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Contents
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TICC News
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Cover Story
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Lifestyle
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MOVIEMOV 2012 A Look Behind the Lens…
Ospitalita’ Italiana meets F&B Committee
Bangkok: a NEW Vibrant Center of Contemporary Art
Tongpong Chantarangkul, the Director of “I Carried You Home”
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Business Focus An Insight on the Thai Labor Market What companies have to deal with to keep employees motivated
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Interview
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Technology
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Legal Issue
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The Embassy of Italy
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Italian Trade Commission
Natuzzi: From Italy with comfort
3D Printing: Revolutionary New Technology
The Intellectual Property Challenge 3-D Printing
EUNIC Fantastique! European Union National Institutes for Culture
Trade Between Thailand and Italy
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TICC Events
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TICC Fairs & Upcoming Events
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Member Area
TICC NEWS
ITALIAN LANGUAGE COURSES
Mr. Giovanni Quaratesi has joined the Thai Italian Chamber of Commerce (TICC) as Secretary General, replacing Sandro Zanello effective September 1. TICC thanks Sandro for his great work in the past three years and wishes him good luck in his new career in Bangkok.
Two ITALIAN LANGUAGE COURSES are offered by the Dante Alighieri Association (La Dante), a non-profit organization for Italian language and culture promotion. The two courses will start on Tuesday, November 6th, 2012 at the Thai-Italian Chamber of Commerce (TICC), 16th floor, Vanit II Building, 1126/2 Petchburi Road (accessible from BTS, Ploenchit Station). The two courses are “True Beginners” and “Say it in Italian: travel, food, fun”. Classes will meet twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for five weeks; the course fee is 4,000 baht, discounted to 3,500 baht for La Dante and TICC members. Classes are limited to ten students. Classes are taught by instructors who have graduated from Italian universities and are experienced in teaching Italian as a foreign language. La Dante also offers individual lessons and conversation classes. For reservations or additional information please contact danteclass@gmail.com or call 082-4490598. The Dante Alighieri Association Committee
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Ospitalita’ Italiana meets F&B Committee
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An Insight on the Thai Labor Market: What companies have to deal with, from the selection process onward Thailand has one of the lowest levels of unemployment in the world. It is a fast growing country in one of the most dynamic regions of the world: Southeast Asia. This being said, the Thai labor market is colorful and multifaceted. It is a workforce with different competencies, qualifications and levels of experience. By Narciso Podda narcisopodda @ hotmail.it
and keeping employees within the company. “We always advise our clients to focus on benefits and other forms of compensation based on results, rather than on a fixed salary.” Particular attention should be given to this aspect considering that, when looking for qualified personnel, salary becomes one the most important topics, according to Mr.Andrea Gallucci, founder and Managing Director of DigithaiGroup (software solutions): “I have noticed that they tend to change employer fairly quickly when they have the opportunity to receive also a slightly higher salary. And in our sector they can do it quite easily because there is a high demand of expert and specialized employees, but few meet all of the characteristics needed.” Being a big multinational corporation won’t make a big difference, as Ms. Boulom
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trengths (and weaknesses), opportunities (and threats). The Thai labor market has the right mix, for both local and multinational corporations, to succeed (or fail) in domestic and international markets. It all depends on how employers select and manage the most important factor of production: the workforce. “When looking to hire local staff, the three main aspects that firms have to consider are: Thai’s high economic activity, wages and benefits, and cultural differences,” says Mr. Simone Spina, of Legal & Commercial Services Int. Co. Ltd. With his many years of experience as a consultant for Italian firms that want to access the Thai market, Mr. Spina has good recommendations for future employers. Because of the high level of economic growth and investments from Thai and many multinational corporations, Thailand’s unemployment rate stands at around 1% (nothing compared to that in Italy at the moment). “It’s very easy for Thais to leave a job and find a new one fairly quickly. One of the main problems for Italian companies is the high level of turnover,” pointed out Mr. Spina. Ms. Aline Boulom, Head of the Human Resources Department for one of the major global providers of Integrated Piping Solutions (Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Industries), confirms this: “Being a family business, we do experience turnover problems only to a certain extent. But generally it is true that high turnover is quite common in Thailand. Workers, office staff or even managers often accept employment when in fact they are still searching for a better offer somewhere else at the same time. We lose a lot of employees in the weeks or months following the recruitment.” To avoid this, Mr. Spina suggests to leverage wages and other kind of benefits in hiring
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confirms: “Currently there are more companies looking for human resource than people looking for jobs. Available specialized employees are not only scarce, they also have a large choice of offers and can opt for the most attractive one, the best combination of benefits”. But hiring someone and finding the appropriate cost/efficient salary for specific competencies is only half of the job for an employer. Managing cultural differences and creating a nice working environment are also very important, especially when local staff has to deal with foreigners. A misunderstanding or something not said in a proper way can easily became a source of conflict, and make the employee no longer feel good about working in that environment. As already said, quitting and looking for something else, somewhere else, won’t be that difficult. However, because of the characteristics of Thai society, this situation doesn’t seem to be that common. “In our company we did not experience any cultural related problems,” noted Mr. Alessandro Benetti, an employer with one of the major European manufacturing companies in Bangkok, global leader in its industry. “Our Thai staff proved to be social and open
to cultural differences, therefore adaptable and interactive in a multicultural environment both with seniors and other co-workers”. However, this positive hierarchical adaptation can have negative implications in some environments, as Ms. Boulom noticed. “Thais main strength is definitely their positive thinking and the fact that they don’t like conflicts. It is of great value in daily work and especially in situations of stress and pressure. However, to value seniority so highly, to hesitate or even refuse to tell anything that could make a more senior employee feel uncomfortable, (although cannot be qualified as a weakness socially speaking) can create difficulties working in a Western thinking model.” But what are employers really looking for when selecting a candidate? Among senior and top positions, companies search for entrepreneurial thinking, the ability to find new ideas, and creativity. Experience alone seems not to be enough to guarantee positions of command, according to an analysis of contracts in hand by PPL Recruitment Partners Company Ltd., a recruiting company founded by Mr. Fabio Di Gioia and chaired by Nigel Donald. Competencies and responsibilities, therefore salary, vary on each specific case, mainly sectors, positions and size of companies. “Also for entry-level positions, motivation seems to be one of the most valuable asset that companies required candidates to have”, says Mr. Donald. Regarding future prospects for the Thai labor market, particular attention should be given on assessing the real impact, on Thai economy, of the policy decision to increase minimum wages in Bangkok +40% to 300 baht a day. A policy that, according to promises by the current government, will be implemented national wide in the next few years. Increase of disposable income is good for consumption and economic growth, but it also mean more costs for companies and pressure on inflation. The real impact will be determined by the ability of the Thai production system to withstand this spike in wage and continue to be competitive on international markets (exports account for the higher share of GDP). Among the major factors that society and policy makers have to solve are: a low level of English proficiency, a large portion of youth with a low level of education, and an oversupply in certain qualifications with lack in others, according the last quarterly report by the Thai National Economic and Social Development Board. So here’s to you Thailand! Keep working hard!
INTERVIEW
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Trade Summary between Thailand and Italy Value: Million US$
Description
Growth Rate (%)
2011 2011 (Jan.-Jun.) 2012 (Jan.-Jun.)
Share (%)
2011 2011 (Jan.-Jun.) 2012 (Jan.-Jun.)
2011 2011 (Jan.-Jun.) 2012 (Jan.-Jun.)
Thailand - World Total Trade
457,316.18
226,025.75
234,869.57
20.91
25.36
3.91
100
100
100
Export
228,825.28
114,519.85
112,264.63
17.16
23.1
-1.97
100
100
100
Import
228,490.91
111,505.90
122,604.94
24.91
27.76
9.95
100
100
100
334.37
3,013.94
-10,340.31
Trade Balance Thailand - Italy Total Trade
3,966.67
2,093.84
1,851.59
25.24
27.79
-11.57
0.87
0.93
0.79
Export
1,866.83
1,031.16
766.95
9.29
17.32
-25.62
0.82
0.9
0.68
Import
2,099.84
1,062.68
1,084.64
43.93
39.9
2.07
0.92
0.95
0.88
-233.01
-31.52
-317.69
Trade Balance
Exports Structure Value: Million US$
Description
Growth Rate (%)
2011 2011 (Jan.-Jun.) 2012 (Jan.-Jun.) Total
2011 2011 (Jan.-Jun.) 2012 (Jan.-Jun.)
1,866.80
1,031.20
766.9
9.29
17.32
-25.62
100
100
100
338.2
202.1
127.2
25.04
54.36
-37.07
18.12
19.6
16.58
1. Agricultural products 2. Agro-industrial products 3. Principle manufacturing products
Share (%)
2011 2011 (Jan.-Jun.) 2012 (Jan.-Jun.)
287.1
98.3
93.5
72.07
23.25
-4.96
15.38
9.54
12.19
1,228.90
721.6
545.7
-2.97
8.43
-24.37
65.83
69.98
71.15
0.01
0.01
0.67
0.88
0.07
4. Mining and fuel products 5. Others (special transaction: articles,
0.1
0.1
0.1
-65.94
-60.53
50.08
12.6
9.1
0.5
204.23
250.82
-94.39
Imports Structure Value: Million US$
Description
Growth Rate (%)
2011 2011 (Jan.-Jun.) 2012 (Jan.-Jun.) Total
Share (%)
2011 2011 (Jan.-Jun.) 2012 (Jan.-Jun.)
2011 2011 (Jan.-Jun.) 2012 (Jan.-Jun.)
2,099.80
1,062.70
1,084.60
43.93
39.9
2.07
100
100
100
1. Fuel lubricants
0.9
0.4
0.6
-4.2
-18.16
43.34
0.04
0.04
0.06
2. Capital goods
1,069.70
556.2
599.2
56.14
47.94
7.74
50.94
52.33
55.24
543.9
267
233.6
27.57
24.86
-12.51
25.9
25.13
21.54
4. Consumer goods
434
212.4
223.7
38.03
37.28
5.31
20.67
19.99
20.63
5. Vehicles and transport accessories
41.4
20.6
24.9
62.96
63.84
21.04
1.97
1.94
2.3
9.9
6
2.5
47.41
207.32
-57.85
0.47
0.57
0.23
3. Raw materials and intermediate products
6. Arms, munitions used in official services and
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Exhibitions In Italy
Detail
Date
Venue/Website
73° PITTI IMMAGINE BIMBO
Fashion
January/June
www.pittimmagine.com Florence
VICENZA ORO and T-GOLD
International Exhibition of Gold, Jewellery, Silverware, Watches and Gemstones.
January/May/ June/September
www.vicenzaoro.it Vicenza
MILANO MODA DONNA
Ladies' wear
February-March/ September
www.cameramoda.it Milan
FIERAVICOLA
International Poultry and Rabbit Fair
April
www.fieraforli.it Forlì
ROMA CAVALLI
International Equestrian and Horse Racing Exhibition
April
www.romacavalli.it Rome
April
www.cosmit.it Milan
MILAN FURNITURE FAIR
Exhibitions In Thailand
Detail
Date
Venue/Website
Bangkok International Gift & Bangkok International Houseware October Fair 2012
Gift & Houseware
Trade: 16 – 19 Oct. 2012 Public: 20 – 21 Oct. 2012
BITEC, Bangkok, Thailand www.bigandbih.com
In-Cosmetics Asia Bangkok
Personal care ingredients
6 – 8 Nov. 2012
Hall 101 - 102, BITEC
Thailand Health and Beauty Show 2012
Trade 7 – 9 Nov 2012 Public10 – 11 Nov 2012
Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC), Bangkok,
Thailand International Education Expo (TIEE 2012)
22 – 24 February 2013
Royal Paragon Hall, Siam Paragon, Bangkok, www.thailandeducationfair.com
Date
Events
Location
Food and Beverage Committee
TICC
Aperitivo Italiano – Networking Event with the Irish Chamber of Commerce
To be confirmed
7 Fri.
EU Networking Event
To be confirmed
13 Thu.
Bridge of Hope – Charity Dinner 2012
SC Park Hotel
October 11 Fri. November 15 Thu. December
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