EU bullish again on Thailand

Brussels: European investors agreed in Brussels recently that the business and economic climate in Thailand was again right for much greater collaboration between businesses from the two trading partners. The high-level Thai and European business investors gathered for an Executive Discussion Forum organised by the Thai-European Business Association (TEBA) said it was time for the EU to put politics aside and take advantage of the huge business opportunities that existed, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from both Thailand and EU countries. 

Speakers from several big businesses including Michelin and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) said Thailand was now back on track with its newly appointed cabinet and prime minister, ready to move forward with economic reform, striving to raise competitiveness and strengthening its leading role as a trade and Asean investment hub. 

They were clearly impressed that Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha had met with business leaders from the TEBA within days of his appointment to reassure them his government was seeking to create a Thailand that would be more attractive for their long-term investments. 

Although the discussions focused mainly on the strong growth and success in Thailand by major international companies in the automotive, aerospace, medical and pharmaceutical sectors, the opportunities for SMEs were strongly highlighted. 

Ulrich Kaiser, TEBA president, said the recent announcement by Germany's Volkswagen Group to invest 1 billion euros (41.5 billion baht) to build a new factory to make fuel-efficient cars offered "huge opportunities" for local parts suppliers. 

"They will be bringing a whole new range of technologies to Thailand," he said. "There will be a great deal of know-how transfer." 

Mr Kaiser said he expected Thai-European collaboration to grow "by a factor of 10" in the next five years in the automotive sector alone. 

The plant, which will build 1.4-litre petrol engine cars and could turn out up to 300,000 vehicles annually at full capacity, is due to go on line by 2019, with part of the production destined for other other markets in the region. Dr Thavirap Tantiwongse of GSK said there was also "a golden opportunity" in the healthcare sector. 

But this needs to be in partnership. It is time to stop simply looking at each other's market potential and look instead at the synergies and the collaboration that can be forged," he said. 

"There is a great opportunity to develop products together for the world market as well as for Thailand and its neighbours." 

The EU is Thailand's third-largest trade partner and second-biggest investor.

TEBA represents 80 Thai and European investors and companies conducting business in Thailand. As part of its efforts to bring Thai and European business stakeholders together, it is taking representatives of 10 Thai automotive supply companies to the IZB International Automotive Supplier Exhibition in Germany from Oct 14-16. 

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