The Thai Trade Center, scheduled to be officially closed Tuesday, March 31, is expected to be reopened once Thailand’s economy strengthens and its currency stabilizes in the next few years, Suwipan Thisyamondol, the center’s director, told GlobalFax.
The center was opened in Atlanta nine years ago and Mr. Thisyamondol has been its director for the past four years. All telephone calls to the center already are being referred to a Thai Center on South Biscayne Boulevard in Miami, and Mr. Thisyamondol is planning to return to Thailand Wednesday, April 1.
Thailand’s financial crisis has made trade increasingly difficult, he said last week in an interview at his former office downtown. Right now, Thai products are cheaper, but with the fluctuation of the currency, buyers don’t want to buy a big load of products at one time… he said.
Nevertheless, he expects that the thousands of contacts he has seen develop between Georgia and Thai businesses involving a wide array of goods ranging from electronics to food products will remain intact.
During his stay, Mr. Thisyamondol launched and managed his Ministry of Commerce’s web page from Atlanta. He said that the site would remain on a local server, but that it would now be managed from Bangkok.
The site may be found at http://www.thaitrade.com To reach the Miami center, call (305) 379-5675; fax, (305) 379-5677.