Issue 55

Accor’s vice-president of Talent & Culture shares how its dynamic workforce in ASEAN is making the region an even more attractive travel destination.

The ASEAN region is receiving a larger number of visitors each year. According to the ASEAN Secretariat’s preliminary figures, in 2015, approximately 98 million international travellers visited ASEAN countries, up 7.3% on the previous year. CLMVT (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand) members saw 44.42 million tourists, or about 42% of the total visitors to ASEAN.

To accommodate the rising number of tourists, hotels are opening at an increasing rate across the region, with the consequent need for quality workforce. Accor Hotels’ Christophe Lejeune, vice-president of Talent & Culture, Upper SEA and NEA Region, has witnessed the changes in the ASEAN tourism and hospitality sector for over two decades, and he is confident that the region’s strong workforce will be an advantage for the industry.

“In the 1980s, I came to Thailand and discovered a very strong hotel industry and I was very impressed with the quality of tourism products,” says Lejeune. “I joined Novotel Rayong in 1995, and since then I have been working for Accor in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia.”

Lejeune says that the number one strength of Thailand is its people. “A large number of tourists are making repeated trips to Thailand as Thailand is a unique destination: Thai people have genuine hospitality and make tourists feel welcome spontaneously. They know how to make guests feel special.”

“In the ASEAN region, people have a very strong, genuine interest in the service industry,” adds Lejeune. “The workforces in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam are also very young and dynamic. I find that Southeast Asians are very entrepreneurial: they’re very mobile and willing to take risks. They’re also eager to try different things quickly.”
Lejeune believes there has been a recent shift in the recruitment of staff.

“We have to be competitive both in terms of salary and career path,” says Lejeune. “With the ‘digital generation’, employee branding is very important. The younger generation is very concerned about the business model and issues like corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability of a company.”

He shares that due to the changing nature of the workforce, the delivery of employee training now follows the 70:20:10 model: 70% peer-to-peer training, including workshops and conferences; 20% online learning activities from digital platforms such as webinars; and only 10% face-to-face training.

“As companies get bigger, we cannot just rely on face-to-face training, which is time-consuming,” says Lejeune.

He believes that the connectivity of the ASEAN region makes it more convenient for travellers to combine visits to multiple countries, as each one has its own unique culture. In 2017, Accor plans to open a total of 19 new hotels in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar, in addition to the 92 hotels existing in these countries.

“The way business evolves [in Southeast Asia] is very dynamic. Thailand is a window to the rest of Asia and it’s important that we have flagships hotels here – SO Sofitel, Hotel Muse Bangkok by M Gallery and Pullman. Currently we’re opening about one hotel a week in Asia.”

Words by Pimsirinuch Borsub

Issue 53

The potential of Thailand’s supermarkets is proving an attractive market for Malaysian food companies.

The Thai retail industry is growing by around 10%, turning it into a very large market, as well as an important part of ASEAN.

“You can see more and more supermarkets and convenience stores opening, so they also need a greater variety of products,” says Niqman Rafaee M. Sahar, Trade Commissioner and Counsellor of the Embassy of Malaysia. “Malaysia could offer a wider product range to the market.”

Niqman regards THAIFEX as an important trade fair to showcase products on the regional markets. “We have more than 70 Malaysian companies joining THAIFEX to promote Malaysian products and services,” he says, adding that the Malaysian government promotes these goods through Matrade.

Major players from Thailand, such as CP, Makro, BigC and Berli Jucker, have already seen the opportunity presented by Malaysian products.

“Thailand is an interesting market not only for local buyers but also for the many tourists who come to Thailand for shopping,” he says. Typical products include snacks, chocolate, sweets, processed food and beverages. “These are the products that consumers are looking for.”

According to Niqman, the size of the market in Thailand is growing by 3.5% for food and beverages, and by 20 to 25% for ready-to-eat products. “People in Bangkok in particular are very busy so they prefer to buy ready-to-eat products,” he says. “People are also concerned about healthy products, especially the middle class. Malaysia can offer healthy food, ready-to-eat products, snacks and confectionary to an international standard. The government and Matrade play important roles to help promote these products.”

Niqman believes that Thai and Malaysian products have different markets. “Local Thai producers target lower and middle income people, but Malaysian products exported to Thailand are premium.”

The Malaysian government also offers investment incentives to Thai companies. “There are already Thai companies investing in Malaysia, for example, CP, Central and Tops Supermarket. So they can bring Thai products together in Malaysian markets,” he says.

Niqman believes it’s important to seek the right partner when investing in Thailand. “Malaysian companies wishing to enter Thailand need to have a good local partner who can assist or guide them on local regulations, so the products can enter the market quicker and at a lower cost,” he says.

For more information, please visit www.matrade.gov.my

Words by Natthinee Ratanaprasidhi 

Issue 54

Bangladesh and Thailand look forward to forging a closer relationship through bilateral trade and investment.

With bilateral trade valued at US$903 million in 2015, Thailand and Bangladesh have many potential business opportunities still to be explored across various industries, says H.E. Saida Muna Tasneem the Bangladesh Ambassador to Thailand.

“Bangladesh and Thailand have 44 years of bilateral relations, we’re very close geographic neighbours and connected culturally,” says Tasneem. “It would be a win-win situation for both of us if we can do more trade.”

The Embassy of Bangladesh in Bangkok, with the Export Promotion Bureau, Ministry of Commerce Bangladesh recently organised the Bangladesh Trade and Investment Expo 2016 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, Bangkok, from May 30 to 1 June with the aim of connecting Bangladeshi products, services and investment opportunities to the Thai market and businesses.

The event proved a success in drawing together business people and high-level government policy-makers from both countries to participate in panel discussions on how to enhance trade and investment connectivity between the two countries. Over 60 Bangladeshi companies had booths displaying products and services at the expo while the ‘Bangladesh-Thailand Threads of Heritage’ silk fashion show displayed the heritage silk textiles of both countries.

“The expo focused on displaying Bangladesh silk, leather products, ceramic ware, bone china porcelain and pharmaceutical products,” says Tasneem. “Bangladesh exports pharmaceutical products to over 100 countries in North America, Latin America, Europe, and ASEAN countries like Myanmar. We are looking to enter the Thai market next as Thailand has a large medical tourism industry and a universal healthcare needing pharma imports.”

Currently Bangladesh’s export basket to Thailand is limited to jute and jute products, ready made garments (RMG) and smaller amounts of pharmaceutical products. Thai exports mainly consist of consumer products including toiletries, food and vegetable products, clinker bricks, minerals and chemicals, and machinery. Thai companies are also investing US$605 million in Bangladesh through 96 projects, led by top Thai companies such as CP Group, Ital-Thai and SCG.

Another area that may be worthy of investment is agriculture and agro-processing industries.

“Thailand is a champion in agricultural processing while Bangladesh too is famous for its tropical fruits like mango, jackfruit, lychees and pineapples,” says Tasneem. “There are opportunities for Thai companies to process dried fruits in Bangladesh, and sell them locally or export, especially given that Bangladesh enjoys 100% duty-free market access to the EU.”

Both countries are currently working towards increasing bilateral trade through the Joint Trade Committee (JTC), headed by Thai Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn and Bangladeshi Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed.

“The ministers have agreed to meet for the fourth JTC meeting in Dhaka later in 2016 where we hope to have a greater understanding of each other’s trade complementarities,” reveals Tasneem. “Currently there are no FTAs between the two countries, but this issue will be raised during the upcoming JTC.”

The Bangladeshi ambassador is closely involved in multiple projects to ensure that trade between the two countries will increase in the near future.

“We are trying to create trade-related private-sector dialogues in several issues, such as the possibility of initiating duty-free access between the textile industry in Thailand and the RMG industry in Bangladesh, improving shipping connectivity through an ongoing coastal shipping agreement, which will enable goods to be shipped between Thailand and Bangladesh within three days … and also the introduction of the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Business Travel Card for businessmen from both countries,” she says.

Words by Pimsirinuch Borsub

Issue 52

 

 

With consistent annual growth of 20%, Thailand’s franchise industry offers great opportunities for budding entrepreneurs.

“A franchise can be a good option for anyone wishing to make their own business, especially a new graduate who doesn’t want to be an office worker,” Saward Mitaree, president of Franchise & License Association and Founder of Smart Brain, says. “Being a franchisee could help them learn how to do business and later they can initiate their own ones.”

The franchise industry has grown rapidly in the past decade, and Mitaree anticipates there will be greater growth and fiercer competition in the future as many new franchises enter the market and people are eager to have their own business.

Data from the Business Development Department of the Ministry of Commerce reveals that the franchise market totalled US$7 billion (250 billion baht) in 2015. This represents about 9% of Thailand’s total retail business.

According to Thaifranchisecenter.com, Thailand has 505 franchise brands in 2016, with food, beverage and ice-cream brands accounting for 45.15% (or 228 brands) of the total and educational franchises accounting for a further 17.43% (or 88 ). In terms of the number of brands, the industry has grown on average 20% each year over the past 10 years.

“To be successful in this business, you must have good planning, learn the franchise system thoroughly and work according to your plan,” Mitaree explains. “Thai food is well-known in the global market and we have a lot of capable chefs. Now, several famous Thai restaurants and coffee shops have expanded to CLMV countries, such as Chokdee Dimsum, Black Canyon and Chai See Bamee Giaw. Thai people are famous for their great service-minded attitude, and this benefits our service sector.”

Smart Brain is an international mental arithmetic franchise founded in Thailand in 1996. Mitaree believes there is much potential for educational franchises, such as cooking schools, spa academies and elderly care services.

As for the Smart Brain franchise, Mitaree plans to establish business hubs in particular regions, for example it will use Kuwait as the hub for the Middle East, and the UK for the European market.

“With our strengths in efficient courses and activities, quality control, R&D, and well-trained instructors, Smart Brain has helped develop children’s concentration, thinking, memory, reading and writing skills,” he adds.

Currently, Smart Brain has 421 centres in Thailand as well as franchisees in Tunisia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the UK and India. It plans to open new centres in Qatar and UAE in July 2016.

For more information, please visit www.smartbrain.com and www.fla.or.th

Words by Somhatai Mosika