Did you know: Thailand is an upper middle income country...

The World Bank says: "Thailand is one of the great development success stories. Due to smart economic policies it has become an upper middle income economy and is making progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals."

Thailand Automotive Statistics November 2013

Automotive Sales Statistics for November 2013 have been released - along with total production, local & export sales, published by Toyota Thailand and the FTI.

And 2014 - same same or different? 

Analysts and FTI both assume that 2014 will be about the same as 2013, I believe that overall production and export should see further growth as new capacities from existing and new players come online.

In the mid-term Thailand will certainly benefit from:

• local growth - Thailand is now an upper middle income country (World Bank) and it's domestic sales can be expected to grow at twice the rate of GDP, so about 9%
• growth in the middle east - where Thailand also has a strong market share
• more upcoming world wide programs - such as the Mitsubishi Mirage which is exported globally - even to the US and Japan
• and last not least - the demise of the Australian auto industry which has gone into full self-destruct mode. 2 out of 3 remaining OEM's have announced plant closures within the next 3-4 years and Australia (and NZ) belong to the Thailand's main export countries...

Snap elections to boost car industry

Via Bangkok Post:

The local automotive market is expected to receive a shot in the arm next year after Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra dissolved the House and called a general election. "The elections will definitely spur demand for vehicles, particularly for pickup trucks and motorcycles," said a source from the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).

SE Asia telecom margins to decline except for Thailand

Via THE NATION:

The competition and declining use of traditional voice and text services will lead to lower margins for most Southeast Asian telecom firms next year, but data demand growth will generally outpace margin decline, so cash generated and credit metrics will be broadly stable or slightly improve, except in Thailand, where large investment will increase leverage, according to Fitch Ratings.

EADS restructures Aerospace and Defense divisions

EADS today presented a restructuring plan for its future Airbus Defence and Space Division (Airbus DS) to the European Works Council.

This presentation follows a decision by the EADS Board of Directors in July this year to consolidate the defence and space businesses of the Group into one new Division and to rebrand EADS into “Airbus Group”.

“We need to improve our competitiveness in defence and space – and we need to do it now”, said Tom Enders, Chief Executive Officer of EADS. “With our traditional markets down, we urgently need to improve access to international customers, to growth markets. For that to work, we need to cut costs, eliminate product and resource overlaps, create synergies in our operations and product portfolio and better focus our Research and Development efforts. That’s what the restructuring and integration plan for our defence and space business is all about.”

Overall, EADS plans to reduce (headcount) 5,800 positions at Airbus DS and in Corporate / Headquarters functions until the end of 2016:

• France: The Group will divest its Corporate office in Montmorency (Paris); its functions will be redeployed to Suresnes where the Corporate Technical Office and Innovation Works workforce is already based. All Divisional Suresnes-based activities including personnel will be transferred to Elancourt or Les Mureaux as part of the future Airbus DS set-up. Both sites – Les Mureaux and Elancourt in the Paris region – will become the stronghold of the Group’s defence and space activities.
• Germany: Airbus DS Division will be headquartered in Ottobrunn. Some 1,000 functions, currently based in Unterschleißheim, will relocate to Ottobrunn. Another 200-300 Unterschleißheim-based employees will redeploy to other southern Germany-based Airbus DS sites. The Group plans to divest the Unterschleißheim site. Airbus employees, currently working in Bremen for the A400M Integrated Fuselage Assembly (IFA), Cargo Hold System (CHS) and further Cabin & Cargo related activities will be integrated into Airbus DS by the end of 2014 as part of the simplification of the Group’s legal structure.
• Spain: In the Madrid area, activities at San Severo and Castellena will be transferred to Getafe. The transfer of all Barajas-based activities to Getafe remains under study. In the Seville area, we will transfer the activities at San Pablo North to San Pablo South. The transfer of Tablada to San Pablo South is also being studied.
• United Kingdom: Here, the Group strives for a consolidation of activities mainly around three major sites, which are Stevenage, Portsmouth and Newport in order to maintain proximity to its key customers. Functions at smaller sites will be relocated to one of the three major sites.

EUROCOPTER brings its EC175 and EC145 T2 to Thailand

Two of Eurocopter’s newest members in its twin-engine helicopter family – the next-generation EC175 and evolved EC145 T2 – are coming to Asia for a three-week demonstration tour with operators in the oil and gas, VIP, corporate, charter, military and law enforcement segments.

During the December 2-19 tour, Malaysia and Thailand will be visited by the EC145 T2 and EC175, with Vietnam also on the EC175’s schedule. During the trip, Eurocopter will underscore the strategy of being in close proximity with its customers around the world, which is particularly important for the highly-demanding oil and gas sector.

In addition to providing opportunities to experience the performance and capabilities of these rotorcraft, Eurocopter’s Asian tour also will include a two-day symposium for the oil and gas sector, where the region’s operators and customers will participate in presentations and workshops related to off-shore helicopter missions – with topics ranging from support and services to safety and training.

Bridgestone, Michelin and Goodyear Accounted for Over 70% Tyre Sales in Thailand

Infrastructure improvement, ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) membership and anticipated growth of automobile sales are the leading growth drivers of Thailand’s tyre market in the next five years
The tyre industry in Thailand is expected to witness notable growth, reaching up to around USD 17 Billion revenues by the end of 2018, according to the recently published TechSci Research report “Thailand Tyre Market Forecast and Opportunities, 2018”. Thailand’s tyre market is largely dominated by the likes of Bridgestone, Michelin and Goodyear, however, other companies such as Yokohama, Sumitomo and Continental tyres are giving tough competition to global tyre players.

Thailand’s automotive industry is one of the biggest and growing markets of South-East Asian region. Bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements with various countries, such as India, China, Japan, Australia, etc., have enhanced the competitive edge of Thailand’s automotive industry. The major automotive companies, such as Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi, GM, Ford, Isuzu, etc., have established their manufacturing plants in Thailand, catering to the domestic as well as global market. This has resulted into the growing demand for tyres in the country.

Via Long Island Newsday

Small businesses across Europe are bullish on growth

Small businesses across the UK, Republic of Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Czech Republic have thrown off their austerity shackles and are forecasting growth over the next two years, a report has found.

According to the Vodafone SME Digitisation Report, which surveyed 1,736 small business owners across six European nations, 80pc said that they were confident that their businesses would grow in 2014 and 2015.

Via The Telegraph

World Bank asked to map out Thai SME promotions

Thailand is seeking help from the World Bank to map out its five-year promotion plan for small and medium-sized enterprises starting in 2017 in a bid to increase the gross domestic product (GDP) of SMEs to pre-financial crisis levels.

Through the partnership, Thailand will have access to the World Bank's expertise and database of countries. The World Bank has previously worked with China and Malaysia to develop a country strategy and is currently in talks with South Korea and Vietnam.

Via Hispanic Business

Automakers say govt rushing into Eco-Car project's Phase 2

Automakers who had participated in the eco-car project are not happy with the government's decision to launch Phase 2, claiming it's too soon to introduce it.

The comments came during a seminar organised by the Thai Automotive Journalists Association earlier this week that brought together representatives from the government as well as the industry to exchange views on the Eco-Car Phase 2 project.

Suparat Sirisuwannangkura, vice chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries and chairman of the Automotive Industry Club, said the eco-car project has been highly successful due to several reasons.

"It was able to win over customers from the motorcycle market, plus the rising fuel prices caused consumers to switch over to more efficient small cars," he said.

Since the project was launched in 2010, some 712,000 vehicles have been produced, with almost half of these being exported (343,000 vehicles exported versus 369,000 for the domestic market). Suparat said the market share of eco-cars has also risen dramatically, from 5 per cent in the passenger car market in 2010 to as much as 27 per cent this year.

Via THE NATION

Thai unrest has Japanese firms worried about future...

Japanese investments in 2012 in Thailand were 10 times higher than those off all European nations combined. 

But because of the protests in Bangkok, Japanese companies might re-examine their investment strategies in Thailand, according to Japanese newspaper Yomiuri.

Japanese investors regard Thailand as an important production base. If they feel they must move elsewhere, it could spell disaster for the Kingdom's export sector, which is already in bad shape.

According to the Thai Board of Investment, Japan is the largest investing country in Thailand. For Japanese automakers and electrical-appliance manufacturers, this country is a leading production base.

The Japan External Trade Organisation reported that 1,458 Japanese companies were operating in Thailand as of April. In 2012, Japanese companies made 761 investments worth a total of Bt348.4 billion.