Permanent Secretary Chakramol Phasukvanich said that authority had assigned two parties, the Board of Investment (BoI) and Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT), to intensify its efforts to clarify to local and foreign investors alike that major investment policies remained the same despite the coup. He made his remarks after a meeting with senior officials.

He said the BoI would be responsible for relaying the message to the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, British Chamber of Commerce, American Chamber of Commerce and German Chamber of Commerce in Thailand. The BoI will also travel abroad in effort to put oversees investors at ease. The IEAT will communicate with investors in the country, especially those with operations in industrial estate parks.

"Since the coup, foreign investors who have a long experience investing in Thailand, especially in the automotive industry, are unfazed," said Chakramol.

That's because last week's coup was bloodless, he said.

But he said foreign investors who had never invested in the country might delay making decisions. "After the new government is formed, the BoI will organise road shows abroad in tandem with the finance and commerce ministries.

Chakramol said the Industry Ministry would officially propose revisions to its projection of 2007 industrial investment and forecasts to the government that the coup leaders installed.

"Overall, the economic situation next year will be better, because of decreasing oil prices and interest rates," he said, adding that another positive outcome of the coup was that the budgetary process would be moved up, enabling its implementation within a few weeks after the new government was set up.

Watcharapong Thongrung

 The Nation