Eastern Seaboard Report November 2015 – Prepared by Mark Bowling, Chairman BCCT Eastern Seaboard
Three major investment projects worth about six billion baht are planned for the development of a cargo transport system at Laem Chabang Port in Chon Buri. The fiveyear plan has been initiated in a bid to turn the port into an Asean hub. The projects are being implemented to improve rail and land transport and container terminals at the port, Laem Chabang Port director Montree Rerkjamnian said on Thursday. The plans are designed to help the port keep up with predicted growth in demand for port services, he said. A contractor was being sought for a 1.8-billion-baht container terminal development project, Pol Sub Lt Montree said. The project was expected to be completed in 2018 resulting in additional cargo volume capacity of 300,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) per year, he said. Amata VN Plc, a subsidiary of SET-listed Amata Corporation, Thailand's biggest industrial estate developer, will distribute its initial public offering shares in early December. The company plans to offer 166.37 million IPO shares at a par value of 50 satang each. RHB Securities (Thailand) is the financial adviser, with Siam Commercial Bank as the underwriter. The IPO price is 7.50 baht, a discount of roughly 25% to fair value. After the distribution, the company expects its shares to trade on the Stock Exchange of Thailand from Dec 16. SET-listed Hemaraj Land and Development Plc has sold its biggest land plot yet this year to the Chinese-Thai joint venture SAIC Motor-CP Co. Hemaraj's vice-chairman of the board of directors, Jareeporn Jarukornsakul, said her company signed an agreement to sell 438 rai to SAIC Motor-CP, which makes MG cars. The site will be a manufacturing plant. Construction is to begin in early 2016 for the first phase at Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate 2 in Chon Buri province. "It's a good sign, showing that Thai industries, especially automotive and auto parts, have started to recover," Ms Jareeporn said. Amata Corporation Plc, Thailand's largest industrial estate developer, says its land sales this year could miss the target as investors prefer to wait for clearer investment policies from the government before making a decision. Land sales could be slightly lower than the 1,000-rai target, said Steven Siew, senior vice-president for finance, investor relations and IT. Mr Siew also blamed the global economic slowdown, which has deterred foreign investment from expanding business, for the drop in the company's land sales. "Both domestic and foreign investors have decided to slow down new investments, so there is no new investment or expansion of capacity," said Mr Siew, adding that investors are waiting for details of the industrial cluster policy. The government is reviewing privileges to be given to investors who invest in the 10 targeted industrial clusters, including certain high-tech industries such as robotics, biochemicals and aviation. SET-listed developer Property Perfect Plc (PF) plans to build a 4.5-billion-baht shopping mall in Si Racha despite seeing a trend towards poor purchasing power among consumers in the year ahead. Construction of the new project will begin in next year's first quarter on a 34.5-rai leasehold plot under a 30-year contract on Sukhumvit Road in Chon Buri's Si Racha district. Assistant chief executive Theerathat Singnarongthon said Dara Harbour would become the largest shopping mall in Si Racha, aimed at tapping Japanese expats and residents, office workers along the Eastern Seaboard. th
British Chamber of Commerce Thailand, 7 Floor 208 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand Tel: 085 2828 120 Email: mwbowling@savills.co.th www.bccthai.com
The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) will roll out the country's first smart grid electricity project, worth 1 billion baht, in Pattaya by early 2018 in a move to embrace internetconnected devices to improve energy efficiency. "The advantages of new advanced information and communication technology (ICT), particularly the Internet of Things (IoT), will help to improve the country's energy management and performance in area transmission and distribution," said Pongsakorn Yuthagovit, PEA's deputy director for system planning. A smart grid is a network that utilises ICT in the management, production and distribution of electricity. It helps to ensure power resources are used in the most beneficial way and that services are provided for consumers with higher efficiency, sustainability and reliability. Mr Pongsakorn said the 1-billion-baht project will cover replacement of smart meters in 120,000 homes throughout the city, and construction of a data centre to process all forms of communication, especially large data. Japanese car maker Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) insists it still plans to raise production at its Thai factories despite Thailand not yet joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Recently the parent company and Mitsubishi Motors (Thailand) celebrated the 4millionth car rolling off the assembly line in the Laem Chabang Industrial Estate on the Eastern Seaboard. Mitsunori Kitao, executive vice-president and chief operating officer of the Thai unit predicted the 5-millionth car would be made in 2018. At present, Mitsubishi Thailand operates three production facilities and one engine factory in the Laem Chabang Industrial Estate. The cabinet approved a draft cooperation framework Mid-November for the Thai-Chinese railway development project. Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the draft framework covered the construction of 1.435-metre standard-gauge railways along two routes. They are Nong Khai-Nakhon Ratchasima-Kaeng Khoi and Bangkok-Kaeng KhoiMap Ta Phut in Rayong Province. The two routes together will cover 867 kilometres and cost 350 billion baht. Mr Sansern said Thailand and China would establish special vehicle companies to run the train system, train operation, and maintenance and repair services. SET-listed PTT Global Chemical Plc (PTTGC) is conducting a feasibility study to add feedstock to naphtha and expand downstream production in a US$2-billion project in Map Ta Phut over the next five years. The project, called Map Ta Phut Retrofit, will convert the surplus naphtha from its oil refinery to be cracked into olefins and compound products, said Supattanapong Punmeechaow, chief executive of Thailand's largest petrochemical maker. This part of the project will cost one billion. If the company adds the naphtha surplus to feedstock, its annual olefins production will increase by 30% to 1.3 million tonnes. The feasibility study will be completed by year-end, after which the company will look for a partner to form a joint venture for its downstream production in Map Ta Phut. Savills (Thailand) Limited are soon to be re-opening a Pattaya office at Royal Garden Plaza and in conjunction with the opening, announce two new appointments effective from the 1st November 2015. The first being the appointment of Mark Bowling (Formerly Colliers International), who assumes the role of Associate Director - Head of Eastern Seaboard. Mark will lead the well established Savills property management business on the Eastern Seaboard. Furthermore, Mark will be responsible for developing a team specializing in residential sales and leasing throughout the region. The second appointment is Warisa Raktham (Joy) who joins as Sales Manager, Residential Sales th
British Chamber of Commerce Thailand, 7 Floor 208 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand Tel: 085 2828 120 Email: mwbowling@savills.co.th www.bccthai.com
& Leasing in Pattaya. Prior to joining Savills, Joy also worked alongside Mark Bowling at Colliers International as Sales Manager for over seven years. The following news items reproduced with kind permission of SATCC
A decision by authorities to close the pollution-prone Rayong Bay for three months is raising hopes of a revival of fish numbers which were hit by a severe oil leak in 2013. The closure, which runs until next month. TrelleborgVibracoustic, which supplies automotive and commercial vehicle companies with anti-vibration solutions, will use the plant to produce engine mounts, chassis mounts and body mounts for local customers such as Ford, GM, Nissan and Volvo. The new facility is located in the Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate close to Ford, GM, Suzuki and other OEMs. Starting with 30 employees, it is planned that until 2018 a workforce of around 200 will produce chassis mounts, engine mounts and dampers for local customers and export. The site is the company's 39th in the world and represents the first operation of a western supplier for automotive anti-vibration solutions in Thailand. BASF Chemcat (Thailand) Ltd., a joint venture between BASF of Germany and N.E. Chemcat Corporation of Japan, recently held the groundbreaking ceremony for its new plant located in Rayong?s Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate. Embracing high technology processes in its operations, the new facility will produce catalysts for catalytic converters in automobile and motorcycle exhaust system for its customers in the region. Toyota Tsusho (Thailand) Co., Ltd., a leading company of import-export, brokerage, trading and retailing services for the automotive and non-automotive sectors, recently held a spirit house ceremony at the new branch in the Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate. This will help the company expand its business opportunities and offer the best services and solutions to potential customers worldwide. Dana Spicer (Thailand) Ltd., subsidiary of US-based Dana Holding Corporation, a pioneer U.S. automotive industry supplier, recently celebrated the grand opening of its new factory at the Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate (Rayong) developed by Hemaraj Land And Development Plc. The new third 6,450-sq m facility will enable the company to produce gears for light vehicles to anticipate and answer the growing needs of the car market in the Asia-Pacific region. Hainbuch (Thailand) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Germany-based HAINBUCH GmbH Spannende Technik, provider of advanced work holding technology solutions, has finalized the lease contract for an additional Ready-Build Factory adjacent to the existing building to increase their production area. The facility will enable the company to offer the most costefficient solutions and products to its expanding customer base in Thailand and the rest of the region. Wide Faith Foods, a leading healthy rice snack products, recently signed a land purchase agreement with Hemaraj Land and Development Plc. for a 33-rai plot in Hemaraj Chonburi Industrial Estate 2 (Hemaraj CIE2), for its third factory in Thailand. With an annual production capacity of 30,000 tons, Wide Faith Foods manufacturing facility to be built on this site will be equipped with high-tech machinery imported from East Asia, Australia and Europe, and advanced computerized systems that will enable the company to meet rapidlyth
British Chamber of Commerce Thailand, 7 Floor 208 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand Tel: 085 2828 120 Email: mwbowling@savills.co.th www.bccthai.com
increasing demand. Its strategic location will make it easier to ship its range of value-added agricultural products, in the form of healthy snacks, to its customers worldwide. AirAsia has introduced four new routes out of U-tapao airport, setting a record in the Thai aviation industry for simultaneous launches. The launch of scheduled flights to Chiang Mai, Udon Thani, Singapore and Macau demonstrates the low-cost carrier's confidence in new traffic catchments which the sleepy navy-operated airfield in Rayong could create. AirAsia now operates eight routes through U-tapao and it is on course to introduce the ninth route on Dec 3 with the connection to Hat Yai. UACJ Group, Japan's largest aluminium manufacturer and the world's third-largest, has announced the official opening of its wholly-owned aluminium rolling plant in Rayong, which is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia, built at a cost of Bt21 billion. The plant started operations in August this year with annual capacity of 200,000 tonnes to be achieved in 2017. At least seven airlines are planning to begin operating at U-tapao Rayong Pattaya International Airport to serve tourists and business travellers. Rear Admiral Worapol Tongpricha, director of U-tapao Airport, said it had received more commercial air traffic since it opened full services. He said at least seven airlines including Hong Kong Airlines, China Southern, Okay Airways, Emirates, and local operator Pattaya Airlines planned to operate flights into U-tapao Airport. Hong Kong Airlines plans to operate four fights per week, while China Southern expects to start operations in January. Pattaya Airlines will resume its services. The rest are working on their business plans. Worapol said Terminal 2 was still undergoing construction at a cost of Bt800 million, but when it is completed next year it will increase annual capacity by a million passengers. From October last year to last month, the number of passenger rose tenfold thanks to more airlines using the airport. PTT Global Chemical, the country's largest petrochemicals producer, yesterday announced plans to invest US$7.7 billion in Thailand and the United States over the next five years. Some $5.7 billion will be for building a petrochemicals complex in Ohio to exploit shale-gas resources in the US state, $1 billion for its Map Ta Phut retrofit project in Rayong, and the balance for joint-venture projects with Toyota Tsusho and Sanyo Chemical to manufacture propylene oxide and polyether polyols at the Hemaraj Eastern Industrial Estate, also in Rayong. Ford Motor Co is set to increase its investment in Thailand, expanding its automobile factory in Rayong and building a second unit to make more cars and pickup trucks for export mainly to Asean and further in Asia. Revealed in November, the BMW G310R is a new motorcycle which will be sold across the globe. Engineered and developed by BMW Motorrad in Munich, G310R will be manufactured at BMW’s Munich plant and in TVS Motor Company’s Bengaluru plant. Apart from this, it will also be assembled at BMW Thailand / Rayong plant, and at their Manaus plant in Brazil. It is from these four plants the new G310R will be sold in all the major countries of the world. Located next to Ocean Marina Yacht Club, the new Movenpick Siam Pattaya hotel, a 75minute drive from Suvarnabhumi Airport, the 262-room resort is the first five-star beachfront property in Na Jomtien as it leads a trend that is fast turning Pattaya into a supreme familyfocused destination. "We are delighted to announce our opening in December, our fifth th
British Chamber of Commerce Thailand, 7 Floor 208 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand Tel: 085 2828 120 Email: mwbowling@savills.co.th www.bccthai.com
hotel in Thailand," said Andrew Langdon Movenpick Hotels & Resorts senior vice president for Asia.
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British Chamber of Commerce Thailand, 7 Floor 208 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand Tel: 085 2828 120 Email: mwbowling@savills.co.th www.bccthai.com