e-UPDATE, 29 August 2016

GTCC e-UPDATE: 29 August 2016

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Upcoming GTCC Events Register now for our upcoming events: 08.09.2016 GTDEE International Conference on Dual Vocational Education and Training 08.09.2016 Stammtisch Bangkok Get-together 13.09.2016 GTCC Meets the German Ambassador 16.09.2016 GTCC Site Visit to Liebherr & Eastern Seaboard Networking by Beluthai 21.09.2016 Chiang Mai Networking Dinner

Thailand Economic Factsheet

22.09.2016 Phuket Networking Dinner 28.09.2016 Executive Breakfast Talk: “Labour Law Matters – How to Avoid Labour Disputes in Thailand” 29.09.2016 Ice Breaker Networking: GTCC-FTCC-TICC Innovation & Lifestyle Night

Save the Date: 16-18 November 2016 GTCC Business Delegation Trip to Myanmar 2016 GTCC members and members of the other AHKs in ASEAN are invited to join our business trip to Myanmar 2016 organised in co-operation with the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Myanmar during 16-18 November 2016. Highlights of the trip will include briefings on economic development, legal, logistics, finance and other industry sectors; exclusive site visits to industrial zones and ports; and meetings with experts and representatives from Myanmar Industries Association, Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) and the German

Update Magazine

Myanmar Business Chamber (GMBC) More

Economy BOI increases investment target by 20% Driven by political and economic recovery, the Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI) has expanded its 2016 investment value target to 550,000 million baht, an increase of about 20% from the previous target of 450,000 million baht. (BOI, 18/08/2016) More Call for improved labour efficiency The Board of Trade has urged the government to boost labour efficiency and draw more skilled workers into the Kingdom. According to the latest "Global Competitiveness Report" published by the World Economic Forum, labour efficiency in Thailand is quite low compared with other countries, particularly in Asean. Thailand ranks 67th out of 140 surveyed countries, and sixth among the 10 ASEAN members.(The Nation, 26/08/2016) More Move to overhaul natural gas tariffs A consulting team appointed by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has proposed a major review of natural-gas tariff formulas in a move that could affect hundreds of factories in the country using gas.The study covers tariff structures for the whole supply chain of natural gas, from transmission and liquefiednatural-gas (LNG) terminals to wholesale and retailing. (The Nation, 26/08/2016) More Cabinet nods to Thai-Chinese railway framework & appoints new Commerce Permanent Secretary The Cabinet has approved the framework of the Thai-Chinese high-speed rail project on the Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima section, while the Department of Internal Trade Director-General has been named the new Permanent Secretary for Commerce. (NNT, 23/08/2016) More MRT Blue Line gears for Bt30 bn extension Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc (BEM), operator of the Blue Line subway, is preparing to spend an additional Bt30 billion to complete the extension of the line over three years.The missing connection of the Purple Line to the MRT Blue Line for one station with one kilometre in distance is expected to be available in the middle of next year and also the two extensions of the MRT Blue Line's service will operate within three years. (The Nation, 23/08/2016) More Japan investment to shift towards services The newly appointed president of the Japan External Trade Organisation’s Bangkok office has unveiled his country’s new investment plan to focus on the service sector and the creative economy after long concentrating on the industrial sector. According to the Japanese Finance Ministry, as of the end of 2015, Thailand was Japan's second-largest investment destination in ASEAN

Q3/2016: Bangkok Megacity Feature: Bangkok becoming a megacity as BTS Skytrain expands to urban satellite areas; Bangkok facing major challenges as a megacity; Huge potential of construction and infrastructure sectors for Thailand’s AEC hub role // Business Brief // Chamber Activities // GTDEE Insights // GTCC Gala Night 2016 // Trade Fairs // Members' Corner

Preferred Benefits

"Niche", at Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok is offering GTCC members a 10% discount on Food & Beverage. Niche is a venue for fun-filled informal dining where guests may chosing their favorite ingredient and decide upon an Asian or non-Asian presentation. Niche is certainly a new social place to be seen.

after Singapore. Combined initial investment capital from Japan to Thailand was worth US$55 billion (Bt1.9 trillion). (The Nation, 25/08/2016) More US business in ASEAN optimistic about increased profits US companies remain generally optimistic about business prospects in ASEAN, even in the face of global economic headwinds and challenges, according to the annual ASEAN Business Outlook Survey released by the US Chamber of Commerce and the US chambers in ASEAN member countries. 78% of the surveyed companies said they expected their profits to increase next year, with more than half (53%). 49% expected to increase their Asean workforce by the end of this year. (The Nation, 17/08/2016) More

Jaispirit Co., Ltd. is offering GTCC members a 20% discount on all services together with 15 months for the one year subscription of 'Managed Hosting' instead of 12 months, and additionally 2 months free 'Managed Hosting' for every successful referral of a new 'Managed Hosting' subscription.

Glossary AEC

Asean Economic Community

BEM

Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc

BOI

Board of Investment

ERC

Energy Regulatory Commission

GMBC

German Myanmar Business Chamber

Ford promises fleets of driverless cars within five years Mark Fields, Ford's chief executive, said the company planned to mass produce driverless cars and have them in commercial operation in a ride-hailing service by 2021. (Bangkok Post, 17/08/2016) More

JETRO

Japan External Trade Organisation

Banpu gears for capacity boost Banpu aims to increase its equity-based power-generating capacity to 4,300 megawatts by the end of 2025, of which renewable energy will account for at least 20 per cent.The company plans to spend between US$900 million and $1 billion (Bt31 billion to Bt35 billion) from this year until 2025 to expand its powergenerating business to achieve the goal. (The Nation, 17/08/2016) More

LNG

liquefiednatural-gas

PCSF

Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Foundation

PTTEP

PTT Exploration

Companies & Industrial Sectors Thai firms to expand property investment in UK Asian property firms, including a number of Thai developers, are looking to expand their investment in the United Kingdom. Singha Estate is said to be eyeing more hotel acquisitions in Europe, especially two hotels in England and one hotel in Scotland worth up to 700 million baht, during the remainder of this year.(The Nation, 26/08/2016) More CPN sets Bt60 bn for new malls Central Pattana has earmarked Bt60 billion for the development of shopping complexes between this year and 2018 in five local and foreign locations, including Mahachai in Samut Sakhon and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, its first overseas project. (The Nation, 26/08/2016) More

Chevron not exiting Thailand Despite job cuts that have spurred rumours of the US oil major’s exit, Chevron and its partners aim to invest more than 100 billion baht (US$2.9 billion) in 2016

for projects in the Gulf of Thailand, and are on average drilling 300-400 wells each year to maintain production levels. Chevron has also put its Myanmar gas block stakes worth an estimated US$1.3 billion up for sale. Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production Pcl has said it is keen to make the purchase. (The Nation, 21/08/2016) More

and Production Pcl UMFCCI

Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry

Thailand and ASEAN Myanmar green energy sector faces hurdles Myanmar's goal of achieving a 100 per cent electrification rate by 2030, with 20 per cent of energy from renewable sources, is achievable but several hurdles need to be tackled first, energy experts have said. (The Nation, 22/08/2016)More International funding for Mynamar's electrification International funding will help Yangon Region keep up with rising demand for electrical power, the chief minister has pledged. U Phyo Min Thein, speaking at the Fourth Myanmar Green Energy Summit, said boosting the electricity sector was the key to the country’s development. (Myanmar Times, 19/08/2016) More Japan injects more investments in Cambodia amid uncertainty Japan has injected more investments to Cambodia in recent years. According to the Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro), 250 Japanese companies registered with Cambodia's Commerce Ministry in 2015, compared to 19 companies registered in 2010 or 179 companies three years ago. Based on data provided by the Council for Development of Cambodia, overall investments to Cambodia increased from $3.9 billion in 2014 to $4.6 billion in 2015. Japanese investments amounted to $47.9 million and $56.7 million, respectively. (Bangkok Post, 21/08/2016) More US business in ASEAN optimistic about increased profits US companies remain generally optimistic about business prospects in ASEAN, even in the face of global economic headwinds and challenges, according to the annual ASEAN Business Outlook Survey released by the US Chamber of Commerce and the US chambers in Asean member countries. (The Nation, 17/08/2016) More Myanmar's Ministry relaxes import rules for over 250 items Myanmar's Ministry of Commerce has published a list of 267 items that can be imported from September without a licence, in the new government’s first step toward liberalising permit requirements.The new rules will not come into effect until September 1. (MyanmarTimes, 16/07/2016) More

Big Band aus Regensburg zu Besuch in Thailand

Contact Person

Chadaphan Maliphan Publication and Communication Manager Tel: +66 2 670 0600 ext 2005 Email: chadaphan@gtcc.org

Green Technology "Bidding" for renewables mulled The government is considering opening competitive bidding for renewable power projects, according to Energy Minister. Renewable energy had not yet been dependable enough to meet electricity demands around the clock and thus conventional power plants still needed to be built to operate in parallel, which meant a duplication in investment. (The Nation, 25/08/2016) More Green Building & Retrofits (GBR) Expo Asia 2016 Green Building & Retrofits Expo Asia 2016, the 6th international exhibition & conference on green building & retrofits, will be held in Bangkok for Asian market, at Impact Exhibition Center from 21 to 23 September 2016. This trade fair will feature building & construction materials, mechanical & electrical systems & management, energy efficiency & renewable energy technology, exterior work & landscaping, finishing products, materials & fitting, waste & toxic management. It also covers green building trends, issues and knowledge with interaction of panel discussion of industry players. More

Bilateral Business Department of Land Transport and GIZ Signed MoU Department of Land Transport and GIZ Thailand signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for their collaboration on promoting the development of sustainable freight transport and logistics in the Mekong Region, effective from 24 August 2016 to 31 January 2019. The event took place at Rama Gardens Hotel, Bangkok. (German International Cooperation, 26/08/2016) More Registrierung in der Krisenvorsorgeliste der Deutschen Botschaft Bangkok Deutsche Staatsangehörige, die sich im Ausland aufhalten, haben bereits seit längerer Zeit die Möglichkeit sich im Onlineverfahren bei den jeweiligen

Auslandsvertretungen in der Krisenvorsorgeliste zu registrieren. Die deutschen Auslandsvertretungen führen seit einiger Zeit die Deutschenlisten zur Krisenvorsorge nicht mehr manuell, sondern ausschließlich über das OnlineVerfahren. Die Registrierung bei der Botschaft kann über die Internetseite der Botschaft unter www.bangkok.diplo.de oder direkt über folgenden Link erfolgen:http://service.diplo.de/registrierungav. Sofern Sie neben der Registrierung zu Krisenvorsorgezwecken auch den Erhalt von allgemeinen Informationen wünschen, setzen Sie bei Ihrer Registrierung in der Rubrik "weitere Angaben" bitte die entsprechenden Häkchen zur Freigabe Ihrer Daten.

(Deutschen Botschaft Bangkok)

Member News Linde Group marks 45th year milestone in Thailand The Linde Group’s subsidiary, Linde (Thailand) Public Company Limited, marked its 45th anniversary in Thailand with the adoption of a local charity organisation, The Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Foundation (PCSF) and an appreciation awards ceremony with its long-term business partners. More Robert Bosch's Head Office moved to FYI Center Tower 1 From 1 September 2016, Robert Bosch Limited will relocate its head office to FYI Center Tower 1, 4th floor, 2525 Rama 4 Rd., Klongtoei, Bangkok 10110.

Tel: +66(2)0128888. Fax: +66(2)0645800. The company will operate its business at the present location until 9 September 2016. More Henkel awarded "Top vendor" for KAO in Thailand KAO, leading hygiene care company, named Henkel Thailand as its top performing vendor for cost reduction at its 2016 Annual Vendor Summit held in Bangkok. The award was given in recognition of Henkel's outstanding contribution towards KAO’s regional business growth. Henkel has been a top supplier of adhesives to KAO for their non-woven products and sanitary napkins.More Krones acquires System Logistics Krones, leading manufacturer of filling and packaging technology, has purchased 60 % of the shares in System Logistics S.p.A., to enhance its competences in the field of intralogistics, particularly in terms of automated order-picking systems. Krones is also taking a major step forward in covering the important material and data flows along the entire value creation chain of customers. System Logistics will be part of “Machines and Lines for beverage production/Process Technology” Segment. More RIS Swiss Section's Open House Info Session Ruamrudee International School (RIS) Swiss Section – German speaking school Bangkok will organise an open house info session for parents and families to learn about its Swiss/German approach to education on Saturday, 17

September 2016 during 1-3 p.m. at RIS Swiss Section -German Speaking School Bangkok, Ramkhamhaeng 184 Road. Please confirm your attendance by email: events@ris-swiss-section.org. More

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