Speaking at the inauguration ceremony held at the Hilton, country manager Michael Meba Selassie said the office will facilitate necessary procedures for patients and arrange their travel to the hospital in Bangkok.

She said the office will first send medical reports of patients to Bumrungrad Hospital before each patient leaves for Bangkok for the actual treatment. - The Nation

New Toshiba plant

Toshiba Corp will construct a factory in Thailand to boost the output of small-signal devices and other discrete semiconductor products, the Nihon Industrial Daily reported.

The electronics giant will spend two billion yen (Bt623 million) to build the new plant at the existing production site of Toshiba Semiconductor (Thailand), located on the outskirts of Bangkok, the business daily said.

The new facility will handle back-end processing of such products as small-signal and optical devices to meet growing demand from digital consumer electronics and cellular phone manufacturers in Asia.

Toshiba's sales of these products in fiscal 2006 are projected at 241 billion yen, or around 20 per cent of the overall sales from its semiconductor business. - The Nation

Phuket convention

The 19th Baba-Peranakan convention will be held in Phuket from December 1-3 under "The Golden Chain of the Baba Peranakan" theme. The three-day event will feature a seminar, exhibition and Peranakan show. Peranakan are local-born Chinese descendants. - The Nation