Asean strengths hinge on 3 pillars

 

Speaking at a seminar "National Agenda: The new era of Thai economy under the AEC", she said that in the next three years, many actions are to be launched to prepare the Thai economic sector to the regional integration. 

"We've got little time and we need to put all efforts for the preparation," she said. 

She said that Thailand would need to prepare in four major areas.

First, as the AEC allows free flows of products and services, Thailand has the competitive advantage as a manufacturing hub.

Second, for even economic development, transparency is the key. In this regards, as the import tariffs will be brought down to zero, Thailand's manufacturers need to thoroughly consider manufacturing locations, to ensure competitivenesss in term of cost. 

Third, to maintain competitiveness, productivity will be key and there will be measures to boost the productivity.

Fourth, how Asean countries can improve their bargaining power in the global stage through the integration. 

"Thailand has drawn investment thanks to resources and its position as gateway to Asean. What we will see from now is the greater mobility of goods and services, and resources outside Asean will become cheaper. This will be driven by market mechanism," she said. 

She also reiterated the government's policy to support export-oriented SMEs and other types of investment. She urged the private sector to provide information to the government, and the public-private workshops would be organised for provincial businesses under the supervision of the Board of Trade and assistance from provincial governors as well as the Interior Ministry.