Briefs

Export target to be fixed after Q1

The Commerce Ministry will revise the target for the country's exports, which is likely to increase particularly in new markets, after the first quarter.

Following a meeting yesterday with 65 commercial overseas councillors, Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom said that Thailand is working aggressively to penetrate more markets, not only in Asean but also potential markets around the world. This strategy is being drawn up to offset a drop in purchasing power in the traditional main markets - the US, EU and Japan - which are causing a global economic downturn.

However, the ministry insisted that the Kingdom’s export growth would remain unchanged at 15 per cent this year. The growth would be driven by small and medium-sized enterprises. In terms of export value, this group accounts for 29.6 per cent of the country's total export value.

Second Tune hotel opens in Pattaya

Tune, a budget-hotel brand associated with AirAsia, will open its second property in Thailand on February 17. The 192-room Tune Hotel Pattaya is owned and developed by Red Planet Hotels. The first Tune property was opened in Hat Yai, Songkhla province.

Red Planet Hotels CEO Tim Hansing said he believed that the Pattaya property would be one of the busiest in the network. Red Planet is also opening Tune Hotels in the Philippine cities of Angeles and Cebu as well as one in the Makati area of Manila in the coming weeks and more in Indonesia and Thailand later in the year.

"The Tune brand is spreading in key cities across these countries where we will be offering superb value to our loyal customers," Hansing said.

Nu Skin eyes 15% growth

Nu Skin Enterprises (Thailand) targets 15-per-cent sales growth in 2012. The Thai arm of the US-based direct-sales company achieved growth of 10 per cent to Bt2.2 billion last year.

Currently Nu Skin has more than 10,000 active distributors in Thailand.

Iris aiming high this year

Property firm Iris Group has budgeted Bt200 million to build a pre-fabrication factory this year.

It also plans to launch two residential projects worth Bt1 billion, and hopes to achieve its presales target of Bt1.3 billion, which would be double its total sales of Bt720 million last year, the firm's CEO Kittipong Sumanont said.

The company earned Bt370 million in revenue last year, he said.

BOI applications triple

Applications for investment incentives from the Board of Investment in January tripled from the same month last year in terms of value to nearly Bt80 billion, the BOI said. The total number of projects was 112.

Industry Minister Pongsvas Svasti said chemicals, paper and plastic were the segments that submitted the most applications, with 25 projects worth a combined Bt47.7 billion. They were followed by the service and utilities sector with 25 projects and a combined investment value of Bt13.2 billion.

EU clarifies on Indian export of medicines

The European Union has fully recognised India's right to issue compulsory licensing for medicines and has no intention of weakening India's capacity to manufacture and export medicines to other developing countries, including Thailand.

The issue was addressed by the Ambassador of the European Union David Lipman at the 12th European Union-India Summit, which took place yesterday. Lipman received an open letter from a number of Thai NGOs raising concerns over the impact that a possible EU-India Free Trade Agreement might have on the access developing countries have to "generic" medicines. - The Nation