5 industries prodded on ASEAN stakes ahead of AEC

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 yesterday.
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 (Bt2.36 trillion), up from $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 Bt22.18 billion, up 30 per cent year on year.
Malaysian investors followed with 19 projects promoted by the BoI. Those projects were worth Bt3.79 billion, up 16 per cent.