Logistics development stressed
Meet sought as operators bid to ensure competitiveness
Major private organisations and logistics services have jointly urged the government to call a meeting of the National Logistics Development Committee to develop the country's logistics system and infrastructure urgently to ensure competitiveness under the Asean Economic Community.
Under the AEC timetable, investors in Asean will be allowed to hold a 70-per-cent stake in the logistics business by 2013.
Paiboon Ponsuwanna, chairman of the Thai National Shippers Council, said the country needed a clear development strategy on logistics services.
The committee was set up eight years ago by then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, but met only three times during Abhisit Vejjajiva's administration. Yet it is important to have a national logistics development plan with cooperation among concerned government agencies and the private sector.
The main focuses for the country's logistics development include the development of single-window entry in preparation for the seamless Asean market in 2015 and allowance of Asean investors to hold 70 per cent in logistics businesses.
Currently, the government protects logistic businesses for Thai enterprises, with foreign investors allowed less than 50-per-cent shares in such companies.
To prepare for cross-border investment, Paiboon said Thai enterprises should be more active by tightening cooperation and linking networks with other Asean investors.
He warned that many foreign logistics providers from the United States and Europe were registering their companies in Singapore to qualify as Asean investors. Inevitably, Thailand will not be able to forbid their investment under the Asean integration. Thus local enterprises should urgently develop their operations to ensure survival in the future.
Networks
Pera Kanchanapop, executive director of Asia Road Express and ThaiSomdej Logistics, said Thai logistics providers needed to increase their networks among small entrepreneurs to strengthen their competitiveness against other Asean investors.
Logistics enterprises also need to improve their language ability, while the government should increase connectivity for the transport system to facilitate growth of the logistics business.
Malee Uabharadorn, chief of the transport and logistics group at the Transport Ministry's Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning, said the government was developing infrastructure under the North-South and East-West corridors to connect seven Asean transport routes.
To promote Thailand as the logistics hub of Asean, the Thailand International Logistics Fair (TILOG 2011) will be held from September 22-25 at Bitec Bang Na.
Nuntawan Sakuntanaga, director-general of the Export Promotion Department of the Commerce Ministry, said this year's event would focus on how to provide connectivity among Asean logistics enterprises.
TILOG 2011 will feature more than 189 leading logistics operators in more than 382 booths.
