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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
Peter E. Romhild President Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce
Dear Readers It has been an interesting first half of 2010, but life in Thailand has quickly returned to normal, and we once again see confidence being restored in the country. A wonderful development, which we hope will only be amplified over the next couple of months. The Bank of Thailand recently raised its growth forecast for 2010 due to strong exports and limited effects of the recent unrests. The tourism industry, which was one of the worst industries to be affected by the troubles in the first half of the year, even has a marvelous ability to come back stronger than ever, a development we have seen after previous periods of crisis. In this issue we have focused the spotlight on ways our members communicate to the world. Let it be through a new website, TV Commercials shot in Thailand or the struggles faced, when setting up online sales channels. The Danish Chamber has worked hard on setting up a new website, a transformation I am sure many of you have noticed. The new site is our new face to the world, with a brand new design, more focus on our events, news concerning our members, and of course more member exposure. As a Corporate Member there will be more possibilities for exposure in your profile and the new section “Offers” will allow members to promote special offers to other Chamber members. Our banner sponsors also get more exposure via the new design, so please do not hesitate to contact the Chamber office to promote your company! The design is more stylish and represents the Chamber in a new light. It will not only be more userfriendly for our members, but also has a very advanced back office, which will ease much work for the Chamber office.
CHAIRMAN MEDIA Mr. Jakob Ingemann Chief Financial Officer ECCO (Thailand) Co., Ltd. Tel : +66 35 716 601 E-mail : chairmedia@dancham.or.th
In this issue we are delighted to welcome the new SAS Area Manager for South East Asia, Henrik Hansen, to Bangkok. Henrik is replacing our Board Member Haakan Olsson, who returned to a senior position in SAS Sweden.
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
But we are unfortunately saying goodbye to one of the Danish pillars in the Thai business environment, The East Asiatic Company, which has sold its Industrial Ingredients entity to German Brenntag Group.
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
Good hunting with the magazine and hope to see you at many of our coming events!
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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Welcome to the New
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Dancham Homepage An excellent representation of Danish trade in Thailand first and foremost, but also clean streamlined design. Those are the first things that come to mind when Executive Director of the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce, Katrine Præst, is asked about the brand new homepage, http://www.dancham.or.th By Thomas Lykke Pedersen Photo by Disraporn Yatprom
S
itting in front of her computer, Katrine Præst gently moves the cursor across the screen, making the virtual buttons on the new DanishThai Chamber of Commerce homepage come to life. One after another the different options are enhanced, making it as easy as could be for the user to choose where to go. “That’s a nice and kind of fun feature,” says the Dancham Director while smiling. A smile that says it all, as the immediate joy is quite characteristic of the way Katrine Præst sees the new homepage. “We are very happy and satisfied. It’s been a long and, at times, hard process, but the result is just great,” she says. And it truly is. Shifting images of windmills, bicycles and other Danish trademarks reflects the true spirit of Denmark. According to the Director the homepage has been boiled down to the things that are truly important for the Chamber. And the recipe has been obvious. “As a starting point, we asked ourselves: Okay, if I were a member, what would I find important? We already had a clear idea of what we needed from a new website to make the daily Chamber tasks easier, and then we worked our way from there,” Katrine Præst says.
V.I.T. – Very Important Things
One of those truly important things that is easily accessible on the Chambers new site, is an event feature. “Chamber events are the key to strengthen the network of our members. Therefore we have really prioritised this at our new site, making it as easy as possible for all parties. It is now possible for members to book their way into any one of Dancham’s events without having to enter all of their data every time they sign up. Now one simply logs on and your basic data will already be plotted in.,” Katrine Præst says. Not only does this makes it easier for the members, but we are also guaranteed all information needed to fill out invoices and receipts – which are also sent directly to the attendees email. Another feature that has been automated.
Online payment
ease things for the members, but also help Dancham. “We feel like it is a must by now. Not only will it serve as a member service, but it will also save us at Dancham a lot of processing time. Time we can use so much more constructively,” says the Executive Director.
Timesaving database
The new, clever booking and payment systems are made possible by an impressive database that the whole webpage is built on. The so called “back office”, that contains the administrative functions such as record keeping, news management and much more, makes life so much easier at the Dancham office. Before there were no way around manually filling out receipts with all the contact info needed, every single time a member signed up for any type of event. “Imagine a Christmas Lunch with more than 160 people,”
Katrine Præst says, rolling her eyes, as if the thought of so many wasted hours in the past frustrates her. But it probably does not. Because Katrine seems like the type of person who likes to let the past be the past and let the present be important. So instead she immediately looks at the bright side. “Just think how many free hours Grace all of the sudden will have on her hands,” she says bursting into a big laugh while turning towards her assistant.
Online member interaction
Promotion of members has been paramount for Dancham. “Today each corporate member has up to three tabs of information in the membership profile. Members can also edit their profile to a far greater deal that earlier” Katrine explains. She also adds that any companies who would be interested in a “Member Interview”
In the near future it will also be possible for Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce members to pay event fees and their contingents online. Simply by logging on at their member profile, and when completed, the payment will automatically register. There will be no need to fax bank payment slips as members have been forced to in the past. This new payment initiative will not only
September 2010
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480x60 Pixel
Visibility Banner
Basic Banner
is more than welcome to contact the Chamber The “Member Offers” is one of the new features on the homepage, where Dancham members will be able to provide member to member offers. Offers that could be anything from an airline company giving special Chamber discounts, to a legal company giving free advice to fellow members. Katrine Præst really hopes that the Member Offers will emerge into a great success with rich activity. “For our members, networking is of great importance – and what better way to do it than giving each other some favourable advantages through our webpage,” she says.
form. Katrine Præst found out that not all is possible, but it was of most importance, that the Dancham office had full control of the site, as can members on their own change their profile information as required. “It would be annoying and extremely time-consuming for them (Londal Consulting Co.) and us if we constantly had to request changes on the website we would basically be able to do ourselves, such as changing banners and pictures ,” Katrine Præst says. “Therefore this solution suits everybody just perfectly,” she adds. Looking over homepages of
some of the other foreign-Thai Chambers, there is no doubt that the new Dancham baby is a bit of a pioneer in its field. “It’s been an investment for the future, and we are very proud of our new homepage,” says Executive Director, Katrine Præst.
Advertisement of www.dancham.or.th – Special 10% off in September and October! Katrine Præst notes that added focus has been put on companies who choose to promote themselves via a banner on the website. “We have three sizes to choose from; Basic, Visibility and Grand Banner. As a new
adittion Basic and Visibilty Banners rotate every time the website is updated, which we believe makes it more fair for the sponsors” . To celebrate the new website DanCham is happy to offer members who wish to promote themselves via banner, a 10% discount if registering for a banner before November 1, 2010. If you have any questions regarding prices or web statistics, please check out the website or contact the Chamber on email contact@dancham.or.th or on +6623545220.
A bit of a pioneer page
At a 2009 breakfast seminar, Katrine Præst sat down with Lars Løndal who is the CEO of Londal Consulting Co. and talked about homepages in general and the Dancham homepage in particular and agreed that maybe the time was right for an upgrade. Since then Londal Consulting Co. won the contract and from that point on engaged in a long term relationship with the DanishThai Chamber of Commerce. Many meetings, brainstorming sessions and Dancham demands later, the new homepage took
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The statistics show a website that is very well visited, and with the new look and adittions to the website the chamber only expects these visitors figures to rise.
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Difficult Conditions for O Hard bargain: For years Internet based sales have become more and more common all over the world. And the benefits are many – it is customer friendly, has less expenses and a faster processing time. But to sell your product online is in Thailand no walk in the park. By Thomas Lykke Pedersen
“We only keep this option on the bottom of our rate card page for some overseas customers who find it more convenient to use online payment than bank transfers,” says Gregers Moller of Scandinavian Publishing Co., Ltd. who opened a merchant account only to find that the bank - Kasikornbank - would cut 5,35 pct on every sale he made.
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L
ooking over home pages of members of the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce, one feature seems to be missing in almost all of them. A common and much used sales channel in the rest of the world, which could mean millions of Baht in income for companies and banks. But it is not there. The option you will look for in vain is online purchasing. Clearly, big companies like airlines and others with international headquarters give you the opportunity, but for companies placed in Thailand the story is somewhat different.
JFCC: The main obstacle
Being the umbrella organisation for the 30 Thai-foreign chambers of commerce and business associations (with some 9,000 end member firms), the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand (JFCCT) is, if any, familiar with the challenges of on-line commerce in Thailand. Chairman of the JFCCT’s ICT Group, Bob Fox, points out three key issues. “First, broadband penetration in Thailand is low and quality and connectivity varies vastly, as does the confidence in the ability to conclude the transaction, thus not everyone trusts
that part of the system to work properly,” Bob Fox says. “Second, security around hosting has to be checked. Third, but most importantly, due to a perceived risk through chargeback and other returns, banks tend to require of their merchant customers very large deposits, which appear to be out of proportion to the risks involved,” Bob Fox says. He notes that on line commerce is a shared system involving end user, merchant, and financial intermediary (which may be a bank alone or could also include a payment gateway operator).
Only smaller items
One of the very few companies that has entered the grey zone of selling actual products online in Thailand is AVIVA Décor Limited which sells exclusive European furniture and home decor such as the Danish brand Bang & Olufsen. But if the customer wants the newest in B&O hi-fi equipment, it cannot be purchased via the company’s homepage. Head of their IT department, Keattisak Kohkeatanan, explains: “We have chosen only to sell merchandise, or accessories as we call it, simply because the
bank charge us too much and there are too many bureaucratic problems combined with internet sales in general. Therefore we refer the customers who are interested in, say, a piece of our furniture, to our showrooms” he says.
An obvious necessity
At Scandinavian Publishing the owner and editor in chief, Gregers Møller, has been through the whole process of setting up a merchant account and experienced the Thai bureaucracy first hand. “Internet sales is definitely not something you set up on a Sunday night as you could in Denmark,” says Gregers with a smile whilst rolling his eyes, as if the bare thought of it takes him back to the days when Scandinavian Publishing decided to make it possible for their customers, for whom they created homepages, to pay online. “We thought that it was quite obvious that this was a necessity. And at that time everybody was convinced it was only a matter of short time before online sale would breach the barriers and become a completely integrated part of trading in Thailand,” says Gregers Møller.
Online Sales No development
This was back in 2006, but as time has passed, the matter of short time evolved into a period that has not yet ended, and establishing a merchant account in Thailand is still today more than problematic. And unfortunately Gregers Møller sees no forward development. “I remember walking to the first meeting in the bank with an inch-high paper pile, and it is the same way today. Apparently nothing has changed. It is extremely frustrating and completely unwarranted that Thailand is lagging behind in this area,” he says.
Exorbitant bank fees
When opening up a merchant account with a bank in Thailand, the company must make a deposit of 100.000 Baht. This money is returned only when - or if - the company decides to close down the merchant account again. The deposit is supposed to cover the bank for any loss due to fraudulent transactions or in other ways cover the risk of the bank. But the bank also covers its “risk” by charging a commission on every transaction on the merchant account of 5 percent. And then they charge 7 percent VAT on the commission so the deduction on every sales transaction in reality becomes 5,35 percent.
Online shopping at aviva-shopping.co.th
Uncertain future
Right now the online shopping option at AVIVA Décor Limited simply serves as a small customer service and at AVIVA they have no intentions as to expand this area of business in the future. On the contrary. “The sales application has never been the biggest of successes. If sales does not pick up we are actually thinking about closing it down,” says Head of IT, Keattisak Kohkeatanan. At Scandinavian Publishing, customers will still be able to pay for adverts or articles online in the future. But the option will solely serve as a convenience in some few cases. “Unless the bank offers us better conditions and lower interests, we will not start to advertise for or use the option of online payment in more areas in our company, says editor in chief, Gregers Møller.
1
You click the ”shopping online” option.
2
You choose your product.
JFCC Suggestion
At JFCCT, Bob Fox has a proposal how to make online commerce become a bigger part of Thai business future. “We would encourage banks to review security deposit practice, and also note that more education is needed – e.g. the use of non legitimate security software by end users can result in additional risks being brought into the system,” the ICT Group Chairman says.
3
You hit the ”buy” button.
Dancham to Offer Online Payment In the near future Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce members will be able to pay their annual fees and event fees online. They simply log in at their member profile on the new Dancham webpage, and when completed, the payment will automatically be registered. The new initiative will not only ease things for the members, but also help Dancham.
“We feel like it is a must by now. Not only will it serve as a member service, but it will also save us at Dancham a lot of processing time. Time we can use so much more constructively,” says Executive Director, Katrine Præst. Of course members will still have the option to go to the bank and make the transfer the “old fashioned way”.
4
Pay at the online check out counter. Unfortunately not to many customers get this far so AVIVA is thinking about closing it down.
September 2010
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Filming in Thailand Video features: On the World Wide Web the criteria of homepage success is “hits”. No doubt about it. And according to every internet marketing expert, one of the best ways to go, if wanting to increase the number of hits for your webpage, is live imaging. At The Thailand Film Office they offer both the technical support and whatever beautiful scenery you may wish for, when wanting to shoot a commercial or small spot for your company’s webpage.
F
or the time being, not too many members of the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce use video presentations at their homepages. But should Dancham members at some point wish to promote products or the like with the help of video, there is no reason not to have it produced locally in Thailand. The Thailand Film Office is a government agency under the Office of Tourism Development, Ministry of Tourism and Sports, very willing to offer its expertise and provide easy access to beautiful locations.
Must have permission
To film in Thailand you need to apply for and obtain permission first as The Thailand Film Office explains at its website www. thailandfilmoffice.org But unless your last name is Scorsese or Spielberg, and you are looking to shoot an entire motion picture in Thailand, you should not worry too much
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about your application finding its way through to an approval. The Thailand Film Office has created the One Stop Service Center, to help ease the whole process for those wanting to shoot a TV commercial or an internet spot or the like. The objective of the center is to describe the step by step procedure to obtaining approval for filming in Thailand. At the One Stop Service Center, you can, among other things, obtain a shooting permit, working permit, permission to film in national parks and at historical sightings. The One-Stop-Service application only applies to shoots lasting less than 15 calendar days, and it is not renewable. If the application documents are in order, The Thailand Film Office promises that a permit will be issued in a matter of one day.
ally promoting Thailand as a filming location with the intent to provide information to film makers and companies so they will see the advantages of using Thailand as a film and commercial shoot destination, as well as using locally available film production services, such as equipment hire, labs and local film crews. And there is no doubt that it would be the cheaper alternative compared to having the whole lot airlifted from another continent. Should you choose a setting in a National park or at a historical sighting you should be aware though, that there is a small fee of 1000 and 5000 Baht per day respectively.
Promotion
“We use video in our marketing because it is a very effective way of capturing the customers interest. And being
Even though it has not yet occurred to all that many, The Thailand Film Office is actu-
Visit Beyond
Kim Martin Rasmussen Travel Manager
that we are an adventure travelling agency it’s quite obvious that we would use video from our trips. We produce our film here in Thailand, and have actually hired our own producer.”
AVIVA
Keattisak Kohkeatanan Head of IT department “Yes, sometimes we use video in our marketing. For instance when we have a new product presentation or there is a special activity going on like the Olympics or the World Cup. We produce all of our video here in Thailand.”
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No Speak Thai Few of the member companies of the Danish - Thai Chamber of Commerce have added the obvious possibility of localizing their websites in Thailand. “There is no need for it,” says most members. “Nonsense,” says expert. By Søren Lykke Bülow
“I
Vertztec is strong believer in localization of websites.
find it natural that we try to communicate with our customers in their own language,” says Henrik Friis, Managing Director of Dantherm Filtration in Asia, representing one of the few companies in the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce that have part of their website in Thai language. Both Dantherm’s Thai website and Chinese website are localized. The Vietnamese is under construction. Companies based in the western world usually have a tight focus on how they communicate with their customers through their websites and social media like Facebook and Twitter. But according to some DTCC members, websites in Thailand are more intended to create a good first hand impression and a quick overview of the company's abilities.
Scanmach’s website is available in English, Thai and Vietnamese, since Vietnam is a big market for the company.
No big difference
Sune Sucksdorff is Managing Director at NPC International. His company delivers different web solutions for smaller, local companies and you would expect a business like that to be in the front regardding localization of the content. Sune Sucksdorff explains that he initially intended to get a Thai website for the company, but in the end did not do it because he does not see the purpose of it at the moment. ”In Thailand the old fashion ways work the best. It fits the industry best if it is not too fancy, and that is actually quite interesting to witness,” he says. ”It is important to have a website of some sort, but mostly it is a sign of professionalism and a signal send to our current and potential customers that we are a serious supplier,” Sune Sucksdorff says. The fact that NPC Internationals website is not in Thai does not worry him. ”No one find our website and, based on that, call us to buy a solution. We live from offering new solutions to old customers and from referrals,” he says.
Makes no sense
Scanmach’s website is available in English, Thai and Vietnamese, since Vietnam is a big market for the company. 14
DTCC
Calvin Lee, Director of Business Development at Verztec, a company specialized in language localization of websites and other forms of communication, disagrees with Sune Sucksdorff and other members’ point of view. ”My guess is that the Danish companies in Thailand have not really thought of translating their website to Thai,” he says Lee believes that using Thai language is an important part of
getting the message across for international companies. ”It is very important to have your site in Thai. But it is quite hard to maintain, and if it is to be done professionally it is also quite expensive. At the same time, the companies might not have an idea of where to go when they want the job done,” he adds.
Hard to go all-in
Another Danish firm based in Thailand is Scanproducts that sells a number of Danish designer brands. Jens Bergsøe, Managing Director, tends to agree with Sune Sucksdorff of NPC International. ”It's hard to create and maintain a website i Thai. And besides, all our customers speak English. It might be a little lazy, but it's the simple way,” Jens Bergsøe says with a hint to the actual purpose of the website. ”We use our site to get referrals, introduce new items, and present an extraction of our most important goods,” he says. Jens Bergsøe even thinks that it might send a more professional image of the company when their website is in English only. ”If a company is only serving small, local Thai shops and companies they usually have their website in Thai. In our situation it would only be an inconvenient duplicate,” he says adding that they have no plans to get a Thai website in the future.
'Thai being Thai'
The fact that only a very few of the almost 200 members of the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce have their site in Thai
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Dantherm Filtration’s website inThailand is mostly but not consistently kept in Thai language
999 Moo 7, Racha Thewa, Bangplee, Samutprakarn 10540, Thailand Tel: +66 2 134 7520 -26
Laem Chabang Office is 'a bit weird', as Calvin Lee explains. ”If you are pro-active and get it translated into Thai to begin with, the crowd will come,” Calvin Lee says mentioning the facilitation of the communication and courtesy of using the clients’ native language when communicating with them. ”It is all about 'Thai being Thai'. Although many Thai's are able to read and navigate in English, they still prefer Thai.” Lee compares the situation to ordering a plane ticket on the Internet. When Danes want to go on a trip to Paris, they want to do so in Danish – not in French. ”Quite simple. Because you, as an international company, are not Thai, it does not mean that you should not offer your online communication in Thai. My experience is that although a person might know English, he will often navigate away from a website, solely because of the non-existing Thai version,” he says.
No great advantages
Although Dantherm Filtration is one of the few members of the Thai-Danish Chamber of Commerce that offer their website in Thai, Henrik Friis is not a strong believer in localization. ”It's hard to see the actual advantages of having the site in Thai. My conception is that it isn't being used in the technical
field where customers anyway search in English. But it is very practical. I know that it is a great service for our suppliers because they use it to look up our locations, says Henrik Friis. ”My experience is that if a company finds our website, then they will contact us by phone or e-mail if they want more information - for instance on sales,” he says.
In direct contact
The Danish company Scanmach is another one of the few members that has decided to make Thai language an option on their website. ”Our customers are factories here in Thailand. People there are Thai, and they produce as Thai's do. When they look for machines, they look in Thai, and there are not a lot of producers who speak or read English,” Palle Borgselius says. Like Henrik Friis, Sune Sucksdorff and Jens Bergsoe, though, he does not think that a Thai website in itself holds a lot of advantages. He believes that the Thail language should mostly be there to meet and greet the customers. ”We are not that concerned with our website. The best way to get customers is still to get out there and meet them. We try to promote our website when we meet new clients and customers, but we primarily do our business when we are face to face,” he says.
198/21 Moo 9 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)
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Goodbye EAC The East Asiatic Company Industrial Ingredients has been sold to the German Brenntag group for 1.2 billion Danish kroner. After more than 125 years of presence in Thailand, the name “East Asiatic Company” will no longer be carried by any company in Thailand. It is the end of a great chapter in the DanishThai history, and it is the end of one of the oldest foreign companies in Thailand. Jan Dam Pedersen, Managing Director of EAC Thailand, celebrated EAC’s 120 Years Anniversary together with members of the DanishThai Chamber of Commerce in September 2004 at the Royal Danish Embassy, Bangkok.
By Søren Lykke Bülow
”F
rom a historic perspective, I feel saddened that this iconic name that has been intimately associated with Thais from all walks of during more than 125 years, will soon cease to exist.” The words come from Anders Normann, outgoing chairman of The East Asiatic Company (EAC). In the beginning of August he told Bangkok Post how it feels to be a part
of the end of such a historic company in Thailand.
Brenntag is the new EAC
In July it was announced that German Brenntag Group had acquired The EAC Industrial Ingredients for a total of 1.2 billion Danish kroner on a cash and debt-free basis. The announcement was issued at the stock exchange in Copenhagen. ”However, from a strictly business perspective, I am convinced that Brenntag is the
right owner and EAC's former business will continue to prosper,” Anders Normann says to Bangkok Post.
Danish heritage
The history of The EAC can be traced back to 1884 when the Danish sea captain H. N. Andersen established a trading company in Bangkok at the Oriental Avenue, and the name EAC has been almost synonymous with the strong relationship between Denmark and Thailand in the 126 years that has passed since then.
Same team
he visionary, young Danish Sea Captain H.N. Andersen first arrived in Bangkok in 1873 where he settled in 1879 after having sailed for some years on Thoon Kramon, a bark owned by H.M. King Chulalongkorn.
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When Brenntag has completed the take-over of The East Asiatic (Thailand) Public Company Ltd., where all the The EAC Industrial Ingredients activities are located, the name “East Asiatic Company” will no longer be carried by any company in Thailand. “EAC regards the price as highly satisfactory to EAC and its shareholders and considerably in excess of the probable value that could be created through continued ownership
by EAC,” The EAC stated in a press release. The Brenntag Group says in a press release that it is the existing management team of The EAC Industrial Ingredients that will continue its successful work under the Brenntag name. ''It is business as usual just a name change,'' Anders Normann says.
Continuing business
As for the East Asiatic Company, the remaining business in Thailand will be the EAC Moving & Relocation Service which is operating under the Santa Fe brand as well as The EAC's portfolio investments in three associated companies, Akzo Nobel Paints in Thailand, Asiatic Acrylics Company Ltd. and Thai Poly Acrylics Plc. Anders Normann is generally pleased with the transaction. ''I am confident that Brenntag, being a global market leader in full-line chemicals distribution, will add substantial value to the business for the benefit of all stakeholders - not just shareholders - but as importantly staff, customers and partners.”
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Niels Henrik Hansen New SAS Manager Niels Henrik Hansen, 54, has been appointed new SAS Area Manager based in Bangkok. The title is Area Manager South East Asia so the area includes not only Thailand but also Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Taiwan. By Gregers Moller
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he new SAS Area Manager based in Bangkok, Niels henrik Hansen, is very confident when talking about what he expects to achieve in his new position. “We can do much better than we do today,” he states boldly. “It depends on whether I can make others believe that too, of course,” he adds after a pause. When asked to elaborate what he means by “doing better” he explains that it all starts with the customers. “Do our customers feel that we have good daily connections flying at the most convenient time? Frequency counts also. If there are two departures, does one fit your schedule better than the other? Most of our focus is on the business traveler but we also need to be the best choice for the leisure traveler.” “Short transfer time also counts. If you have to stop over, we must make the transfer as smooth as possible for you.” In building up the business further in South East Asia, Niels Henrik Hansen expects to be able to build on his experience from one of his past assignments within SAS in which he successfully expanded SAS' corporate customer portfolio. “In SAS, our “Business first” approach is the foundation. It means we focus on serving the business traveler and his/her needs first. Secondly, we also welcome the leisure traveler.”
Visibility and honesty
The customer experience and satisfaction is where Niels Henrik Hansen is completely focused. “We deliver a service and we must focus on the service also when things go wrong.” SAS received a lot of positive marks for its handling of the 18
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closure of the Bangkok Airport in 2008 and this year the challenge repeated itself on a bigger scale in Europe when the ashes of the Icelandic volcano closed down air traffic over a major part of Europe. Many passengers were stranded away from home and others couldn't leave for meetings and other tasks abroad. “First rule is to be visible. Second is to be honest. You have to go out and face the customers and their individual grievances and tell them frankly what you cannot do for them,” Niels Henrik Hansen says.
Payback time
Niels Henrik says SAS is currently in a steady and positive development. “We have a steady increase in number of travelers. The challenge is to make sure the operation makes a profit.” “If the customers feel that we deliver what they had expected then they will come again.” “What SAS is currently experiencing in Asia is, that our customers pay us back in terms of loyalty for the way we handled the irregularities that occurred in Bangkok in 2008 and recently the ash cloud in Europe.” “The Bangkok route looks for the month of July extremely good in our statistics in every way. And that's despite the fact that July is traditionally a month with low seat occupancy because many businessmen are back in Europe on vacation.” Niels Henrik doesn't know how this SAS result is possible when the general picture of the Thai hospitality sector is clearly that many hotels have extremely low occupancy rates. But it is nice anyway, he smiles.
Ready to contribute
Niels Henrik Hansen hopes to be able to contribute also to
the local business community during his and his wife's years in Bangkok. “It seems to come with the job,” he laughs pointing to his predecessors record of being on the board of the various Scandinavian business associations not only in Thailand but also in the other countries in the region. Many of these predecessors are personal friends of Niels Henrik. Such as Tom Sorensen, who was SAS General Manager for Thailand and Indochina from 1988 to 1991. As for Axel Blom, their friendship goes back long before that, he adds, because by the end of the 70's they both worked in the service department of SAS in Copenhagen. “I actually partly took over some of Tom Sorensen's responsibilities serving the SAS network of agents in Denmark when Tom moved to Indonesia in 1995,” he says.
Tough career path
At 54 years of age, the Bangkok posting comes rather late in Niels Henrik's career. But he has certainly not lacked positions with high levels of responsibility during his career with SAS back in Denmark. Niels Henrik started 36 years ago as a “traffic trainee” in Scandinavian Airlines. He worked for 13 years in the operational department where among others they are responsible for the delicate weight/fuel balance. Niels Henrik was then picked for a two year management trainee course in SAS in Stockholm. After that, he returned to Denmark where he was posted for four years as head of SAS in Aarhus with responsibilities for east Jutland. He returned to Copenhagen as chief negotiator for agree-
Do our customers feel that we have good daily connections flying at the most convenient time? Frequency counts also. If there are two departures, does one fit your schedule better than the other?
“The risk was that we would lose the sense of responsibility of the staff but quite remarkably we actually instead succeeded to become the most precise airline in Europe in 2009 in terms of arrivals and departures on scheduled times and the same year the crew scored the highest points ever in our ongoing customer satisfaction surveys.”
Staying on Sukhumvit
ments for the blue collar workers in the Industrial Relation department. “A tough, but necessary job,” Niels Henrik comments dryly. Next job was as Head of sales for agents and tour operators. This was where he took over some of Tom Sorensen's clients when Tom moved to Indonesia.
Next Niels Henrik was asked to boost SAS direct Business to Business relations. He was heading this operation for 5 years and during that time, the number of contracts went up from 400 to 1700 corporate contracts. This was the latest job before he accepted the job he had immediately before his current posting to Thailand.
“For 2,5 years I have been responsible for managing the cabin crew working out of Copenhagen. It was not fun when the end result was given – the wages and conditions of the cabin crews had to be reduced with 15 to 20 percent. But it had to be done if SAS should survive as a competitive airline,” Niels Henrik explains.
Niels Henrik and his wife Bente have found a place to stay on Sukhumvit Soi 18. “It is more important for me to be conveniently close to the SAS office in Glas Haus on Sukhumvit which is right opposite of Soi 18 than to have a garden around the house,” he says. Niels Henrik and Bente's two children will only join them partially. Christian is 20 years old and Ann is 19 so both of them will return to study in Denmark after a few months with their parents in Bangkok. He is sure they will enjoy it. Niels Henrik's own first overseas trip wih SAS took him in 1975 to Bangkok and like everybody else who has ever been here, he and his family has been back on many repeat visits and vacations ever since.
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“Black Danish Humour Was Danish ways and culture has made a huge impact on Suwatt Pathompakawan (Boyd) whose company ASANA designs and delivers outdoor furniture for hotels and shopping centres. By Bjarne Wildau
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uwatt Pathompakawan - or Khun Boyd among friends - spent four years in Denmark as part of his education as production engineer and when asked to give an example how the time in Denmark has had its impact on him, he doesn’t have to look far. “Yesterday I had promised to deliver some furniture before noon but there was something wrong with our car,” he explains.
“When I had called the customer four times to say that I was sorry one of my staff wondered why I called so many times. One call should be more than enough, he said. But then again, he has never been to Denmark where things are always delivered on time!”
Started in England
Boyd’s time in Europe started in England, where he studied engineering at the University in Nothingham. “The last year I studied I was a member of AIESEC, an organisation helping students to experience new cultures and work traditions,” he adds. When Boyd moved to Denmark he landed in the Danish town Odense, most famous for giving birth to the writer Hans Christian Andersen. Here a job as engineer at the international Danish Company Damixa was the next chapter in his personal fairy tale. “I arrived with a one year contract as a production engineer. A week or so before my time in Denmark was over and done with; our German CEO called me into his office and told me that he would be sad to see me go. If there was something else I would like to try
at Damixa, known for its Handle Mixers, before I said goodbye, he would like to know”, Khun Boyd recalls. After one year more or less chained to the production facilities just outside Odense Khun Boyd didn’t need to think twice. He wanted to travel; he wanted to see more of the world.
Quick decisions
“Export import. I would like to work with export. That’s what I told my CEO. That was that. The very next day I was introduced to my new colleagues”, Khun Boyd explains. And his hopes about travelling the world came trough. Turkey was the first trip for Damixa. Later follow all three countries in the Baltic’s and then he got the opportunity to work in his own fatherland Thailand and in China. “We were looking for cheap production for our Handle Mixers, and found it in China. Sadly enough the quality was to bad. And in Thailand they were capable to do our things, but they charge far too much. Then we ended up choosing China though”, Khun Boyd says and delivers one of his big Thai smiles.
Black humor
When asked about which part of living in Denmark that he dislikes the most, Boyd hesitates a bit. “The black Danish humour was the most difficult detail in the Danish culture to understand,” he then says. “I think I met the Danish black humour for the first time, only one week after my arrival. My new company held an official dinner party Danish style with name cards for every invited guest. I looked around and found my chair in a remote corner. A huge fat Danish guy already occupied the chair next to mine. He told me that he did not have to move because I was so small that I could easily crawl under the table”.
Life is a calendar
Later, Khun Boyd was introduced 20
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to another strange phenomenon, the Danish “Calendar lifestyle”. “What ever you want to do, you have to plan it weeks in advance,” he says mentioning an example. “I learned to bike in Denmark and really enjoyed it. But if I came close to one of my Danish friends house on a bike trip, and decided to stop by to say hello, things turned bad. They were my friends, but they didn’t like that! The lesson is, that if you are not scheduled in your friends calendar, you should leave them alone”, Khun Boyd laughs.
A plan is a plan
Boyd recalls one of his most telling experiences with the Danish strict adhering to plans: “One of my very best friends had arranged a party. You had to sign up to the party, and we did that. Then another one of our friends who was from The Dominican Republic changed his travel plans the day before so he could attend the party.” “He then called the host thinking she would say “Great!” - but no way! She told him flatly that it was too late. He could not attend the party. She had finished shopping already. If he came there would be too little meat!” “She not even suggested that he could bring his own meat! I was shaken, I tell you!”
Four years in Denmark
In all he did spend eight years in Europe, half in England, and half in Denmark. So for the Thai engineer it’s almost impossible not to compare the two societies, England and Denmark. “It’s more difficult to be friends with the English. But if you succeed at the end of the day, you will get very good friends. In Denmark people are very friendly from the first minute, but then to make it to a real friendship, that is more seldom,” says Khun Boyd. Still it cannot be that impossible, because the young Thai business man still has more than 40 Danish friends four years after he left the country. And one
the Worst” of his overall best friends is his former boss Lars Solon. “Last year 12 Danes came by to visit me. This year there has been one visit from Denmark, two more will visit me in October. Of course they told me six months in advance”, Boyd adds with a smile. “A Thai would never plan so far out in the future!” says Boyd, who has by now been back in Thailand almost four years.
Back in Bangkok
“When I returned to Thailand I knew that I wanted to start something on my own. My very best friend, my boss in Denmark, Lars, told me about Trip Trap in Skagen in Denmark. They bought all their stuff in Thailand. I thought I could do the same, so I started “Living Møbler” spelled with the Danish ø.” “With 30.000 bath I hired three Thai designers, found some rattan, and designed fur-
niture’s in Rattan, because teak was too expensive to cope with. A few months later I got the contract, designing and delivering all the outdoor furniture needed for the Hotel Grand Millennium.” But the good start did not continue. Up against the financial crisis and the political trouble, Khun Boyd decided to closed “Living Møbler”. Instead he started his current business a few months later, the furniture atelier ASANA in Bangkok on Sukhumwit Soi 31. “In ASANA we have three full time designers employed and 14 designers working on a freelance basis.” “Basically we do the same as “Living Møbler” did - designing and supplying hotels, shopping centres etc with outdoor design and furniture - but the economic situation is better now.” Apart from that, we also sell furniture for private homes, most-
ly to local Thais and to Japanese expats. The condominium just opposite here is my biggest private costumer. First they eat seafood at the restaurant below
my atelier, and then they climb the staircase to my shop and they like what they see. So I sell a lot to my own neighbours,” Khun Boyd smiles.
WANTED: Automation - PLC engineer M.I.A.C. Automation Co.,Ltd. Is a prominent supplier of complete industrial automation solutions. These include the production of control panels and electrical Switchboards and the development of software for process control, and SCADA systems. Qualifications: • Male/Female 25 – 45 years • Bachelor’s degree or higher • Good personality, serviced minded • At least 2-3 years experienced with Siemens PLC • Knowledge in electric design • Excellent command of spoken & written English Please submit your resume stating current and expected salary, with recent photo to following address by mail or E-mail Work at Chonburi M.I.A.C. Automation Co.,Ltd. 82/2 Moo 4 Soi Watsantikham, Nongplalai, Banlamung, Chonburi 20150 Tel. 038-170718, Fax. 038-170717 Email : info@miac-automation.com September 2010
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New Mermaid Hotel O
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For three years, the wellknown Danish businessman Jorgen Lundbaek has planned to open a hotel. Now it is happening. The opening is set for November this year. By Bjarne Wildau
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fter several years in waiting, Jørgen Lundbaek and three partners are now ready to open the long awaited Hotel Mermaid in Bangkok. When the project was first launched it was supposed to be in Sukhumwit Soi 27 but now the Mermaid hotel will open in the next soi, Sukhumvit Soi 29, he says. “According to our plans the new Mermaid Hotel will open in Soi 29 in November this year. The hotel will have 70 rooms spread over nine floors. Apart from the ordinary rooms, there will on each of the nine floors also be three 2-room apartments mostly for families with children,” says Jørgen Lundbaek. The people behind the 250 mill. Bath investments in the hotel is a quartet of investors, namely Ole Teigen, Anker Andersen from AA Invest in Denmark, Jørgen Lundbaek and his Thai Indian connection called “Pete”. “The company who owns the coming hotel is named The Mermaid. The new hotel could be named The Mermaid but we haven’t decided on the name yet. But surely Mermaid will be included in the name,” says Jørgen Lundbaek whom we meet in his private villa south of Bangkok. Asked about the standard of the hotel, Jørgen hesitates a second. Then he answers that the rooms and the service will at least be as close to five star standards as possible. “We can’t provide the huge conference facilities; the ballrooms etc. but the rest will be five star levels,” he explains. “The rooms will be huge, same with the bathrooms. There will be access to Wi-Fi, microwave, refrigerator, and what ever people will expect from at proper hotel,” Jørgen Lundbaek says.
Admirals Pub
The Mermaid Hotel will also include an exclusive two floor restaurant and a huge swimming pool. “We still haven’t signed the papers, but it is as sure as it can get at this phase of the project, that Bent Laasholdt and his wife Na will be responsible for the restaurant and bar named “Admirals Pub,” Jørgen Lundbaek says. The restaurant will be held in a modern maritime style and Jørgen Lundbaek plans to go to Bangladesh him self to make some maritime shopping. “There will be space for approximately 60 people in the two restaurants, one at the ground floor and one around the swimming pool”.
Hopefull
Danish Thai Trade News found Mr. Bent Laasholdt in Jomtien. More than four years ago, Bent, his wife Na and Stig VagtAndersen had to close the former Admirals Pub in Sukhumvit Soi 18, forced by the landlord’s new development plans. The owners of the Admirals Pub & Restaurant has since followed Jørgen Lundbaeks hotel plans more eagerly than anyone else since it was already then understood that they should manage the restaurants in the new hotel. Now more than four years later Bent Laasholdt sounds relieved to hear the opening of the new Mermaid Hotel is moving closer. “Hopefully Jørgen is right. Hopefully it will open in November, and hopefully we will be a part of it,” says Bent Laasholdt. “It has been a very long and rough time. And very very expensive too,” he adds. “From the very day we closed down in Soi 18, we
Opening in November have been trying to hold our staff. Most of them have received salaries every month for more than four years. Some found other things to do than waiting for our new restaurant, but they will be ready to join us again as soon as we once again have a new Admirals Pub in Bangkok, I am sure.”
Tough time for all
Bent Laasholdt points out that for the entire hospitality industry in Thailand the past couple of years has also in other ways been a turbulent time. “The two restaurants we run in Jomtien and Hua Hin have been through a very difficult time too. And you can see how it goes for the other Danish places in Pattaya and Jomtien. They close down one by one.” If I, Na and Stig had not poured money into our restaurants during these rough times as we have done, they would have been closed too,” says Bent Laasholdt. It seem like he can almost not quite believe that the long wait now seems to be over soon. But there is no doubt that he and his wife are ready once the new Mermaid Hotel opens.
Financial issues
While Jørgen Lundbaek has a 25 percent ownership in the hotel, it’s not completely clear how the necessary investments in the new Admirals Pub will be taken care of. “Again, we have suffered a lot. More than four years waiting while the money was just leaking out of our accounts every day has been a rough ride. We simply cant go in with our own investments in the same manner as if we have been able to jump straight from the old Admirals Pub in Soi 18 to the new place in Soi 29,” says Bent Laasholdt. September 2010
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New Dancham Intern:
Looking Forward to Being Busy “I have never been to Asia before in my life, and I really look forward to my time in Bangkok,” says Anne Groth Katballe, the new intern at the Dancham office.
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nne Groth Katballe, 26, started on 9. August as the new Intern at the office of The Danish Thai Chamber of Commerce. The Internship will be the seventh semester of her study of Global Business Engineering, a full-degree bachelor program taught in English. “There is a little bit of science, technology, communication, culture, and economics and international marketing”, Anne says. And during the interview she is leaving no doubt about the fact that she is favouring the marketing side of her education. “That’s why I am really pleased with my internship in Bangkok,” Anne admits with her voice wrapped in a smile or three. 24
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Her stay in Bangkok will be her third longer stay outside Denmark. First she went to Pennsylvania, USA in 2004 where Anne worked with disabled children on a voluntarily basis for a year. “It was a fantastic time, a real eye opener”, Anne Groth Katballe tells. Five years later, in 2009 she once again crossed the Atlantic Ocean, this time she landed in Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida, USA. Here Anne experienced in many ways what it really means to integrate into a different culture where a lot is a little up side down. Back in Horsens, a smaller provincial town in Denmark, she carried on with her sixth se-
mester, and as a part timer took care of elderly people staying in their own homes. When Anne started to look for at place to do her trainee semester, she didn’t look to the Far East right a way at all. “It’s very difficult to find a “job” as a trainee. So I did send my applications in almost all directions. To USA, to Danish companies, and then I saw an article on our intern website about Danish Thai Chamber of Commerce. I liked what I read and a few hours after I learned about the DTCC for the first time, an application went off,” Anne Groth Katballe explains. When she was accepted as the Intern at DTCC she realized that her third long trip away from Denmark is in the opposite direction in more ways than geography.
“I have never been to Asia before in my life, and I really look forward to my time in Bangkok” Anne says. When asked about what she hopes to get out of the stay, her answer is straight forward. "The most important is to be busy, learning by doing." This interview takes place almost two weeks before she will settle into her new job and she admits that she can hardly wait to get started. “I’m reading a lot about Thailand to be prepared and it’s very fascinating to learn about the country. And I am sure that I have to see some temples, some forests and mountains. Yes, and maybe have a swim or two somewhere before I return to Denmark!”
Finnair Networking 1
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networking evening for the Nordic Chambers of Commerce in Bangkok took place on 28 June 2010. The evening was hosted by Finnair whose Sales Director for Thailand Jani Peuhkurinen welcomed everybody and explained a bit about why the airline is so succesful as the preferred connection for all Scandinavians in South East Asia.
1) Tom Sorensen, past President of Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce (left) with Poul Weber, also past President of the Chamber and Scand-Media’s Suchaya Binnawaree . 2) Finpro’s Jari Hietala (left) with past President of Thai-Swedish Chamber of Commerce Anders Lundqvist. 3) Group photo with representatives of the four Nordic Chambers of Commerce grouped around Finnair’s Sales Director for Thailand Jani Peuhkurinen, 4) Victoria Svedberg and Jacob Bojsen, Visit Beyond Co., Ltd., enjoyed the good food and wine at the Grand Hyatt. 5) Host of the evening Finnair’s Sales Director for Thailand Jani Peuhkurinen. 6) One of the guests, Per Eriksson, in discusssion with Jani Peuhkurinen.
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Why Become a Member? Help improving the ties between Denmark and Thailand. Support the Danish–Thai Chamber of Commerce and strengthen the Danish business community in Thailand.
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f you are involved in business between Thailand and Denmark, you will have great advantage of joining the network of the Danish–Thai Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber acts as a forum where you can exchange ideas, experiences and knowledge and where your company will be exposed to the top executives in the region. The Danish Thai Chamber of Commerce is very proud to say that it is one of the most active Chambers in Thailand with more than 175 members, and a membership will give you many benefits as well as networking opportunities with the large Danish community. We have events and functions several times a month that offer our members relevant information about living and working in Thailand. The Chamber has therefore become a natural place to look and search for information.
Calendar Coming Events Double Taxation - Nordic Breakfast Seminar from Jyske Bank and KPMG Joint Chamber Luncheon on New ROH Initiatives
Sep 14, 2010
DanCham Networking
Sep 15, 2010
Nordic Chamber Networking
Oct 20, 2010
Keep yourself informed
• Receive the Chamber magazine Danish-Thai Trade News five times a year. Read articles on what goes on in terms of business between our two countries, as well as keeping you updated on the activities of members of the Chamber. • Receive the annual DanCham Business Directory with a comprehensive overview of Thai-Danish Bilateral Trade in the region, as well as introducing all members of the Chamber. • Our website www.dancham.or.th is your gateway to last minute news affecting the business community in South–East Asia, as well as giving you a good overview of upcoming Chamber Events. • Monthly legal updates with a summary of new or updated laws. This comes with compliments of one of Thailand's legal law firms.
Events
Being a member of DanCham you are entitled to enter our events favorable member prices as well as being invited to exclusive member events. • Monthly networking events – Free of charge for members. • Join the many events through speakers' luncheons, breakfast meetings and seminars, some organized in corporation with other bilateral Chambers of Commerce in Bangkok. • Participate in our main yearly events Christmas lunch and Easter lunch where traditional Danish food is served. • AGM – participate in our annual general meeting where members have voting rights • Join our company visits in Thailand to see how DanCham Members are driving their business forward.
Promote your company
As a member you will have various opportunities to promote your company to the Danish business community. • Sponsor an event - A fantastic opportunity for your organization to gain exposure. • Get a banner of our website • Get an add in our Trade News or in the business directory.
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Sep 8, 2010
New Members Individual Nakako Rasmussen Private: Apt. 14-A2, G.M.Heights 10 Sukhumvit Soi 22, Klongtoey Bangkok 10110 Mobile: +66 80 622 4565 E-mail: nakakor@hotmail.com
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