BANGKOK, 27 May 2013 The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) is planning to present a set of measures to the government, in hopes of restoring investor confidence after last week’s blackout in the South.
FTI President Payungsak Chartsutipol said on Monday that the widespread blackout in 14 southern provinces on May 21 has considerably dented business confidence as numerous tourism businesses and industries are located in the region.
In order to restore confidence, the FTI is planning to ask the government to prepare sufficient electricity reserves for the whole country, set up efficient electricity system, and promote the use of renewable energy and public participation in electricity management.
Mr. Payungsak said he will meet with the Energy Minister to discuss these proposals next week.
President of the FIT – Southern Office Peera Petchpanich commented that the blackout, which was the biggest Thailand has experienced in over 30 years, might not have caused much damage to the industrial sector as the incident took place after operating hours, investor and business confidence has inevitably been affected.
Mr. Peera stated the frozen food business was the hardest-affected while more data on the damage is being collected before it is presented to related agencies later.
