Govt unveils strategies for reaping benefits of AEC era

They involve the promotion of cross-border trade, developing the competency of local enterprises, and forming business partnerships within Asean in order to promote Thailand as a trading centre in the region.

Speaking yesterday at the “Post-AEC 2015 Plan to Create a Regional Value Chain for Thailand” seminar, Deputy Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn said the government saw Asean integration as a major force driving the Kingdom’s growth in the coming years. 

It will, therefore, focus on plans to prepare both hard and soft infrastructure and enabling Thai enterprises to reap the benefits of integration.

The three strategies involve a plan to develop special economic zones in border areas and promote the growth of cross-border trade; enhance the competency and competitiveness of Thai enterprises to trade and invest outside Thailand; and establish business partnerships within each Asean member state, as well as with other countries, in order to promote Thailand as a regional trading centre.

Cross-border commerce with Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam is targeted to exceed Bt1.5 trillion next year, from this year’s estimated level of about Bt1.1 trillion.

Cross-border trade is expected increase by about 10 per cent a year thereafter, she said.  

Apiradi explained that the government aimed to reduce the cost of logistics for the Kingdom as a whole from about 15 per cent of gross domestic product currently, to 13 per cent in 2022.

 

Infrastructure 

The government will spend Bt3 trillion on hard infrastructure development – roads, railways, ports and airports – as well as on special economic zones. 

It will also focus on soft infrastructure, such as laws, regulations and custom procedures that could be made easier and facilitate more trade and foreign-direct-investment growth, said the deputy minister.

Moreover, the government will closely cooperate with private enterprises in supporting value-chain development and industrial clusters, so that Thai products and services are more highly recognised in the world market for their high quality.

This will also enable companies to lower their production costs, she said.

As part of the goal to promote Thailand as a trading nation, the government will encourage more companies to form close ties with businesses in other Asean enterprises under a single supply chain, and export to third markets.

The government will also encourage them to adopt digital technology for their businesses and create new trading channels, she said. 

This includes supporting e-commerce, online trading networks, the development of local products suitable for online marketing, and the organisation of trade fairs on the Internet.

Nopporn Thepsithar, chairman of the Thai National Shippers’ Council, told the seminar that Thai businesses – and small and medium-sized enterprises in particular – needed to prepare for upcoming full integration under the AEC, as in general they still lacked knowledge about the Asean market. 

The government’s plan to support local businesses to penetrate neighbouring and other Asean markets should help them survive after integration, he said.