http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200505/200505180007.html
Updated May.18,2005 14:15 KST Delegation from Malaysia in Seoul to Promote Malaysia Malaysia, the country in Southeast Asia is an attractive destination for many tourists with a successful brand-building campaign promoting its scenic beauty and diverse people. In 1999, when Malaysia's "Truly Asia" campaign was first launched, 8 million tourists visited the country, but by 2004, the annual number doubled to 16 million. A delegation led by Kamaruddin bin Siaraf, the director general at Tourism Malaysia, arrived in Seoul on Monday. "Our mission this time is to renew Malaysia's commitment, our commitment and support for the South Korean travel industry in the effort to promote Malaysia." Mr. Siaraf said with over 90,000 Koreans visiting Malaysia last year and some 35,000 already having visited in the first quarter this year, they plan to design special tours just for Koreans. "Besides the ordinary cultural diversity that we have -- multi-cultural, multi-ethnic -- we are going to go a little bit further. We want to go and promote -- promote to the very people -- the products liked by Koreans." The delegation also stressed if more Koreans visit Malaysia, interest in Korea will also grow, as well as Malaysian desire to visit Korea, leading to mutual benefits. Tourism Malaysia also plans to hold a week long "Malaysia Food Festival," including traditional dance from Thursday at Lotte Hotel in central Seoul. Arirang TV http://www.biz-day.com/read/bank_and_finance/18_may_05/g87yt-3/current_baht_level_supports_export_sector.htm 18 May 05 18:19 Current baht level supports export sector competitiveness Business Day THE Bank of Thailand (BoT) said the current level of the baht is supportive of the Thai export sector's competitiveness in the world market, adding that although currently the baht may be weak compared to the US dollar, the baht has still appreciated against both the euro and the yen. BoT governor Pridiyathorn Devakula also said the BoT would try to ensure the value of the baht compared to other major foreign currencies would not be too volatile. Pridiyathorn said that as far as he was concerned, there were no reports of a huge foreign capital outflow but there remain reports some foreign investors may opt to switch their investments from the local equity market to either the local bond market or other investment channels deemed as having attractive yields on their investments instead. The BoT has closely monitored the foreign currency exchange market, said Pridiyathorn, citing that these days the currency exchange rates in the world market have been highly volatile amidst expectation that China may opt to float its yuan within a limited range soon, while the US dollar itself has so far fluctuated against other major currencies. Under the present economic circumstances, the direction of the baht in the near future remains unpredictable, said Pridiyathorn. Nonetheless, Pridiyathorn said he remains optimistic that the BoT would try its best to make the baht less volatile so as to make the Thai export sector more competitive in the global trade market. At the same time, the BoT would try to maintain the country's foreign reserves at the current high level, said Pridiyathorn. 'Currently, the currency exchange rates in the world market have been highly volatile, with the US dollar gaining against some of the world major foreign currencies including the baht and the yen. In fact, the current level of the Thai baht is regarded as being within the middle range, compared to other major foreign currencies," Pridiyathorn told reporters. "Currently, the baht is weak, compared to the US dollar. But the baht has appreciated against both the euro and the yen. So, it might not be all correct an assumption to say that the Thai baht these days is rather weak, compared to other major foreign currencies," said Pridiyathorn. Pridiyathorn also said the current level of the baht is supportive of the Thai export sector's competitiveness in the world trade markets. Pridiyathorn also said from his recent meeting with a group of Thai exporters, most of them want to see the baht stay at the present level, which could enable them to ship more products to overseas markets on a continual basis. Pridiyathorn said whether the baht would be weak or gain against other major foreign currencies would also depend in part on how much of each foreign currency that BoT has so far accumulated in its foreign reserves. http://www.bangkokpost.com/Business/19May2005_biz68.php Food exports expected to climb 14% this year PHUSADEE ARUNMAS A chef slices a 120-centimetre artificial crabmeat stick, claimed to be largest in the world, at the Pacific Food Processing Co booth at ThaiFex yesterday. — BOONNARONG BHUDHIPANYA The outlook for the Thai food industry remains brisk, with exports targeted to grow by a healthy 14% this year, boosted by higher shipments of shrimp and processed chicken. According to Deputy Commerce Minister Suriya Larpwisuthisin, Thailand's food exports were expected to net the country about US$10.16 billion this year. He made the comment at the opening yesterday of ThaiFex: World of Food Asia 2005, being held at Muang Thong Thani until Sunday. With over 1,700 booths, the event aims to showcase the strengths and variety of the Thai food industry. Organisers include Export Promotion Department, the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the German exhibition organiser Koelnmesse GmbH. Mr Suriya said the strong growth in the food export industry would help Thailand achieve its target for total exports to grow 20% this year to $117 billion. He added that trade officials had been directed to work toward increased shipments of Thai fruit, particularly in China. Currently, Japan is Thailand's largest food export market, accounting for 19.11% of total shipments, with the United States next at 17.18%, Malaysia at 3.68%, the United Kingdom at 3.67%, Hong Kong at 3.31%, and other markets the rest. For the first quarter of this year, Thailand's food exports were valued at $2.439 billion, up 8.64% year-on-year. Among the key food export products are rice, shrimp, canned tuna and canned pineapples. ------------------------ Yahoo! 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