Global M&A slowdown to benefit Pantavanij

The company last month participated in the annual general meeting of the Open Network for Commerce Exchange, an organisation representing market-place operators, suppliers, customers, service providers and others dedicated to business-to-business e-commerce.

The meeting was held in France from April 23-25. Members discussed collaboration among themselves, their obstacles and problem-solving.

CEO Tri Kanchanadul yesterday said members understood that M&A deals this year would not be as aggressive as in previous years, which meant companies around the world would concentrate on developing their business instead. This will also be a positive factor for e-procurement.

"In the past years, the number of businesses globally switching to e-procurement have grown 30 per cent per year. I predict it will surpass 30 per cent this year, while in Thailand growth will reach 15-30 per cent," he said.

Tri said only 5 per cent of Thai companies used e-procurement, because of limited confidence in it.

"Several e-procurement companies around the world face the same problem: client acquisition. For every potential 10 clients our company approaches, we gain three. We also found a new foreign client at this meeting," he said.

Pantavanij expects revenue of Bt200 million this year, up from Bt170 million last year. The company will focus on medium-sized companies this year and has 164 clients, of which 10 are large corporations.

"We plan to add 20 large corporate clients this year," Tri said.