Here’s the comparison. Siam Commercial’s cost ($81-$110 average per LC) is lower than the $500/LC number provided to me in the survey questionnaire earlier this year, so I hope the Thailand team can verify again and explain the difference.
Based on the latest cost, Stanchart cost is still lowest cost provider. But we need to adjust the savings to take into account the difference in days to cash (from LC submission to cash receipt) as well as logistics cost (distance to their processing center). Other considerations in favor of Stanchart include benefit of standardization across AMEIA (account management, IT platform for tracking LC status, cost incurred etc).
Bruno, perhaps you should have a conversation with the Thailand team when you visit them later this month. Let me know if you want me to be in the conversation (via webex). Thanks.