Now that floodwaters are slowly receding, the Thai government is tackling the onerous task of revitalizing its industrial economy, which has (both literally and figuratively) sunk under several meters of water.
Physically salvaging the flooded remains of Ayuthaya’s industrials estates is, in actuality, a much easier task than the real challenge facing Thailand’s government: restoring and maintaining foreign investors’ confidence in Thailand as a suitable site for their industries. In the name of maintaining the peace, the Thai Board of Investment has temporarily bent a number of laws aimed at sweetening soured relationships with frantic foreign investors. Among other perks of being flooded, BIO-promoted companies may now import replacement equipment duty-free and outsource manufacturing. Visa regulations have been relaxed: companies may bring workers into Thailand without Non-Immigrant B visas for up to 30 days, foreign experts staying longer than a month may now receive expedited visa approvals, and procedures for replacing lost travel documentation has been relaxed for employees of foreign investors. Perhaps the most envy-inducing mandate (for those of us who stayed dry) is that foreign employees now have permission to make their 90-day reports to Immigration via telephone. Unless you’re a perverse individual who enjoys spending hours at a time in the bureaucratic wasteland that is the Thai immigration office, you’ll understand why we’re strongly considering sending our resumes to Mitsubishi, Cannon, and Sony.
A flooded Canon factory in Central Thailand. Photo from MakanMike via Creative Commons on Twitter.
In the name of preserving its damaged economic relationship with Japan, Thailand’s largest foreign investor, the Thai government has consented to allow Japanese car manufacturer Honda to import assembled cars sans tariffs until June 2012, provided the tax-free imported amount does not exceed the amount of cars normally imported. Other foreign car manufacturers who have been lucky (or unlucky) enough to avoid the amount of flood damage sustained by Honda may bring in car parts free of tariffs, but not fully constructed vehicles.
Weigh in. With the new mandates restore Thailand’s good standing with its foreign investors? Should more rules be amended? How do you pass the hours at Immigration?
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