Industry Minister Uttama Savanayana said after a meeting of the special committee for EEC development yesterday that the EEC Policy Committee next year will focus on persuading local and foreign investors to invest in the EEC as well as in areas outside it. It would do so by working closely with the Board of Investment (BOI) and coordinating its efforts with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand.

“Today, other countries have acknowledged the EEC. After this, we will persuade investors in specific industries,” he said.

The layout of the land usage – which will extend from utilities, infrastructure and healthcare to tap water and electricity – will seek to maximise the benefits for all kinds activities and the EEC panel would also work closely with the Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning, he said.

With the first draft on land use to come out early in December, a public hearing will be held on expectations that it will take effect in six months, he said. A plan for expanding the EEC to incorporate other provinces will be forwarded to the EEC Policy Committee on November 9.

Kanit Sangsubhan, secretary-general of the EEC Policy Committee, said that this meeting would focus on ways of attracting investment in the 10 industries that have been targeted for the EEC. Kanit expressed confidence in the forecast of the EEC drawing at least Bt500 billion in the first five years of the zone’s operation.

About 50 per cent this targeted investment is expected to go into the so-called New S-Curve industries, with the rest in First S-Curve activities.

Among the New S-Curve industries, about 20 per cent of the targeted investment is expected to go into robotics, 20 per cent for aviation and logistics, 25 per cent for biofuels and biochemicals, 25 per cent for digital and 10 per cent for a medical hub.

Investments in the EEC will play a major role in boosting Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2 per cent (1 per cent each from infrastructure investment and manufacturing investment). Ultimately, about Bt300 billion is expected to be invested annually in the EEC. Some Bt200 billion of this is expected to come with promotional privileges from the Board of Investment and about Bt100 billion from the EEC Office.

Combined with economic growth of about 3 per cent a year, the contribution from the EEC is expected help gross domestic product rise by 5 per cent per year on average from 2019 to 2023.

“It also depends on the global economic situation. If the global economy is not good, it (GDP growth) may not reach 5 per cent,” Kanit said.

The meeting yesterday also discussed the establishment of an EEC development fund with initial funding of Bt100 million granted by the government. The fund is targeted to have no less than Bt1 billion, which will be collected mainly from private enterprises investing in the EEC. The fund will be used to develop communities and help people affected by the EEC development and promote education in the zone and nearby areas.

To back the government’s ambitions, an EEC roadshow will be held. For Europe, it will focus on startups and digital technology; for Japan, on robotics, aviation, digital and smart cities; and for China, the 10 targeted industries.

Narit Therdsteerasukdi, deputy secretary-general of the BOI, said that since the start of the EEC in 2016, applications worth Bt720 billion have been made for promotional investment privileges in the EEC.

For the year so far, applications worth about Bt230 billion have been made for such privileges and about 80 per cent of them relate to the New S-Curve industries.

The BOI will help encourage investment by company, focusing on New S-Curve industries and smart cities and the promotional investment package for smart cities will be proposed to the BOI board meeting on November 19, Narit said.

Based on the US announcement of its Annual GSP Product Review for 2017 on Tuesday, the cut in GSP will appy to 15 countries: Argentina, Belize, Bosnia, Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, Falkland, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, the Philippines, Suriname, Turkey, India to Thailand.

Adul Chotinisakorn, director-general of the Department of Foreign Trade, said that GSP on these Thai products or about 1.11 per cent of Thailand’s GSP claim were cut due to their excessive exports of over US$180 million in value or a market share of 50 per cent for each product, in line with the Competitive Need Limit (CNLs) defined by the US. The GSP cut took effect from yesterday (Nov 1).

These products range from fresh orchid, fresh Durian, dried papaya, dried tamarind, flavoured corn, fruit and nuts preserved by sugar, processed papaya, wood flooring, printer, washing machine and camera stand.

In 2017, the US granted GSP for over 3,400 types of Thai products worth a total of $4.15 billion. Thailand’s claim of GSP privileges stood at 69.98 per cent.

GSP is a US trade programme designed to promote economic growth in the developing world by providing preferential duty-free entry for products from designated beneficiary countries and territories.

Thailand’s 10 products registered market shares of over 50 per cent in the US market and one product – washing machine, booked its value of import to the US at more than $180 million.

From January to August of this year, all of the 11 Thai products claimed the GSP privileges of approximately $28.8 million or 14.3 per cent. Without the GSP privileges, these products will be taxed at normal rates of 1-8 per cent.

Thailand can send a request for the GSP redesignation during the US annual GSP product review, while the US defines that import of such products must be valued lower $185 million per year and share less than 50 per cent. If a product’s market share is more than 50 per cent, there must not be production of such product in the US and the US industries must not be affected.

The country’s ranking dropped to 27th from 26th place in 2017 but the score, a measure of the country’s progress towards best practices, actually improved to 78.45 this year, up from 77.39 last year.

The Kingdom remains among the top 30 of the 190 economies in the EODB rankings, according to the World Bank Group’s Doing Business 2019: Training for Reform report.

“Although our ranking is lower this year our score has risen,” Pakorn Nilprapunt, secretary-general at the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission, said yesterday.

Thailand has made significant progress in key four areas:

-Starting business became less costly due to a fixed registration fee of Bt5,500;

-Getting electricity was made easier by streamlining the number of procedures needed to obtain a new connection and making electricity price changes more transparent;

-Paying taxes was made easier by enhancing the online platform for calculating and filing corporate returns, resulting in a reduction in time spent filing tax returns from 156 hours to 123 hours annually;

-Trading internationally was made faster by the introduction of the e-matching system for electronic cargo control, thus reducing time for compliance at borders.

“There is room to improve Thailand’s ranking next year as the Revenue Department has recently introduced e-donations and government agencies have been implementing e-payments, which would make it more convenient for people next year,” said Pakorn.

Changes will also be made to many existing laws that impose a high cost for people running business and daily lives, he assured.

The areas where Thailand’s rankings are low are:

-Dealing with construction permits (67)

-Registering property (66)

-Paying taxes (59)

-Trading across the border (59)

-Getting credit (44)

Ruenvadee Suwanmongkol, the director-general of the Legal Execution Department, said the Justice Ministry was drafting a cross-border insolvency law, aimed at better protection for creditors and it would be in line with international practices.

The draft law was approved in principle by the Cabinet and is currently being scrutinised by the Council of State, a legal adviser to the government. The Justice Ministry will hold public hearings on the draft law on November 19, Ruenvadee said.

The Justice Ministry also plans to revamp the execution of legal activities – the Legal Execution Department will act only as regulator and will allow the private sector to work in carrying out the actions. This is similar to what happens in Japan, whose system has proved to be effective in asset recovery for creditors and speeding up the liquidation process.

Thailand’s ranking in resolving insolvency has improved this year, rising to 24th from 26 last year, Ruenvadee added.

The report found that resolving insolvencies was the most challenging issue around the world.

The World Bank said that “Doing Business 2019” saw a historic number of reforms worldwide in getting electricity, with East Asia and the Pacific countries accounting for the highest share of reforms. The Thai economy is among the strongest performers on these indicators, achieving an EODB score of 98.57 relative to global best practice.

“The World Bank looks forward to continuing our support to help the country succeed in adopting global best practice, especially in areas where there is room for improvement.” said Mara Warwick, the World Bank’s country director for Thailand, Brunei, Malaysia and Philippines

The top five in the EODB rankings are: New Zealand, Singapore, Denmark, Hong Kong and South Korea.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngọc Thien granted the certification for Norman until 2021, yesterday in Hanoi.

The Australian was one of the top golfers in the world in the 1980s and 1990s, winning two Open Championships. Since retiring, he has developed more than 100 golf courses around the world and launched various business ventures.

His company is in charge of designing five golf course projects in Vietnam, including the Bluffs Ho Tram Strip in Ba Rịa, Vung Tau Province, KN Golf Links in Nha Trang and Golf Club in Danang.

While working in Vietnam, Norman said he fell in love with the country and wanted to promote it as an attractive destination for golfers.

“During 40 years playing golf and travelling around the world, I haven’t seen any country with impressive growth of golf like Vietnam,” Norman said.

“Through golf, I will promote Vietnam tourism to the world as well as bringing international golf events to Vietnam.”

Thien lauded Norman’s willingness to contribute to the Vietnamese tourism sector.

Thien said Vietnam had received 16 million international tourists since the beginning of 2018, with 1.5 million of them coming to play golf.