Voyageur Magazine - May 2013

M AY 2 0 1 3 A publication of the Thai-Canadian Chamber of Commerce

Corporate

05 / 2013

Partnership

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International School Bangkok Bringing out the passion in each of us since 1951. www.isb.ac.th

Calendar

Calendar of events: 2013/2014 TCCC Executives Patron:

His Excellence Ambassador of Canada

Officers: President – Peter van Haren Vice President – Derek van Pelt Vice President – John Stevens Treasurer – Michael Howard Secretary – Dean Outerson Executive Board: John Casella Surachit Chanovan Neil Chiu Kobsak Duangdee Nelson Hilton Michael Howard Ron Livingston Dean Outerson Jim Patterson John Stevens Peter van Haren Derek van Pelt

Embassy Representative: Ping Kitnikone

Advisors:

Sean Brady Scott Coates Sam Cohen Ali Fancy Don Lavoie Dusanee Promtan Picharn Sukparangsee

Executive Director: Randy Shockley

Thai-Canadian Chamber of Commerce 139 Pan Road, Sethiwan Tower 9th floor, Bangkok 10500 Tel: +66(0) 2266-6085-6 Fax: +66(0) 2266-6087 Email: info@tccc.or.th Website: www.tccc.or.th

WHEN: WHAT: WHERE: PRICE:

Wednesday, May 29, 2013; 6:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

17th Annual Business Excellence Awards (BEA) Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit Ballroom Individual Price: Early Bird - 1,500 baht; Std.-1,750 baht Corp. Package Price: Early Bird -13,500 baht; Std.-15,000 baht

WHEN: WHAT: WHERE: PRICE:

Wednesday, June 5, 2013; 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm All Commonwealth Chambers Networking Night Anantara Bangkok Sathorn 550 baht – Members (Must book on AustCham website at http://www.austchamthailand.com/thailandevents). Book under “Category 5 Commonwealth Chamber Member” for member rate; 1,000 baht for Non Members.

WHEN: WHAT:

Wednesday, June 12, 2013; 11:30 pm – 1:30 pm Speaker Luncheon with BlackBerry–Thailand; learn more about the new Z10 smart phone Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok 800 baht – Members; 950 baht – Non Members

WHERE: PRICE: WHEN: WHAT: WHERE: PRICE: WHEN: WHAT: WHERE: PRICE: Children Children Note:

Editor: Randy Shockley, Executive Director, Thai-Canadian Chamber of Commerce Publisher: Scandinavian Publishing Co., Ltd. 211 Soi Prasert-Manukitch 29, Prasert-Manukitch Rd., Chorakeabua, Ladprao Bangkok 10230 Tel: +66(0) 2943-7166-8 Fax: +66(0) 2943-7169 Design: Disraporn Yatprom Email: disraporn@scandmedia.com Advertising Contact: Mr. Finn Balslev, Marketing Director Scandinavian Publishing Co., Ltd. Tel: +66(0) 2943-7166 ext.116 or 08-1866-2577 Email: finn@scandmedia.com

Wednesday, June 19, 2013; 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Canuck Connections Networking Night Hemingway’s Bangkok; 1 Sukhumvit / Soi 14 Phone: 02 653 3900 Exit BTS Asoke / MRT Sukhumvit 200 baht – Members & Non Members Saturday, June 22, 2013; 3:00 pm –10:00 pm 146th Canada Day Celebration British Club, Silom /Soi 18 Adults (13 & up) 950 baht in advance/ 1250 baht at the door (4-12) 450 baht in advance/ 600 baht at the door (3 & under) 100 baht in advance/at the door Reserved Tables: Tables of 10 can be reserved with an advance payment.

Contact TCCC before Friday, June 7th

Upcoming events in the region: Malaysia: When: What: Where: Price:

CCBA

http://www.malaysia-canada.com/ May 18, 2013 Talisman MCBC 16th Annual Maple Leaf Golf Tournament Tropicana Golf and Country Resort RM 400/pax, RM 1600/flight

Hong Kong: http://www.cancham.org When: May 18, 2013 What: Annual Ball 2013 - Hockey Night in Hong Kong Where: Hong Kong Exhibition & Convention Centre, 1/F Convention Hall, 1 Expo Drive, Wanchai Price: HK$2200 for members; HK$2200 for non-members Shanghai: When: What:

The Voyageur is the monthly magazine of the Thai-Canadian Chamber of Commerce, covering all Thai-Canadian business, legal and social news of interest to the members and others who are active in expanding Thai-Canadian bilateral trade.

TCCC

Where: Price:

http://www.cancham.asia/ May 28, 2013 Finding the Right Local Business Partner: How to Navigate the Partner Selection Process The Westin Bund Center Shanghai 180 RMB for members; 280 RMB for non-members

146th Canada Day Celebration Canada Day 2013 will be celebrated at the British Club on Saturday, June 22, 2013. The event marks Canada’s 146th birthday and the 24th year that Canada Day has been celebrated in Bangkok.

We’re looking to attract 400 attendees to this year event with changes to the venue lay-out and the introduction of live music. The Canada Day Celebration also raises funds which are contributed to the Thai Fund Foundation (TFF) to support stateless children. Officially, Canada Day is celebrated on July 1st each year, but is being held early in Bangkok to accommodate school breaks and to allow for more families to participate in the festivities. The aim of this annual event is to encourage Canadians and their families, friends, and colleagues of all ages and nationalities, to gather and celebrate Canada Day in a lively atmosphere, with delicious food, exciting games and fantastic camaraderie.

The Canada Day Celebration will offer children’s games, tug-of-war, water balloon toss, volley ball, and various sporting activities for adults, including Petanque. A delicious buffet dinner will be served following the afternoon activities. Canadian beer and wine have also been ordered for the occasion, as well as Clamato juice for the uniquely Canadian Bloody Caesar. Event ticket holders will also be eligible to win a host of fabulous lucky draw prizes.

Tickets are being sold in advance with limited tickets available at the door - based on a ‘first come, first serve basis’. Ticket price includes entry into the event, dinner and a chance to win lucky draw prizes): Adults (13 & up) 950 baht in advance/ 1250 baht at the door Children (4-12) 450 baht in advance/ 600 baht at the door Children (3 & under) 100 baht in advance/at the door Reserved Tables Tables of 10 can be reserved with an advance payment by Friday, June 7, 2013.

The event runs from 3:00 pm to10:00 pm. For further information, please contact the Canada Day Organising Committee C/o the TCCC Office at (Tel.) 02-266-6085-6 or (Email) info@tccc.or.th

Community News

A little bit of Canada in Bangtao T

here are very few sports bar/restaurants in Thailand that resemble those that you would find in western Canada except Nok & Joe’s located at Bangtao Beach in Phuket.

There’s a sign outside Nok & Joe’s place that says, “No shoes or shirts required” and that pretty well sums it up. You get an easy peaceful feeling upon entering this establishment.

Joe Burgess came to Bangtao in February of 2005 to help with rebuilding after the huge destruction wrought by the 26 Dec 2004 tsunami. While working in the area, he met Nok, who ran a small restaurant and before long they were a couple. In June of that year, they went to Canada so Joe could finish a construction project in the Canadian Rockies.

First, a little background on Joe; he was born in New Westminster, but raised in Spillimacheen, BC, about three hours west of Calgary. At age 16, he took summer work framing homes, then went to college to study architecture, but decided he didn’t want to spend his life working in an office, so at age 18 he dropped out and started his own company, at first taking on small jobs but then he took a log-home building course, and got into hand-crafted timber-frame homes as well as custom stone work.

Between 1980-1990 Joe Burgess Handcrafted Log & Timber Homes had four trucks on the road and 25 men working for it. In all, Joe built about 50 homes, but his crowning glory came in 1997, when he built the “Lodge of the Ten Peaks” in Lake Louise.

At 15,000sqm, it’s the second biggest log structure in Canada — it took thirty guys working 20 months to finish the project. After the Lodge of the Ten Peaks, Joe restored two back-country log ski lodges; the first was Skoki Lodge in Banff National Park, where Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge recently stayed, and the second was Twin Falls Chalet in Yoho National Park, so he finished his building career in Canada with three fabulous projects.

Everything had to be flown into those final two both projects by helicopter, everything: food, people, tools, machinery.

Joe playing table top hockey

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Nok teaching a Thai cooking class Joe had to pull his team out of the Twin Falls project on 15 Dec 2004, and having just split from his wife of 21 years; he was staying at a hotel in Golden BC, and saw the news about the tsunami horror in Southeast Asia. Being a builder with a first-aid ticket and having worked as a volunteer fire-fighter, he’d seen death firsthand and felt he could help with the rebuilding efforts. So Joe enlisted his daughters to help him put together a resume and they sent it out to about fifty aid organizations, but surprisingly got no response. Eventually, he just got on a plane and headed to Asia, stopping in Australia along the way, and while flying Downunder he read a newspaper article about a relief group called “Hands on Thailand”, which was based in Bangtao. Joe contacted the organizer and he told Joe to hurry up, as the group had few tradespeople who actually knew how to build.

Joe stayed with the group for four months, building a few homes and doing a lot of repair

work, including plumbing, electrical work and carpentry.

Joe had to return to Canada to finish the Twin Falls project and he took Nok with him to cook and help out at the base camp – imagine, she’d never been to Canada before and had never been in a helicopter.

Upon arriving in Calgary, she was taken on a 15-minute helicopter ride through Canada’s Rocky Mountains to one of Canada’s most exclusive lodges.

When they returned to Thailand in the fall of that year, they decided to build a new restaurant giving Nok’s original restaurant to her sister, Nuan. Nok has over three decades of cooking experience and Joe has over three decades of building experience working on custom log, timber and stone buildings throughout Canada. Combine the two and you get an eatery with a unique, natural and relaxing atmosphere. The beautiful handcrafted log and wood restaurant is

A Thai cowboy certainly one of Phuket’s most unique dining establishments.

Work on the Bangtao restaurant started on 12 Nov 2005; the original section opened on 24 Dec 2005; the garden, buffet, sala area and the upstairs section were added on 14 Oct 2006; the sports bar & pool table then added on 4 May 2008.

Hanging in the rafters are Calgary Flames and Quebec Nordiques team jerseys, a Newfoundland Lobster company t-shirt, Bjore Salming, Steve Yzerman and Dave Keon jerseys, Toronto Maple Leaf and Vancouver Canuck pennants, license plates from Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario, and of course, a Canadian flag.

There’s also foosball and snooker tables and even a table-top hockey game. Nok & Joe also own two dogs that drift in and out of the premises smiling at customers they like, or snarling their disapproval at those they don’t.

As he is a true cowboy, it’s fitting that Joe sells cowboy boots (Brahma & Boulet), hats, belts, and jean jackets, jean shorts and jean shirts. And Joe even sells pure maple syrup from Canada.

The food is a combination of Classic Thai, western and seafood, and includes homemade burgers, pizza, pasta and chips.

Nok organizes Thai cooking classes and she can provide a catering service as well and hold birthday parties too. There’s live music every night except Monday.

There’s also free wifi and Nok & Joe have set up a kid’s zone as well where the little ones can play with video games, puzzles, toys and watch movies.

And Joe also ranges short and long- term leases on villas, homes and condos; he can even arrange visa trips for you as well as arrange trips to all of Phuket’s major tourist attractions plus the beautiful surrounding islands.

Every Wednesday and Sunday from 6:30pm, the couple puts on a BBQ buffet and cabaret show with performers from the Cabaret & Dream Bar in Patong. The all-youcan-eat spread features BBQ beef, chicken and pork steak, battered prawns, pork ribs, chilli con carne, cottage pie or Hungarian goulash, mashed potatoes, spring rolls, stir fried egg noodles, tomato salad, potato salad, cole slaw, mixed vegetable salad, garlic bread and fruits. All for only Bt499; Bt375 if you want to skip the show.

Nok & Joe’s is open daily from 9ammidnight.

P.S. Joe visits Canada or Australia every year where he spends time with his daughters Ashley and Abbey, and other family and friends. While there, when he’s not doing construction work, time is spent riding the range by horseback, checking cattle, doing round-ups, branding, fencing, training horses, fixing equipment and other ranch work. He’s a regular cowboy. And proving his blood flows red and white, Joe’s been known to fly up to Bangkok just to play hockey with the Flying Farangs in their ninety-minute practice sessions. Joe has played in the Farangs’ two annual tournaments (“the City of Angels” and “the Land of Smiles”) and he’s also played hockey in Canada, the US, Austria, Australia, Italy, the Czech Republic and Germany.

Contact info: atchara1986@hotmail.com, 081-538-2110/ 087-279-6532

Diamonds in the sky?

I

f you’re an expat looking for fame, fortune and a healthy employment destination, then you may not want to take a pass on Beijing. Rumors have it that Rihanna’s latest smash hit single “Diamonds” could soon be re-released in China as “Carbon in the Sky”.

Only 1 percent of the China’s 560 million city dwellers breath air considered safe by European Union standards according to a World Bank study. Air pollution is particularly bad in the rust belt areas of northeastern China. A study done by the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that the amount of airborne suspended particulates in Northern China are almost 20 times what WHO considers a safe level.

Space shuttle astronaut Jay Apt wrote in National Geographic, "Many of the great coastal cities of China hide from our cameras under a...blanket of smoke from soft-coal fires." The northeast industrial town of Benxi is so polluted that it once disappeared from satellite photos. Its residents have the highest rate of lung disease in China.

So, the next time you get severely smoked by an old two-stroke motorcy or a city bus on Silom Road, just remember to shut your eyes (and mouth), click your heels together three times and say “there's no place like Bangkok”!

May 2013

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Member Profile

Celebrating Twenty Years of I

n this issue of Voyageur, we take a look at Armenia, its history and its ties with Thailand.

Arto Artinian is a new TCCC member and Armenia’s Honorary Consul in Thailand (the country’s closest embassy is in Delhi). He says there are about 100 Armenians living in Thailand and they mostly work in the gems and jewellery business. There are about three million people living in Armenian today and through the Diaspora another seven million living in the rest of the world, predominately North America, Europe (especially France), the Middle East and Russia. Earlier on, the majority of Armenians living outside their homeland were based in the Middle East: predominately Syria, Lebanon and even Egypt.

The Armenian community in Bangkok recently commemorated the 98th anniversary of the 1915 Armenian genocide (called the “Medz Eghern”). As Arto describes it, “Ninety-eight years ago, on April 24, 1915, during WWI, the Ottoman Government ordered the systematic extermination/annihilation and deportation of its Armenian subjects from their historic homeland of present day Eastern Turkey.

“The Ottoman authorities ordered the arrest and the hanging of some 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople (now Istanbul). This was followed by the uprooting and deportation of millions of Armenians — women, children and the elderly — from their ancestral homes, on a death march through the scorching Syrian desert, deprived of water and food, while the able-bodied male population was subjected to mass extermination.”

The total number of innocent civilians killed has been estimated to be around 1.5 million. The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were founded as a direct result of the Armenian genocide. It should be noted that this was the first Holocaust of its kind that mankind witnessed at the start of the 20th century.

Canada has accepted the Armenian genocide, though not everyone has. Historically, Armenians used to travel because of trade and held a privileged position within the Ottoman Empire, so resentment festered and unfortunately vented during World War 1.

The Armenia we know today became independent since 21 September 1990, however the country was a short-lived republic from 1918-1920 until Armenia became part of the Soviet Union.

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Flower ring

Arto Artinian

Sartoro ring Recently, at the Bangkok Art and Culture Center, the Armenian community staged “Life Starts with a Smile” a celebration commemorating the 20th anniversary of Thai-Armenian relations. Participating performers included singing sisters Inga and Anush Arshakyan, dancers from the National State Ensemble of Armenia and ballerinas from the Yerevan State Pantomime Theatre.

At the same time, Arto, and the Armenian Minister of Culture, H.E. Mr. Hasmig Pogarian and other Armenian dignitaries presided over the transition of Yerevan to Bangkok as the “World Book Capital” (Bangkok will be the thirteenth host and first in Asia.)

Arto has set up a company in Canada and he has a home and distribution center in Toronto; he has partnered with a ArmenianCanadian jewelry designer and the production is done here in Thailand under the

brand name HERA. In Bangkok, Arto’s firm focuses on making fine jewelry and employs 300 people, and it has three main activities: OEM for other brands; Artinian fine jewelry, which uses extremly high craftsmanship to produce fine gemstones (rubies, sapphires and emeralds); and then there’s SARTORO, the company’s focus and Arto’s own brand, lifestyle jewelry, which is distributed globally.

Parliament house

Thai-Armenian Ties Armenia: A Country of Ancient Civilizations Artinian Emerald ring

By Ruben Manaseryan

A

rmenia’s historical roots date back to the remotest past of the Middle East.

Armenia came out on the historical stage as a direct heir to the old Eastern civilizations, as a successor to their socialpolitical, cultural and spiritual wealth and traditions.

Armenia’s place and role in the political system of the East lies in the inheritance of those civilizations.

Greek historians Herodotus and Xenophon, (5th century B.C.) describe Armenia as a vast and prospering country. They describe Armenians as having highly well-developed agriculture and trades. During the Hellenistic period (4th-1st centuries B.C.) Armenia appeared to be the only country in the East, which independently without Greek-Macedonian conqueror’s intervention adopted the elements of the Hellenistic civilization: Armenian kings founded self-governing towns with multi-national population. Armenian elite had access to the Hellenistic culture, theatre and arts. Armenian King Tigran the Great (9555 B.C.) having united under his dominion considerable parts of the Middle East was carrying out a policy of rapprochement of local peoples.

He understood well enough that the key to securing of the Armenian regions unity in the struggle against the expansionist policy of the Roman Empire would be through overcoming the estrangement between Greeks and Easterners. The peculiarity of Armenia’s fate was its location between the then super powers, which embodied quite opposite civilizations Western and Eastern.

Under constant military-political as well as cultural-ideological clashes, it was urgent to maintain Armenian national and cultural identity and political integrity.

Armenia found a fulcrum for its religious, ideological and cultural cohesion in Christianity. By adopting it in 301 AD as a state religion, Armenian king Tiridates III confirmed his country’s political and ideological independence from the pagan Roman Empire. And the creation of an Armenian alphabet by Mesrop Mashtots in 405 gave rise to Armenian Christian culture in the 5th century, becoming thus a powerful support for strengthening national self-consciousness.

Church architecture, sharakans (spiritual psalms), secular and spiritual poetry, khachkars (stone crosses) – masterpieces of the original national art, all this creates a unique image of Armenia. Armenian Medieval conceptions were focused on the Christian

spirituality, heritage of ancient philosophy as well as on the scientific interest towards the material world.

In the 10th century, during the reign of the Bagratuni and Artsruni dynasties, the Armenian Medieval civilization flourished. Its socialeconomic base became Ani, Kars, Artsn and other rich trading cities. A pre-Renaissance comprehension of the world was maturing here. Situated at the crossroad of the GreekByzantine and Islamic-Arabic-Iranian worlds, Armenia was actively communicating with both.

However, an irreparable blow was inflicted to Armenian Medieval civilization in the 11th-14th centuries by nomadic tribes from Central Asia – Turk-Seljuks, Mongols and other invaders. The nomads razed towns, killed the peaceful population and destroyed cultural monuments. During the next centuries (XIV-XIX), despite the loss of their political sovereignty, Armenians succeeded to preserve and develop their ancient culture which originality was based on the mutual synthesis of the elements of both Eastern and Western civilizations.

Influential Hoteliers The Sarkies Brothers were a group of brothers of Armenian ethnicity, best known for founding a chain of luxury hotels throughout Southeast Asia. Born in Isfahan, Persia, the brothers were: Martin Sarkies (1852–1912), Tigran Sarkies (1861–1912), Aviet Sarkies (1862–1923) and Arshak Sarkies (1868– 1931).

In chronological order, the hotels founded or run by the brothers were: • April 15, 1884: Eastern Hotel, George Town, Penang, Malaysia • 1885: Oriental Hotel, George Town, Penang, Malaysia. Previously the Hotel de l’Europe.

• 1 December 1887: Raffles Hotel, Singapore • August 1889: Eastern Hotel sold, Oriental Hotel renamed as Eastern & Oriental Hotel • 1901: Strand Hotel, Rangoon, Burma.

Sold by the brothers in 1925.

• 1923: Sea View Hotel, Singapore, originally built in 1906 and operated by the Sarkies Brothers under lease until 1931.

• 1929: Crag Hotel, Penang Hill, Malaysia.

In addition, the brothers' cousin Arathoon Sarkies (1882–1932) managed the Adelphi Hotel in Singapore from 1903 to 1908, and Hotel Majapahit (as Hotel Oranje) in Surabaya, Indonesia was founded in 1910 by Martin's cousin Lucas Martin Sarkies (1876–?) and his brother John. Kartika Wijaya in Batu, Java, Indonesia was originally built as a vacation villa for the Sarkies, and was only later turned into a hotel.

Arshak, the last of the brothers, died on January 9, 1931. On June 10 of the same year, a bankruptcy case was filed against the Raffles Hotel, eventually resulting in the Sarkies family losing control of their hotels in Singapore and Penang. The hotel in Surabaya, however, stayed in the hands of the Sarkies' descendants until 1969 (Source: Wikipedia).

Yerevan, the capital of Armenia

May 2013

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MISSING IN RANGOON Thirteenth in the Vincent Calvino P.I. Series

By Christopher G. Moore

T

he 13th novel in the award winning, internationally acclaimed Vincent Calvino Crime novel series is Missing in Rangoon.

Historical change figures large in Zero Hour in Phnom Penh, when Calvino traveled to Cambodia, and in Comfort Zone when a case took him to Vietnam. Missing in Rangoon, Calvino arrives in Burma during a time of the great political and economic transition.

As foreigners rush into Myanmar with briefcases stuffed with plans and cash for hotels, shopping malls and high rises, they discover the old ways continue behind the scenes.

Vincent Calvino’s case is to find a young BritishThai man gone missing in Myanmar, while his best friend and protector Colonel Pratt of the Royal Thai Police has an order to cut off the supply of cold pills from Myanmar used for the methamphetamine trade in Thailand.

As one of the most noir novels in the Vincent Calvino series, Missing in Rangoon plays out beneath the moving shadows of the crossborder drug barons. Pratt and Calvino’s lives are entangled with the invisible forces inside the old regime and their allies who continue to play by their own set of rules.

B-Format | Pages: 335 | Price: 495 Baht ISBN: 978-616-7503-17-2 Publication date: 2 January 2013

Praise for the Vincent Calvino Series One of "100 Eyes of Mystery Scene Era" in the 100th issue of Mystery Scene Magazine "Moore’s Vincent Calvino novels ... are crisp, atmospheric entertainments set in a noirish Bangkok."—The Guardian "Vincent Calvino is one of the most notable detectives of modern crime literature."—Harmut Wilmes, Kölnische Rundschau "A vivid sense of place ... the city of Bangkok, with its chaos and mystery, is almost another character. Recommended."—Library Journal "If there’s a new book by Christopher G. Moore, the Bangkok-based Canadian author, I’ll read that, particularly if it’s a Calvino private eye one.

His novels, set among louche expatriates in a semi-criminal nocturnal demi-monde, managed to put Bangkok into a context for me when I was spending time in S.E. Asia. He leads you into hidden establishments and constructs, some palatial, some mean hovels in hidden sidestreets, to which only a cat could find its way and that by accident."—Peter Stark,Quarterly Review

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"Vincent Calvino is a terrific character who could only have been drafted into action by a terrific writer."—T. Jefferson Parker, author of L.A. Outlaws.

[Bangkok’s] vertiginous landscape."—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

"Underneath Bangkok society is a deeply encrusted demiworld of hope, despair, corruption and courage that Moore … paints with maestrolike Dickensian strokes."—Thomas Plate, The Seattle Times

Missing in Rangoon is Available at Asia Books and other leading books stores, and as a Kindle ebook on Amazon: http://goo. gl/mkCpA

"Think Dashiell Hammett in Bangkok."— San Francisco Chronicle

For more information about the book, to arrange interviews with the editor/authors or request a review copy, please contact Khun Busakorn, Email: editorial@heavenlakepress. com.

"Moore’s flashy style successfully captures the dizzying contradictions in

Where can you find Missing in Rangoon?

Further information

Lunch with Mr. Christopher Moore, Canadian Writer and Author

D

uring the our May 15, 2013 Speaker luncheon at the Eastin Grand Sathorn, the TCCC’s members and friends were treated to an informative and light hearted presentation by Mr. Christopher Moore who talked on the unlikely events that took him from being a law professor to a novelist with stops in Vancouver, New York, London and finally Bangkok. He also shared the story behind the creation of the Vincent Calvino series with the launch of Spirit House in 1992.

Christopher G. Moore is a Canadian who has lived in Thailand since 1988. He first started writing radio drama for the C.B.C. and then moved on to New York where his first novel His Lordships Arsenal was published in 1985. Christopher is the author of some 31 novels and non-fiction books to date. He is best known by his award-winning Vincent Calvino private eye series, which has been translated into a dozen languages. Please take time to read the adjoining press release on his latest Calvino novel titled, Missing in Rangoon.

Foreign Investment: Focus-Regional Operating Headquarters in Southeast Asia

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Regional Operating Headquarters (ROH) is a company incorporated in one country for the purpose of providing qualifying services (managerial, administrative, technical or otherwise) to associated companies or branches located elsewhere in the world. The most attractive countries to base an ROH in Southeast Asia are Singapore and Thailand, while ROH schemes can also be found in Malaysia and the Philippines.

Each country provides its own unique package of qualification-based incentives, and the subtle but substantive differences between those packages can have a significant impact on a company’s bottom line.

As nations prepare for the ASEAN Economic Community set to debut at the end of 2015, ROH schemes provide a framework for regionally integrated investment through the facilitation of commerce across borders.

The relevant multi-dimensional regional cooperation is reflected in the criteria applied in Thailand for ROH qualification, as an eligible company must have associations or branches in at least three other countries (preferably ASEAN) generating no less than 50 percent of annual revenue in order to qualify for certain ROH incentives. A nation that hosts regional operating headquarters for business on all scales will invariably retain a comparative advantage both regionally and globally, due to the commerce and revenue generated, while remaining an attractive location to the inevitable expansion of new

business in Southeast Asia. Governments, especially in Thailand, are aware of this, and are utilizing the ROH program structure to capitalize on opportunities for foreign investment accordingly.

Why Base an ROH in Thailand?

Although Singapore is currently the most popular ROH hub in Southeast Asia, Thailand has been gaining considerable notoriety as the preferred destination for multinational companies since rolling out new incentives to its ROH program in 2010 and moving up to 18th in the World Bank’s “Ease of Doing Business” country list (Canada ranks 17th).

Initially launched in 2002, the attractive new 2010 ROH package is designed to supercharge the popularity of the program; making Thailand’s ROH scheme arguably the most generous in the entire region.

Among the incentives granted to qualifying companies that establish a regional operating headquarters in Thailand is a 10-year corporate tax holiday on revenue generated from overseas operations with a possible 5-year extension; equating to 0% taxes over the first 15 years. A tax rate of just 10% is applied to all domestic operations within the same timeframe. In addition, if more than half of the company’s total revenue is earned overseas, ROH expatriate employees enjoy a flat tax rate of 15% on personal income for the first 8 years instead of the progressive 5-37% rate levied outside of the ROH system.

Finally, Thailand offers tax exemptions for dividends received by the ROH from its associated companies abroad and for dividends paid out of the ROH’s net profits to its companies abroad that are not doing business in Thailand. Both are unique ROH features in Southeast Asia. Again though, qualifying for such incentives required satisfaction of a number of criteria (including importantly, in addition to the above-mentioned ones, the requirement that paid-up capital on the last day of accounting period amounts not less than 10 million THB).

Financial incentives of the ROH program aside, Thailand’s other notable features also make it extremely attractive for a regional operating headquarters. It is a centrally located hub for production and regional outsourcing that provides a solid economic foundation upon which to build and expand a business.

Expatriates living and working in Thailand also enjoy a comparatively low cost, but high quality, standard of living, and can take advantage of an expansive network of business and transportation infrastructure. These are just a few of the qualitative considerations when comparing ROH’s in Southeast Asia that, combined with the expanded list of quantitative monetary enticements, make Thailand’s ROH program arguably the most attractive in the region.

Audray Souche / Matthew Christensen Audray.Souche@dfdl.com May 2013

11

TCCC News

The Future of Thai Transportation Planning

D

uring our mid-April TCCC luncheon presentation at the Eastin Grand Hotel, Joshua Montei, a Fulbright Public Policy Fellow, delivered a talk on transportation-oriented equity and development in Bangkok and throughout the country.

Joshua talked about how transportation impacts the quality of our life as we are dependent on its access for our employment, entertainment and education: it gets us from point A to point B. But in Bangkok, there’s a tiered-class system of transportation. A person making minimum wage can spend up to a third of their daily income on a return Skytrain trip, so they take the bus instead. The difference being, it could take twenty minutes to reach their destination by Skytrain, but two hours to do so by bus, that’s a tremendous waste

of human potential. The problem is that there is no incentive for a private operators to make the system more inclusive.

Joshua says the infrastructure development for the new rapid-rail links being built throughout the country by the Thai government is valued at more than 2.2 trillion baht.

There are five lines planned: one to Chiang Mai (the first leg being built to Ayutthaya); one to Rayong (first leg stopping in Pattaya); another to Nong Khai (first leg stopping in Korat); one to Padang Besar on the Malaysian border (with the first leg stopping in Hua Hin) and the last one to Ubon Ratchatani. Train time to Chiang Mai from Bangkok would be about three hours and forty-five minutes, while the expected duration of the Bangkok to Padang Besar rout gets cut from twenty to

Synopsis: The Future of Public Transit in Bangkok

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iscussing his work, Joshua says, “In the past 10-15 years, two new rail-transit systems in Bangkok have opened to wide public acceptance. While they have undoubtedly made the city more accessible to millions and negated the environmental externalities of many older, more unsustainable forms of public and private transportation, these new rail systems are not accessible to citizens of all socio-economic backgrounds. Now, with 10 new rail lines scheduled to be open in Bangkok within the next 5-10 years, my research attempts to better understand if people will continue to be excluded from the new rail systems and how the systems may develop in the coming decade. Much of the analysis focuses on the efficacy of transit system privatization as a tool that local governments in developing countries are increasingly using to help build and operate urban transit systems and whether this privatization ultimately can produce equitable outcomes. My work also examines what the incentives are for private actors to make systems that are equitable and open to people from all portions of society.

“In many ways, the creation of a privately funded transit system has led to the bifurcation of space and movement within the city.

The relatively wealthy utilize the efficient lines of travel on both elevated and below ground platforms while much of the remainder of the

12 Voyageur

five hours. Joshua said the cost of one-way ticket to Chiang Mai would be approximately Bt1,700, so again this really does nothing to address the issue of affordable, accessible transportation. But the trains will also be used to transport produce to market, which could alleviate some of Bangkok’s heavy truck traffic and congestion.

In the exchange with the audience, Joshua suggested ways to alleviate gridlock in Bangkok, methods that have worked well in other cities, one solution was to create a special zone in the city’s inner core, and if drivers wanted to enter it during prime time they would have to pay a special tariff. This has worked well in London, England.

A few in the audience mentioned that the Skytrain is packed at peak hours, a special “premium fare” was suggested as a way of maybe thinning out the crowds, but that again does nothing to help the average Thai gain accessible affordable transportation.

Joshua also mentioned that rapid bus lanes and systems had been very successful in cities like Jakarta and Guangzhou, although Bangkok’s rapid bus lane has been pretty much been a white elephant.

There certainly isn’t one easy solution to the country’s transportation problems, but for those that can afford it the multiple new subway and Skytrain lines being built and the new rapid rail links will make it much easier to travel through Bangkok and the Land of Smiles.

BIO

(L-R) Mr. Derek van Pelt, TCCC VP, presents Joshua Montei with a TCCC speaker gift following his April 25, 2013 presentation to chamber members population cannot afford the high rail fares and are forced to rely on the cheaper but largely paralyzed bus system running along chaotic and congested streets. My work probes more deeply into the consequences of these emerging forms of spatial segregation in the transportation sector and how they may shape the development of Bangkok in future decades. For previous research I have interviewed Thai academics, reviewed relevant government and media documents, and completed an original transit-rider survey culminating in a series of policy recommendations that attempt to guide Bangkok’s future public transportation networks towards a more inclusive and equitable future.”

Joshua Monthei is currently a Fulbright Public Policy Fellow, serving in a professional placement with the Government of Thailand's Ministry of Transport, Office of the Permanent Secretary. His current duties include conducting comparative research on high speed and urban rail plans in Thailand and the United States. He is also participating in a series of public meetings throughout Thailand identifying key infrastructure projects. Mr. Monthei received his BA in Sociology from Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan and holds an MA in Southeast Asian Studies from the University of Michigan with a concentration in urban planning and development in Thailand. His Master's thesis focused on transportation planning and social equity issues in Bangkok. His previous professional experience includes time as an Asia Pacific Leadership Fellow and Research Delegate with the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, and as an International Coordinator for the Urban Development Institute Foundation in Chiang Mai, Thailand. In addition, Mr. Monthei has studied sustainability and environmental leadership issues in northern Thailand with the International Sustainable Development Studies Institute. His studies focus on equity and access challenges tied to transit services for low-income residents.

Business News

Towards a more flexible legal framework for foreign investments in Thailand?

In anticipation of the regional common market set to be implemented in 2015 as part of the ASEAN Economic Community blueprint, Thailand has adopted a new regulation that provides special exemptions from foreign business license requirements.

Should this move be perceived as a harbinger for a progressive liberalization of the foreign investment conditions in Thailand?

Foreign investment under control

In Thailand, as in other countries, one of the challenges arising from globalization is the balance sought by the government between the opening of its markets and the protection of its domestic companies and capital. The legal framework of foreign direct investment – generally governed by the Foreign Business Act, BE 2542 (1999) (ABE) and the Investment Promotion Act, BE 2520 (1977) - gives a subtle mix of attraction mechanisms and restrictive principles (applicable to specially protected activities). The controlled approach is implemented through various means, ranging from strict prohibition to prior approval schemes, applicable subject to relevant activity’s classification under prescribed lists.

A typical example of so controlled activities is the service sector: before operating any business in this sector, one must obtain a Foreign Business License.

The acquisition or development of a project on a 100% foreign ownership basis in any controlled/protected sector may therefore involve administrative delays which are often incompatible with the financial constraints of the investor. Thus the only feasible choice is often a partnership structure with a local entity where the foreign party is restricted to a 49/51 minority stake in the project.

This legislation and these issues have been extensively analyzed and discussed.

A lot of information is freely and easily accessible to potential investors in Thailand, notably in relation the conditions applicable under the Foreign Business Act. Due to the above-mentioned convoluted legal context, it is worth noting that when structuring a foreign

investment project, vigilance and attention is always required and professional advice by experienced counsel recommendable, whether to optimize the preparation of a license application file or to insure adequate protection in the case of a partnership with minority shares.

New exemptions: ambitious enough?

One aspect of this column is to inform our readers of even partial developments in the relaxation of rules that may impact their business. In that regard, the ministerial regulation of 18 March 2013 adopted under the Foreign Business Act caught the authors’ attention as it provides for an exemption from the requirement to obtain a Foreign Business License for the benefit of services related to financial activity as specifically listed and described in the new regulation. These services include financial consulting, asset and mutual fund management, securities, stock market exchange, and brokerage businesses (limited though to the Stock Exchange of Thailand).

So in practice, any investor wishing to acquire an entity offering such services or to develop a new company in this sector will be free to do so without being subject to administrative turpitude of the Foreign Business License or a 49 / 51 partnership.

At first sight, it would be easy to think that this partial liberalization looks like an announcement of a general relaxation of policy restrictions used on the entry of foreign investment in the service sector, perhaps in response to the insisting demands of the European business community (see the

recommendations of the EABC in the 2012 European Business Position Paper).

Nevertheless, this assumption would be ignoring the specific economic context in which this regulatory initiative is taking place. Thus far, development of the capital markets in Thailand has not evolved as fast as those of some of its neighbors. Thailand’s market capitalization in 2011 represented approximately 84% of its GDP, as opposed to 256% for Singapore and 146% for Malaysia. However, growth in this sector is all but certain as evidenced by progression since 2003; where the same ratio in Thailand was only 37.5%. The capital markets appear to be waiting for a solid stimulus injection in order to move closer to parity with the regional heavyweights. This could come from increased foreign investment through the further relaxation of regulations.

Through the prism of the aforementioned data, general analysis of the latest developments regarding exemptions to the Foreign Business Act requirements may reveal a renewed ambition to become more competitive in Asian capital markets by utilizing the technical support and expertise of foreign operators. However, beneficial as this sector-specific reform is, without widespread liberalization across a multitude of investment arenas, Thailand’s regional financial market position might continue to be overshadowed by its less regulated neighbors. To be watched.

Audray Souche / Matthew Christensen Audray.Souche@dfdl.com May 2013

13

Community News

Background/History of the Bangkok Rugby Tens B ob Merrigan, Vice-President of Property Services for Outrigger Hotels and Resorts, Asia-Pacific division talks to Voyageur about the growth of Bangkok Rugby Tens.

“Eddie Evans and I were both involved with the British Club Rugby Section and at the time, in 2005, Eddie was our captain and I was the rugby section’s secretary, a position for many years referred to as the “scribe”. In 2003, the Club celebrated it’s centenary and the rugby section held a ‘Tens’ tournament and we had wanted to find a position in the regional rugby calendar to repeat the event but this was not possible until 2006 when Eddie and the players presented the idea and wanted to organize the tournament.

Essentially, the first year it was only Eddie and me and the only pitch available was out at Rangsit University and it involved a single pitch and sixteen teams.

“In 2007, we held the tournament on the three fields at Bangkok Patana School and have been there ever since. We also added in the DHL Bangkok Lions Junior competition, which meant we have run the event over two days with rugby being played at three pitches simultaneously from 8am to 6pm over two days. There have been 45 junior teams from Under 8s to Under 18s, typically 24 senior teams including representation from Thai university teams, all expatriate teams in Thailand and many overseas teams. We have also always had around 8 veterans teams and we also showcase the Bangkok Bangers Ancients, which allows the over 50s to play for twenty minutes each year. This means we typically have in excess of 1,500 players of all ages from under 8s to over 50s together with coaches, parents and other spectators the tournament has grown into the best annual social weekend of rugby in Thailand – and we are often told by visiting teams one of the best weekends within the regional rugby calendar (their words – not ours!).

“We focus very much on the social side though there are always at least four very good teams that can win the tournament every year.

“The rationale behind starting the event was to try to raise funding and develop a rugby specific complex that could be used by the local rugby community. After a few years, Eddie said that to fulfil our long-term goal would take a long time so we spent time looking for an exceptional good cause to support and once we found it, we’ve all bought into it big time and for most of us, this is the best thing we’ve been involved with in our rugby careers, whether it be it playing, or as administrators.

“Eddie has played for Canada in three Rugby World Cups but he will not mind me telling you how proud he is of this rugby programme and he has been the driving

14 Voyageur

Eddie Evans

force behind it all. All the other volunteers are equally as proud and we typically raise enough funds each year to cover the majority of the running costs, which then leads to more fundraising activities throughout the rugby calendar.

“For the tournament format, we are one of the few, possibly only, tournaments that offer a minimum of at least two games on the Sunday, on top of the three games played by each team on the Saturday.

“For the men’s tournament this means that we not only have Cup, Plate and Bowl competitions but also Shield Jug and Tankard. For the Vets and Juniors we typically have only Cup, Plate and Bowl.

“Famous players we’ve had include Bob Skinstaad, who visits us at least every two years. We’ve also had from Robbie Fleck and Bryton Paulse from South Africa, the former Tongan Captain and NZ TV commentator Willie Lose visits as often as he can."

2013 Results h t t p : / / w w w. m a c o o c o o . c o m / i n d e x . php?r=group/default/tournament&group=4 45&section=pools&tid=128.

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