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Profile of top rubber parts and hose producer in
Thailand
By Jon Fernquest
[Download: MP3
Audio for article starting below]
 Today's
Bangkok Post profiles one of Thailand's top rubber producers: NCR Rubber located in Rayong.
The article begins
after the vocabulary.
Photo on right of rubber water hoses
stacked in the factory before being shipped out to customers.
NCR Rubber - a
rubber parts company
located in Rayong that opened its first factory in 1962 and produces
many products including "industrial and automotive rubber hoses,
mandrel-built hoses, rubber expansion joints, marine fenders, bridge
bearing pads, rubber and sponge profiles, silicone tubes and profiles,
and moulded rubber parts" (See website)
ยาง
rubber - a highly elastic substance
used to cushion blows (See Wikipedia on natural
rubber from trees and synthetic
man-made rubber)
hose - a
long hollow tube used to carry fluids (such as water) from one location
to another location (See photo on right and Wikipedia)
สายยาง
hollow - having
nothing inside เป็นโพรง,เป็นหลุม
fluid - a
liquid (a subtance that can flow, has no fixed shape and not a solid or
gas ( น้ำ
but not just "water")
elastic - a
material that stretches easily and returns to its original shape
quickly (See Wikipedia)
cushion a blow - reducing
the force of one thing hitting another thing (example: the rubber
bumpers on the front and rear of the bus reduce damage if the bus hits
something)
profile - a
short article or video programme describing the life and work of a
person or organization
Economics
Rubber parts demand on rise
Maker
sees sales double in three
years
13/09/2010
Walailak
Keeratipipatpong
N.C.R.
Rubber Co,
one of Thailand's largest rubber product manufacturers, is upbeat about the continued bright outlook for construction, projecting its sales to
double to 6 billion baht over the next three years.
There are about two to
three metres of rubber hose in a car. Though they are tiny, a vehicle could not run without them,’’
Mr Suwat said.
The construction
boom,
driven by the economic
recovery and
the government's plan to continue with massive infrastructure projects, particularly mass transit, benefits raw
construction materials industries, said NCR managing
director Suwat Boonbandansook.
demand
- the need and desire to buy goods and services by households and
businesses
double - to become twice as big, twice as much or
twice as many เพิ่มเป็นสองเท่า
upbeat - happy and positive because you
are confident that you will get what you want มีความหวัง
outlook - what people think will happen in the
future อนาคตที่คาดไว้ ภาพรวม อนาคต
bright outlook - people think the future will be
good
construction - the work of building or making
something, especially buildings, bridges, etc. การก่อสร้าง
vehicle - a car, bus, van, truck, etc. ยานพาหนะ
construction boom - time
when many buildings are being built
economic recovery - when the economy gets better
(more jobs, higher incomes) การฟื้นฟูสภาพ
massive - very large มหาศาล, ใหญ่โต
infrastructure - the high-cost facilities that
everyone in the economy shares (water, roads, electricity, trains)
สาธารณูปโภค
mass - large numbers จำนวนมหาศาล
transit - the act of moving from one place to
another การเดินทางผ่าน
mass transit - transportation
system such as buses, subway and/or trains, moving large numbers of
people around a city (See Wikipedia on public
transport and rapid
transit)
benefit (verb) - when an activity does good things
for someone ผลประโยชน์
raw - materials in their natural state before being
processed or used in manufacturing
construction materials -
building materials, materials such as cement, concrete and iron bars,
rods and girders used to build buildings (See Wikipedia)
For example, the
government's promotion of gasohol fuel helps the company because it
is the first gasohol fuel hose producer in Thailand.
The product can accommodate either E20 or E85 gasohol
pumps and
beefs
up NCR's role in the automotive industry.
For decades its joint venture, Bridgestone NCR Co, with the
Japanese tyremaker Bridgestone manufactured non-tyre rubber products
such as air-conditioning hoses and anti-vibration rubber parts.
promotion
- giving an employee a higher position or job than they already have
gasohol fuel - a mixture of
ethanol with gasoline (See Wikipedia on common
ethanol fuel mixtures)
producer - a company that makes a certain product in
their factories ผู้ผลิต
accommodate - is able to accept (here: able to
accept gasohol as fuel to make the car work)
ethanol - "the most widely
used renewable biofuel today. Ethanol is made by converting starch
crops into sugars, the sugars are fermented into ethanol which is then
distilled into its final form" (See Wikipedia onethanol
fuel)
E20 - 20%
ethanol mixed with 80% gasoline
E85 - an
ethanol fuel mixture of around 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, widely
used as a fuel in Brazil and Sweden, becoming increasingly common in
the United States, mainly in the Midwest where corn is a major crop,
there are about 1500 gasoline stations selling E85 to the public in the
US (See Wikipedia)
eco
fuel, alternative fuels, biofuels, biofuel substitutes for gasoline -
gasoline substitutes such as ethanol from agricultural crops such as
sugar, corn, cassava, or palm oil (See Wikipedia on biofuels,biodiesel,
and list
of energy crops)
gasoline pumps - the
machine at a gas station used to put gasoline into cars
gasohol
pumps - like gasoline pumps but puts gasohol in cars
instead
beefs up - makes
greater, strengthens
role - the position or purpose that someone or
something has in a situation, organisation, society or relationship
บทบาท
decades - periods of ten years เป็นสิบๆปี
joint - do some activity or project
together; belonging to or shared between two or more people
ความร่วมมือกัน
venture - a new activity, usually in business, which
involves risk or uncertainty ธุริกิจเสี่ยงแต่สามารถทำกำไรได้
vibration - a
very small shaking movement that is fast and continuous
"There
are about two to three metres of rubber hose in a car. Though they are
tiny, a vehicle could not run without them," Mr Suwat said.
Government plans for
more mass rapid transit in the capital with 88 billion baht worth of
extension lines, as well as the Rangsit-Bang
Sue route that costs about 70 billion
baht, should benefit the company as it supplies
bridge bearing parts, pot bearings, and rubber expansion joints for heavy-use industries.
mass rapid transit - same as
"mass transit" above (but stressing that it is "quick")
rapid - very fast, happening quickly อย่างรวดเร็ว
capital - money invested in a business
extension - an increase in the power of effect of
something ขยายขอบเขตออกไป
extension lines - extra
train lines to go to more places farther away
route
- the way that planes, buses, trains, or ships travel regularly
เส้นทางของรถ เรือ เครื่องบิน,etc.
benefit - to help someone มีประโยชน์ต่อ
bearing - a
mechanical part that separates moving parts and is able to bear a load
(See Wikipedia)
bear a load - carry
or holding up something heavy
bridge bearing - (civil engineering) "The support at a
bridge pier carrying the weight of the bridge; may be fixed or seated
on expansion rollers" (Source: Answers.com)
pot bearings -
(civil engineering) another kind of "bearing" (See
article, challenge: find definition of this term on the web)
expansion
- when something increases in size, number or importance การขยายออก
joint - a
connection, a place where two parts of something are connected
The
improved economy and the infrastructure programme has attracted more
foreign investment to Thailand and NCR has been
a recipient, helped by its 50 years in
business with an intensive strategy to brand itself as a hose specialist.
NCR now uses para and
synthetic rubber to feed its 5,000-tonne annual production
capacity,
which mainly produces 12-13 million metres of hose for domestic and export markets. Its
export markets cover 55 countries, in 25 of which it sells products
under the NCR brand. Overseas markets will contribute a significant chunk of the company's 3 billion
baht in sales revenue this year, he said.
investment
- taking your money and putting it into projects to make a profit or
earn interest (buying stock shares, bonds, real estate)
recipient - a
person who receives something
intensive - involving a lot of effort, energy, or
attention
strategy - a plan to achieve a goal over a longer
period of time (longer than a "tactic")
brand (noun) - a type of product made by a
particular company ตรา, ยี่ห้อ
brand (verb) - create a name for some product (so
people can start identifying it and thinking about it)
annual - happening once a year ประจำปี
production capacity - the amount of something that
can be produced ความสามารถในการ (ผลิต)
domestic - ในประเทศ within the country
contribute - when one person among many gives things
(resources) to a project
significant - important สำคัญ
chunk - a part of something
contribute a significant
chunk - give many important things (resources) to a
project
revenue - income from taxes or business activities
รายได้
Demand this year
ensures the company will be able to increase production at its manufacturing
facility in
Rayong by 25% next year to supply more than 14 million metres of hose.
The company aims to increase sales of NCR brand products to 40
countries within three years.
Kenya is the latest destination with strong
market potential
because of the mining industry, which requires strong mandrel-built
hoses.
The company uses natural rubber products from the
South, where white, fine quality
rubber is
made.
Our products are found
in gardening hoses, fire
extinguishers,
and even insecticide cans that use premium grade
rubber,"
he said.
However, he manages
the risk stemming
from volatile para rubber prices by
allowing the use of synthetic rubber in the production process.
facility
- a building used for a particular purpose
manufacturing facility - a
factory, a building used for making goods (manufacturing goods)
destination - the place where someone is going
จุดหมายปลายทาง
destination -
a place where tourists go
potential - the possibility of success ที่มีศักยภาพ
ที่เป็นไปได้
strong market potential -
has a good chance of being sold to many customers in a market (and
gaining a large market share of the market)
natural - found in nature (not made in a factory by
humans) ตามธรรมชาติ
fine quality rubber - high quality rubber
fire extinguishers - a
can of chemicals used to spray on a fire, to end (put out) the fire
insecticide - chemicals
to kill insects
premium - the highest (the highest price for the
highest quality)
premium grade - the
highest level of quality of a product offered by a company
premium grade rubber - the
highest level of quality of rubber you can buy
risk - danger, how likely or possible it is for a
bad event that causes harm and damage ความเสี่ยง
stemming from - coming
from, being caused by
volatile - changing quickly and unpredictably, so
that the public does not know how to react and plan for the future
เปลี่ยนแปลงอย่างทันทีทันใดและโดยคาดการณ์ไม่ได้
volatile - sudden and unexpected large movements
(unpredictable)
process - a series of actions that you take in order
to achieve a result แนวทางปฏิบัติ, กระบวน, วิธีการ
(Source: Bangkok Post, Rubber
parts demand on rise, Maker
sees sales double in three
years, 13/09/2010,
Walailak Keeratipipatpong, link)
CAT's labour union using
lawsuits to block Thailand's September 3G auction
By Jon Fernquest
[Download: MP3
Audio for
article starting below]
 Will
the never ending legal battle over how the 3G pie of economic
rents
will be divided ever end?
CAT and TOT are Thailand's two monolithic state run
telecommunications monopolies.
They depend largely on
mobile phone concession fees paid to them from mobile
phone operators such as AIS and DTAC for their continued existence.
Many argue that these
two gigantic monopolies should at least be scaled down to a size more commensurate
with
their contribution to the economy, if not eliminated entirely.
Thailand
is finally slated to have a 3G auction on September 20 but CAT's labour union is trying hard to block the
auction with a barrage of lawsuits.
That is what today's
article is about which begins after the vocabulary below.
Photo on right is
CAT's corporate headquarters in Bangkok.
3G -
third generation mobile phone, the next level of
mobile phone services
beyond the current second generation (2G), supports broadband internet,
supports greater numbers of voice and data customers especially in
urban areas (See Wikipedia
on 3G)
economic rent - excess
returns above normal levels or what is really needed because
there is a lack of competition in a market and some participants have
exclusive privileges, more technically in economics the definition
runs, "an excess distribution to any factor in a production process
above the amount required to draw the factor into the process or to
sustain the current use of the factor" or "a return in excess of the
resource owner's opportunity cost"
(See Wikipedia)
CAT, CAT Telecom - the
Thai state-owned telecommunications company that owns Thailand’s
international telecommunications infrastructure including its
international gateways, satellite and submarine cable networks
connections. Until recently, CAT had a monopoly on international
telephony and CDMA mobile telephony. CAT partners with sister
state-enterprise TOT to provide a GSM mobile service and with Hutchison
to provide a CDMA mobile service. Corporatized in July 2003, CAT
Telecom used to be known as the Communications Authority of Thailand
(See Wikipedia)
monolithic - a
very large and powerful organization or system that is not willing to
change
telecommunications - dealing
with telephones
การโทรคมนาคม หมายถึง การสื่อสารทางไกลโดยใช้โทรศัพท์ เคเบิล โทรทัศน์
วิทยุและโทรเลข
monopoly - a
company that has complete control over a market for a service or a good
because it is the only company that provides it
concession - official permission from the government
to do a certain type of business or activity สัมปทาน
scaled down
- reduced in size
commensurate with... - suitable
and matching the value or position of...
auction - a usually public sale of goods or
property, where
people make higher and higher bids (= offers of money) for each thing,
until the thing is sold to the person who will pay most
การขายโดยการประมูล, การขายทอดตลาด (See Wikipedia)
labour union - an
organization that represents workers in an industry trying to get them
better pay, benefits and work conditions (See Wikipedia)
barrage - an
attack with guns fired and bombs dropped for a long period of time
lawsuit - a case that a court of law is asked to
decide
involving a disagreement between two people or organisations
คดีที่อยู่ในระหว่างการฟ้องร้อง
Local News
3G hopes face new legal hurdle
Union wants CAT to ask
court to halt
licence bid
9/09/2010
Post Reporters
Thailand's hopes for third
generation mobile
phone
services face another potential legal
obstacle
after CAT Telecom's labour union said it will pressure the company to file a lawsuit with the Administrative
Court to
stop the auction of 3G licences on Sept 20.
The court yesterday dismissed a lawsuit by the union to stall the process on the
grounds that the union was not directly
damaged and therefore did not have the right to file the case.
third generation mobile phone - same
as "3G" above
licence - official permission from government to do
a business or some activity
3G licence - official
permission from the government for a company to sell 3G mobile phone
service
hurdle - a problem that you must solve before you
can do something successfully อุปสรรค
legal hurdle - a
legal problem that must be solved before a project can go forward
halt - to stop หยุด
bid - an attempt to do something ความพยายาม
potential - possible ความเป็นไปได้
obstacle - a difficulty or problem that prevents you
from achieving something อุปสรรค ขวากหนาม
legal obstacle - a legal problem that prevents you
from achieving your goal
pressure - trying to force someone to do something
file - to take official action, in this case, to
make an official complaint ยื่นคำร้อง
Administrative Court - the
court which deals with disputes between the private sector and
government agencies ศาลปกครอง
dismiss - official decision by a court that a legal
case in the court should end and not continue
stall - when a process stops temporarliy due to
problems
process - a series of actions that you take in order
to achieve a result แนวทางปฏิบัติ, กระบวน, วิธีการ
stall the process -
prevent the process from completing
grounds - reasons for what you say or do
บนมูลเหตุว่า บนพื้นฐานว่า
on the grounds that... -
for the reason that...
The union claimed in
its lawsuit that the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) did
not have the authority to organise the auction. It
sought provisional legal protection for CAT
Telecom while its petition
was being heard in court.
The Administrative
Court said in its ruling yesterday
the CAT union was not directly damaged by the auction. The union was
merely a juristic body that was set up to protect the interests of employees, not of the
company.
Both the private
mobile phone operators and the national telecom regulator expressed relief after learning of the court's
ruling.
authority
- the power to make decisions or tell people what to do อำนาจ,
อำนาจในการสั่งการ
provisional - for the present time but likely to
change; temporary ชั่วคราว,เฉพาะกาล
petition - to ask someone in authority to do
something ยื่นคำร้อง
petition - a formal request for action to be taken,
made to a court of law การยื่นอุทธรณ์
ruling - a decision by a court of law คำตัดสิน
คำชี้ขาด
interests - connections that you may benefit from or
lose from, therefore affects your attitude to it and the way you deal
with it
operators - companies running a certain kind
of business
national - for the whole country, all over the whole
country
telecom - telecommunications, dealing with
telephones
การโทรคมนาคม หมายถึง การสื่อสารทางไกลโดยใช้โทรศัพท์ เคเบิล โทรทัศน์
วิทยุและโทรเลข
regulator - an official who makes certain that the
companies who operate a system work effectively and fairly
ผู้มีอำนาจควบคุม
relief - a feeling of happiness that something
unpleasant has not happened or has ended การผ่อนคลาย
The 3G bid is scheduled to kick off on Sept 20 with three market
leaders - Advanced Info, Total Access Communications and True Move - taking part.
However, CAT union
leader Sukhum Chuenmana said CAT Telecom could still exercise
its legal right
as a directly
damaged party
even though the Administrative Court had dismissed the union's case.
The union will
pressure the company's board to file a lawsuit. It will
also discuss whether it should petition the Ombudsman's Office to ask
the Constitution Court to rule whether NTC had the legal
authority to organise the 3G auction.
The union believed the
authority belonged to the National
Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), which is due to be formed
when the Frequency
Allocation bill
is passed into law
scheduled
- planned to happen at a particular time or day ตามตารางเวลา
kick off - start
taking part -
joining in an activity
legal rights - things that you should get according to
the law สิทธิ ...
exercise legal right -
take action to get what the law says your should have
party - one of the people or groups of people
involved in an official argument, arrangement or similar situation
คู่กรณี
direct -
event U happens and affects Z immediately
indirect - event
U happens then affects V which affects W which affects ..... and so on
... until it affects Z
directly damaged party - the
person who suffered the first damage or harm
board - board or directors, the highest governing
group in a company or organization, the group that sets the high level
policy for the organization
rule - (of a court or other group with similar
authority) to make and announce a decision ตัดสิน, พิพากษา, ชี้ขาด
bill - a written document containing a proposal for
a new law ญัตต
ิNational Broadcasting
and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) - a
proposed combined telecoms and broadcasting regulator
Frequency Allocation bill - a
proposed law (See next entry)
Radio Frequency Allocation Act - the
Thai law regarding the allocation of frequencies or spectrum to
different uses and businesses
Both TOT Plc and CAT Telecom stand to be hit hard if 3G mobile phone
licences are issued. Their core revenue comes from 2G concession holders now competing for the
3G licences.
He said the dispute over the 2G spectrum raged on. The NTC wanted to reclaim the 2G phone frequencies but
CAT had argued it should retain the frequencies if its 2G
concession was terminated.
The
Finance Ministry is proposing the replacement of the 2G mobile concessions
CAT and TOT have issued to private operators with new licences being valid for 15 years - the same
period as those to be issued under 3G.
Presently, three
mobile operators are providing 2G cellular service
under the concessions of TOT and CAT. The concessions are due to expire over the next three to eight
years.
TOT - a
Thai state-owned telecommunications company. Originally established in
1954 and corporatized in 2002, TOT's main line of business is fixed
line telephony, although it has several other businesses, including
mobile telephony. (See Wikipedia)
stand to be... - it
will likely happen that...
issued - made available ออกใหม่
core - most important แก่น สิ่งที่สำคัญที่สุด
revenue - income from taxes or business activities
รายได้
concession - official permission from the government
to do a certain type of business or activity สัมปทาน
dispute - fight, argument, a serious disagreement
การโต้เถียง, ความขัดแย้ง ข้อพิพาท
spectrum - a range of radio waves used for radio
communications ความถี่คลื่นวิทยุที่ใช้ในการสื่อสาร
raged on - continued
in an angry fashion
reclaim - to take back something that was yours
เรียกกลับคืน, เอากลับ
retain - keep
terminated - ended
replacement - something that takes the place of
another ผู้การทำหน้าที่แทน, การทำหน้าที่แทน
valid - legally accepted ชอบด้วยกฎหมาย
expire - to come to an end or stop being in use
หมดอายุ
(Source: Bangkok Post, 3G hopes face new legal hurdle, Union wants CAT to ask
court to halt
licence bid, 9/09/2010, Post Reporters, link)
Protecting against
credit card fraud
in Thailand
By Jon Fernquest
[Download: MP3
Audio for
the article starting below]
 The
system for making credit card payments in Thailand appears
to be much less secure than it could be.
Dan Sambandaraksa
provides a thorough analysis of the problem in this week's Database section of the Bangkok Post.
Security standards set
by the Payment
Card Industry (PCI)
are not being followed.
Note also that
recently there was a crackdown on foreign criminals using
Thailand as a transnational
crime
base for such activities as electronic
banking fraud
(Read articles #1 (16-03-2009) and #2 (10-08-10)).
Today's article begins
after the vocabulary.
Photo on right of Farang
man with too many credit cards.
credit
- loans
credit card - a plastic card used to buy things
with, the money is loaned to the credit card holder until they pay it
back (See Wikipedia)
fraud - the crime of gaining money by tricking or
lieing การโกง การตุ้มตุ๋น (See Wikipedia)
electronic banking fraud - using
the internet to trick people into providing their secret bank account
passwords and then using them to withdraw money from accounts (SeeWikipedia
on "Phishing" or identity theft)
transnational crime - when
a criminal or gang engages in crime in many different countries
อาชญากรรมข้ามชาติ
international credit card data theft - stealing
credit card data via the internet and computer networks in order to use
it to steal money from people's credit card accounts (See Wikipedia)
PCI - Payment Card Industry, all the different
types of cards used by consumers such as credit cards, ATM cards, debit
cards and prepaid cards and all the businesses associated with
these cards (See Wikipedia)
secure - safe from attack or harm ปลอดภัย
security
- the activity of making safe or protecting from harm
data security - making
data stored on a computer safe
Payment Card Industry
Data Security Standard - "a worldwide information security
standard defined by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards
Council. The standard was created to help payment card industry
organizations that process card payments prevent credit card fraud
through increased controls around data and its exposure to compromise"
(See Wikipedia)
Tech News
The Thai way of doing
things
8/09/2010
Don Sambandaraksa
[PCI is a key system used around
the world for protecting people against
credit card fraud but some Businesses in
Thailand do not take this system
seriously. Don Sambandaraksa explains
how the system works.]
...The payment card
industry (from whence the PCI compliance standard gets its name) has gone to
great lengths
to make the credit card ecosystem secure.
Most of us are aware that the cards with their chips are secure, the acquiring
terminals
are hack-proof. The number on receipts are obfuscated so that a stray
receipt will
not open
the door for fraud.
take seriously - treat
as important (not just laugh and ignore)
compliance - following a rule or law
gone to great lengths - worked
hard and did many things to achieve goals, made great efforts
secure - safe from attack or harm ปลอดภัย
aware - knowing that something exists, or having
knowledge or experience of a particular thing ทราบ
chips - the small pieces inside a computer that are
the brain of a computer
acquire - get
terminal - a computer screen and
keyboard that is connected to a computer system or network
acquiring terminals - a
small computer device used to enter credit card data into (when buying
something with the credit card)
hack - entering another person's computer illegally to
get or change information (See Wikipedia)
hack-proof - protected
from hacking, secure from hacking
receipt - a piece of paper that shows and proves
that you gave money to someone (for example: as payment for goods)
obfuscated -
to make something difficult to understand on purpose (as a form of
security or protection)
stray - move
away from the correct path or place where it should be
receipt
- a piece of paper which proves that money, goods or information have
been received
stray receipt -a
receipt that is lost (and that a thief could get and use
to steal money with)
open
the door for - create an opportunity for
What we do not know is
that PCI compliance puts in many more security checks for the company's IT systems,
going as far as scanning
the air
for rogue access points and ensuring outbound mail does not have credit
card information in it.
PCI came about when US
retailer
TJ Maxx's
database was broken into and 45
million credit cards details were stolen.
security
- the activity of making safe or protecting from harm
security checks - a check
for things that might cause harm, damage or loss (examples: a security
check before entering a building, a security check to make sure that
computer data has not been tampered with)
scan - to
look through an area to find objects in the area
scanning the air -
looking through the air to find something (here: private financial data
being sent between computers)
access - the ability to enter a place การเข้าสู่
rogue
- behaving in an unusual and possibly dangerous way
ที่น่าสงสัยว่าจะก่อให้เกิดอันตราย
access points - places
where one can " go into"
or " enter"
a system
outbound - going
out of a place
retailer - companies
in the business of operating many stores (examples: Lotus or 7-11)
TJ Maxx - a
chain of large stores in the US that sell clothes, "in 2007, the
company disclosed a computer security breach dating to 2005. Hackers
gained access to information on more than 45 million credit and debit
card accounts for transactions since January 2003" (See Wikipedia
on this famous case)
database - a large amount of information stored in a
computer in an organised way ฐานข้อมูล
PCI rules make the network and procedures secure so that
such a theft should not happen again. Each
data breach costs an average of $100-300
(3,110-9,330 baht) to rectify, taking into account the
fraud and issuing new cards.
But while the big
banks around the world are enforcing PCI compliance on their merchants, it is clear that Thai banks
are not. PCI affects anyone with credit cards linked into their IT or POS system. Small vendors are pretty much free from PCI
as they never store card data to begin with - they only put the card in
their credit card terminal, which transmits
the data securely.
If the terminal is PCI-compliant, they are pretty much in the clear.
network
- a large system of connected parts, here: connected computers เครือข่าย
data - facts or information used for making
calculations or decisions ข้อมูล
breach - a whole or opening made in a wall
(especially during an attack)
data breach - when
an outsider (intruder) breaks into a computer system and gets data or
changes data
rectify - correct
something that is wrong
issuing - officially giving something to people
ออกคำสั่ง
merchants - people
or companies that buy and sell things
linked - connected เชื่อมโยง
POS - Point
of Sale System, computer
terminals in stores to process buy transactions of customers, an
"electronic cash register"
(See Wikipedia)
vendors - sellers พ่อค้า
transmits data securely -
sending data over a computer network safely (without
danger that someone will get access to the data)
compliant - following rules The issues created by
converting to IFRS are not always immediately obvious. For example,
in the clear - have
no problems
But all too often in
Thailand, the vendor will process
the card,
then take down
card details
on their POS system. This
happened to me over the weekend at IT City and could only cringe when I
saw them putting my card details into the POS PC.
Worse, I have used my
card with smaller vendors and they asked for
my ID card to photocopy. Raiding these vendors would then not
only give
criminals my credit card details but my address and date of birth, too
Nokia Care centres
also take down ID information, even if the customer is just buying an
accessory.
Obviously they think
that having ID means fraud does not
happen, but by collecting all this information and keeping them in
unaudited, probably not quite secure,
servers, they are opening
themselves up to data theft, identity theft and one big compensation bill. Not a
comforting thought.
vendor
- seller of goods พ่อค้า, แม่ค้า
process - a series of actions that you take in order
to achieve a result แนวทางปฏิบัติ, กระบวน, วิธีการ
process the card - record
and use the information
on a credit card when someone buys something with the card
take down card details - write
down (or enter into a computer file) the information on a person's
credit card
raid - suddenly
entering a place by force to steal money or goods
audit - an official examination of company financial
records to see that they are correct (and to check for fraud)
unaudited - there
has been no official examination of company financial records to see if
they are correct
identity theft - a crime of
fraud in which someone uses another person's name (identity) to get
access to their money or assets or to take out loans or purchase things
using their name (See Wikipedia)
compensation - money that someone receives because
something bad has happened to them เงินชดเชย
compensation bill - money
that has to be paid to someone because of harm or damage that you did
to them
comforting - makes you feel good, calm, and relaxed
(not worrying)
Not a comforting thought. - thinking
about this bad thing makes your worry (that it might happen to you)
The sad
thing is that nobody in Thailand seems to
mind, yet
many
visiting foreigners, especially Europeans, seem to be genuinely
concerned at
the privacy risk.
The
problem,
I was told, lies with Thai banks. PCI - the payment
card industry - requires banks to enforce PCI specifications
on their merchants. But if the banks can choose not enforce PCI on
their merchants if the cost is too high, and only then if there is a
data breach, it is the banks who are liable to foot the
bill.
do you mind if I... -
do you not like it
if I do this.... (example: "Do you mind if I smoke?")
nobody seems to mind -
no one says or indicates they don't like it
concerned - worried about something มีความกังวล
genuinely concerned -
really very concerned (not faking it)
privacy
- the freedom to do things without other people watching you or knowing
what you are doing ความเป็นส่วนตัว
risk - the possibility that something dangerous or
unpleasant might happen ความเสี่ยง
the problem lies with Y -
Y is the cause or origin of the problem
enforce - to make sure laws are obeyed
specifications - detailed information about how
something should be done or is made (includeds requirements, design,
details, features)
liable - legally responsible for loss or harm caused
มีความรับผิดชอบตามกฎหมาย
foot the bill - pay the bill
(Source: Tech News, The Thai way of
doing things, 8/09/2010, Don Sambandaraksa, link)
commodities2
The future of commodity exchanges
in Thailand
By Jon Fernquest
[Download: MP3
Audio]
 Thailand
is among the world's top exporters for a wide variety of agricultural commodities.
Commodity
exchanges
around the world such as the Chicago
Mercantile Exchange
(see photo on right) are the places where large volumes of agricultural
commodities are traded.
Prices on the spot markets of these exchanges
reflect global supply
and demand as it stands today.
Prices on the futures
markets
of these exchanges reflect supply
and demand as market participants
predict it to be in the future.
Today's article
discusses the prospects for developing major
commodity exchanges in Thailand. The article begins after the
vocabulary below.
Photo on the right was
taken several years ago when US President George Bush visited the
Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
commodities
- goods with every unit the same (every kilo of rice
is the same, for example), usually bought in large quantities
สินค้าที่ซื้อเป็นจำนวนมากๆ
commodity exchanges
- a place
where people buy and sell large amounts of commodities and derivative
products such as commodity futures and options which are discussed
below (See Wikipedia)
Chicago Mercantile
Exchange
spot markets
- market in which commodities are sold for delivery right now
futures markets
- market in which commodities are sold for delivery at a future date
participants -
people joining an activity, who get involved in the activity
predict -
say what you think will happen in the future
prospects - the
possibility or likelihood that something will happen
Economics
MEETING THE CHALLENGES
Trading Thailand's
agricultural commodities
6/09/2010
Piya Sosothikul,
Bangkok Bank
Thailand holds the
enviable position
of being one of the richest
agricultural producers in the world, a major player in rubber,
rice, tapioca, chicken, frozen
shrimp, fish, fruit, sugar, vegetables and corn. So how can we
capitalise
on this natural competitive advantage.
One useful step would
be to establish Thailand as a
global trading centre of
agricultural products
through an efficient commodities exchange, buying
and selling major products. This would smooth out fluctuations
in price, benefiting farmers, buyers and consumers.
commodities
- goods with every unit the same (every kilo of rice
is the same, for example), usually bought in large quantities
สินค้าที่ซื้อเป็นจำนวนมากๆ
envy (verb)
- wanting something that another person for yourself
enviable (adjective) - something other people would also
like to have
holds the enviable
position - is in a nice situation that other people would like to
be in too
tapioca - cassava, an important food source of
carbohydrates, also source of ethanol car fuel (See Wikipedia)
มันสำปะหลัง
frozen - turned to ice (with a freezer)
natural - as in nature (not by humans) ตามธรรมชาติ
capitalise on - to
use a situation or event to gain some advantage for yourself, to get
what you need
compete
(verb) - 1. to try to get something that other people also want
(example: the two restaurants compete for the same customers who live
in the area), 2. to try to win a game
competitive (adjective)
competitive advantage - something that helps you
win the game (or be the one who gets the thing that everyone wants,
that everyone is competing for)
establish - to start something that will likely
continue for a long time สถาปนา, ก่อตั้ง, จัดตั้ง
global - throughout the world ทั่วโลก
efficient - producing a lot using few resources
efficient - doing a task with no waste of time,
money or energy
fluctuations - value going up and down
consumers - people who buy things (individuals and
families)
To understand how this
might work, imagine a farmer with a ripening field
of corn. Even though he seems set for a bumper
crop, his future is uncertain - there
might be freak
storms,
insect attacks or a collapse in prices. It is
impossible to protect against all these risks but he can protect
himself against falling prices by buying futures in
the commodities
he produces. If the market price does drop, the fall in his profits
when he sells his produce will be offset by the profit
he gains when he collects on his
commodities future option.
ripening - cropt is
growing and approaching the time when it must be picked and harvested
field - to use a person as your representative
ส่งต้วแทน
bumper - bigger or more successful than usual
จำนวนมาก มากกว่าปกติ
bumper crop - a very good crop with a lot of
vegetables and fruit
uncertain - don't know what will happen, not 100%
sure ไม่มั่นใจ
collapse - falling down suddenly ล้ม พังครืน
freak - very
different and unlikely to happen
freak storm - a
big storm that no one expected (so probably caused a lot of damage)
futures - a contract to buy something in the future,
a contract that is traded on a public exchange, so the price reflects
current expectations about the value of the underlying asset (See Economist
Glossary on derivatives) การซื้อขายล่วงหน้า
offset - reduce by moving in the opposite direction
(example: losses in the main business offset by profit in one of the
subsidiaries, See glossary)
profit - money that you make from selling goods and
services after all your costs have been paid กำไร
option - a type of
derivative that gives the right to sell or buy an asset at a particular
price before a given date (See Economist
glossary)
a derivative - a
asset that are built on top of the value of another asset, their value
is "derived" from the underlying asset
a put option -
the right to sell an asset at a particular price before a given date,
being used in the Thai government rice price insurance program (See Wikipedia)
derivatives -
futures, options, swaps, etc (a financial asset that "derives" it value
from other financial assets such as stocks, bonds, commodities,
interest rates, exchange rates, and stock price indices; See Economist
Glossary and Wikipedia)
อนุภัณฑ์
commodities future option
- an
option used used as a tool to protect (hedge) against the danger (risk)
of price changes (fluctuations) in a commodity that you are producing
and/or selling (snd will therefore have to own either now or later)
Although
this is hard to imagine in Thailand with our small scale farms, the
agriculture business is very different in countries such as the United
States where everything is on
a larger scale.
Buyers also can
protect themselves from price shocks by
investing in commodities market - except they will hedge against an
increase in price
scale
- size (relative size)
small scale farms - farms that
are smaller compared to others
on a larger
scale - larger compared to others
price shocks -
sudden changes in price (caused by some event like bad weather, for
example)
hedge - take action to protect from harm (by
purchasing a risk in the opposite direction that offsets the risk that
you have)
hedge against an increase in price - taking
action to protect yourself from price increases that could hurt you (by
buying commodity futures or options, for example)
Already
Thailand has taken important steps in this
direction. The Agricultural
Futures Exchange of Thailand (AFET) was set up in 1999 and
in 2006 the Thailand
Futures Exchange (TFEX) was established. Today four
products are listed on AFET - Hom Mali rice, white rice, natural rubber
and tapioca chips - with rubber futures the
major
play.The American commodities guru Jim Rodgers believes
Thailand has huge potential in commodity futures.
When he visited this country two years ago he predicted that over a
10-year period, commodity investments would enjoy returns
300% higher than equities. There has been plenty
of evidence since then to support his
contention.
Investors in gold futures are enjoying profits today after prices skyrocketed,
and holders of wheat futures are happy too. After wildfires in Russia
destroyed massive tracts of wheat crops, Russia
banned
wheat exports, sending global prices into the stratosphere. Even buyers
of rubber futures have been well rewarded, albeit
less spectacularly, with prices rising more than 70% over two years
Agricultural Futures Exchange of
Thailand (AFET) - Thailand's
future exchange for agricultural commodities (See website)
Thailand Futures Exchange (TFEX) -
Thailand's futures exchange, a subsidiary of the Stock Exchange of
Thailand, includes gold futures, stock index futures and government
bond futures (See website)
chips - a small piece (that has been broken off a
larger piece)
guru - a person who is respected for their knowledge
of a particular subject and who gives advice ครู
Jim Rodgers
- a college professor and famous investor from the US, creator of
the Rogers
International Commodities Index (RICI) and co-founder of a
hedge fund named the Quantum Fund,
he is based both in Miami and in Singapore (See Wikipedia)
potential - the possibility of success ที่มีศักยภาพ
ที่เป็นไปได้
returns - the money an investor receives over time
from making his investment
equities - stock shares in a company that represent
partial ownership of the company หุ้น
plenty - having more than enough อุดมสมบูรณ์
evidence - facts statements or objects that help to
prove whether or not something is true or not หลักฐาน
contention - a
statement or assertion that fact is truth made during an
argument or discussion
support his contention -
provide facts (evidence) to show that what he said (contention) is true
(prove)
skyrocketed
- increased suddenly by a very large amount ที่สูงขึ้นมาก
massive - very large in size, amount or numberใหญ่โต
banned - officially not allowed to do something
ถูกห้าม ห้ามอย่างเป็นทางการ ถูกตัดสิทธิ
albeit - although, though
The problem is that
most rubber futures are traded
on exchanges outside of Thailand, as its commodity market is still too
small to compete with the likes of Hong Kong, Singapore and London.
This is due to a number of factors - for example, local
farmers do not have the funds to invest, a clear
understanding of how the markets work, or the qualifications
to trade, and local investors have
shown little
interest up to now in trading in commodity futures. But this could
change in the future.
traded
- bought and sold ค้าขาย
factors - the different things that affect the
outcome of a situation, event, or decision ปัจจัย
local - in this country
funds - money needed or available to spend on
something เงินทุน
qualifications - the abilities, qualities, degrees,
etc. that you need for a particular job or activity
trade - the buying and selling of goods การค้าขาย
Mergers within our capital markets would help
considerably - there is already talk of AFET merging
with the TFEX and more co-operation with the SET. If this happens
they
will be able to attract international
investors. Moreover, as part of its new policy to provide
price support to farmers through market mechanisms, the government is
becoming more active as a buyer and seller, and
may
well buy futures as a proxy for
farmers. This will deepen and strengthen the market and help it gain
the critical mass needed to
attract investors. However, the government will have to take care that
it is merely acting as a proxy for farmers - not interfering in the
market which would lead to a loss in confidence.
capital
- money invested in a business (See glossary)
capital markets - markets
in which investments in companies (stocks, bonds, derivatives) are
bought and sold
merging
- joining together into one
co-operation
- working together on some activity (and helping the other person)
attract
- to cause someone to be interested in
something ดึงดูดความสนใจ
international - from foreign countries
policy - a set of plans or action agreed on
by a
government, political party, business, or other group
นโยบาย (See Wikipedia)
provide - to give someone something that they want
or need
active - doing an activity (opposite: dormant)
proxy - a person or company who acts for another
person or company, act as an "agent" for another ตัวแทน
deepen the market - increase
market depth
market depth -
a liquid market with many buyers and sellers, easy to buy or sell in,
only very large buy-sell transactions can move prices (See Wikipedia)
critical - extremely important because a future
situation will be affected by it สำคัญยิ่ง
critical mass - the
minimum or smallest amount needed to get something to start working
(people, resources, chemicals)
confidence - feeling sure about something
ความมั่นใจ, ความเชื่อมั่น feel sure about something
Given the rapidly
rising prices for specific commodities, I would
expect speculators to become much more
interested
in agricultural commodities. This too will benefit
the market, as pricing risks will be shifted from the growers and
producers to the investors. If Thailand is able to become a global
trading centre of agricultural products this will generate
many long-term benefits
for our farmers, food buyers and manufacturers as they will be assured
of greater price stability and a more stable
and secure future....
speculators
- investors who put their money at risk
in hope of making more money when an asset increases in value
benefit - to help someone มีประโยชน์ต่อ
generate - create สร้าง กระตุ้นให้เิกิด
benefits - goods things that can happen from an
activity ผลประโยชน์
long-term benefits - good things that can happen
from doing an acticity for a long period of time
stability - not changing suddenly and unpredictably,
without harmful changes
ความมั่นคง ความมีเสถียรภาพ
stable - not changing frequently and not likely to
suddenly become worse คงที่, มั่นคง
stable - firmly fixed, not likely to move or change
a lot, not likely to fail คงที่ ไม่เปลี่ยนแปลง
secure - safe from attack or harm ปลอดภัย
Piya Sosothikul is an
executive vice-president with Bangkok Bank.
Meeting the Challenges appears every two weeks. Questions, comments or
suggestions can be sent to asiafocus@bangkokpost.co.th
(Source: Bangkok Post, Economics,
MEETING THE CHALLENGES, Trading Thailand's
agricultural commodities, 6/09/2010, Piya Sosothikul,
Bangkok Bank, link)
inflationtargeting1
Thailand's monetary policy of inflation targeting
By Jon Fernquest
[Download: MP3
Audio]
 Inflation targeting was chosen as Thailand's
official monetary
policy in
the year 2000 just after the 1997 Asian
Crisis
(See Bank
of Thailand).
The policy of
inflation targeting provides an explicit rule that must be followed.
This prevents vested
interests
from manipulating monetary policy for political
purposes.
Today's article is an
extract from a long article in the Bangkok Post that explains inflation
targeting (Read the full
article here).
Today's article begins
after the vocabulary.
inflation targeting - adjusting monetary policy
and interest rates upwards and downwards based on forecast inflation in
order to keep future inflation within a given range (See Wikipedia)
monetary policy - the policy of
the central bank in influencing the cost and availability of credit
through interest rates and other measures, with the goals of promoting
economic growth, full employment, price stability and balanced trade
with other countries (See Google
definitions)
1997 Asian Crisis - (See
Wikipedia)
explicit - said in a very
clear way (so there can be no misunderstanding about what is meant)
vested interests - people
who will benefit from things happening in a certain way or from certain
decisions being made (so they try to steer events to benefit them)
manipulating
- trying to control
events or some activity
for your own benefit in a dishonest way
Inflation targeting in
Thailand
Economics
BEHIND THE NUMBERS
What underlies the up cycle for interest
rates
3/09/2010
The Bank of Thailand's
Monetary
Policy Committee (MPC) has raised its policy
interest
rate twice
so far this year, marking a
definite
end of
the historically
low
interest rate period.
Still, opinions differ about the suitability of the rate rises. Were
they justified? Was the timing right? Only the MPC members
can answer
these questions, yet few details ever come to
light
regarding their
decision-making
process.
The central bank has used inflation
targeting since 2000 as a policy rule,
exactly a decade after its initial
introduction
in New Zealand. Under this method, the inflation target
- currently within a range of 0.5% to 3.0% for annual
core inflation - must be made public but not the
decision-making process behind it.
monetary policy - the
policy of the central bank in influencing the cost and availability of
credit through interest rates and other measures, with the goals of
promoting economic growth, full employment, price stability and
balanced trade with other countries (See Google
definitions)
Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) -
the group of people in the central bank that make monthly decisions on
Thailand's monetary policy คณะกรรมการนโยบายการเงิน
cycle - a series of events repeated over and over
again (in the same order)
policy - a set of plans or action agreed on by a
government, political party, business, or other group
นโยบาย (See Wikipedia)
interest - payments made for the use of another's
money for a period of time
interest rate - a
percentage of the total amount loaned by a bank that it charges as a
fee (interest) for borrowing money (the principal)
policy
interest rate -
an interest rate set by the government central bank to supply the
amount of credit and money in an economy
นโยบายหรือการกำหนดอัตราดอกเบี้ยของแบงค์ชาติ
definite - certain, specific,
clearly decided
historically low -
if compared with the past (history), it is low
suitability - what
is right or appropriate in a certain situation
justified -
right in doing what they did, had a good reason for doing it
timing -
doing something at the right time
come to light
- find out and discover something you did not know yet
process - a series of actions that you take in order
to achieve a result แนวทางปฏิบัติ, กระบวน, วิธีการ
decision-making process
- all the actions taken before a decision is made, to make sure the
decision is the right or best one (example: asking people affected by
decision (feedback))
central bank -
the government's bank that controls all the other banks in a country,
sets monetary policy, maintains the stability of the national currency
and money supply, sets interest rates and inflation targets, saves
failing banks as a lender
of last resort during
times of financial crisis (See Wikipedia
)
Bank of Thailand (BOT) -
Thailand's central bank (Read description
at Mahidol University)
inflation - the level of prices rising in the
economy as a whole (See
Economist Glossary) อัตราเงินเฟ้อ ภาวะเงินเฟ้อ
target - the amount you are planning to achieve
เป้าหมาย
targeting - aiming an attack or criticism against
someone; trying to have an effect on a particular group of people
targeting - directing advertising, criticism or a
product at someone เล็งไปที่
decade - a period of ten years ทศวรรษ
initial - early; first ในเบื้องต้น
introduction
- bring something to place to a place for the first time (so it can be
used there)
range - a number of different things that are of the
same general type ขอบข่าย, ประเภท
annual - happening once a year ประจำปี
core - the most important and central part แก่น
สิ่งที่สำคัญที่สุด, ส่วนสำคัญ
Why inflation
targeting? Economists advocate this
explicit
monetary policy rule
because, as experience attests, money
printing authority
allowed to run rampant
(plus political power) can do more harm
than good. By prescribing a rule for the central bank
to follow, it
guarantees a minimum of independence for the
central bank, giving it a reason to say no to
political
pressure.
However, monetary
policy rules have had their
share
of
failure in the past. Money growth targeting, where central banks
publicly announce the rate at which new money will enter the economy,
has failed to respond to rapidly changing demands
for liquidity, especially during difficult
times
such as the savings
and loan crisis
in the US. The fixed exchange
rate was
another
widely adopted monetary policy rule of the 1990s, and it left nothing
short of
an economic mess in Asia after the regional currency
collapse in 1997.
advocate
- to publicly support and recommend สนับสนุน
explicit - said
in a very clear way (so that people will understand for sure)
explicit monetary policy
rule - a very clear rule for monetary policy (that market
particpants and banks can understand easily)
attest - showing
that something is true (giving evidence or proof that it is true)
authority - the power to make decisions or tell
people what to do อำนาจ, อำนาจในการสั่งการ
money
printing authority - the government agency in charge of
making money (printing bills and minting coins)
rampant - existing, happening or spreading in an
uncontrolled way รุกลาม อาละวาด กำเริบ รุนแรงจนควบคุมไว้ไม่ได้
run rampant - moving
in an uncontrolled way
harm - damage ความเสียหาย
prescribing
- stating officially what should be done in a situation
guarantees - to make
it certain that something will exist or happen
minimum -
the smallest possible
independence - not being influenced by or dependent
on other people เป็นหน่วยงานอิสระ
reason - an explanation of an event, why an event
happened เหตุ ; เหตุผล ; สาเหตุ
pressure - when people are being pushed or forced to
so something
political pressure - when
politicians force people to do things (example: force central bank to
change monetary policy)
had their share
of Y - experienced a lot of Y
respond - to say or do something as a reaction to
something that has been said or done ตอบสนอง, ตอบรับ
demands - the things that someone is asking you to do
liquidity - the availability of cash and loans in
the economy
(through loans) to businesses and consumers (to meet their needs)
liquidity - the ability to reduce assets to cash
quickly by selling them without losing money (when confidence collapses
and everyone is selling this is difficult) สภาพคล่อง
loan - an amount of money that a person, business,
or country borrows, especially from a bank เงินกู้
crisis - an urgent, difficult or dangerous situation
วิกฤต
savings and loan crisis - a very large banking
crisis in the US during the 1980s and 1990s in which the US government
had to bail out hundreds of banks (See Wikipedia)
fixed exchange rate - when
the value of a country's currency is tied or matched to the value of
another single country's currency or a combination of other countries'
currencies, also called a "pegged exchange rate" (See Wikipedia)
widely adopted - many
people used
nothing
short of Y - Y was the situation (even though Y was very
bad and almost unbelievable)
currency - a widely used the money accepted for
exchange of goods in an economy เงินตรา (See Wikipedia)
collapse - falling suddenly ล้ม พังครืน
Inflation targeting,
the newest monetary policy rule, has yet to wreak
havoc on
the same scale as other policy rules.
Despite its name, inflation targeting in practice
is more accommodating than any past monetary policy
rules, and it focuses on more than just taming
inflation.
Its critics
often complain about its lack of emphasis
on economic activity, but as the latest crisis demonstrated, that is
certainly not the case. Because central banks have no direct
control over inflation, inflation targeting provides some wiggle room
for policy action when it is needed. This is in contrast
to money growth targeting and fixed exchange rates, in which the
authority is completely tied to the direct targets
of those rules....(see rest
of article)
wreak
havoc- to cause great harm, damage and destruction
scale - size (relative size)
practice - a way of doing something การปฏิบัติ
in practice - as
it is actually done, as people actually do it (not just ideas or
theory)
accommodating monetary policy - same
as "accommodative monetary policy" (See next item)
accommodative monetary policy
- making more credit and loans available
taming inflation
- controlling
inflation (reducing inflation and its bad effects)
critics - people who don't like something and who
state their opinion about it นักวิจารณ์
critics - people who look for things that are wrong
and bad about a project or idea
lack - does not have ขาดแคลน
emphasis - special importance or attention that is
given to one thing in particular การเน้นย้ำ
direct - A affects D, changes immediately, changes
straightaway
indirect - A
affects B affects C affects ...[many steps in between].... affects D
wiggle room - some
flexibility or room for changing what you are doing (here: flexibility
in policy)
contrast - a noticeable difference, a
difference between two things when you
compare them ความแตกต่าง
targets - goals or levels you plan to achieve
(Source: Bangkok Post, Inflation
targeting in Thailand, Economics, BEHIND THE NUMBERS, What underlies
the up cycle for interest
rates, 3/09/2010, link)
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