Flood Recovery to Restore Investor Confidence and Rehabilitate the Industrial Sector

(13/01/2012)

The Government will accelerate flood recovery, especially infrastructure projects, to restore the confidence of investors and industrial operators over the next six months. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said that the post-flood rehabilitation program would focus on assistance for the industrial sector and investors. The Prime Minister told Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry, Yukio Edano, that the Thai government had set aside a budget of 1.2 million US dollars in the form of credit to help businesses affected by the recent severe floods. The Japanese Minister met Prime Minister Yingluck on January 11 and asked about Thailand’s measures to assist the affected foreign business people and investors. He suggested that Thailand place emphasis on economic recovery, as this region was being eyed by many countries in other parts of the world. The Prime Minister thanked Japan for its assistance to Thailand in term of flood relief and prevention. She stressed that the Thai government was ready to do everything possible to restore Japanese investors’ confidence. With assistance from all sectors and the country’s sound economic fundamentals, Thailand is likely to recover quickly. The Government had set a target for economic growth at 4-5 percent this year. As for disaster reduction, she said, the Government would spend 120 million baht on the improvement of flood walls and dikes to protect factories and business communities from flood damage. Another 300 billion baht would be set aside for water management in the long run. In other related news, the Cabinet, during its meeting on January 10, acknowledged a report by the Ministry of Industry on post-flood assistance for the industrial sector and efforts to restore investor confidence. According to the report, Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong will give a keynote address on Thailand’s economic growth roadmap at the CEO Forum on January 17, when 350 Thai and foreign business executives will gather at the Plaza Athénée Hotel in Bangkok. The CEO Forum is part the BOI Fair, where Thailand will take this opportunity to restore investor confidence. The report states that the Ministry of Industry is involved in the rehabilitation of seven industrial estates affected by floods in Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani provinces. As for flood damage to the industrial sector in southern Thailand from 1-4 January 2012, the report indicates that 63 factories and 14 groups of community enterprises in five provinces were affected. The provinces include Songkhla, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Chumphon, Surat Thani, and Phatthalung. Most of them suffered slight damage. The Ministry of Industry has provided the hard-hit factories there with preliminary assistance, and more assistance will be offered until they are able to resume operations.