BANGKOK, 10 August 2011 -Director General of the Department of Trade Negotiations Ms. Srirat Ratapana said there was a rise in foreign investments in the ASEAN region last year, 2 times higher than a year before.
In moving towards the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), Thailand has made significant progress in terms of services and products, according to Ms. Srirat. She added that Thai commodities will have to be recognized by global standards before the integration takes effect in 2015.
Despite the progress, there are a few areas of trade in which the AEC integration cannot be materialized until steps are taken according to the Thai laws such as those involving custom taxes. Mrs. Srirat also said that the investment values were worth 78.8 billion USD in the ASEAN region last year. A big increase from 2009 which were recorded at 37.9 billion USD from major investors from Europe, Japan and the US.
