Introduction
As of late the Thai market has been dominated by locally manufactured rubbing alcohol as a means of providing the needs of the people of Thailand for disinfectants. Fortunately recent developments within the country such as the expansion of its business centers through greater foreign direct investments has led to a population that has more buying power as compared to previous generations (Thailand 5).
This presents itself as an ideal opportunity for new foreign brands to enter Thailand in order take advantage of the new employee market which numbers in the thousands all of whom have started raising families of their own creating the need for cheap rubbing alcohol to be used at home.
It must be noted that several studies conducted on the behavior of employees working at several companies have shown that the number of marriages has been steadily increasing. This has resulted in an increase in the overall amount of home disinfectants bought by a progressively younger generation; this is also not limited to individuals but families as well.
An examination of the local market in hygiene products shows that on average the sale of rubbing alcohol actually reaches the same level as that of other products such as deodorant, mouthwash, toothpaste etc. This might be because the physical environment that various people within the overcrowded cities expose themselves to presents such a degree of health risk that constantly carrying a bottle of alcohol is actually the norm in several areas.
Various travel blogs to Thailand also state the need to purchase supplies of rubbing alcohol before venturing into the cities as a precaution against the threat of germs. It must be noted though that Thailand itself is a relatively clean country where the fear of germs is not as bad as compared to countries such as India.
Location of Thailand
The total land area in the U.S. is roughly 9,826,675 KM2 and is located in the Western Hemisphere on the North American continent. Thailand on the other hand is far smaller at only 513,120 sq km in total size and is located in South East Asia.
The overall distance is considerable as such the import and export of materials to and from the U.S. going to Thailand and back entails considerable cost on the part of the sending company. In terms of overall stability Thailand has experienced numerous coup attempts within the past decade as well as political unrest due to the estranged nature of its political parties which have been a source of contention for several years.
Population
The population of Thailand has been estimated at reaching 66,720,153 by 2011, overall the population of children in Thailand only reaches 15 million with the remaining 51 million being composed of adults or the elderly. As such as far as populations go Thailand actually has a relatively stable population size compared to the rest of the world.
Climate comparison
In comparison to Thailand’s relatively tropical climate which is spread out evenly along the entire country, the U.S. experiences variances in weather and seasonal conditions where the Southern half of the country is relatively temperate as compared to the rest of the country.
The main difference between the two countries is in the fact that the U.S. has seasons (spring, summer, autumn and winter) while Thailand does not. Both countries are able to produce electronic goods on varying levels of mass production however the U.S. cannot sustain a tropical fruits industry due to its temperate conditions while Thailand on the other hand can due to its year round tropical environment.
Government
The government of Thailand does use a form of democracy similar to that of the U.S. however this was only after a trend of numerous political insurrections, military dictatorships and violent power struggles. As such the current stability of the current Thai government is in question especially when considering the various scandals that have occurred as of late.
Economy
Thailand actually has quite a robust economy which has marked it as a newly industrialized country when compared to its other South East Asian neighbors with a GDP of U.S. $312 billion (Economy 5). While some of its major exports include rice, fertilizers, fishery products and chemicals its current growth rate is vested in the size of the outsourcing industry that is based in various cities and provinces located around Thailand (Thailand 15).
For the past several years Thailand has actually been one of the main outsourcing locations for U.S. based companies due to the relatively cheap labor and progressive business environment (Butt 33). As a result various companies have established offshore locations within Thailand in order to take advantage of the cheap and plentiful Thai workforce.
Outsourcing in Thailand consists of product manufacturers such as NIKE, Dell, Intel and various other companies who have outsourced their production capabilities to Thailand in order to save on the cost of labor (Butt 33). Based on this data it can be seen that the economy of Thailand leans towards being market based due to the sheer amount of foreign direct investments into the economy due to the outsourcing industry (Economy 5).
Despite the sheer production capacity and GDP of the country the fact remains that Thailand is still a newly industrialized country and as such there are various sectors that cannot accommodate an influx of new workers which has resulted in a lack of jobs in certain sectors of the economy which gives rise to poverty (Matthews 148).
While Thailand does have large mineral deposits and a robust tourism industry with agriculture and electronics manufacturing being some of its major industries the fact remains that there are still far too many people to be properly accommodated by all businesses (Hewison 212).
It must be noted though that the main resource of Thailand is not its natural resources but rather human capital that enables the manufacturing of cheap goods on a massive scale (Hewison 212). Most of Thailand’s production is concentrated in the agricultural and manufacturing industry as such human capital is the most used resource in Thailand as compared to its biodiversity or mineral wealth (Matthews 148).
The money in Thailand is called the Baht and based on current exchange rates one dollar is equivalent to 30 Thai Baht (Matthews 148). In terms of establishing a company branch within Thailand there are few barriers to entry since Thailand has an extensive telecommunications network with a population that is relatively friendly to foreigners, as such establishing an office should not prove to be a problem.
Recommendation
Based on the current analysis of Thailand’s financial and economic infrastructure as well as potential markets available, there is a definite possibility for profit if rubbing alcohol from the U.S. were to be sold in Thailand. Also due to various foreign incentives and the overall cost of labor alcohol production and sale within Thailand is a definite possibility as such this report concludes that building a new alcohol producing plant in Thailand would definitely be financially fruitful for the company.
Works Cited
Butt, Shiraz. “Mutual benefits flow from outsourcing in Thailand.” Modern Power Systems 24.7 (2004): 33. EBSCO. Web.
“ECONOMY.” Background Notes on Countries of the World: Kingdom of Thailand (2008): 5. EBSCO. Web.
Hewison, Kevin. “Thailand Human Development Report. Sufficiency Economy and Human Development.” Journal of Contemporary Asia 38.1 (2008): 212.
MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web.
Matthews, Mervyn. “THAILAND TODAY.” Asian Affairs 34.2 (2003): 148.
EBSCO. Web. “Thailand.” Country Report. Thailand (2009): 1-26. EBSCO. Web.