G Business Link, Krungthep Turakij join hands to help patch up differences in practices
The match-making business for
prospective traders and investors in Thailand and Myanmar is booming,
prompting Krungthep Turakij newspaper and G Business Link to work
together to promote a new era of bilateral business ties.
Vichai Kemtongkum, director of G
Business Link, which has been doing business in Myanmar for nearly 20
years, said: "Myanmar has just opened up to the rest of world after
several decades of isolation, so there are tremendous opportunities for
business, industry and services.
"While many Thai businessmen want to do
business with Myanmar or invest in the neighbouring country, there
remain many misunderstandings about [it].
"We're used to capitalism, but Myanmar
is more familiar with socialism, so the businessmen's practices and
attitudes are different. Some Thai businessmen also have a wrong
assumption on the purchasing power in Myanmar. It's not that everyone is
poor. The fact is that 4-5 per cent of Myanmar's 60-million population
have high purchasing power, while another 10-15 per cent are regarded as
the middle classes, so there are 3 million rich people and another 6
million to 9 million median-income consumers.
"Many high-income Myanmar people come to
Thailand to use medical services, for example, while medium-income
people like to buy Thai consumer products. In addition, Myanmar farmers
use Thai agricultural equipment and machinery.
"There have been many business
delegations from Thailand to Myanmar over the past year. Most trips take
one to two days. We go there like a tour group, while Myanmar's
businesspeople also come to see us as a group, so business interaction
is limited, superficial and ineffective.
"Usually, the organisers did not do the
homework in advance in terms of setting priority for meetings between
Thai and Myanmar counterparts. Now, we work with Krungthep Turakij
newspaper to help prospective investors and traders find their
most-suited match with a focus on advance planning.
"Thai businessmen, especially small and
mediium-sized enterprises, are encouraged to submit their applicants to
join our business match-making programme. We do the screening and then
work with counterparts in UMFCCI [the Union of Myanmar Federation of
Chambers of Commerce and Industry] to find suitable Myanmar
businesspeople whose interests match those of Thai counterparts.
"For each of the Thai applicants, we
arrange in-depth meetings with only one or two Myanmar counterparts at
most to ensure effectiveness, since all are screened in advance [to
ensure] that they have the qualities suitable to do business together."
Moe Myint Kyaw, secretary-general of the
UMFCCI, said: "Thai and Myanmar people have enjoyed a close
relationship for many years, while our consumers are also familiar with
many Thai products.
"Food and other consumer goods,
electronics and electrical appliances, agricultural inputs, telecom
gadgets and equipment, and building materials are among those with
strong market potential in Myanmar.
"UMFCCI [has] more than 27,000 members,
including 24 chambers of commerce and trade associations across the
country. In other words, nearly every business and industry is a member
of UMFCCI.
"My private businesses include food
manufacturing as well as import and export. For example, we export rice,
beans and other agricultural products while importing machinery for
farm use, construction materials and equipment as well as other products
from Thailand."
Suthee Petchlohakul, general manager of
TSP Group, said: "About seven or years [ago], we tried to do business in
Myanmar. TSP Group is a producer of farm equipment and machinery such
as those used in rice fields, mainly via the border trade in Mae Sot [in
Tak province] and Mae Sai [in Chiang Rai province] districts of
Thailand.
"Earlier, we negotiated with a few
Myanmar partners in order to set up a factory over there, but the
project did not materialise.
"We have a strong market potential in
Myanmar as far as farm equipment and machinery are concerned. Now, 95
per cent of these products are Chinese-made, which are the cheapest in
the market, but they are not durable.
"Thai products are not as cheap as
Chinese but they are more durable, so we can use this as the strength.
We also need to study the practices of Myanmar's businessmen."
source: Eleven Myanmar
No comments:
Post a Comment