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NTCC Newsletter April 2011
Changes in the Board of NTCC The Hague
We regret to inform you that Mr Jan de Kam recently decided to step down from his role as President of NTCC The Hague. His contributions during his eight years of service on the Board are much appreciated. We are very pleased that Mr Jan de Kam will remain part of NTCC as an Advisor to the Board. During the NTCC The Hague Songkran Cocktail the NTCC Board bestowed an Honorary Membership upon him.
Picture shows Mr Jan de Kam receiving the award. The Board has decided to appoint dual Presidents to replace Mr Jan de Kam. Mr Harry Betist of Aviareps and Mrs Edith Punt of EPC will jointly take on the responsibility and serve as Co-Presidents.
Three other Board Members have decided to end their participation. We regret to inform you that our Treasurer Martin Kok has left the Board, but are happy to announce that Kees Mommers will take over this responsibility. Kees formerly served as the Treasurer of NTCC Bangkok. Mr Rob van As has also withdrawn. His current activities do not allow him to reserve time for the NTCC Board. We also regret that Mr Kees de Ruiter has decided to step down. We have appreciated their contributions and thank them for their service.
We like to welcome two new Boardmembers, Mr Martin Loeve and Mrs Safiye van Goens Youskine. Martin is the owner of Delta Change Management and is a guest lecturer at Chulalongkorn University. Safiye is Education Manager at Rotterdam University and responsible for Thailand exchange programs.
Songkran Cocktail in Scheveningen
On Monday the 18th of April the Netherlands-Thai Chamber of Commerce The Hague celebrated the Thai New Year, Songkran by organizing a festive cocktail reception at a local Thai restaurant in Scheveningen. For the formal part of the program, the NTCC was honored to receive H.E. Mr. Virachai Plasai, Ambassador of Thailand to the Netherlands, and renowned business man Mr. Aad Ouborg as distinguished speakers. The Ambassador spoke on the economic outlook for Thailand and Mr. Ouborg was happy to share his experiences in doing business in Thailand and Phuket. Mr. Ouborg further agreed to become an honorary member of the NTCC The Hague. To mark this special event, Mr. Ouborg received from the Ambassador a commemorative coin celebrating the long lasting ties between the Netherlands and Thailand. Ms Bussarakum of BOI Frankfurt delivered a brief presentation of the BOI incentives for foreign investors.
HE Ambassador Virachai Plasai Honorary Member Mr Aad Ouborg
After these entertaining and thought provoking speeches, the audience had plenty of opportunity to network with the speakers, board members of the NTCC and the other participants. More than 50 people attended the event. They were further treated to drinks and excellent Thai food. The event was sponsored by the Board of Investment Thailand and Driessen – Zodiac Aerospace.
BoT reports more Thai investments abroad
The number of Thai people investing in foreign countries during the past two months has doubled that in the same period of last year and helped ease pressure from the Thai Baht appreciation, according to the Bank of Thailand (BoT). More details at: http://thainews.prd.go.th/en/news.php?id=255403110003
BoI Fair 2011 The BOI Fair 2011, which will be held from 10-25 November is the third one the Board of Investment will organize an industrial fair to showcase the accomplishments of Thai industry and the development of world-class industries in Thailand. http://www.boi.go.th:8080/issue_content.php?issueid=75;page=147 Subcon Thailand 2011 Thailand’s economy is set to record another year of healthy growth, and 2010 being a year of record setting exports and automotive production bodes well for the SubCon 2011 industrial subcontracting event, which will be held from 19 to 21 May at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Center (BITEC). http://www.boi.go.th:8080/issue_content.php?issueid=75;page=157 Sea Value interviewed by FD
Financieel Dagblad (Dutch equivalent of Financial Times) on April 16th published an article on Asian investments in the Netherlands. In the article Mr André Quist, Sales Director of the Thai investor Sea Value at Nijkerk (www.seavalue.eu ) relates his ambition to grow to an operation employing 20 – 30 people by the year 2016. He points out that establishing European Head Quarters in the Netherlands offers many tax incentives to foreign investors. He stresses the importance of workable government regulations and reduced administrative demands are vital for the Netherlands to remain an attractive destination for foreign investments. http://www.fd.nl/artikel/21937605/nederland-moet-meer-doen-aziatische-bedrijven-binnen-halen (in Dutch, registration required to read the full article).
Thai Parliament made of canned Tuna If you’re a fan of Canstruction art, you’re going to love this – a group of Thai students have built a replica of the new Thai Parliament building using around 200,000 food cans. The event took place during the “Health Food and Ingredients Thailand 2011″ exhibition and, as you can imagine, grabbed a lot of attention. The 200,000 cans were all placed by hand, and this one-of-a-kind replica of the Thai Parliament will most likely find a place in the Guinness Book of Records. See a picture at: http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/thai-parliament-building-made-from-200000- Asian Development Bank report 2010 on Thailand
According to ADB a strong recovery from a contraction in 2009 propelled GDP growth to 7.8% in 2010. Rebounding demand for exports spurred a pickup in manufacturing and bolstered both consumer and business confidence. Political tensions that led to 7 weeks of violent demonstrations in central Bangkok during April and May 2010 had a limited and temporary impact on economic recovery. The biggest contributor to growth on the demand side came from a bounce in investment, which added 5.2 percentage points of GDP growth. Investment had slumped in 2009 and been slack for several years before that. Private fixed investment grew by 13.8% in 2010, mainly in exportoriented manufacturing. As export orders picked up, higher capacity utilization in industries such as automobiles and electrical machinery prompted investment in new equipment, which rose by 14.7% for the year. Private construction expanded by 10.6%, supported by low interest rates. Private consumption, which had also declined in 2009, rose by 4.8% last year and contributed 2.5 percentage points to GDP growth. Its rise was assisted by a strengthening of the labor market and higher farm incomes, owing to increases in prices for agricultural commodities. Consumer sentiment weakened in the second quarter when the violence broke out, but it recovered after that. Public consumption spending also contributed to economic growth as the government continued to disburse the fiscal stimulus measures initiated in 2009. Public fixed investment in 2010 was slightly below prior-year levels. Download the full report at: http://www.adb.org/documents/books/ado/2011/ado2011-tha.pdf Condominium craze in Pattaya Business Trends Asia reports that in the Thai beach resort of Pattaya, construction of new condominium developments continues at an even greater speed than before. The year 2010 saw the highest number of new units coming on the market since 1997. Meanwhile infrastructural problems remain unsolved. Due to its proximity to the large Amata Nakorn industrial estate and the Eastern Seaboard industrial developments Pattaya offers a serious alternative to Bangkok for many Thai and foreign staff working there. However, in general Thai prefer to live in a newly-built house, not in a (second-hand) condominium. This restricts the condominium market mostly to foreign buyers. Full report at: http://www.businesstrendsasia.com/index.php?cat=13:48:188&art=3542 (registration required) Thirty percent of Thai companies lead by female CEO’s Across the world, Thailand boasts the greatest percentage of women in senior management (45%), followed by Georgia (40%), Russia (36%), Hong Kong and the Philippines (both 35%). The data revealed that G7 countries lag behind the global average with only 16% of women holding senior roles whilst, regionally, Asia Pacific (excl. Japan) scores highest with 27%. Women have become most successful in increasing their share of senior management roles in Thailand, Hong Kong, Greece, Belgium and Botswana, where the percentage of women in these roles has risen by at least 7% since 2009. Of the companies that employ women in senior managerial positions globally, 22% employ them in financial positions (eg Chief Financial Officer/Finance Director). Globally just 8% of companies with women in senior managerial positions have a female Chief Executive Officer (CEO). However the story is different in Asian economies, Thailand leads the way with 30% of companies employing female CEOs, followed by mainland China (19%), Taiwan (18%) and Vietnam (16%). http://www.internationalbusinessreport.com/index.asp NTCC Bangkok 2011/2012 Handbook
After the very successful and much-sought-after Membership Handbook and Directory 2009/2010, the NTCC Bangkok is now in the process of updating the membership information so that a new Membership Handbook and Directory may be printed by the end of April, 2011. They have contracted for the third time running, their member Candor Production House Co., Ltd., a well-established graphic design and printing company with Dutch connections to assist in producing this new Membership Handbook and Directory for 2011/2012. NTCC The Hague appreciates that we again can be part of this publication. Deadline is coming close, so in case you are interested to advertise please contact Ken Streutker of Candor soonest at http://www.candor-productions.com
Asian Challenge on May 18 and 19 at
This terrific EVD networking event is planned on May 18th at Chamber of Commerce in Amsterdam and May 19th at Taets Art Gallery in Zaanstad. Please check the link for the full program and registration. http://www.evd.nl/evenementen/challenge/index.asp
NTCC on LinkedIn
If you are on LinkedIn then please join the NTCC group initiated last month. We already count 58 members.
ITM School Thailand and Sabaaydi Heeze continue co-operation
Again trainers from Chiang Mai will visit Heeze in Brabant to deliver professional training to Dutch therapists. More details at: www.sbaaydi.nl
Being Dutch, ‘more or less’
Until the 1960s the Dutch were a church-going and parochial people. Today the Netherlands is a secular society. In the process of secularization, Dutch identity lost its religious anchorage. The parish perished, and a new concept of being Dutch needed to be constructed. At first, the cause of good, go and green replaced religion. The Dutch believed in progress and reached for the best: public participation, generous public welfare, asylum for refugees, multiculturalism, environmental legislation, public transport, development aid, and the end of all war. In the 1960s and 70s the Dutch proclaimed a live and let live culture that allowed for a high degree of individualisation. An interesting publication for those dealing with the Dutch and trying to figure them out. More details and ordering at: http://www.rozenbergps.com/index.php
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