Saha Group acquires Erawan Textile

The Saha Group last month took over Erawan Textile for more than Bt1 billion from Marubeni, which was rocked by the strong baht and decided to exit the business.

"Acquiring Erawan Textile will give the Saha Group a complete production line for its textile business, from thread spinning and dyeing to garments," Saha Group chairman Boonsithi Chokwatana said yesterday.

The Saha Group now holds more than 70 per cent of the shares in Erawan Textile, a major manufacturer of spun yarns and fabrics, while 30 per cent still remains in the hands of small investors.

Erawan Textile's factory on 140 rai of land on Poochao Samingphrai Road has been in business for 40 years and employs more than 900 workers.

Boonsithi said the current government was losing its way in managing the economy, particularly in terms of baht appreciation and high interest rates.

Some mismanagement factors, such as the volatile baht and political instability, would make Thailand unattractive to foreign investors, he said.

Many investors, particularly from Japan, have frozen their projects here and instead turned to more appealing countries like Vietnam.

"The government tried to push up the interest rate to counter inflation. However, the high interest rate will severely erode the buying power of consumers. The baht ap-preciation, on the other hand, will destroy exports," he said, adding that he would be quite satisfied if the baht settled at 34-35 to the US dollar.

Devaluing the baht and lowering interest rates would bring new investment and money from exports, and that would help people, particularly among the grass roots, to enjoy higher income and spending power, he said.

"We should not panic over the high-inflation issue, because that is not from a shortage of supply, but rather has been pushed by increases in production costs driven by hikes in petrol and raw-material prices in particular," he said.

"Strong inflation has struck all major markets globally. The Thai middle class will be affected by this high inflation, but they should take this opportunity to adjust their lifestyles to cope with higher living costs," he said.

"Thailand has a strong local food industry and other industrial sectors. We have not relied on other things except fuel, which needs to be imported. We should take this opportunity to manage our production costs more effectively, boost our exports and bring the baht back to the country," he said.

The 12th Saha Group Export and Trade Exhibition will be held from June 27-29 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, with more 1,000 products from the group available at special prices.