Resilient nation recovers from floods

Late last year, Thailand was hit by some of the worst flooding it had experienced in decades. Heavy monsoon rains caused extensive flooding across various provinces in the last three months of 2011. Flood-damaged goods affected the country’s exports and major companies, such as carmaker Honda and hard disk drive manufacturer Western Digital, among others, were forced to temporarily suspend production. Nevertheless, Thailand’s economy has demonstrated its remarkable resilience, rebounding sharply in the first quarter of 2012, as factories ramped up production to recover from the floods’ effects.

Gross domestic product grew 11 per cent between January and March, compared to the last quarter of 2011 – the highest three-month economic leap since Thailand started measuring quarterly GDP in 1993. The National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) has said it now expects growth to be back on track to reach between 5.5-6.5 per cent this year.

The country’s economic fortitude is just one of many reasons as to why it holds such appeal to foreign investors. “Thailand is a very easy country in which to do business,” says Kitti Wasinondh, Thailand’s Ambassador to the UK. It is in 17th place in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business analysis and ranks 38th in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report. It offers favourable tax incentives and as well as serving as an ideal launch pad into other ASEAN markets, it also has a raft of free trade agreements with numerous other countries. Furthermore, the 2011 HSBC Expat Explorer Survey put Thailand at the top of its list globally for expats without children for the overall experience and quality of life for expats.

Links between Thailand and the UK have long been strong, on both commercial and social levels. Last November, representatives of the London-based Association of Thai Businesses in the UK (ATBUK) met with Mr Wasinondh at the Royal Thai Embassy in South Kensington to donate £2,500 towards flood relief efforts in Thailand. In fact, bilateral relations between the two countries span more than 400 years and have never been tainted by the subject of colonialism.  Also, two Thai kings and six of its prime ministers were UK-educated. However, there is always room for more collaboration. “The key priority areas that we have been trying to promote further cooperation and partnership between Thailand and the UK include agro-industry, renewable energy, the creative industries, such as design, fashion and modelling, and education,” says Mr Wasinondh, who also highlights opportunities in other sectors, such as automobiles, biotechnology and green technology.

Numerous independent ranking agencies have voted Thailand as the best value-for-money destination. Mr Wasinondh says, “I have often told British friends what the word ‘THAI’ stands for: the letters imply our strengths that have always attracted foreign investors and visitors. ‘T’ is for tasty food; ‘H’ for hospitality; ‘A’ for abundance of resources, including attraction for visitors to Thailand; and ‘I’ for investment and trade hubs in the region, as well as in-trend and inexpensive shopping.”