DESPITE the economic uncertainty driven by the slowdown of the world economy, Saha Group, a diversified consumer-products company, plans to plough ahead with major investments in several joint-venture projects this year to pursue the new business opportunities presented by the liberalisation of Asean.
They include Arusu Myanmar, a joint venture formed by its subsidiary Thai Arusu and MK Group, which will expand the company's interior-design services for retail and office buildings in Myanmar.
"Myanmar is similar to Thailand about 30 years ago. The opening of Myanmar will lure many new business opportunities, including the inflow of foreign investors into the country. "The move leads to the boom of office buildings and retail outlets as well as interior design in the country," chairman Boonsithi Chokwatana said yesterday.Separately, a JV will be formed by Saha Patthana Inter-Holding, its investment arm, and MayFlower of Malaysia to offer diverse and comprehensive tour services for tourists to Thailand."Thailand's tourism is also another growing industry, especially for the in-bound travelling segment. "The joint venture with our Malaysian partner MayFlower will cash in on the new business opportunity for bringing their foreign tourists coming to Thailand and Malaysia as two connected destinations," he said.Another JV will be formed by President Foods and Japanese Ramen to operate a ramen restaurant chain in Thailand. Boonsithi urged the government to lead the private sector in injecting money into the economic system by speeding up the execution of its infrastructure and transportation projects, such as the high-speed railroads."The government is now on the right track in granting policies and measures to stimulate and grow the Kingdom's economy. "We believe that in the second half of this year, the purchasing power of individual consumers will gradually improve," he said.The country's food industry would be the first to rebound and would be followed by other daily necessities, including fast-moving consumer goods.Saha Group expects its revenue to rise 5-6 per cent this year, faster than the growth in gross domestic product of 3 per cent anticipated by the government.Saha's investment policy will also focus on food and textile products, especially on its textile facilities in Tak's Mae Sot district, to leverage the government's stimulus policy to promote private investment in border provinces under the special-economic-zone project."We will focus on increasing investment into the expansion of our textile facilities in Mae Sot, not only to benefit from the government's stimulus package, but also to cash in on cheap labour in the form of migrant workers from Myanmar," Boonsithi said.