Friday 23.10.2009 - Chulalongkorn Day – ideal time for a long weekend on endless white sandy beaches!!

Saturday 5.12.2009 - King's Birthday – our office will be closed on Monday 7.12 as a replacement day.

Annual Salary Increases 2009

AMCHAM THAILAND sponsored this year a customized Compensation and Benefits survey for members to capture the market movements in pay for selected positions and understand the impact of the economic climate to participating companies' decisions. The data were collected in June and analyzed by Hewitt Thailand.

• We note that the average salary increase given in 2009 was at 4.3%, ranging from 3.0% (at Lower Quartile) to 5.6% (at Upper Quartile).This increase is low compared to previous years, indicating that companies are continuing to tightly manage their budgets amidst the ongoing crisis.

• The average increase by level is broadly the same across all levels

• From the participating companies, we see many have chosen to implement salary freezes. Analyzing by level, we find the highest salary freeze is at the Top Management level (39%). 18% of companies indicated that there was no salary increase across all levels of employees

Projected Salary Increases 2010

The Chemical industry had the highest increases in 2009 and also is projected to have the highest increases in 2010. The Banking/Finance/Insurance industry indicates low actual increases in 2009 and also expects to provide low increases in 2010.

The Automotive industry shows the biggest positive change in salary increase from 4.0% in 2009 to 5.9% projected in 2010. This industry has been drastically affected by the global crisis but is now seeing signs of recovery both in the U.S. as well as in Asia-Pacific. As the demand for vehicles increases with China and India taking the lead, the export sector for Thailand also recovers. Therefore, higher projections for 2010 increases are warranted considering the better expectations for this industry.

For more detailed function related salary data, please visit our website www.geminipersonnel.com

In reaction to Hong Kong or Singapore headquartered clients with a Representative Office in Thailand, we thought it useful to clarify the rules on work permits for foreigners.

The number of foreigners a rep office is allowed to employ depends upon the job description of the "ferangs":

• Up to two if they give advice or information concerning the products or services from the head office

• Up to five if they control or manage the goods purchased or produced in Thailand on behalf of the head office

It's all about money –

The above number limits are waived in case the head office purchases more than 100 mio baht in Thai goods or services!

And IN ANY CASE you only need to have one Thai employee on your payroll per foreigner employed (in comparison with a Thai company limited where the rule is 4 Thai per foreigner on the payroll)

In case you need more information call our office on +66 2 65 08977

It's all about money –

Access to capital is essential for the recovery of the Thai economy and the survival of your business. In economies such as Thailand, capital is generally provided in the form of (debt) loans rather than equity. But lenders won't lend unless they are assured they will be repaid, and collateral is often necessary to provide such assurance.

The Government has now proposed a new Business Security Act which will affect both lenders and creditors: this Act is intended to facilitate asset based financing of businesses.

This is very good news for many SMEs since the new proposed law is largely intended to open up and encourage exactly the type of financing used most by SMEs in other jurisdictions. More news to follow.

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