Eastern Seaboard Report October 2016 – Prepared by Mark Bowling, Chairman BCCT Eastern Seaboard
Thai Auto-related businesses are increasingly worried about the prospects for car exports after a two-month decline sending nervousness throughout the Eastern Seaboard. The automotive industry club of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) reported yesterday that the country's car shipments fell by 9.9% year-on-year in September to 112,565 units. Export value fell by 9% from September of last year to 58.8 billion baht. In contrast to above German auto-parts maker Schaeffler Group has officially started operations at its first production facility in Chon Buri, targeting customers across Southeast Asia and Oceania. Schaeffler inaugurated the new €20 million (778 million baht) plant at the Hemaraj Chonburi Industrial Estate II on Thursday. Industry Minister Atchaka Sibunruang, high-ranking Schaeffler executives and Chon Buri government officials were all in attendance. The 55,000-square-metre facility had a pilot launch in February, making four automotive components: clutch release systems, clutch pressure plates and discs, mechanical and hydraulic belt tensioners, and synchroniser rings. Its annual production totals 500,000 to 1 million pieces of each product type. (CP) Group and its property arm Magnolia Quality Development Corporation (MQDC) will revise a property development plan in Pattaya worth more than 30 billion baht after buying back all the shares from Chinese developer Greenland Holding Group, the project's former co-investor. MQDC chief executive Visit Malaisirirat said the revised plan will have more retail space because the project will have a new partner, Shanghai Kinghill Ltd, one of the family's China-based companies. "Shanghai Kinghill has expertise in retail, which we plan to incorporate into the new plan," he said. "It is the operator of Super Brand Mall, one of Asia's largest entertainment complexes." CPMG earlier planned to develop a large-scaled residential project worth 30 billion baht, which would comprise condominium, hotel, serviced residences and some retail space, located on 40 rai in the Na Jomtien area at a plot formerly used by Charoen Pokphand Foods, a CP Group business. The new plan for the Pattaya site will be completed early next year. It will be one of six new property development projects worth a combined 50 billion baht MQDC plans to launch next year. C9 Hotelworks has released a new report titled Si Racha Serviced Apartment Market Update 2016 that includes coverage of the area’s hotels as well. Si Racha is Thailand’s second largest industrial zone by scale, with over 65,000 work permits issued and the second largest Japanese community outside of Bangkok in the country. Currently the hotel and serviced apartment market stands at slightly more than 3,500 units while strong investment sentiment has bolstered the pipeline with 2,239 new keys expected to enter the th
British Chamber of Commerce Thailand, 7 Floor 208 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand Tel: 085 2828 120 Email: mwbowling1970@gmail.com www.bccthai.com
market by 2018. Incoming branded offerings by Accor’s Novotel, Ascott’s Somerset and Centara along with a Movenpick are in the works and creating a major shift into the market. Seven companies have been selected to produce 30.78 megawatts from industrial waste, falling short of the target of 50MW. Viraphol Jirapraditkul, spokesman for the Energy Regulatory Commission, said last week that the seven companies that won the bids to develop the power plants were PG & C 5714 (2.5MW), Chonburi Clean Energy (6.9MW), Sabang Yangyuen Pichit (1.88MW), Progress Interchem (Thailand) (4MW), Inva Grand Energy (3MW), Recovery House (5.5MW) and Cementhai Energy Conservation (7MW). They have a combined generating capacity of 41.83MW. These chosen bidders would have to complete the following procedures by February 25 – receive approvals for their environmental impact assessments and codes of practice, hold public hearings and enter into power sales agreements with the Provincial Electricity Authority. Successful bidders must commence commercial operations by December 2019. The following news items reproduced with kind permission of SATCC
Thailand’s Cape & Kantary adds brand new business hotel. Kameo Hotel Amata Bangpakong offers short- and long-stay accommodation on Eastern Seaboard. Cape & Kantary Hotels will expand its Thai portfolio this month with the launch of a brand new business hotel in Bangkok’s industrial hinterlands. Scheduled to open in October 2016, the Kameo Hotel Amata Bangpakong is a new-build hotel designed for both long- and shortstay guests. The company said it is targeted at the local industrial sector, “especially expat or business owners who come to work in this area or wish to arrange group meetings”. The
160-key hotel offers a range of accommodation types, including deluxe rooms, studios and one- and two-bedroom suites. Facilities include a restaurant, swimming pool and executive lounge, and for the MICE market there is a business centre and conference rooms able to handle up to 100 people. Cape & Kantary’s Kameo brand specialises in combining hotel and serviced apartment facilities. The new property becomes the sixth Kameo property in Thailand, many of which serve the industrial Eastern Seaboard. Construction company Aveng’s McConnell Dowell subsidiary received top honours for excellence in project execution at the International Pipe Line & Offshore Contractors Association Awards held in Paris, France, earlier this month. The company was recognised for its fourth transmission pipeline phase 2 project, in Thailand. The pipeline delivers energy from offshore exploration and production by PTT Public Company. The complex gas pipeline and facilities project, which was executed between June 2014 and August 2015, th
British Chamber of Commerce Thailand, 7 Floor 208 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand Tel: 085 2828 120 Email: mwbowling1970@gmail.com www.bccthai.com
spans a distance of 300 km, from Rayong province in the east to Saraburi province, in the middle of the country. The company emphasised that it completed the project in a challenging, densely populated environment, ahead of a demanding one-year schedule and with zero lost-time injuries.
Thailand’s EGAT completes comprehensive dam monitoring installation – including the Eastern Seaboard. The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand and the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre have completed their installation of automated monitoring systems on all of EGAT’s dams and hydropower projects. The collaboration began in 2013 when NECTEC was charged with helping to develop a comprehensive, real-time data gathering system that could be centrally monitored by EGAT. Since then, the system — including remote terminal units, communication links, computer servers and monitoring software — has been installed at all of EGAT’s 14 dams and hydroelectric plants. NECTEC said the system can be used to detect leaks, shifts in infrastructure and other potential faults to “provide concerned staff with the relevant predictions, guidance and warning about possible failures.” EGAT’s own hydro fleet has a cumulative capacity of about 3,450 MW, according to company documents, while the company also has purchase agreements for power produced by hydro plants in a number of neighboring countries. The government has vowed to promote Thailand as an investment hub for the Asean region, while redoubling efforts to attract Chinese investors to tap Thailand as a gateway to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV), where the economies are growing. The corridor, which will run through Chon Buri, Rayong and Chachoengsao, has been designated for development as a high-tech industry cluster, with an eye towards becoming Asean's leading economic zone for industrial, infrastructure and urban development. Despite gloomy economic conditions, Chinese-Thai joint venture SAIC Motor-CP Co has begun construction of its second assembly plant at Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate 2 in Chon Buri province. SAIC Motor-CP is one of 10 car firms that applied for phase two of the government eco-car scheme. It was granted Board of Investment privileges in November 2014 to make 110,000 eco-cars a year worth 7.6 billion baht. SAIC Motor-CP bought 438 rai of land for an undisclosed sum from SET-listed Hemaraj Land and Development Plc last November. It announced in May this year plans to build a second 700,000-square-metre facility, which would handle MG vehicle production processes such as body assembly, vehicle assembly and painting under one roof. th
British Chamber of Commerce Thailand, 7 Floor 208 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand Tel: 085 2828 120 Email: mwbowling1970@gmail.com www.bccthai.com
FOUR high-speed-rail projects will be included in the government’s 2017 investment plan, while three routes of the double-tracking project will be proposed to the Cabinet today, said Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith. He said most of the ministry’s investments in fiscal 2017 would be continuations of projects from fiscal 2016 and those that were unable to attain their targets this fiscal year. Next week, the ministry will report such problems to the Cabinet, he said. The four high-speed-rail projects that are not expected to achieve their targets this fiscal year will be included in the 2017 plan. These are the Bt179-billion 252.5kilometre Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima route, the Bt224-billion 382km BangkokPhitsanulok route, the Bt152-billion 193.5km Bangkok-Rayong route, and the Bt94.6-billion 165km Bangkok-Hua Hin route. CORBION, a major producer of lactic acid and its derivatives, has invested US$100 million (Bt3.5 billion) in the expansion of its poly-lactic-acid (PLA) polymerisation plant in Rayong, Thailand, which is the company’s first facility in the Asia-Pacific region. THE VALUE of residential projects launched in Chon Buri, Rayong and Chachoengsao provinces has risen to more than Bt220 billion this year, thanks mainly to the government’s policy decision to develop infrastructure and industry in the Eastern Economic Corridor Hemaraj Leasehold Real Estate Investment Trust will have properties in industrial estates of Hemaraj Land and Development Pcl. The REIT will issue 569.4 million trust units to WHA Premium Growth Real Estate Investment Trust's unit holders, with some of the proceeds to be used for debt repayment, according to WHA CEO Jareeporn Jarukornsakul. Hemaraj Leasehold Real Estate Investment Trust will have properties in industrial estates of Hemaraj Land and Development Pcl. The REIT will issue 569.4 million trust units to WHA Premium Growth Real Estate Investment Trust's unit holders, with some of the proceeds to be used for debt repayment, according to WHA CEO Jareeporn Jarukornsakul. German car parts maker and industrial services company Robert Bosch GmbH is investing about €43 million (1.7 billion baht) in a new factory and automotive research and development centre in Thailand to accommodate its growing business in the region. The new factory and automotive research and development centre at Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate in Rayong is scheduled to complete construction this year, and start operations mid-2017. Beginning on November 1, all boats will not be allowed to dock at Laem Bali hai pier in Pattaya. The ban was issued by Colonel Pob-anan Luangpanuwat, deputy commander of 14th army circle, following a meeting with relevant agencies to solve traffic problem and th
British Chamber of Commerce Thailand, 7 Floor 208 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand Tel: 085 2828 120 Email: mwbowling1970@gmail.com www.bccthai.com
lack of parking space for cars at Laem Balihai which is public land. Several hundred
soldiers blocked off access to the jetty’s large parking area early Nov. 1 as tractors with scraper blades began removing muck, oil and grime that accumulated over the years. Meanwhile, jackhammers pounded away at the boat ramp adjacent to the parking area, which will force speedboat owners looking to put their vessels back in the water to go elsewhere. It appeared Oct. 31 that the hundreds of boat owners had complied with the military’s order to relocate their parked vessels before the month’s end. Pickup trucks and tractors were seen throughout the day hauling away 100-150 boats to lots on Soi Kophai and in Jomtien Beach.
th
British Chamber of Commerce Thailand, 7 Floor 208 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand Tel: 085 2828 120 Email: mwbowling1970@gmail.com www.bccthai.com