Thailand might exchange crops for China's rail investment

[webfact]

Thailand might exchange crops for China's rail investment

BANGKOK, 11 October 2013 (NNT) - Thailand is scheduled to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China on 11 October 2013 on the latter’s acceptance of Thai produce as payment for railway system development.

Transport Minister Chatchart Sitthiphan said China would allow Thailand to pay for its railway investment with farm produce such as rice and Para rubber.

If the MOU is signed, a committee will be set up to study the feasibility of such payment method and decide which produce will be used to pay for which part of the railway systems.

The minister said if the committee found that the payment method was not appropriate, the government could cancel it immediately since the MOU would have no binding effects.

According to the minister, trains and train parts account for 20-30% of the total value of the high speed train project or about 140-210 billion baht.

Mr Chatchart added that Thailand’s high-speed train project was still in the process of feasibility study; therefore, the government had not yet decided who would be responsible for the project implementation.


-- NNT 2013-10-11

[webfact]

BILATERAL RELATIONS
Economic deals expected to boost ties with China
The Nation

Meetings to look at barter arrangement for Chinese role in high-speed train project

BANGKOK: -- A number of agreements to strengthen Sino-Thai economic ties will be signed when Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrives in Bangkok today.

Li begins his three-day official visit with a meeting with his Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra at Government House.

One memorandum of understanding will be signed by the Board of Investment and China Development Bank Corporation to promote direct investment by both countries. The other concerns the partial payment for a Chinese rail system with Thai farm products. A joint working will be set up to discuss this matter further.

Industry Ministry Prasert Boonchaisuk said yesterday that Yingluck and Li would witness the BOI-CDB signing ceremony.

Only a few Thai companies have made their presence felt in China, such as Charoen Pokphand Group, Bangkok Bank and Kasikornbank. However, some Chinese companies have established operations in Thailand.

From 2007 to 2012, Chinese investors with 188 projects worth Bt177.7 billion applied for the BOI's tax privileges.

The first eight months of this year saw 28 Chinese investment projects worth Bt18 billion applying for incentives. China is now the biggest source of foreign direct investment after Japan.

Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt said after meeting with the director of China's State Railways Administration, Lu Dongfu, that he would today sign the MoU that would consider allowing Thailand to repay China for part of the construction cost of a high-speed-rail project with farm products, such as rice and rubber.

"The two sides will discuss the possibility of such a barter arrangement. More still needs to be done at the government-to-government level," he said.

China was particularly interested in the proposal to build a high-speed railroad between Bangkok and the northeastern border province of Nong Khai, as that line would be connected with a rail link between Kunming in southern China and Laos, he said.

"China has studied the feasibility of this route, but there will be careful discussion about benefits for Thailand and the law," he said.

After the MoU is signed, a committee to be chaired by Chadchart will be formed to determine which kind of Thai agricultural products should be used as payment. The members will include representatives from such agencies as the Commerce and Agriculture ministries.

"Decisions will be made on what kind of farm produce should be used and which part of the train project would the barter payment be made for," he said. "We will choose the conditions that benefit Thailand the most."

If a study finds that the barter deal is inappropriate, the government will not opt for this alternative, he said, adding that an MoU was not binding.

A possibility is to barter farm produce with trains and related equipment to be used in the high-speed-rail project. It has been estimated that those costs would account for 20-30 per cent of the total project cost, or about Bt140 billion to Bt210 billion.

Thailand has no problem with funding the high-speed-rail project, as it comes under the transport mega-projects to be financed by some Bt2 trillion to be borrowed by the Finance Ministry, Chadchart said. "We have enough money to fund the project," he said.

However, he added that it was worthwhile to study whether the construction cost could be partially paid with agricultural produce. Thailand has not chosen any particular foreign country to build the project, he said.

"All the projects must be subject to bidding in line with international standards."


-- The Nation 2013-10-11

[osiboy]

Sounds a good idea to me , just don't let the chinese buid it , making a deal to help with the cost of the french or germans or japanese build it seems to be on the right track, ......im chuffed !

[apetley]

I take it this is the promised 'sale' of 5 million tons of Thai rice to China that has been talked about for several weeks right?

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[dru2]

I take it this is the promised 'sale' of 5 million tons of Thai rice to China that has been talked about for several weeks right?

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

It's all nonsense. We are talking about today's China here, not the China of 35 years ago. China doesn't want rice in exchange for high speed rail. China has all the money it need to buy just about anything it wants for cash. So it's lies, smoke and mirrors from a supplicant country seeking a figleaf to cover its rice scheme losses and avoid revealing where the real money has gone.

It's unfortunate that PTP should be degrading Thailand's image internationally in this way.

[trainman34014]

You have to laugh at these comedians as they dream their way through life in Amazing Thailand. This has obviously been thought through after a night of heavy drinking paid for by the average Thai's VAT payments. Suddenly Somchai had a brainwave and suggested a way to get rid of all that rotting rice mountain. Anyone for swapping rubber for extra Rolling Stock ?

[ballpoint]

I take it this is the promised 'sale' of 5 million tons of Thai rice to China that has been talked about for several weeks right?

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

It's all nonsense. We are talking about today's China here, not the China of 35 years ago. China doesn't want rice in exchange for high speed rail. China has all the money it need to buy just about anything it wants for cash. So it's lies, smoke and mirrors from a supplicant country seeking a figleaf to cover its rice scheme losses and avoid revealing where the real money has gone.

It's unfortunate that PTP should be degrading Thailand's image internationally in this way.

And, of all the rice China doesn't want, it specially doesn't want rancid rotting rice. (And not just because they can't say it ploperly either).

[moe666]

Trying to do things on the cheap

[Sydebolle]

And where does Lin Ping come into the picture here?

[JoeThePoster]

the MOU would have no binding effects

If the Thai govt will wine and dine me and my friends, I'd be happy to sign a MOU for a gazzillion tonnes of rice.

[ratcatcher]

And where does Lin Ping come into the picture here?

The Thais have always pandered to Chinese whims, haven't they?

[nisakiman]

I thought the recent derailments were blamed on the use of cheap Chinese steel for the rails. And they want the Chinese to build a high speed rail link? In exchange for rice? Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me.

[nullx8]

First time in 10Years i read somethings making sense.

[Thai at Heart]

I take it this is the promised 'sale' of 5 million tons of Thai rice to China that has been talked about for several weeks right?

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

It's all nonsense. We are talking about today's China here, not the China of 35 years ago. China doesn't want rice in exchange for high speed rail. China has all the money it need to buy just about anything it wants for cash. So it's lies, smoke and mirrors from a supplicant country seeking a figleaf to cover its rice scheme losses and avoid revealing where the real money has gone.

It's unfortunate that PTP should be degrading Thailand's image internationally in this way.

This has all the hallmarks of how Cuba or North Korea used to import Chinese stuff. Barter trading commodities like this went out of vogue eons ago.

[ggold]

The minister said if the committee found that the payment method was not appropriate, the government could cancel it immediately since the MOU would have no binding effects.

Why sign something that will be cancelled! Should be the memorandum of non-understanding! Does Thailand have any minerals the Chinese want?

[nullx8]

The minister said if the committee found that the payment method was not appropriate, the government could cancel it immediately since the MOU would have no binding effects.

Why sign something that will be cancelled! Should be the memorandum of non-understanding! Does Thailand have any minerals the Chinese want?

will be anyway if Goldman Sachs and/or the us govt. find out about that

[ratcatcher]

The minister said if the committee found that the payment method was not appropriate, the government could cancel it immediately since the MOU would have no binding effects.

Why sign something that will be cancelled! Should be the memorandum of non-understanding! Does Thailand have any minerals the Chinese want?

Well, it's got lots or ores.

[RubbaJohnny]

Money for Bei Jing and chicks for free?

[belg]

chicken for airplanes

and rotten rice for railway

55555555555

[hellodolly]

Sounds a good idea to me , just don't let the chinese buid it , making a deal to help with the cost of the french or germans or japanese build it seems to be on the right track, ......im chuffed !

Well a couple of things I believe that the Japanese and French would deliver a much better product but if I recall there costs were way higher than China.

Also they would probably want money rather than rotten rice and rubber. Perhaps some of the rubber?

Does any one know where this train will go. Is it the one the Chinese proposed several years ago to go from Malaysia to Lao. Or is it some hair brained thing the government is thinking up to get more votes?

It will definatly be a Chinese deal and that would be OK as long as they had Japanese or French experts to continuously inspect the project.

My personal opinion is not one baht should be spent on it until every rail route in Thailand is brought up to acceptable safety standards or permanently shut down.