Two Chinese telecom giants invited to invest in Thailand's EEC

SHANGHAI, CHINA, November 5 (TNA) - The Thai government has invited two China-based telecom giants, including Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and ZTE Corporation, to invest in the country's Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), declaring that 2019 is the golden year for promotional privileges to be offered by the state-run Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI) to international investors at EEC. Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, who is leading a Thai business delegation to visit China during November 3-8 for a roadshow on the sound investment prospect at the Thai government-supported EEC, voiced the invitation while meeting with top executives of the two Chinese telecom giants in Shanghai on Monday, in response to a joint policy of Beijing and Tokyo on promoting the private sector of both countries to expand their investment in third potential economies, including Thailand. Somkid, who oversees economic affairs, told TNA that Thailand's EEC Project appears to be a major overseas target of Chinese investors, after the Chinese government-backed One Belt One Road Project. "I've particularly invited Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and ZTE Corporation, through Huawei Technologies (Thailand) Co.,Ltd. and ZTE Thailand Co., Ltd., to work together with the Thai government to develop the digital economy in the Thai Kingdom, especially the advanced 5G technology", said the Thai deputy premier. The Thai deputy prime minister acknowledged that cyber ports are being developed domestically to cater for the changing economic structure in the country towards people's more Internet-oriented lifestyles, in which online shopping and other household and communication activities, as well as educational and healthcare services and others are increasingly popular. The Thai deputy premier revealed that he has raised a proposal that both the China-based telecom giants work out their investment packages, covering, for instance, their digital-oriented personnel development plans and the development of digital industries from the downstream to the upstream processes, when applying for investment incentives at Thailand's EEC in 2019, the year BOI has announced to be a golden year for its provision of promotional privileges to international investors. The Thai deputy premier mentioned he has also proposed that both the Chinese telecom giants expand their production bases of smart phones,iPad and computer sets into Thailand to ease their negative impacts from the intensifying trade war between China and the United States. Besides, the Thai economy is a regional production hub of neighboring Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam in the ASEAN Community (AC), known as the CLMV group, where there are a total of over 200 million consumers, and the Thailand-Bangladesh Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will boost Thai exports to the immense India market and others in South Asia. According to the Thai deputy prime minister, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. now plans to inject a new investment fund of about 5 million US dollars to launch its 5G test field in Thailand's EEC next year. (TNA)