The Commerce Ministry is hoping that the country's new government will implement laws to control the expansion of retail superstores.

 Siripol Yodmuangcharoen, director-general of the Internal Trade Department, said yesterday that the law was the only long-term solution to the "aggressive" expansion of those retailers.

 The department will soon send a report on its retail business control plan to the Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy (CDRM).

 "The ministry has to wait until a new government has been appointed to approve the draft of the Retail Business Act," Siripol said, adding that the law was almost ready to be implemented.

 The ministry has been drafting the act to control retail expansion since 2002. However, the Thaksin's cabinet rejected it, saying existing laws were sufficient to control large chains.

 The conflict between retail giants and small, local retailers has become a hot issue of late. A few weeks ago, a number of small retailer proprietors, who said their businesses had become unsustainable after major players opened shop in their areas, filed formal complaints with both the Commerce Ministry and The Office of His Majesty's Principle Private Secretary.

 The retail giants that would be constrained by the proposed law have expanded rapidly in the past few years. According to the ministry, the market share of traditional retailers in Thailand has decreased from 60 per cent in 2001 to 40 per cent in 2005, and is expected to fall to 30 per cent in 2007. Major retailers have expanded to 3,709 outlets in 2005 from 1,821 outlets in 2001.

Their numbers are projected to reach 5,408 outlets next year.

 The department met yesterdaywith the ministry's permanent secretary, Karun Kittisataporn, to hash out measures for controlling large retailers.

"The ministry is concerned about this problem and has ordered officials to seek ways to reduce conflicts between government agencies, multinational retail operators and small local retailers," he said.

 The ministry is scheduled to meet with major retailers today to try to find a short-term solution to protect small businesses. It also plans to set up a working group of government officials, consumer-protection agencies and representatives of both small and major retailers to seek a short-term response to the problem.

 Siripol said he hoped all retailers would cooperate in devising a solution. However, he said that some plans for slowing the expansion of retail giants might need to be revised to avoid affecting superstores or local retailers.

The Opposition to Multinational Business Union will today send a letter to the CDRM, asking it to suspend the expansion of multinational retailers, according to Panthep Suleesatira, a union coordinator.

 "Small retailers are afraid that multinational enterprises will use the vacuum [in the government] to accelerate their expansions. The government should swiftly implement the Retail Business Act to protect small businesses from being undermined by multinational retailers," Panthep said.

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation