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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Dear Member
Although, as NZ'ers, we may feel a little despondent with the All Black’s recent rugby results, the Chamber will still be in a very positive mood this month as we welcome our new Ambassador, Mr Bede Corry, to Thailand. Bede took up his posting here last month and, having completed his Thai language training, is now well poised to do business here. We are delighted that he will be our guest at this month’s special CK event which will include a traditional welcome from our Bangkok based Kapa Haka Maori group plus a great range of NZ dishes and wines courtesy of our generous sponsors NZI, Fonterra, Prestige Wines and the Sheraton Grande. A separate flyer has all ready been circulated providing more information on this event.
Our AGM will be held next month on Thursday 29th October at the Sheraton Grande Hotel. The AGM will will include the election of a new committee and be followed by our usual CK event. As always we remain keen to see new faces on the management team and so I would like to encourage members interested in standing for the committee to contact Julie Littlejohn regarding the nomination procedure. I would also note that having been President of the NZ Thai Chamber for the last 4 years, it is time for me to stand aside and let some fresh legs take over. I have really enjoyed my time as President and I look forward to being a part of, and supporting, the incoming committee during 2010.
In terms of upcoming events, we have been invited to team up with the Australian Chamber in an Ashes golf tournament against the British Chamber on Thursday 22 October 2009. This is a great annual event and the Chamber is very keen to field as many teams as possible. If we can’t win at rugby at least we can give golf a try, so interested parties are invited to register early so teams can be compiled and we can work out some under-arm strategies.
In June I mentioned the great work that our community services subcommittee has been progressing in Kanchanaburi. The Chamber is looking to undertake projects in need at several schools in that region. A set of projects have now been identified and will be financed from funds earned from our 2009 Ball. It is a true team effort with the NZ Society assisting us and contributing with an equal level of funding. We see this as a great sustainable initiative for the Chamber while at the same time providing excellent CSR opportunities for sponsors who may wish to become directly involved.
Its the time of year to renew membership subscriptions for the next financial year, if for some reason you haven't received one as yet could you please contact our Executive Director (Julie Littlejohn) to follow up. With the varied financial commitments we have in front of us we are keen receive our membership income as early as we can into this new financial year.
This month our main CK sponsor is NZ Insurance. NZI have supported the Chamber with their generous sponsorship and complimentary insurance cover for many years and have also been a principal sponsor of the Black and White Ball. So many thanks to Chris Dooley, Grant Signal and the team at NZI for their ongoing loyalty to supporting kiwi organizations in Thailand.
This months networking evening will be special so come along and enjoy yourself and meet our new Ambassador.
Kind regards
Cris Dunning
President
SEPTEMBER CHAMBER NETWORKING EVENTS
CORPORATE KNIGHT NETWORKING EVENT AND SPECIAL WELCOME TO AMBASSADOR BEDE CORRY
Thursday, 24th SEPTEMBER 2009 @ 6.30pm
@ The Sheraton Grande
Kindly sponsored by
The expatriate living or working abroad is often faced with many challenges. Not least the language, the climate and the cultural differences in general. One of the main concerns is gaining access to quality medical facilities should illness or injury strike the individual or members of their family. Fortunately here in Thailand such facilities do exist…but who pays?
Many ex-pats come from a country where government hospitals take care of the health needs of the individual which is funded from general taxation. Living abroad is often a different proposition entirely and medical bills either have to be paid by the individual out of their own pocket or from a pre-arranged Healthcare Plan.
It is important to remember that insurance is there for the unexpected. Medical Insurance primarily covers the costs of medical treatment for what is commonly known as an acute condition, (a disease, illness or injury that is likely to respond quickly to treatment)
Choosing the right Healthcare Policy is very important. A wide selection of plans are available and many variations exist. Cover for individuals, couples, families and companies can be obtained and added value benefits and optional extras can be arranged. The language and policy conditions and general exclusions can often be confusing and as leading Healthcare providers we can advise you and arrange a plan suitable for your needs. Don’t let your medical condition affect your financial status, contact us now to discuss your Healthcare requirements.
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Tel: 02 207 1023
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www.nzihealthcare.com
  
Wine Supplied Cheese Supplied Event Kindly Supported
by by by
Royal Prestige Wine Fonterra Sheraton Grand Sukhumvit
Traditional Kapa Haka Maori welcome
Please register for this event by clicking here
Other Events
ASHES GOLF DAY
ENGLAND V NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA
Thursday, 22nd October
Muang Kaew Golf course
This is a revival of the traditional annual golf competition between the British chamber and combined New Zealand & Australia Chambers. It will be a fun day of golf with lots of prizes so come and join us and help us beat the British!!
Outline Program:
Registration: 11:00
Start: 12:30
Dinner: 18:30
PLAYING FORMAT: Stroke play, net
Cost: 2,500 Baht (TBC) which includes green fees, caddy, buffet dinner and polo shirt
SOUTHERNERS SPORTS CLUB 15TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY BALL 2009
A Celebration of 15years of Southerners Sport and Social Success
Saturday 14th November 2009
Grand Millenium Hotel Asoke, Main Ballroom
7:30pm - drinks
The evening will include:
- International buffet meal
- Free flow beer
- Wine (5 bottles per table)
- DJ Russel Jay
- Door prizes
Dress code: Black Tie/Chic
For tickets or to book a table (10 people), please contact:
Dana Piggott at
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About the Southerners Sports club
In 1994 in Bangkok, a group of Australians and New Zealanders, on seeing they could field a rugby sevens side for an upcoming tournament, entered a team they decided to call ‘The Southerners’.
Since then, the Southerners gradually introduced cricket, touch rugby and netball sections, expanding membership today totaling 150 people.
KIWI CORNER
Some recent Kiwi Snippets and Kiwis in the news:
Black Sticks Stun Australia to Grab World Cup Spot
New Zealand retained the Oceania Cup women's hockey title after a nailbiting win over Australia in the final at Invercargill today. The win gifted them direct entry into the World Cup in Argentina next August while the Australians now head to a qualifying tournament in Azerbaijan for a second chance at making the global event. In the men's final, Australia beat New Zealand 3-1.
And We Thought it Was Kiwis Who Really Like Sheep!
A sheep is believed to have become the world's most expensive after selling for £231,000. Deveronvale Perfection, bred in Banffshire, was bought by a fellow local sheep farmer at a sale in Lanark. The lamb will be used for breeding in the hope of more than recouping the purchase price. The UK's previous most expensive sheep, Tophill Joe, was bought for £128,000 six years ago. He died recently after fathering lambs worth more than £1m.
World Famous Website Returns to its Kiwi Roots, Urging Action on Climate Change
Acclaimed eco-website Celsias is coming home with the launch of www.celsias.co.nz.
Founded three years ago by Marlborough clean tech entrepreneur Nick Gerritsen and former Christchurch Mayor Vicki Buck, the www.celsias.com site has thousands of individual members and more than 200 companies and organisations registered, including Disney, Sun Microsystems, WWF, Columbia University, The University of Auckland, New Zealand Post and Ausra Solar Technologies.
Celsias.co.nz gives Kiwis the ability to organise and take action on climate change and build a community-led response. In addition to a daily blog, the site features a variety of tools to share information, form discussions, start projects, and highlight initiatives.
The Changing Face of Wellington
Asians calling Wellington home are changing the face of the capital making it a truly international city. The capital has the most New Zealand-born Chinese and Indian people, reflecting its close ties with Asia. With strong ethnic communities, diplomatic posts and international students, Wellington has the second-largest Asian population, after Auckland. By 2021 the number of Asian people in the city is predicted to double from 37,000 to 61,000.
The city has 121 restaurants identified as "Asian" in the latest Yellow Pages and its 15 Thai restaurants make it the highest number per capita in the country. 17.4 per cent of students at Victoria University identify themselves as Asian. 31 per cent of Asians have a university degree, higher than the population's 21 per cent average. Only 13 per cent of Asians do not have a high school qualification, significantly lower than among the total population.
Asians living in Wellington thought the city was "cosmopolitan", "quiet", and its people friendly.
NZ Winter Games Success
Invercargill New Zealand Winter Games organisers and participants celebrated the closure of a much-lauded 10-day competition, with debate beginning over when the event will return.
The inaugural games closed at Coronet Peak after 10 days of competition involving 800 athletes from 40 countries. Broadcast to about 500 million viewers worldwide, the games has put Otago on the map. Local competitors had benefited enormously, the region had proved itself capable of holding elite events.
FIS secretary-general Sarah Lewis, head of the powerful snow sports body, arrived in Queenstown from Vancouver for the last three days of the Games. She said the games were "several notches above the expectations" of FIS. "There's no question this has been a huge, huge breakthrough for winter sports in New Zealand."
KIWI WINE EXPORTS HIT BILLION DOLLAR MARK
New Zealand's wine industry has hit the billion dollar mark for annual exports, a full year earlier than it had expected. Chief executive of New Zealand Winegrowers, Philip Gregan, said today that Statistics NZ figures showed wine exports hit $1.01 billion in the year to 31 July. This is the equivalent of five bottles per second.
"The phenomenal long-term growth of New Zealand wine exports has been based on a industry-wide commitment to world class quality, in our vineyards, in our wineries and in our marketing and sales efforts," said Gregan.
The industry supports 16,500 full time jobs and represents 2.2 per cent of total goods exported. "The wine industry has grown to become an important and internationally-competitive part of the New Zealand economy," said Gregan.
Aussies guzzle NZ wines
Australians are guzzling more of New Zealand's prized sauvignon blanc and pinot noir than ever before, and are paying less for the privilege thanks to a wine glut. Wine exports across the Tasman to Australia increased by 31 per cent to $NZ323 million ($A263 million) in the 2008/09 financial year, according to New Zealand Winegrowers annual report. That is almost a third of New Zealand's total wine exports worldwide.
Industry chief executive Philip Gregan said Australians were most keen on New Zealand's trademark white varieties, sauvignon blanc and pinot gris as well as its most popular red, pinot noir. Sauvignon blanc, by far the biggest export wine, is now the best-selling white wine in the Australian market.
KIWI SCIENTISTS DEVELOP WIRELESS HEART PUMP
New Zealand scientists have developed the technology for a wireless heart pump they say could save thousands of lives and offer an alternative to heart transplants. University of Auckland scientists said Wednesday their technology uses magnetic fields to transfer power to heart pumps through a person's skin rather than using wire cables, which often cause serious infections.
"We would very much like for it to be the preferred choice for patients to be able to choose this type of pump over a heart transplant, said David Budgett of the university's bioengineering institute.
The university has licenced the technology to US medical company MicroMed, which will integrate the wireless technology with its own heart pumps, Budgett told Radio New Zealand.
The technology uses a coil outside the patient's body, which can be placed in a pocket, and another inside the body near the collarbone to pick up the magnetic field and produce the power for the pump, the university said. A battery inside the body can also store enough power to operate the pump for about an hour.
Heart pumps are used to keep patients alive while they await heart surgery but the wire cable which goes through their stomachs and chests cause serious -- sometimes fatal -- infections in about 40 percent of patients. The wires can also break and restrict a patient's movement.
Budgett said it was hoped the wireless pump could eventually replace transplants, which involve traumatic surgery and require large amounts of drugs to avoid rejection. He added about a million people died of heart failure worldwide each year while there were only about 3,000 heart transplants carried out.
Simon Malpas, the chief executive of TETCor, the university company set up to market the technology, said it was hoped to start patient trials within two years. "These wireless heart pumps could be implanted in about 50,000 people each year around the world within 10 years," Malpas said. "It's probably the most extreme implantable medical device you can get. If these pumps stop, you only have about one minute to live."
Previous attempts at making wireless heart pumps produced too much heat and would have resulted in "cooking a person from the inside", Malpas said. The new technology was able to deliver exactly the right amount of power, eliminating the heating problem, he said.
CHAMBER UPDATES
Annual Membership
Yes it's that time of the year again!! Invoices have been sent out in early September for 2010 membership which is due by end of September. If you haven't as yet received an invoice please contact Julie Littlejohn at
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. After considerable discussion amongst the committee, a decision has been made to increase membership fees to 5,000 Baht per annum..
Call for Public Submissions on Services and Government Procurement
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Wellington is now calling for public submissions on services and Government Procurement under the New Zealand Thailand Closer Economic Partnership. Unfortunately, the timeframe for formal submissions is very short - 30 September is the deadline. We have more information posted on the NZTCC website and we strongly encourage members to participate.
New Zealand Artist Exhibition in Bangkok 24th February 2010
Wendy Allen is an NZ artist currently based in Penang, Malaysia and New Zealand. She has been accepted to exhibit a solo show of her art work at Jamjuree Gallery which is part of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. The exhibition is due to take place on 24th February 2010. She is looking for support for publishing a catalogue of her work to go with the show and seeking sponsorship for the food and beverages.
Anyone interested in supporting this Kiwi artist should contact her directly at
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Chamber News 
NEW ZEALAND THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 
