Suphachai Sunthornpadungsin, chief executive officer for books and magazines, said the group planned to acquire licences to publish Thai-language versions of popular foreign magazines, as well as to produce its own.
Suphachai moves to the NMG from Reader's Digest Thailand, where he was the founding managing director.
Industry watchers expect the group to launch its magazine stable with one or more women's titles, which absorb about 70 per cent of the adspend going to magazines each year. According to Nielsen Media Research, adspend on magazines hit 3.63 billion baht last year.
The women's magazine market has, over the last few years, seen the entry of international brands Elle, Cleo, Cosmopolitan, Lisa and most recently Seventeen. Among popular foreign women's titles that have yet to launch in Thailand in the local language are Vogue and Marie Claire.
Meanwhile, NMG has appointed Kavipol Supatravanij to head its event marketing and supplements division, and to develop it into an integrated marketing communications unit. "The aim is to give our customers maximum exposure through all our communications tools," said Kavipol, previously with Amway.
NMG publishes The Nation, Krungthep Turakij and Kom Chad Luek dailies.
It also runs National Channel, a 24-hour news station.
