The delay was due to a lengthy search for a suitable editor by McGraw-Hill in New York. The launch had been slated for July. Chakrit Tubsungnearn, who has worked on business magazines such BrandAge and FourPs, takes over as editor and editor-in-chief. He joins from Mammom Corporatin, a Bangkok-based media company, where he was assistant MD.
The title, licensed by McGraw-Hill and published by Bangkokstation Network, will be monthly and take content from BusinessWeek and BusinessWeek.com plus locally sourced stories.
“BusinessWeek Thailand is the first truly global business magazine published in Thai,” commented Bangkokstation’s executive director, Andrew Batt. “It has taken longer than anticipated to get off the ground, because there has been a determination to find worldclass editorial staff. But now it has launched, we are happy to have published a genuinely strong product.”
BusinessWeek Thailand is the third local language edition in Asia, adding to editions in Indonesia and China. The initial print run will be 30,000 with a cover price of 175 baht (US$6). When BusinessWeek China launched, in 1986, the title was published bi-monthly with an initial print run of 25,000 — which has grown to more than 100,000.
The news comes almost two years after BusinessWeek closed its European and Asia editions in favour of online versions. After failing to find a wide enough audience, so McGraw Hill switched to a localisation strategy.
