PM invites US business operators to invest more in Thailand

BANGKOK, March 31 (TNA) - Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha has invited American business operators to invest more in several Thai industries. The Thai prime minister made the invitation in Washington DC on March 30 (local time) while delivering a speech at a working dinner jointly hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce and the US-ASEAN Business Council, in which some 200 US senior business executives and government officials participated. The prime minister extended his invitation to US business operators to co-invest in Thailand's electronics genius industry, tourism, agriculture and bio-technology, food processing and five branches of new s-curve industries, including robot, aviation and logistics, biofuel and biochemical, digital and medical equipment, noting that special tax incentives will be offered to them. Hailing long-standing relations between the United States and Thailand for 183 years so far, the Thai prime minister also expressed his hope that the United States and the ASEAN Community (AC) would become positive strategic partners, announcing that Thailand and other fellow members in AC would definitely join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The Thai prime minister said he agreed with US President Barack Obama, who wishes to see a balanced ASEAN, proposing that the move be conducted in all the three pillars of AC, including the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), the ASEAN Political- Security Community (APSC) and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC). According to the Thai premier, his government has attached importance to the connectivity with fellow members in AC through land, rail, marine and air transportation and decided to invest in several mega-projects, namely double-track railways on five routes, as well as high-speed and electric railways for 10 routes plus the expansion of the Laem Chabang and Phuket Deep Seaports to serve luxurious cruise services. The Thai prime minister is visiting Washington DC during March 29-April 1 to attend the 4th Nuclear Security Summit (NSS), scheduled for March 31-April 1.#END