The roadmaps were created during the 40th general assembly of chambers of commerce, which was held from Friday to Sunday in Ubon Ratchathani province by the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC).
At the conclusion of the assembly, titled “Connecting the dots: Enhancing Thailand’s Competitiveness”, TCC chairman Sanan Angubolkul summed up the roadmaps in three words – “Connect, Competitive, Sustainable”. Some 1,200 representatives of chambers of commerce and state agencies joined the assembly.
Speaking to the press after the assembly, Sanan stated that one of the provincial chambers of commerce’s top priorities is to coordinate efforts between the government and private sectors to improve Thailand’s competitiveness ranking.
Sanan said Thailand is suffering from an economic structure crisis that has caused the country’s competitiveness ranking to fall five spots from last year.
According to Sanan, government support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that need to use digital transformation to increase the effectiveness of their business operations could boost competitiveness.
“Digital transformation is not an option or a way out for SMEs; it must be the primary course of action for their success in the face of the economic crises that are accumulating this year,” Sanan said.
Apart from the economic structure crisis, Sanan cited three other crises:
- Energy prices and consumer products’ prices
- Rising cost of manufacturing and inadequate agricultural materials
- Financial crisis for households and SMEs.
“So, the solution for Thailand to return to economic strength is to find ways to increase its competitiveness in all dimensions – especially the economic dimension through mechanisms that will integrate the work of all sectors,” Sanan said.
The roadmaps were created in the form of flagship projects aimed at driving provincial economies, such as agriculture, trade, investment, and tourism. They were collected into a white-cover book, which the TCC presented to the government at the conclusion of the assembly.
At the press conference on Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow represented the government and accepted the white-cover book from the TCC.
Sanan elaborated on the roadmaps during the press conference as follows:
Connect: The TCC aims to foster collaboration between networks in Thailand and around the world. The TCC aims to grow its membership from 100,000 to 200,000 within three years in order to boost the economic strength of SMEs. Furthermore, the TCC will bring together chamber members from across the country to brainstorm ideas for developing province economies.
Competitive: The TCC will support the government’s efforts to increase Thailand’s competitiveness in all dimensions. It urged the government to build on the success of the recent APEC Summit by attracting more foreign direct investment and expanding free trade agreements with other countries.
Sanan stated that the TCC will collaborate closely with the Board of Investment to attract investments from strategic targets such as Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, and India, while maintaining investors from Japan and the United States.
The TCC will request that the Public Sector Development Commission’s Office revise the rules to make it easier for foreign companies to invest and operate in Thailand.
The TCC will also urge the government to revise and reform laws governing property owned by foreign investors, according to Sanan.
Sanan added that the chamber will also collaborate with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to implement the Trade and Travel policy by developing soft power in each province and promoting tourism in secondary-tier provinces.
Sustainable: Over the next five years, the TCC and its provincial chambers will advocate for the implementation of the Bangkok Goals on the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) economic model for developing economies in provinces with sustainability. The BCG model aims to reduce wealth.
Sustainable: Over the next five years, the TCC and its provincial chambers will advocate for the implementation of the Bangkok Goals on the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) economic model for developing economies in provinces with sustainability. Sanan added that the BCG model aims to close wealth gaps across the country.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa delivered a special speech during the assembly on Saturday to support the BCG economic model, which he said must be implemented alongside the ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) policy.
Varawut stated that the government has a policy in place to implement the BCG economic model in order to reduce carbon emissions by 40% within eight years, but that the administration requires private sector cooperation to achieve the goal.
According to Varawut, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha pledged the goal at an international climate conference last year.
He went on to say that the BCG economic model would be linked to job opportunities in the agricultural and food sectors, the health and medical sector, bio-energy, and tourism. According to him, the value of BCG-related businesses will rise to 4.4 trillion baht in the future, equivalent to 25% of Thailand’s GDP.
Source : nationmultimedia
