Eastern Seaboard Report October 2014 – Prepared by Mark Bowling, Chairman ESB
Thailand's bearish automotive market has deterred two Japanese car makers, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation and Nissan Motor, from commencing production of their new ecocar. "Our parent company has not yet approved the exact time frame for production, as the domestic market has experienced weaker growth than was enjoyed in 2012," said Masahiko Ueki, president and chief executive of Mitsubishi Motors (Thailand). "Next year's prospects are unpredictable, as the economy and consumption will take time to recover," he said. Mitsubishi was one of the five companies that applied for Board of Investment (BoI) promotion for the second phase of the eco-car scheme. All eco-car production will be done at Mitsubishi's third plant in Laem Chabang Industrial Estate in Chon Buri province. The government confirmed changes to its high-speed development plan, adding a Bangkok-Rayong route and splitting the Nong Khai-Map Ta Phut route into two — Nong Khai-Nakhon Ratchasima and Nakhon Ratchasima-Bangkok-Map Ta Phut. The Nong KhaiMap Ta Phut route would cover 737 kilometres and cost 393 billion baht, while the Chiang Khong-Phachi route would be 655 km and cost 349 billion. Two high-speed rail routes costing a combined 741 billion baht would link Thailand with southern China. Bang Na-Trat office demand up - With office rents in Bangkok's central business district rising by 15% last year and nearly 6% more so far this year, more companies are considering Bang Na-Trat Road an alternative due to its competitive rents and convenient access to both the CBD and the Eastern Seaboard. However, the office market in this area suffers from a severe shortage of quality office supply. Suphin Mechuchep, managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), said Bang Na-Trat was known predominantly as a major manufacturing and logistics hub in eastern Bangkok. But in recent decades, the area has emerged as a major commercial location, with a number of retail and office developments lining the main road. The Thai division of South Korea's Posco has broken ground on a continuous galvanising line plant. Posco Coated Steel (Thailand) is setting up the factory to make high-end steel products to satisfy growing demand for automotive steel sheets in Thailand. Construction started in October on the Rayong facility, which will have annual capacity of 450,000 tonnes. The plant is expected to be finished in June 2016 at a cost of US$300 million. The site is in the Amata City Industrial Estate, the epicentre of Thailand's automotive industry and close to Laem Chabang port and many steel buyers. Taco Bell, the giant Tex-Mex food chain, is testing a new menu platform that's hotter than hot, and it pays homage to a small town in Thailand. About 70 restaurants in the Kansas City market have begun testing Sriracha, the wildly-popular hot sauce - in everything from tacos to nachos. If the test is a hit, the chain is expected to more widely roll-out the Sriracha platform, which is made with the paste of chili peppers and has its origins in Thailand, where it was first made in the Eastern Seaboard town of the same name 80 years ago. th
British Chamber of Commerce Thailand, 7 Floor 208 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand Tel: 038 427 771 Fax: 038 427 772 Email: mark.bowling@colliers.com www.bccthai.com