US business operators to expand investment in Thailand

BANGKOK, August 7 (TNA) - American business operators have met Thai Industry Minister Chakramon Phasukvanich and assured to continue expanding investment projects in Thailand. After the meeting with representatives of the US-ASEAN Business Council at his ministry in Bangkok on August 6, Chakramon told journalists that the visiting US delegates confirmed they will continue to invest in Thailand because they separate businesses from politics and the US government’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report in 2015, in which Thailand has been maintained in Washington's Tier 3 category. Chakramon pointed out that American operators' investment in Thailand accounts for 25 per cent of their overall investment funds of about 200 billion US dollars in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) now. Chakramon said the money has come to Thailand through many local industries, including automobile production by Ford and Chevrolet companies and the manufacturing of hard disk drives by Seagate. According to the industry minister, American businesses have formed either the biggest or the second biggest foreign investment group in Thailand, alternately with Japanese businesses. The industry minister acknowledged that the visiting US delegates also paid attention to Thailand's national reform toward democracy, enhancement of national competitiveness and policies related to digital economy. The industry minister revealed he told the US delegation that the Thai government has worked on the issues simultaneously. (TNA)