Article by Petchanet Pratruangkrai
Published on February 4, 2009 in The Nation

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva last night reassured the foreign business community his administration would not amend or modify the Foreign Business Act, because it wanted to maintain an investment-friendly atmosphere.

He spoke at a dinner hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (Amcham).

The premier told the gathering of more than 600 US and other foreign business people Thailand would continue to pursue a path of democracy and free-market economics while seeking to restore domestic harmony and international confidence in the Kingdom.

Earlier, Amcham president David Carden said US companies operating here were likely to scale down their businesses, in order to minimise costs during the global economic crisis.

“[As in the US], some downsizing will happen in Thailand,” he said yesterday, adding that the automotive and banking sectors had been hit hard.

Carden, CEO of FedEx Thailand, said he hoped the global economic crisis would bottom out in the second half of the year, after which the US economy was likely to recover.

Carden also sounded upbeat on Thailand’s economic outlook, saying 2009 could see growth of up to 2 per cent in the gross domestic product, as forecast by the government. The outlook had been buoyed by recent parliamentary endorsement of a US$116-billion (Bt4 trillion) economic-stimulus package.

With an elected government now running the country and formulating strategies for boosting growth, Carden said the Thai economy was now heading in the right direction even though tourism and foreign direct investment (FDI) remained sluggish.

To attract more FDI, Carden said Thailand would have to compete more rigorously with other countries, especially Vietnam, but he also said there would be fewer US investors in Thailand, due to the global economic crisis.

He urged the government to revamp rules and regulations on customs to facilitate international trade, making transparency, fairness and predictability key features.

Unlike their counterparts in the US, Thai banks are not exposed to significant toxic assets, so they are in better shape, Carden said.

However, Thai exports have been hit hard by the global economic crisis, so the government will have to focus on revitalising exports and international trade.

On the red-shirt anti-government rallies, he said protests within the rule of law were acceptable in a democratic system, so there should be no negative impact on the Kingdom’s political stability.

Courtesy NationMultimedia.com