Popular Pantip IT mall makes way for Asean wholesale food centre
The famous Pantip Plaza IT mall in Bangkok’s Pratunam area has been turned into a food wholesale centre serving the entire Southeast Asian region, and is scheduled to open in June.
It has been rebranded as “AEC Food Wholesale Pratunam”, an integrated wholesale platform that connects both online and offline wholesale experiences.
Wallapa Traisorat, chief executive and president of Asset World Corp Plc (AWC), which owns the project, said on Thursday that it would increase the potential for buyers and sellers to transact more conveniently, from product sourcing to delivery and payment.
Through the project, buyers and sellers of food products in the Asean Economic Community (AEC) – essentially the 10 Asean member countries – can be engaged in business negotiations offline at the premises on any day and via its online platform 24/7, Wallapa said.
She said AEC Food Wholesale Pratunam, which covers a gross floor area of 67,000 square metres, offers access to more than 600 leading operators of food products from around the world.
About 30,000 square metres of the building are allocated for retail businesses.
Their products include frozen and chilled food, dairy products, condiments, raw materials, rice, beverages, coffee and tea, snacks and sweets, as well as household items.
The project, which requires an investment of 10 billion baht, is billed as an “integrated wholesale platform for non-stop opportunity”, according to the AWC chief executive.
“We will no longer focus on IT or use the name Pantip. IT will be limited to a corner and its area will be gradually reduced,” she said.
“We are turning this place into a wholesale centre for the food industry in the region under the concept ‘integrated wholesale platform for non-stop opportunity’ through allies in the public and private sectors,” Wallapa said.
“We are bringing together wholesale food sellers from around the world and buyers from across AEC in one place,” she added.
Southeast Asia’s food market is estimated to be worth US$700 billion (25 trillion baht) this year and is expected to expand by 30% within the next five years to $900 billion, according to Wallapa.
Thailand’s food market is about 10% of the entire Southeast Asian region, worth about 2 trillion baht, and has seen a strong growth, she said.
Many state agencies and private businesses have been involved in the project. These include the Thai Commerce and Industry ministries, as well as the foreign chambers of commerce from the UK, China, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Spain.
Several leading Thai food producers are also a part of the project, including Berli Jucker, CPF Global Food Solution, Thai Beverage, Thai Union, Betagro, and Tipco Foods.
Pantip Plaza first opened in 1984 and became known as a place to buy IT products and computer software. During its boom, the place was known as a haven for people looking for pirated computer programs.
In 1987, TCC Group, which was founded by Thai tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, bought the property and turned it into an IT mall.
In 2021, with Pantip Plaza’s declining popularity as an IT mall, AWC, a subsidiary of TCC Group, rebranded it as “AEC Trade Center Pantip Pratunam”.
As AEC Food Wholesale Pratunam starts operations in June, the name Pantip will be gone 39 years after it came into existence.
