Samart Corp's group of companies will slash its workforce 3-5 per cent at the end of the year in response to the bleak economic situation and to improve efficiency.

President Watchai Vilailuck said the lay-off plan targets "dead wood", or staff members with poor performance.

"I've instructed executives to devise promising business plans for their units, and their staff will have to show good performance. Those who fail to do so will lose their jobs," he said.

The Samart Group has 4,300 employees, 1,500 of whom work for a unit that provides a call-centre service. Staff salaries and benefits cost the group Bt63 million a month.

"We must be well prepared for this bearish economy," Watchai said, "but we're confident of achieving the group's total revenue target of Bt35 billion this year, up from an estimated Bt28 billion last year."

The group has yet to report its results from operations in last year's final quarter. The group operates a wide range of businesses, including mobile-phone sales, bidding for state telecom projects, air-traffic-control services and, lately, electricity production.

"We also plan to improve our staff efficiency through training programmes," Watchai said. "We've set aside Bt10 million for our human-resources development programme this year."

Samart regards Cambodia as its second home. It has created a strong businesses base here over the past 15 years, with a total investment of US$80 million (Bt2.81 billion).

Its first business in Cambodia was mobile-phone operator Cambodia Samart Communications, founded at a cost of $6 million in 1992. Samart divested its stake in Cambodia Samart to partner Telekom Malaysia in 2005.

In 2001, Samart spent $17.5 million to develop air-traffic-control operator Cambodia Air Traffic Services (Cats). Last year, Cats set up a wholly owned subsidiary, Kampot Power Plant, to supply electricity to Kampot Cement, a joint venture between Siam Cement and the Cambodian company Khaou Chuly that produces, distributes and sells ready-mixed concrete and cement-related products.

This year, Samart's Cambodian businesses are expected to yield Bt1 billion in revenues to the group, recovering from Bt700 million last year after achieving Bt1.323 billion in 2005. Its total Cambodian assets are valued at Bt1.8 billion.

Out of its total revenue forecast for this year, Bt27 billion will be contributed by handset distributor Samart i-Mobile, Bt5 billion will come from IT-product provider Samart Telcoms and the rest from Cats, Internet projects and the call centre.

Watchai hopes total group revenues will jump to Bt45 billion next year.

Samart is also upbeat about growth in its sales of security cameras, given the violence in Thailand's southernmost provinces and the new Year's Eve Bangkok bombings.

It targets revenues of Bt1.8 billion from the security-camera market, of which Bt600 million will come from home-owners and a similar amount from small- and medium-sized enterprises. Samart believes the total value of the security-camera market this year will be Bt3 billion.

Samart has aborted a plan to take over Portalnet, a subsidiary of major handset distributor M Link Asia, after signing a memorandum of understanding on the deal last year. The proposal ended because of a lack of progress in negotiations, said Watchai.

Samart Telcoms and Portalnet are in the same business of bidding for state IT projects.

Usanee Mongkolporn

The Nation

Siem Reap, Cambodia