The Public Warehouse Organisation (PWO) will set up a private company to run its Blue-Flag stores, which sell low-priced groceries and other goods, reports The Bangkok Post.

According to the newspaper, deputy commerce minister Paithoon Kaewthong said the PWO lacked the ability to bargain with suppliers, and thus Blue Flag prices were the same or even higher than those at other retailers. ``The shops are not popular among consumers.''

The PWO had poured 160 million baht into the shops over the past 10 months and had made a profit of only 894,000 baht. Professional marketers from the private sector were needed to turn the shops around, he said. The PWO proposes to hold 49 per cent of the capital in a new joint venture company, the private sector 48 per cent, with 3 per cent reserved for PWO staff.Phaithoon said that the new venture would not only deliver cheap goods as promised to consumers originally, but would be a for-profit organisation.

Newprice structure for school milk

The agriculture ministry wants to establish a reference price structure for the varieties of milk supplied to schools, as they contain different percentages of raw and powdered milk. The proposal, aimed at absorbing the oversupply of raw milk, will differentiate between ready-to-drink milk produced from raw milk and from powdered milk, says The Bangkok Post.The government wanted to create fairer competition among milk producers who used different raw materials, said deputy minister Newin Chidchob. The contracts are lucrative as the programme is worth six billion baht a year. Bids will be called soon.

Newin said UHT milk producers had different production costs, as users of raw milk paid 12 baht a kilogram for raw milk, while those using powdered milk paid 8.50 baht. Current prices, therefore, deterred purchases of raw milk, creating an oversupply.

Philippines to open Dubai tourism office

The Philippines will open a tourism office in Dubai to tap the hugemarket of Gulf travellers and offset the decline in tourists from South-East Asia caused by the economic crisis, reports Gulf News.

Maricon Ebron, head of the Philippine Convention and Visitors' Corp (PCVC) and forerunner of Philippine tourism promotion in the Middle East, said the office will open this year. It will provide information on holiday packages to the Philippines and will also promote Filipino travel to Dubai.

The Philippines has been promoting key destinations, which not only include Manila, but also Boracay, Palawan, Cebu, Bohol, Davao and Baguio, where the Banawe rice terraces, often referred to as the eighth wonder of the world, are located.

Expatriates: Philippines best in Asia

A survey just released in the Hong Kong Standard shows that not only is Hong Kong below Singapore in terms of how its expatriates rank the Asian quality of life, but it languishes in fifth place in the Asian quality league.The Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) asked about 500 foreignbusiness executives to rate a dozen Asian countries on general factors, including healthcare, education, housing, sports and recreational facilities, night life, cultural compatibility and personal security.On a 10-point scale with zero representing the best and 10 indicating the worst, Hong Kong got a total score of 4.35 and ranks fifth.

Surprisingly, the Philippines pipped Singapore for the top place as the most congenial Asian country. Singapore suffered for its very ``squeaky clean'' efficient image, which put off some expatriates for whom having fun is an important aspect of a quality life.

The current survey was the first time that Hong Kong's expensive housing costs were not the main grumble of expatriates. Even though rentals have come down by between 30-50 per cent and commercial establishments have shed some of their reputation for gouging customers, housing prices are still high in the view of the expatriates.