Please could you introduce us to the Federation of Thailand Industry and your core functions?

We are a non-profit organisation who represent the industrial sector. We link the private sector and the government, dealing with economic matters and the government’s development agenda form an industrial point of view. We are one of the three major private organisations, the other ones being the Thai chamber of commerce and the Thai Bankers Association.

Today we have 10,000 members in 45 industrial clubs, each one dealing with a specific industry. We deal with traditional ones like the food, automotive, steel, petro-chemical and plastic industries. We also have newer industries: food supplements, medical devices, cosmetics and biotechnology. We are pretty much covered Thailand-wide, with almost every relevant sector involved.

What are some of the main challenges you face today?

The challenges are the competitiveness of the industrial sector: we would like to see investment in new production technology, process and products.

Product of course is more complicated as they have to study the market. So we would like to see production facilities upgraded. This link to the industry 4.0 movement, which is a priority in every country around the world. This is what we’re communicating to our members.

What has been the impact of the ASEAN Economic Community on Thai business?

The government and the private sector all agree that Thailand has an advantageous location in the centre of Asia.  I believe that the government is also realising that, having implemented a number of infrastructure projects, especially regarding transportation and logistics. We should be in a position to be that regional hub, but we need to improve management and logistics for both goods and people.

We reach CEOs worldwide, in particular in Asia. How do they promote themselves internationally so they can collaborate with companies outside Thailand? Do you facilitate that?

We provide business matching and investment advice for the foreign companies to invest. We have been active with a number of countries: Japan example has been a long term investor in Thailand and has been successful. We also have bilateral business councils with a number of countries; Russia, China, many European Countries, The USA and many Asian countries. Through these business councils, we communicate and match businesses.

Of course we have a sizeable domestic market with diverse areas of industry. The numbers speak for themselves: with 45 different industrial clubs we cover all the grounds you can think of. With this, the business climate in Thailand is still conducive to investment. Reliable local partners are sourceable, because good governance is one of the areas that we are trying to emphasise.

With an organisation like ours we promote good governance and legal enforcement so that ao that a foreign investor will find they have something to rely on.

Is there a particular sector that need more investment or looks particularly attractive for FDI?

The food industry, the electronics industry and the automotive industries are the backbone of the Thai industrial sector. I think we have to realise that each one has a different strength, for example, in the food industry you can produce meat, fruits, vegetables; with the abundance of raw materials, it’s quite easy to find the specialist area that you are interested in.

As for the electrical and electronic industry, we have a very strong support industry. The electrical and electronic industry has been in Thailand for 40 years, and is well known in the world market. As the industry moves toward a new phase of development it presents opportunities to come up with a new line of products.

Electric vehicles, are the new face the automotive industry, and we think that 10 years from now, will be more or less the mainstream. Since there is a support industry already in Thailand, for chassis, suspension and upholstery, this will remain profitable. We are not making the engines themselves anyway. So the government is trying to develop this new industry producing batteries and electric motors in Thailand, to provide an even more integrated supply chain with this development.

What is your views on the Thai Economy going forward?

The enabling factors of the country remain intact no matter what political conflict we have had in the past. If we continue with reform, politically, educationally and bureaucratically, we could be a very advanced country with all our natural riches.