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JANUARY 2017 | SWISS-THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | E-NEWSLETTER #78

SUPPORTED BYTOP NEWSSEA Helpdesk: Tips for protecting your brand in SEAInterview: Dr. Peter A. NeumannSchool News: Final Presentation Day of the Project Week “Thailand” Church News: New Year’s welcome at the community center Legal Update: Thai Legal News Flash from Roedl & Partner

Another eventful year lies be-hind us. For those of our mem-bers who spent the festive season with their families over-seas, we hope you enjoyed a wonderful time with your loved ones and had a terrific start to the new year. 2016 will be re-membered as a year of massive change; a populist wave of an-gry voters in the Western world challenged the status quo of their political establishment. The collected wisdom of polit-ical observers suggest that it is widespread anger amongst ordinary workers, who felt left behind by globalisation, com-pelled both Britons to say good-bye to the EU and Americans

to vote for a political outsider to be their next president. It might be years before policy-makers will fully absorb the sig-nificance of these new economic and political forces now playing out. Eventually they will have to come up with a strong case for globalisation that actively ensures participation and en-gagement of those who feel cur-rently neglected. I still feel that globalisation is a good thing in itself, as it has lifted millions of people out of poverty in the developing world. As long as we have politicians in power who are not totally removed from the real world and understand the fears of those whose livelihood are threatened by free flows of capital and labour, then we can still be optimistic about the fu-ture. However these changes may play out, the reality is that we might see a world in which more nations build their own walls, whether real or virtual, in order to provide their constitu-encies with a sense of protec-tion and security.

DEAR FRIENDS AND MEMBERS OF THE STCC

THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

PRESIDENT BRUNO G. ODERMATT

STCC CALENDARThursday 12th January 2017: STCC Stamm at Amari Boulevard Hotel, 18:00

Sunday 29th and Monday 30th January 2017: Foire Suisse : Exhibition of Swiss products and Culture at Siam Paragon (Details to follow)

Thursday 9th February 2017: STCC Stamm at Amari Boulevard Hotel, 18:00

Friday 17th – Sunday 19th February 2017: STCC Networking + Swiss Golf Event in Chiangmai (Details to follow)

Thursday 23th February 2017: STCC AGM 2017 @ Rembrandt Hotel

More details for above events please waitfor the invitation-mail or get it from www.swissthai.com, click on “events”.

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JANUARY 2017 | SWISS-THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | E-NEWSLETTER #78

THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Thailand also has its sets of economic headaches. Exports, who have long been an engine of economic growth, have fallen for several years in a row. Do-mestic consumption has been hurt by ever increasing house-hold debt, soft prices for agri-cultural products and low incre-mental incomes. The real bright spots going into 2017 is the government’s unwavering com-mitment to public investments as well a solid tourism sec-tor. Unsurprisingly, the Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee kept the policy rate at 1.5%, as it is still cautious on economic recovery in 2017.

On the bright side, the Stock Exchange of Thailand overtook the Malaysian Bourse as ASE-AN’s largest emerging bourse by market capitalisation. The SET was a regional star performer in 2016 as investors have confi-dence in the economic policies of the current government.

Our Chamber is as active as ever and at the beginning of this year we have lined out a num-ber of initiatives that might be of interest of you. On 29/30 January the STCC will actively be engaged in the Foire Su-isse, organized by the Swiss Students Alumni Association (Association des Anciens Etudi-ants en Suisse), which will be graciously honoured by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. On 17/18 February we are orga-

nizing a networking event with a subsequent factory tour by some of our member companies in Chiang Mai, in cooperation with the Swiss Embassy. Let us remain optimistic about 2017 and ensure that Switzerland remains a steadfast and reliable trading partner of Thailand.

With this in mind, I wish you a successful 2017 and hope to see you and your associates at one of our future business events.

With my best wishes

Bruno G. Odermatt-MaagPresident

***Contact the President:Bruno G. Odermatt-MaagPresident STCCpresident@swissthai.comTel: +66 2 652 1911

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JANUARY 2017 | SWISS-THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | E-NEWSLETTER #78

SOUTHEAST ASIA - IPR SME HELPDESK

TIPS FOR PROTECTING YOUR BRAND IN SOUTH-EAST ASIABusiness in South-East Asia – the facts and figures

Economic growth in South-East Asia has been, and is likely to re-main strong. As its economies have shifted from exports to a broader base of growth drivers, both consumption and invest-ment in the region has soared1. Between 2015 and 2019, it is pre-dicted that the ten ASEAN nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philip-pines, Singapore, Thailand, Bru-nei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) will expe-rience 5.6% GDP growth on aver-age, with business fueling much of the growth in the region2.

This region is increasingly attrac-tive for international trade and foreign investment, due to ris-ing domestic demand for foreign

products. Among the most prom-ising sectors for European compa-nies in South-East Asia are elec-tronics, automotive components, mechanical engineering (machin-ery), IT/software, food processing and leisure and tourism.

Why is IP relevant for my brand?

Many European companies original-ly moved to South-East Asia to take advantage of low-cost labour and raw materials. In recent years, how-ever, they have started to expand into local domestic markets, set up franchises, establish R&D, engage in cooperative development, establish relationships with suppliers and de-velop long-term partnerships in key markets across the region.

Franchising is a business system for expanding sound businesses, based

on a business model that is replicat-ed through the creation of a net-work under the same brand name. This regularly involves transferring technologies and designs, sharing brand names and trade marks with joint-venture (JV) partners, and of-fering-up trade secrets (from distri-bution lists to marketing strategies) with local companies. This leaves Eu-ropean companies open to potential infringement and brand dilution. If a company’s well-reputed brand is hijacked by another company, this can cost a company its reputation, and a significant amount of money to restore – if this is indeed possible.

How to protect your IP in South-East Asia

•Swat-up on local IP: Taking time to inform yourself on IP regulations in your destination country can help you exploit

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JANUARY 2017 | SWISS-THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | E-NEWSLETTER #78

business opportunities and avoid pitfalls of local laws and regulations. If handled correct-ly, IP assets can offer increased commercialisation, income generation and value-adding opportunities.

•Don’t assume your IP in South-East Asia is covered by European law: In South-East Asia, in or-der to protect your trade mark, registration is required. Certain ASEAN countries, such as Singa-pore, protect unregistered trade marks based on laws which pro-tect rights against passing off (i.e. someone misrepresenting their goods or services as being affiliated with your brand, even if your trade mark is not registered but has built up a reputation and good-will) or rights against un-fair competition. Howev-er, these countries may not always be quick or keen to put such laws into practice.3

•Understand your company’s IP needs: It is crucial that compa-

nies, particularly SMEs, clear-ly understand the aspects of their business that constitute IP and identify their IP assets accordingly before entering a new market. Remember – IP in-cludes more than just technol-ogy related inventions. A res-taurant or a shop’s branding, down to the colour and style of its furniture, wall colour and window dressing, constitutes an integral part of its external image. This is part of what sets it apart from its competitors.

•Be prepared to enforce your rights: Entering a new market and protecting IPRs sometimes means being ready to enforce or defend rights in order to ensure that business objectives are met. Defending your IP rights can prevent brand dilution further down the line. Before enforce-ment action, several steps are recommended. These are listed in the following South-East Asia IPR SME Helpdesk guide: Using Contracts to Protect Your Intel-lectual Property.

•Franchising: The franchise bu- siness model is widespread in Southeast Asia, particularly in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Develop a strong franchising strategy. Jollibee Food Corporation (JFC), one of the Philippines’ largest fast food restaurant chains, stipulates that franchising applicants undergo a three month training programme and must conform to specific franchising guidelines in order to be able to operate a Jollibee restaurant. This ensures that franchises uphold the same high standards that JFC promotes. Franchise agreements should contain clauses that license the use of a company’s IP (usually trade marks, trade secrets and certain copyright work) to the franchisee. The clauses must be carefully drafted to cover all an-ticipated use by the franchisee, but also to ensure good quality control within the franchise.

See our IP Country Factsheets and our Guide to Trade Mark Pro-tection in South-East Asia for

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more information about brand protection and franchising in South-East Asia.

The South-East Asia IPR SME Helpdesk supports small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) from European Union (EU) mem-ber states to protect and enforce their Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in or relating to South-East Asian countries, through the pro-vision of free information and services. The Helpdesk provides jargon-free, first-line, confiden-tial advice on intellectual prop-erty and related issues, along with training events, materials and online resources. Individu-

al SMEs and SME intermediaries can submit their IPR queries via email (question@southeasta-sia-iprhelpdesk.eu) and gain ac- cess to a panel of experts, in order to receive free and confi-dential first-line advice within 3 working days.

The South-East Asia IPR SME Helpdesk is co-funded by the Eu-ropean Union. To learn more about the South-East Asia IPR SME Helpdesk and any aspect of intellectual pro- perty rights in South-East Asia, please visit our online portal at http://www.ipr-hub.eu/.

1 OECD, Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India: Strengthening In-stitutional Capacity (2015).

2 Ibid

3 http://bit.ly/1KK14Qb

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JANUARY 2017 | SWISS-THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | E-NEWSLETTER #78

INTERVIEW

DR. PETER A. NEUMANNThe first 2017 STCC Newsletter In-terview is with Dr. Peter A. Neu-mann, a long time member of our chamber. When we met at one of our Stamm events he thought his story was not worth for an arti-cle in the newsletter. Probably a case of Swiss modesty.

Peter, you have been a mem-ber of the STCC for many years, Thank You for your loyalty. How did you end up in Thailand?

In 1986 my ex-wife and I crossed Asia for an extensive holiday trip. When arriving in Thailand there was an immediate attraction. The joy of life in people, the food, the weather. I really liked the place. However that was just a holiday trip. The attraction to Thailand stayed with me but it was back to work in Switzerland. Only a few years later, after many changes in my professional and personal life, I found the way back to Thailand to call it my home now.

It is interesting when you look back how decisions are affected by particular experiences, in my case the Asia trip in 1986. My ex-wife did not really like Asia. A few years later I met my future wife and all the fascination with Thai-land came back. Professionally (I am a chemist) the business I was running since 1974 (along with a

partner) was sold to a large com-pany (Unilab) and I was not sure I wanted to continue. A change of status from owner to employee is not easy. In 1995 we explored the possibilities to set up and start branches in Southeast Asia (SEA) but we had to realize that our potential customers were only interested in investments rather than services. The expertise to run laboratory tests on medical samples was already established in the area. So we discarded the idea of a business venture in SEA. Then in 1997 the Asian crisis hit and I totally lost interest to start a business in medical lab servic-es. Meanwhile I got married to my current wife and we travelled extensively throughout Asia. We realized that Thailand is indeed a good place to settle and that is what we did in 2006.

You are a chemist. Can you a bit more specific and how do you see the opportunities in your profes-sion in Thailand?

I studied chemistry and later bio-chemistry at the ETH Zurich in Switzerland. This was followed by post doc positions in the United States doing research in protein chemistry. I came back to Switzer-land in 1972 and a good opportuni-ty to enter the medical lab service business came up. I actually en-

joyed the US and planned to stay but the offer in Switzerland was hard to resist. First as an employ-ee and later as an entrepreneur / founder of a business with ap-prox. 30 people. So my business background really is in laboratory tests of human samples e.g. blood, urine etc. Normally hospitals are sending their patient’s samples to outside labs to receive the results a few hours later. 20 years ago most of these tests were well known in Thailand and there was no need for a foreigner to provide special knowledge. I think this is still true today. In this field I see little op-portunities here in Thailand.

You are retired now. Are you still involved in some activities, busi-ness or otherwise?

Well, I was lucky to have married an active Thai who is running a

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restaurant business in Roi Et. I am acting as advisor and investor and it is a pleasure to see so many ac-tivities around restaurant “Enjoy”.

There are some charities which I occasionally visit. A great Swiss Laos Hospital project which to-gether with two medical doctors, I was a founding member in 1999. The idea is: Doctors educate doc-tors! Donations from Switzerland amount to approx. 1 Mio. US$ annually, mainly in form of equip-ment (e.g. ultrasonic scanners) and the provision of specialized medical staff. Very impressive: http://www.swisslaos.ch/

In 2004 I bought a condo in the Sukhumvit area. So I commute between Isaan and Bangkok regu-larly. Believe it or not, the Stamm of your STCC is a good reason to come to Bangkok.

Thank You for the promotion and good words for our Stamm.

Maybe it is now time to promote your restaurant in Roi Et.

O well… Thank You. We founded the restaurant “Enjoy” in 2007. My wife has been travelling ex-tensively and collected many id-eas to bring style and ambiance to Roi Et. A Bangkok architect has created a truly unique place. We serve Thai food and target the high end customers in the area. So our guests are local business people, government employees. We host company celebrations, birthday parties etc. For special events the “Enjoy” restaurant has established a nice footing in Roi Et. We have seven cooks and twelve serving staff. Occasional-ly Ferang guests from the area or from Bangkok visit us. If you en-ter 16.073435,103.684266 into Google you have the right loca-tion. There is some nice review in the press. http://isaan.com/enjoy-fine-thai-dining-in-roi-et/

Our last and traditional ques-tion: What is the most impor-tant issue/problem you would change/address in Thailand?

Thailand, do not become a second Singapore. Keep and preserve your traditional values. Do not give them up to commerce and cash. Educate, Educate, Educate your young people! Invest in edu-cation at an early stage. Teach the teachers!

Peter, your story is quite a story! Thank you for sharing. It was a pleasure talking with You!

Likewise, it was great to share this with your readers. Thank You!

The interview has been conducted by Peter Sprenger on December 21, 2016 in the Sukhumvit area.

INTERVIEW

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RIS SWISS SECTION DEUTSCHSPRACHIGE SCHULE BANGKOK

FINAL PRESENTATION DAY OF THE PROJECT WEEK “THAILAND”

On November 25th 2016, the fi-nal presentations of the Project Week Thailand took place. The students showed in exciting pres-entations on the stage and in the

classrooms what they learned about our host country this week. The youngest students impress- ed with songs and dances in Ger-man and Thai, while the elder

students presented their holistic workshops triangularly and with lots of creativity. All in all it was a wonderful closing morning for an amazing week!

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RIS SWISS SECTION DEUTSCHSPRACHIGE SCHULE BANGKOK

On 14th December 2016, RIS Swiss Section - Deutschsprachige Schule Bangkok invited all friends of the school to its Christmas market and celebra-tion – traditionally a very pop-ular event. Once again a lot of guests enjoyed the festive at-mosphere.

This year, parents organized a Christmas market in the Sports

Hall, which, alongside crafts, was a place to sample interna-tional delicacies, such as home-made cookies, and take part in different festive activities. Santa Claus and even a doll doc-tor made an appearance and our young guests were happy.

The official event began at 3pm with Christmas workshops organized by the school students

with many activities, food and crafts, both in front of and inside the various classrooms. Pastors

CHRISTMAS MARKET AND CELEBRATION AT RIS SWISS SECTION – GERMAN-SPEAKING SCHOOL BANGKOK

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Ulrich Holste-Helmer and Joerg Dunsbach read the nativity story in the music room.

Afterwards, guests were greeted on the sports field by Simon Dörig, the Principal of RIS Swiss Sec-tion - Deutschsprachige Schule

Bangkok. It was a fitting occa-sion to bid farewell to all stu-dents leaving RIS Swiss Sec-tion - Deutschsprachige Schule Bangkok at the end of the 2016.

Later, everyone enjoyed the fabulous Christmas perfor-

mances presented by the pri-mary students, Kindergarten and Lernzwerge. Noelle Müller and Deniz Akay moderated the festive program.

From 6pm onwards a Christmas buffet offered typical Christmas

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JANUARY 2017 | SWISS-THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | E-NEWSLETTER #78

RIS SWISS SECTION DEUTSCHSPRACHIGE SCHULE BANGKOK

Important events in the second semester of the school year 2016-17:20.01.2017 Sports Day (7:30 – 12:00)28.01.2017 Thai.Ger Supporters Charity Tournament01.03.2017 Open House Day (07:30 - 14:40)13.05.2017 Open House Info Session (13:00 – 15:00)02.06.2017 Flea Market for Primary School (11:00 - 12:00) 09.06.2017 Graduation Ceremony (10:00) 10.06.2017 Matura Ball

Please visit our website - www.ris-swiss-section.org - and get more information about our upcoming events.

dishes and later visitors were entertained with live music per-formances by the students on the sports field.

At 8pm the official program of the Christmas celebration con-

cluded with a Christmas Tree Auction.

RIS Swiss Section - Deutschspra-chige Schule Bangkok was able to present this wonderful event with the help and support of

many parents of our students and other members of our school community.

Thank you very much!

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JANUARY 2017 | SWISS-THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | E-NEWSLETTER #78

WHAT ABOUT A JOKE?There are all kind of jokes. Some are highly charming and even in-spiring, others, especially after a long “wet” evening, are some-times “under the belt line”.

And there are lots of friend-ly jokes between the Swiss and Austrians. I am sure you know many of them too. So, do I.

I was attending an internation-al symposium for the European Centre of Insurance (University of St. Gall) and we were stationed for one week in the beautiful re-gion of Saalfelden, Austria. Of course, as soon as we arrived, most participants started to tell jokes about our hosts.

Three days into the seminar I got my amusing wit…

I had to send a small document to Switzerland. Therefore, I went down to the receptionist and asked for stamps. The lovely girl weighted the letter, started to calculate and finally asked 9 Groschen for the stamps (it was before the EURO has been intro-duced). Then she took out a book where all the stamps were filed. Neatly sorted, stamps for 1, 2, then 3, 4, 5, 8, 9 and 10 Groschen.

She opened the subdivision, but the section 9 was empty. She looked at me and apologized

for not being able to hand over to me a 9 Groschen stamp. She suggested that I should go to the post office.

Politely I asked whether we could use a 4 and 5 Groschen-Stamp. Of course, that is the solution. She opened the book again and gave me a stamp of 5 Groschen and went on to the subjection of 4. Emptiness! No stamp at 4 Groschen. Sorry again from the charming Austrian-girl and with a sorrowful look she mentioned the walk to the post office again.

Usually such moments irritate me rather fast since in my mind I had already several possibilities for the franking of the letter, by the way, without thinking.

I said; “There are for sure some fur-ther solutions. Please have a look again to all the stamps you have.”

She sorted through the subdi-visions, forth- and backwards, made some calculations with the machine. Finally, a big smile grew into her face and she said; “Oh, we could use 3 stamps at 3 Groschen, that would make equal to the necessary franking of 9 Groschen, don’t’ you think so?”

“Well done, young lady, that solves our problem very well,” was my answer to her.

Then she stood up from her seat, smiled happily and clutched her hand at her forehead and blurt-ed loudly: “Mei, wos bin ii for es gscheits Maederl!” (Wow, what an intelligent girl I am). So far to Austrian jokes…

Friedrich Kuster, Swiss-Sure Co. Ltd., Hong Kong

f.kuster@swiss-sure.com.hk

MEMBER CONTRIBUTION

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JANUARY 2017 | SWISS-THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | E-NEWSLETTER #78

Also this year, the Protestant congregation had invited again to the New Year’s reception in the Pattaya community center. The service at the beginning of the reception, held by Pastor Bernhard Liebe and musically co-ordinated by the BZ men’s choir and pastoral couple Holste & Helmer. The theme of the sea-son: The Three Wise Men.

At the social part of the New Year’s reception, along with a glass of sparkling wine, we ex-pressed our great appreciation of all the work done and toasted the new year 2017. THANK YOU ALL. Afterwards, the members of the management team presented a colorful review of the special events of the past year in the “Begegnungszentrum” (BZ).

The visitors followed closely Pas-tor Helmer’s presentation of the

NEW YEAR’S WELCOME AT THE COMMU-NITY CENTER (BEGEGNUNGSZENTRUM) PATTAYA ON JANUARY 8TH 2017

CHURCH NEWS

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JANUARY 2017 | SWISS-THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | E-NEWSLETTER #78

financial situation of the BZ. In 2016, donations and collective income increased by a pleasing 30%. At the same time, the start-up capital employed by the Evan-gelical Church in Germany (EKD) six years ago has now been used up for the “Social Deacon Project and Community Center Pattaya” („Sozialdiakonische Projekt und Begegnungszentrum Pattaya“). As a result, further increased do-nations will be necessary in the

future to cover the cost of main-taining the center.

What is still open is the question of who will be responsible for coordinating the multi-faceted event program at the meeting center when Pastor i.R. Liebe and the pastoral couple Holste & Helmer leave Thailand this year. Wolfram Reda, a further member of the Management Committee, who has been very committed

for years, has announced that he will resign by the end of 2017. The management team is there-fore striving intensively to find a viable future solution.

CHURCH NEWS

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JANUARY 2017 | SWISS-THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | E-NEWSLETTER #78

TPP might become less relevant for Thailand

In past editions of this publica-tion we reported about the Thai government’s considerations to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP); a debate which is currently changing direction due to actual political developments. According to Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak Thailand is likely to see more benefit than harm if the new US president drops the TPP trade pact. Accordingly, the Thai government is monitoring the pol-icies of US President-elect Donald Trump closely. While outgoing US President Barack Obama sought to “rebalance” trade towards deals with Asia and the Pacific, Presi-dent-elect Trump has voiced oppo-sition to TPP during his campaign in the light his promise to “bring back jobs” to America and revive

industries that were negatively im-pacted by foreign competition.

Mr Somkid stated that the pact, if implemented, may cause troubles for exports to countries that are not TPP members. From current Thai perspective it could hence be beneficial if the pact is aborted.

Mr Somkid said that Thailand would remain interested to join TPP if the new US government stays commit-ted to the pact. However, without TPP the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to which Thailand will be a member would become vital to regional and global trade.

The RCEP was launched in Novem-ber 2012 with the aim of establish-ing deeper economic cooperation between the 10 ASEAN members and six trading partners, i.e. China,

India, Japan, South Korea, Austral-ia and New Zealand, while the US are not a member to this agreement in contrast to TPP. RCEP is now seen as more likely path to a free-trade area in Asia-Pacific, as the US Con-

LEGAL UPDATE

THAI LEGAL NEWS FLASH

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JANUARY 2017 | SWISS-THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | E-NEWSLETTER #78

LEGAL UPDATE

gress does not appear to ratify TPP during President Obama’s remain-ing period in office.

Law against online piracy ahead

The acting director-general of the Intellectual Property Department, Thosapone Dansuputra, recently stated that the draft bill of the Min-istry of Digital Economy and Soci-ety to tackle online sales of pirate products is expected to enter into effect next year. He added that the new legislation will include provisions for legal action against violators of intellectual property rights on the internet, which ap-pears to include measures of inter-im relief. Mr Thosapone said that the preparation of legislation to tackle internet-based piracy came in response to a request from the United States, as despite contin-ued efforts to tackle intellectual property violations there had nu-merous complaints about intellec-tual piracy in social media. The Thai government aims to have Thailand removed from the US’s Priority Watch List for intellectual property violations in 2017.

In the light of the above, Prime Minister Prayut Chanocha had ordered state officials to speed up the crackdown on digital piracy, especially transactions using pop-ular social media. According to Mr Thosapone, the department is liaising with the Digital Economy and Society Ministry, Office of the National Broadcasting and Tele-

communications Commission and Internal Security Operations Com-mand to launch a clampdown on piracy on Facebook as a short-term measure and amend the Computer Crime Act to extend the penalty to cover IP infringements on the internet. In a longer term author-ities plan to spend more on re-search and development and the creation of an IP database. Efforts shall also be made to raise aware-ness of the harm caused by using pirated products. Such long term reform plan and related action plans shall be jointly implement-ed by Thai authorities and their US counterparts.

Private investment stimulation planned

The Thai government considers pri-vate investment as a key factor for economic recovery. In this regard Finance Ministry permanent-secre-tary Somchai Sujjapongse informedabout plans concerning a new stim-ulus measure to encouraging the private sector to speed up invest-ment. The measure shall be target-ed at reaching economic growth of 4% next year according to Mr Som-chai. The Fiscal Policy Office is in charge to find measures to reachthis target.

Under previous tax incentives, companies that commenced their investment before the end of 2015 were entitled to a two-fold corpo-rate tax deduction on investment expenses incurred. The govern-ment had introduced various stim-

ulus measures including 60 billion baht allocated to Village Funds and 5 million baht dispensed to each Tambon to develop projects. Mr Somchai stated that the new meas-ures need to be suitable for the economy and efficiently stimulate the right sectors instead of merelyimplementing blanket measures.

Finance Minister Apisak Tanti- vorawong had earlier told senior officials at the Finance Ministry that even though the global econ-omy will grow at a near-zero rate that does not mean Thailand would have to grow at the same pace. In-stead it should use its potential and find ways to make the best use of the country’s strengths to shore up the economy. Further details on such measures have not been revealed so far. However, state in-vestment is expected to gain pace in the second half, particularly for the envisaged 1.64-trillion-baht infrastructure projects, to trigger further investment.

Cabinet in Thailand approved 10Year Visa to promote medical and wellness tourism

The Thai government is promoting Thailand as a destination for med-ical and wellness tourism. Accord-ing to a recent cabinet resolution, foreign long stay visitors aged over 50 years shall be eligible to apply for a 10 years Visa under certain condition. The foreign long stay visitors still have to comply with the 90 days reporting requirementand the visa shall be valid initial-

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JANUARY 2017 | SWISS-THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | E-NEWSLETTER #78

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LEGAL UPDATE

ly for five years and could be re-newed for another five years. The visa shall further require a month-ly income of at least 100,000 THB or a bank deposit of at least 3 million THB, to be maintained for minimum of one year after receiving the visa. Also evidence of health insurance coverage for at least US$1,000 for outpatient care and $10,000 or more for in-patient care per policy per year shall be provided.

BOI confirms increasing aviationinvestment

According to the Thai Board of Investment (BOI) new invest-ment in the aviation sector has developed significantly within the first 10 months of 2016. The BOI sees this as indication that Thailand is further approaching the target of becoming an ASE-AN aviation hub. In this context Thailand recently initiated an investment promotion scheme

for high-technology business-es, including sectors related to aviation industries.

Applications have been submitted by foreign investors for 22 avia-tion-related projects in the said timeframe and include aviation logistics and airline businesses, aviation parts production as well as aviation tyre manufacturers. The respective investment had a total value of THB 22.9 billion, Sec-retary-general Hiranya Suchinai said. She added that the BOI is con-fident that the aim to develop Thai-land as ASEAN aviation hub could be achieved in the near future and that several aviation operators had expressed their interest to invest in Thailand. Especially projects re-garding the production of aircraft tyre and aircraft parts would ap-pear of interest for investors.

In order to further increase Thai-land’s attractiveness in this sector the Transport Ministry announced

to study whether an ease of the re-quirement that Thai investors need to hold a 51% shares in aviation in-vestment projects

Rödl & Partner Ltd.18th Floor Empire Tower 1 South Sathorn Road, 10120 Bangkok, Thailand

newsletter.thailand@roedl.pro

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JANUARY 2017 | SWISS-THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | E-NEWSLETTER #78

Corporate Members:

Swissotel Le Concorde Bangkok

204 Ratchadapisek Road, Huay Kwang, 10320 Bangkok

Tel: 02-694-2222 Fax: 02-694-2218

e-mail: bangkok-leconcorde@swissotel.com

Website: www.swissotelleconcord-ebangkok.com

Representatives: Mr. Bruno Rot- schaedl, General Manager, and Ms. Nutnaphin Wongapiwattana- kul, Director of Sales Center

Activity: The luxurious Swis-sotel Le Concorde, Bangkok is a five-star hotel located on Rachadapisek Road, Bang-kok’s new thriving central bu- siness and entertainment dis-trict, and is approximately 40 minutes away from the Suvarn-abhumi International Airport. The Huai Kwang train station is a two-minute walk from the ho-tel with Bangkok’s prime tourist attractions, central business dis-trict and convention centre just a few train stations away.

The hotel employs 427 staff and offers 407 elegantly spacious and well-appointed rooms and suites with impeccable Swiss hospitality. The top four Executive Club floors offer complimentary access to the Executive Lounge and its privileg-

es such as private breakfast buffet, evening cocktails, private meeting space and an Executive fitness cen-

tre all to make your stay more ex-ceptional. Featuring truly amazing meeting and convention facilities, the hotel offers an outstanding 3,411 m² of meeting space, with a team of event planners to ensure remarkable business and social gatherings. Choose over an array of renown dining experiences be it the award-winning Cantonese Loong Foong restaurant, Takumi Japanese Restaurant, International dining at 204 Bistro, the vibrant 204 Bar and Deli Swiss where you can find fresh bakery, pastries and sandwiches. The Spa De Concorde is a sanctuary offering a wide range of modern and traditional spa treatments in a tranquil contemporary setting. Ex-perience Studio Fit’s leading- edge fitness center whilst over-looking a panoramic view of the city and out-door swimming pool.

Ferring Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd..

43 Thai CC Tower, 27th Floor, South Sathorn Road, R278; Yannawa, Sathorn, Bangkok

e-mail: arne.tamm@ferring.com

Website: www.ferring.com

Representatives: Mr. Arne Tamm, Director,

Activity: Ferring Pharmaceuticals is a swiss based biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the devel-opment of innovative treatments in the areas of reproductive health, urology, gastroenterology, endo-crinology and orthopaedics. Our affiliated company in Thailand was established in 2006.

INTERN

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JANUARY 2017 | SWISS-THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | E-NEWSLETTER #78

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