Despite being mired in a political impasse, Thailand will remain competitive, particularly in terms of garments and textiles, hotels and tourism, retail operations and medical services, once the regional economic integration takes effect.
Deputy commerce permanent secretary Vuthichai Duangratana said the ongoing political conflict will not affect the Asean Economic Community (AEC) due to kick off late next year, as all obligations have been already been signed.
"The private sector remains reluctant to expand investment in the region, but Thailand remains appealing to more foreign investments driven by the AEC, particularly in the service sector and medium-sized enterprises," he said.
Mr Vuthichai said Thailand is well prepared on several issues, notably skilled labour and product quality, particularly garments and textiles, tourism and hotel services, medical services and retail.
Thailand is also ready to become a transport hub and facilitate border trade, providing a gateway for road transport from southern China along the East-West Economic Corridor linking Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar and the North-South Economic Corridor linking northern Thailand with southern China.
The Commerce Ministry plans to hold seminars in Chiang Mai, Chon Buri, Khon Kaen, Surat Thani and Songkhla, which have the potential to accommodate investment from Asean investors once the AEC is officially implemented.
For the first two months of this year, Thai exports to Asean markets totalled US$9.08 billion, down by 2.1% year-on-year.
Of that, shipments to Singapore totalled $1.44 billion (down 16.2% year-on-year), with those to Malaysia worth $1.98 billion (up 1.2%), Indonesia $1.56 billion (down 19%) and Brunei $29 million (up 26%).
For the period, shipments to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam combined rose by 10% year-on-year to $3.17 billion.