Thai Chamber urges broad view

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Thai firms should invest more in other Asean countries to take advantage of their low labour costs and an expanded regional market as well as alleviate effects from the imminent wage hike, suggests the Thai Chamber of Commerce.

Bangkok Post

Chairman Pongsak Assakul said since the higher daily minimum wage stands to make such a large impact on production costs, the government should help the private sector, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises.

But the government so far has no clear policy on assistance measures, which could take the form of soft loans instead of grants, he said.

Mr Pongsak believes the direction of trade and investment among Thai companies should move more towards a general Asean policy.

Using other member countries as both a production base and market would be especially beneficial after the Asean Economic Community kicks off in 2015.

They would also be well placed to take advantage of other free trade agreements (FTAs) under the Asean+3 and Asean+6 extended groupings that include China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India.

“The government should encourage entrepreneurs to take advantage of tariff benefits …

Full story from Bangkok Post at http://goo.gl/ogmkv