Thailand's
Board of Investment is encouraging local industrial, auto, agricultural,
textile and travel companies to invest in Asean countries to cash in on the
seamless market when the Asean Economic Community is fully formed in 2015.
According to the agency's in-depth study of
these five industries, Thai firms should invest in the restaurant, spa and
resort businesses in Singapore as the city-state draws a huge number of
tourists, Songsak Limbanyen, deputy secretary-general of the BoI, said
Thursday.
He was speaking at the BoI's seminar to
prepare local enterprises to tap the potential presented by the upcoming AEC.
In Malaysia, they should invest in the halal
food business and health tourism, while in Indonesia, they should focus on
fisheries for exporting processed seafood. The attractive businesses in the
Philippines are processed fruit and spare auto parts.
Customs procedures should also be modified to
facilitate Thai businesses investing in Asean, he added.
Thanit Sorat, deputy chairman of the
Federation of Thai Industries, said high wages would endanger the entire
economy.
Small and medium-sized enterprises must
urgently adjust their operations to deal with the impacts from the AEC. The
biggest concern is the influx of Chinese investors, which register their
business in Singapore as a local firm to be eligible for privileges under the
AEC, he said.
Yuthana Silpasanwit, director of the Thai
Garment Manufacturers Association, said Thai textile manufacturers have already
set up factories in Asean countries, especially Vietnam, Indonesia and Laos, to
source low-cost labour and raw materials. Each factory employs about 6,000
workers.
What the private sector, especially SMEs,
needs from the government is comprehensive information on investment
opportunities in Asean countries, he said.
According to the Asean Investment Surveillance
Report 2011, last year Asean welcomed foreign direct investment of US$75.8
billion, up from US$37.8 billion a year earlier. Asean investment in Thailand
during the past eight months has increased year on year, with Singapore in the
lead.
The BoI granted tax privileges to 47
Singaporean projects during the period worth 22.18 billion baht (US$710.4
million), up 30 per cent year on year.
Malaysian investors followed with 19 projects
promoted by the BoI. Those projects were worth 3.79 billion baht (US$121.4
million), up 16 per cent.
Watcharapong Thongrung
The Nation (Thailand)
Business & Investment Opportunities
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