Academic fears concession will lead to land grab in Eastern Economic Corridor

[webfact]

Academic fears concession will lead to land grab in Eastern Economic Corridor
By PRATCH RUJIVANAROM
THE NATION

 

Decharut Sukkumnoed

 

BANGKOK: -- An academic has warned that foreign investors will receive too many privileges under the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Bill, which could lead to serious land problems in the Eastern region.

 

Decharut Sukkumnoed, the lecturer at Faculty of Economics Kasetsart University, said there were alarming issues regarding the EEC Bill that would exempt foreigners from many leasing conditions and give too many privileges to foreign investors that would not benefit the country.

 

“It is true that Thai law has allowed land leases for foreigners for 99 years since 1999, as the National Council for Peace and Order has always explained. The law allows foreign investors to lease land for 50 years and they can extend for another 49 years,” Decharut said.

 

“However, the Land Leasing for Commerce and Industry Act contains a lot of conditions that investors have to meet before being allowed to rent the land, and these conditions are excluded from the EEC. In the end, this will lead to a tremendous land grab in the Eastern region and harm the land rights of local people.” 

 

He said Article 43 of the EEC Bill stated people operating in the EEC area could receive privileges, including foreigners allowed to occupy the land.

 

Article 44 stated that foreigners could receive privileges without complying with the Thailand Land Code, which meant that investors who secured a permit from the EEC Office could lease the land without conditions.

 

He said Article 46 of the EEC Bill also waived Article 5 of the Land Leasing for Commerce and Industry Act, which stated that foreign investors could lease land for 50 years and extend for 49 years, but they had to meet conditions stipulated by the ministerial regulations and receive permission from the Lands Department director-general.

 

According to the Lands Department, there are two types of foreign land leasing allowances, covering property less than 100 rai (16 hectares) and more than 100 rai. 

 

Leasing land of less than 100 rai has three main conditions. First, the land must be in a zoned area within the city plan. Second, investors must invest more than Bt20 million in commercial sectors or invest in a promoted industry. Third, foreign investors must not invest in prohibited businesses.

 

For land leases of more than 100 rai, all three conditions also apply, but the business must also benefit Thailand’s economy, such as boost the employment rate, increase exports or be a promoted business according to the government.

 

“The exemption of the article means that not only is the power of the Lands Department director-general to grant or cancel the land-lease allowance bypassed, but also the conditions for foreign investors are lifted as well,” Decharut said.

 

“This is very concerning, because the ECC Bill signifies that if investors get permission to lease land from the EEC Office, they can lease any new land within the EEC without asking for permission from authorities again.”

 

He said he was concerned the bill would transfer power from the Lands Department to the EEC Office, which ordinary people would not be able to influence, to allocate large areas of land, which could lead to a significant land grab in the Eastern region.

 

“The bill also states that the EEC Office can gather land for special economic zone development by purchasing, appropriating or reclaiming land from the sea, so it is very likely that large amounts of land will be taken from local people’s hands and distributed to investors,” he said.

 

“This is wrong at many levels. In the long-term, land leases will not be attractive to the technology base that the government wants to attract, but also the law will violate local people’s rights to access limited land resources.”

 

Decharut said the government should attract technology-based investments by providing tax benefits instead, as providing a large area of land for a long period of time was not beneficial to that kind of investment.

 

He added that tax breaks were more logical as the government would be a direct beneficiary of investment in the EEC.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30313941

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-05-02

[canuckamuck]

Simply designate the area where investors are allowed to lease and there can be no land grab possible.

It is not like the the elite haven't been land grabbing for centuries anyway. Why not have a few areas available for foreign investors that plan to pay fair wages and teach new skills? 

[wakeupplease]

OMG where do academics get their titles from as they are as dumb as they come

 

Lets take the UK, sunshine and see if we can educate you.

 

You buy land and a house here, so you own the land and property built on it.. But land is only foundation of the house or business built on it. So later you find gold or oil underneath you house, It aint no goldmine for you as it belongs to the UK crown, you will get compensated for your loss at the full value of your house but UK crown owns all rights below your house.

 

So dumb academics like this one are killing the country with education that should be in the primitive age yet is alive and well here.

 

As you travel east people seem to get thicker or is it my imagination?

[ukrules]

Does anyone know where the land which belongs to the current government is located ?

 

Is any of it located within the Eastern Economic Corridor ?

 

[fforest1]

18 minutes ago, wakeupplease said:

OMG where do academics get their titles from as they are as dumb as they come

 

Lets take the UK, sunshine and see if we can educate you.

 

You buy land and a house here, so you own the land and property built on it.. But land is only foundation of the house or business built on it. So later you find gold or oil underneath you house, It aint no goldmine for you as it belongs to the UK crown, you will get compensated for your loss at the full value of your house but UK crown owns all rights below your house.

 

So dumb academics like this one are killing the country with education that should be in the primitive age yet is alive and well here.

 

As you travel east people seem to get thicker or is it my imagination?

Have you actual read all the massive benefits proposed for

for foreign companies in the special EEC zone?

[wakeupplease]

2 minutes ago, fforest1 said:

Have you actual read all the massive benefits proposed for

for foreign companies in the special EEC zone?

No but do you know how land rights are around the globe and how it works, but if you are writing them the wrong way then corruption is at play. When you buy a house or business (land) in many country's, you are not buying the country. UK is a prime example. Even Boss with all his billions would get shown the door if he challenge here. You sell a house to a Farang not the dam country.

[phantomfiddler]

If he looks dumb, acts dumb, and comes out with dumb statements, he is dumb ! Bringing in and promoting industry is good for the country and good for the Thais, as it produces decent jobs with a future. I have seen SO MANY instances here where the Thai owner wanted it ALL, leaving no possibility of profit by the farang operator, and inevitably the whole operation closes down due to the greed of the Thai owners. This man clearly is one such person. 

[Misterwhisper]

With dumb "academics" like him around (and even worse, a lecturer who teaches a whole crop of future leaders), one doesn't need to wonder why this country cannot escape the feudal age.

[worgeordie]

They need to realise that land is a non removable item ,the Farangs cannot take

it away,it will always be part of Thailand,and future Governments could always

revoke the leases, they should be more worried about the minority of Thais who

own the majority of the land here.

regards worgeordie

[Jonmarleesco]

Might balance things up, then. 

[anotheruser]

3 hours ago, worgeordie said:

They need to realise that land is a non removable item ,the Farangs cannot take

it away,it will always be part of Thailand,and future Governments could always

revoke the leases, they should be more worried about the minority of Thais who

own the majority of the land here.

regards worgeordie

It is beginning to sound like they are worried they might have to actually honor the terms of these leases. I would love to hear them say how they can simply revoke leases to the Thais while they are at the same time telling foreign firms their leases are legal and enforceable.

 

He worries that if they fall under the EEC that local people will not be able to interfere with it later. I think this is sort of normal in most places? What a conundrum they won't be able to squeeze the foreign investors for at least another 50 years should they decide to honor the agreements.

 

Giving a foreigner a fair deal here seems to be controversial at the best of times.

[Srikcir]

17 hours ago, webfact said:

the law will violate local people’s rights to access limited land resources

News Flash ... those rights were lost with the abolition of the 2007 Constitution.  The 2017 Constitution allows the State to decide people's rights according to the needs of national security. And foreign investment for economic growth is one of the highest forms of national security.

Academics fear such privileges will lead to the colonization of Thailand. Might not be such a bad thing when one looks at the experiences of Singapore, Hong Kong, India, etc.

[anotheruser]

9 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

News Flash ... those rights were lost with the abolition of the 2007 Constitution.  The 2017 Constitution allows the State to decide people's rights according to the needs of national security. And foreign investment for economic growth is one of the highest forms of national security.

Academics fear such privileges will lead to the colonization of Thailand. Might not be such a bad thing when one looks at the experiences of Singapore, Hong Kong, India, etc.

Those rights were lost long before that. I am not sure how long ago it happened but those rights were lost when the concept of private land was introduced. As far as fishing rights go and things like that I am sure those could be upheld if you want to fish behind a battery factory.
 

If you give somebody a lease you have to honor it. What the minister doesn't like is corporations don't just die and end up on the back page of Pattaya one. They used to lease land to small lease holds and thought well look at this guy... he will be dead in 10 years. The corporations that will lease these plots will actually be around to renew the lease. 

 

That leaves a bad taste in the local populations mouth.