CHAMBER ACTIVITIES

GTCC Breakfast Talk with L&P

A GTCC Executive Breakfast Talk on “ASEAN headquarters in Thailand: Ways to save personal and corporate income tax” was organised successfully on 30 March 2021 at the Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel, in co-operation with Lorenz & Partners (L&P), Advantage Austria and the SwissThai Chamber of Commerce. The talk was led by Mr. Till Morstadt, Managing Partner at L&P and Mrs. Athitaya Chanthasirichot, Head of Corporate Law at L&P.

After providing an overview of the regional headquarters for the participants, the legal experts from L&P compared the benefits of establishing headquarters in traditional hubs such as Hong Kong and Singapore, and in new hubs like Thailand and Malaysia, in terms of conditions and incentives. They further identified important criteria for deciding the right country in which to establish the headquarters.

GTCC Business Women Networking “Women in Innovation”

“Women in innovation” was the topic of a peer-to-peer discussion at GTCC’s first Business Women networking event of 2021, organised on 31 March 2021 at The Peninsula Bangkok. Through shared experiences by our speaker Ms. Lalana Thiranusornkij, Open Innovation Leader at Thai Union, the participants were inspired to increase self-confidence and trust in themselves and others in order to lead, encourage more innovation and build an innovative environment in organisations.

The GTCC thanks the speaker, Ms. Lalana, and special guest Ms. Kanwra Tanachotevorapong, Co-Founder and CEO of More Foods Innotech, for sharing their successful professional development and inspiring experiences. The Chamber also appreciates the great support from Beverage Partner Serenity Wines and Venue Partner, The Peninsula Bangkok.

ASEAN Forum: Geschäftschancen für deutsche Unternehmen in und mit Südostasien

GTCC Executive Director Dr. Roland Wein gave an overview of Thailand’s current economic situation and business opportunities to German and international companies across industries at the ASEAN Forum on 22 April 2021. Executive Directors and Chief Representatives of German Chambers of Commerce Abroad in ASEAN (ASEAN AHKs) presented the current state and business information on their respective countries.

First Board of Directors 2021/2022 meeting

GTCC’s first Board of Directors 2021/2021 meeting took place online on 22 April 2021 led by the new President, Mr. Markus Lorenzini. The members of GTCC Board of Directors elected Mr. Michael Welser as Honorary Secretary and Mr. Krisna Thiengtham as Honorary Treasurer.

Webinar on “Medical Technology in Asia” by IHK Region Stuttgart

Asia is the third-largest market for medical technology after North America and Europe. Thus, it is an attractive market for German medical technology companies. This important fact was discussed at a webinar on “Medical Technology in Asia” which was organised by IHK Region Stuttgart on 5 May 2021. GTCC Deputy Executive Director Mr. Marius Mehner, together with Mr. Thomas Hundt, GTAI Director Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar, provided insightful information on the Thai market for medical technology.

First GTCC Open Forum

An GTCC Open Forum was held on 18 May 2021 with the participation of about 40 GTCC members. At the forum, which was moderated by GTCC President Mr. Markus Lorenzini, GTCC members shared their perspectives and updates on important topics such as the Covid-19 rapid test, vaccination and current situations in different industries including human resources, hospitality, health care, manufacturing and logistics.

The forum is a virtual exchange format moderated by GTCC board members that is organised on every third Tuesday of each month, exclusively for GTCC members. They can share with, and learn from other members information and views on the perspectives of the current business environment as well as the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on different businesses.

Workshop on Thailand’s new Long-Term Residents programme

On 18 May 2021, GTCC Executive Director Dr. Roland Wein shared ideas and perspectives on Thailand’s new Long-Term Residents (LTR) programme, together with representatives from embassies, foreign chambers of commerce, leading international companies, local service providers and government entities at a virtual long-term residents’ workshop.

The LTR programme is in the process of development as the Government of Thailand sees an opportunity for the next S-curve industries with top priorities on electric vehicles, smart electronics, digital cloud and pharma/medtech/health care, and the attraction of long-term residents.

GTCC Webinar on “The logistics market during Covid-19: A forecast for challenges and solutions”

As the Covid-19 pandemic is having major impacts on the air and sea logistics market, the trend is shifting from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market. Shippers must become well-prepared to deal with the volatile market conditions.

GTCC organised a webinar on 11 June 2021 on “The logistics market during Covid-19: A forecast for challenges and solutions”. The webinar discussed various topics such as change in the logistics market environment, demand, supply capacity, trade imbalance and risk management.

The Chamber thanks the speakers from DACHSER (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Mr. Jan-Michael Beyer, Managing Director Air and Sea Logistics Thailand, and Mr. Timo Herbst, Business Development Manager Air and Sea Logistics Thailand, for providing very useful insights into the market and solutions. In addition, thanks are due to colleagues at AHKs in ASEAN for supporting the event.

GTCC Open Forum

This year’s second GTCC Open Forum was held via Zoom Meeting on 15 June 2021, during which a very useful round of exchanges and speed networking was among current and new GTCC members. The GTCC Board of Directors Honorary Treasurer, Mr. Krisna Thiengtham, moderated the forum and provided updates on GTCC activities such as “Clean Air Initiative Series – Green Solutions from Germany” and committee work with a focus on the GTCC Tourism and Hospitality Committee chaired by Mr. Oliver Schnatz, Cluster General Manager, Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit. GTCC members discussed the current situations of their industries and participated in a poll on the ideal balance between working from home and going to the office. The poll result showed preferences of 30 per cent and 70 per cent, respectively.

Meeting on a potential project of the German Alliance for Trade Facilitation in Thailand

GTCC Executive Director Dr. Roland Wein shared updates and discussed a potential project of the German Alliance for Trade Facilitation in Thailand with representatives from German companies at a webinar organised online on 11 June 2021 by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.