Thailand seeks Japanese investment in high-tech sectors

[snoop1130]

 

Thailand’s Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan met with Japanese business leaders on November 1 to encourage increased investment in advanced technology sectors, aiming to restore Japan’s position as Thailand’s primary foreign investor.

 

In his first meeting since taking office, Pichai held discussions with Keita Ishii, president of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), alongside executives from major Japanese firms including Itochu Cooperation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries (Thailand), Sumitomo Corporation Thailand, Knowledge Creation Technology, Japan Airlines and Toyota Tsusho (Thailand).

 

The minister emphasised the longstanding economic partnership between the two nations, noting that Japanese investment currently represents a quarter of all foreign investment in Thailand.

 

Pichai specifically called for increased Japanese involvement in modern industrial supply chains, particularly in printed circuit boards (PCBs), semiconductor manufacturing, and digital artificial intelligence sectors.

 

“The government stands ready to support Japanese investment, given Thailand’s capability to manufacture advanced technology components.”

 

He also highlighted Thailand’s potential as a food security hub, offering to serve as a warehouse and export centre for countries including Japan.

 

The Japanese business leaders expressed interest in expanding their investments beyond these sectors into areas such as hydrogen technology, green energy, and service industries. The meeting underscored the robust trade relationship between the two countries, which reached US$55.8 billion (1.8 trillion baht) in 2023.

 

Thai exports to Japan, including automobiles, electronic components, processed chicken, machinery and circuit boards, totalled US$24.6 billion, while imports from Japan amounted to US$31.1 billion, reported Bangkok Post.

 

By Ryan Turner

Image: Freepik

 

Source: The Thaiger

-- 2024-11-04

 

 

[Srikcir]

11 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

“The government stands ready to support Japanese investment

Thailand has been on a dedollarization "warpath," preferring BRIC currencies to other international currencies, many of which are tied to the USD. Japanese yen is not a BRIC currency. But if Thailand wants Japanese investments, it will be baht for yen. 

[gargamon]

9 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

preferring BRIC currencies to other international currencies

BRIC is a failure. 

AI Overview (from Google)

The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) has faced several failures, including:

• Lack of impact: The BRICS has not become a major player in the global economy or diplomacy. Its summits have been frequent, but have not produced any lasting or concrete value. 
   
   
• Lack of a clear agenda: The BRICS has not developed a permanent bureaucracy, steering structure, or clear agenda. 
   
   
• Failure to create a global reserve currency: The BRICS has not been successful in creating a global reserve currency that would reduce the world's dependence on the U.S. dollar. 
   
   
• Disparate paths: The members of the BRICS have taken different paths, which weakens the analytical value of viewing the group as a coherent economic grouping. 
   
   
• Lack of coordination: The BRICS has lacked coordination on priority issues. 
   
   
• Unequal growth: The BRICS has experienced unequal growth. 
   
   
• Low trade integration: The BRICS has low trade integration. 
   
   
• Lack of assertiveness: The BRICS has lacked assertiveness in the face of the international order. 
   
   

The BRICS 2024 summit in Kazan was a diplomatic and political success for President Vladimir Putin, but it failed to take any new steps towards de-dollarization

[hotchilli]

11 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand’s Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan met with Japanese business leaders on November 1 to encourage increased investment in advanced technology sectors, aiming to restore Japan’s position as Thailand’s primary foreign investor

Bail us out please we need investment...

[Geoffggi]

Maybe start building hydrogen vehicles instead of the electrical nightmare which in my opinion is the wrong path.

[john donson]

me thinking japan was broke and in debt USA style

[Spilornis]

Malaysia has had a lot of tech investment over the years by the big players but it's never been the cutting edge stuff (think hard drive assembly etc).

The new arbitrage is in data centres. An AI search takes around four times the processing power of a typical Google search and thus the need for new data centres is exploding. The catch is when built they require almost zero labour to operate and are electricity hungry (thus the attraction of countries with low cost power).

Better than nothing perhaps but the ideal is to get a seat at the "real" hi tech table.

 

https://www.straitstimes.com/business/south-east-asia-emerges-as-global-data-centre-hot-spot-as-ai-usage-rises

 

Edited November 5 by Spilornis
adding source

[sscc]

3 hours ago, john donson said:

me thinking japan was broke and in debt USA style

 

Japan is not in debt, 

Japan is in decline, steep decline.    Reason too long to explain. 

[mdr224]

11 minutes ago, sscc said:

 

Japan is not in debt, 

Japan is in decline, steep decline.    Reason too long to explain. 

Japanese men are too feminine, nobody there is having children. The explanation is not long

[Srikcir]

6 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Bail us out please we need investment...

It seems like Thailand has a "give and take" foreign fund policy: you give and I take. Rarely do you see (any?) Thailand exporting investment funds to other nations to aid in developing import businesses for Thai products and materials. 

[NativeBob]

thailand has no high-tech sectors. Nowhere to invest japanese investments. Period.

[OneZero]

Well, I would certainly favor increased Japanese as opposed to Chinese CCP influenced involvement. 

Reason: CCP influence.

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, NativeBob said:

thailand has no high-tech sectors. Nowhere to invest japanese investments. Period.

They want investors to fund the construction, fit-out the company with fittings/fixtures, machinery etc etc, and employ local or migrant labour.

Thailand can then boast that it is the epicentre of production, has a rising GDP and lowest unemployment number.

Left to it's own development it would crash.

[NativeBob]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

Thailand can then boast that it is the epicentre of production, has a rising GDP and lowest unemployment number.

Left to it's own development it would crash.

Very tricky indeed! 

Reminds me those days of BOI fair (some Industrial zone near Rayong or Sathahip?) and excitement of "fastest growing economy in SE Asia".

That bubble lasted only few years. Do they truly believe that it can be re-done again? 

[hotchilli]

12 hours ago, NativeBob said:

That bubble lasted only few years. Do they truly believe that it can be re-done again? 

It's all they've got, hopes and dreams