The Commerce Ministry will soon set up a "One Stop Service Centre" in Bangkok to assist foreign enterprises whose properties were damaged by the recent political unrest.
Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot said yesterday the Finance Ministry and the Small and MediumSized Enterprises Development Bank will relax their regulations to allow foreign companies to borrow money from the bank.
This followed an appeal from the enterprises that the government should cover their damage as they have failed in getting compensation from insurance companies.
Masato Otaka, economics minister at the Japanese Embassy in Thailand, said that many Japanese shops need full compensation as they still cannot resume operations.
"More than 50 Japanese shops were the hardest hit by the unrest. Most are located in CentralWorld. The government needs to compenŽsate them for property damages as insurance companies have refused to pay for losses caused by terrorism," he said. Otaka explained that insurers argued the policies did not cover "terrorism". The government needs to be careful in using the word "terrorism", he said.
A source from the Thailand Hong Kong Traders Association said the government must be cautious in using the word "terrorism". He suggested the government consider using money from supporters of the "terrorists" to compensate affected companies. About 5060 firms have been impacted by the political unrest during the past two months. Most are service providers and traders. The source said the political insta?bility has seriously hit investor confidence. They may consider investing overŽseas, in countries with more political stability.
Lukas Gasser, deputy head of misŽsion Embassy of Switzerland, said that foreign enterprises hope there would be no discrimination between Thai and foreign enterprises.
Many Swiss firms have faced busiŽness difficulties because of lower turnover. Investors expect govŽern?ment support to help shoulder their losses, he said.