Date : 28/3/2006

News Release
by MIM Program

Asian Moot Corp is the largest and oldest international Entrepreneurial Business Plan Competition in the region. This year Sasin Asian Moot Corp widened competition participation by both creating a Preliminary Summary Plan Round and contacting more than 80 Asian MBA programs from more than 25 Asian countries. From a total of 29 applications, a record twenty teams from across Asia, including six from Thailand, competed in the Sasin Asian Moor Corp 2006 from 23-25 March 2006 at Sasin Graduate Institute of Business administration of Chulalongkorn University. Four Thai business graduate programs were represented at this Asian Moot Corp Competition: Thammasat University, Mahidol University, Sasin and Chulalongkorn University.
On March 25, 2006, the four teams of student entrepreneurs, all are in their master’s studies, went head to head in the finals of the Sasin Asian Moot Corp Competition, and competed for a top prize of $5,000 and a position to participate at the Global Moot Corp 2006 Competition at the University of Texas at Austin.
As the defending champion of the Global Moot Corp Competition, Thammasat University, represented by students from the MIM program lived up to its strong entrepreneurial reputation to be the only school to achieve two teams reaching the final round. The finals were dominated by Thai teams with Thammasat’s Rubber Way and Angel Co.; College of Management of Mahidol University (CMMU)’s Aqua Siam; and finally Japan’s Hitosubashi University’s Total Recall. Mahidol, with a young and spirited team, enthralled the judges with their environmentally friendly waste water treatment product to earn the grand prize of $5,000. Thammasat’s Rubber Way finished 2nd for a prize of $3,000, Angel Co. finished 3rd for $1,500, and Hitosubashi’s Total Recall finished 4th for $1,500.

Rubber Way, the second-prize winning team comprising of Mr. Pairoj Jongprasanwong, Mr. Nathasit Wajasittisilp, Ms. Mayura Phitaksuksanti and Ms. Nuttha Prathuangsuksri, aims to modernize the century old manual rubber tapping process, by introducing a new automated tapping device, the R-Speed 1. It uses a patented rotating blade to make a perfect 2.5mm cut to the tree, saving 40% labor time, and extending the life of a tree for an approximate 7 years.

Rubber Way benefited with a simple product which was easily understood by the local judges in a large Thai industry. They withstood the challenging questions around protecting its IP from copycats, and convincing judges that farmers and tappers would be willing to buy a device at a price 20 times their current method. They answered questions well, and won Best Presentation.

The third-prize winning team Angel Co. provides an innovative media channel to directly reach “teens and tweens” via interactive voice advertising through their mobile phones. Teens will opt in to listen to customized ads in exchange for free talking minutes when joining with Angel’s program.

Angel Co. was one of the most popular businesses, generally attracting the largest crowd, and winning the Best Showcase from Grant Thornton. They were challenged with a panel who tested their ability to get the product to market quickly in the face of rapidly changing technology environment. They showed extreme passion and well prepared around their market research, and demonstrated that their product was more developed than its competitors. A panel not so familiar with Teen Behaviour and new mobile technologies, favoured the winning combinations of larger industrial products. The members in Angel Co. are Mr. Apichai Tienvilairat, Ms. Wilawan Aow, Ms. Nurawadee Vinitchevit and Ms. Ploy Naratusachan.

All members in both teams are the second-year students in the MIM Program of the Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy, Thammasat University.