BANGKOK, Feb 6 — Li Yong, director-general of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), today met with Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula and praised the Thai government on its attempts to improve the industrial sector and promotional privileges offered by the government's Board of Investment (BoI).
Mr Pridiyathorn told journalists later that talks with Mr Li, a former deputy finance minister of China, focused on how to further develop Thailand's industrial sector, and the BoI’s promotional privileges given to industrial factories which helped in conservation of environment and energy.
He said Mr Li told him that the UN felt comfortable that Thailand was following the right direction, especially on the country’s assistance to neighbouring countries to also grow by investing in those nations.
Assuring Mr Li that Thailand’s economy would grow, Mr Pridiyathorn said he had also told him that about 1,800 new factories would be established in Thailand in the next 4 -5 months while some 2,400 had already been opened.
Besides creating new jobs, combined investment of new factories would total about Bt450 billion.
But problems remain in Thailand’s exports as key importers including the US and European countries are confronting with the sluggish economy, he told Mr Li.
He also briefed Mr Li on a proposal by the Chinese government to the Thai administration to jointly seek loans from the Export-Import Bank of China to fund the dual rail track for 873 kilometres in the kingdom in which the interest rate is reportedly higher than that offered by Japan International Cooperation Agency in the past.
Mr Pridiyathorn said loans which would be funded on the project are “not a problem” because the government could borrow from local financial institutions.
The important point lies in verifying the actual cost, he added. (MCOT online news)
