RANONG, Jan 14 – The Thai private sector in this southwestern province will urge the Myanmar government to accelerate the joint opening of a duty free market on the Thai border, according to a local business leader.
Nareumol Khoraphum, chairwoman of the Ranong Chamber of Commerce, said the special trade market or free zone, similar to the thriving Rong Klua market on the Thai-Cambodian border, will be on Thai soil opposite Myanmar’s Kawthaung province, better known as Victoria Point.
The objective is to enhance Thai-Myanmar trade on the border and to be prepared for the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015, she said, adding that merchants of both countries will be allowed to sell their goods without any taxes.
Two alternative locations for the market are a customs port area in Ban Khao Nang Hong of Pak Nam sub-district, and a vacant area in Nam Jued sub-district, Kraburi district.
The Ranong Chamber of Commerce began promoting the free market initiative in 2008, but no response was heard from the Myanmar central government.
The Thai private sector will raise the issue in the next meeting of the local-level Thai-Myanmar border committee so that it is forwarded to the national administration in Yangon, Ms Naruemol said.
