The CEO of one of China’s largest companies has taken the opportunity to meet with Thailand’s Prime Minister while he was in Hangzhou, China for the Group of 20 summit (G20).
Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha was visited Monday by Jack Yun Ma, the chief executive officer of Alibaba Group, one of China’s largest E-commerce corporations. The two discussed supporting and developing small and medium enterprises in Thailand, with the premier pointing out that up to 90 percent of Thailand’s exports are from SMEs while noting that they have been lacking in proper management. He invited the successful CEO to share his experience and knowledge with Thai businesses as well as to aid in creating an SME network in Thailand, which he said would also benefit foreign investors.
Ma meanwhile, lauded the Gen Prayuth for prioritizing SMEs, giving his view that current global conditions benefit large corporations while serving as an obstacle to small enterprises. Nonetheless, he indicated he believes new avenues of sale will dominate in the next 30 years.
He also noted Thailand has many strong supporting factors for business, such as quality human resources, and said that with the application of new technology it could greatly boost its competitiveness. He said his company is looking to use its Alitrip system to boost travel to Thailand by Chinese citizens.
The premier concluded the meeting by urging the CEO to work with Thailand’s OTOP makers with the businessman responding he was interested in the sector.
