Shifting Thailand into the 'third wave'
While Thailand has lost competitiveness in many industries, the government is making good progress in its plan to shift the Kingdom into the "third wave" of its economic development, Deputy Prime Minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula said yesterday.
Citing various physical and digital infrastructure investment projects and new Board of Investment (BOI) incentive regimes, Pridiyathorn – who heads the government’s economic team – said he was on a mission to uplift Thailand to become "a trading nation with competitive modern industries".
The deputy PM said that after decades of high export growth, the country had lost competitiveness in a lot of products, as evidenced by the negative export-growth figures in both 2013 and 2014, while it was highly likely further negative growth in overseas shipments would be witnessed again this year.
"We need to change," he said.
The BOI has revamped its investment packages to promote and attract modern and high-value added industries, such as biotechnology, nano-technology, medical devices and aerospace.
Thailand needs to move up, for example, from food processing to medical foods; from natural and synthetic rubber to technical and functional rubber products; from electrical appliances to "Internet of Things" products; and from automotive to aerospace industries, he said.
Pridiyathorn was speaking at a seminar titled "Thailand: A Regional Trading and Modern Industry Hub" organised by the BOI.
During the first five months of the year, the BOI approved 1,094 projects valued at Bt145 billion, of which 216 are in modern industries – more than double the earlier expectation of getting about 100 modern-industry projects in the period.
"This is a positive indicator that investors have strong confidence in the country and see the future of these modern industries in Thailand," he said.
The approved modern-industry projects include those in the BOI categories of digital-economy projects; science, technology and innovation projects; medical products; speciality materials and eco-friendly products; electronics projects, such as control and measurement, and parts; automotive projects, such as engine parts; and human-resource development and regional training centres.
"This can be the third wave of what we call modern industries," he told the seminar.
The deputy prime minister also elaborated on the government’s infrastructure development plan, including the expansion of dual-track railways, and its "digital economy" programme, which includes expansion of the nationwide broadband network and a revamp of related laws and regulations to facilitate electronic transactions.
In regard to the government’s "trading nation" policy, during the first five months of the year, the BOI received 14 applications for international trading centres and four applications to establish international headquarters, for projects valued at Bt177 million and Bt149 million respectively.
"We expect more to come. We believe we will become the international trading hub of Asia," he said.
