NEW YORK, Sept 27 Leading US businesspeople want Thailand and other member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to undertake reform on customs procedures, reduce corporate tax and to enforce laws efficiently and with transparency.
They also want to see development of workers in the region to cater to industrial expansion, especially after the implementation of ASEAN Community (AEC), due to commence by end-2015.
Senior executives from more than 130 leading American firms which are members of the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) and are currently doing business in Thailand and other ASEAN member countries held a breakfast meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Gen Tanasak Patimapragon in New York on Friday and expressed these requests during the meeting.
Gen Tanasak reportedly told them that he had met USABC chairman in July and is pleased to welcome its members planning to visit Thailand this November.
He said the interim Thai government is now moving along the roadmap to improve democracy in Thailand outlined by the National Council for Peace and Order, which seized power in the country following the May 22 bloodless coup.
Some of the laws in Thailand such as customs tax could be amended, while industrial production would be improved by the government, said Gen Tanasak.
It is a good opportunity for foreign businesspeople to invest in Thailand and other ASEAN members before the implementation of AEC, he said, adding that the Thai government is working hard to guide the “country moving forward during the transition period.”
Asking the businessmen to believe in his assurances, Gen Tanasak said, “Thailand would have a brighter prospect in the near future.”
