Thailand to attract more European investment

BANGKOK, Sept 19 (TNA) - As Thailand eyes to attract more investment from Europe, Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak is scheduled to lead an official Thai delegation to visit Germany and France early next month to invite German and French investors to expand their investment projects in the Thai economy. Hiranya Sujinai, Secretary-General of the Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI), under the Ministry of Industry, told journalists on Monday that Deputy Prime Minister Somkid, who oversees economic affairs, will lead the Thai official delegation, including Deputy Commerce Minister Suvit Maesincee (สุวิทย์ เมษินทรีย์) to visit Germany and France during October 4-8. Hiranya said during the five-day trip, the Thai deputy prime minister and his entourage will meet with representatives of leading German and French firms to discuss business issues and invite them to expand their investment in the Thai economy, while also exploring opportunities for Thai small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operators to further develop themselves to be prepared for the Thai government's 4.0 policy. Hiranya stated that the Thai official delegation will hold talks with representatives of each targeted German and French firms, especially those in the sectors of automobile parts and high technologies which are planning to expand their investment projects into Asia and considering a suitable relocation economy for their new projects. The BOI chief noted that in Germany, the Thai official delegation is also scheduled to visit Technische Universität Darmstadt, one of five leading research centers established nationwide by the German government to drive forward its SMEs 4.0 policy focused on the application of the digital technology in production and operational processes in order to learn as a model for the further development of Thai SMEs toward the similar 4.0 path. According to the BOI chief, the Thai official delegation will then meet representatives of the Mouvement des entreprises de France (MEDEF), the largest French employers' group, in which 750,000 domestic business firms are members and 90 per cent are French SMEs, to discuss business cooperation and invite its members to expand their investment into Thailand. (TNA)