Small Thai firms should eye opportunities around the region, Surin says
Dr Surin Pitsuwan, the secretary-general of Asean, yesterday urged small and medium-sized Thai enterprises (SMEs) to invest overseas and tap new opportunities within the region.
The Asean Economic Community (AEC) will come into effect in 2015 so small businesses must upgrade to stay competitive in Asean, which will become a single market and production base consisting of 10 member countries.
Surin, a former Thai foreign minister, told a seminar held by chambers of commerce from Nakhon Ratchasima and other northeastern provinces that the market for Thai SMEs will grow 10 times in 2015, when the AEC starts.
From the current domestic market of 64 million people, Thai firms will be able to sell to 600 million consumers in Asean as import duties will be zero for most products.
Surin urged Thai entepreneurs to upgrade their human resource skills and move into higher-technology sectors, as there will be increased competition from lower-wage countries in Asean.
New market opportunities will emerge in Asean, and government agencies will have to help the private sector tap them.
According to Surin, there should be a special state fund to survey and explore new opportunities for SMEs and assign bigger companies to be their mentors.
This will help Thai SMEs relocate factories into other Asean countries. He cited PTT Plc, Siam Cement Group and Charoen Pokphand Group as potential mentors because they are large corporations with proven success in other Asean markets.
In addition, banks and other financial institutions that have branches in other countries should also provide assistance to Thai SMEs to tap new opportunities in other Asean markets.
“It’s necessary for more Thai firms to invest in other Asean countries and for Asean countries to invest here. Otherwise, the AEC will not become a reality because the current intra-Asean trade and investment is still low,” he said.
