Danish-Thai Trade News November 2010

NOV 2010

Money Finance

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Though the world is big, your bank is always close at hand. It is there – no matter where you are – at JBPB Netbank, on en.jyskebank.tv – or in your home, should you request a visit by your adviser. jyskebank.ch/whyjbpb

JYSKE BANK (SCHWEIZ) AG RIVATE ANKING ASSERWERKSTRASSE ËÌ OSTFACH ÒÊÌË zRICH EL ÝÎË Ê ÎÎ ÍÐÒ ÑÍÑÍ AX ÝÎË Ê ÎÎ ÍÐÒ ÑÍÑÓ INFOÀJYSKEBANK CH WWW JYSKEBANK CH Jyske Bank (Schweiz) AG is a subsidiary of Jyske Bank A/S, Business Reg. No. 17616617. Services and products are not available to everybody, for instance not to residents of Denmark.

DANISH-THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 34 C.P. Tower 3, 9th Floor Tower, Phayathai Road, Ratchathewi, Bangkok10400 Tel.: +66 2 354 5220 Fax: +66 2354 5221 E-mail: contact@dancham.or.th Executive Director: Katrine Præst PRESIDENT Mr. Peter Emil Romhild Sr. Executive Vice President Berli Jucker Public Co., Ltd. Tel : +66 2 367 1111 Fax : +66 2 367 1000 E-mail : president@dancham.or.th VICE PRESIDENT / TREASURER / ALUMNI / HR Mr. Søren Presmann Managing Director Presmann (Thailand) Co., Ltd. Tel : +66 2 962 1151 Mob : +66 89 668 7840 Fax : +66 2 962 1152 E-mail : treasurer@dancham.or.th VICE PRESIDENT / MEMBERSHIP / CSR / HR Mr. Charnchai Charuvastr Chairman Aviva Décor Limited Tel: +66 2 685 3661-3 Email: member@dancham.or.th CHAIRWOMAN EVENTS Mrs. Mai Ellegaard General Manager Euro-Center (Thailand) Co., Ltd. Tel : +66 2 696 3626-27 E-mail : chairevent@dancham.or.th EVENTS Mr. Thomas Nyborg Managing Director Pandora Production Co., Ltd. Tel : +66 2 728 7200 E-mail : event@dancham.or.th EVENTS / LEGAL ADVISOR Mr. Santhapat Periera Partner Tilleke & Gibbins International Ldt. Tel : +66 2 263 7700 Fax : +66 2 263 7710 E-mail : egal@dancham.or.th CHAIRMAN MEMBERSHIP Mr. Jacob Bojsen Managing Director Visit Beyond Co. Ltd. Tel : +66 2 630 6994-8 E-mail : chairmember@dancham.or.th FOREIGN AFFAIRS / MEMBERSHIP Mr. Stig Vagt-Andersen General Manager Ben Adisti Co. Ldt. Tel : +66 2 168 7206 E-mail : foreign@dancham.or.th CHAIRMAN MEDIA Mr. Jakob Ingemann Chief Financial Officer ECCO (Thailand) Co., Ltd. Tel : +66 35 716 601 E-mail : chairmedia@dancham.or.th MEDIA Mr. Robert Kronberg Managing Director PIRO Consulting Group Tel : +66 81 406 2854 Fax : +66 2 254 5766 E-mail : web@dancham.co.th

Peter E. Romhild President Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce

Dear Readers Welcome to the new issue of Trade News. You will notice that we now cover a specific theme in each issue, this time relating to finance in Thailand. Whether you need a private loan for housing, establishing a business in Thailand or choosing leasing versus buying Thailand is not that much different from other countries, but rules and regulations are different for Thai and foreign companies or individuals.

We cover those subjects through articles from professionals and members, who have experience in these matters. It is difficult to understand the jungle of laws, and much easier to read real life experiences. If it is difficult for a foreign company to get a loan in a Thai bank, it is almost as difficult to find a member of the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce that has actually tried to get a loan. But some of course have - and some have even succeeded. Are foreign owned companies more risky than Thai’s, and can you get a loan from a Danish bank? You can read all about this and much more.

I would also urge our readers to comment on their experiences, good or bad, and send a few lines to our Chamber Director, Katrine Præst, to include on our website. You can also contact us via facebook or linkedin. Our recent updated website is much more user friendly, and we have many ways to interact with our members and other readers, so that reading the website becomes a must every day!

Pandora’s founder Per Enevoldsen is well known to the Danish community, but maybe less so Pandora’s Corporate Social Responsibility activities, and all the funds that Per gives back to the poorest in the Thai society. A very note worthy cause.

DTCC has reached out to the many young Nordic men and women living in Thailand through the establishment of Nordic Young Professionals, so that they have a forum to meet and interchange ideas.

I hope that you will find our new ‘theme’ concept interesting and exciting reading.

Good hunting with the Trade News!

MEDIA Mr. Thomas Lindy Sorensen Managing Director Maersk Line (Thailand) Ltd. Tel : +66 2752 9090 Fax : +66 2 750 9614 Email : media@scanmach.co.th EMBASSY REPRESENTATIVE Mr. Bo Bjerregaard Rasmussen Commercial Counsellor Royal Danish Embassy Tel : +66 89 204 9098 E-mail: borasm@um.dk EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Ms. Katrine Præst Executive Director Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce Tel : +66 2 354 5220 Fax : +66 2 354 5221 Email : director@dancham.or.th EDITING, MARKETING & PRODUCTION Scand-Media Corp. Ltd. 4/41 - 2 Moo, Ramintra Soi 14, Bangkok 10230 Tel.: (66) 02943 7166-8 Fax: (66) 02943 7169 Editor: Mr. Gregers Moller - gregers@scandmedia.com Marketing: Mr. Finn Balslev - finn@scandmedia.com Design: Supphathada Numamnuay supphathada@scandmedia.com

Peter E. Romhild President

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Getting a Loan If a foreign company in Thailand wants to obtain a loan it is a question of collateral and meeting terms and conditions.

According to an expert it is no different from any other country

By Søren Lykke Bülow

”T

here are too many problems with getting a loan in a Thai bank.”

This is a sentence that often comes up when you ask Danish companies if they have got a loan in Thailand.

Many of them actually would like to have a loan. But there have been many stories about needing to put up a million if you want to borrow a million, and many companies are scared away because of these stories.

Not that hard

But according to Santhapat Periera, Partner in the multi-service law firm Tilleke & Gibbins International and an expert in these issues, the terms and conditions for obtaining a loan are very much similar to the ones known from European countries. ”The bank will research the individual case and find the conditions for a possible loan,” Periera says.

The important thing about getting a loan is being as Thai as possible. ”As long as you are a public or limited company under Thai registration and incorporated in the country it is possible. It is also possible as a subsidiary having a parent company back home – in Denmark for instance – as long as you are separated from the original company,” he says.

Crucial matters

There are different issues, though, that need to be quite clear if a loan is to be obtained.

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For instance, it will often play an important role if the company has been represented in Thailand for quite a while. ”It is definitely harder for at new company or subsidiary to obtain a loan from the bank,” Periera says.

The entire relationship with the bank is essential if a loan is to be granted. ”First of all, it is very important to have a good relationship with your bank. Both on a personal basis, but certainly also in a professional way. You need an account there, you have to pay your bills and salary through the bank, and if everything works out nice you will be a lot more likely to get your loan,” says Santhapat Periera.

Size matters

The question about getting a loan will often be a matter of credit worthiness and equity. It is just easier for a big company than for a small one. ”Small and medium sized companies will have to fight significantly more for a loan than a big one,” says Periera.

Tilleke & Gibbins International works with legal advise and assistance, and from time to time they have clients who want to obtain loans.

Santhapat Periera has been working with bank loans from both sides – the companies and the banks. ”The bank will always have a close look at the credit worthiness. They will investigate your records and find out how valuable it is to lend your company money. This can cause great challenges in your search for ob-

taining a loan, but I do not see it as very different from the most Western countries,” he says.

According to Santhapat Periera it is easier to get a loan as a foreign company than as an individual foreigner. ”It is more safe and secure to lend money to a company than one single person. It is much easier to demand credit worthiness and equity in terms of collateral that needs to be put up with a company,” he says.

Conditions apply

One of the bigger challenges with getting a loan in Thailand is that the terms and conditions very much varies from bank to bank and from time to time. This means that the different banks often will have different strategies, and this is not always to the foreign companies advantages. ”There is a joke here in Thailand that goes, the bank will lend you an umbrella when it is not raining – and then they will take it back when it starts to rain,” Periera says. ”It might be an exaggeration, but nevertheless it can often feel like it is working this way, especially for medium- and small sized foreign companies,” he says. ”You might, of course, consider using a legal adviser to help out with the work of getting the loan. We have seen in several cases that it makes the proceedings easier.”

Borrowers

a Rare Species Maybe it is not difficult for a foreign company to get a loan in a Thai bank. But is is not easy to find a member of the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce that has actually tried to get one. However, some have of course - and some have even succeeded.

By Søren Lykke Bülow

A

fter talking to a range of selected members of the DanishThai Chamber of Commerce it becomes clear that it is not just the level of terms and conditions that have to be fulfilled which make foreign companies not taking bank loans. Many companies are just not in need of loans.

Danish-Thai TradeNews has taken the temperature on Dancham members’ experiences with Thai banks. We have asked ten companies to tell us about their experiences with financing as a foreign company in Thailand.

Here are some of the answers given to us.

Mads Loevig Managing Director, Scan Food Co., Ltd Have you tried to get a loan in Thailand No, but I have thought about it. But I have heard so many stories going, ‘when you lend a milion, you have to bring a million’. We have been self-financing so far, so I have not really looked into the option of borrowing.

Søren Presmann Managing Director, Presmann (Thailand) Co., Ltd. Have you tried to get a loan in Thailand?

Yes. I have not had a regular big money loan, but I have an overdraft facility.

How hard was it to get?

I use Siam Commercial Bank and it was actually quite easy. My Thai partner took care of everything. We had to present some credit worthiness, and we put up a property as collateral, which framed the overdraft possibilities.

We do not use this anymore, though. Our goal is to be self-financing for as long time as possible. We established the overdraft facility so we have the possibility to use it if it gets necessary to fund a new project for instance.

Thomas Orthaus Hansen General Manager, SKOV Asia Have you tried to get a loan in Thailand?

No, we do not have the needs for one.

If we are ever going to be in need of financing, it will be processed through our parent company back in Denmark.

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Henrik Janssen Managing Director, M.I.A.C. Automation Co., Ltd. Have you tried to get a loan in Thailand?

Yes, I have had different experiences with it.

How hard was it to get?

Standard Chartered: Was by far the easiest place to get it. They were quite willing to give a loan and had by far the best interest rates.

SCB: I also have an overdraft at Siam Commercial Bank which was simple to get. Here, we had some propery put up as collateral.

Kasikorn Bank: It was impossible for me to get a loan at Kasikorn Bank when I wanted one. The process was dragged out and it never became reality.

As I see it, there is no problems with getting a loan or overdraft as long as you have something to put up as collateral.

This makes the bank’s risk of getting cheated very small.

Sune Sucksdorff Managing Director, Net Protection Concepts International Co., Ltd. (NPC International) Have you tried to get a loan in Thailand?

We are currently exploring our possibilities.

What is your current impression?

Currently, we use Bangkok Bank, but here there is no way to get a loan unless you put up land as collateral. They do not accept anything else, and you can forget everything about getting an overdraft. You even need to put up collateral just to get a credit card.

What’s the plan then?

We are exploring where to get a loan. But my impression is that when you are a small company like us, you do not have many facilities. The bigger, the better, and the more money the bank expects you to have.

Morten Halfdan Petersen Managing Director, VIKING Life-Saving Equipment (Thailand) Ltd. Have you tried to get a loan in Thailand?

No, actually we have never even considered it. We only use our Thai bank to pay wages to our employees and for local transactions.

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Risky Business Thai banking regulators regard lending money to companies with foreign ownership as more risky than to companies without foreigners involved.

By Gregers Moller

R

egulators, who oversee the Thai banking sector, can be critical if they find loans or credits granted to foreign individuals, says well known retired lady Thai banker Khun Vongthip Chumpani. Too many foreigners run away from their debt.

“Lending to foreigners is normally frowned upon by our banking regulators because of the inherent risk of foreign borrowers simply leaving the country and their credit obligations,” she says.

"The costs of collecting bad debts from foreigners are too high to be viable and most of the time Thai banks have to simply write them off as bad debts.”

“When it comes to locally registered companies, partly owned by foreigners, lending can be considered on a case by case basis. But again it is necessary to establish where the credit risk lies. If the borrowing company depends solely on the foreign shareholders, has small paid up capital, unhealthy audited financials and insufficient tangible assets as collateral, the same risk has to be taken into account as in the case of individual borrowers.

Case by case

Since Khun Vongthip retired from day-to-day banking operations some 9 years ago, specific conditions or current criteria that Thai banks apply to loans to foreign companies is no longer part of her involvement. But the basic rule still applies, that all applications are considered 10

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on case by case basis like any other loans to local companies.

“The applying company's strengths and weaknesses will have to be identified and all the possible weaknesses and risks have to be mitigated by different measures that could be taken upon mutual agreement. Besides credit risk, the bank have to consider other inherent risks i.e. commercial risk, market risk, operational risk, management and succession risk,” she says.

“Accusations also arise time and again that Thai banks are charging their SME borrowers high fees and high loan margins. People seem to conveniently forget to mention that "high risk means high return" so that margins charged by Thai banks cannot be compared with those of foreign banks who are simply not lending to the higher risk market segments,” she explains.

“Banks also have to comply with many stringent criteria and conditions set up by the banking regulators as per Basle 2 and Basle 3, which are global recommendations on banking laws and regulations issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.”

“If for instance there is a delay in repayment up to 3 months, lending bank will have to put up 100% of the loan amount in the form of interest free provision with the Bank of Thailand. If the company shows a continued loss of 3 years, it may have to be classified as a non-performing loan and the lending bank will have to also put up provisions etc. etc.”

Where are the foreign banks?

“It surprises me time and again to hear foreigners complain about Thai banks not lending to them when many foreign banks simply shut their doors to foreign SME borrowers.”

“Foreign banks and/or "Thai banks with foreign majority ownership and management control" seem to prefer to do business only with the super prime MNC's or prime local business conglomerates, leaving the more risky corporate midmarket to be catered to by the few Thai banks,” Khun Vongthip Chumpani says.

Only when it comes to high-margin consumer loans (credit cards/ personal loans/ car loans/housing loans) some foreign banks do offer these products, on and off, subject to their parent banks' prevailing policies and directives, she adds.

Mortgage loans

As for mortgage loans to foreigners and foreign property companies, Khun Vongthip thinks the foreign banks should shoulder or share the risks with Thai banks.

“In my personal opinions, Thai banks in general will not be considering mortgage loans to foreigners in the near future due to the fact that the property market worldwide is expected to be in the doldrum for a few more years. A correction in China's property market is also expected in the not too distant future.”

“Instead, foreign banks would do well to consider lend-

ing to foreign borrowers and foreign SME's in Thailand rather than pressuring Thai banks into doing it for them. They should also consider sharing the risk with Thai banks by providing sufficient and unconditional standby guarantees for the loans in addition to the mortgages that the Thai banks could take up on their behalf, she says.

Thai banks not all Thai

The term "Thai banks" also needs to be clarified.

“Currently there are in fact only a couple of genuine Thai banks left,” she explains.

“After the 1997 Crisis, most of the 15 Thai banks disappeared, were swallowed up, merged or simply liquidated by the Bank of Thailand. Several of the remaining Thai banks were taken over outright by foreign banks, with the remaining few independent Thai banks now significantly owned either by foreign investors or foreign banks as well as by powerful foreign institutions, particularly in Singapore.”

“Singapore is not the only nation that now has significant control of Thai commercial banking system. UK, Canada and China have increased their ownerships in Thai banks. The EU and the US are also planning to expand their roles in the Thai financial sector via their bilateral FTA with Thailand,” Khun Vongthip adds.

Keen on Investing in Thailand A survey from the Thailand Board of Investment indicates that foreign investors' confidence in Thailand has strengthened substantially since last year.

Applications submitted in the first eight months of 2010 reached nearly 270 billion bath.

By Søren Lykke Bülow

O

nce again there is a willingness to invest in Thailand from foreign investors. A survey from the Board of Investment (BOI) shows that 50 percent of respondants intent to expand their investments in the country during 2010-2011.

Industrial sectors are gearing up more than Bt131 billion worth of investment expansion projects, which among other things is boosting the local employment rate, explains the Board of Investment in a press release.

The value of investment applications submitted for incentives and privileges in the first eight months of 2010 reached nearly Bt270 billion. The survey, with a total of 686 respondents, was conducted on existing foreign investors in Thailand from February to July this year.

Higher over-all confidence Results indicate a substantial rise in investors' confidence in Thailand. Foreign investors now have higher confidence in every category compared to last year's survey. This includes business performance, where confidence has surged to 71.9 percent, representing huge growth from 41.5 percent in 2009.

Over 50 percent of investors plan to invest consistently in Thailand during 2010-2011, while 41.5 percent said they have prepared expansions with strong confidence in the Thai government’s investment incentives and supporting policies, and the country’s stable fundamentals and reasonable labor costs.

When comparing six countries around the region, including Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and China, foreign investors felt that

Thailand offered competitive advantages in its strong fundamentals, transportation system, infrastructure, telecommunications and logistics.

Only 3,7 percent of the respondents have plans to reduce their investment in Thailand due to effects of the global recession and a small local market.

Politics and investments Industry Minister Chaiwuti Bunnawat thinks this is a sign of trust from foreign investors in Thailand. ”Since the survey was conducted over a period that extended past the recent political unrest, the results can be seen as confirmation that political issues in Thailand do not affect the confidence of investors. Thailand remains a top foreign investment destination with strong economic fundamentals and competiveness,” he says in the press release.

“There were also some investors who requested that the government do away with unnecessary bureaucratic regulation to help facilitate investment.

Their recommendations on this will be considered toward a solution,” Caiwuti adds.

More jobs

Mr. Chaiwut also said the BOI has reported findings on the current employment picture, manufacturing output, and sales from 400 large enterprises with an investment value of at least Bt500 million that have been granted incentives and privileges from the Board. The survey for the month of August 2010, which looked at the permanent and outsourced employees of enterprises in different industries, showed the average employment rate increasing 9.3% y-o-y.

In the next six months some

209 companies, or 52% of respondents, intend to recruit more employees. These are mostly in the automotive and electronics industries. Moreover, as many as 97 companies in a variety of industries said they will expand their investment projects.

This represents a total investment value of Bt131.53 billion.

Eight-month investment

BOI Secretary General Dr. Atchaka Sibunruang disclosed that between January and August this year, the Board granted privileges to 949 projects with an investment value totaling Bt269 billion. That marks a robust 46% increase in the number of projects compared with the 652 applications in the same eight-month period of 2009. The investment value increased 12% from Bt240 billion a year earlier, states the press release.

Most of the projects that applied for BOI privileges in January-August are related to electricity generation using natural gas and alternative energy, automobile parts, and electronic parts.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first eight months this year totaled 527 projects with an investment value of Bt122.15 billion. The number of FDI projects increased 29.5% over the 407 projects during same period of 2009. The investment value rose 43.2% from Bt85.26 billion a year earlier.

Japan remains the No. 1 foreign investor in Thailand, followed by Spain and Singapore.

November 2010

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Keeping Credit Time Down In Thailand, few local companies pay an invoice without having been reminded at least once. The average credit time is thus often longer than in other parts of the world making the resources spent on Accounts Receivable Management higher.

By Thomas Lykke Pedersen

A

ccording to AR experts, one of the most important things when collecting overdue accounts is to act quickly. Start by making phone calls followed by letters to upper-level managers for the customer. Try to negotiate settlement payments, such as installments or asset donations. If your collection efforts fail, you may want to use a collection agency.

Danish-Thai TradeNews has asked a few Dancham members how they handle this delicate issue.

Eventually we go to court

“As of now we’re actually having a dispute with a customer.

We have both signed a clear contract, but now they don’t want to pay the last ten percent of the agreed amount.

“We have argued back and forth but without any result.

Therefore we’ve chosen to leave the matters at an attorney. At

Benefits of Accounts Receivable Management There are more benefits to a more efficient accounts receivable management than just having a more comfortable cash flow.

Other benefits include: • • • • • •

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Higher credit sales and margins Reduced bad debt loss Lower administrative cost in the entire revenue cycle Decreased deductions and concessions losses Enhanced customer service Decreased administrative burden on sales force

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first we hope to simply settle by arbitration but if we do not find a solution and the company continuously chooses not to pay, we will take it to court.”

“We don’t offer any special conditions to get our costumers to pay their invoices at a faster pace.”

Allan Jensen, Managing Director, Scanpro Thailand Co., Ltd.

No payment incentives

“We have had several disagreements with Thai companies.

Paying on time is not always their strongest side. But that’s just the way it is, I guess. Therefore we always make sure to be on top of things. Every month we have a meeting focusing on what ever outstanding debt we may need to collect and we have one employee whose sole purpose is to take care of these matters. Furthermore we have very dedicated bill collectors going from company to company securing our payments. If we still can’t collect our money we simply have no other option than to sue the other party.”

“We have tried with various cash discounts to costumers in other parts of Asia, but it has never paid out in the long run. It worked according to planned in the beginning, but after a while companies started to stall anyway. So it’s not something we have implemented in Thailand, nor do we plan to.”

“One of our services is repair jobs as well as supplying

our customers with spare parts for our machines. Sometimes we have arguments with costumers complaining that the process time is to long, and in some of those cases we can agree to work out a compromise simply to get our money faster.”

Rene Ludvigsen, Managing Director, Heidelberg Graphics.

A recent problem

“We never really used to have any problems concerning debt collection before, but after the crises, both the international one and especially the riots here in Thailand, we have experienced several cases of late payments and stalling. It’s easily felt that many companies suffered and still suffer from the repercussions.”

“As we are part of a big international concern we may sometimes be a bit lazy when it comes to a accounts receivable management, because we don’t have any problems with our cash flow. Therefore we don’t wan’t to waste a lot of time and manpower on collecting debt but simply leave those cases at our attorneys desk.”

“We haven’t yet had to go to court, nor have we ever written off any customer debt. The letters from our attorneys seem to do the trick.”

Henrik Toftum, Managing Director, arvato systems (Thailand) Ltd.

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Export Credit Fund Sale on credit can often give a vital competitive edge in international trade, in the same way as price, quality and expertise. Export sale on credit may also be necessary because it can be difficult for buyers in less developed countries with weak financial sectors to raise the required credit, or sufficient liquidity, for payment in cash. In such cases, export credit financing may be your key to ensure that the deal can take place.

By Gregers Moller

E

ksport Kredit Fonden (EKF) is a Danish facility which offers insurance of commercial and political risk to exporters and financial institutions that hold payment risks related to Danish exports.

Political risk is the risk of non-payment of goods due to impediments in the buyer country such as war, civil war, currency rationing, currency restrictions, import and export bans or measures/actions by the local authorities that make it impossible for payments to be received.

Commercial risk is the risk of buyer/debtor default due to e.g. bankruptcy or insolvency, cancellation of the contract, or the buyer's refusal to endorse payment authorisations.

When the private credit market - banks and insurance companies - either cannot or will not cover a transaction, EKF can step in and provide the necessary guarantees. This means that Danish business enterprises can compete with credit terms that are equal to those offered under export credit schemes in other countries.

economic interest. In this context, EKF defines Danish economic interest in a very broad sense.

Key elements of the evaluation are: • Whether production is based on Danish raw materials/components, Danish design and know-how, or Danish competence and expertise • Whether all gross profits are paid to Danish companies, including subcontractors • Whether payments are made to employees, carriers, etc. that pay tax in Denmark and/ or receive payment of their remuneration in Denmark • Whether dividend, interest income, licences, royalties or similar from the export transaction fall to Denmark now and/ or in the future • The volume of goods and equipment produced by Danish-owned subsidiaries in third countries • The significance of the export transaction to ensuring internationally competitive terms for the company in question • Whether markets for Danish products are retained, or new markets are created

Danish interests

There is no fixed percentage or similar measure of whether the Danish interest is sufficient for EKF. This is decided on a case-

For EKF to be able to offer its participation, the export transaction must involve a Danish 14

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by-case basis. But the Danish economic interest must be substantial and incremental to the credit risk. EKF's guarantee department has the resources to conduct an immediate provisional assessment of whether a given transaction fulfils the Danish economic interest criterion.

Conditions

For EKF to offer insurance, the following conditions must be met: • The risk period must normally be longer than 12 months, typically the term of the credit.

• For credit terms exceeding 2 years, it is a prerequisite that the exporter has received a prepayment of minimum 15% from the foreign buyer.

• The credit must normally be repaid according to the serial loan principle, i.e. equal installment.

• The debtor (the holder of the payment obligation) must be approved by EKF • The order amount must be minimum DKK 250,000.

• A Danish economic interest must be involved in the transaction as described above.

Non commercial conditions But EKF has a set of other criteria, that must be met, apart from

the commercial conditions.

The environmental risks associated with the export transactions is a key element of the CSR policy of EKF. For larger, more complex projects additional environmental impact assessments will often be necessary. Read more about Environment and environmental impact assessment.

It is also important to EKF that no bribes have been given or taken in connection with an export transaction. Both exporter and policyholder are therefore required to sign a declaration of non-bribery.

How much does it cost?

When EKF guarantees the payments for an export transaction, the policyholder pays a premium to EKF. The premium for each transaction is fixed on an individual basis and reflects the risk on the transaction.

Premiums are graded into three country premium groups (political risk) and premium classes B – F for buyers/guarantors and banks (commercial risk).

Thailand is a Category III country which means the Premium is 1.4 pct. As for the commercial risk, the transaction will be evaluated by your bank and EKF on a case-by-case basis.

If there is a commercial

Case: Olam International reason for the payment default (e.g. if the buyer goes bankrupt or suspends its payments) as a rule EKF pays maximum 95% of the outstanding amount to the exporter. If there is a political reason for the payment default EKF pays maximum 90% of the outstanding amount.

This means that the exporter has an own risk of minimum 10% of the commercial and political risks.

For the bank involved there is also an own risk. If your export transaction cannot be executed due to political or commercial risks, EKF covers up to 95% of the bank's commercial and political risks. The bank thus has an own risk of minimum 5% of the commercial and political risks.

EKF Finance Secured Factory in Vietnam

T

he illiquid status of financial markets in February 2009 at the height of credit crisis would probably have made it impossible for the Danish company Olam International to obtain financing for a tenor of more than 2 or 3 years.

“However, with the support of an export credit guarantee from EKF we were able to provide Olam International with an 8.5 year loan,” says Antero Ranta from ANZ Structured Asset and Export Finance, Singapore.

Olam International is a global company within agricultural products and food ingredients and a supplier of products such as cocoa, coffee, cashew nuts, peanuts, sesame, rice, cotton and wood products. The company wanted to invest in a facility in Vietnam to produce spraydried coffee powder, agglomerated powder and freeze-dried coffee.

Olam had selected GEA Process Engineering, Soeborg as the supplier of the facility. GEA Process Engineering specializes in the development, design and engineering of liquid and powder processing equipment. The financial crisis, however, made it difficult to obtain the necessary financing, but with an EKF guarantee it all fell into place.

“This transaction represents a milestone for us because we were able to obtain long-term financing for our operation in an emerging market despite the financial crisis,” says Arun Sharma, Senior Vice President, Coffee Division, Olam.

Source: http://www.ekf.dk

November 2010

15

To Lease or Not to Lease?

It’s a common dilemma: Lease or Buy? Every company who has ever considered leasing has also considered if they should not rather buy.

By Thomas Lykke Pedersen

W

hen making a 'lease or buy' decision you must look not only at financial comparisons but also at your company’s specific priorities.

Is having a new vehicle every two or three years with no major repair risks more important than long-term cost? Or are long term cost savings more important than lower monthly payments?

Is having some ownership more important than low up-front costs and no down payment? Is it important to you to pay off your vehicle and be debt-free for a while, even if it means higher monthly payments for the first few years?

Buying and leasing differences

When you buy, you pay for the entire cost of a vehicle, regardless of how many miles you drive it. You typically make a down payment, pay sales taxes in cash or roll them into your loan, and pay an interest rate determined by your loan company, based on your credit history. You make your first payment a month after you sign your contract. Later, you may decide to sell or trade the vehicle for its depreciated resale value.

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When you lease, you pay only a portion of a vehicle's cost, which is the part that you "use up" during the time you're driving it. Leasing is not the same as renting. You have the option of not making a down payment, you pay sales tax only on your monthly payments (in most cases), and you pay a financial rate, called money factor, that is similar to the interest on a loan. You may also be required to pay fees and possibly a security deposit that you don't pay when you buy. You typically make your first payment at the time you sign your contract - for the month ahead.

Other options

Closed-end leasing or hirepurchase is a contract-based system allowing a person or company the use of property for a fixed term, and the right to buy that property for the agreed residual value when the term expires - particularly in retail motor vehicle leases.

Closed-end leases are so called because they run for a fixed term, and the lessor and lessee agree in the lease contract what the residual value of the property being leased will be.

Closed-end leases are not used for property which might

increase in value such as real estate.

The lessee is generally responsible for insuring the property when entering a closed-end leasing deal, for maintaining the product in accordance with the lessor's requirements, and for paying any taxes or license fees which may be assessed on the lessor as owner of record.

Motor vehicle leases generally include a provision for determining the amount of "excess wear and tear" (or "wear and use") at the end of the lease term, for which the lessee is responsible upon returning the vehicle.

Finally, and most significantly, because lessees pay only for depreciation and financing, and not the entire retail cost of the vehicle, payments can be significantly lower than in loan-based financing. This allows consumers to significantly shorten their purchase cycle.

Closed-end leasing is frequently advantageous to consumers because it spreads the cost of expensive items over an extended time period. Business consumers may find the different balance sheet and taxation treatment of hire-purchased goods beneficial to their taxable income.

Practical Leasing If a company decides to lease a car or a computer, the conditions in Thailand are quite straight forward. When leasing property there are some more rules and regulations. Danish-Thai TradeNews has asked leading expert Olaf Duensing of DuensingKippen Tax. As a guide, some DTCC Member companies share their experiences as well.

I

n Thailand there are basically no restrictions for a foreign company on leasing of a movable property such as cars or computers, says leasing expert Olaf Duensing of DuensingKippen Tax. “With regard to leasing, foreigners are treated basically the same as Thais under Thai law.

For instance foreign companies do not have to pay more by law. Security deposits are not required by law either, but are common though,” Olaf Duensing says.

Immovable property

In Thailand the law distinguishes between movable and immovable property, whereby a lease of immovable property is subject to certain restrictions. The lease of immovable property is the most common legal option to receive exclusive usage and possession rights over land in Thailand for foreigners, he explains.

A lease of immovable property must be in writing to be enforceable, and it is necessary for any lease of immovable property exceeding three years to be registered by the “competent official” at the land department. An unregistered lease will not be enforceable if the term exceeds three years.

“Leases may have renewal clause for additional periods of 30 years, however it should be noted that Thai law provides for only one such renewal,” says Olaf Duensing.

Structure ownership

The foreign company can own the structure on the leased land.

The company should have a “superficies” (i.e. the right to own structures on land they do not own) over the land registered in its name on the title deed to the land the structure is on.

“If the company is the first owner of the structure such company should also have evidence that the company built the structure such as payment records to the builder, a building contract and their name on the building permit,” says Olaf Duensing.

If the company is a transferee owner of the structure, the transfer is registered in their own name at the relevant land office and requires a 30-day public notice period before the transfer.

It is quite common in Thailand for a land lessor in a long term lease relation to require that the lease is prepaid i.e. full payment in advance for the term the lease covers. However, the revenue department in Thailand will only allow a company doing business here to account its lease expenses as a deductible expense on an annual accrual basis over the term of the lease.

“That means that a company will not be able to deduct the full expense against its profit in the year it actually pays and therefore only proportionally over the years of the lease.

Olaf Duensing strongly advises that professional legal advice be sought before conducting such lease, or for that matter, any business in Thailand.

Clarity IT

Yes, we have leased cars and computers. And right now our office space is leased to. We have had no difficulties, as we have always had people to help us with the documents.

Richard Burnett, Managing Director

Ineos Asiatic Chemical Co.,Ltd. Yes, we are leasing company cars and forklifts.

It is relatively easy. There are companies specializing in such leasing (Krungthai car leasing etc.), including the equipment procedures as well, (Toyota etc.). They have standard leasing contracts.

We have different leasing arrangements: Leasing which is all inclusive (maintenance, insurance kilometre check etc.). We have also a closed-end leasing which doesn’t include maintenance and check ups, but where we can buy the car for a relatively small amount after expiration of the lease.

Jan Peter Jensen, Managing Director

Flux International Ltd. No, we are not leasing anything in Thailand. I think it is simply because we are not familiar with the leasing conditions in Thailand, because in Denmark we are leasing company cars.

Niels Overgaard Christensen, Managing Director

November 2010

17

The Deposit Protection Cost You a Fortune The DPA will be felt already next year and as of August 2012, Thai banks will cover only up to one million baht of your deposit if it goes bankrupt.

This does not mean that it is time to panic and withdraw all your money from your local bank, says expert.

By Soren Lykke Bulow

T

he Deposit Protection Act is in place, and from 2011 this will have an actual impact on the way depositors use their banks in Thailand.

The act was inaugurated in 2008 during the world wide economic meltdown, but many places in Asia it will not be until next year, it will have direct consequences.

For customers in Thai banks it will soon be time to be careful about where to deposit your money.

From all to one

As the situation is right now, a depositor in a Thai bank will get every single dime refunded if a bank is declared bankrupt.

But this will soon change.

From August 11, 2011, the maximum guaranteed coverage will be 50 million baht and as of August 11, 2012, this number will take a drastic leap downwards.

From this day the maximum guaranteed coverage will be 18

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only one million baht, meaning if a person or a company has an account with 10 million baht deposited, and the bank fails, that person or company will get one million baht in coverage.

so on. If things look good, then such a bank will, from safe considerations, be okay to have as partner – even when the coverage decreases,” he says.

No need to panic

The reasoning behind the Deposit Protection Act is that the state should not guarantee for the entire private banking system in all eternity. ”The huge guarantees were given to prevent ‘runs’ on the healthy banks in a situation where the entire world’s economic system was in shock and no-one trusted one another. No one knew who was sitting with the bad loans or poisonous investments,” Eric Pedersen explains.

This meant that the high coverage was not only meant to calm down regular savers or companies, but also to make

Some companies are worried that this will be an actual threat to their capital, but according to Eric Pedersen, Nordea Private Banking in Singapore, there is no need to panic. It is all about being careful. ”There are definitely banks – both national and international branches – that will be great partners,” says Eric Pedersen. ”My advice is to look at each bank’s history and ask yourself how they managed the crisis, how aggressively they have been lending out money, how fast they have grown and

No eternal guarantee

sure that the bank’s were not afraid of letting money float from one bank to another like a modern economy needs. ”Now the market has cooled down again. In the future, it will cost the banks more to attract deposits to compensate for the greater risk people run by using them,” Eric Pedersen explains.

Free competition

The change means that the more or less free competition will be able to function once again. ”Now there is a more obvious visibility in the system, and hopefully this means that the banks can trust that all the depositors not just withdraw all their money at the same time.

This would make the banks fall like domino pieces,” Eric Pedersen says.

He believes that the strategy

Coverage

2/

Countries

Times of GDP per capita Stipulated by law

Singapore

1/

20,000 SGD 1/

USD Equivalent 14,800

0.35

12,900

0.41

Hong Kong

100,000 HKD

US (FDIC)

250,000 USD

250,000

5.24

Canada

100,000 CAD

97,500

2.11

Japan

10 mil JPY

115,000

2.68

South Korea

50 mil KRW

41,800

2.14

Philippines

500,000 PHP

11,000

5.64

1/

18,900

2.34

3,200

2.25

11,000

3.75

31,100

6.90

Malaysia

60,000 MYR

Vietnam

50 mil VND

Indonesia Thailand

100 mil RPH 1 mil THB

1/

1/

1/ Current coverage limits (temporary arrangement after crisis in 2008) Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia : fully guarantee until 31 December 2010 Thailand

: fully guarantee until 10 August 2011 Indonesia : RPH 2,000 mil since 13 October 2008 2/ Source : World Economic Outlook Database, October 2009, International Monetary Fund Source: http://www.dpa.or.th/Detail.aspx?menu=22&id=50

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should work and that depositors should not be too worried. ”The best banks handled the crisis with no drama, they were not too aggressive in their marketing of loans, and they have not grown too quickly. At the same time, they are independent from single persons or companies,” he explains.

But if you happen to be a customer at a bank that seems to be in the danger zone of failing, then you should at least give it a thought. ”You should think about moving an amount of your credit balance to a safer place,” Eric Pedersen says.

FACTS Deposit Protection Act:

D

eposit protection is a system established by the government in order to strengthen the financial institution system and protect depositors within a certain coverage amount against the loss of their deposits placed in a financial institution. Depositors will be reimbursed within the stipulated period of time without having to wait until the liquidation process is finalized.

The Deposit Protection Agency Act B.E. 2551 (2008) came into force on 11 August 2008.

Deposit protection system exists in more than 106 countries. In Asia, the countries having deposit protection system are Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Russia and Kazakhstan.

In Thailand, the schedule looks like this: Year Period

1 2 3 4 5

11 Aug 2008 – 10 Aug 2009 11 Aug 2009 – 10 Aug 2010 11 Aug 2010 – 10 Aug 2011 11 Aug 2011 – 10 Aug 2012 From 11 Aug 2012 onwards

Coverage amount (Million Thai Baht) Full amount Full amount Full amount Baht 50 million Baht 1 million

Tungsukhla, Sriracha, Chonburi 20230 Thailand Tel: +66 3 840 1684 Fax: +66 3 840 1681 Laem Chabang Branch Manager

- Mr. Kan Chittaputta (kan.chittaputta@th.dsv.com)

24/7 Assistance

: sopapun.khawporisuthi@th.dsv.com

Internet to the Poor Per Enevoldsen, the co-founder of Pandora, has made a fortune in Thailand. The project web2thai involving some of the poorest schools in the Kingdom are his way of giving back to the country that gave him almost everything.

By Bjarne Wildau

W

eb2Thai brings IT out to some of the poorest schools in Isarn. Several hundred children now have daily access to a computer, the Internet, and several educational programs, some of the latter also sponsored by the co founder of Pandora, Per Enevoldsen. And with the latest software unit in Bangkok, the Danish funded project will reach out to all primary schools in Thailand.

“It started in a sofa in Denmark three years ago, just after I sold a huge part of my shares in Pandora. My good friend Sven Sprogøe and I took some Thai classes together.

And after one of the session we shared some wine in his apartment”, Per Enevoldsen explains a Saturday afternoon in his weekend apartment in the Sukumvit area in Bangkok.

Desire to help children

Per Enevoldsen made a fortune in Thailand. Donating computers and access to the Internet became his way to pay something back to the country that gave him so much.

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The wine glasses got empty, same thing happened for a bottle or two. But Per and Sven started to produce one thought after the other.

“At that time Sven asked me, what I planned to do with all my newly earned money from the shares in Pandora. As a computer and software professional his question quickly turned to ideas about IT and focused on some of the poorest provinces in Thailand,” Per Enevoldsen explains.

As a matter of fact, the Danish multimillionaire had already, with out any help from a cozy late afternoon with a friend, wondered about how nice and appropriate it could be to give some of the hard earned wealth back to the Thai community.

“I knew I wanted to do something for Thai children.

Helping them to connect to the modern world you can say”.

That was the start of something that later became Web2Thai – a project solely financed by Per Enevoldsen himself, and managed by Sven Sprogøe.

One laptop per child

“At the beginning “One Laptop per Child” was a possibility, and we were considering the little green computers as a way to

help,” Sven Sprogøe says.

Per and Sven made inquiries to the supplier about buying an amount of computers for a pilot project. ‘One thousand is minimum order quantity’, they said - because Web2Thai needed a Thai keyboard for the computers. And that was way too much for a pilot project.

“So it became clear that we had to work within the existing framework, namely traditional PCs placed in every single school, typically in a special computer classroom,” Per Enevoldsen recalls.

Most of the schools in Thailand have at least one computer thanks to the Thaksin era, so you can say that there was something to build on.

Good contacts

The Web2Thai project was first tested in the village of Sven’s wife Kung, Sikhiu near Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat).

“We had contacts in Sikhiu and we had to go to the village for family reasons anyway,” says Sven. He still remembers the excitement at the school. And thanks to his own wife and the local Web2Thai team they got

rest of the Poor Per Enevoldsen, right with his wife Kwan, and his friend Sven Sprogøe with his wife Kung

well off the ground.

Now three to four years later, five schools in five different villages are involved in Web2Thai. All have been equipped with brand new computers.

It takes around two months to get a computer class working with 20 computers.

The teacher’s friend

Among the obstacles Per, Sven and their wife’s Kung and Kwan has been forced to focus on, is how to make the teaching work.

“Its ok to help the weakest student, but we learned the hard way that we also had to give focus to the stronger pupils so they can help their friends in need of support,” Per says, and then he is heading for an unsuspected path.

“Its very difficult to get teachers to join our project. They are afraid of losing face to their own students. At one school we had 20 teachers but only two who reluctantly joined. So our plan is to let a teacher and a pupil join up and help each other when computers are used in the

lessons. We call it ‘Teacher’s Friend’, Peuan Khru in Thai,” he explains, adding that so far they have not been able to set up such a team.

More poor!

Sven recalls Per’s first visit to the first school: “Per was a little disappointed. Not about what we had done, but he felt that the students were not poor enough.

So after that we did what was possible to reach villages a step or two lower than in our first try,” explains Sven.

One of the current five schools in the project is so isolated that it was necessary to install a parabola to get access to the Internet.

But from Pers’ point of view it was still not remote enough. He wanted to go even further out to the remote villages.

“We bought a 4-wheeler that is currently being converted into a mobile computer school.

Its not ready yet, but within some months a village can not be too remote to visit,” say Sven Sprogøe.

Helping Pandora too

Sven Sprogøe initially came to Pandora to help Per Enevoldsen with IT at the factory. But because there is so much to do with web2thai, Sven will spend at least 75% of his time on this project. The rest of his time he will spend helping Pandora Thailand, too.

When the mobile com-

puter school is on the road, Per Enevoldsen will get it his way more than ever before. The paying back project will expand to the poorest tribe village in the north western part of the country that he loves so much.

And with the development that the Internet is currently going trough only the tropical sky is the limit.

Sven Sprogøe and Per Enevoldsen got the idea to web2thai back in Denmark almost four years ago. Sven is now employed in the project 75% of his working time.

November 2010

21

Growing Cheese Market Thailand is experiencing a substantial rise in cheese consumption.

Cheese Import in Mill. THB

By Nuppol Suvansombut

F

rom affordable snacks to luxurious foods being served in an up-scale restaurant, cheese is surely a food product that has its own place on the menu. The introduction of western foods in this country is the reason why Thai consumers have quickly developed taste buds for cheese.

According to Kim Chua Trading Limited Partnership, fast food chains such as Pizza Hut and McDonald introduced food that adopted both Thai and Western culinary concepts. The combination is considered an important part in creating an easy transition for Thai people who would normally eat spicy food to become hooked on cheese flavored food or snacks.

That made Western food widely accepted among ordinary Thai consumers.

The company further states

that expats and overseas educated Thais are also contributing to the demand of cheese.

During the first seven months of this year, imports doubled in quantity from 2009 to 2010 and was valued at 692.8 million baht. However, some cheese imports figures do not always correspond to the demand of domestic consumers. In fact, trade negotiations between Thailand and countries like Australia is also responsible for a spike in import growth.

Origin of cheese

The table “Cheese Import Origin” shows that imports from the Asian region are mainly from Indonesia and Japan although their imports to Thailand have decreased. The largest cheese imports have been from Australia and New Zealand despite a small decline over the same period.

Cheese Import Origin

In Europe, imports from Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium and Greece are less than last year while import values almost doubled in Italy, France, Germany, United Kingdom and Switzerland. Among European nations, Spain is doing better than everyone else where the demand for cheese in Thailand has tripled in volume this year.

Surprisingly, Thailand’s own produced cheese is also growing this year. Factory Manager of Thailand’s largest cheese manufacturer Minor International, Taweesak Raksantinana, says that domestic productions cater mostly to food services like fast food chains, restaurants and hotels. In addition, the production level in the Kingdom also varies according to a number of several factors such as economy, tourism and demand.

Fresh cheese booming

The graph “Cheese Import in Mill. THB” shows that processed cheese remains the most favored type of cheese compared 22

DTCC

to other types in the market.

Within this category, Thailand mainly imports from New Zealand, followed by Indonesia, Australia, Singapore and USA. The demand for grated and powdered cheese increased by almost 49 millions baht in value while demand for fresh cheese skyrocketed to 88.4 million baht within a period of one year. The top two countries providing this category is Australia and New Zealand.

As for blue veined cheese, Danish importers account for 1.05% which makes them the biggest group of European supplier for blue veined cheese and the overseas supplier to Thailand from 2009-2010.

From the graphs, it can be concluded that there is a phenomenon increase in demand for processed cheese, grated and powered cheese, fresh cheese and other types of cheese in Thailand except for blue veined cheese which slightly decrease in the number of import this year.

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Asia Safe Tech – Fighting Against Child Pornography

A

sia Safe Tech provides the only tools that can detect and block Child Abuse Images with 100% accuracy, with solutions for companies, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Law Enforcement and Hotels and Resorts.

Another division under Asia Safe Tech is “AST Hardware”, that provides both new and re-newed enterprise level IT Hardware.

We have all the known brands like, DELL, HP, EMC2, IBM, SUN and CISCO. We deliver the hardware tested by certified engineers with the same warranty as new IT Hardware, but with a big saving.

Background

Asia Safe Tech has the sole distribution of NetCleans products. NetClean is a Swedish company that is specialized in developing software to fight the global problem with Child Abuse Images. Asia Safe Tech work together with both the police authorities and NGO’s like ECPAT. “Asia Safe Tech’s goal is to get all Thai companies and organizations to join the the fight against child pornography and do their utmost to prevent proliferation. We already have an

established network of contacts in this market and hope we can make a huge and important effort,” says Maniging Director, Jacob Bojsen.

The business concept of “AST Hardware” is to re-utilize the existing technology resources of the world in order to

extend the value and lifetime of high performing technology for re-selling purposes and the maintenance of this equipment.

As a global supplier of refurbished and new IT equipment, AST Hardware offers products that are not only an excellent value, but also a sensible part of

any Green initiative By choosing re-utilized high-end IT equipment you can save as much as 50-70% on your budget and still have the same performance.

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Member profile

Viking Life-Saving Equipment

V

IKING is a market leader in maritime safety, providing and servicing essential safety equipment for passenger and commercial vessels, offshore installations and vessels, the defence sector, industrial fire fighting as well as leisure yachts.

The company is headquartered in Denmark with 1,300 employees worldwide. Products are manufactured in five locations: Esbjerg and Bramming in Denmark, Bergen in Norway, Colorado in the US and Laem Chabang, Thailand. VIKING’s unique global network includes 52 branch offices and 270 certified servicing stations. With more than 600 employees, almost half of the company’s staff is based in Thailand where the majority of products are produced. The factory in Thailand was established in 2002 and is headed by Managing Director Morten Halfdan Petersen.

VIKING offers a choice of global safety solutions. The product portfolio includes marine evacuation systems, offshore evacuation and crew transfer

systems, liferafts, boats, lifesaving appliances, and protective clothing such as immersion suits, work suits, fire suits and lifejackets.

supports local causes around the world through education, donations to projects, sponsorships and collections.

Mission: Protect and Save

VIKING has been in the life-saving business for over 50 years where it started in a west coast fishing port by producing liferafts for fishermen making their living on the formidable North Sea. Tage Sørensen founded VIKING Life-Saving Equipment (then called Nordisk Gummibådsfabrik) in 1960 to manufacture liferafts for fishing vessels and it was an immediate success. The portfolio grew to include lifesaving equipment for other markets and over the years VIKING’s reputation for superior quality products fuelled an international expansion. Today VIKING is a global enterprise with a comprehensive range of safety and rescue products for the maritime, offshore and fire sectors all over the world.

As a producer of safety equipment, VIKING’s products are often the last possible means of rescue or evacuation in an emergency. VIKING knows that lives depend on their work; therefore they invest their technical expertise, professional pride and care to ensure that the products perform when needed.

But rescuing people at sea is not the only way VIKING tries to make a great influence.

VIKING is deeply committed to its environmental and social responsibility. They strive to minimise the footprint on the environment through constant focus on improvements in manufacturing methods and waste reduction. Working practices are monitored to ensure the best possible welfare for the employees.

At the same time, VIKING

Know-how

For more information about VIKING, please visit http://www.viking-life.com/

Nordic Young Professional in Thailand Dancham takes initiative to set up a Nordic Young Professionals division in Thailand

By Anne Groth Katballe

N

ordic Young Professionals is a new division of the DanishThai Chamber of Commerce and is a non-political, non-profit oriented platform for Nordic young professionals, interns or students in Bangkok who are here on a long or short term stay.

The aim of the group is to create a platform where young professionals can meet up. Through events, the young professionals will have great possibilities of meeting other young Nordics, exchanging ideas and experiences, acquiring new friends and expanding their network.

Besides the Young Professionals Events, which will be held 3-4 times during the year, the young professionals will also be invited for certain Chamber Events.

This gives the young professionals great opportunities of meeting Chamber Members from different companies and building up valuable relationships for their future careers.

The group is targeted due to their potential as employees for our members. Furthermore, it is believed that future interns of the Chamber will be found in the large group of Danish exchange students that each year comes to Bangkok.

We are looking forward to meet all the young professionals at our first Networking Event at the well-known Danish Restaurant Stable Lodge, November 11th.

For more information, please visit our Facebook Fanpage “Nordic Young Professionals – Thailand” November 2010

25

New Members Individual :

Corporate : Beach Terrace Hotel, Cha am 854/4 Suksamer Road, (Beach) Bang Saiyoy, Cha am, Petchaburi 76120 Tel: +66 3250 8502 Fax: +66 3250 8502 Mobile: +668 9019 5570 Email: info@beachterrace-chaam.com Website: www.beachterrace-chaam.com Mr. Tom Westergaard Director Global Removal Service 69/52 Coco House Soi Phatumwan Resort Phaya Thai Road, Rajthevee, Bangkok 10400 Tel: +66 2653 9816 Fax: +66 2254 5766 Email: info@global-removal-service.com Website: www.global-removal-service.com Mr. Per Boye Lauritsen Managing Director Gulf Agency Company (Thailand) Ltd. 26/30-31 9th fl Orakarn Building Soi Chidlom, Ploenchit Road, Lumpinee, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Tel: 02 650 7400 Fax: 02 650 7401 Website: www.gac.com Mr. Mark Delaney Managing Director Qatar Airways 388 Exchange Tower, 2nd Fl, Unit 212,214, 21st Fl, Unit 2102, Sukhumvit Rd, Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 2259 2701-5 Fax: +66 2204 1243 Website: qatarairways.com/th Mr. Joe Rajadurai Country Manager Thailand, Cambodia & Myanmar Ms. Chanipa Parnsingha Sales Manager

Mobile-Technologies Co., Ltd 209/1 K Tower, Tower B, 28th Flr, Unit 4, Sukhumvit 21 Road (Asok), Klongtoey Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 2664 0874 Fax: +66 2664 0873 Email: info@mobile-technologies.com Website: www.mobile-technologies.com Mr. Eli Hem-Jensen Managing Director Move To Bangkok Bangkok Condos Co., Ltd. 99/166 M. Monchaya 2, Saimai Road, District Saimai, Bangkok 10220 Tel: +66 2944 5247 Website: www.MoveToBangkok.com Christian Hjort General Manager Restaurant Kiin Kiin Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok 991/9 Rama 1 Road, Bangkok 10330 Email: kiin@kiin.dk Mr. Henrik Yde - Andersen Thai Airways International Pcl. 16 Raadhuspladsen DK - 1550 Koebenhavn V Denmark Mr. Flemming Sonne Area Sales Manager

Coming Events :

26

DTCC

Jean Jacobi Sivalee 1, Soi 26, Number 202, Nakon Nayok 50 Road, Rangsit, Pathum Tanee 12130 Jorgen Andreasen Hedegreen Bancore A/S Veksebovej 15 3480 Fredenborg Denmark Tel: +45 2964 1344 Website: www.bancore.com Mogens Bjerg Groensdalvej 56 8260 Viby J Denmark Tel: +45 2344 0003 Email: MogensBjerg@Hotmail.dk Tommy H Krogh Bangkok Garden 7168 Naratiwas soi 24, Chongningsi, Bangkok 10120 Mobile: +668 9813 3384 Dr. Ulrich Eder Mulvana, de Angeli & Associates Ltd. Suite #1205, M. Thai Tower, All Seasons Place Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Tel: +66 2654 0350-4 Fax +66 2654 0357 Mobile: +668 5112 5500 Email: ulrich@mulvanadeangeli.com

Calendar Nordic Young Professionals DanCham Christmas Lunch DanCham Networking

Anita Falk Cafe Europe BKK Co., Ltd. 64/1 Sukhumvit Soi 20, Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110 Mobile: +668 4342 0190 Email: anita@cafeeuropebkk.com Website: cafeeuropebkk.com

Nov 11, 2010 Nov 26, 2010 Dec 15, 2010