, Thailand’s first non-profit holistic centre for underprivileged, terminally ill

women suffering from stage-4 breast cancer, is due to open this year.

Baker McKenzie selected Dr. Kris Chatamra’s projects because of the opportunities to partake in a long term project that makes a real impact on Thai society.

More industry awards for CBRE

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BRE collected 18 national awards across 12 of its Asia Pacific markets at the Asia Pacific Property Awards 2019-2020 held in Bangkok.

The company also received three regional nominations as part of the broader International Property Awards, which will take place this December in London. The awards celebrate the highest levels of achievement by companies operating in all sectors of the property industry.

The diversity, strength and innovative culture of CBRE’s Asia Pacific platform were demonstrated in winning the following awards:

• Property Consultancy, Best (5 Stars): Australia, Cambodia, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore & Thailand • Property Consultancy: China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam • Lettings Agency, Best (5 Stars): Vietnam • Real Estate Agency, Best (5 Stars): Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam • Real Estate Agency: Vietnam • Websites: (Property Consultancy Website, Best (5 Stars): Real Estate Agency Website, Best (5 Stars): Thailand “We continue to invest in our businesses and people, ensuring that our clients receive excellent real estate

services each day. Our improvement on last year’s showing is a strong endorsement in the value we place on the ongoing enhancing of our people, services and digital platforms across the region,” said CBRE Executive Chairman Rob Blain.

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Top awards for Bangkok’s Athenee hotel

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he Athenee Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Bangkok has won three categories in the Asia Pacific division of the International Hotel Awards 20192020 by taking the Thailand titles for Luxury Hotel, Luxury Sustainable Hotel, and Luxury Wedding Venue.

“It’s such a great honour and we are thrilled to receive these three prestigious awards,” says General Manager Choo Leng Goh. “The hotel was rebranded to Luxury Collection in October 2017, so winning the title of Luxury Hotel is really a fantastic endorsement. We are also proud to receive the Luxury Sustainable Hotel award.

The Athenee Hotel was the first hotel in the world that achieved 20121 ISO standard in 2013 and since then we have absorbed sustainable activities into every aspect of the hotel operation.”

of great pride to our team who work tirelessly to cater for local and international weddings from around the world.”

She added, “Winning the Luxury Wedding Venue award is a matter

Developed to identify, highlight and reward excellence throughout

GM Choo Leng Goh (centre) with her team

the global hospitality industry, the International Hotel Awards are long established and are split into regions covering the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe & Africa, Arabia and UK.

Rosewood opens in Bangkok

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osewood Bangkok has opened as an intimate, luxury hotel on Ploenchit road at heart of the city’s prime central business and retail district.

The hotel is the brand’s second property in Thailand.

Rosewood Phuket is a beachfront hotel at Emerald Bay. “Rosewood

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Bangkok exemplifies a perfect marriage of destination and Rosewood’s core concept of a modern ultra-luxury hotel experience,” said Sonia Cheng, Rosewood Hotel Group’s CEO. “We are thrilled for travellers and residents to experience the warmth of Thai hospitality and the dynamism and beauty of its culture with-

in such a fresh, exciting and radiant retreat.”

A fascinating feature of this new hotel is Lennon’s, a stylish 30th floor speakeasy-style bar that boasts the largest collection of vinyl records in Asia. Guests may also bring their own favourite discs for the resident DJ to play.

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How change in the workplace is changing Bangkok’s office market

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lot has changed since fax machines and boxy cubicles were mainstays in offices around the world. Thanks to changes in work styles, technological advancements and space allocation as well as cultural shifts the workplace has drastically transformed over the past decade.

Increasingly, more Thai and multinational companies in Bangkok are recognising these changes when it comes to both the selection of office buildings and design of their workspace.

“Based on CBRE’s research, the primary goals for organisations remain the same: attracting and retaining top talent, enabling this talent to successfully achieve organisational goals, and doing all of this in a fiscally responsible manner,” says Miss Roongrat Veeraparkkaroon, Head of Advisory & Transaction Services Office at CBRE Thailand.

“What is changing is the role the

workplace plays in enabling these goals. Top performing organisations recognise the important value of their workplace as a destination for their people – a place that brings them together as a community, fosters culture and connection to purpose, and gives them the resources to be their most effective.”

There is a new consumer mindset at play when it comes to employee perceptions. More and more companies view their employees as consumers, which trickles down into how they design workspaces to support that ideology.

Organisations are providing environments that are conducive to keeping employees happy, healthy and, of course, productive and efficient.

For example, employees have grown accustomed to amenities they could only dream of in previous decades.

Previously, only a canteen serv-

ing economical food, a convenience store, coffee shop and bank branches or ATMs were seen as being essential amenities in an office building.

Today, employees want a range of healthy eating options but at affordable prices as well as gyms and a range of other amenities.

Lavish amenities aren’t the only way workspaces have changed over the years. Layouts and design have also undergone major overhauls. Private corner offices with heavy wooden doors and traditional square cubicles have long gone. Today’s modern offices tout transparency, community and collaboration, and prioritise equal support of tasks over hierarchy, which typically translates to environments that provide a wide variety of open and enclosed settings. While these updated designs are more commonplace, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re unanimously effective.

Rachel in Hilton switch to Bangkok

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ussie hotelier Rachel Davidson (pictured right) is the new Cluster General Manager of Hilton Sukhumvit Bangkok and DoubleTree by Hilton Sukhumvit Bangkok.

She replaces Ian Barrow who has transferred to Kuala Lumpur after a very successful stint in Bangkok.

Rachel was previously based in Japan as the Cluster General Manager of Hilton Okinawa Chatan Resort & DoubleTree by Hilton Okinawa Chatan Resort.

Her previous experience also includes General Manager roles in Greater China, Australasia, Japan, Korea and Micronesia.

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Hong Kong tops residential property price table

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ong Kong maintains its position as the world’s most expensive residential city, while Bangkok is ranked 33rd out of 35 global cities surveyed, according to research by CBRE. In the latest CBRE Global Living Report that profiles property markets in 35 cities, results indicate that investments in urban areas such as transport infrastructure, connectivity, retail, cultural centres and housing are influential drivers of economic growth.

Jennet Siebrits, Head of Residential Research at CBRE UK, said, “The world’s greatest cities continue to transform to encourage innovation, increase their working and living populations and create new commercial opportunities for businesses.”

The top three most expensive places to buy a residential property are once again in Asia. Hong Kong remains the city with the highest value residential real estate, with an average property costing THB 39.52 million.

Singapore remains in second place, averaging THB 27.97 million, and Shanghai is third at THB 27.92 million. As observed in last year’s report, all these cities have introduced cooling measures to keep prices under control. Bangkok sits in 33rd position with an average residential property price at THB 3.4 million followed by Ho Chi Min City at THB 3.29 million and Istanbul (THB 3.11 million).

The biggest year-on-year growth was experienced by Barcelona (16.9%), Dublin (11.6%), Shanghai (11.2%) and Madrid (10.2%). London remains one of the top ten performing global cities with the average property

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Global Living: Top 10 most expensive housing markets Location

Average Property Price THB

USD

1

Hong Kong

39,527,040

1,235,220

2

Singapore

27,979,904

874,372

3

Shanghai

27,921,760

872,555

4

Vancouver

26,090,304

815,322

5

Shenzhen

21,769,056

680,283

6

Los Angeles

21,735,040

679,220

7

New York

21,584,000

674,500

8

London

20,703,136

646,973

9

Beijing

20,136,832

629,276

10

Paris

20,009,568

625,299 Source: CBRE Research

price of THB 20.7 million - although growth was down to 1.1 percent.

much faster after the downturn and is now further into the cycle.”

Jennet Siebrits added, “House prices increased year-on-year across 30 out of the 35 cities we looked at, although generally at lower rates than previously. In general, CBRE is seeing house price growth slow across our cities as we move towards the end of a long property cycle. We would expect increasing interest rates to be affecting cities in the US, and various cooling measures affecting the Asia Pacific region, although Shanghai still saw robust growth.

The research also highlights considerable rental growth in many European cities, including Lisbon (20.9%), Madrid (11.1%), Dublin (7.8%) and Barcelona (7.7%). Supply constraints and increasing demand were among the factors leading to Lisbon and Madrid’s continuing double digit rental growth.

“Six out of the 10 cities with the highest house price growth are in Europe.

Three of these, Barcelona, Madrid, and Dublin, all suffered severe price falls in prices during the financial crisis and took much longer to recover from the economic downturn that followed. Now they are recovering they are showing significant growth.

In comparison, London recovered

“Six European cities feature in the top ten for rental growth including London (6.1%). These cities are all facing increasing demand and a fundamental lack of supply. In addition, three Canadian cities feature in the top ten: Vancouver (6.8%), Toronto (4.8%) and Montreal (3.9%) driven by strong employment growth and low vacancy rates,” concluded Jennet Siebrits.

Read the full report here: https:// www.cbreresidential.com/uk/en-GB/ content/global-living-2019

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Demand increases for industrial property

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erviced Industrial Land Plots (SILPs) sales by major developers in Thailand increased by 50 percent y-o-y to a total of 1,000 rai (160 hectares) with 146 rai (23.4 hectares) located in Amata’s ThaiChinese Park which offers SILPs specifically for Chinese manufacturers.

“

Joint ventures were announced last year between WHA, Thailand’s biggest Modern Logistic Properties developer and China’s two biggest e-commerce companies, Alibaba and JD.com to build e-commerce fulfilment centres

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), as reported by the Bank of Thailand (BOT), in the manufacturing sector in 2018 increased by 130 percent y-o-y.

Many developers have reported that there was demand from Chinese manufacturers who were looking to relocate to Thailand due to the US-China trade war that has resulted in Made in China products having higher tariffs.

Vietnam has been the biggest beneficiary of Chinese manufactures relocating due to the trade war, but Thailand is also benefiting. Japan has been the largest source of FDI in manufacturing sector in Thailand since the late 1980’s, but their position may be replaced by China in the future.

CP Land, a property arm of Charoen Pokphand Group, has formed a joint venture with Guangxi Construction Engineering Group – one of China’s largest construction companies – to set up CPGC Industrial Estate in Rayong on over 3,068 rai (490 hectares), targeting Chinese investors in four main industries namely smart electronics, medical hub, digital and robotics.

”

between WHA, Thailand’s biggest Modern Logistic Properties developer and China’s two biggest ecommerce companies, Alibaba and JD.com to build e-commerce fulfilment centres,” said Adam Bell, Head of Advisory & Transaction Services – Industrial & Logistics at CBRE Thailand.

CBRE believes that e-commerce in Thailand is going to grow as rapidly as it has done elsewhere in the world with Chinese e-commerce companies driving demand for MLPs. The ongoing trade war between US and China will continue to benefit the Thai industrial land market as manufacturers relocate to Thailand.

“It is not just developers of SILPs on industrial estates that are gaining from China’s growing role in the Thai economy. Chinese e-commerce companies are going to drive the demand for Modern Logistics Properties (MLPs) in Thailand. Joint ventures were announced last year

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Thailand on track to break more tourist arrivals records

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hailand’s tourism market is maintaining its resilience with the nation’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MOTS) expecting more than 40 million tourists to visit the land of smiles in 2019. This compares with the record 38.3 million international arrivals recorded in 2018.

“

In the first quarter of 2019 Rosewood Bangkok opened its doors to the public. This was one of Bangkok’s most highly-anticipated luxury hotel openings together with Capella Bangkok and Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River...

MOTS figures for the first two months of this year show 2.5 percent growth in international arrivals at 7.3 million, compared to 7.1 million in the same period last year. However, Chinese visitor arrivals decreased by 2.2 percent in this period compared to 2018.

Other influential source markets such as Malaysia, India, South Korea, and Japan showed double digit growth in the first two months of 2019. India produced 20.1 percent more arrivals to Thailand compared to the same period last year.

Many tourism operators in Thailand have become increasingly dependent upon outbound Chinese travellers and they will now be looking to other major source markets to cover the shortfall in Chinese visitor arrivals.

CBRE believes that Bangkok will continue to be one of the top tourist destinations in the world with new luxury hotel openings, improved infrastructure – including a third runway at Suvarnabhumi – and attractions that appeal to a wide range of tourists.

“In the first quarter of 2019 Rosewood Bangkok, a 159-key luxury hotel next to Phloen Chit BTS station, opened its doors to the public. This was one of Bangkok’s most highlyanticipated luxury hotel openings

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”

together with Capella Bangkok and Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River, both of which will open later this year – underpinning renewed interest in the riverside area

and capitalising on recent developments outside of the hotel sector,” said Atakawee Choosang, Head of Capital Markets – CBRE Hotels in Thailand.

Member News

Chonburi developer targets European retirees

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uropeans and other Westerners are looking at Thailand for retirement - fleeing high eldercare costs and unpleasant weather and some savvy real estate developers are taking advantage of this trend.

That’s according to Helmut Buchberger, Managing Director of the Difference Living Company, who said that properties with services for retirees during their ‘silver hair years’ are fulfilling a need in the residential sector.

The Difference Residence, comprising 678 units, sits on an 88 rai plot in Bangsaray, Chonburi province.

“Travelling around south east Asia has taught me that seniors can happily spend their retirement in Thailand for a lot less of they would have to spend in their home country. The desolate care situation in Europe forces many people to find a new liv-

ing environment. Typical age-related illnesses such as gout, rheumatism and arthritis contribute to the fact that older people are leaving Europe and moving to warmer countries.

This has led to an increasing demand, especially among people from Western countries,” he explained.

“Thailand is projected to become an ageing society by 2021 when the number of people aged over 60 reaches 13.1 million or 20 percent of the population. The situation in other countries, especially Europe, is even worse,” he said. “To embrace older residents, we built a different residence with exceptional elderly care that offers the highest possible level of service for private homes in an ambiance similar to that of a hotel resort with a warm and friendly atmosphere where care and attention are the main priorities.”

The Difference Residence consists

of three 3-storey apartment buildings with an indoor garden, café, roof garden and three elevators as well as 3-storey terraced houses built along a small stream fit for swimming. Each terraced house has a roof garden with various plants and vegetables and the residents are invited to maintain their own vegetable patches.

The entire estate is suitable for residents with reduced mobility as every unit is accessible by wheelchair and all units are equipped with emergency buttons, non-slip tiles and safety rails in bathrooms.

The completed project will offer four swimming-pools, gym, craft room, restaurants, pub, library with reading area and internet facilities, laundry, massage and spa, hair and manicure salon and mini mart. The rehabilitation centre will include a pharmacy and in-patient facilities for residents.

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JLL alliance with Seekster

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LL’s Property and Asset Management division has forged a strategic alliance with Seekster, Thailand’s fastest growing cleaning and maintenance service platform.

JLL is now introducing Seekster as a recommended provider of in unit services for individual co-owners and tenants in condominium buildings managed by the firm.

Dexter Norville, co-head of Property and Asset Management at JLL, said, “While property management covers mainly common area, facilities and building systems, general cleaning and maintenance of individual units are under the care of co-owners or tenants.

“Our alliance with Seekster will help fill the gap and support our commitment to ensuring the highest convenience and safety for users in every property that we manage. It also compliments our strategy to partner with entrepreneurs with proptech that can create value to our clients.”

Sahib Anandsongvit, CEO and cofounder of Seekster, said ,“It is a great opportunity for Seekster to partner with an internationally renowned company like JLL, particularly in Thailand where the firm is the leader in property management with a large portfolio of more than five million square metres managed. We are confident that the alliance with JLL will enable us to accelerate our business expansion.”

Through an on-demand app, co-owners and tenants in JLLmanaged condominium buildings can have instant access to Seekster’s

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Dexter Norville (3rd from left), a co-head of Property and Asset Management at JLL, and Sahib Anandsongvit, CEO and co-founder of Seekster, shaking hands after entering into a strategic alliance agreement. Also seen in the picture are Chakrapan Pawangkarat (1st from left), the other co-head of Property and Asset Management at JLL, Kittinut Ganpleamgam (4th from left), Head of Enterprise Sales at Seekster, and Christian Radzio, Assistant Surveyor at JLL

services delivered by their professionals, each with up-to-date personal information and verified background.

Condominium owners and tenants will also benefit from special rates offered through the alliance arrangement.

“The fact that our firm receives no financial benefits from this alliance will ensure that there will be no conflict of interests by JLL as property managers.

“In addition, co-owners and tenants in JLL-managed buildings still

can use any other in-unit service providers that they may prefer,” added Dexter Norville.

The alliance between JLL and Seekster initially covers JLL-managed condominium buildings in Bangkok and Pattaya.

At a later phase the two parties may look to expand their alliance to cover some commercial properties managed by JLL.

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Workplace recognition for Robert Walters Thailand

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obert Walters Thailand has been recognised as one of the ‘best places to work in Thailand’.

The Best Places to Work programme provides employers in different countries the opportunity to learn more about the engagement and satisfaction of their employees and honour those that deliver an outstanding work experience. Certification is awarded to companies with the highest standards of excellence with regard to working conditions.

Robert Walters Thailand was certified after a rigorous assessment process.

The company received what they described as ‘outstanding scores’ across several aspects of the workplace including leadership, culture, pay, benefits and opportunities for growth.

“This place is filled with inspired and energised people who are always looking to create a positive environment while working. said Gerrit Bouckaert, Managing Director – Thailand & Vietnam, Robert Walters. “We have definitely established ourselves as an employer of choice as we work as a team and are always looking to support each other. Career progression is attractive and we are continuously

Dr. Virachai Techavijit, Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Estonia in Bangkok and Chairman of the Regent’s International Schools and College, hosted the 101st Independence Day Celebrations for the Republic of Estonia at the Thailand Cultural Centre. Diplomats, academics and business leaders were among the hundreds of honoured guests.

looking to train and develop our people throughout their journey at Robert Walters.”

“Robert Walters Thailand is an organisation which offers a multicultural working environment where everyone can be different yet can work together efficiently in harmony,” said Suneerat Wakianthana, Office Manager for Robert Walters Thailand, observed that Robert Walters Thailand was an organisation offering a multicultural working environment where ‘everyone can be different yet can work together efficiently in harmony’.

Pictured from left to right: Dr. Eden Woon (AIT President), Mr. Sanan Angubolkul (Srithai President), Mr. Raimo Pahkasalo (Finland), Mr. Robert J. Post (U.S.A.), H.E. Mohammed Nazmul Quaunine (Bangladesh), Dr. Virachai Techavijit, Mrs. Thiphavan Techavijit, Khunying Kwantha Devakula, Miss Saritha Ranatunga (Sri Lanka) and Miss Ȧsa Hedén (Sweden).

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Dusit displays appetite for expansion

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he launch of Dusit Foods signals a new venture for Dusit Thani Public Company Ltd with the company expected to leverage the group’s experience in food and beverage services.

Miss Suphajee Suthumpun, Dusit International’s Group CEO, said, “By leveraging and complementing our core o perations in hospitality we are confident that Dusit Foods will be a fruitful venture.

The return on investments will be a key driver in achieving our target of THB 400 million from food business this year and these investments, coupled with the introduction of our own food products, will be another important factor in our sustainable and profitable growth as a company.”

Plans include the marketing of its own premium instant food brand ‘Khong Thai’, to be produced in partnership with Australian chef David Thompson and aimed mainly at international markets.

Jate Sopitpongstorn, Managing Director of Dusit Foods, said, “We are delighted to work with celebrated Australian chef David Thompson to develop the recipes for Khong Thai. His passion for authentic Thai food is well known, especially as he is behind the success of Michelinstarred Thai restaurants both in Thailand and abroad.

Our initial marketing mix is 90 percent overseas and 10 percent domestic with a particular focus on the United States because of the

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The Khong Thai products were officially introduced at THAIFEX World of Food Asia 2019. Pictured from left: Jate Sopitpongstorn; Suphajee Suthumpun and David Thompson.

large consumer base and popularity of Thai food.

“We plan to penetrate both online and offline markets, reaching directly to chefs, food entrepreneurs and food services operators. We will launch Khong Thai in the US this September, before expanding to England, Germany, France, and other key European markets,” he added.

Dusit Foods is targetting revenue of THB 400 million in revenue by the end of this year and THB 1 billion in revenue by 2021.

The company aims to ‘bring Asia to the world’ through Thai and Asian food products that reflect four key

pillars of sustainable production, namely ‘healthy’, ‘natural’, ‘organic’ and ‘ supporting local communities’.

To expedite its growth, Dusit Foods has invested in two companies with a proven track record in the food industry, taking a 26 percent stake in NR Instant Produce Co., Ltd. (NRF), and a 51 percent equity stake in Epicure Catering (ECC), a provider of catering services to international schools in Thailand.

Dusit Foods plans to increase its holdings in ECC to 70% with further investment in early 2020.

Member News

Klik2learn delivers mobile digital learning deal

G

lasgow-based Klik2learn has signed a partnership agreement with Tata Consultancy Services in London to deliver mobile digital learning for non-native speakers of English.

The company’s products are available on the TCS UK Digital iON Hub that covers a wide range of territories.

Klik2learn fills a gap in the global market for learners who wish to combine an engaging digital experience with an accredited certificate. The company’s core product, ‘Journey 2 English’, is designed to fast track learners to exam success and has been described by one Scottish College as a ‘phenomenal resource’.

‘Journey 2 English’ features an online dictionary and a simple grammar

guide among its range of digital tools.

On completion, learners automatically receive two certificates, thanks to approval granted by the Continu-

ous Professional Development Service and by City & Guilds via its Assured programme.

Team members at the Hilton Sukhumvit Bangkok and DoubleTree by Hilton Sukhumvit hotels have been celebrating Hilton’s centenary with a project that supports their local community. As part of the ‘Linen for Hope - Back to Life Project’ staffs have been making napkins and nappies from discarded bed linen to donate to local charities. Team members visited the Bangkae Home for the Elderly and the Wat Prabath Namphu Foundation, an organisation that cares for HIV patients, to make the donations.

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59

Member News

Top tips from Simon on job hunting in Thailand

S

imon Matthews (pictured), Manpower Group Country Manager for Thailand, Vietnam and the Middle East – and past Chairman of the BCCT – has been speaking to ChitChat Spotlight, a Bangkok-based YouTube channel produced by ClipCube Media’s green screen studios.

All employers and agencies have experienced candidates not turning up to interviews or, after accepting a job offer, not arriving for work. Some candidates may use an offer to counter an offer, or as part of their process of finding the correct job. Simon explained that although there are no blacklists, it does not help the candidates as many businesses will add them to their HR database with a note about them.

Presenters Andrew Sloan and Andy Francis asked Simon about the recruitment industry in Thailand, with Simon garnishing a few interesting tips and tricks for job hunters and employers.

Simon, who has lived in Thailand for 20 years, opened the Thai Manpower office which now has 10 offices and 300 permanent employees. He explained that expat packages are not the same as in the past and the disparity between Thai and expat management salaries are rapidly reducing.

He added that although it seemed difficult for local expats to find new jobs, many found new positions by effectively networking at network functions and meeting new people. He said that they should ‘keep their ears to the ground’ and follow up (job leads) by email, attaching a résumé, and not merely responding to advertisements.

With technology bringing efficiencies and resulting in certain jobs becom-

ing redundant, Simon explained there is still a growing demand for people working in sales, HR, IT and logistics as well as vocational positions such as waiters, plumbers and builders.

These are positions that the economy needs but are not attractive to Thais as they are not prestigious enough.

These positions are presently filled by immigrants but he wondered what will happen when they leave for greener pastures.

Simon explained how best prepare for an interview with regard to research and how to behave during the interview. Just as important, employers must treat candidates with respect with timely interviews, refreshments and attitude. This is just a small part of employer branding.

Employers need to carry out due diligence and check qualifications, follow up on references and look at candidates’ social media presence, just as candidates need to research potential employers. It is a two way process, he said.

The full interview can be seen at here and you can visit ClipCube Media’s channel, ChitChat at www. youtube.com/c/chitchatnow. More at: www.facebook.com/chitchatnow or email:andrew.sloan@clipcubemedia.com. * The Manpower operation in Thailand is a recruitment company focusing on contract, permanent and temporary staff and provides consulting services company. Manpower Group is a US company and owns 100 percent of the Thai organisation.

Punjab Grill, the Indian restaurant at the Radisson Suites Bangkok Sukhumvit, has been selected for the third consecutive year as one of Thailand’s Best Restaurant 2019 by the readers of Thailand Tatler magazine. The award was received by Simon Ramsay, General Manager of Radisson Suites Bangkok Sukhumvit, and Bharath Bhat, the restaurant’s executive chef.

Thailand Tatler compiles the best of Thailand’s gastronomic scene in an annual guide. In advance of the 2019 edition, restaurants were reviewed anonymously and appraised/rated in four categories: food, setting, drinks and service.

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Member News

Hotels hold firm against home-sharing competitors

R

the two types of accommodation are more closely priced, with Airbnb being slightly more expensive.

esearch by JLL shows that hotels in Thailand have been less affected than expected by online home-sharing platforms such as Airbnb.

“The price comparison between Airbnb accommodations and traditional hotels is a challenge,” said Pichayut Vacharavikrom, an analyst at JLL’s Hotels and Hospitality Group.

The findings were based on data collected from more than 11,200 accommodations offered by Airbnb and hotels in Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai. JLL analysed demand sources based on key price determinants from a range of utility-based attributes including locations, room characteristics, amenities and reputational signals.

Chakkrit Chakrabandhu Na Ayudhya, Senior VP of Hotels and Hospitality Group at JLL, said that most travellers still preferred traditional hotel accommodation, particularly those operated by familiar brands that gave them more confidence in terms of security and levels of service.

The preference of traditional hotels to the home-sharing accommodations is reflected by the higher number of hotel guest reviews.

Chakkrit Chakrabandhu Na Ayudhya,

JLL’s findings indicated that that the average prices per night for hotel accommodation were lower than for Airbnb across all the three markets studied, especially in Phuket where the average price per night of hotels is less than half of the average price of Airbnb. In Bangkok,

“Since hotels often have many rates for the same type of rooms, our research looked at the lowest rate available. In addition, Airbnb offers much larger spaces through offerings that include entire villas, houses, apartments and bungalows, which can accommodate a larger number of guests than hotel rooms.

In fact, it may be accurate to say that Airbnb in Thailand is creating an additional hospitality market by offering new alternatives to travellers and attracting a new generation of guests, particularly millennials, who represent an increasing portion of travellers that are constantly seeking new experiences.”

In Bangkok, for example, traditional hotels and Airbnb accommodations receive an average of 664.2 and 31.3 reviews respectively, according to JLL. Affordability is another factor that has helped traditional hotels maintain their competitiveness.

“Most people would expect that staying at an Airbnb is cheaper than booking a hotel room. However, unlike most countries, hotels in Thailand are surprisingly more economical than Airbnb and thus have remained more competitive,” said explained Khun Chakkrit.

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61

Dataconsult

Chamber Events

By the Numbers

Chris Bruton Director, Dataconsult Ltd.

A

fter five years of military rule, Thailand has held an election. However the outcome may seem to be curiously like what went on before. The main exceptions are that the outgoing and incoming prime minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha will be faced with an obstreperous opposition instead of a phalanx of compliant supporters, and will not be able to override inconvenient issues by the use of the useful device of Section 44. Not used to being interrupted during his deliberations, General Prayut may find the new order less convenient than the old one.

Also rather inconvenient will be that the Generals will not command a stable majority in the new national assembly. The prime minister will accede to his new job through the convenient constitutional provision that his election was by a joint sitting of his own nominated senate of 250 members along with the 500 elected House of Representative members. All 250 senators preserved their positions by voting en masse for his election, but only half of the Representative followed suit.

Economic Projection for 2019 Actual Data 2017 GDP (at current prices: Bil. Bht) GDP per capita (Bht per year) GDP (at current prices: Bil. USD) GDP per capita (USD per year)

2018

Projection Feb 18 - 2019 May 21 - 2019

15,452.0

16,318.0

17,197.5

17,133.9

228,398.3

240,568.7

252,941.6

252,006.6

455.3

505.0

537.4

542.2

6,729.8

7,445.4

7,904.4

7,974.9

GDP Growth (CVM, %)

4.0

4.1

3.5 - 4.5

3.3 - 3.8

Investment (CVM, %)

1.8

3.8

5.1

4.5

Private (CVM, %)

2.9

3.9

4.7

4.5

Public (CVM, %)

-1.2

3.3

6.2

4.5

3.0

4.6

4.2

4.2

Private Consumption (CVM, %) Government Consumption (CVM, %)

0.1

1.8

2.2

2.2

Export volume of goods & services (%)

5.4

4.2

3.9

2.3 257.7

Export value of goods (Bil. USD)

235.3

252.2

263.8

Growth rate (%)

9.8

7.2

4.1

2.2

Growth rate (Volume, %)

6.0

3.6

3.1

1.2

Import volume of goods & services (%)

6.2

8.6

4.3

2.6

201.1

229.8

243.8

237.9

Growth rate (%)

13.2

14.3

6.1

3.5

Growth rate (Volume, %)

7.2

8.2

4.6

2.0

Trade balance (Bil. USD)

34.2

22.3

20.0

19.9

Current account balance (Bil. USD)

50.2

35.2

33.5

32.2

Current account to GDP (%)

11.0

6.9

6.2

5.9

CPI

0.7

1.1

0.5 - 1.5

0.7 - 1.2

GDP Deflator

2.1

1.4

0.9 - 1.9

1.1 - 1.6

Import value of goods (Bil. USD)

Inflation (%)

Source: Office of National Economic and Social Development Council, May 21, 2019

The new Government support is composed of a motly line-up of parties and individuals, but ousted Pheu Thai, gained 137 seats through 8 million votes, achieved despite all the efforts to keep them out.

Alongside Pheu Thai in opposition will be the newly formed Future Forward party, currently with 81 seats, gained through over 6 million votes from mainly younger urban voters. Future Forward was created by young plutocrat turned demagogue

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Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit in many ways a Thaksin look-alike, but with somewhat greater integrity, Thanathorn has raised the ire of the generals who have already suspended him from the legislature and loaded him down with legal challenges that may exclude him from parliament but not from political activism.

The military party itself garnered over 8 million votes and 116 seats,

which actually means only 23% of the seats in the Assembly. They will have to rely on support from the Bhumjaithai Party (51 seats) along with the Democrat Party (53 seats) as a last minute stopgap.

The Democrat Party gained their 53 seats with less than 4 million votes, now in a sad state of decline. They lost heavily in votes and seats compared with their past performances, with no

seats at all in Bangkok. Their former leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva, resigned his leadership as a result of the Party’s electoral disaster. He subsequently resigned his party list Assembly seat, disgusted with the Democrat affiliation with the military line-up.

To prop up the core of the new coalition, which would have only 220 members from the three main parties, a mixture of at least another 31 additional supporters has to be held together, at some cost, from among the remaining 22 parties having members elected additional to the 3 main coalition and 2 opposition core groupings.

Impact on Economic Outlook Local or foreign investors who feel the need for stable government as an investment criterion had best exercise caution, given the political outlook. Nevertheless the incoming government promises scintillating success for their future administration. Without any solid, sustainable majority in the National Assembly, this is going to be a challenge.

The National Economic and Social Development Council, in its 21 May 2019 post-election forecasts has demonstrated courageous integrity in their forecasting, rather than indulging in dreamtime. GDP growth outlook has been trimmed from the previous 3.5% - 4.5% (mid-point 4.0%) down to 3.3% to 3.8% (midpoint 3.5%). This view is shared by the IMF, which envisages Thailand’s GDP growth to remain in the 3.5% - 3.6% range throughout the next 5 years through 2024. This is hardly spectacular, but at Thailand’s level of advanced development is respectable.

Apart from the usual challenges of skilled labour shortages, poor education and lethargic project implementation, Thailand can no

Economic Data 2019 and Forecasts 2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

GDP

3.2

3.3

3..4

3.2

3.1

3.1

Personal consumption

3.9

3.6

3.2

3.0

2.7

2.5

Government consumption

2.5

2.8

2.6

2.6

2.5

2.5

Exports

1.7

3.0

4.0

4.5

4.0

3.5

Imports

1.0

1.8

3.0

4.0

3.0

3.0

GDP US$ billions

524

539

557

575

595

615

GDP/capita, US$

7,869

8,072

8,318

8,577

8,854

9,142

Exchange rate, yr avg., to US$1

32.4

33.0

33.7

34.4

35.1

35.8

Population, millions

67.9

68.0

68.1

68.2

68.2

68.3

Inflation, CPI, % yr avg

0.4

1.3

1.6

1.8

2.0

2.0

Export growth, $US basis, %

-0.4

2.8

4.0

4.5

4.5

4.5

Import growth, $US basis, %

2.7

3.5

4.0

4.0

4.0

4.0

Trade balance, US$bn

-5

-6

-7

-6

-4

-3

Current account bal, US$bn

37

34

32

30

29

28

Foreign debt, % of GDP

35.0

34.0

33.0

32.0

31.0

31.0

Foreign reserves, % of GDP

41.6

42.5

42.8

42.6

42.5

42.3

REAL GROWTH, %

CURRENT PRICE DATA

MARKET INDICATORS

BALANCE OF PAYMENTS

Source: IMA Asia based on IMF, CEIC; Forecast as of May 2019

longer rely upon a buoyant export performance. Exports have held up GDP and other economic indicators in recent times. Lower world growth and disputes among World leaders will not help smaller players such as Thailand in their foreign trade efforts.

The longer term outlook nevertheless appears modestly favourable.

Infrastructure development has been delayed but is now proceeding, not fast but at least positively.

Relatively low GDP growth has meant that Thailand’s per capita income, which had been equal to that of China ten years ago, will be only two-thirds of China levels within 5 years. But that could mean a

movement of production and capital in Thailand’s direction.

Thailand’s population doubled from 34 million 68 million over the past 50 years, but has now stabilised while also aging. These demographic trends will enable Thailand’s per capita income to rise despite low economic growth, alongside some other regional countries with younger, faster growing populations.

In a digital economy with potential for implementation of Artificial Intelligence, Thailand could still keep abreast of the winners, but only if better governance and policy performance can prevail. We remain in “wait and see” mode as the new government takes shape and gets down to work.

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63

Gross Domestic Product at current price (total value) (countries ranked by 2019 size) Country China India Indonesia Thailand Malaysia Singapore Philippines Vietnam Myanmar Cambodia Lao P.D.R Brunei

2013 9,635.0 1,856.7 916.6 420.3 323.3 305.2 271.8 170.4 60.1 15.2 12.0 18.1

2014 10,534.5 2,039.1 891.1 407.3 338.1 313.3 284.6 185.8 65.6 16.7 13.3 17.1

2015 11,226.2 2,103.6 860.7 401.3 296.6 306.3 292.8 191.3 59.7 18.1 14.4 12.9

2016 11,221.8 2,289.8 932.1 412.4 296.8 316.6 304.9 201.3 63.2 20.0 15.9 11.4

2017 12,062.3 2,652.2 1,015.3 455.3 314.7 336.7 313.6 220.4 66.7 22.2 17.1 12.1

2018 13,407.4 2,716.7 1,022.5 487.2 354.3 361.1 330.8 241.3 68.6 24.5 18.4 14.1

2019 14,216.5 2,972.0 1,100.9 516.7 373.4 372.8 356.7 260.3 65.7 27.0 20.2 13.3

2020 15,468.1 3,257.7 1,208.9 547.4 402.0 391.9 389.0 282.4 71.4 29.3 22.0 14.3

Gross Domestic Product at constant prices (growth) (countries ranked by 2019 size) Country India Cambodia Lao P.D.R Philippines Vietnam Myanmar China Indonesia Brunei Malaysia Thailand Singapore

2013 6.4 7.4 8.0 7.1 5.4 8.4 7.8 5.6 -2.1 4.7 2.7 5.0

2014 7.4 7.1 7.6 6.1 6.0 8.0 7.3 5.0 -2.5 6.0 1.0 4.1

2015 8.0 7.0 7.3 6.1 6.7 7.0 6.9 4.9 -0.4 5.1 3.1 2.5

2016 8.2 6.9 7.0 6.9 6.2 5.9 6.7 5.0 -2.5 4.2 3.4 2.8

2017 7.2 7.0 6.8 6.7 6.8 6.8 6.8 5.1 1.3 5.9 4.0 3.9

2018 7.1 7.3 6.5 6.2 7.1 2.1 6.6 5.2 -0.2 4.7 4.1 3.2

2019 7.3 6.8 6.7 6.5 6.5 6.4 6.3 5.2 4.8 4.7 3.5 2.3

2020 7.5 6.7 6.8 6.6 6.5 6.6 6.1 5.2 6.6 4.8 3.5 2.4

(US$ billion) 2021 16,806.5 3,577.3 1,305.7 577.9 431.5 410.9 424.1 306.0 78.1 31.8 24.0 15.3

2013 56,519.3 44,860.4 10,699.7 7,080.8 6,296.2 3,684.0 2,768.5 1,900.0 1,898.9 1,485.6 1,009.3 1,179.6

2014 57,271.7 41,947.2 11,008.9 7,701.7 6,079.7 3,533.6 2,849.3 2,075.1 2,047.4 1,610.4 1,090.7 1,275.3

2015 55,330.5 31,355.7 9,511.8 8,166.8 5,967.7 3,367.7 2,882.8 2,212.4 2,085.7 1,639.7 1,163.4 1,151.3

2016 56,454.7 27,318.1 9,381.0 8,115.8 6,113.8 3,605.7 2,953.2 2,416.9 2,172.0 1,761.6 1,270.5 1,210.3

2017 59,990.1 28,278.4 9,827.7 8,677.4 6,730.6 3,884.7 2,988.9 2,555.1 2,353.4 2,014.0 1,387.9 1,267.4

2018 64,041.4 32,413.9 10,941.7 9,608.4 7,187.2 3,870.6 3,103.6 2,720.3 2,551.1 2,036.2 1,508.8 1,297.7

2023 19,713.5 4,306.3 1,499.4 645.3 499.8 453.9 512.6 361.2 94.2 37.2 28.4 17.0

2021 7.7 6.6 6.8 6.7 6.5 6.7 6.0 5.2 7.6 4.8 3.5 2.5

2022 7.7 6.4 6.8 6.7 6.5 6.9 5.8 5.3 5.9 4.8 3.5 2.6

2023 7.7 6.2 6.8 6.8 6.5 6.9 5.6 5.3 3.9 4.8 3.6 2.6

2013 15.9 6.4 2.4 1.0 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0

2014 16.5 6.6 2.4 1.0 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0

2015 17.1 6.9 2.5 1.0 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0

Source: World Economic Outlook Database, April 2019

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2016 17.6 7.3 2.5 1.0 0.7 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0

2017 18.2 7.5 2.5 1.0 0.7 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.0

2018 18.7 7.8 2.6 1.0 0.7 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.0

2024 7.7 6.0 6.8 6.8 6.5 7.0 5.5 5.3 2.2 4.8 3.6 2.6

(Current prices US$) 2019 65,627.0 30,290.1 11,385.1 10,153.4 7,607.7 4,123.3 3,280.4 2,931.8 2,725.8 2,198.6 1,635.4 1,238.5

2020 68,487.5 32,073.4 12,100.4 11,013.7 8,048.6 4,479.5 3,507.9 3,156.9 2,929.0 2,378.7 1,750.4 1,337.7

2021 71,278.1 34,035.6 12,826.2 11,935.0 8,485.7 4,787.1 3,748.6 3,389.6 3,144.6 2,578.1 1,871.2 1,454.2

2022 74,356.2 35,844.8 13,632.2 12,900.5 8,952.2 5,074.9 4,039.7 3,637.7 3,383.5 2,791.3 1,997.0 1,588.5

2023 77,586.3 36,933.0 14,489.7 13,969.5 9,458.7 5,381.1 4,355.5 3,903.3 3,646.0 3,023.4 2,127.2 1,733.4

GDP Purchasing-power-parity (PPP) share of world total (countries ranked by 2019 size) Country China India Indonesia Thailand Malaysia Philippines Vietnam Singapore Myanmar Cambodia Brunei Lao P.D.R

2024 21,309.5 4,729.3 1,606.7 679.1 539.6 477.2 563.8 392.8 103.6 40.2 30.9 17.2

(Percentage change year-on-year)

Gross Domestic Product per capita (countries ranked by 2019 size) Country Singapore Brunei Malaysia China Thailand Indonesia Philippines Lao P.D.R Vietnam India Cambodia Myanmar

2022 18,206.8 3,924.1 1,399.1 610.3 464.5 431.8 466.1 332.3 85.9 34.4 26.1 16.3

2019 19.2 8.1 2.6 1.0 0.7 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.0

2020 19.7 8.4 2.7 1.0 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.0

2021 20.2 8.7 2.7 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.0

2024 80,969.5 37,351.1 15,455.7 15,102.2 9,949.0 5,704.9 4,696.6 4,187.9 3,931.6 3,277.3 2,264.1 1,894.9

(Percent) 2022 20.6 9.1 2.8 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.0

2023 21.0 9.4 2.8 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.0

2024 21.4 9.8 2.9 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.0

Inflation: average consumer prices (countries ranked by 2019 size) Country Myanmar India Philippines Indonesia Vietnam Lao P.D.R Cambodia China Malaysia Singapore Thailand Brunei

2013 5.7 9.4 2.6 6.4 6.6 6.4 3.0 2.6 2.1 2.4 2.2 0.4

2014 5.1 5.8 3.6 6.4 4.1 4.1 3.9 2.0 3.1 1.0 1.9 -0.2

2015 10.0 4.9 0.7 6.4 0.6 1.3 1.2 1.4 2.1 -0.5 -0.9 -0.4

2016 6.8 4.5 1.3 3.5 2.7 1.8 3.0 2.0 2.1 -0.5 0.2 -0.7

2017 4.0 3.6 2.9 3.8 3.5 0.7 2.9 1.6 3.8 0.6 0.7 -0.2

2018 3.5 3.5 5.2 3.2 3.5 2.0 2.4 2.1 1.0 0.4 1.1 0.1

(Percentage change year-on-year) 2019 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.3 3.1 3.1 2.5 2.3 2.0 1.3 1.0 0.3

2020 6.7 4.2 3.3 3.6 3.3 3.3 2.8 2.5 2.6 1.4 1.3 0.5

2021 6.2 4.2 3.1 3.3 3.5 3.1 3.0 2.8 2.5 1.3 1.6 0.5

2022 6.1 4.2 3.0 3.1 3.6 3.1 3.0 2.9 2.4 1.4 1.8 0.5

2019 109.4 69.0 64.1 57.4 56.3 55.4 49.1 41.5 39.1 29.6 29.3 2.6

2020 111.2 67.8 65.3 57.1 55.8 59.5 47.8 41.8 38.5 29.6 29.0 2.5

2021 111.8 66.5 66.0 57.3 55.2 63.2 46.5 42.3 37.9 30.7 29.0 2.3

2022 112.6 65.3 66.9 57.4 54.6 66.7 44.9 42.8 37.3 32.3 29.0 2.2

General Government Gross Debt (countries ranked by 2019 size) Country Singapore India Lao P.D.R Vietnam Malaysia China Myanmar Thailand Philippines Cambodia Indonesia Brunei

2013 101.2 68.5 54.3 51.7 56.4 37.0 37.1 42.2 45.7 31.7 24.8 2.2

2014 96.1 67.8 56.5 54.7 56.2 39.9 37.4 43.3 42.1 31.9 24.7 3.2

2015 99.4 69.9 56.0 57.1 57.9 41.1 41.6 42.6 41.5 31.2 27.5 3.0

2016 103.7 69.0 56.4 59.7 56.6 44.2 41.8 41.8 39.0 29.1 28.3 3.0

2017 106.9 69.8 60.3 58.2 55.2 46.8 47.3 41.9 39.9 30.0 28.9 2.8

2018 108.3 69.8 63.0 57.5 56.2 50.5 49.4 42.1 39.6 29.4 29.2 2.5

2013 15.8 20.9 -1.2 4.5 3.5 1.5 4.2 -1.7 -3.2 -2.1 -8.4 -32.4

2014 17.9 31.9 3.7 4.9 4.4 2.2 3.8 -1.3 -3.1 -2.9 -8.5 -29.3

2015 17.0 16.7 8.0 -0.1 3.0 2.7 2.5 -1.1 -2.0 -5.2 -8.7 -26.8

2016 17.5 12.9 11.7 2.9 2.4 1.8 -0.4 -0.6 -1.8 -4.3 -8.4 -16.9

2017 16.0 16.7 11.0 3.0 3.0 1.4 -0.7 -1.8 -1.6 -4.7 -8.0 -16.9

2013 1,360.7 1,249.8 248.8 98.2 89.8 66.8 51.0 30.2 15.1 6.3 5.4 0.4

2014 1,367.8 1,266.3 252.2 99.9 90.7 67.0 51.4 30.7 15.3 6.4 5.5 0.4

2015 1,374.6 1,282.9 255.6 101.6 91.7 67.2 51.8 31.2 15.5 6.5 5.5 0.4

2016 1,382.7 1,299.8 258.5 103.2 92.7 67.5 52.3 31.6 15.8 6.6 5.6 0.4

2023 112.8 64.2 67.5 57.4 53.9 69.7 43.7 43.1 36.9 34.3 28.8 2.1

2024 117.0 63.1 67.8 57.6 53.2 72.4 42.5 43.5 36.4 35.9 28.5 2.1

(Percentage of GDP) 2018 17.7 11.0 7.7 3.0 2.3 0.4 -2.6 -2.5 -3.0 -4.3 -10.5 -17.1

2019 17.6 17.1 7.1 3.1 2.1 0.4 -2.2 -2.5 -2.7 -4.9 -9.1 -16.4

2020 17.1 17.4 6.3 2.6 2.1 0.3 -1.8 -2.4 -2.6 -4.9 -9.0 -14.9

2021 16.7 17.3 5.8 2.3 1.6 0.1 -1.5 -2.4 -2.6 -4.8 -8.6 -12.3

2022 16.2 17.2 5.3 2.0 1.1 0.0 -1.4 -2.5 -2.5 -4.7 -8.4 -12.4

Population (countries ranked by 2019 size) Country China India Indonesia Philippines Vietnam Thailand Myanmar Malaysia Cambodia Lao P.D.R. Singapore Brunei

2024 6.1 4.0 3.0 3.0 3.9 3.1 3.0 3.0 2.2 1.4 2.0 0.5

(Percentage of GDP)

Current Account Balance (countries ranked by 2019 size) Country Singapore Brunei Thailand Vietnam Malaysia China Philippines India Indonesia Myanmar Cambodia Lao P.D.R

2023 6.1 4.1 3.0 3.0 3.7 3.1 3.0 3.0 2.3 1.4 2.0 0.5

2023 15.6 16.9 4.9 1.6 0.8 -0.1 -1.4 -2.5 -2.4 -4.7 -8.2 -12.2

2024 15.0 16.7 4.6 1.3 0.5 -0.2 -1.4 -2.5 -2.4 -4.6 -7.9 -10.3

(Million persons) 2017 1,390.1 1,316.9 261.4 104.9 93.6 67.7 52.6 32.0 16.0 6.7 5.6 0.4

2018 1,395.4 1,334.2 264.2 106.6 94.6 67.8 52.8 32.4 16.3 6.8 5.6 0.4

2019 1,400.2 1,351.8 267.0 108.7 95.5 67.9 53.0 32.8 16.5 6.9 5.7 0.4

2020 1,404.4 1,369.6 269.9 110.9 96.4 68.0 53.4 33.2 16.7 7.0 5.7 0.4

2021 1,408.2 1,387.6 272.8 113.1 97.3 68.1 53.7 33.6 17.0 7.1 5.8 0.5

2022 1,411.3 1,405.8 275.7 115.4 98.2 68.2 54.1 34.1 17.3 7.2 5.8 0.5

2023 1,411.2 1,424.3 278.7 117.7 99.1 68.2 54.4 34.5 17.5 7.3 5.9 0.5

2024 1,411.0 1,443.1 281.6 120.0 99.9 68.3 54.7 34.9 17.8 7.4 5.9 0.5

Source: World Economic Outlook Database, April 2019

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Chamber Events

BCCT Two-Day Workshop: Powerful Communications

BCCT Life & Style Garden Party 2019

BCCT, together with Voxtree, organised a two-day workshop on Powerful Communications for International Schools. Facilitator Neil Stoneham, Managing Director of Voxtree Ltd (pictured) helped participants from various international schools to develop their communication skills to engage effectively with prospective parents and school visitors as well as to communicate with people from a range of cultures and proficiency in English.

BCCT welcomed members and guests to the exquisite BCCT Life & Style Garden Party on Thursday 21 March held for the last time at the iconic Ambassador’s Residence, British Embassy. Guests experienced fine British food and drinks as well as British cars, motorcycles, music and a selection of great products from the UK. Big thanks to our generous sponsors for making this such an excellent evening.

Neil Stoneham makes his presentation.

The overall atmosphere at the annual Life & Style Garden Party.

BCCT Lunch: Myanmar, the way forward for business

BCCT Briefing: Will Writing, Domicile, Estate Planning

BCCT organised BCCT Luncheon on Myanmar, the way forward for business on Tuesday 26th March at JW Marriott Bangkok.

Peter Beynon (pictured standing), Country Chairman for Myanmar, Jardine Matheson & Chairman of British Chamber of Commerce Myanmar, discussed the current economic and political situation as well as business opportunities for foreign investment in Myanmar today.

BCCT, together with Professional Wills, organised a BCCT Briefing on Will Writing, Domicile, Estate Planning at British Business Centre on Thursday 4th April 2019. Matthew Lloyd, TEP Managing Director and Will Writer, Professional Wills Limited Hong Kong, updated guests on the basics of Will writing with case studies related to UK inheritance tax planning and domicile considerations. Special thanks to Professional Wills for their amazing support, making it a great evening for all.

Peter Beynon shared his knowledge and expertise about doing business in Myanmar.

Pictured from left David Tarrant, BCTFN President Carolyn Tarrant, Dataconsult Executive Director Christopher Bruton, Matthew Lloyd and BCCT Board of Director and Legal & Taxation Committee Chair Stephen Frost.

Thank you to our sponsors.

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Chamber Events

BCCT/AustCham Lunch: Vietnam The Darling of ASEAN

BCCT T3 Business Networking

On Tuesday 23rd April BCCT, together with AustCham, organised a BCCT/AustCham Lunch on Vietnam the Darling of ASEAN at Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit. Speaker Kenneth Atkinson, Executive Chairman, Grant Thornton (Vietnam) and Chairman, British Business Group Vietnam discussed the current economic situation and investment potential in Vietnam.

BCCT welcomed members and guests to BCCT T3 Business Networking on Thursday 25th April at Rendezvous Bar, The Landmark Bangkok. Guests enjoyed fantastic food stations representing all types of cuisine served at The Landmark while networking. Massive thanks to The Landmark Bangkok for being an amazing host as always.

Pictured from left BCCT Chairman Chris Thatcher and Kenneth Atkinson.

Pictured from left BCCT Vice-Chair Andrew McBean, BCCT Chairman Chris Thatcher, The Landmark Bangkok General Manager Francis Zimmerman and BCCT Vice-Chair Simon Matthews.

BCCT YP Xtra: Cooking with Culineur

BCCT Workshop: Storytelling for Business

BCCT Young Professionals, together with Culineur School of Culinary Arts and Entrepreneurship, organised a special weekend activity – BCCT YP Xtra: Cooking with Culineur on Saturday 27th April 2019 at The Culineur School. BCCT members and guests enjoyed touring their world-class facilities, learning about the courses and finally making Carrot Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Bacon & Cheese Pretzel. Huge thanks to Culineur for an amazingly fun day.

On Tuesday 30th April, BCCT organised a BCCT Half-Day Workshop on Storytelling for Business at British Business Centre. Facilitator Pachara (Billy) Yongjiranon (pictured middle) Corporate Trainer & Presentation Coach of SpeakPro Training Ltd guided participants through a journey of storytelling and communication techniques that will enhance their storytelling skills learning how to structure their story into 5 steps and apply it to their work.

Pictured from left BCCT Vice-Chair and Young Professionals Committee Sarah Smith, BCCT Chairman Chris Thatcher and Culineur Managing Director Antony Osborne.

Billy Yongjiranon was joined by a group of young, enthusiastic storytellers.

Thank you to our sponsors.

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Chamber Events

BCCT Multi-Chamber Chiang Mai Networking

BCCT Multi-Chambers HR Evening Presentation

British Chamber of Commerce Thailand (BCCT), together with Australian, Canadian, Danish, EABC, Franco, Norwegian and Singapore Chambers of Commerce, welcomed Chiang Mai members and guests to BCCT Multi-Chamber Chiang Mai Business Networking on 3rd May at Hard Rock Cafe. Special thanks to a great host Hard Rock Cafe and our generous event sponsors BlueStar AMG, Movaci, Lanna International School Thailand, and Le Meridien Chiang Mai.

BCCT, in collaboration with EABC, FTCC and Swedish Chamber of Commerce, organised a BCCT Multi-Chambers HR Evening Presentation on Gender Equality - Lessons from the Frontline on Wednesday 8th May at Marriott Surawongse. Massive thanks to our event sponsors Allied Pickfords, Michael Page, Wellington College, Skywave Technologies and Securitas. BCCT HR Committee Chair and MSIG Insurance (Thailand) Head of Human Resources Matthew Grose (left) facilitated the event.

Guests enjoyed a wonderful evening of making new connections and catching up with familiar faces in the Chiang Mai Business community.

Speakers, Supermodel and Activist Cindy Bishop (middle) and Oxfam Regional HR & OD Manager Helen Suwannawongse (right), discussed gender-based violence and equality.

BCCT Multi-Chambers Evening Panel Discussion

BCCT T3 Business Networking

BCCT together with Techsauce and SpeakPro organised a BCCT Multi-Chambers Evening Panel Discussion on Investment Trends in Tech-Startups on Tuesday 14th May at Banyan Tree Bangkok.

The session was followed by a panel discussion from start-up entrepreneurs and experts including Paul Ark, Techsauce CEO Oranuch Lerdsuwankij, Ooca Founder Kanpassorn Suriyasangpetch and GIZTIX Head of Business Development Thames Karmakham.

BCCT organised a BCCT T3 Business Networking on Thursday 16th May at Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Bangkok Menam Riverside. Members and guests enjoyed lovely food and drinks in an amazing atmosphere by the Chaopraya River. Massive thanks to Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Bangkok Menam Riverside for hosting an amazing networking event as always.

Pictured from left, AustCham Executive Director Brendan Cunningham, Thames Karmakham, Ooca Head of Commercial and Marketing Sirikanya Kittipatkul, Oranuch Lerdsuwankij, Captain Hook’s CEO Martin Eleveld, Paul Ark and the panel moderator SpeakPro’s Corporate Trainer Pachara (Billy) Yongjiranon.

Pictured from left: BCCT Board of Director Steven Frost, BCCT Vice-Chair Andrew McBean and Sarah Smith, Ramada General Manager Willem Pentermann, BCCT Board of Director Pinyapa Somphong (Aime) and Carl Smith, and BCCT Vice-Chair Simon Matthews.

Thank you to our sponsors.

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Chamber Events

BCCT Young Professionals Career Clinic

BCCT Multi-Chamber Hospitality Presentation (Sales)

BCCT Young Professionals organised another ‘YP Extra’ on Thursday 23rd May at British Business Centre as BCCT YP Career Clinic on ‘How to stand out from other resumés’. Young Professionals and guests from various professions joined together to hear two recruitment experts Tom Sorensen from Boyden and Sai Tip Ken from Manpower discussing good CV structures and how to win the game and get selected.

On Thursday 30th May BCCT, in collaboration with AustCham, BeLuThai, EABC and HTCC, organised a BCCT MultiChambers Hospitality Presentation on “Sales Professionals in Today’s World” by Tareq Bagaeen (pictured), the CEO of aQedina at Oriental Residence Bangkok.

Small group discussions led by the two speakers and industrial leaders including Andrew McBean (PKF Holdings), Sarah Smith (Jamie’s Italian), Gareth Davies (Fluxus) and Carlos Martinez (Coopers Hill Design).

Tareq engaged with participants by showing how to be the persuasive negotiator with outstanding technical and interpersonal skills through constant research, learning, dedication, teamwork and energy.

BCCT/AustCham Briefing (Plastics)

BCCT Briefing (Property)

Ipsos Business Consulting Country Head Chukiat Wongtaveerat and Director of Asia Pacific Gordon Milne spoke for BCCT at BCCT/ Austcham Briefing “Plastics: A Growing Concern – An ASEAN Perspective” on Wednesday 5th June. The discussion was covered with an overview of regulation across key countries in ASEAN and Asia and sustainability consideration business as well as plastic concerns and development in packaging and manufacturing.

On Tuesday 11th June, CBRE Executive Director James Pitchon presented The Final Annual Property Review 2019 to BCCT members and guests at British Business Centre. Insightful information and comments on the property outlook for 2019 were interestingly discussed with questions and opinions shared with the audience.

Pictured from left, Gordon Milne and Chukiat.

Pictured from left BCCT Director and Legal and Taxation Committee Chair Stephen Frost, James Pitchon and BCCT Chair Chris Thatcher.

Thank you to our sponsors.

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Chamber Events

Phuket Briefing

BCCT YP Networking

BCCT organised a BCCT Multi-Chambers Phuket Briefing & Networking on Thursday 13th June at X2 Vibe Phuket Patong.

Grant Thornton Chairman Chris Cracknell (pictured standing) presented “2019 Winners and Losers in the Global Economy” to BCCT’s Phuket members and friends. The briefing was followed by a great business networking at the same venue (see the event below).

BCCT Young Professionals (YP) organised a midyear YP gathering on Thursday 13th June at Jamie’s Italian Siam Discovery. The networking was joined by over a hundred YPs from all over the city. Massive thanks to our sponsors and supporters ManpowerGroup, GM Tour & Travel, MeJuice, Deevana Plaza Phuket Patong and Jamie’s Italian Siam Discovery making it a wonderful evening.

Grant Thornton Chairman Chris Cracknell makes his presentation.

Pictured from left, GM Tour & Travel Sales Manager Srisuda Eiamthongchai, Deevana Sales Manager Sutthimon Yomrueng, BCCT YP Committee Russell Watts and Carlos Martinez, BCCT Vice Chair and Board of Directors Sarah Smith and Aime Pinyapa Somphong, MeJuice Co-founder Fhy Kongniwatsiri and BCCT YP Committee Kieran Taylor. The next YP Networking is on Thursday 8th August at British Club Bangkok.

Phuket Networking BCCT, in collaboration with AMCHAM, AustCham, EABC, GTCC, NTCC, STCC and TSCC, held a Phuket Business Networking on Thursday 13th June at X2 Vibe Patong. Massive thanks to our event sponsors and media partners, Inspiration Asia, Siriroj Hospital, JAND Group, Budget Car and Truck Rental, Phuket News and Window on Phuket.

BCCT Chairman Chris Thatcher (second from left) is joined by members and guests in Patong.

Our sponsors provided invaluable support for this event.

Thank you to our sponsors.

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Chamber Events

T3 Business Networking On Thursday 20th June, BCCT members and friends enjoyed a wonderful evening at BCCT T3 Business Networking at the beautiful Spectrum Rooftop Bar & Lounge on the 29th floor of Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit. Massive thanks to Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit for kindly hosting this lovely networking evening with fantastic food and atmosphere and to Shrewsbury International School Bangkok and Inspiration Asia for being amazing sponsors as always.

Pictured from left Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit Director of Food and Beverages and Executive Chef Federik Farina, Inspiration Asia Sales & Marketing William Frisby, Sam Seal, Shrewsbury City Campus Principal Amanda Dennison and Riverside Campus Principal Chris Seal, and BCCT Vice-Chair Sarah Smith.

Raising a glass to another successful BCCT Business Networking Event.

BCCT Briefing (Crisis Management)

BCCT Briefing (Digital Transformation)

On Wednesday 19th June, BCCT together with Aviation Service Asia (ASA)(Thailand) organised a BCCT Briefing on Crisis Management by ASA’s Director of Security Chris Horton. The talk covered crisis management impact on business and how it can be prioritised. Venue and information management as well as stakeholder communications were also discussed.

On Tuesday 25th June, BCCT organised a BCCT Digital & Technology Briefing on “Digital Transformation” at British Business Centre. Speakers included BCCT Director and Fluxus Managing Director Gareth Davies, BMW Financial Services Thailand CEO Bjorn Antonsson, Philip Morris International Digital Solutions Engineer Krisda Chugh. The session was moderated by Dana Blouin.

Pictured from left BCCT Director and Legal and Taxation Committee Chair Stephen Frost, ASA Chairman Simon Paul Wagstaff, Chris Horton and Dataconsult Executive Director Christopher Bruton. Huge thanks to Aviation Service Asia (ASA) (Thailand) for great support to make this a wonderful event.

Pictured from left, Dana Blouin, Bjorn Antonsson, Krisda Chugh and Gareth Davies.

Thank you to our sponsors.

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Comings and Goings The British Chamber of Commerce Thailand welcomes the following new members: Ordinary member

APRIL Assistance (Thailand) Co., Ltd. 518/3 Maneeya Center North 10th Floor, Ploenchit Road Lumpini, Patumwan Bangkok 10330 Tel: +66 (0) 2 022 9199 Email: contact.th@april.com Website: https://th.april-international. com Chamber Representatives Mr. Laurent GENC - Head of Sales, Thailand & Vietnam Mr. Anthony TURBOT - Client Manager Background APRIL is an international insurance service group. It was founded in 1988 with the goal of changing the face of insurance through greater transparency, faster reimbursements and hands-on administrative services.

Today, we operate in 28 different countries with the help of 3,800 staff members, working with more than 20,000 distributors worldwide. APRIL International Care (part of the APRIL GROUP) designs, distributes and services International health insurance, and medical assistance for individuals and businesses through an extensive global network of brokers.

In Asia, we specialise in healthcare products with comprehensive and fully flexible cover for medical expenses and assistance, locally and internationally. We create tailored plans for multinational and regional corporations, as well as individuals and families. We have offices in Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam and Shanghai plus local underwriting partners across South East Asia.

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Broadbent (Thailand) Ltd. 88 Moo. 5 , T. Muang A. Muangchonburi, Chonburi 20130 Tel: +66 38 399 340-1 Fax: +66 38 399 342 Website: www.broadbent.co.uk Chamber Representatives Mr. Robert Capewell - Director Ms. Gannawee Lertpeerakorn - Project / Sales Manager

Capella Bangkok Level 20, Ploenchit Tower 898 Ploenchit Rd., Lumpini Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Tel: +66 (0) 2658 7888 Email: Sireedhorn.Plookpol@ capellahotels.com Chamber Representatives

Ms. Josephine Png - Director of Sales & Marketing Mr. John Blanco - General Manager Background A new vintage of luxury is debuting on the east bank of Chao Phraya River right on the oldest road of Bangkok, Charoenkrung. Sophisticated yet insouciant, contemporary yet timeless, Capella Bangkok mingles the effortless class of a grande dame with the intimacy and personality of a boutique.

The 101 accommodation, starting from 61 SQ.M., and villas each offer a different perspective of the unobstructed views of the river. The beauty boasts 7 private

villas along the river, personal assistants for every room attending to details prior to your arrival and throughout your sojourn, a luxury shuttle boat service, fine dining overseen by a Michelinstarred chef, Thai specialty restaurant in a sun washed river’s edge, intimate bar serving handcrafted cocktails and bespoke desserts, Auriga Wellness and elegant riverfront-facing Ballroom including various meeting spaces for your crafted events.

CDE Asia Ltd. EcoSpace Business Park Block 4A/Floor 6, Action Area II New Town Rajarhat Kolkata 700 156 Email: vagarwal@cdeasia.com Chamber Representatives Mr. Vinay Agarwal - Senior Manager Finance Emergency Planning College, Serco Limited 16 Bartley Way Bartley Wood Business Park, Hook Hampshire RG27 9UY Tel: +44 (0) 7718 193749 Website: www.epcresilience.com Chamber Representatives Mr. Richard Jammes - International Account Director Footprint Cafes CIO Future Business Centre King Hedges Road Cambridge CB24 2HY Tel: +66 (0)8454562432 Email: georgie@footprintcafes.org Chamber Representatives Ms. Georgina Hemmingway - CEO Dr. Darrin M Disley OBE - Head of Trustees

Thai gesture of greeting and welcome.

Fracino (Visacrem International Limited) 18-22 Birch Road East Birmingham B6 7DB Tel: +44 (0)121 328 5757 Fax: +44 (0)121 327 3333 Email: peter@fracino.com Website: www.fracino.com Chamber Representatives

Mövenpick BDMS Wellness Resort Bangkok 2 Wireless Rd., Lumpini Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Tel: +66 2666 3333 Fax: +66 2666 3334 Email: resort.bdms.info@movenpick.com Website: www.movenpick.com/en/asia/ thailand Chamber Representatives

Mr. Peter Atmore - Head of Global Sales and Marketing Background Fracino - the UK’s only manufacturer of commercial Traditional Espresso Coffee Machines is a multi-award winning, 3rd generation family business founded over 50 years ago, which is sought out by global brands – and boasts a quality network of distributors both in the UK and Internationally.

Products or Services Manufacturers of British-made Commercial Espresso Coffee machines Interpart Ltd. Warsall Road, Sharston Industrial Area Manchester M22 4RH Tel: +44 1619-989911 Email: richardwatson@interpart.com Website: www.interpart.com Chamber Representatives Mr. Richard Watson - Executive Director Background JCB is an internationally established brand and, since 1975, Interpart has been the only genuine alternative parts service provider. We commit to maintain the standards of quality and excellence that composed the ethos of the founder at the company’s inception.

Products or Services Aftermarket spare parts for JCB machinery

Mr. Bruno Huber - General Manager Mr. Prin Pathanatham - Executive Assistant Manager

Rosewood Bangkok 1041/38 Ploenchit Road Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Tel: +66 (0) 2080 0088 Fax: +66 (0) 2080 0089 Email: bangkok@rosewoodhotels.com Website: https://www.rosewoodhotels. com/en/bangkok Chamber Representatives

Mr. Thomas Harlander - Managing Driector Ms. Leanne Hucker - Director of Sales and Marketing Background Rosewood Bangkok will open in 2019 in a prime location within Bangkok’s central business district along Ploenchit Road, within an enclave encompassing embassies, new residential towers, offices and upscale retail. Embracing the Rosewood brand’s A Sense of Place® philosophy, the design of the ultra-luxury hotel will create a dynamic form inspired by the graceful hand movement of the wai – the simple but beautifully elegant

The Bangkok sanctuary will feature 159 spacious guestrooms, including Sky Pool Suite with large terraces and private plunge pools. Guests will be able to enjoy three restaurants and bars, Rosewood’s signature Sense® spa, a swimming pool and a fitness centre. Meeting facilities will include The Pavilion, a residentialstyle meeting and function space, and the top-floor Sky event venue which will offer panoramic views of the capital.

Products or Services Accommodations 159 spacious guestrooms including Grand Studios with large terraces and private plunge pools.

Meetings & Events Meeting facilities will include The Pavilion residential-style meeting space totalling 320 sq.m and seating up to 200 persons, as well as Ploenchit boardroom which features panoramic views of the capital’s iconic skyline Restaurants & Lounges Three restaurants and bars (Western Cuisine, Chinese authentic) SawasdeeShop Co., Ltd. 75/78-79 Ocean Tower 2 31st Floor, Soi Sukhumvit 19 Sukhumvit Rd., Klong Toey Nua Wattana, Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 2696-9599 Fax: +66 2661-6587 Email: arthita@sawasdeeshop.com Website: www.sawasdeeshop.com Chamber Representatives Ms. Rasmegh Srisethi - Managing Director Mr. Sompop Pundrikapha - Marketing Manager Individual member

Mr. Jason Swain The Clover soi 18, 558/91 building E, Klongton Nuea, Wattana Bangkok 10110 E-mail: guruswain@hotmail.com Mobile: +66870836519

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Resignations & Cancellations Resignation in January - Mar 2019 - Ata Services - Richmont’s (International) Co., Ltd - Senior Advice Limited - Sivatel Bangkok Hotel - Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit - Sutlet Group - TI Automotive - Williams Integrated Transport Solutions - Jameson’s the Irish Pub - Rent a Nurse (Thailand) Co. Ltd. - MG Sales (Thailand) Co., Ltd. Change of company name 1. Air for Life Ltd to Air for Life UK Ltd 2. Reuters Software (Thailand) Limited to Refinitiv Software (Thailand) Limited (Head Office) 3. TICON Industrial Connection Plc. to Frasers Property (Thailand) Public Company Limited Change of company representative 1. Amari Pattaya from Mr. Robert Rijnders to Mrs. Deborah Haines 2. Boots Retail (Thailand) Ltd. from Mr. Dean Thompson to Mr. Michael Wanliss

Bloomsbury International School Hatyai 2119 Moo 6, Airport-Lopburirames Road Kuanlung, Hatyai, Songkhla 90110 Tel: +66 74 251 255 Fax: +66 74 251 254 Email: admin@bloomsbury.ac.th Website: www.bloomsbury.ac.th Chamber Representatives

3. Design 103 International Ltd. from Mr. Wayne Kaleta to Mr. Noppadon Tanpiwat 4. Destination Eats Co.,Ltd. from Mr. Gerard Phillip Caleo to Mr. Jamie Fisher 5. dwp from Mr. Philip Hannaford to Mr. Edward Enscoe 6. Halewood International Thailand from Mr. Richard Huck to Mr. Andrew Romeo 7. JVK International Movers Ltd. from Mr. Craig Somerville to Ms. Yada Phiensuphab 8. MAM Enterprises Ltd. from Mr. Anthony Bell to Mr. James Thurlby 9. NEOS IT Services Co., Ltd. from Mr. Carsten Moeller to Mr. David Brett 10. Pullman Bangkok Hotel G from Mr. Philippe Le Bourhis to Mr. Jaime Faus 11. Radisson Blu Plaza Bangkok from Mrs. Deborah Haines to Mr. Ratchatat Julajinda 12. Rembrandt Hotel Bangkok from Mr. Eric Hallin to Mr. Christian Bernkopf

Background Bloomsbury is located in Songkhla, southern Thailand. Its academic provision is derived from the National Curriculum of England (with local adaptation); it offers a range of courses culminating in the award of certificates

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5.

6.

Change of company address 1. Ascott International Management (Thailand) Ltd No. 219/43, 12 Floor, Asoke Towers,

Change of membership type 1. Infra Asia (Thailand) Ltd (Bangkok Corporate member ) to Mr. Steve Foster Davis (Individual Member)

from UK-based international curricular bodies. It holds centreship from Cambridge Assessment International Examinations; it is applying for centreship from Oxford International AQA Examinations, and it also prepares candidates for other externally assessed examinations (such as Cambridge English). Its IGCSE results have been consistently encouraging; it recently inaugurated its Sixth Form (in which AS/A Level studies are followed). Bloomsbury is a member of the Council of International Schools and is pursuing accreditation via the latter.

integrated curriculum across each year.

Specialist support addresses special needs; a Learning Support specialist expedites such arrangements. An EAL department delivers bespoke assistance to students whose English requires extra attention.

Students enrolling from schools with different curricula are assisted initially until ready to join mainstream classes; ‘class buddies’ ensure they feel welcome among peers from Day 1.

The school has two branches: (Pre-)Primary and Secondary. Class sizes are relatively small (on average 7 students: 1 teacher); Primary teachers are supported by Teaching Assistants.

Mr. Andrew Elliott - Principal Ms. Pimjun Senneam - Licensee

2.

3.

Soi Asoke, Sukhumvit 21 Road, North Khlongtoey Wattana Bangkok 10110 AyaThai Group Co., Ltd. 35/6 Soi Sukhumvit 89/1 Bangchak Bangkok 10260 Deemak International Limited 55/40 City Connect project, Kallapaphruk Road, Bang Khun Thain, Chom Thong, Bangkok 10150 Grant Thornton 11th Floor, Capital Tower, All Seasons Place 87/1 Wireless Road, Lumpini Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Retail Asia Ltd. 81 Moo 3, Baan Nongseang, Tumbon Buakok, Amphoe Tha Tumm, Surin 32120 Risk Protection Security Solutions Limited 1038 Pattanakan Road, Prawet Sub-District, Prawet District Bangkok 10250

English is the main medium of instruction; apart from Chinese and Thai classes, all subjects are taught in English and delivered by qualified and experienced native speakers from the UK, Canada, US, Australia etc.

Academic managers liaise to ensure smooth transitions between years; subject teachers meet regularly to ensure an

Bloomsbury offers a broad, balanced range of cuisines for luncheon; staff and students share the same refectory (thus contributing to Bloomsbury’s welcoming community-like atmosphere). The school operates a clinic with a professional nurse on duty full-time; warden-supervised boarding facilities accommodate students opting for residential status.

An extensive range of social, cultural, sporting and entertainment events is organised regularly; an eclectic ECA (extra-curricular activity) programme (with the emphasis on enjoyment and fun) complements more formal classroom learning.

BCTFN

British Community in Thailand Foundation for the Needy (Under the auspices of the British Embassy, Bangkok)

SAVE THE DATE

PLOENCHIT FAIR 2019

Saturday 30th November 2019 At

Bangkok Patana School

643 La Salle Road (Sukhumvit 105), Bangna, Bangkok 10260

We hope to see you at the Fair to help us raise funds for Thai Charities Raffle, Rides, Games, Shopping, International Food & Drink Plus Live Bands and Entertainment

591/17 Sukhumvit Road Soi Villa Bangkok 10110 Tel: 02 2041587 bctfn@loxinfo.co.th www.ploenchitfair.org

www.facebook.com/ploenchitfairbkk

FINAL WORD

eBay gum – Matt sets tuk tuk speed record

By Dale Lawrence

I

was amused to read that Matt Everard from Billericay in Essex had gained recognition from Guinness World Records for registering a speed of 74.3 mph in a customised tuk tuk at Elvington Airfield, a former RAF base now home to the Yorkshire Air Museum.

lady was entirely convinced by this justification and whilst not wishing to rain in any sense on Matt Everard’s parade the Guinness World Records adjudicators have clearly never taken a tuk tuk along Bangkok’s Rama 1V road in the early hours after an evening spent delving deeply into Thailand’s cultural assets.

Everard, 46, apparently purchased the tuk tuk on eBay from a seller in Bolton following what he described as a ‘boozy’ night out and a few tuk tuk rides during a trip to Thailand.

on ‘improvements’ to the tuk tuk and, to justify the expense to his wife, he announced his attempt at setting a new world speed record.

He then spent more than £20,000

It’s not clear whether Everard’s good

Nation’s demise

Jumping Jack Cash

It’s always a sad moment when the presses of a newspaper fall silent for the last time – although the process of newspaper production has changed dramatically since my formative years in UK journalism. The sub-editors at The Nation have, from time to time, caught my eye with amusing headlines such as ‘New Cabinet as old as Rolling Stones, no tour planned’ that appeared shortly after the coup in September 2006.

* Older readers will surely remember fondly the Guinness Book of World Records, launched in the 1950s by Norris and Ross McWhirter in conjunction with Hugh Beaver, Managing Director of the Guinness brewing business.

On the subject of the Rolling Stones, the band is once again raking in the cash on its latest tour of the United States after a brief delay whilst Sir Mick Jagger had emergency heart surgery. These highly lucrative Stones tours have attracted a wide range of commercial backers in recent years including Budweiser, Volkswagen, Sprint, Jeep and American Express.

It’s perhaps a sign of the times that the current tour is being sponsored by the Alliance for Lifetime Income (ALI), an organisation that sells annuities.

An ALI media spokesman said, “As a band that personifies longevity and living life to the fullest, The Rolling Stones continue to prove to millions of fans from every generation that age is just a number. Living longer is all about continuing to do the things you love, whether you’re retired or not.

Happily, millions of Stones fans everywhere are living longer, blazing new trails and redefining retirement. And they want the freedom to continue doing what they love, regardless of age’.

I’m sure that strikes a chord with Keith Richards (pictured).

The views and opinions expressed on this page by Editor Dale Lawrence are entirely personal and do not reflect official BCCT policy.

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The Link

Issue 2/2019