Firms told of huge opportunities from infrastructure development

Moreover, regional integration and economic development in Asean will benefit local small and medium-sized enterprises, enabling them to cash in on business growth and opportunities.
Thai companies, particularly SMEs, need to take this opportunity to invest in and expand their businesses to enjoy higher economies of scale and prepare for a much-increased level of business, Vikrom Kromadit, industrial-estate tycoon and CEO of Amata Corp, said this week.
Speaking at a forum entitled ‘Thai SMEs in the Asean-China era,” hosted earlier this week by |the Thailand-China Business Council, Vikrom said SMEs – defined as any organisation with assets of more than Bt200 million and up to 200 employees – |accounted for about 90 per cent of overall businesses around the world, as well as more than 50 per cent of global employment.
“There are currently about 1,200 factories located at Amata Nakorn Industrial Estate in Chon Buri, and about 250 of them are [operated by] SMEs. They produce machinery and auto parts,” said Vikrom.
Meanwhile, about 98 per cent of all enterprises in China are SMEs, which generate over 60 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.
In Asean, almost 90 per cent of business enterprises are SMEs, which contribute about 50 per cent of the region’s GDP, between 50 per cent and 80 per cent of all employment, and 20 per cent to 30 per cent of the region’s exports.
For Thailand, SMEs’ economic contribution amounted to Bt4.4 trillion last year, accounting for about 37.4 per cent of the Kingdom’s GDP, he said.
Asean’s 10 member countries cover a combined area of 4.4 million square kilometres and have a population of 636 million. The region’s GDP came in at US$2.6 trillion (Bt84.7 trillion) last year, representing growth of 5 per cent from the 2013 level.
When China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India are included, the Asean Plus 6 market will be huge, with an area of 25.8 million square kilometres, a population of more than 3.4 billion, and a combined GDP of around $21.9 trillion, he said.
 Due largely to the political conflict in the first part of the year, Thailand’s economic growth was less than 1 per cent last year.
The country’s GDP growth per capita was also quite low when compared to neighbouring countries, he added.
Vikrom said the planned infrastructure and economic developments both in Thailand and neighbouring countries, such as the North-South and East-West Corridors as well as the Dawei deep-sea port and industrial project, would encourage trading and investment opportunities throughout the region.
Transportation and logistics development and connection between Thailand and China will help promote overall trade and
 investment activities within Asean.
Trade value between China and Asean amounted to $460 billion last year, a level that is expected to surge to about $1 trillion in 2020.
Ning Fu Kui, the Chinese ambassador to Thailand, said bilateral trade between China and Thailand stood at $72.6 billion last year, with average annual growth of about 26 per cent in recent years.
Moreover, the Board of Investment last year approved investment privileges for 40 projects from China worth around Bt38 billion in total last year.
“The development of mega-investment and infrastructure projects in Thailand will also lead to further development and the exchange of trade and investment between Thailand and China,” said the ambassador.