Govt fast-tracks approvals under Foreign Business Act; FTI compiling list for Cabinet
The government will support foreign investors by fast-tracking business approvals as a temporary relief measure for businesses incapacitated by the disruption in supply chains caused by the floods.
Deputy Commerce Minister Siriwat Kachornprasart said yesterday that normally the Business Development Department would take about 30 days to consider an application from a foreign firm to do business under the Foreign Business Act (FBA). However, the new procedure will take from only a few days to less than seven days for approval.
The department has already allowed three companies to provide Bt4 billion in loans to their suppliers and retailers so that they will have funds to resume operations in a short time.
The move came after the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) asked the government to relax regulations and shorten the time for giving approval for foreign investors to do business in Thailand.
The measure is aimed at boosting foreign-investor confidence after many firms were hit hard by floods as well as to help Thai operators doing business with those foreign firms to recover.
The FTI is compiling a list of foreign firms that would like to do business under the FBA. The list will soon be proposed to the Cabinet for the fast-track approval process.
Under the act, three firms have already been approved.
Toyota Motor Asia Pacific Engineering and Manufacturing will give Bt3-billion credit to its 33 auto-parts suppliers. Toyota Motor Thailand will offer Bt1-billion credit to its distributors. Thai Horikawa, a wholesaler and retailer of formed metals, will provide credit to its car assembler, which supplies Honda, Toyota and Nissan Group.
The department has found that 348,998 of the total of 506,996 firms were affected by floods this year. Of those firms, 1,684 are foreign.
The department yesterday opened an opportunity fair for flood-affected businesses. Various kinds of franchises were introduced to help small and medium-sized enterprises easily start up a business on low |capital.
The franchises include home-building, electrical-appliance and auto repair, and food and snack sales. It is also providing consultation with state and commercial banks about accessing soft loans under the government’s Bt100-billion rehab fund.
