Asean offers firms chance to expand

TRADE

Published: 22 Nov 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: Business

Business leaders are urging Thai companies to have a presence in other Asean countries, as the region will become a fast-growing economic zone.

Anon Sirisaengtaksin, the chief executive of PTT Global Chemical, told a Bangkok seminar yesterday on the opportunities of Thai businesses in Asean and Asia that Asean alone will be able to grow continuously by 5% annually over the next four decades. If there are no major hiccups, Asean would become the world's fifth-largest economy after the US, China, Europe and India.

"Asean has the advantages of a plentiful workforce, steady growth in the middle-income population and urbanisation expanding consumption and demand," said Mr Anon, adding that the sectors that will benefit most from the launch of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) are construction, retail and finance.

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boons
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Discussion 1 : 22 Nov 2012 at 14.091
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"Expand" is a creative way of saying, "shift production to nations with cheaper labor". ASEAN "expansion" will be exceedingly profitable for companies and shareholders but will cause an unprecedented spike in unemployment in Thailand. If history is any guide, the surge in unemployment will be solved by creating a credit-fueled bubble in housing, credit and consumer spending. We have seen this movie before.
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Asean offers firms chance to expand | Bangkok Post: business