Nareerat Wiriyapong
Bangkok Post
Thailand needs to maintain political calm to regain the confidence of foreign investors as Cambodia has emerged as a promising investment location in Asean, says the International Institute for Trade and Development (ITD).
A window of opportunity had opened for Thailand as political tensions were easing after a relatively trouble-free election campaign that resulted in a Pheu Thai majority, said ITD, a unit of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad).
As well, it noted, Cambodia has welcomed the Pheu Thai victory and hopes strained relations between the two countries will improve.
"But we have to maintain this peaceful situation and proceed with political reconciliation amid the global shift of foreign direct investments into Asia," said ITD executive director Weerasak Kowsurat, a former Tourism and Sports minister in Thailand.
Geneva-based Unctad is preparing to release its World Investment Report 2011 late next month. A key finding in the report is the expansion of FDI in the services sector in China and Asean as the number of middle-income consumers grows and spending rises in proportion.
Chinese investors, meanwhile, have stepped up their outbound investments in the region including the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS).
Mr Weerasak said Thailand's border dispute with Cambodia had bothered foreign investors who have been looking forward to benefiting from regional integration under the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015
"But this concern seems to be easing as the Cambodian government favours Pheu Thai [more than the previous Democrat-led government]," he said. "We should never let internal politics intervene in international relationships with other countries."
Unctad research has found that Cambodia is becoming increasingly attractive among non-Thai investors, thanks to the country's greater market openness to free trade.
While Vietnam and Laos have some constraints related to labour issues, foreign investors have found Cambodia an attractive location, which also has a lower risk of monsoon rains, said Mr Weerasak.
Thailand, he said, should focus more on the creative economy, sustainable or green investments, as well as quality services such as tourism.
Unctad also found that declining raw materials might affect the competitiveness of Thailand's food processing industry.
The garment industry, meanwhile, could attract more foreign investment if new ideas of the creative economy are applied.
Electrical home appliance producers can also benefit but they need to focus less on original equipment manufacturer (OEM) business because global brand owners could easily switch to lower-wage destinations, he added.
8 comments:
People here can call Hun Sen, dictator, national enemy number 1, a corrupted killer..whatever, they like. Because we all know everything about him...But the question is what have Sam Rainsy has done to the country so far, beside going in and out of the country? What has been the most remarkable contribution that he has done to this country?
Is it because of Hun Sen's dictatorship creating political stability and thus attracting more investment..You can imagine if there is the so-called "Lotus revolution" that some quarters here are calling for?..Look at Egypt now, are they happy with the situation after their revolution? Instead what they get is the increase of unemployment and chaos..If we have the same situation,
investors might find that Iraq or Libya are the better place to invest the money coz at least a bigger oil reserve are still there..lolz..
sam rainsy's way of making trouble and using outdated race card against gov't in phnom penh goes to show this guy has nothing good for cambodia as he only think about his own political ambition and not that the national interest of cambodia as a whole. sam rainsy trouble-making way is actual unpopular in cambodia. khmer people in cambodia do not like the fact that he keeps running away and hide overseas after his troubling with cambodia law, etc... then he would use that to further attack phnom penh by calling it as dictator, ex-KR, and other personal attack as he please. i think sam rainsy's is abusing the cambodian law. this should be punished by cambodian law because he keeps on show contempt of cambodia and the present administration just because can't get people to agree with him on certain issue. sam rainsy is blinded and short-sighted by his narrow, outdated thinking, etc... khmer people are sick and tired of seeing and hearing sam rainsy's is divisive and not preferred in cambodia, you know!
Koh Tral Island must not be forgotten
By Ms. Rattana Keo
Why do Koh Tral Island, known in Vietnam as Phu Quoc, a sea and land area covering proximately over 30,000 km2 [Note: the actual land size of Koh Tral itself is 574 square kilometres (222 sq miles)] have been lost to Vietnam by whose treaty? Why don’t Cambodia government be transparent and explain to Cambodia army at front line and the whole nation about this? Why don't they include this into education system? Why?
Cambodian armies are fighting at front line for 4.6 km2 on the Thai border and what's about over 30,000km2 of Cambodia to Vietnam. Nobody dare to talk about it! Why? Cambodian armies you are decide the fate of your nation, Cambodian army as well as Cambodian people must rethink about this again and again. Is it fair?
Koh Tral Island, the sea and land area of over 30,000 square kilometres have been lost to Vietnam by the 1979 to 1985 treaties. The Cambodian army at front line as well as all Cambodian people must rethink again about these issues. Are Cambodian army fighting to protect the Cambodia Nation or protecting a very small group that own big lands, big properties or only protecting a small group but disguising as protecting the Khmer nation?
The Cambodian army at front lines suffer under rain, wind, bullets, bombs, lack of foods, lack of nutrition and their families have no health care assistance, no securities after they died but a very small group eat well, sleep well, sleep in first class hotel with air conditioning system with message from young girls, have first class medical care from oversea medical treatments, they are billionaires, millionaires who sell out the country to be rich and make the Cambodian people suffer everyday.
Who signed the treaty 1979-1985 that resulted in the loss over 30,000 km2 of Cambodia??? Why they are not being transparent and brave enough to inform all Cambodians and Cambodian army at front line about these issues? Why don't they include Koh Tral (Koh Tral size is bigger than the whole Phom Phen and bigger than Singapore [Note: Singapore's present land size is 704 km2 (271.8 sq mi)]) with heap of great natural resources, in the Cambodian education system?
Look at Hun Sen's families, relatives and friends- they are billionaires, millionaires. Where did they get the money from when we all just got out of war with empty hands [in 1979]? Hun Sen always say in his speeches that Cambodia had just risen up from the ashes of war, just got up from Year Zero with empty hands and how come they are billionaires, millionaires but 90% of innocent Cambodian people are so poor and struggling with their livelihood every day?
Smart Khmer girl, President Ms. Rattana Keo,
The statement has some credit, but the key thing is Sam Rainsy is not in government, Hun Sen CPP is and they are able to make decision and change laws including constitution to fit their personal goal.
It is always welcome to see Cambodia as an attracttion for investment, if only the CPP take care of the Khmer people and compensate them well in term of proper housing, basic infrastructure and fair work/ pay there is no doubt. But it not happening in this direction. We saw over the year more and more displacement and depleading of Cambodia resuource for little or no benefits to Cambodian other than the top CPP officials and particularly Hun Sen.
Further more what is the point of stability when our land and sea is srinking to our Viet and Thai neighbour. What is the points of business in Cambodia where majority are foreign own other then Khmer people, their small business is under extreme competitions agains foreigners through poor legistlations....
Hun Sen can change all of this but he does not care...
Sam Rainsy have the idea but are not in government and any propsed to change thing for the better are 100% rejected by CPP Hun Sen anyway.
So change to a country leadership is a great thing it offer a renewal in ideas and directions like Thailand. But Cambodia face out-of-date old school no innovative idea for a very very long time... Even having a different prime minister under CPP could changes and accelerate the pace of progress both human and ecoomic in cambodia.
it is only fair to cambodia when investors gives cambodia a chance in investments like they did in thailand in the 1980s, etc... it's time for investors to stop being biased against cambodia forever, really! there are more to cambodia than you and i, really!
“Sam Rainsy has the idea but are not in government and any proposed to change thing for the better are 100% rejected by CPP Hun Sen anyway”! If Sam Rainsy has some idea, it is time to present it now to the population. Politics are about giving hope to the population anyway. If CPP reject it, it could not be a problem. People always embrace good idea, something that make sense and give them hope. Once they can believe in it and they can see it, they certainly vote him in. Look at the success of Peur Thai with Thaksin as leader. The majority of the poor in the Eissan (East and North-East) voted for him for the last five general elections. Sam Rainsy should believe in his own idea first for him to be able to make people believe in him. Only the future can tell. Helping Hun Sen to change the constitutional majority from 2/3 to just 50% + 1 was his biggest mistake. His immunity could not be lifted if the 2/3 rule were there! He now called for the full application of the 1992 Paris agreement. Actually he was the one who helped Hun Sen to amend it to allow the dictator (or “Tropical Fascism” as he alleged now) to take place. He should blame him self for this big mistake. His made his leadership in doubt with this historical error. Cambodia needs a credible opposition, a real alternative to the same old friends of Vietnam in power for the last 30 years.
i told you sam rainsy was always blinded by his own political bias and political agenda! maybe he wants to be trouble-maker for the rest of his life, who knows! i must say people like him should stop being stupid forever, really!
មកពីអាហ៊ុន សែន មិនបង្កើតការងារអោយបាន
គ្រប់គ្រាន់ក្នុងប្រទេស។ប្រពលរដ្ធខ្មែរ ៨០០០នាក់
រត់សម្រុកទៅរករបរថ្វើការនៅប្រទេសសៀម។
ជនជាតិស្យាមបានកម្មករខ្មែរថោកសំរាប់ធ្វើការឲ្យ
ពួកវា។
ការត្រូវរ៉ូវខ្មែរនិងស្យាម ធ្វើអោយសេដ្ធកិច្ចនិង
ពាណិជ្ជកម្មសៀមឡើងមួយកម្រិត។
Post a Comment