News Analysis: Cambodia viewed as "best" investment venue for Thais
News Analysis: Cambodia viewed as "best" investment venue for Thais
Cambodia is considered "the most promising country" in the ASEAN community where Thai business entrepreneurs could set up trade and investment projects, according to a noted Thai academic and economist.
Roongrote Benjamasuthin, director of the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce's ASEAN Business & Economic Center, has said that Thais transnational conglomerates and small- and medium-d entrepreneurs now look on Cambodia as "the most promising" site for their projects and could help usher in the birth of an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015.
The economist said that a wide range of business opportunities are open to Thai businessmen only if they have enough venture capital at their disposal.
"We should take advantage of the geographical proximity between Thailand and Cambodia while the Thai government has planned to build and expand roads and railways to link the two neighboring countries.Part of these infrastructure would be serviceable when the AEC finally takes off in the next few years," Roongrote said.
Though a variety of businesses are already being run by the Thais inside Cambodia, others were advised to follow suit and take advantage of the country with a population of 15 million, according to Roongrote.
According to Roongrote, Thai products, ranging from consumer items such as soap, toothpaste and shampoo, clothes, shoes and electrical appliances, have firmly secured the Cambodian market in addition to Thai fresh fruits and instant foods.
The economist advised Thai investors to look for Cambodian business partners so that they could get things done more easily and promptly.
"The Thai brand names of varied products have remained preferable to the Cambodians who have not had manufacturing factories of their own as yet. The Thais could continue to transport the goods from Thailand to Cambodia to penetrate new markets and expand the existing ones until the AEC opens in 2015," Roongrote said.
Thai investors could also open garment factories and rice mills, among other industries, in the neighboring country, he said.
One advantage of doing business in Cambodia, Roongrote said, is its cheap labor. Cambodia's daily wage of 200 baht (6.6 U.S. dollars) is considerably lower than the 300 baht (10 U.S. dollars) in Thailand.xinhua
