LATE NEWS : TAT to scrap new campaign and return to 'Amazing Thailand'

LATE NEWS : TAT to scrap new campaign and return to 'Amazing Thailand'

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will drop its recently launched "Thailand Unforgettable" publicity campaign and resume the previous "Amazing Thailand" campaign, TAT governor Pornsiri Manoharn said yesterday.

She said the new campaign, initially intended to run for at least three years, was being withdrawn because it had received too poor a reception from the private sector. The decision is also in line with the sufficiency-economy philosophy of the government to save funds.

Pornsiri said TAT would relaunch the "Amazing Thailand" campaign at the annual Asia Travel Forum at the end of the month in Singapore.

Global Connections to miss target

Global Connections may miss its Bt3.6-billion revenue target for 2006 but is confident its net profit will exceed the previous year's, due mainly to foreign-exchange gains.

President Somchai Kulimakin said the company's sales revenues fell in the fourth quarter, due to a drop in the price of plastic pellets. Its revenues in the first nine months totalled Bt2.64 billion.

However, its net profit should increase, because the company saved greatly on raw-material imports. Fifteen to 20 per cent of the company's raw materials are imported. The company's net profit for the first nine months of last year was Bt55.42 million, compared with Bt36.5 million for all of 2005.

Global Connections has kept its revenue target for this year at Bt3.8 billion, despite signs of an economic slow-down, expecting growth in the automobile, electronics and packaging industries, said Somchai.

Seized shares will be sold off

The Financial Institutions Development Fund will sell shares of 30 non-listed companies that are part of the assets seized from 56 defunct finance companies a decade ago.

Those companies include Thai Filatex and Sinsuk Property.

Bids are now being accepted until February 5. The winning bidders must deposit 25 per cent of their bid within three days of the auction date and pay the balance within seven days.

Kordys is new BMW Thailand chief

Michael Kordys, formerly general manager of BMW's retailing arm in Munich, Germany, has been named the new president of the BMW Group Thailand effective this month. He will also become president of BMW Manufacturing Thailand, which is BMW's assembly plant in Rayong.

Kordys, 50, joined BMW in 1988 as general manager for BMW's motorcycle centre in Munich. In 2002, he became general manager of BMW's retail centre in Solln, located south of Munich, and was there from the start of the project in 2002 until 2005, when the centre was finally opened.

Last year, the BMW Group sold a total of 3,098 vehicles in Thailand, consisting of 2,822 BMWs and 276 Mini's, representing 9-per-cent growth from 2005. That total also took the group's market share in the premium segment in Thailand to more than 40 per cent.

AirAsia to increase BKK-KL flights

AirAsia is likely to have 12 daily flights on the Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur route in the future, because passenger capacity is expected to grow once Fly Asian Xpress starts its long-haul operations to destinations like London in July, reports the Bernama News Agency.

Thai AirAsia CEO Tassapon Bijleveld said doubling the present frequency would allow more seats to be offered and make it easier and more convenient for people to travel.

"When we talk about 12 flights daily, people think we're crazy, but the market is there, and we want to tap it," he said.

Currently, Thai AirAsia flies twice a day, while its Malaysian parent company operates four flights, said Tassapon, adding that the frequency would be increased gradually as more new aircraft were received.

The Nation
Friday January 12, 2007