Networking created between Thai, Singapore business operators

NONTHABURI, THAILAND, June 27 (TNA) - The Thai Ministry of Commerce has joined forces with the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) in successfully creating a networking between business operators of the two member countries of the ASEAN Community (AC), especially those running small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Thai Vice Minister for Commerce Sakon Varanyuwatana presided over a ceremony, held at his ministry on the outskirts of Bangkok, on Wednesday to inaugurate the “Thailand-Singapore Business Networking” activity, through which the networking between Thai and Singapore business operators has been created. "During the activity, over 40 Thai business operators and over 30 visiting Singapore business operators, led by SMF President Douglas Foo, met to develop their networking as a long-term trade and investment alliance", said the vice minister. Besides, the Thai side took the opportunity to brief the visiting Singapore delegation,comprising mostly SMEs in the construction, logistics, telecommunication, food and beverage, bio-pharmaceutical, research and service sectors, on positive investment prospect at the Thai government-supported Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) and incentives to be provided by the Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI). According to official statistics, Singapore is Thailand's third largest trading partner in the AEC, with the value of two-way trade standing at about 16.18 billion US dollars last year and the value of Thai investment in the island state reaching 18.53 billion US dollars, the highest in the AEC, while applications for BOI's incentives sought by Singapore investors were slated with the highest value in the AEC and the second highest when compared with all foreign investors' applications. The vice minister acknowledged that Singapore, as a most developed economy in the world, and Thailand, as a world significant production and exporting source of food and other products and a developing nation towards the digital economy based on the Thailand 4.0 Policy with expanding regional connectivity through cross-border infrastructure projects and revised legal business facilitations, could resort to their strong points but different specializations to work and support each other in the development of their business sectors. Meanwhile, Chantira Yimrewat (จันทิรา ยิมเรวัต), Director-General of the ministry's Department of International Trade Pomotion, told journalists, meanwhile, that the expanding cooperation between her ministry, where the New Economy Acedemy (NEA) run by her department to develop the potential of Thai SMEs, and SMF, where most of the total 3,000 members are also SMEs that are eligible for internal potential development courses, would be considerably beneficial to Thai SMEs in the long run. (TNA)