Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, hopes that the Belitung Festival will contribute to the reopening of international flights. The Minister expressed its optimism that the festival, which showcases the cultural richness of Belitung Island in Indonesia, will attract international tourists and lead to the resumption of international air travel. Minister Sandiaga believes that the festival's success in attracting tourists will demonstrate the safety and preparedness of the region, encouraging countries to lift travel restrictions and resume international flights to Belitung.

Chinese smartphone maker Honor is aiming to become a top three player in the Thai market within three years via heavy marketing investments and related activities.

"Competition is expected to intensify in the local smartphone market as consumer purchasing power weakens," said Sutida Mongkolsuthree, chief executive of local IT product distributor Synnex (Thailand), the sole distributor of Honor mobile phones.

"We think we can increase the overall Honor market share to 3-4% this year and make it into the top three brands within three years," Ms Sutida said.

Honor re-entered the Thai market over the past 10 months and appointed Synnex as its sole distributor and service provider. Honor has gained a 5-7% market share in the mid- to high-priced smartphone segment of 10,000-20,000 baht. The firm's share of the overall smartphone market is less than 1%.

Honor launched its flagship smartphone model Honor Magic5 Pro 5G in Thailand this week. Ms Sutida said overall smartphone sales account for 40% of Synnex's total revenue.

She cited data from IT research firm IDC that Thailand's smartphone market contracted 17% year-on-year in the first quarter with sales of 1 million units per month, down from 1.2 million units last year.

"We see cautious consumer spending in the smartphone market, mainly in the smartphone entry-level segment at this time of economic challenges," she said.

At the entry level, consumers prefer mobile phones costing less than 5,000 baht, a change from an earlier focus of around 7,000 baht.

Tough competition in the entry-level smartphone market sees prices cut every few months.

Ms Sutida added that mobile devices in the premium segment have yet to be impacted. In the mid- to premium-price bands, consumers change their smartphone every 1.5 years, while entry-level users hold onto their devices for longer than two years.

"We think the the market situation will get better in the second half of this year, particular in the fourth quarter, which is the high season of the flagship smartphone segment and the IT industry," said Ms Sutida.

She added that Synnex has also gained support from Honor in term of marketing, Honor brand shop expansion, and in promoting special-priced products to lure customers to the brand.

Honor was previously positioned as a sub-brand and fighting brand under Huawei, but in 2020 it broke away from Huawei. Honor's new parent company was co-founded by Shenzhen Smart City Technology Development Group.

Ms Sutida said that Honor last year took the No.2 position in China in terms of market share, while globally it was No.6. In Malaysia, Honor has a 7% market share.

In Thailand, Honor has focused on elevating its brand image by introducing the Magic5 Pro 5G smartphone. The model is offered at a special price of 29,900 baht in Thailand, lower than other countries where it is sold for 34,000 baht. The company has allocated 30 million baht for this model's marketing budget.

Synnex plans to increase the number of Honor Experience stores to 15, from six, throughout the country this year.

 

Source : Bangkok Post

True Axion Interactive has agreed to a strategic partnership with TV Tokyo Corporation to elevate the Thai gaming industry to an international level.

Game development company True Axion Interactive is a joint venture between True Corporation and Canada's Axion Ventures, while TV Tokyo Corporation is a Japanese TV station known for its anime content.

The partnership will focus on the creation and development of anime-style games, a genre gaining popularity worldwide. The inaugural project under this collaboration, Project Regulus, is a fantasy role-playing game set to launch by June 2024.

The collaboration should set a standard for Thai intellectual property in response to the burgeoning content business and the rapid expansion of the global gaming community, said Mana Prapakamol, board director at True Axion Interactive. He said the tie-up would initially involve project-based cooperation, with a long-term partnership the goal.

The company believes the launch of Project Regulus, combining the joint venture's production values and TV Tokyo's expertise in anime content, will position Thailand at the forefront of the global gaming market, setting a new benchmark for the country's gaming industry.

Mr Mana said the new game will be mainly developed by the core team at True Axion Interactive, providing game design, coding and production, while TV Tokyo will offer consulting and help with storytelling in the game creation.

He said Project Regulus features a mixture of turn-based combat and action set within a fantasy universe. It boasts anime-style graphics, currently trending among gamers across Asia, Europe and the US.

The game is projected to be available on both Android and iOS platforms, with the company expecting a top 10 ranking among downloads by Thai gamers on iOS.

True Corp holds a 40% majority share in True Axion Interactive, while 60% is held by other shareholders, including Canada's Axion Ventures.

True Axion Interactive established a Thai game development studio in 2018 with the objectives of being a front-runner in local game development and to elevate the domestic gaming industry to an international level.

In 2019, the studio developed Invictus, an AAA-grade mobile game known for its premium production quality. The game blends card game mechanics with real-time combat.

The studio launched the Meawsanova hyper-casual game in 2021, followed by The Collectors, a CSR game with CP Group in 2022, and Nice To Z U, a party game with the concept of hide and seek in 2023. All games created by the company are free to play.

Birathon Kasemsri Na Ayudhaya, head of content strategy and partnership department at True Visions Group, said the value of the Thai digital content sector is growing. The market value in 2019 was 31 billion baht, 39.3 billion baht in 2020, and 42 billion baht in 2021, according to the Digital Economy Promotion Agency.

Games have the largest value in the digital content market, worth 25 billion baht in 2019, 34 billion baht in 2020, and 37 billion baht in 2021.

However, its total value is dominated by imported games that account for 97% of the overall Thai market.

"The partnership is expected to catalyse limitless growth within Thailand's creative economy, demonstrating a potential that meets international standards," Mr Birathon said.

Meguru Akao, executive officer for the international strategy department at TV Tokyo, said the company is an industry expert recognised for its anime content, including popular series like Naruto, Pokémon, Shaman King and Beyblade. TV Tokyo will provide expert consultation on game development, creative design, and strategic market investment for the partnership. It will share deep industry knowledge, advanced skills, and comprehensive expertise in anime to contribute to this project.

True Axion Interactive, as the production studio, will be responsible for game creation, development, narrative structure, creative design, character creation, sound effects, soundtracks, and all other visual elements.

 

Source : Bangkok Post

Thailand's economy grew 2.7 percent in the first quarter of the year, thanks to a recovery in tourism and higher agricultural output, the country's economic planning agency has said.

This marked a sixth consecutive period of expansion, accelerating from 1.4 percent growth in the final quarter of 2022, according to the data released by the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC).

The improvement was attributed to the constant expansion of the service sector, driven by the country's growing foreign arrivals, and the agricultural sector due to higher yields, the NESDC said in a statement Monday.

The NESDC maintained its gross domestic product forecast this year in the range of 2.7 percent to 3.7 percent, boosted by a further recovery in tourism and steadily expanding private consumption.

It also forecast that the country's headline inflation would slow this year, ranging between 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent year-on-year.

The Southeast Asian country's economy expanded 2.6 percent in 2022, recovering from 1.5 percent growth in 2021 as its vital tourism picked up pace.

 

Source : Xinhua

 

Consumer confidence in Thailand has risen for the 11th consecutive month, reaching its highest level in 38 months, with experts saying the increase is driven by factors including a reduction in COVID-19 infections, the recovery of domestic tourism, and lively election campaigns across the country.

The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) reported that the consumer confidence index rose from 53.8 in March to 55 in April. Despite consecutive increases in the confidence index, the indicator remains below 100 points due to weak purchasing power and concerns about high inflation and interest rates.

According to UTCC President Thanavath Phonvichai, the government’s economic stimulus measures, such as the "We Travel Together" hotel subsidy and state aid programs, led to an increase in consumer confidence. Additionally, the rise in tourist arrivals during the Songkran Festival, the decreasing gasoline and diesel prices in the country, and the baht’s slight appreciation against the US dollar helped boost consumer confidence in April.

Despite the increase in consumer confidence, concerns remain about the high cost of living, including expensive electricity bills, and the global financial situation. The UTCC president warned that the economic slowdowns in the US and EU, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and increasing interest rates could create pressure on the global economy, potentially leading to a recession that could impact Thai exports and purchasing power.

The UTCC also released the TCC Confidence Index, which measures the sentiment of the business sector and members of the Thai Chamber of Commerce in every province. The index rose to 51.9 in April, up from 50.5 in March, driven by a recovery in tourism and higher farm product prices. However, business operators are concerned about factors that keep affecting confidence, such as the PM2.5 situation, which affects the tourism industry, as well as rising electricity costs and minimum wage hikes proposed by some political parties.

 

Source : NATIONAL NEWS BUREAU OF THAILAND

The Lao Department of Agriculture (DoA) led the celebration of International Tea Day in Laos. This year, the three-day event aims to enhance the reputation of Lao tea as a high-quality product and establish a strong image of tea in Laos as well as encourage friendly competition and recognition among the local tea community.

The Mekong Tea Project implemented by DOA – leads the organization of the Fair, gathering together tea farmers, producers, industry professionals, consumers, and other stakeholders from around the country.

This is to recognize the importance of tea in the daily lives of Lao people and the potential it has to reduce poverty and create economic opportunities in the country. Lao teas can be a source of environmental sustainability, economic development, and a way to build resilient communities.

By celebrating the Lao tea industry, and its specific links to environmental preservation, we can promote its potential to have a positive impact on people and the planet.

To officially open the Fair, the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Dr. Phet Phomphiphack made an opening remark. Alongside Dr. Phomphipack was Siv-Leng Chhuor, Ambassador of France to Laos, who spoke about the French government’s continued support of Lao sustainable agriculture value chains.

Participants at the fair included representatives of the Agence Française de
Développement (AFD), which is funding the Mekong Tea Project, the European Union Delegation to Laos and national and international organizations.

“Despite favorable growing conditions and market proximity in China, to reach its full potential, the tea sector faces many challenges. In particular, farmers have still limited knowledge and skills about tea processing, and they’re not promoted enough to export tea. Through this event, we aim at bringing all tea value chain actors together to promote Lao tea’s image and sales” by Dr. Phet Phomphiphack, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.

“We hope that this fair will help promote the Lao tea culture and the quality of teas across the country. The specificities of Lao tea, often produced in forested ecosystems by small-scale farmers, are to be preserved and scaled-up. We are convinced that the development of the tea value chain has a great potential to empower smallholder farmers, shed light on Lao culture, while preserving the environment,” he added.

Tea producers and exporters are coming from all-over Laos celebrate this important day. Producers and companies from Bokeo, Xayabouri, Phongsaly, Champasack, Houapanh Provinces display their products, representing the diversity and uniqueness of their tea terroirs. Amongst these was the Meung Tea Producers Cooperative, based in Meung District, in Bokeo.

With the support of the Mekong Tea Project, the Cooperative recently obtained the Organic EU Certification, which will allow its members to produce certified tea aiming at reaching the European markets. DOA and the French Development Agency handed-over the newly obtained certification during the Opening Ceremony.

“I am confident that the tea promotion events like this one today will encounter the same success. I wish the International Tea Day would soon be registered as one of the annual main events of the domestic and international promotional agenda of the Laos,” said Siv-Leng Chhuor, Ambassador of France to Laos.

More than 1000 public visitors joined over the 3-days event and discovered different tea blends from various provinces of Laos. During the Fair, visitors also enjoyed an artistic photo exhibition that depicted tea cultivation systems across Laos.

 

AN AUTOMOBILE is the sum of its parts. From the battery and radiator to the headlights and upholstery, the average vehicle manufacturer sources these parts from over 18,000 suppliers across the world. Even after the automobile has been assembled, it must then be shipped to the various markets. Indeed, the supply chain of the automotive industry is a vast and complex one – and therein lies the challenge.

The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted how easily global supply chains can be disrupted by economic, environmental, and geopolitical forces. In 2021, the world witnessed how a single poorly positioned cargo ship in the Suez Canal could cause US$9.6 billion-worth of daily losses in maritime traffic.

As a result, many in the automotive industry have chosen to strengthen their supply chain through nearshoring, or moving their manufacturing operations closer to customers.

Amid the global rise of nearshoring, South-east Asia has emerged as an attractive option for such operations. What are the key considerations automotive businesses must make when relocating to or expanding their footprints in the region?

The case for South-east Asia

Nearshoring presents a number of key benefits for businesses with complex supply chains. Specifically, it can help businesses reduce labour and operating costs, facilitate better communication and collaboration due to time zone proximity, and access a larger pool of skilled labour that may not be available in the home country.

While nearshoring is becoming prominent in markets across the world, especially in Mexico, South-east Asia is an especially popular port of call – and for good reason too.

For one, South-east Asia is home to 634 million people, notably a young demographic and a growing middle class. It is also economically vibrant, boasting the world’s fastest-growing growth of 5.5 per cent as a region in 2022. The region also has multiple free trade agreements between nations and loosened tariffs, which in turn is attracting large amounts of foreign direct investments and cross-border trade.

Regulations and policies in the region are also favourable for nearshoring. Governments there continue to reform legal and trade frameworks to improve the ease of doing business, all while investing in relevant infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities. Incentives such as tax holidays and cash grants are also available for companies seeking to relocate their manufacturing or supply chain hubs to South-east Asia. For example, in Singapore, there is the SG+ twinning model that leverages the business advantages of setting up dual production locations in the country and its neighbours, such as Johor in Malaysia and Batam, Bintan, and the Karimun islands in Indonesia. This allows businesses to launch manufacturing bases and diversify supply chains in the region.

Then there is also the diverse talent pool, from lower-skilled workers to skilled manpower in Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore. This talent diversity will help companies keep up with increasing demand across South-east Asia.

Key nearshoring considerations

With such favourable conditions, South-east Asia is already forming a core part of many nearshoring strategies in the automotive industry. However, before automotive businesses pack up and relocate or expand into the region, there are some considerations of note.

For instance, while nearshoring can help automotive businesses save costs on labour, transportation, and logistics, it would be wise to balance these savings against additional costs, such as taxes, cultural barriers, and custom duties.

Also, as diverse as the region’s talent pool is, the automotive industry is built on manpower with expertise in design, engineering and manufacturing. As such, nearshoring in countries with an established automotive industry, or at least expertise in the abovementioned fields, would be wise.

Finally, the regulatory and political environments are also critical. The automotive industry, in particular, must comply with a host of regulations and standards, especially those related to safety and emissions. As such, nearshoring in a country that already has similar regulatory environments to the home country will make it easier on the compliance front. Furthermore, while South-east Asia as a region is politically stable, the stability is uneven across countries. Automotive businesses thinking of nearshoring there must consider a country that provides a fairly reliable, stable supply chain in the long term.

Technology that facilitates visibility and transparency

Nearshoring is a viable supply chain strategy for automotive businesses looking to better manage cost, increase agility, and reinforce resilience. However, even the best-laid supply-chain strategy is only as robust as the technology that drives it. In fact, accurate, real-time data across the supply chain allows automotive businesses to forecast demands, adapt to disruptions, and gain greater visibility and control over the entire supply chain network.

One example of this in action is Mazda Australia. The company imports, stores, and distributes automotive parts, accessories, and vehicles from multiple overseas locations to more than 140 authorised dealers in Australia. As such, it needs a scalable supply chain solution with high visibility. This calls for specialist proprietary technology that can streamline load prioritisation, lock in below-market ocean rates, and uncover customs reclassification opportunities. Doing so would result in substantial savings on import costs, including a reduction in air freight costs from suppliers in South-east Asia to Australia.

Furthermore, considering the lessons that the pandemic has taught us, technology allows automotive businesses to maintain visibility and flexibility, all while making agile adjustments to the supply chain in case of unforeseen circumstances.

Ultimately, the only certainty is uncertainty. In order to find steadier footing in this ever-changing environment, automotive businesses would be wise to invest in an end-to-end solution that integrates all requirements across the supply chain and provides real-time insights. An efficient and agile supply-chain management system can make all the difference between surviving an upheaval and thriving in the years to come.

The writer is vice-president, South-east Asia, at C H Robinson

Source: The Business Times. Link Here.

Asean governments should aim for every public dollar funded for infrastructure development to translate to an “early double-digit” amount in financing mobilised from the private and institutional sectors, said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in a new report.

That ratio would be a “tipping point” for public, private, and institutional capital to provide enough resources to close the region’s significant infrastructure investment gap, said the development organisation.

Currently, the governments’ fund sourcing averages three dollars for every one dollar invested. “They should aim for early double-digit ratios if not at least doubling fund sourcing,” said ADB.

ADB launched the report on Tuesday (May 2) as it kicked off its 56th Annual Meeting, a gathering of finance ministers, central bank governors and other stakeholders representing the regional development bank’s 68 member economies at Incheon, South Korea.

The 129-page document took stock of the latest innovative financing approaches deemed as key to private sector participation, with inputs from finance ministers and central bank governors of Asean+3 economies. Asean+3, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Plus Three, refers to the 10 Asean member states plus China, Japan and South Korea. 

Second Finance Minister Indranee Rajah was referred to as a key partner in ADB’s collaboration with Asean+3 in coming up with the report, titled Reinvigorating Financing Approaches for Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure in Asean+3.

Challenging gap

With this being the first time in three years that the meeting was held in person, the lingering effects of the pandemic were in sharp focus. ADB said financing the infrastructure gap has gotten more challenging than before, as debt levels are up, tax revenues down and public spending has ballooned.

The situation severely limits direct public funding for infrastructure, it stressed.

In developing countries alone, the funding gap is US$2.5 trillion a year, as public and private financing of United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) remained around US$1.4 trillion, it said.

The UN Conference on Trade and Development had estimated that US$3.3 trillion to US$4.5 trillion a year is needed for these countries to achieve their SDGs.

Public resources may close to a third of the gap, but private capital needs to cover at least 70 per cent, ADB stated.

Its own assessment of its 45 developing member countries from Asia and the Pacific found that US$26 trillion is needed to meet SDGs by 2030. This translates to about US$1.7 trillion per year, but only about US$880 billion is invested in infrastructure annually, it pointed out.

Asean economies, in particular, need at least US$2.8 trillion in total infrastructure investment by 2030, or US$184 billion annually.

Why banks can’t fill in

While the financial sector in other parts of the world could step in to meet the infrastructure financing requirements, in Asean+3 the sector is too “narrow” to do so.

Banks dominate the space in the region, while pension funds and insurance companies remain small, ADB said. 

“Since banks can provide only short-term financing as they are constrained by their liabilities (deposits), any allocation to long-term investments leads to a maturity mismatch,” it added.

And as Asian banks are largely risk averse to infrastructure projects because of tightening regulations on credit lending, including credit risk measurement as stipulated by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, private sector participation becomes key, it said.

But even as more than US$200 trillion of private capital is invested in global capital markets currently, ADB said a major bottleneck lies in the lack of a bankable, investment-ready pipeline of infrastructure projects. The risks and low rate of return are also not attractive.

One leads to 12

Blended finance – an area of focus for the Monetary Authority of Singapore – is among the 12 innovative financing approaches covered in the report. 

The model shows promise, especially as one of its case studies, development finance institution GuarantCo, was able to mobilise as much as $12 for every public dollar put in using it.

GuarantCo is funded by various governments including the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Australia and Sweden through trusts and facilities. Its blended finance solution de-risks investments by providing partial credit guarantees for infrastructure projects in developing countries and receiving first loss equity contributions from public funds.

The 1:12 ratio was possible as GuarantCo designed a funding model that lets it provide guarantees up to three times the value of the equity contribution which, in turn, can, on average, mobilise up to four times private sector investment into infrastructure projects. 

For blended finance to be successful, ADB suggested that it should address market failures to minimise the risk of market distortion or crowded out of private finance. Crowding out takes place when development funders invest in a project that could have secured complete private sector financing without any assistance from the public sector.

Three steps

Offering three practical steps on how to scale infrastructure investments, Indranee, speaking at the report’s launch event, said governments will have to first build capacity in structuring bankable projects.

When that is done, the public sector should connect demand and supply by linking investors to bankable projects, she said.

Finally, the sector should enhance investor confidence, by creating awareness around innovative financing approaches.

The awareness will be key to encouraging greater investments in marginally bankable projects via these platforms, she added.

Source: The Business Times. Link Here.

Inbound Chinese visitors to Thailand are on track to reach 1 million per month beginning in October, a level seen before the COVID-19 pandemic, due to demand during peak season and higher airline capacity.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has reported a growing number of travelers from the Chinese mainland, with arrivals increasing from 91,898 in January to 285,000 recorded in April, as flights resumed between the two countries.

Chinese visitor arrivals are likely to surpass 5 million this year given the over 6 million available airline seats connecting China to Thailand between April and October, according to Chuwit Sirivejkul, TAT regional director of marketing for East Asia.

Depending on the number of flights allocated during the high season between October and March, the annual arrivals could soar as high as 7 million, Chuwit added.

Starting next month, the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand expects flights from China to reach 430 per week, up from over 100 currently.

Chuwit noted that daily Chinese arrivals peaked at 18,000 to 20,000 during the Labor Day holiday earlier this month and will range between 8,000 and 10,000 a day in May.

This figure is a significant increase from the average of 2,500 visitors per day recorded in February before group travel was allowed from the Chinese mainland following China's optimization of its COVID-19 policy.

According to the TAT, Thailand welcomed 8,596,452 foreign tourists between January and April, with 843,920 coming from the Chinese mainland.

The surge in tourist numbers is a positive sign for the Southeast Asian country's vital tourism industry, which has been hit hard by the pandemic.

In 2019, nearly 40 million international tourists were recorded entering the kingdom, with Chinese tourists accounting for more than a quarter of the total arrivals.

 

Source Xinhua

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) wants to attract high-spending visitors from the Middle East in the second half of this year, aiming to use the market as a new tourism growth engine.

According to Apichai Chatchalermkit, deputy governor for tourism products and business at TAT, the authority has been ramping up its efforts to entice high-spending tourists from the Middle East since Thailand restored full diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia early last year.

He said Middle Eastern consumers have a positive perception about the quality of health and wellness businesses in Thailand.

According to TAT, the number of Middle Eastern tourists travelling to Thailand tallied 314,882 last year, with nearly 100,000 visitors from Saudi Arabia and around 66,000 visitors from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Travellers from the Middle East are regarded as a high-spending group that has relatively long stays in Thailand, said Mr Apichai.

In 2019, travellers from the UAE were in Thailand for an average of 11.4 days and spent more than US$220 per day.

In a move to promote Thai tourism in the Middle East, the TAT recently participated in the 30th Arabian Travel Market, which was held from May 1-4 in Dubai.

The TAT expects tourism revenue to reach 2.38 trillion baht this year, about 80% of the pre-pandemic level in 2019. Of the total, 1.5 trillion baht will come from foreign visitors, with the remainder from local tourists.

The authority predicts 25-30 million foreigners will visit Thailand this year.

According to Mr Apichai, the TAT is planning marketing events to encourage travel to Thailand, including tastings of tropical fruit and fruit buffets in Rayong and Chanthaburi.

The authority is also drawing up a schedule to promote durian in Hua Hin.

The TAT joined forces on Wednesday with Central Food Retail, the operator of Tops, to promote "Thailand Amazing Durian & Fruit Fest 2023", which is being held until May 15.

The event showcases Thai fruit in a bid to stimulate tourism among both domestic and foreign tourists.

The festival has three highlights: a Monthong durian buffet, a durian café zone and a fruit market zone.

Tops expects the event to generate more than 200 million baht in sales.

Apart from promoting fresh fruit, the TAT has talked with retail chain stores about helping fruit farmers process their products to sustain their long-term income.

The TAT also pledged to provide fruit farmers with markets to sell their produce.

 

Source Bangkok Post