Invest In Thailand, Weifang Trade Promotion Helps Enterprises Plump Their Wings

The exchange meeting was guided by the Shandong Council for the Promotion of International Trade and co-sponsored by the Shanghai Office of the Thailand Investment Promotion Committee, the Trade and Investment Service Center of the Shandong Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Weifang Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

Thailand's investment opportunities and advantages

"Thailand's investment advantage is largely due to its important role in the global supply chain." Wu Yiyi said, Thailand's disk drive exports rank second in the world, rubber tire exports rank seventh in the world, and the automobile manufacturing industry The comprehensive strength ranks 12th in the world, and Thailand is also the fifth largest petrochemical complex country in Asia.

In addition, the cost of public utilities such as water and electricity in Bangkok, Thailand is lower than that of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and other countries and cities, and it is highly competitive. Operating in Thailand, the corporate income tax rate is 20%, and the value-added tax is 7%; the daily minimum wage for Thai workers is 310 baht, which is approximately RMB 62; the employer is required to pay the employee's social security contribution rate of 5%.

"It is worth mentioning that Thailand has signed free trade agreements with Japan, Australia, Singapore, Peru, Chile and other countries. In addition, Thailand, as a member of ASEAN, can also enjoy ASEAN and South Korea, India, New Zealand and other countries. Signed the Free Trade Agreement." Wu Yiyi talked about the advantages of investment in Thailand.

According to reports, Thailand is currently vigorously promoting the construction of the Eastern Economic Corridor, with a view to upgrading it into an aviation hub, a logistics hub, a trade hub, a tourism hub and a future metropolis, becoming the new economic growth center of ASEAN and Thailand. Starting in 2017, in the first five years of this plan, the total public and private investment will reach at least 1.5 trillion baht (about 300 billion yuan) for the construction of Utapao-Rayong-Pataya International Airport, double-track railway, Madapura Port, and hospitals. And other infrastructure.

To attract investment, Thailand has introduced a series of encouraging policies. Including, manufacturing and some service industries allow foreign investors to have 100% ownership; no localization requirements, no export requirements, no foreign exchange restrictions, etc.; taxation, preferential rights and interests will be granted according to industry categories, according to the "Seven-Year Investment Promotion Strategy" "(2015-2021), the tax exemption period for target industries will be extended to 8 years, and the preferential technology will be given to extend the tax exemption period for core technologies and R&D projects by 9-13 years. In addition, Thailand also has non-tax benefits such as permanent land ownership, simplified work permits and visa processing.

Yan Xianming, executive vice president of Thailand's Huishang Bank, said that according to data from the Economic and Commercial Research Center of Thailand's HSBC Bank, Thailand's GDP grew by about 4.0% in 2018, of which the Thai baht performed well and the exchange rate against the US dollar was stable. It has now become a strong currency. It is recommended that Chinese companies invest in Thailand in areas such as infrastructure, high-tech industries, tourism and hotels, medical services, and digital technology.

"The Thai government is gradually promoting the development of electric vehicles. By 2019, Thailand plans to launch 1,000 electric buses, and plans to have a total of 1.2 million electric vehicles and 690 charging stations in the country within 15 years. At the same time, it will be used for production and assembly. The robotics industry of electric vehicles will also have greater development.” Yan Xianming introduced that Weifang has a number of leaders in the automotive engine and tire fields such as Weichai Power and Shandong Haomai Machinery, forming a good industrial complementarity with Thailand.

Five Measures to Promote Weifang Enterprises to Go Global

In 2017, there were a total of 547 enterprises in Weifang City that had trade relations with Thailand, with a total import and export volume of 3.17 billion yuan, accounting for 2.2% of the city's total import and export volume. Among the 210 countries and regions that have trade relations with Weifang City, Thailand ranks 14th.

"But currently, there is only one company invested and constructed by Weifang City in Thailand, which is the Haomai (Thailand) company invested and constructed by Shandong Haomai Machinery Company in Rayong in 2014. At present, it has invested a total of 5.95 million U.S. dollars." Weifang City Bureau of Commerce Personnel said.

In order to further promote the development of Weifang enterprises in Thailand and to participate in the international cooperation of the “One Belt One Road”, the Weifang Municipal Government and the Bureau of Commerce put forward five working ideas: one is to improve the organization as a guide to establish a new open development mechanism; the other is to start with overseas mergers and acquisitions. Accelerate the improvement of the international management level of brand enterprises; thirdly, rely on overseas R&D centers to accelerate the promotion of going global and promote the introduction; fourthly, promote the large-scale export of superior production capacity and high-quality equipment by means of overseas marketing network construction; fifthly, obtain The goal of overseas high-end factors is to accelerate the transformation and upgrading of enterprises.

The relevant personnel of the Weifang Council for the Promotion of International Trade stated that they will build a platform and strengthen enterprise-related services to further promote mutual understanding between Weifang and Thailand's enterprises, expand the scale of two-way investment, and accelerate the transformation and upgrading of enterprises and the conversion of old and new kinetic energy.