DRAFT BUSINESS LAW TO RECEIVE PUBLIC SCRUTINY

       The Commerce Ministry will soon hold nationwide public hearings on the draft Retail and Wholesale Business Act.
       The move is aimed at ensuring fair conditions for businesses covered under the law and preventing any conflicts following implementation.
       Internal Trade Department director-general Yangyong Phuangrach said the ministry would solicit opinions from all relevant sectors.
       Nine public hearings will start this month in Bangkok and upcountry. They will focus on four main points: types of business to be controlled, an agency authorised to approve new businesses, support for small retailers and punishment of violators.
       "The hearings will last for two months, and then the ministry will write a final version and submit it for Cabinet approval. After that, the law can be passed on for parliamentary endorsement for implementation early next year," said Yangyong.
       Previous drafts, which have never made it to the parliamentary-ratification stage, have not received a public hearing. Yangyong wxpressed confidence the hearings will create a better understanding among businesses and consumers regarding the law's necessity.
       After the public hearing, concrete and clear regulations will be written into the lastest draft, to create fair conditions for both small and giant retailers, he said. No one should be against this law after the hearings, because all parties will be able to raise their concerns and give suggestions for what to include, he said.
       Small, traditional retailers have suffered for a long time from the lack of a specific law to control the vast expansion of modern retail and wholsale giants in the Kingdom.
       The department said the number of modern retail businesses had increased considerably between 2005 and this past July. In that period, outlets of Tesco Lotus increased from 184 to 633, Big C from 50 to 77, Carrefour from 23 to 34, Makro from 29 to 42, Tops Supermarket from 81 to 109 and 7-eleven from 3,311 to 4,943.
       The new draft proposes four major business categories for regulation: hypermarkets and superstores, discount stores, supermarkets and convenient stores with combined annoual revenue of more than Bt1 billion. For instance, stores that would fall into these would be Tesco Lotus, Carrefour, Big C, Makro, Tops Supermarkets, 7-Eleven and Lotus Express.
       Convenient stores that have combined annual revenue of more than Bt1 billion and operate in fuelling stations would also be regualted under the draft.
       Department stores, speciality stores and fresh markets would not be regulated under the new draft. Hypermarkets and superstores, discount stores and supermarkets will not be allowed to operate less than 5 kilometres from a municipal area within a community.
       Any such enterprises operating without permission will be subject to one year in jail and/or a Bt1-million fine.
       To promote the development of small retailers, the Commerce Ministry will propose the government set up a Bt2-billion Retail Fund for training and financing, in order to improve their business efficiency.
       Yangyong said the fund would be aimed at developing the competitiveness of more than 400,000 small retailers in the Kingdom, enabling them to compete with modern retailers.