Reforms and 'strategic thinking' keys to survival in AEC
Reforms in the education system, transport and telecommunication, and legal areas will be the keys to greater competitiveness among private companies as they prepare for regional integration under the Asean Economic Community, said a veteran banker.
Speaking at a seminar on “The AEC: The New Step for Thai Business”, Banthoon Lamsam, chief executive officer of Kasikornbank, said Thai businesses would be able to cope with the integration, even as they are busy dealing with challenges at home such as higher production costs.
However, competitiveness would have to rise significantly with help from the public sector.
Political policy must form systems that clear the way for the AEC, he said, adding that Thailand faced a lack of knowledgeable people, so the government must improve the quality of the education system.
The authorities must also improve transport and telecommunications to enhance the convenience of border trade, Banthoon said.
The final area that will have a crucial role in finalising the nation’s economic preparation for the AEC is the legal aspect.
Many bills that support fair business activities are before Parliament
but are facing political delays, and Banthoon warned that small and medium-sized enterprises in particular were at risk of losing competitiveness, which would be a barrier to the country’s development.
He said the AEC was just a jigsaw of free-trade mechanisms to which Thai businesses would have to adapt. He suggested that those enterprises that wanted to compete within Asean should quickly adopt strategic thinking, including efficient organisational communication and human-resource management. Such strategic thinking is a tool for business sustainability, he said.
“When you have products in hand, you must think how to improve them in line with market requirements with cost efficiency,” he said.
“Developed countries like Japan have faced the challenge of higher production costs. [Japan] needs to relocate production bases to lower-cost countries. Thailand is the same as Japan; we are not a lower-cost country any more.
Therefore, cost efficiency and new locations to serve cost efficiency are becoming new challenges for business owners, and strategic thinking is required,” Banthoon said.
