BANGKOK, Feb 6 — As the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is scheduled to kick off at the end of this year, Thaland's Commerce Ministry is speeding up expanding its trade with its neighbour Malaysia and simultaneously cooperating with Thai entrepreneurs in the South to expand business with that country, according to Duangporn Rodphaya, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department.
She said Deputy Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn will visit Sadao and Hat Yai districts in Songkhla province, on the Thai-Malaysian border, next Wednesday and Thursday to inspect border trade and she would also chair a workshop.
Ms Apiradee also plans to present the government’s strategy on border trade development and a plan for boosting Thailand-Malaysia border trade during the workshop, according to Ms Duangporn.
Sadao is one of the five special economic development areas for 2015, mapped out by the government which wants to create confidence for the investors to increase investment in the Sadao and Padang Besar border districts.
Cross border trade at Sadao and Padang Besar is estimated at Bt350 billion and Bt150 billion annually respectively. Both sites are considered strategic routes connecting Singapore and China’s Kunming.
The government’s plan to develop Sadao as a special economic development zone will help facilitate goods distribution in deep southern Thailand to southern China and countries in Southeast Asia via Singapore, boosting employment, tourism and service businesses.
Ms Apiradee’s visit to the two districts is expected to stimulate border trade with Malaysia and will help enable the cross border trade to reach target of Bt1.5 trillion this year. (MCOT online news)
