Drive to woo Chinese investors to EEC
published : 25 Nov 2021 at 09:26
newspaper section: Business
The Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Office wants more Chinese businesses to invest in the area to facilitate industrial development that is kinder to the environment, in partnership with China-based bank ICBC (Thai).
They will conduct a feasibility study on the establishment of the EEC Equity Fund to build investment opportunities for new industrial projects, according to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the two organisations on Wednesday.
The MoU will direct their three-year cooperation.
Kanit Sangsubhan, secretary-general of the EEC Office, and Xiaobo Li, chief executive of ICBC (Thai), agree with the plan to facilitate prospective investors through financial services.
"We are ready to give financial support to investors, especially Chinese companies, through a network of our more than 16,000 bank branches in China," Mr Li said.
As of June this year, the bank has more than 9.24 million corporate customers.
Both the EEC Office and ICBC (Thai) want to promote development of four new targeted industries in the EEC area, which covers parts of Chon Buri, Rayong and Chachoengsao on the eastern coast. The industries are: the medical and healthcare industry; the digital technology industry; decarbonisation industries, which include electric vehicles; and the transport and logistics industry.
Development of these industries will be based on circular green economy.
Similar to the green economy in terms of environmental protection, a circular economy emphasises upcycling processes to add value to unwanted materials, making them reusable.
