In conversation with
Mr. Komol Wongpornpenpap

FDI Spotlight: You want to set up a footprint in Myanmar in order to strengthen your partnerships. Could you tell us more about the expansion opportunities in the ASEAN region?

Mr. Komol Wongpornpenpap: With the AEC coming into place the whole region will reap the benefits. However, I think for us itís not easy to go to Laos and Cambodia. We have had many projects started there on paper, but in reality these projects didnít happen. I invested with Cambodian people and established partnerships with them. However, due to the small population, Laos and Cambodia are not a good market for us. We see more opportunities in Thailand as it is a bigger country and in the centre of the region. Also, right now the Myanmar market is opening and investments are booming there, much more than in the other countries. Myanmar is very promising so now it is very good for us to expand there.

What are the opportunities that you foresee?

Mr. Komol Wongpornpenpap: We look at our company, we have our core strength with our engineers. In Myanmar, the people look to Thailand as they trust our construction industry, our standards and they trust Thai companies. Many students from Myanmar come to study in Thailand and they receive good knowledge about construction management. Therefore, for us it is quite easy to acquire human resources in Myanmar. With the AEC coming into place, opening the whole region and allowing a free movement of labour, capital and knowledge, now is the perfect time. The objective for us is to balance the human resources. We have some good engineers from Indonesia. I have worked in the Middle East before, I met many upper level Filipinos engineers for example, that can work at an upper level in Thailand. Our engineers in Thailand, they have upper-lower knowledge so we need people with upper-higher knowledge. In Thailand we lack English skills, we can mix our labour with Indonesian people or Filipinos and in this way we create a very balanced human capital asset.

I think every country will benefit from AEC, because we can balance the strengths and weaknesses of each other and find synergies.

How do you continue to inspire yourself, the people around you, and the next generation?

Mr. Komol Wongpornpenpap: We have to go hand in hand with the evolution of the culture. I try to collaborate with them, explaining why they need to act in a certain way, how to think in a certain situation and how to consult others when needed. This is how we try to educate them. Business wise, I try to transfer my DNA and my 40 years of experience. From time to time we have to let them know how we think and how we prepare for the future, where we go and where we are. At the moment, we have about 45 senior employees in our company working here for more than 20 years. Now is a good time to develop and I believe in the next 5 years our company will expand and be amongst the strongest companies in our specialization of sustainable engineering.

What is your message for the readers of Newsweek magazine to come and partner with your company?

Mr. Komol Wongpornpenpap: In Thailand we are looking for how AEC is balancing the labour, capital and knowledge so I invite them to invest. We have very good infrastructure and the country is the best place in terms of quality living. By staying here you can enjoy your life and travel anywhere in the region. Also compared to Malaysia and Singapore we have a more affordable lifestyle. You can get everything you want here in Thailand for a very competitive price. Therefore, I invite you to invest and live here. Enjoy food, life, enjoy Thailand.