Thailand invites Indian SMEs to expand trade

India - Thailand business partnership is a win-win situation for both the nations as it helps both countries meet their demands and also strengthen their economies, said Sakchai Luangsathitkul, Director Regional Economic and Investment Centre, Thailand.

Luangsathitkul was addressing the CII Chandigarh members at an Interactive session with the Members of Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at its Headquarters in Chandigarh on Wednesday.

A Thailand-India Business Joint Forum is being set up to stimulate expansion of bilateral trade and investments and facilitate business partnerships between the two nations, said Luangsathitkul.

While inviting the SMEs from the tricity to invest in Thailand, he said that Thailand offers ‘No foreign equity restriction in manufacturing’, Corporate income tax holidays up to eight years, additional 50 per cent reduction for five years, double deduction for transportation, electricity and water costs for 10 years and permission to own land for foreign investors. In recent years, the northern states of India have emerged as a prime focus area for us as the number of MSMEs here has grown tremendously.

Talking about the substantial growth of trade between two nations, he said, “Over the last 15 years, bilateral trade between Thailand and India grew phenomenally reaching $8.2 billion in 2011 and expanded to $8.6 billion in 2012. It is expected that this upward trend would be able to reach about $16 billion by 2014 and is looking at the North Eastern region as a major hub for investment.”

Emphasizing on SMEs investment, Banjamaporn Yanwongsa, Investment Promotion Officer, Thailand Board of Investment Thailand, said “Mostly, we are interested in SMEs that are interested in expanding their business abroad and need information and guidance about the opportunities, rules and regulations of target countries.

“We would like to invite Indian companies to invest in Thailand in sectors in which India is strong, such as auto parts, software development, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Thailand can be the base for India in expanding or exporting goods into ASEAN, Australia, New Zealand and East Asia”, said Pimonpat Sinpiboon, Investment Promotion Officer, Thailand Board of Investment Thailand.

Man Mohan Singh, Chairman, CII Chandigarh Council, said, “The Thailand - India development partnership is about sharing knowledge and expertise, exchange of best practices, supporting innovation and building capacity and skills. As a lot of local investors are looking towards Thailand to expand their businesses, this interactive session has helped in understanding the nuances of expanding business with Thailand and other international markets via Thailand.”