Inadequate natural resources and a labour shortage have prompted the Commerce Ministry and top industrial company Banpu to focus more on regional investment.

The sectors the ministry sees as suitable for companies to invest in are energy, forest products, furniture, jewellery and textiles.

Foreign Trade Department director-general Rachane Potjanasuntorn said the ministry was planning to meet with state-owned enterprises and some firms in the private sector to urge them expand their overseas investment.

The plan will focus on Indochina and Burma, because countries in the region are abundant in natural resources needed by Thai industries.

Burma is rich in gas and wood suitable for forest products and furniture. Cambodia is more suitable for general industries because it has high demand for basic household goods, and the outlook for the jewellery industry seems promising as it is a source of good quality gemstones.

Laos is best suited for energy enterprises such as power plants, Rachane said.

A ministry survey found that many Thai industries had labour shortages, and the investment-promotion strategy is also aimed at relieving these shortages.

For example, the textile industry needs an additional 60,000 workers, and the jewellery industry will need to boost its workforce by 90,000 over the next five

years.

The government is keen to encourage Thai businesses to branch out in the region, as outsourcing will increase business potential, not just because of lower labour costs, but also because of cheaper production and delivery overheads, Rachane said.

Also, improved infrastructure, such as better roads between Thailand and Laos and a new railway connecting Burma and Thailand will boost business.

The second Thailand-Laos Friendship Bridge is due to open this year.

The bridge is being built

across the lower reaches of the Mekong River connecting the Laotian province of Savannakhet and Baan Song Plueay in Mukdahan.

Another bridge under construction is a 3.3-kilometre bridge over the Huang River, a tributary of the Mekong that separates the Thai province of Loei and Sainyabuli in Laos.

The Thai and Lao governments may also cooperate to promote tourism, Rachane said.

Meanwhile Vitoon Wongkusolkit, Banpu managing director, said the company was negotiating with a Lao firm to co-invest in a lignite mine in Laos. He said the project should be completed next year.

The estimated cost of the project is US$1 billion (Bt39 billion), and the mine is expected to operate for about 25 years.

Vitoon said Banpu would provide most of the capital investment but the Lao government might take a stake.

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation

Vientiane