BANGKOK, Nov 25 — Thailand’s Department of Industrial Promotion (DIP) signed a memorandum of understanding with Fukui prefecture in Japan to develop cooperation among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the industrial sector of both countries. It hopes Japanese operators will expand their production here, creating more jobs for Thai workers.
Director-General Arthit Wuthikaro said the industrial promotion department signed the agreement with Fukui Governor Issei Nishikawa.
Under the terms of the memorandum, Thailand and Fukui will implement projects for industrial exchange and connect their industrial clusters at the SME level.
Mr Arthit said Fukui prefecture is outstanding for garment, textiles and machinery, especially related to textiles. It has the biggest share of the textile market in Japan, and eyeglass frame business accounts for 90 per cent of glasses frame production nationwide.
Twenty companies from Fukui have invested in Thailand and run 11 factories here with a combined investment of about Bt7 billion mainly in the textile industry.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s Board of Investment (BoI) and the Shandong provincial branch of the China Council for International Trade) organized the Shandong-Thailand Investment Promotion and Matchmaking Forum at the Ramada Hotel in Bangkok.
BoI senior executive investment advisor Ajarin Pattanapanchai said Thailand is inviting Chinese investors especially to enter the rubber industry as Shandong is a center of the industry in China.
Their participationl will help increase the value of natural rubber in Thailand which is the most important natural producer worldwide, she said.
Shandong operators could produce tires in Thailand and boost bilateral trade in agricultural products including vegetables and fruits as well as expanding bilateral tourism, she said.
