2024 Overseas Study Program Report
Dates: Sunday, September 8– Saturday, September 14
From Sunday, September 8 to Saturday, September 14, Professor Xiao-ping Wang, Director of the Center for Chinese Business Studies, led a group of 17 overseas study students from the Graduate School of Business Administration on a visit to the Kingdom of Thailand, a country with close economic exchange relations with Japan. With the support of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) International Business School and AMATA Corporation, an industrial park management corporation for foreign companies, the 2024 overseas study program was successfully implemented.The following is a summary of the progress of the entire program, which included special lectures, discussions, presentations by local practitioners and researchers, visits to industrial parks, and company tours.
On September 9, the participants visited the AMATA Corporation Industrial Park Management Division in Chonburi Province, an industrial cluster in the southeastern part of Bangkok, to hear Mr. Sudo Osamu, Executive Director, speak on “Foreign Investment Policy in Thailand, the Actual Situation Surrounding the Clustering of Japanese Companies, and Management Issues” and Mr. Xu Gen Luo, Director in Charge of the Chinese Region, speak on “Direct Investment by Chinese Companies: Mutual Collaboration with Japanese Companies and its Evaluation”. The initial tour was followed by a bus tour of the entire industrial park and visits to two major parts manufacturers: Japanese auto parts manufacturer Vuteq Thai Co., Ltd., and a Chinese parts manufacturer for Daikin Industries air conditioners, Dunan Metals (Thailand) Co.
On September 10, events were held at the Bangkok campus of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC). At the welcome ceremony hosted by the university, Dr. Sasirin Sayasonti, Vice President of UTCC, and Ms. Parichart Thammajinda, Director of the Office of International Relations, gave welcoming remarks and introduced the curriculum. This was followed by a special lecture titled “Business Model Canvas for ESG and High-performance Organization” by Vice President Sasirin Sayasonti and a second special lecture titled “ESG Trend in Thailand and Evaluation” by Dr. Deeprom Devahastin. After the lectures, the students were divided into three groups for a general discussion and presented their results in a business model presentation session. During the campus tour, students visited the recreational space in the building dedicated to the business school and a mock dealing room used for stock trading experience. The day was both stimulating and nerve-racking.
On September 11, the group visited Ajinomoto Co. (Thailand) Ltd., a successful model of Japanese-Thai joint venture and management localization, and Eastern Glass Manufacturer Co. On the morning of September 12, Mr. Wichai Choi, International Division Director, gave a special lecture titled “Thai Investment Market Prospectives: Challenges vs. Opportunities” at the head office of Kasikorn Bank, a major commercial bank in Thailand, and several Japanese staff members joined the discussion. In the afternoon, a visit was made to the headquarters of Flash Group – which was established in 2018 and is rapidly growing into the largest logistics company in Thailand – and received a presentation on the company’s business strategy and business model from Mr. Wanlop Singharat, co-founder and Director of Human Resources.