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INDUSTRIES AND MANUFACTURING IN THAILAND

Manufacturing and industry have played a significant role in Thailand’s economic growth. Since most manufactured products are export items they bring tremendous amount of income to the country each year. Major Industries include: tourism, textiles and garments, agricultural processing, beverages, tobacco, cement, light manufacturing such as jewelry and electric appliances, computers and parts, integrated circuits, furniture, plastics, automobiles and automotive parts.

Thailand is presently also a major center of the auto assembling industry in Southeast Asia. The industry creates employment and income for Thailand and the Thai people, and enables further development of the steel production industry. In addition, world’s second-largest tungsten producer and third-largest tin producer

Thailand is Asia’s most developed auto parts market and a hub for the likes of Toyota, Honda and Mercedes-Benz, making cars and car parts the country’s No. 1 export in 2012. The floods in 2011 disrupted more than 100 components makers.

Thailand is the second-largest exporter of computer hard drives and makers other components used in personal computers. Thailand’s electronics industry faces competition from China, Malaysia and Singapore. Important and fast-growing production industries are machinery and electric tools, furniture and wood products, canned food, and plastic products, while production industries that account for major export items are high-technology products such as integrated circuits and parts, hard disc drives, electrical appliances, vehicles, and vehicle parts. [Source: Thailand Foreign Office, The Government Public Relations Department]

In 2006 industry contributed 44.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) but employed only 23 percent of the workforce. This relationship is the opposite of the one applying to agriculture. Industry expanded at an average annual rate of 3.4 percent during the 1995–2004 period. The most important subsector of industry is manufacturing, which accounted for 34.5 percent of GDP in 2004. The industrial production growth rate in 2011 was -9.3 percent (2011 est.). country comparison to the world: 165. [Source: Library of Congress, CIA World Factbook]

Over the years Thai manufacturing has been plagued by low production and sloppy work; the manufacturing base was weak; and the component base of industry was foreign owned. Traditional village-level industries: sewing machine operation, blacksmithing, boat building. Brass, pottery and charcoal manufacturing. In Chiang Mai, hundred of highly-skilled women make fishing lures. Most are exported to the United States, which boats a $1-billion-a-year fly-fishing market.

Some companies that had factories in Thailand have switched their operations to China. Thailand and Malaysia took 10 years building their expertise, production base and infrastructure for a precision metalworks that could sell components to Swiss watchmakers. The Chinese took over the business in only a year. China is also creating a market for Thai goods.

In the 1980s, South Korea was leading manufacture of sports shoes and cheap textiles. These products are now made in China, Thailand and Indonesia while South Korea now manufactures semi-conductors and other high tech products. Thailand has hoped to follow a similar model.

Nike and Poor Working Conditions

Nikes are manufactured in Vietnam, China, Indonesia and Thailand. It has been criticized for hiring underage workers, paying subsistence wages, hiring abusive managed and exposing employees to dangerously high levels of toxic chemicals. Some Nike factories have been described as “little more than prison labor camps.” Employees work 72 hour weeks and can be fired for refusing over time. One study found that workers at factories that make Nikes and Reeboks, monitored in 1995 and 1997, earned as little as 10 cents an hour and toiled for up to 17 hours a day. In response to criticisms, Nike asserts it doesn’t make shoes, it subcontract the work.

Responding the criticism Nike promised to raise the age of employment to 18, improve safety use water-based rather solvent-based glues and use machines that do cause serious injuries. Some factories offer free day car and health checks and provide continuing education for their employees.

In 1998, Tim Larimer of Time wrote: “Nike’s factories in the region are above average…[We] found them to be clean, brightly lit and well-ventilated. Where the employees have to use foul-smelling glues, there are plenty of fans to carry the fumes.”

Mattel has a factory in Thailand See China

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London’s financial services industry is already planning to move business overseas due to the uncertainty of the Brexitprocess, the head of the British Bankers’ Association has warned.

Anthony Browne blamed fears that European Union (EU) politicians will want to erect trade barriers in an attempt to weaken the City of London during the Brexit negotiations for the planned moves.

Smaller banks could begin moving some operations overseas within weeks, with larger institutions following in the first few months of 2017, he predicted.

“Their hands are quivering over the relocate button,” he said.

Writing in The Observer, he said: “Banking is probably more affected by Brexit than any other sector of the economy, both in the degree of impact and the scale of the implications.

“It is the UK’s biggest export industry by far and is more internationally mobile than most. But it also gets its rules and legal rights to serve its customers cross-border from the EU.

“For banks, Brexit does not simply mean additional tariffs being imposed on trade – as is likely to be the case with other sectors. It is about whether banks have the legal right to provide services.”

The industry would like to see the continuation of the EU’s “passporting” regime, which allows financial services firms based in the UK to operate throughout Europe without seeking separate authorisation.

He warned that in European capitals and among British Eurosceptics “the rhetoric is hardening” and politics could trump the economic advantages of allowing the present system to remain relatively untouched.

“The problem comes – as seems increasingly likely, judging by the rhetoric – when national governments try to use the EU exit negotiations to build walls across the Channel to split Europe’s integrated financial market in two, in order to force jobs from London.

“From a European perspective, this would be cutting off its nose to spite its face.

“It might lead to a few jobs moving to Paris or Frankfurt but it will make it more expensive for companies in France and Germany to raise money for investment, slowing the wider economy.”

Banks have called for transition arrangements to be put in place after the UK leaves the EU but the uncertainty over the future – with years of negotiations with Brussels ahead – has left them with little option but to take steps to protect their futures.

Mr Browne said: “Banks might hope for the best but have to plan for the worst.

“Most international banks now have project teams working out which operations they need to move to ensure they can continue serving customers, the date by which this must happen and how best to do it.

“Their hands are quivering over the relocate button. Many smaller banks plan to start relocations before Christmas; bigger banks are expected to start in the first quarter of next year.

“London will survive as a global financial centre. Finance is inventive and will find a way through.

“But putting up barriers to the trade in financial services across the Channel will make us all worse off, not just in the UK but in mainland Europe.”

Find your dream home

According to Juniper Research, the global ride sharing market is estimated to grow to $6.5 billion by 2020 from $3.3 billion in 2015. North America is the biggest region in the industry and is expected to account for a third of the market share. Western Europe and Asia-Pacific, excluding Far East and China, are estimated to be the next big regions. While Uber maybe the biggest known brand worldwide, other local services are making a big impact in their respective regions. Billion Dollar Unicorn club member Careem is leading the market in the Middle East.

Careem’s Offerings

Dubai-based Careem was founded in 2012 by McKinsey alumni Mudassir Sheikha and Magnus Olsson. The service was initially set up as a web-based service for corporate car bookings. But as the market evolved, it transitioned to becoming an app that would allow individuals to book a car for hire. The company has expanded its geographic presence outside of Dubai as well. Today, its service is available in 11 countries and more than 52 cities in the Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan regions. It claims that it has 150,000 drivers in these countries and helps transport more than 6 million cab riders.

Careem’s Regulatory Concerns

Like Uber, Careem is also no stranger to regulatory controversies. Last year, local taxi drivers in Egypt claimed that Careem was operating without official taxi licenses and demanded government intervention. Luckily for the companies, the Egyptian government ruled in favour of Careem and Uber, thus allowing them to operate legally in the country.

However, things are not so rosy in Abu Dhabi. Ride sharing services of both Careem and Uber were suspended in August without indicating the reason. Earlier this month, Careem announced plans to relaunch its services in Abu Dhabi. It is also adding a new service called Careem Limo to operate under the regulations for limo services in Abu Dhabi. This will make Careem the only ride-hailing app service in the city.

Even in its home town Dubai, Careem has had to revisit its pricing options. Last month, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced a rule to impose some new charges on ride-hailing services. The Authority will be charging a surcharge of AED3 (~$0.82) per trip on Careem users. The surcharge is part of planned new regulations for transport services to deal with app-based ride-hailing platforms. Careem had earlier tied up with RTA in Dubai to allow users to book RTA taxis through the Careem app. The service is expected to be launched soon and will not be charged the surcharge.

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The smartphones that sit uncomfortably inside our pocket are now more powerful than the large desktop computers from 10 years ago. However, many people will tell you that these fantastic advances in technology are not always a sign of progress.

For example, anyone that remembers the days when the tank like Nokia 3310 ruled the world will scoff at our unusual modern ways. Back in simpler times, you didn’t have to worry about dropping your phone or constantly searching for a power socket to charge your phone, and it even fit in your pocket.

You didn’t feel the need to have to search for a game that you somehow buried on page 7 of your phone apps because the only game you played was called Snake. This was an era where reliability and resilience were rated much higher than shiny new gimmickry.

Sure, there was a reversal of fortune when the iPhone appeared on the scene, and we fell in love with mobile apps and screens that shatter just by looking at concrete. Eventually, Microsoft infamously acquired Nokia’s mobile phone business in 2014 for a whopping $7.17 billion in a move that would eventually be the kiss of death for the Nokia phone as we knew it.

According to Evan Blass, HMD Global Oy, the Finnish manufacturer with exclusive rights to market phones under the Nokia brand have an interesting announcement on the horizon. It appears there are plans to announce four handsets at Mobile World Congress later this month including the much loved Nokia 3310 that many still remember as the first phone they fell in love with.

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