Thai government sets up SEZs administrative office

BANGKOK, March 8 (TNA) - The Thai government has set up a new administrative office for the country's special economic zones (SEZs) and appointed a committee tasked with SEZs management. Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, who oversees economic affairs, told journalists of the updates on March 7, following a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan. Somkid said participants agreed on the setting up of the new office and the appointment of the special committee on SEZs management, comprising representatives from the Ministries of Finance, Commerce, Industry, Transport and Interior, as well as the Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI). Somkid revealed that outsiders who have been appointed to sit in the special committee include SCG President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kan Trakulhoon, Kanit Saengsupan who is a fiscal policy specialist and Prasert Bunsumpun, a former President and CEO of PTT Public Company Limited (PTT), Thailand's largest petroleum firm. The deputy premier noted that the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) is tasked with running the office, accepting officials to man the office and experts to work. Besides, the committee will find ways to persuade international investors to invest at the SEZs. According to the deputy prime minister, three eastern Thai provinces, including Chon Buri, Rayong and Chachoengsao, located near the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate in Rayong, will become models because they are easy for transporting goods, while petrochemical complexes whose raw materials are essential for several kinds of industry are also built inside the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate. (TNA)