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Bokeo SEZ Aims to Achieve International Recognition as Top Tourist Destination

Officials at the Golden Triangle’s Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Bokeo Province have set their sights on developing the region as a globally renowned tourism spot while taking strict measures to combat illegal activities within the area, including online fraud by illegitimate call centers.
 
The Special Economic Zone Promotion and Management Office of Bokeo Province, in collaboration with the Bokeo Public Security Department, recently met to discuss the implementation of rules, regular monitoring, and a crackdown on online fraud and other crimes to assist in the region’s transformation into a sought-after tourist destination.
 
During the meeting, Mr. Bounthong Sengsikong, the head of the Bokeo province’s SEZ Promotion and Management Office, said that the main objective of creating the special economic zone was to develop and promote it as a popular tourist destination for international and domestic visitors alike and also retain peace, stability, and order while facilitating international businesses to operate in the area.
 
Colonel Anousin Sackpaseuth, head of Bokeo Public Security also remarked that authorities are taking strong action to combat illegal activities such as call centers and online fraud in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone to help support more tourist arrivals.
 
This includes implementing measures and conducting inspections, crackdowns, and bans to ensure that businesses, individuals, and organizations in the area are well aware of and comply with regulations.
 
In addition to the strong actions taken by the authorities, Mr. Wang Erbao, Chief Executive Director of Dok Ngiew Kham Group, echoed the importance of cooperation and adherence to regulations among entrepreneurs and businesses in all sectors.
 
He urged companies to support the efforts of the Lao government to contribute effectively to the development of the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone. 
 
Mr. Wang emphasized the significance of preventing any illegal activities that could hinder the area’s progress and affect the well-being of its local communities. Abiding by regulations and working together, businesses in Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone aim to support the prosperity and tourism growth opportunities in the province.
 
By: Phontham Visapra
 

Energy Absolute and two Chinese firms to jointly set up battery cell plants in Thailand

Energy Absolute Plc, a Thai company, is partnering two major Chinese battery manufacturers, Eve Energy Co Ltd (Eve), and Sunwoda Mobility Energy Technology Co Ltd (Sunwoda), to conduct a feasibility study on establishing battery cell plants in Thailand.

Energy Absolute deputy CEO Amorn Sapthaweekulof said that EA has signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with Eve and Sunwoda, both large battery manufacturers in China, who are interested in expanding the battery market in Thailand.

The partners would jointly study and set up battery cell production plants with a capacity of 6 gigawatt hours (GWh) in Thailand, he said.“The results of this study are expected to lead to the establishment of high-capacity battery cell production plants with competitive costs in the electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage system industries, to meet the demand for batteries in EA's group of companies and in the Thai and Asean markets. This move will support the manufacturing of electric vehicles in Thailand with continuous investment,” he added.

After the successful completion of the feasibility study, EA plans to announce Amita Technology (Thailand) Co Ltd as a partner from China to build a Prismatic Battery Cell production plant using advanced automated manufacturing technology with low raw material costs from a Chinese partner with complete raw materials supply chain. The goal is to develop new batteries that are efficient and highly safe, including expanding battery pack production to achieve production costs close to those of batteries manufactured in China, he said. This factory will produce one of the largest battery cells in Thailand and cater to the battery demand in Thailand and Asean. The target clients will be EV manufacturers and energy storage system manufacturers. The initial production capacity will be 6GWh per year in Thailand to support the 30@30 policy, he said.

This policy stipulates that Thailand must boost manufacturing capacity of zero-emission vehicles (EVs) by 30% by 2030. The 30@30 policy also promotes investment in battery production for electric vehicles by the government, making this project feasible and instilling confidence in the investors. Therefore, the government should implement measures to accelerate and promote this policy to help Thailand become a centre for lithium-ion battery production and a leader in the electric vehicle industry in Asean in the future, Amorn said.

Eve is the third-largest lithium-ion battery technology service provider in China, with a production capacity of around 360GWh, using state-of-the-art technologies for Internet of Things (IoT), electric vehicles, and energy storage systems. Eve provides services to leading global car brands, such as BMW, Daimler, Hyundai, and Jaguar Land Rover, with sales bases expanding to the United States, Germany, Malaysia, and other regions. It is also one of the top 10 leading companies in battery installation services.

Sunwoda is the fifth-largest lithium-ion battery manufacturer for EVs in China and ranks ninth in the global market, with a production capacity of over 100GWh per year. Sunwoda plans to increase its capacity to 138GWh by 2568 and aims to enter the European market and establish battery production plants in Hungary. Sunwoda is recognised as a fast-charging battery manufacturer and has been ranked in Tier 1 of the benchmark for battery manufacturers for car brands like Dongfeng Maxus, Geely, Li Auto, Huawei, XPeng, Renault, and Nissan.

 

Source : THE NATION THAILAND

Thailand leads ASEAN’s EV ecosystem

ASEAN possesses the essentials necessary to establish itself as a thriving hub for EV manufacturing. Indonesia — the largest country in the region — boasts the world’s largest nickel deposits. It is also a major producer of tin and copper which are essential for EV batteries.

Thailand — the largest producer and market for EVs in the region — is offering incentives to establish itself as an EV production base. This strategy will result in lower import duties and make locally produced EVs more affordable.

Electric vehicle (EV) popularity has been surging as countries increasingly incentivise their citizens to transition to EVs to reduce carbon emissions. China leads the way, manufacturing approximately 44 per cent of all EVs between 2010 and 2020 and 77 per cent of lithium-ion batteries in 2022. But the ongoing global supply chain diversification will transform this landscape, presenting a remarkable opportunity for ASEAN.

Vietnam’s abundant nickel reserves make it an ideal destination for battery production. Leading the charge is Vietnam’s prominent private conglomerate VinFast which is constructing a 14 hectare battery factory. Its annual capacity of 5 gigawatt-hours is equivalent to 30 million battery cells.

In 2023, ASEAN leaders issued a declaration aimed at cultivating a regional EV ecosystem, showcasing their political commitment to developing the region’s EV supply chain and positioning it as a global EV manufacturing hub. This initiative enhances the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community, which is the region’s ambitious economic integration initiative.

But the most daunting hurdle lies in the establishment of regional standards for EVs, a pivotal strategic measure in the declaration. Establishing these standards likely involves developing an ASEAN-wide mutual recognition arrangement (MRA). The journey ahead is arduous. The ‘ASEAN Way’ of developing a MRA entails lengthy negotiations among ASEAN member states, as demonstrated by the 14-year marathon of the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangement on Type Approval for Automotive Products. Such a protracted process risks undermining the foundation of the EV ecosystem that ASEAN seeks to cultivate.

Chinese companies, GSC Aion New Energy Automobile and Svolt Energy Technology, have already committed large investments to EV production and battery production in Thailand. The Thai government has been actively promoting investments in the EV industry, offering incentives and benefits to investors from around the world.

The arrival of Chinese manufacturers would help boost the popularity of EVs in Thailand, which is the second largest car market in ASEAN. In the first half of 2023, 31,000 EVs were registered in Thailand, triple the number registered in all of 2022.

 

Source : Thailand Business News

Trade portal enhances MSMEs’ market access in ASEAN, other countries

More micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) can utilize a trade portal to enhance market access in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region and other countries to expand their businesses.

The ASEAN Access website cited important things to consider when trading goods and services internationally which include foreign trade agreements; customs; rules of origin; export controls; certifications, product/technical standards, health and safety rules; visa and any requirements ensuing from the form of services provision.

“For trade regulations and market information, check your product classification, tariffs, customs laws and regulations,” it said.

The website https://www.aseanaccess.com/ said several comprehensive international events and trade fairs, matchmaking events and business opportunities databases are also available.

“All (of these) with slightly different user functions, but a wide variety of international event(s) to choose from. Many events are taking place virtually,” it said.

All registered members of ASEAN Access can participate in any webinar, panel discussion and networking session, and all business matchmaking events that it organized through its ASEAN Access MATCH platform.

“MATCH is accessible for free through ASEAN Access, but it requires an additional registration,” it added.

 It underscored the importance for MSMEs in participating in the MATCH.

“You can showcase your products and technologies also between and after events. You can see all other businesses on the platform at any given time. This means you can join the same matchmaking event as a business you’re interested in,” the ASEAN Access said.

E-commerce packaging innovations cited

As brands and manufacturers seek to surprise and delight consumers while balancing sustainability, trend forecasting agency WGSN has cited e-commerce packaging innovations while making zero-waste.

Katie Raath, senior analyst for Packaging at WGSN, said it is imperative for them to concentrate on reducing e-commerce packaging, eliminating excess material and avoiding shipping air in oversized boxes, which inflates transportation emissions.

Raath urged brands and manufacturers to make it zero-waste, whether that be returnable or biodegradable.

“The three keys to e-commerce packaging are protection (of product), preservation (of environment), and presentation - creating a great unboxing experience for the consumer,” she said in a report.

Raath said the volume of e-commerce packaging globally, driven by average annual growth of 20.1 percent in the last six years, highlights the importance of manufacturers reducing the environmental damage caused by its production and discarding.

She said projections for e-commerce plastic packaging produced annually show it rising to 4.5 billion pounds by 2025, more than doubling in the last six years.

E-commerce plastic waste figures closely match production, showing this type of packaging is almost exclusively single-use, she added.

Raath said the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates global plastics recycling is at just 9 percent so the majority of this volume is headed directly to landfill.

“Advances in materials technology are opening up possibilities for sustainable packaging, reducing plastic components with alternatives that are easier to recycle and fully biodegradable,” she said.

Raath cited as an example Canadian manufacturer CelluloTech’s patented chromatogeny process using a chemical reaction to make paper permanently super hydrophobic and boost its mechanical properties.

“For e-commerce, this means thinner boxes, saving material and shipping labels with no waterproof silicone layer, making them recyclable,” she added.

Biz guides help MSMEs successfully export to EU market

Philippine exporting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) can benefit from information particularly on complying with key technical and regulatory requirements to successfully export to the huge European Union (EU) market especially given its untapped export opportunities.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Assistant Secretary and officer-in-charge of the Trade Promotions Group Glenn Peñaranda said trade with the EU holds significant importance for the Philippines.

“The EU GSP+ (Generalised Scheme of Preference Plus) has been instrumental in expanding our exports to the EU market, contributing not only to economic growth and inclusive development, enabling our communities across the country to engage in exports to the EU. There is still untapped potential in the EU market,” he said.

The Export Potential Analysis 2021 from the International Trade Centre (ITC) identified USD13 billion export potential for the EU market, of which USD7.15 billion or 54 percent is untapped potential. This indicates the Philippines can still grow its presence in the EU market.

“There is tremendous potential in the Philippines to grow its presence in the EU market and Philippine MSMEs have a real opportunity to benefit from international trade,” Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (PHILEXPORT) Executive Vice President Senen Perlada.

Perlada said the business guides launched on July 25 for the Philippine private sector will strengthen competitiveness of exporters and their ability to seize opportunities in the EU.

Developed by the DTI with the assistance from the ITC and inputs from the public and private sectors to respond to challenges of exporting, the Business Guides on Exporting to the EU from the Philippines will be a useful tool for local businesses seeking to understand and comply with key technical and regulatory requirements to export to the EU market.

The guides also seek to address other challenges faced by MSMEs and new exporters in terms of understanding the opportunities available, the avenues to export to the EU, complying with complex and evolving requirements to trade with the EU, or demonstrating compliance.

The business guides are a series comprising a general guide, and five sector specific guides covering raw agricultural products, processed food products, garments and textiles, machinery, and electrical equipment.

Relevant references to practical tools for staying up to date on the specific requirements are also available to users.

Philipp Dupuis, head of Trade and Economic Affairs from the delegation of the EU to the Philippines, congratulated the DTI and the ITC for the development and publication of these Guides, which come out at a “good moment and serve a real need”.

“Trade of the Philippines with the EU has overtaken pre-pandemic figures, but there is still a lot of scope, which can be attributed to the lack of knowledge of Philippine exporters on exporting to the EU,” he said.

“The Guides we are launching come at the right moment, providing a tool that will hopefully fill this knowledge gap. We hope the Guides will find practical applications and support Philippine exporters to trade more with the EU, including in the framework of the extension of the current GSP+ framework until 2027,” he added.

The guides will be available at future awareness-raising events planned by ITC under the ARISE Plus Philippines project and as resources on the relevant online platforms of the Philippines government and relevant stakeholders.

ARISE Plus Philippines is a project of the Philippine government, with the DTI as lead partner together with the Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, Bureau of Customs, the Department of Science and Technology, as well as the private sector.

It is funded by the EU with ITC as the technical agency for the project.

Training, coaching program boosts SMEs’ productivity, working conditions

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with 20 to 250 employees are encouraged to avail of a practical training and in-factory coaching program to improve working conditions, boost productivity and grow a successful business.

During the SCORE project meeting, International Labor Organization (ILO) consultant Jeff Kristiano said the ILO’s Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) training supports enterprises to strengthen collaboration and communication between managers and workers in improving working conditions and reducing the environmental footprint.

Kristiano said interventions in supply chains involve improving cooperation, productivity, and working conditions; and creating sustainable problem-solving systems, and improving industrial relations.

He said although public health authorities worldwide are working to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), enterprises need to put in place preventive and mitigation measures against the disease at their workplaces.

“(It is the) responsibility of employers to ensure all practicable preventive and protective measures are taken,” he added. “Contaminated workplace means it can be transmitted to workers. This includes their families, suppliers, buyers, and the public in general.”

After the training, Kristiano said the trainer will visit the factories and conduct follow-up meetings and coaching.

He said SCORE training results in better quality products, productivity improvement ranging from 15 to 50 percent, and higher productivity amid better working conditions.

Operating around the world across various sectors, the program aims at improving the competitiveness of SMEs by stimulating better workplace cooperation between management and labor on issues such as quality; productivity and cleaner production; human resource management; and occupational health and safety (OSH).

Dang Buenaventura-Snyder, senior manager at Employers Confederation of the Philippines’ (ECOP) Occupational Safety and Health Academy, said ECOP and ILO have agreed to deliver this program not just for ECOP members but also for non-members as well.

“What ECOP does (is) we ask companies for a very brief meeting to discuss what SCORE is all about, we also ask for face-to-face interaction. That’s basically the baseline comes in and then the planning stage wherein we invite the companies and its representative,” she said.

“The most important part is to really document the companies’ good practices because at the end of the day, we want to see the impact,” she added.

ASEAN Tariff Finder has been launched

ASEAN Tariff Finder is an online platform designed to support traders to maximise benefits from ASEAN’s free trade agreements. This is a tool to help businesses, especially Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises to get the latest information on the preferential tariffs applied by ASEAN Member States under various multilateral/bilateral free trade agreements. It also sets out the rules of origin criteria used to determine a product’s eligibility for preferential tariff treatment. With this search engine, traders will save time and resources in their transactions, since all tariff information they need is now readily available on the website. 

Access the ASEAN Tariff Finder HERE

ASEAN Centre for Climate Change aims for September open

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – The ASEAN Centre for Climate Change is aiming to begin operations this September, according to the head of the Brunei Climate Change Secretariat (BCCS).

Ahmad Zaiemaddien Pehin Dato Hj Halbi said to get the centre “up and running”, they need to ratify the establishment agreement at the ministerial level, ideally during the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Environment (AMME) this August.

Discussions at the working group and senior official level are ongoing to finalise the ratification, he told The Scoop on the sidelines of an EU-Brunei policy seminar on climate change which took place on Thursday.

Source: The Scoop
Read the full article here

Brunei announces phased introduction of minimum wage

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – Brunei will introduce a new minimum wage policy across all industries in the private sector, His Majesty announced on Saturday.

In his customary address to mark his 77th birthday, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah said the move was “a step towards strengthening the lives and well-being of the people”, and urged the business sector to support the new policy.

Minimum wage policy will be implemented in two phases and will apply to both local and foreign workers, whether they are working full-time or part-time.

The first phase will cover the banking and finance sector and the ICT sector, while minimum wage for other sectors will be announced at a later date, the Labour Department said in a statement issued to media.

Full-time workers in banking, finance and ICT are entitled to a minimum salary of $500 per month, while part-time workers are entitled to at least $2.62 per hour.

Source: The Scoop

Read the full article here

Improved domestic economy with ongoing FDI projects, says BDCB

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected global growth for 2023 to be slower at 2.8 per cent compared to 3.4 per cent in 2022, before rising to three per cent in 2024, the  Brunei Darussalam Central Bank (BDCB) noted in its Policy Statement 1/2023.

Meanwhile, the domestic economy contracted by 1.6 per cent in 2022, largely driven by a contraction in the oil and gas sector. The domestic economy is expected to improve this year mainly contributed by ongoing foreign direct investments projects. However, downside risks remain with expectations of slower global demand, lower crude oil and liquefied natural gas production levels, and uncertainty in the crude oil market.

As central banks globally are still attempting to tame inflation, the Monetary Authority of Singapore in its April 2023 Monetary Policy Statement, decided to maintain its latest policy stance as the effects of its monetary policy tightening are still working through the economy and is expected to continue to lower inflation further.

Taking this and available Consumer Price Index data into consideration, BDCB’s inflation forecast for the Sultanate for 2023 is expected to be within the range of one per cent to two per cent. BDCB noted that there was a slight decline in the financial sector’s total assets of 0.3 per cent year-on-year with total asset value of BND23.9 billion as of Q1 2023, of which BND14.1 billion (59.1 per cent) was held by the Islamic finance sector. Deposit-taking institutions made up 91.9 per cent of the total financial sector assets with an asset base of BND21.9 billion. The banking industry continues to remain resilient with an aggregate Capital Adequacy Ratio of 21.3 per cent as of Q1 2023. Additionally, in line with the increasing interest/profit rate environment an upward trend was recorded in the banking sector’s profitability.

Source: Borneo Bulletin

Read the full article here


Thai e-commerce market to reach 7 trillion baht in 2023-2024

A new report from Krungthai Bank shows that the number of internet users in Thailand has grown by 13.7 million people in the past five years, reaching a total of 61.2 million users.

Social media use is also on the rise, with Facebook and Line being the most popular platforms.

Key Takeaways

- Online shopping is projected to soar this year and next, with an estimated value of 634-694 billion baht, growing at an average rate of 6% per year, with personal and household care products, beverages, and food being the popular product categories.

- The number of Thais accessing the internet has increased by 13.7 million people in 5 years, reaching a total of 61.2 million users, with social media usage surging to 52.3 million people, dominated by Facebook and Line.

- Various businesses have increasingly prioritised online channels, evident from the average 12.4% yearly expansion of online advertising expenditure over the past five years, while offline advertising has experienced a 3% decline annually.

The growth in internet use is attributed to private sector service providers expanding their coverage nationwide and the government’s policies to improve internet accessibility since 2019. Thailand ranks fourth for fixed broadband internet speed and 15th for mobile internet, with nearly 70% of Thais using mobile phones for web browsing.

Google, YouTube, and Facebook are the top three most visited sites in Thailand. Thai consumers prefer online purchasing of goods and services, particularly personal and household care products, beverages, and food.

 

Source : Thailand Business News

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