Construction-material firms in Thailand are looking for new markets as domestic spending and exports – especially to the US and Europe – both show significant declines.

SCT, a subsidiary of Siam Cement Group (SCG), said the decline in exports will keep total sales for this year somewhere between 0 per cent and 5 per cent below last year’s figure of Bt70 billion, managing director Kalin Sarasin said.

The company’s business strategy this year is to find new export markets in Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere, he said.

The company exports between 7-8Mt per year. It is trying to boost this figure to make up for a drop in domestic consumption of between 5 and 10 per cent due to a decline in new property projects, Kalin said.

Source: The Nation (Thailand)