AWC joins force with the Board of Trade of Thailand and 11 trade associations to drive the launch of “AEC TRADE CENTER – PANTIP WHOLESALE DESTINATION”, the largest city-center wholesale hub in Southeast Asia

Offering a free 6-month trial to support Thai traders in accessing new domestic wholesale channels and connecting to the international market, creating a sustainable ecosystem for the Thai wholesale industry

Bangkok – 30 October 2020 – Asset World Corporation (AWC), Thailand’s leading integrated lifestyle real estate group, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Board of Trade of Thailand (BTT), together with 11 trade associations to help drive the launch of “AEC TRADE CENTER – PANTIP WHOLESALE DESTINATION”, the largest city-center wholesale center in Southeast Asia. The new wholesale destination aims to support Thai traders in accessing a new domestic wholesale channel, as well as serving as a one-stop center to connect Thai businesses to the international wholesale market, while creating a sustainable ecosystem for the Thai wholesale industry. This project is also partnered with Yiwu – CCC Group, a leading developer of the world’s largest wholesale market for miscellaneous goods from Yiwu, China, this move aims to empower Thai manufacturers and traders in connecting their exports and imports into global markets and enhance the country’s competitiveness.

Kalin Sarasin, Chairman of The Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) and Board of Trade of Thailand (BTT), said that, “Thailand is well-positioned to be a regional trade center that connects constantly growing markets and the logistics infrastructure in Southeast Asia. BTT, as a representative of traders in the private sector with a nationwide network of regional chambers of commerce, trade associations and foreign chambers of commerce as well as more than 100,000 members, is keen to support Thai traders, especially SMEs, which account for 95% of all businesses in Thailand, in surviving the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected their business since the beginning of the year.

“We are delighted to partner with AWC to support the launch of AEC TRADE CENTER – PANTIP WHOLESALE DESTINATION, which will be a key driver of commercial activities for Thai traders, as well as fostering the Thai government’s policy in making Thailand a regional hub to expand trade into both existing and new markets. The establishment of a one-stop wholesale center like AEC TRADE CENTER – PANTIP WHOLESALE DESTINATION will enable trading partners to negotiate business throughout 365 days of the year, empowering Thailand to become a true regional trade hub and creating new opportunities for trading partners to source products in a one-stop center, which significantly saves both their cost and time. BTT will continue to support SMEs throughout their supply chain by exploring new markets, channels and business tools to connect manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers, importers, exporters, as well as logistics service providers to enhance domestic and foreign trade activities. We strongly believe that the development of the AEC TRADE CENTER – PANTIP WHOLESALE DESTINATION is of great benefit to the business operations of SMEs.”

Wallapa Trisorat, CEO and President, Asset World Corp Public Company Limited or AWC, said that “As we drive our business forward with the philosophy of “Building a Better Future”, we realize the importance of our role in contributing to strengthening the Thai economy, along with taking care of all stakeholders, as well as the society and community, and the nation, especially during this year where all economic and social sectors around the world have been severely affected by the COVID-19 crisis. The signing of MOU with BTT and 11 trade associations to drive the launch of AEC TRADE CENTER – PANTIP WHOLESALE DESTINATION is an important step to establishing the largest city-center wholesale hub in Southeast Asia. The project is expedited to uphold Thailand across various business sectors, including manufacturers, exporters and importers in pursuit of business expansion opportunities, with new distribution channels and access to new customers both in Thailand and abroad.”

According to Anan Lapsuksatit, AWC’s Chief Wholesale Business Officer, “AEC TRADE CENTER – PANTIP WHOLESALE DESTINATION introduces a new business model that truly meets the crucial needs of traders by offering them free space for six months to help stimulate the economy. The space will encompass quality products from upstream manufacturers in a variety of categories such as furniture, interior accessories, toys, souvenirs, stationery, gifts, home decorations, printing innovation, etc. We are grateful to the support of BTT in bringing together important trade associations to participate in the agreement signing today which will allow their members to benefit from the project.”

AEC TRADE CENTER is initiated by AWC with the ambition to develop the largest fully-integrated wholesale center in the CLMVT region (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand) with linkage to China, in attempt to drive Thailand to become an international trade hub of ASEAN. The project is now close to completion with a plan to open in early 2021. As the COVID-19 situation has dampened both the domestic and foreign trade climate, AWC is eager to take part in helping to stimulate trade sentiment by adopting the concept of AEC TRADE CENTER in developing AEC TRADE CENTER – PANTIP WHOLESALE DESTINATION as Thailand’s first one-stop wholesale center in the heart of Bangkok, with the commitment to empowering Thai traders to grow in the global trade arena. Spanning a total area of over 30,000 square meters at Pantip Pratunam Shopping Center, the project comprises of a trade exhibition area, SMEs Service Solution (SSS) center with a shooting studio to offer live streaming service to traders, small meeting and conference rooms and a business consulting service center, all of which connect buyers, manufacturers, exporters and importers from domestic and international markets around the world all year round.

The project is also partnered with Zhejiang China Commodities City Group Co., Ltd. (CCC Group), a state-owned enterprise that develops and manages the world’s largest wholesale market for miscellaneous goods from Yiwu, China, to establish an exhibition center showcasing selected high-quality products known as “Yiwu Selection Thailand Showcase”, where international buyers can source and shop products here in Thailand, and “IC Mall”, an export service center to China, to help connect Thai exporters who wish to export their products to market in China. AEC TRADE CENTER – PANTIP WHOLESALE DESTINATION is set to open in November 2020.

“AEC TRADE CENTER – PANTIP WHOLESALE DESTINATION also offers an online channel through the Phenixbox website and mobile application, which is currently under development as a complementary service for our project tenants, allowing them to operate online to offline (O2O) commerce. With this, our tenants will have online wholesale space 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with useful features that meet their business needs including e-quotation, real-time messaging, online financial transactions, shipping and logistics, intelligent product search functions and managing group trading,” added Anan.

Eleven trade associations participating in the agreement signing include the Thai Furniture Association, Thai Timber Association, Thai Furniture Industry Club of The Federation of Thai Industries, Thai Lifestyle Products Federation, Thai Toy and Baby Products Trade Association, Thai Stationery and Office Supplies Association, Thai Gifts Premiums & Decorative Association, Thai Innovative Printing Trade Association, Home Decorative Design Association, Thai Restaurant Business Association, and Thai SMEs Exporter Association. Additional trade associations are expected to participate in the future.

With the aim of being a one-stop center of all international wholesale trade related services, AEC TRADE CENTER – PANTIP WHOLESALE DESTINATION will support Thai traders with knowledge by leveraging technologies and connecting trade networks between Thailand and abroad, as well as enhancing the capability of Thai traders in doing import and export businesses and providing opportunities for them to grow in international markets, especially in the CLMVT (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand) area and China. The center is also positioned as the Sourcing Hub of the Region where manufacturers, exporters and importers and business operators can find a wide variety of products at the source price, with online network for trading, comparing price and delivery, all in one place. Moreover, “Yiwu Selection Thailand Showcase”, an exhibition center showcasing selected high-quality products, and “IC Mall”, an export service center to China, will help connect Thai exporters who wish to export their products to market in China.

During the launch period, AEC TRADE CENTER – PANTIP WHOLESALE DESTINATION will open up space free of charge for 6 months for traders, manufacturers, exporters and importers, to support Thai businesses to expand wholesale trade channels in Thailand as well as to connect them with international wholesalers in the future.

Traders and wholesalers who are interested to be a tenant at AEC TRADE CENTER – PANTIP WHOLESALE DESTINATION can contact the project at Tel. 02-254-9797 or 081-805-7247.