Thailand Students Shine at FedEx Express/Junior Achievement Regional International Trade Challenge

Thailand Students Shine at FedEx Express/Junior Achievement Regional International Trade Challenge With Innovative Business Ideas Forty-six Students from Eight Asian Markets Show Strong Understanding in International Trade and Fundamentals in Entrepreneurship A pair of teenagers from Thailand scooped the top prize in the FedEx Express/Junior Achievement International Trade Challenge (ITC) regional finals, a three-day competition designed to educate and build entrepreneurship and business skills in young people from Asia-Pacific. The students, Anchisa Pongmanavuth and Natnaree Krabuanrat, beat twenty-three other teams from Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand with an outstanding and innovative business idea in response to this year’s challenge which was to develop a market entry strategy for exporting vuvuzelas, a horn, to South Africa. The team from Thailand came up with ‘Vuvuseika’, an environmentally vuvuzela made from bamboo that can produce sounds of different musical notes with adjustable volume, targeting tourists and sports fans in South Africa. The second place went to the team from Malaysia. Thiruvinothini Thiruvenggadarr and Sofea A. Ghani. They created a vuvuzela travel kit for tourists in South Africa. Named ‘Avontuur’, which means adventure in Dutch, the vuvuzela is a musical instrument that also functions as a telescope. Third-prize winners Germaine Kaw and Sharmaine Yap from Philippines designed a vuvuzela MP4 music player. Jointly organised by FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and the world’s largest express transportation company, Junior Achievement Thailand and JA Worldwide? , the world’s largest organisation dedicated to preparing youths for the working world, the ITC was launched in 2007 and is supported by a US$1.2million grant from FedEx Express over a four-year period involving major markets in the Asia Pacific region. “At FedEx, we recognise that entrepreneurship and businesses are important economic growth drivers. The International Trade Challenge is part of FedEx commitment to inspire young people to become next-generation entrepreneurs by developing their entrepreneurial spirit, imparting business knowledge and transferable life skills,” said David L. Cunningham, Jr., president, FedEx Express Asia Pacific. This year, forty-six students between 15 – 19 years of age from Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand were selected to represent their markets at the regional finals in Singapore after competing at the local challenge in their respective home markets. The panel of judges comprising successful entrepreneurs and esteemed business leaders evaluated the teams on their business acumen, concept and presentation. The students were measured on their thoroughness, creativity and professionalism in developing and executing their business entry strategy. “We are very impressed with the quality of the market entry strategies presented this year. The finalists displayed tremendous ingenuity, creativity, teamwork and communication skills. We hope that this experience will help these students prepare for the challenges of the business world in the future,” said Clifton Chua, Managing Director, FedEx Express Singapore. Sean C. Rush, president and chief executive officer of JA Worldwide, added, “These students epitomize how the next generation of business leaders will collaborate to solve problems and create value for their organizations. JA Worldwide is proud to partner with FedEx to create access for students to experiences like the ITC where they can apply entrepreneurial thought and action.” Now in its fourth year, the ITC has provided more than 4300 students in Asia Pacific a firsthand experience of world trade; enhanced their knowledge of product distribution, promotion, and sales; and developed traits of competition, teamwork, risk-taking, and self-confidence. FedEx employees volunteered as mentors or to help students understand the concept of international trade and guide them in the development of their plans. About FedEx Express FedEx Express is the world's largest express transportation company, providing fast and reliable delivery to more than 220 countries and territories. FedEx Express uses a global air-and-ground network to speed delivery of time-sensitive shipments, by a definite time and date with a money-back guarantee. About FedEx FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. With annual revenues of $35 billion, the company offers integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world's most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 280,000 team members to remain "absolutely, positively" focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. For more information, visit news.fedex.com. About JA Worldwide (Junior Achievement) and JA Thailand Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. JA Thailand is a registered foundation based in Bangkok and operating since 2008. Through a dedicated volunteer network, Junior Achievement provides in-school and after-school programs for students which focus on three key content areas: work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. Today, Junior Achievement reaches one million students in the Asia Pacific region, and more than ten million students in 123 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org NOTE TO EDITORS: FedEx Express press releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://news.fedex.com. For further information, please contact: Stacey Han, Senior Corporate Communications Specialist, FedEx Korea, Thailand and Indochina Tel: + 82 2 738 4939; Email: [email protected] or Aziam Burson-Marsteller: James Best Tel: 02 252 9871 Email: [email protected] or M. L. Pariyada Diskul of Junior Achievement Thailand Tel: (+66) 81-823-6677 Email: [email protected]

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