Commerce minister mulls opening service sector to foreign investment

[webfact]

Commerce minister mulls opening service sector to foreign investment

By The Nation

 

Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanavisit, meets with foreign investors on Thursday to discuss liberalisation of the service sector.

 

The Commerce Ministry is mulling whether to open more service-sector businesses to foreign investors, lured by promises of more investment and high-paid jobs. 

 

Stanley Kang, chairman of the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand, says relaxing rules for service businesses will lead to more foreign investment and high-paid jobs for youth.

 

Foreign investors led by Stanley Kang, chairman of the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand (JFCCT), met with Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanavisit for talks on lifting restrictions in the Foreign Act Business on Thursday.

 

Foreign investors want rules changed so they can take 100-per-cent ownership of service-sector businesses in List 3 (protected for Thais) under the Foreign Business Act, Jurin said after the meeting.

 

Foreign investors said liberalising ownership rules would lead to more investment amid the Covid-19 pandemic, said Jurin. “We accepted their proposals for consideration,” he added.

 

The Commerce Ministry plans to lift restrictions on some List 3 service businesses, according to a senior government official.

 

List 3 covers businesses in which Thai nationals are not ready to compete with foreigners.

 

Thosapone Dansuputra, director general of the Business Development Department, said the Commerce Ministry will submit the proposal for liberalisation to Cabinet soon. Among the sectors listed in the proposal is telecoms. If Cabinet gives the green light, foreign investors such as Chinese companies could run telecom services in Thailand by renting networks owned by Thai companies, he said.

 

Financial services covering foreign exchange rate management within corporate groups operating in Thailand are also on the list. Others are software development related to Big Data, data analytics and predictive analytic software, cybersecurity software, software for the internet of things (IoT) and software to support the manufacturing sector, added Thosapone.

 

Meanwhile, Kang told the Nation that Thailand not only needs to amend its foreign business law but also related regulations such as the telecom business law, which are still an obstacle to foreign investment.

 

Opening Thailand’s software development market to foreigners would create high-paid jobs for the young generation and boost the country’s competitiveness, he said.

 

Liberalisation was also essential for the success of smart city projects the government and private sectors are trying to develop, Kang added.

 

So far, foreign investors have pumped money into the IT sectors of Vietnam and Malaysia, whose investment laws are looser than Thailand’s.

 

Jurin and the group of foreign business leaders also discussed the prospects for several free trade deals Thailand is negotiating. The major ones are the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and free trade deals with the European Union and with United Kingdom. Investors also wanted to know whether Thailand will join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

 

They also told Jurin that the high cost of logistics in Thailand was hindering business potential.

 

Meanwhile, foreign business leaders want the government to open the country to foreign tourists by shortening the 14-day quarantine, added Jurin.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30397407

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-11-06

 

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[keith101]

By foreign investors they mean the Chinese right , especially in the telecom market where they try to take over .

[Flying Saucage]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

If Cabinet gives the green light, foreign investors such as Chinese companies could run telecom services in Thailand by renting networks owned by Thai companies, he said.

 

Speaks volumes about this governments agenda to transform Thailand into both an orwellian police state and a Chinese vassal state. 

[phil2407]

Biggest problem Thailand has is allowing foreigners to only own 49% of their own business after using their own money - & get kicked out if & when it's successful -  if it was 51% in the foreign companies / owner favour I'm sure more involved wanting to open / move a business to LOL would invest 

[nobodysfriend]

23 hours ago, webfact said:

Foreign investors said liberalising ownership rules would lead to more investment amid the Covid-19 pandemic,

 

23 hours ago, webfact said:

foreign investors such as Chinese companies could run telecom services in Thailand

 

23 hours ago, webfact said:

Opening Thailand’s software development market to foreigners would create high-paid jobs for the young generation and boost the country’s competitiveness, he said.

 

Where is the typical thai xenophobia gone to ?

Thailand better be careful , these foreigners will take ALL jobs away from Thais ... just as they would buy the whole of the thai land , if they could .

And they would take all the pretty women as well ... 55  time to wake up ...

If Thailand brings up new laws to enable some foreign investment , but still protects itself from too much foreign influence , everybody would win from that ...

[AmySeeker]

The descent into United States of China continues.