More foreign firms allowed to do business in Thailand

Department of Business Development (DBD) Director-General Pongpan Jiarawiriyipan.

Thailand has granted 39 more international companies permission to launch their businesses in the country, bringing the total number of foreign firms allowed to operate their businesses here to 225 in the first seven months of this year.
Department of Business Development (DBD) Director-General Pongpan Jiarawiriyipan said the latest meeting concerning foreign businesses agreed that 39 more foreign firms should be allowed to operate here, an increase of some 50 percent from the prior figure, hiking investments by four times to Bt5.676 billion, and increasing employment for Thais by 527 jobs.
Out of the 39 recently allowed foreign businesses, 21 firms were subsidiaries or partnerships from Japan, Singapore, China, Malaysia, Australia, and the Netherlands, with a combined investment value of Bt4.605 billion.
Nine other firms were part of government enterprises and partnerships from France, Japan, China, the Netherlands, and Germany, with a combined investment value of Bt1.011 billion.
For the first seven months of this year, the DBD granted 225 international firms permission to conduct businesses in Thailand, creating an investment value of Bt13.49 billion, an increase of around 10 percent in foreign firms allowed and a hike of 13 percent in investment, respectively, compared to the year before. (MCOT)

Thai agencies revising labor law to deal with human trafficking

Puntarik Smiti, deputy permanent secretary for labor.

Thailand’s labor law is now being revised by several concerned government agencies and upon completion it could guarantee customers overseas that there is neither child labor, forced labor nor human trafficking in Thailand, said Puntarik Smiti, deputy permanent secretary for labor.
Most of the human trafficking problem, as accused by the US, lies in the fishing industry sector and concerned agencies such as the Labor Ministry, the Fisheries and Marine departments are currently amending laws related to trawler registration and foreign employees registration, said Ms Puntarik.
All the seven fishing labor coordination offices in seven provinces will play a major role to prevent any abuse in the fishery sector from occurring to ensure that good labor practices are implemented. “It could be proof to show to customers in foreign countries that there’s no child labor, forced labor and human trafficking,” according to Puntarik.
A working committee met recently to discuss the negative US annual report, issued June 20, which downgraded Thailand to “Tier 3” which is the lowest level after accusing five industries in the kingdom including the shrimp, textiles, sugarcane, pornographic materials and fishing industries of using child and forced labor.
Washington had held Thailand on Tier 2 warning list for four consecutive years before dropping the kingdom to an even lower level.
Puntarik said the meeting decided that the Labor Ministry and concerned government agencies would cooperate more on four issues.
The four issues which are needed for urgent implementation are to regulate migrant workers, which is being implemented now under orders of the National Council for Peace and Order, labor inspection at offices and aboard fishing trawlers, amending laws and to regulate foreign laborers.
A public forum is expected to be held August 1 in Bangkok, aimed at making Thai society to better understand how human trafficking problems are being solved by government agencies. (MCOT)

Commerce Ministry: VAT increase will not affect spending

The Permanent Secretary of Commerce is confident that the announced VAT hike, from the current 7% to 10% in October 2015, will not affect public spending.
According to Commerce Permanent Secretary Chutima Boonyaprapatson, the VAT hike is inevitable as the economic setback forced the previous government to keep it on hold and that the hike is more acceptable to the public now as the local economy has begun to improve.
Furthermore, the VAT hike is making more sense as the kingdom is entering the AEC next year, saying the nation must adjust its tax rate to match those of other ASEAN members.
The public has been given ample time to prepare for the change thus the hike should not affect their spending, she added. (NNT)

Special Report: Thailand, Vietnam aim to boost bilateral trade

Thailand and Vietnam have expressed their intention to achieve a bilateral trade target of 15 billion US dollars by the year 2020.
The issue was discussed when Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Acting Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow co-chaired the 4th Thailand - Vietnam Political Consultation Group with Pham Quang Vinh, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok.
Sihasak reiterated Thailand’s commitment to enhance bilateral cooperation with Vietnam, which was upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2013.
Both sides attached importance to enhancing regional connectivity by utilizing R8, R9 and R12 ASEAN highway routes for trade and investment benefits. Currently, Thailand is in the process of finalizing three bills related to the Mekong Sub-region Cross-Border Transport Facilitation Agreement.
Both sides also discussed commemorative activities for celebration of the 40th anniversary of Thai-Vietnamese diplomatic relations. Vietnam and Thailand officially established diplomatic relations on August 6, 1976.
Thailand and Vietnam also agreed to cooperate on consular affairs and set up a mechanism to handle this matter. The permanent secretary requested Vietnam to reduce the death sentences handed down to two Thai women for drug offences. The vice minister accepted the permanent secretary’s request for further consideration.
On ASEAN, Vietnam expressed its appreciation to Thailand for the latter’s role as coordinator for the ASEAN-China relations. Both sides placed importance on peace and security in the region, especially in the South China Sea, and welcomed the recent relocation of China’s oil rig from the disputed area.
Thailand and Vietnam also agreed upon expediting negotiations between ASEAN and China on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea in order to set a legally binding instrument to increase mutual trust, build confidence and reduce tensions in the South China Sea. Presently, four ASEAN Claimant States (Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam) are discussing the possibility of tangible measures that ensure avoidance of conflict and build trust among parties concerned in the South China Sea. Thailand will host the Senior Official Meeting of ASEAN-China on the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in October 2014.
Finally, Sihasak expressed his appreciation to Vietnam for its understanding of the political situation in Thailand. He also briefed the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam on the recent political developments and the National Council of Peace and Order’s three-phase roadmap. (NNT)

Nearly 2,000 sacks of rice missing from Ayutthaya warehouse

About 2,000 sacks of rice have gone missing from a warehouse in Ayutthaya Province.
Upon inspection of Baan Praek Rice Storage in Baan Praek District of Ayutthaya, which houses 140,314 sacks of rice bran collected during the 2013-2014 season, government’s rice inspectors found traces at the top of the rice stacks indicating that some sacks of rice had been moved.
Later on in the day, the inspecting team inspected PP&P Warehouse in Phachee District and found that 1,725 sacks, out of the 75,335 bags of 5% broken rice stored in the warehouse were missing from the stockpile. (NNT)

BoT urges businesses to trade in yuan with China

The Bank of Thailand (BoT) is supporting the idea that Thai businesses trade with China in China’s currency, the yuan, as it could help them lowering forex risks and simultaneously assist them in expanding their business, according to Chantavarn Sucharitakul, assistant to the BoT governor.
Ms Chantawan told participants at a Bangkok seminar that the BoT has persuaded the Thai private sector to increase its trade and investment with China in the yuan currency following encouragement from Beijing.
While there might be “some limitations” in the beginning, the large size of China’s economy and international trade along with support given by financial institutions, the use of the yuan could help lower costs and at the same time reduce forex risks, she said.
Currently, bilateral trade between China and Thailand amounts to 14 percent of Thailand’s total exports, and China is Thailand’s number one trading partner.
Meanwhile, Richard Duncan, chief economist at Singapore’s Blackhorse Asset Management, a seminar participant, told journalists that implementing the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), scheduled for the end of 2015, would help the bargaining power of ASEAN members.
Intra-ASEAN trade and investment could grow further and help ease the impact of a sluggish global economy, said Duncan, adding that it is projected that the world economy would remain in recession for another one or two years.
China’s economy has been the major driving force for Asian economy in the past, but it probably would take some time for its economy to help global economy to get out of recession, Duncan added. (MCOT)