It's massive wave of whimsical design.
The "Seoul Design Olympiad" kicked off last year following the city's designation as World Design Capital 2010 by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design. The subtitle this year is "i Design", which promotes the idea that anyone is capable of creating and enjoying good design.
In the belief that design is the solution to the current economic recession, every venue of the Olympiad is hosting a market where visitors can buy and sell their own designs.
When: Ongoing until October 29
Where: Jamsil Sports Complex, Hangang Par & Sinsa-doing
Info: www.SDO.Seoul.go.kr
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
HomePro events
HomePro will hold two major events this quarter to drive sales to meet the annual target of Bt20 billion.
The first is the annual HomePro Expo from October 16-25. The company expects to realise Bt600 million in sales from it. The other is a year-end event-the super shock sale.
The first is the annual HomePro Expo from October 16-25. The company expects to realise Bt600 million in sales from it. The other is a year-end event-the super shock sale.
B3bn CK issue
Ch. Karnchang Plc (CK),the country's second- biggest listed construction company, plans to sell up to 3 billion baht worth of bonds.
The company will sell up to one billion baht in two-year bonds and 2 billion baht in four-year securities,it said in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday. The two-year bonds would offer a coupon rate of 5% and the four-year bonds between 5.40% and 6.20%, it said.
The company will sell up to one billion baht in two-year bonds and 2 billion baht in four-year securities,it said in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday. The two-year bonds would offer a coupon rate of 5% and the four-year bonds between 5.40% and 6.20%, it said.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Aussie firm shifts to Phuket
Australia-based swimming pool producer Autumn Solar Pty Ltd will shift its manufacturing base to Phuket to benefit from the Asean Free Trade Area.
The relocation involves a joint-venture with a local pool producer and investment of 50 million baht.
Managing director Steve Merrett said the move from Ulladulla, a coastal town in New South Wales, Australia, to Phuket would help reduce manufacturing costs by 15% to 20% due to lower wages,cheaper raw materials and savings in transportation costs.
The relocation would start this month by moving salt chlorination system production. Full production would be completed within two years when it will close its factory in Australia, he said.
The firm also plans to close a plastics factory in China which will shift to the new centre in Phuket, he said.
"It's an opportunity to have Thailand as our manufacturing base," he said."We can import materials from Australia with zero tax and export the products to China, our main market, and the rest of the world without tax as well."
The firm currently exports 90% of the equipment made at the Ulladulla plant to China, Thailand, Vietnam, Europe and the US. Autumn Solar had a turnover of US$55 million last year, he said.
The company yesterday announced a joint venture with JD Pools 2004(Thailand) which will establish a firm with registered capital of 50 million baht.
Thanusak Phungdet, chief executive of JD Pools, said the firm's factory in Phuket would double to 10,000 square metres with Autumn Solar's relocation.
The company plans to increase its exports from 20% of production to 50%in three years. It targets annual sales of 1 billion baht with the joint venture.
The Thai pool market this year is estimated at about 2 billion baht, up 10%to 15% on last year. JD Pools expects sales of 600 million baht this year, up 12% on 2008 but below its 15% target.
The relocation involves a joint-venture with a local pool producer and investment of 50 million baht.
Managing director Steve Merrett said the move from Ulladulla, a coastal town in New South Wales, Australia, to Phuket would help reduce manufacturing costs by 15% to 20% due to lower wages,cheaper raw materials and savings in transportation costs.
The relocation would start this month by moving salt chlorination system production. Full production would be completed within two years when it will close its factory in Australia, he said.
The firm also plans to close a plastics factory in China which will shift to the new centre in Phuket, he said.
"It's an opportunity to have Thailand as our manufacturing base," he said."We can import materials from Australia with zero tax and export the products to China, our main market, and the rest of the world without tax as well."
The firm currently exports 90% of the equipment made at the Ulladulla plant to China, Thailand, Vietnam, Europe and the US. Autumn Solar had a turnover of US$55 million last year, he said.
The company yesterday announced a joint venture with JD Pools 2004(Thailand) which will establish a firm with registered capital of 50 million baht.
Thanusak Phungdet, chief executive of JD Pools, said the firm's factory in Phuket would double to 10,000 square metres with Autumn Solar's relocation.
The company plans to increase its exports from 20% of production to 50%in three years. It targets annual sales of 1 billion baht with the joint venture.
The Thai pool market this year is estimated at about 2 billion baht, up 10%to 15% on last year. JD Pools expects sales of 600 million baht this year, up 12% on 2008 but below its 15% target.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
NO-DEPOSIT LOANS RETURN IN UK
Stuart Heathcote and his wife never intended to buy a house this year. Then the UK government offered an incentive that changed their minds: a no-money-down mortgage.
It was the head start they needed to sign a contract for a euro 135,000 (Bt7.11 million) three-bedroom house near Birmingham, the country's second-biggest city. Stuart, who works for the National Health Service, and his wife plan to move in before the end of January.
Easy credit is back in the UK, and this time the government and home-builders are making the loans. Seeking to recover from the worst recession in a generation, Britain is helping as many as 10,000 buyers obtain 100-per-crnt financing through a euro 300 million plan called Home-Buy Direct, at a time when mortgages are scarce and, according to professional services firm Ernst & Young, home prices will "stagnate" for at least two more years.
"It's a catastrophe waiting to happen," KBC Peel Hunt's home-building analyst Robin Hardy said of the plan. "If the only way a certain bit of the market can work is to lend deposits to those people who can't afford a house, it's being done for the industry and not for the first-time buyers."
More than 32.000 potential home-buyers have sought information about the loans, a sign that borrowers are not scared off by a home-price drop accompanied by rising foreclosures and defaults on high percentage loans that outstrip home values. There are currently no plans to expand the plan.
Britain's home-builders have also embraced Home-Buy Direct to revive sales. Barratt Developments, Persimmon, Miller Group and Redrow are offering a combined 7,000 homes through the plan, according to the companies.
"Generally, it has been very good for the industry," said Numis Securities' housebuilding analyst Chris Millington in London.
"It remove one of the main problems in the market and helps the new buyer. It has been quite a decent success."
It was the head start they needed to sign a contract for a euro 135,000 (Bt7.11 million) three-bedroom house near Birmingham, the country's second-biggest city. Stuart, who works for the National Health Service, and his wife plan to move in before the end of January.
Easy credit is back in the UK, and this time the government and home-builders are making the loans. Seeking to recover from the worst recession in a generation, Britain is helping as many as 10,000 buyers obtain 100-per-crnt financing through a euro 300 million plan called Home-Buy Direct, at a time when mortgages are scarce and, according to professional services firm Ernst & Young, home prices will "stagnate" for at least two more years.
"It's a catastrophe waiting to happen," KBC Peel Hunt's home-building analyst Robin Hardy said of the plan. "If the only way a certain bit of the market can work is to lend deposits to those people who can't afford a house, it's being done for the industry and not for the first-time buyers."
More than 32.000 potential home-buyers have sought information about the loans, a sign that borrowers are not scared off by a home-price drop accompanied by rising foreclosures and defaults on high percentage loans that outstrip home values. There are currently no plans to expand the plan.
Britain's home-builders have also embraced Home-Buy Direct to revive sales. Barratt Developments, Persimmon, Miller Group and Redrow are offering a combined 7,000 homes through the plan, according to the companies.
"Generally, it has been very good for the industry," said Numis Securities' housebuilding analyst Chris Millington in London.
"It remove one of the main problems in the market and helps the new buyer. It has been quite a decent success."
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
HI-TECH HELPS HOME-BUILDER GROW DESPITE SLUMP
Home-building firm the Season Home Group expects to achieve revenue of Bt1.1 billion this year, following the first nine months in which it recorded sales worth Bt800 million.
The company also believes its sales will grow at least 10 per cent next year, to reach Bt1.2 billion.
Season Home, which builds houses for customers who already own their own land, believes its success has come from developing its construction process and setting up a system to support business growth.
General manager Supitcha Chaipipat said the home-builders' market had suffered from the effects of the global economic downturn, starting last year.
However, Season Home has continued to record sales growth because it formed a subsidiary, Compact Home, in 2007 to manage a specific market segment for homes priced lower than Bt2.5 million.
During the economic downturn, demand for residences slightly, but demand for houses priced lower than Bt2.5 million continued to grow, she said.
Season Home, which builds more expensive homes, recorded sales of Bt480 million in the first nine months of this year, down 17.2 per cent from its earlier estimate of earnings reaching Bt580 million. But the subsidiary, Compact Home, recorded sales of Bt320 million in the first nine months, 38.9-per-cent higher than the earlier estimate of sales worth Bt230 million.
The group's combined revenue from the first nine months is thus Bt800 million, or just 1.2 per cent short of Bt810 million.
Season Home Group now believes it will record sales averaging Bt100 million per month in the final quarter of the year, dirving the total figure to reach its target of Bt1.1 billion before the end of the year, Supitcha said.
She said her company believed its sales would grow nearly 10 per cent in 2010, to reach Bt1.2 billion. It is planning to release 30 newly designed models - 20 of them costing more than Bt3 million and the remaining 10 models, less than Bt2.5 million per unit.
The company has developed its construction system to meet high standards by using the latest construction technologies. For example, it uses cement-and paint-spraying devices, auto-levelling lasers and thermo-hygrometers for measuring temperature and relative humidity when building new homes.
Supitcha said that when the company used new technology in its construction process, the time taken to build a house was reduced and the finished residence had higher quality. By reducing the time for delivering new houses to customers, the company was able to maintain a net profit margin of about 10 per cent, she said.
The company has also spent Bt10 million to develop an enterprise resource planning system to help manage its business costs with the latest information technology. Among other things, the system will manage its logistics process, delivering construction raw materials to building sites. This will help the company to cut its logistics costs and manage construction time. It will start using the system next year.
At present, after signing a contract, the company takes about four months to build and deliver a house priced lower than Bt2.5 million to a customer. The time is about six months for residences priced above Bt2.5 million.
The company has developed its construction-management system in order to compete effectively with other home-builders in an environment of high competition.
When the company launches new residential models, other home-builders copy them as soon as they can, so Season Home has to manage its construction system and its quality standards as the strong point of its business, Supitcha said.
"Season Home has continued to record sales growth because it formed a subsidiary, Compact Home, in 2007 to manage a specific market segment for homes priced lower than Bt2.5 million."
The company also believes its sales will grow at least 10 per cent next year, to reach Bt1.2 billion.
Season Home, which builds houses for customers who already own their own land, believes its success has come from developing its construction process and setting up a system to support business growth.
General manager Supitcha Chaipipat said the home-builders' market had suffered from the effects of the global economic downturn, starting last year.
However, Season Home has continued to record sales growth because it formed a subsidiary, Compact Home, in 2007 to manage a specific market segment for homes priced lower than Bt2.5 million.
During the economic downturn, demand for residences slightly, but demand for houses priced lower than Bt2.5 million continued to grow, she said.
Season Home, which builds more expensive homes, recorded sales of Bt480 million in the first nine months of this year, down 17.2 per cent from its earlier estimate of earnings reaching Bt580 million. But the subsidiary, Compact Home, recorded sales of Bt320 million in the first nine months, 38.9-per-cent higher than the earlier estimate of sales worth Bt230 million.
The group's combined revenue from the first nine months is thus Bt800 million, or just 1.2 per cent short of Bt810 million.
Season Home Group now believes it will record sales averaging Bt100 million per month in the final quarter of the year, dirving the total figure to reach its target of Bt1.1 billion before the end of the year, Supitcha said.
She said her company believed its sales would grow nearly 10 per cent in 2010, to reach Bt1.2 billion. It is planning to release 30 newly designed models - 20 of them costing more than Bt3 million and the remaining 10 models, less than Bt2.5 million per unit.
The company has developed its construction system to meet high standards by using the latest construction technologies. For example, it uses cement-and paint-spraying devices, auto-levelling lasers and thermo-hygrometers for measuring temperature and relative humidity when building new homes.
Supitcha said that when the company used new technology in its construction process, the time taken to build a house was reduced and the finished residence had higher quality. By reducing the time for delivering new houses to customers, the company was able to maintain a net profit margin of about 10 per cent, she said.
The company has also spent Bt10 million to develop an enterprise resource planning system to help manage its business costs with the latest information technology. Among other things, the system will manage its logistics process, delivering construction raw materials to building sites. This will help the company to cut its logistics costs and manage construction time. It will start using the system next year.
At present, after signing a contract, the company takes about four months to build and deliver a house priced lower than Bt2.5 million to a customer. The time is about six months for residences priced above Bt2.5 million.
The company has developed its construction-management system in order to compete effectively with other home-builders in an environment of high competition.
When the company launches new residential models, other home-builders copy them as soon as they can, so Season Home has to manage its construction system and its quality standards as the strong point of its business, Supitcha said.
"Season Home has continued to record sales growth because it formed a subsidiary, Compact Home, in 2007 to manage a specific market segment for homes priced lower than Bt2.5 million."
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