Is Phuket business ready for the bulls?

– A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. World Cup? Get instantaneous scores and news updates right here on the Gazette Online (fed directly from FIFA).

PHUKET: Robotic as it is, Phuket NEWS Hound is obedient in the extreme. It never fails to do what Gazette editors ask of it.

Today, we asked the dog to go out into the world and bring back business and economic news with a focus on Thailand.

We made no stipulation for ‘good news only’, nor did we seek to cull any bad.

Compiled by our editors, these are the big stories the Hound has brought back to Phuket.

When airlines cease to be dogged and people are once again on the move, (see final entry below), the global hospitality industry rarely fails to take notice.

But we leave it to readers to decide whether these stories are good, neutral or bad news for Phuket.

The island’s economists, armchair or otherwise, are invited to post their views in the forum below.

Earth Times
Thailand’s exports soared 42.1 per cent in May from the same month a year ago despite the bloody anti-government protests in the streets of Bangkok last month, government officials said on Friday.

Commerce Minister Pornthiwa Nakasai said exports were valued at 16.6 billion dollars in May, while imports stood at 14.3 billion dollars, up 55.1 per cent.

It was the largest rise in exports in 22 months, Pornthiwa said. It came after the world was mired in a recession last year, causing a drop-off in exports around the globe.

The Thai economy grew 12 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter, one of the highest rates in Asia, lagging behind only Singapore and Taiwan.

The Bangkok Post
Foreign capital flowing into Thailand is still normal, with most invested in the equities market, according to Bank of Thailand (BOT) Assistant Governor Suchada Kirakul.

Ms Suchada noted that the large capital inflows into Thailand, especially in the past three days into the Thai stock market, resulted from uncertainty in the global market, public debt problems faced by some European countries, and worries over US economic problems.

More foreign capital inflows are expected to enter the country as many believe the Thai economy will continue to improve.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand index on Friday closed at 791.85 points, up 2.9 per cent from a week ago.

Property Report
Listed Thai developer Sansiri has revealed plans to launch 21 new projects with a combined market value of 32 billion baht (US$987 million) in the second half of this year.

The 21 projects to be developed include 10 condominiums with market value of 17.6 billion baht; eight single detached homes projects with a market value of 11.7 billion baht; and three townhouse developments with market value of 2.7 billion baht.

The company has not, as yet, announced any projects for Phuket.

Earth Times
Canadoil Group has announced a 20-billion-baht investment in Thailand to build a production plant for the steel plates it uses to manufacture pipes.

The new plate mill, to be located in Rayong province, will be fully operational by 2012, Canadoil executives say.

The group, whose corporate headquarters are in Canada, produces specialized pipes for oil and gas projects, and first entered the Thai market 10 years ago

The Eastern Seaboard, which includes Chon Buri and Rayong provinces, is Thailand’s main industrial zone. It has attracted hundreds of petrochemical, chemical and automotive manufacturing factories over the past two decades.

TR Weekly
In a bid to assert its ability to compete with Thailand’s tourism destinations such as Phuket, Samui, Hua Hin and Chiangmai, Vietnam has announced a massive “bundle” of tourism development projects.

With Bangkok as the well-established air hub for Southeast Asia, Thailand, including Phuket, is likely to ride a boom in air traffic and holiday visits from tourists bound to and from Vietnam.

The Cat Ba Resort Community project has been launched by Vinaconex Investment & Tourism Development Co with an investment of US$1 billion in Haiphong.

The project will cover 172 hectares in a World Heritage Biosphere Reserve area, Cat Ba Island and elsewhere in the Cat Hai district. It will boast seven resorts, 800 villas, two cruise wharfs, a convention center, an international commercial center, sports and entertainment facilities, and five-star hotels.

Petro Vietnam is building the Petro Vietnam Hotel Complex in Thai Binh on the eastern coast, 110 km from Hanoi.

The project, representing an investment US$27million, is taking shape on 10 hectares in Thai Binh City. It will include a 15-story four-star hotel and a 17-story apartment tower with offices for rent.

The five-star residential-commercial-hotel complex Le Meridien Danang Resort & Spa got off the ground last month and will be completed in 2013. The resort will comprise of 48 deluxe villas, 149 apartments and a 350-room five-star hotel representing an investment of approximately US$110 million.

The Ba Na Cable Car Co is building a French-style village, comprising 80 two-story houses in a forested area on Ba Na Mountain near Danang.

Apart from the village, the company is building an entertainment park that will feature a 3D cinema, a snow city, game centers and artificial mountains for climbers, all in a US$25 million park due for completion in March next year.

The central province of Quang Ngai, 900km south of Hanoi, is slated to have a multi-purpose marine site providing services in convalescence, swimming, surfing, boating, entertainment, shopping, gymnasiums and accommodation for 500 to 700 clients a day.

And finally, construction of a US$8 million four-star hotel, Sapa Indochina, in the mountain town of Sapa in the northern province Lao Cai, has already started. It will be a French-style hotel with 88 rooms overlooking the Hoang Lien-Sapa mountain range. It is scheduled for completion next year.

TR Weekly
IATA (the International Air Transport Association) has reversed its outlook from a US$2.8 billion loss, forecast in March, to a global profit of US$2.5 billion by the end of this year.

IATA projects industry revenues to be US$545 billion in 2010. This is up from the US$483 billion in 2009, but still below the US$56

— Gazette Editors