China To Build $1.5 Billion Trading Centre In Thailand

[tw25rw]

Easy run...after being locked up in dark ages for so long.....easy run? You've probably not see the differences of the real dirt poor Chinese people and the unbelievable rise of the country since 30 years...I have!

LaoPo

Easy run as in having the whole developed world send their manufacturing industry there to exploit the availability of cheap labour despite their brutal, cynical and unworthy government.

The hardships they went through over the last 60 years were of their own doing.

[LaoPo]

The negative brigade from TV is in full force I notice Silly really, but no surprise since the negative brigade never sleeps

The spin-off for Thailand from this huge investment is also huge; think of the hotels, the restaurants, thousands of extra workers needed, boost in local logistics and transport, extra airfreight, more work for shipping agents; many opportunities for Thai handicraft- and other small items manufacturers.

It wouldn't surprise me if many Laos', Cambodian, Malaysian, Vietnamese and even Indonesian/Philippine sellers and manufacturers would want to rent space and join this enormous wholesale outlet to show their merchandise and sell them overseas.

A lot easier than to attract buyers in their own far away factory.

Those sellers and manufacturers won;t be there themselves but hire Thai staff to act as sales people and "shop" staff. Thousands of them will be needed.

A real boost to the Thai economy. I can only see benefits

Thailand will be pleased with this investment and future spin-off or would the negative brigade prefer this huge investment would have taken place in Malaysia or elsewhere?

LaoPo

Interesting...

But as far as I understand it "Yiwu" is like a big wholesale market...Buyers look at exhibitors wares and they then place an order for 50,000 flower pots or whatever. The orders are then processed and the goods come from the factories wherever they may be in China. I don't believe (although stand to be corrected) that thousands and thousands of tonnes of stock are lying about in warehouses around the corner...or is this the case?

Therefore if the Thai "Yiwu" is built, it would just be a glorified exhibition centre and "order-taking shop" for the goods which are still built in China. Although, I'm sure there would be benefits due to the vast numbers of exhibitors and customers.

And obviously, Bangkok is a hell of lot easier to get to than Yiwu...it is a "hub" after all

Finally, how do they intend to get around international tariffs - I'm not quite sure? Import the goods and then re-export them? The goods will still be "Made in China" regardless of where the order was placed

RAZZ

Yiwu: No, not correct; most sellers have stock; don't forget we're talking SMALL merchandise like jewelry, small fashion items etc, not larger objects like flower pots. The place is huge but China is huge too and the majority of buyers still come from China although Yiwu is well known in the West amongst wholesale buyers too.

Yiwu sellers rent window-shops, small or large® and the stock is in the basement in separate storage rooms; there is a large number of enormous high rise buildings, full of sellers; it's a big place with many hotels also.

If you're looking for small fashionitems , all sellers are concentrated and together in the same building(s) to make it easier for the buyers; same for jewelry, small toys etc. the variety of products is also huge.

Tariffs; that's a puzzle to me too but I suppose the initiators knew what they were doing before the start-up; I'm not well informed about importing into Thailand and re-exporting to the various parts in the world and the appropriate tariffs.

LaoPo

[LaoPo]

Easy run...after being locked up in dark ages for so long.....easy run? You've probably not see the differences of the real dirt poor Chinese people and the unbelievable rise of the country since 30 years...I have!

LaoPo

Easy run as in having the whole developed world send their manufacturing industry there to exploit the availability of cheap labour despite their brutal, cynical and unworthy government.

The hardships they went through over the last 60 years were of their own doing.

You're so incorrect again.

The Chinese didn't start their export business; it were the American and European + Australian buyers who came to (first) Hong Kong and later, in the late '80's went into the mainland themselves, and starting to "beg" Chinese manufacturers who only produced for the mainland market (1.3 Billion people!) to make their products, according to THEIR (western) specifications.

BECAUSE the Chinese manufacturers found out they could get a (much) better price, selling to the west, they woke up and slowly started to produce for western clients...

The rest is history but there was NO Chinese factory, initiating themselves, or being so clever, as to travel to the west and start selling his products; nobody spoke English and it was the way around the West came to the East, not the other way around so if you want to blame someone, go to your neighbor businessman, buying from the East....

About the Government ? you're right but that doesn't mean that the PEOPLE suffered because of their own doing; they suffered because of the past regimes and bitter poverty. Are they allowed to try, reach and have the same lifestyle and income as you and I enjoy or should they stay below our levels?

Do you wish the same for the Thai people?

You tell me.

LaoPo

Edited January 6, 2011 by LaoPo

[Thai at Heart]

Ummmm. I thought retailing was off limits to foreigners???

No retailing here; whole sale hub for re-export.

LaoPo

Whilst I understand that you have spent a lot of time in China, I have too.

If you believe that a permanently positioned Guanzhou fair sitting in Thailand wont enable the so called exporters to flood the local market with apparently duty free lazer pens and rolex's, you are exceedingly naive. I am in no way anti China having spent the best part of 6 years there. I love many aspects of the culture, but .....

As an example for what I saw only 3 months ago, the garment and low cost/quality plastics producers in in the seaboard of China are dying, so where is the benefit of putting 100's of thousands of Thai producers out of business to allow the Chinese to re-export from Thailand?

However, believing that this will in some way produce enormous economic benefit for Thailand is extremely naive. If I want a decent quality product from the initial producer I go and find it in China. believe it or not, with a few years experience, it isn't that hard.

This is just a way for low cost poor quality producers to put their products in a supposedly more attractive position, whilst they also supply the Thai market. I will eat my hat, if after 6 months, the entire market isn't filled with rejects and low quality dumped rubbish.

Do you honestly believe that customs will check if 1mn of 1.2 mn shirts came into the country? 1mn or 1.5mn air conditioners, 1mn or 1.5mn motorcycles, 100 mn vitamin pills, or 100bn surgical gloves? Some of the richest people I know in Thailand work for customs in Thailand.

I presume you have been to the market in Beijing where you used to be able to find everything from a real pair of Rockports to Head skiing hear, or a rayban set of glasses, (all smuggled out of the factory for a 1/5th of the price in the west)and a Chairman Mao lighter.

1000 small hold shops represents 2000 jobs, and allows the Chinese to officially smuggle their currently illicit copies into Thailand. The Guangzhou fairs are king, so why should they push their quality exporters to Thailand? And when was the last time anyone actually discovered an original high quality product at any Guanzhou fair. It is a rare thing........

I hate to be exceedingly cynical, but when I read that Thailand came up with a concept that is new, a lot of people have been sure that they have been paid and s****w anyone in local competition.

At a base level, half of the products that you can buy in Patpong or Nana, have originated in China. 10,000 people work in those markets. So do the maths. I also expect the Seihk community of Bangkok, having read this story, to put 1000 reservations on what can be sold if it includes any textiles. Who will really benefit out of this apparent idea that the Thai government hasn't even acknowledged?

At a more basic level it is hardly a vote winner among the chilli or garlic producers (and various other northern/north eastern producers that have been f*****d) by this Chinese free trade deal that it I probably believe it will die like 3G telephones.

When someone announces an investment deal like this, Korn is the guy to listen to as the keeper of the cash. But of course, his family knows nothing about Customs.

The interesting thing is that Yunnan is mentioned in some of the press releases. There is a fairly prominent hotel in Kunming that has pictures of Sondhi hanging out with various Thai luminaries full face in the lobby (at least until a year ago). So when investors from Yunnan get excited about Thailand, my ears prick up quite quickly.

[EnSvenskTiger]

"We have a saying in China - construct the eagle's nest, and the eagle will come"!

http://www.chinadail...nt_10099685.htm

China will in the imminent future be hit by protective tolls in eg USA and are now buying places abroad

where they can assemble part A and B manufactured in China to be exported from to any other nation

with the label, manufactured: "not in China"!

Smart people.

Tiger

Edited January 6, 2011 by EnSvenskTiger

[LaoPo]

sorry; something went wrong.

LaoPo

Edited January 6, 2011 by LaoPo

[LaoPo]

Whilst I understand that you have spent a lot of time in China, I have too.

If you believe that a permanently positioned Guanzhou fair sitting in Thailand wont enable the so called exporters to flood the local market with apparently duty free lazer pens and rolex's, you are exceedingly naive. I am in no way anti China having spent the best part of 6 years there. I love many aspects of the culture, but .....

As an example for what I saw only 3 months ago, the garment and low cost/quality plastics producers in in the seaboard of China are dying, so where is the benefit of putting 100's of thousands of Thai producers out of business to allow the Chinese to re-export from Thailand?

However, believing that this will in some way produce enormous economic benefit for Thailand is extremely naive. If I want a decent quality product from the initial producer I go and find it in China. believe it or not, with a few years experience, it isn't that hard.

This is just a way for low cost poor quality producers to put their products in a supposedly more attractive position, whilst they also supply the Thai market. I will eat my hat, if after 6 months, the entire market isn't filled with rejects and low quality dumped rubbish.

Do you honestly believe that customs will check if 1mn of 1.2 mn shirts came into the country? 1mn or 1.5mn air conditioners, 1mn or 1.5mn motorcycles, 100 mn vitamin pills, or 100bn surgical gloves? Some of the richest people I know in Thailand work for customs in Thailand.

I presume you have been to the market in Beijing where you used to be able to find everything from a real pair of Rockports to Head skiing hear, or a rayban set of glasses, (all smuggled out of the factory for a 1/5th of the price in the west)and a Chairman Mao lighter.

1000 small hold shops represents 2000 jobs, and allows the Chinese to officially smuggle their currently illicit copies into Thailand. The Guangzhou fairs are king, so why should they push their quality exporters to Thailand? And when was the last time anyone actually discovered an original high quality product at any Guanzhou fair. It is a rare thing........

I hate to be exceedingly cynical, but when I read that Thailand came up with a concept that is new, a lot of people have been sure that they have been paid and s****w anyone in local competition.

At a base level, half of the products that you can buy in Patpong or Nana, have originated in China. 10,000 people work in those markets. So do the maths. I also expect the Seihk community of Bangkok, having read this story, to put 1000 reservations on what can be sold if it includes any textiles. Who will really benefit out of this apparent idea that the Thai government hasn't even acknowledged?

At a more basic level it is hardly a vote winner among the chilli or garlic producers (and various other northern/north eastern producers that have been f*****d) by this Chinese free trade deal that it I probably believe it will die like 3G telephones.

When someone announces an investment deal like this, Korn is the guy to listen to as the keeper of the cash. But of course, his family knows nothing about Customs.

The interesting thing is that Yunnan is mentioned in some of the press releases. There is a fairly prominent hotel in Kunming that has pictures of Sondhi hanging out with various Thai luminaries full face in the lobby (at least until a year ago). So when investors from Yunnan get excited about Thailand, my ears prick up quite quickly.

Long, interesting post but I lost track a little when I came to the end; what are you trying to say?

Dying out low-cost product manufacturers? Sure, it's a logic step since most people don;t want the crap, ordered by western buyers and made by Chinese; you only buy crap twice: the first time and the last time = same time.....but at the same time China's coastal areas are screaming for workers, 10 million of them. Do you know where to find them? The Pearl river delta alone needs 2-3 million...NOW.

Every negative poster is always talking about the crap the Chinese make....but ask yourself WHO ordered that crap? I know the answer, do you?

Why nobody ever comes up with amazing success stories? Why nobody talks about the amazing products built in China everyone uses day in day out? Apple computers, iPhones; sure, designed in the US and built in China but still.

Ever heard of Warren Buffett? Sure you have.

Why did he invest in 2008 in one of the most fast rising copmanies in China which didn't even exist 15 years ago, BYD, the largest and most sophisticated battery manufacturer in the world, now building (electrical) cars also, -since only 2003- aiming for the #1 place in the world, becoming the largest car builder in the world?

He bought 10% of the shares for $ 230 million, worth now around $ 1.7 Billion a stunning profit of 740% in just 5 years.

A company, started in 1995 with 20 workers and now has factories all over the world with some n150.000 workers now.

You know, I heard that crap talk a long time ago about Japan; everybody in Europe and the USA was talking low about Japan and their copies...and now ?

Where on earth did you find the 100's of thousands of Thai producers to be put out of business? Are you talking 200, 300 or 400.000 companies out of business? Where, why and how?..because of this new venture? I wonder if there are that many manufacturers in Thailand.

Talk to a previous poster who has the experience (as you and I do) with Thailand and China:

Send 10 emails to 10 Thai companies for an offer on xx products and do the same to 10 Chinese companies...you know the answer. The Thai companies will lose, overnight, because they don't have the working attitude over Chinese companies, even if the Thai owners are Thai/Chinese. The Chinese companies, let's say 80 to 90% will have an asnswer within 24 hours and that's slow for China.

And if companies are put out of business because of fierce competition, from whereever, locally or abroad, THEY did not follow the market and did NOT sense or listen what's going on next door and were sleeping and enjoying themselves on the Thai golfcourses or with their 2 or 3 Mia Noi's instead of fighting for their business and, if necessary move production like many Thai textile manufacturers did, to Vietnam.

I don't know anyhting about Thai customs and if they are corrupt yes or no, but I DO know that western countries have a pretty stif Customs policy, importing and checking goods, tariffs and limits.

And, about fake goods; maybe you don't know but shippers in China REFUSE to send fake products nowadays IF they know what's inside the boxes and companies like UPS and DHL refuse to send fake goods. Fake UGG boots for instance are stopped on all borders of western countries and they just stopped and destroyed serious large shipments of fake UGGs in Europe. Good!

The copying uindustry is facing difficult times ahead but you can't stop that business overnight; it will take time; same for Thailand.

But, we are seriously slipping off topic about the new venture in Thailand.

Some of you guys walk through the world with country-border dark sunglasses on. Thailand is just a province in SEA with 66 million people; Guangdong Province (Guangzhou/Shenzhen) has 100 million people alone out of 1.3 Billion.

Thailand has to work together with the ASEAN countries in the area as well as India and China, together some 2.4 Billion people and another Billion in the rest of the countries; otherwise thay can't possibly survive; they (and we) need each other.

Amazingly enough I NEVER read anything about a next door country, apart when a disaster happens...., Bangladesh with 156 Million people and a GDP of $ 241 Billion....

156 million people...that's half the population of the USA and half the population in the EU and almost 2,5 times the population of Thailand.

Go figure.

LaoPo

[LaoPo]

"We have a saying in China - construct the eagle's nest, and the eagle will come"!

http://www.chinadail...nt_10099685.htm

China will in the imminent future be hit by protective tolls in eg USA and are now buying places abroad

where they can assemble part A and B manufactured in China to be exported from to any other nation

with the label, manufactured: "not in China"!

Smart people.

Tiger

Of course they're smart but there's something else to be said about this venture in Greece.

Greece was begging for help and bond-buying by China and the Chinese helped, stepped in and asked for favors in return. That's the way it works.

Greece was and still is on intensive care.

Portugal, just some day ago "begged" in Beijing to buy Bonds from them, same-same as Spain did and guess what? China keeps on buying Bonds from both countries....

China is the largest single Bond/treasury holder in the USA but everybody here complains about China.

Isn't it time some guys here should grab an opportunity and build business instead complaining?

Suit yourself and enjoy the relaxed holiday country Thailand but for doing business you have to be elsewhere.

LaoPo

[junglist]

This will kill where I work in a week. 400 Thai workers out of work. Thailand Hub of unemployment.

[junglist]

Where has Bkk got the space for this, and does Thailand want to commit economic and sovereignity suicide?

Well, if there's a fast buck to be made, FFFFF the future!

This is sad, I don’t want to be hear the day my sister has to tell all the workers the imported Chinese good have closed the factory. Over 40 years 400 people a lot of families will find the on coming years very hard. Sad. Hub of Unemployment.

[gemini81]

Funny how they are crazy protectionalist except for when it comes to china. When China Wipes out their local manufactures they will have no one else to blame but themselves. It happened in the US, we used to produce some of the best quality goods in the world. now we just consume garbage chinese junk because it's a couple of bucks cheaper.

....and funny what protectionists Chicoms are of their own country, except for everyone else's they are trying to buy out and control.

[rheinwiese]

Wow, 70.000 Chinese Traders will work in this new Centre.

Well, I think they all might need a Thai work permit.

And as we know the rules are..1 foreigner WP = 4 Thai employees.

That's 280.000 new jobs!!!!

[easton]

Just great now 70,000 more Chinese to compete with in Pattaya.

[brahmburgers]

according to the article, construction begins today.

Ummmm. I thought retailing was off limits to foreigners???

No retailing here; whole sale hub for re-export.

LaoPo

It's retailing. "A rose by any other name is still a rose."

70,000 Chinese coming to Thailand to work as vendors and related services. I'm sure they're all going to get working permits, as farang are required to get. Plus, it's doubtful that Thai vendors in the neighborhood are jumping for joy.

It smells as though some well placed Chinese-Thai VIPs are getting some fat behind-the-scenes payments in relation to this project.

Chinese authorities are good at buying and selling things internationally, but what are they doing on an international level to lessen strife, pollution, habitat destruction and nuclear weapons proliferation? Last I heard ......nothing.

[swillowbee]

... the results of this are predictable ... the ambitions, competence and unethical practices of the Chinese, preying on the incompetence, laziness and corruption of the Thais ... nothing good will come of this.

... the payoffs by the Chinese to the Thai politicians to allow this to happen must be just stunning.

... while selling their own children to pedophiles is what Thai politicians do best (metaphorically speaking), I still cannot believe the Thai political leadership will permit this as it is announced.

[Ricardo]

<snip for brevity>

If you're one of those protectionists you should study the economics of the world a little better and learn that protectionism doesn't work..never!

The west will be hurt in such a devastating way that you won't even have time to breath and gasp for air...so bad it will be(come).

<snip for brevity>

LaoPo

Tell this to the Chinese government, who've been holding the strength of their currency down for years, to boost their exports & make imported luxury-goods less-attractive on the domestic-market !

You're so incorrect again.

The Chinese didn't start their export business; it were the American and European + Australian buyers who came to (first) Hong Kong and later, in the late '80's went into the mainland themselves, and starting to "beg" Chinese manufacturers who only produced for the mainland market (1.3 Billion people!) to make their products, according to THEIR (western) specifications.

BECAUSE the Chinese manufacturers found out they could get a (much) better price, selling to the west, they woke up and slowly started to produce for western clients...

The rest is history but there was NO Chinese factory, initiating themselves, or being so clever, as to travel to the west and start selling his products; nobody spoke English and it was the way around the West came to the East, not the other way around so if you want to blame someone, go to your neighbor businessman, buying from the East....

<snip for brevity>

LaoPo

Indeed, it took the farang traders based in Hong Kong, working with local Chinese traders, to help the country link into the global trading-system. I would suggest that the earliest of these wholesale-markets was in fact Hong Kong itself. IMO modern China owes a great deal to those far-sighted farangs 200 years ago.

And now China seeks to build a new Hong-Kong in Thailand, I hope there will be some share of the benefits going to Thailand itself, and that this is more than just a trading-ruse to by-pass trade-tariffs/barriers.

[LaoPo]

<snip for brevity>

If you're one of those protectionists you should study the economics of the world a little better and learn that protectionism doesn't work..never!

The west will be hurt in such a devastating way that you won't even have time to breath and gasp for air...so bad it will be(come).

<snip for brevity>

LaoPo

Tell this to the Chinese government, who've been holding the strength of their currency down for years, to boost their exports & make imported luxury-goods less-attractive on the domestic-market !

You're so incorrect again.

The Chinese didn't start their export business; it were the American and European + Australian buyers who came to (first) Hong Kong and later, in the late '80's went into the mainland themselves, and starting to "beg" Chinese manufacturers who only produced for the mainland market (1.3 Billion people!) to make their products, according to THEIR (western) specifications.

BECAUSE the Chinese manufacturers found out they could get a (much) better price, selling to the west, they woke up and slowly started to produce for western clients...

The rest is history but there was NO Chinese factory, initiating themselves, or being so clever, as to travel to the west and start selling his products; nobody spoke English and it was the way around the West came to the East, not the other way around so if you want to blame someone, go to your neighbor businessman, buying from the East....

<snip for brevity>

LaoPo

Indeed, it took the farang traders based in Hong Kong, working with local Chinese traders, to help the country link into the global trading-system. I would suggest that the earliest of these wholesale-markets was in fact Hong Kong itself. IMO modern China owes a great deal to those far-sighted farangs 200 years ago.

And now China seeks to build a new Hong-Kong in Thailand, I hope there will be some share of the benefits going to Thailand itself, and that this is more than just a trading-ruse to by-pass trade-tariffs/barriers.

1. Typical western comment, telling another country what to do with their own currency. Would the US listen to China if they tell the US to adjust the Greenback?

You think its healthy for the economy what the US is doing, having the printing machines printing dollars, full speed?

And, luxury goods? Your remark shows you haven't been in China (for a long time) otherwise you wouldn't write that. There are more luxury goods' shops in any city in China than there are in Bangkok next to dealerships for Ferrari's, Bentley's, Rolls Royces, Mercedes, BMW and the like. There isn't any self respecting European designer who has NO shops in China.

2. Trading with Hong Kong or China is what the word says: trading and trading benefits 2 partners: the seller and the buyer. Simple really.

It's not a new Hong Kong; it's a second and smaller Yiwu and the ones claiming it's a retail center don't know what they're talking about and don't know about Yiwu.

In a $ 1.5 Billion (!) mega trading centre a lot of money will stay in Thailand; if anyone doesn't see that maybe its time to visit an eye doctor

But, the negativity about anything Chinese by a certain group of posters is known; I'm used to it since it only shows their own ignorance and pure western looks and not taking any effort to look upon China from another side than their own.

But, of course the western press is doing their utmost to paint negative stories about China; they forget what the country has accomplished.

The Chinese people couldn't care less, they dont have time to listen to negative people; they work and try to improve their standard of living since they also want to reach out for a life style most here on board are spoiled with because it was so normal to grow up in a secure and relative luxury environment in our western societies.

Now it's China's time, whether you like it or not.

LaoPo

[wolf5370]

I'm getting a little confused with the direction of this thread. What China does or does not do internally is up to them as fvar as I'm concerned. What happens in the country I amd my family live in is my concern. Therefore, with such a story I am more concerned on the impact on Thailand and its ecconomy than I am on with China being wealthy, Chinese people getting a chance at the trough or what Europe or USA has done in the past. This isn't a world politics site (head on over to the bear pit for that!) this is a Thai expats site.

WIll the supposed income from business travel and import/export taxes (free trade agreement?) out weigh the loss in home production? Will the re-labelled (re-assemebled/re-exported etc) goods exported from here instead of China eat into the import limits in the EU and USA? Ans if so, would that impact Thai exports? Will the high Baht and controlled Renminbi cause flooding that will jeopardise local industry? These are the questions I am interested in - along with (if any of these are negative - which I guess they will be) how is this proposed to happen/fit in with current immigration and foreign trade law? Who is backing this (in an election year) from the government? What are the opposition saying about it?

[LaoPo]

I'm getting a little confused with the direction of this thread. What China does or does not do internally is up to them as fvar as I'm concerned. What happens in the country I amd my family live in is my concern. Therefore, with such a story I am more concerned on the impact on Thailand and its ecconomy than I am on with China being wealthy, Chinese people getting a chance at the trough or what Europe or USA has done in the past. This isn't a world politics site (head on over to the bear pit for that!) this is a Thai expats site.

WIll the supposed income from business travel and import/export taxes (free trade agreement?) out weigh the loss in home production? Will the re-labelled (re-assemebled/re-exported etc) goods exported from here instead of China eat into the import limits in the EU and USA? Ans if so, would that impact Thai exports? Will the high Baht and controlled Renminbi cause flooding that will jeopardise local industry? These are the questions I am interested in - along with (if any of these are negative - which I guess they will be) how is this proposed to happen/fit in with current immigration and foreign trade law? Who is backing this (in an election year) from the government? What are the opposition saying about it?

I suppose there's more information in Thailand available or available soon which could answer many questions...:

"Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will chair a ceremony at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre on January 18 to launch the project and commence construction work."

From: http://www.nationmul...l-30145878.html

Edit: The major wholesale trade centre will be built near Suvarnabhumi airport ..."Located at Bang Na-Trat Highway Kilometre 8"

LaoPo

Edited January 18, 2011 by LaoPo

[tomyummer]

Great.

Thailand whoring itself out yet again. Now we can get our own fake eggs, melamine milk, defective toys, and lead painted items without having to leave the country!

Of course we'll be able to buy from the city as the thugs will help smuggle it out. And probably use the Chinese train system in Thailand!

Russians, Chinese,... next in line please!

[brahmburgers]

I'm getting a little confused with the direction of this thread. What China does or does not do internally is up to them as far as I'm concerned. What happens in the country I and my family live in is my concern. Therefore, with such a story I am more concerned on the impact on Thailand and its economy than I am on with China being wealthy, Chinese people getting a chance at the trough or what Europe or USA has done in the past. This isn't a world politics site (head on over to the bear pit for that!) this is a Thai expats site.

Will the supposed income from business travel and import/export taxes (free trade agreement?) out weigh the loss in home production? Will the re-labeled (re-assembled/re-exported etc) goods exported from here instead of China eat into the import limits in the EU and USA? Ans if so, would that impact Thai exports? Will the high Baht and controlled Renminbi cause flooding that will jeopardize local industry? These are the questions I am interested in - along with (if any of these are negative - which I guess they will be) how is this proposed to happen/fit in with current immigration and foreign trade law? Who is backing this (in an election year) from the government? What are the opposition saying about it?

Good points, and well thought out. Your perspective is either far beyond what any Thai authorities could fathom, or perhaps some have thought of those things, yet pushed them aside because they're so dazzled by the big chunks of money being proposed for the project (and the possibility of getting their snouts in the trough).

The project stinks. It's like a Trojan horse which will enrich some Chinese, some already rich Thais on the inside, and leave many ordinary Thai vendors on the downwind side of a big collective fart.

[richard10365]

I am studying International Business Management at Payap University. We use western text books and study business from an international perspective. Everything that LaoPo is say seems right out of our text books on how international business gets done as well as how it is taught around the world.

In fact, if I had to guess, LaoPo sounds like a business teacher. We do have some teaching positions available if you're interested (qualified). It's sometimes hard to find good business teachers in Thailand because a good teacher can make a lot more money someplace else. They have to love to teach.

Do you teach LaoPo?

[richard10365]

The part I am not totally clear on is:

1. Why do they need this place if the ASEAN treaty eliminates these tariffs?
   
2. Why would a national asset be in the hands of private investors and not the government?
   

[LaoPo]

I am studying International Business Management at Payap University. We use western text books and study business from an international perspective. Everything that LaoPo is say seems right out of our text books on how international business gets done as well as how it is taught around the world.

In fact, if I had to guess, LaoPo sounds like a business teacher. We do have some teaching positions available if you're interested (qualified). It's sometimes hard to find good business teachers in Thailand because a good teacher can make a lot more money someplace else. They have to love to teach.

Do you teach LaoPo?

Sorry, no, I'm not a teacher and never was one either.

LaoPo

[richard10365]

I am studying International Business Management at Payap University. We use western text books and study business from an international perspective. Everything that LaoPo is say seems right out of our text books on how international business gets done as well as how it is taught around the world.

In fact, if I had to guess, LaoPo sounds like a business teacher. We do have some teaching positions available if you're interested (qualified). It's sometimes hard to find good business teachers in Thailand because a good teacher can make a lot more money someplace else. They have to love to teach.

Do you teach LaoPo?

Sorry, no, I'm not a teacher and never was one either.

LaoPo

Just a good business man.

[LaoPo]

The part I am not totally clear on is:

1. Why do they need this place if the ASEAN treaty eliminates these tariffs?
2. Why would a national asset be in the hands of private investors and not the government?

Good questions.

1. The way it was presented in the press says that it is to become a re-export hub for whole-sale and manufacturers from China, re-exporting their items because those items fall under import and high tax restrictions in various overseas countries if they come straight from China.

Under the ASEAN treaty the products are transported from one place (China) to another, Thailand, without having to pay import duties or taxes. These duties and/or taxes are also not in place anymore if there are goods made in- and exported from Thailand to China or other Asean countries.

The new wholesale centre is a kind of "Yiwu" wholesale hub, named after the same (HUGE one!) in Yiwu city in China in Zhejiang Province. Only wholesale- and manufacturers sell their merchandise there; NO private buyers. In fact private buyers in Yiwu are not welcome.

2. I'm not sure what you mean by a National Asset...? If you mean the buildings to be built....what I understand is that the $ 1.5 Bilion investment is -partly- coming from China but I haven't seen any details yet, but there are joint Thai partners as well.

In fact there will be three joint ventures:

A. The (near) Bangkok whole-sale trading centre with an investment of Bt 28.8 Billion

B. A Bt 3 Billion investment for a whole-sale trading centre near Chiang Mai

C. An investment of Bt 5-billion auto-tyre manufacturing project in the eastern province of Rayong.

There are some negative members, always complaining about China, but that's almost normal here on TV but I never hear anything about Thai exporters selling to China or any other ASEAN countries who are making big bucks

There are so many opportunities for Thai manufacturers selling to China if they would make high quality products instead trying to compete with the cheaper labor countries in the Asian area.

* http://thailand-busi...-raises-concern

LaoPo

[tw25rw]

1. The way it was presented in the press says that it is to become a re-export hub for whole-sale and manufacturers from China, re-exporting their items because those items fall under import and high tax restrictions in various overseas countries if they come straight from China.

Under the ASEAN treaty the products are transported from one place (China) to another, Thailand, without having to pay import duties or taxes. These duties and/or taxes are also not in place anymore if there are goods made in- and exported from Thailand to China or other Asean countries.

If that is the case, it's an entirely dishonourable way to do business. Thailand shouldn't be surprised if the restrictions placed on Chinese exports are extended to Thai exports as well.

[LaoPo]

1. The way it was presented in the press says that it is to become a re-export hub for whole-sale and manufacturers from China, re-exporting their items because those items fall under import and high tax restrictions in various overseas countries if they come straight from China.

Under the ASEAN treaty the products are transported from one place (China) to another, Thailand, without having to pay import duties or taxes. These duties and/or taxes are also not in place anymore if there are goods made in- and exported from Thailand to China or other Asean countries.

If that is the case, it's an entirely dishonourable way to do business. Thailand shouldn't be surprised if the restrictions placed on Chinese exports are extended to Thai exports as well.

I think we're ill-fed with real details about this new venture and untill we hear more we can't really judge about what's happening.

In the link, above it also says:

"The centre will serve as a major re-export centre for Chinese-made products in the Asean market of 580 million consumers"

so maybe my interpretation of the news as it was presented was incorrect.

LaoPo

[brahmburgers]

1. The way it was presented in the press says that it is to become a re-export hub for whole-sale and manufacturers from China, re-exporting their items because those items fall under import and high tax restrictions in various overseas countries if they come straight from China.

Under the ASEAN treaty the products are transported from one place (China) to another, Thailand, without having to pay import duties or taxes. These duties and/or taxes are also not in place anymore if there are goods made in- and exported from Thailand to China or other Asean countries.

If that is the case, it's an entirely dishonourable way to do business. Thailand shouldn't be surprised if the restrictions placed on Chinese exports are extended to Thai exports as well.

Yes, it does sound like a grandoise way to try and skirt around export tariffs/import duties - and a way to possibly skirt around state-mandated restrictions related to safety and quality of exports.

However, it also seems rather 'out in the open' rather than clandestine, so it will be interesting to see how the gargantuan 'wholesale' center develops.

Thai authorities could add some requirements to the package. It won't happen, but here's a suggestion: Mandate that, in order for the center to be developed, the following add-ons would be required:

>>>>> park space - with large trees and minimum 10 Km of bicycle paths allocated - equivalent to the parcel size of the center and its parking area.

>>>> a research and educational center with library be built.

>>>> a minimum 5 rai children's park be built with youth center building and performance stage, with no admission or membership fees. An area where youngsters can develop artistic skills and innovative thinking (interactive science exhibits).

Of course, it won't happen. If the selling space is created, it will be 100% about making money. That's the Chinese way.

[richard10365]

2. I'm not sure what you mean by a National Asset...? If you mean the buildings to be built....what I understand is that the $ 1.5 Bilion investment is -partly- coming from China but I haven't seen any details yet, but there are joint Thai partners as well.

International trade is regulated by the agreed upon rules of the WTO which China and Thailand are a part of. The governments of Thailand and China also agreed to abide by ASEAN trade rules. So now why are private investors the ones setting up (providing resourses)this deal and not the Thai government?

It seems this is a trade agreement between the governments of Thailand and China. The owners of the land will make significant revenue on leasing the land to the Chinese businesses. If the owner is the government, then the revenue from this would always be with the Thai government and not going to any one person(s). As Thai governments come and go, the money would still stay to the Thai government as opposed to private investors. Politicians who helped with the original trade negotiations that did not get reelected would be out of the loop. The revenue from this project could be used to help other projects in Thailand.

Maybe it is set up in a way I described but how it is worded in the report makes it seem like some rich businessmen are providing the money to set this up and not the government. Therefor, the rich businessmen would get the profits from the use of the land and not Thailand.

While it is one thing to eliminate tariffs on imported goods, it's another thing to allow the Chinese to set up shops on Thai soil. While the Thai government can't make the Chinese pay a tariff according to the ASEAN agreement, they can make them pay for rent for the shop they set up. The rent from 70,000 Chinese traders, as well as any support services (food, electricity, housing, etc) is where the Thai government could make revenue from this project.

This brings up another point. China, will be reexporting products from Thai soil for the purpose of avoiding tariffs from other countries outside of ASEAN. This will probably bring complaints from the other countries about this being a kind of tariff loophole. I'm not an expert in international trade law but I am studying it this semester at my university and it seems this might be a WTO violation. Other countries could impose countervieling duties on not just Thailand but on all ASEAN products and ASEAN could force Thailand to shut down this operation.

Edited January 22, 2011 by richard10365