In its position at the centre of Asean, Thailand can expected major benefits from the creation of the Asean Economic Community to be fully established in 2015, making the region a single market and production base, industrial-estate tycoon Vikrom Kromadit said yesterday. The country can be promoted as a hub for manufacturing of finished products while importing raw materials from other markets at lower costs, he said.
"The AEC will be fully established in 2015, making it similar to EU. The single-community scheme was reaffirmed at the 14th Asean Summit in Hua Hin last year," Vikrom said.
Also last year, Japan and China agreed to provide US$20 billion (Bt664 billion) and $10 billion, respectively, towards the region's land-bridge project, linking the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Transportation facilities in the region will be completed to serve the AEC, and Japan and China themselves will benefit from increased trade with the region.
"Located in the middle of |Asean, Thailand will benefit by |selling more food, garments and pharmaceutical products to the region. Neighbouring countries |like Myanmar [Burma], Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam will be able to export their agricultural products and raw materials to Thailand," Vikrom said.
Thai business entrepreneurs need to invest in and expand |their businesses to enjoy higher economies-of-scale and prepare for higher business transactions.
"The move will benefit all factories located in industrial estates throughout the country, because they'll sell products more easily and on a larger scale," said Vikrom.
"As business people, we need to create working systems with the highest efficiency and at the lowest cost. We need to boost our productivity both in quality and quantity."
He said it was also time for local manufacturers and industrial-estate developers to expand their businesses into neighbouring countries in Indochina. Such expansions will minimise business risks caused by Thailand's political and social instability.
Thai society has been divided like never before in its history, and the country seems to have no security, he said.
Vikrom, who is CEO of the Amata Group, said his organisation's industrial estates in Thailand were home to 700 factories. Amata also has another 100 factories in its industrial estate in Vietnam.
However, the Map Ta Phut crisis will make Thailand lose its competitiveness as an attractive location for manufacturers. It will also bring about a big shortage of local support industries and upstream products.
"The Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate has gathered upstream facilities, and they've been delivering raw materials and parts to other industries throughout the country," Vikrom said.
"The Map Ta Phut crisis will worsen the image of industrial estates related to environmental issues. Villagers will be completely against industrial estates in other areas of the country if estates |similar to those in Map Ta Phut are proposed."
