Thai firms honoured for improving relations with China
Cathay Pacific Airways has recognised two Thai companies for their contribution to business relations between Thailand and China in Asia's first Wing Awards.
Under an advisory panel consisting of representatives from the Chinese Embassy, the Thai-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and The Nation, the Hong Kong-based airline awarded two out of three possible Wing Awards. Yongyut Lujintanont, Cathay Pacific's sales and marketing manager for Thailand and Burma, said there were no suitable candidates for the Diamond Award for small and medium-sized enterprises with no more than 250 employees. The furniture manufacturer and exporter Decoy Plant won the Platinum Award for creativity,innovation and long-term commitment to doing business in Hong Kong and China. The company, founded in 1980 by Andrew and Kathy Yang, a Taiwanese husband-and-wife team, specialises in making furniture from rattan, metal and bamboo. It also reproduces antiques. Kathy Yang said that since the company moved 40 per cent of its operation to Fuzhou in China, it was able to streamline its work, reducing the production period from 75 t0 90 days in Thailand to 45 to 60 days in China. Decoy Plant is still based in Bangkok's Bang Kapi district, and Thailand accounts for 20 per cent of its total production. The Emerald Award for contribution to the community and environment in areas of operation went to Union Food Industry, a 30-year-old maker and exporter of sesame oil and seasonings to the United States. Over a period of 20 years in its Nantong village factory in Fuzhou, according to managing director Ananda Wangwanitkul, Union Food Industry has donated more than 9 million yuan (Bt40.72 million) to improve the welfare of the local community - a major reason the company clinched the award. Sompop Manarungsan of Chulalongkorn University's Institute of Asian Studies said that opportunities for Thai businesses in China were still plentiful, but the focus should be on understanding consumer behaviour and lifestyles. Exports from Thailand to China are now worth US$3.2 billion (Bt112 billion), while trade in the other direction totals $1.67 billion.
Ki Nan Tsui The Nation
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