Published on 16/11/2012
EABC seeks execs' views on Thailand Dubbing itself the European Union's "window into Thailand", the European-Asean Business Centre (EABC) in Thailand is stepping up its work with a major survey. The survey is being conducted to gather executives' perceptions on the outlook for business growth and the challenges in Thailand, based on a series of local and international factors. The results will help inform people here about what they should do to maintain or even raise the country's profile to attract more European investment. Thailand is hailed as an attractive destination for overseas investment and foreign companies from around the world, including from Europe, a key trade and investment partner of the Kingdom. The EU was Thailand's third-largest export market last year, after Asean and China, and the country's fourth-largest goods supplier. Thai-EU trade value reached â‚Ź32.6 billion (Bt1.27 trillion) in 2011, with Thailand posting a surplus of â‚Ź4.9 billion, or about Bt190 billion. The outlook is bright under the Asean Economic Community (AEC), which kicks off in 2015, putting Thailand into an enviable position with an even greater link to Asia, currently the most vibrant economic region in the world. Hundreds of German companies are operating in Thailand, and the number representing all of Europe could run into thousands. The first part of the EABC's questionnaire deals with the nature of a company's business: main business, revenue, the number of employees and shareholding structure.
The second part seeks to establish the importance of Thailand in responding companies' global strategy, the strategic reasons for the companies to operate a business here, and their perceptions on the outlook for growth of their Thai units within the next two years. They have been asked whether any new investments are planned in the next two years, shortly before the AEC comes into effect, and whether they foresee any major reasons for a change in business performance after its implementation. Country-specific, they have been asked to give opinions on the current status of Thailand in terms of logistics infrastructure, human-resources issues - high costs, lack of expertise and limits placed on foreigners public institution/ political instability, as well as transparency and corruption that could affect their operations. They are also asked to evaluate the current political situation and outlook/policy and regulatory environment/regulatory enforcement and implementation/support for investors. Included in the list of external factors that could affect performance are the AEC, Thailand's possible free-trade agreement with the EU, the Asean-EU FTA, the economic crisis in the EU, and the slowdowns in China and the United States. "They [the views] will form the basis for the EABC in our dialogue and engagement with the Thai authorities towards enhancing the ease of doing business and improvement of trade and investment conditions in Thailand ," the centre said in a letter recently e-mailed to members. "Our understanding of your needs will also help improve our support services and make them more relevant to you." The results of the survey will be presented to the public and the media in December and January.