Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said after meeting WB officials that he had told them what the government had done to meet their ranking criteria, but pointed out that some reforms, such as the loan-collateral law, would not be implemented in time for the institution’s June 1 announcement of its annual ease-of-doing-business index.

The loan-collateral law will be effective from July 4.

“The [timing of the] implementation of some laws might affect our ranking for ease of doing business, but we have stressed to them what we have already done.

“Moreover, we have informed them about the overall state of the country’s reform programme, and the World Bank officials are happy with our execution [of regulatory changes] in respect of ease of doing business. Therefore, Thailand’s ranking should be upgraded either this year or next,” he said.

In the WB’s ease-of doing-business index, Thailand currently ranks 49th out of 189 countries.

The Pracha Rath public-private steering committee reported to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha last Monday that the target was to be ranked in the top 20 in 2018, after reforming outdated regulations that affect the business sector.

Somkid said he had asked the WB to work closely with the Finance Ministry in reaching its latest assessment of the Kingdom’s performance.

“We also informed the World Bank about our plans to balance the economy by focusing on domestic growth and upgrading small agricultural businesses to small and medium-sized enterprises. Moreover, we talked about the competitiveness of Thailand after establishing the East-West Corridor, [promoting] start-up business, and regulatory reform,” he said.

The WB is focused more on the growth of a country from the development angle, rather than concentrating on its gross domestic product, the deputy PM said, adding that for Thailand this meant developing the rural areas and SMEs, which are both areas currently being pursued by the government.

Somkid yesterday presided over a meeting at the Finance Ministry to receive progress reports from each state agency in relation to the ease of doing business.

“I have given them 8-9 points out of 10 for progress on the ease of doing business. Everything we discussed at the meeting will be translated into an English version and will be published on the government website, in order to promote ease of doing business among the public and private sectors,” he said.

Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong, meanwhile, said the government would organise an ease-of-doing-business event next month, giving each state agency the opportunity to make a commitment to the private sector regarding improvements in accommodating the business sector after adjusting their processes.

All state agencies must offer one-stop services to businesses, from business registration through to bankruptcy, he said.

One key one-stop service that has already been implemented is business registration, he said, adding that a similar service for employees’ monthly withholding tax and social-security insurance will be implemented next month.

Furthermore, a one-stop service facilitating the seeking of permission for construction or utilities work will be available from September 30.

The finance minister said the government was not only hoping for an improvement in its WB ranking, but also that the reform measures it is taking will – coupled with a better ranking – encourage more investment from both Thai and foreign investors.

“Several foreign investors have told me that many countries have similar tax incentives, so they will select an investment destination based on the ease of doing business and the living environment for their employees,” he said.

Many foreign companies, including a major automaker, are keen to establish international headquarters in Thailand as a base for supporting business expansion in the CLMV area (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam), which is a good sign of the improved ease of doing business in the Kingdom, Apisak said.

Stop being ‘selfish’

Somkid has also called on private companies in the fishing sector to stop being selfish and help the government eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

“We have to accept we have conducted illegal fishing in the past because of selfishness,” he said. “But now we are executing the European Union requirement to show that we are good boys who have seriously solved this problem.”

Somkid spoke to reporters at the Finance Ministry after the EU on Thursday warned Thailand that it could ratchet up the pressure on the country to get it to tackle illegal fishing.

He said the government was unable to predict what action the EU may take but Thailand was doing the right thing.