Financial aid sought for firms investing abroad

       Business operators are calling for the establishment of an investment fund or credit guarantee system to help local operators seeking overseas business opportunities.
       In a seminar organised by the Board of Investment (BoI), Vallop Vitanakorn,deputy secretary-general of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) said financial tools were the main concern.
       "If the BoI cannot offer tax incentives,the Finance Ministry should consider other incentives such as venture capital to promote overseas investment or a credit guarantee scheme to promote loan accessibility," he said.
       Mr Vallop, who is in the textile busi-ness, said more local textile manufacturers were likely to relocate to countries such as Burma or Bangladesh to use their abundant cheap labour.
       He said labour-intensive industries in Thailand were likely to face worker shortages in five years. Other industries will invest overseas to expand their markets or gain access to resources.
       The government should also consider revamping its double-taxation rules.
       "It should study incentives offered by other countries such as Singapore or Malaysia that have higher investment value overseas than us," he said.
       Data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) reveal that Thailand invests only 2.9% of its GDP overseas, compared with 92.7% and 31.2% respectively for Singapore and Malaysia.
       Somsak Rinruengsin, president of a Thai business association in Cambodia,said a separate body to oversee overseas investment may be needed if the government wants to promote such activity.
       Atchaka Brimble, the BoI secretarygeneral, said the prime minister had asked the BoI to study incentives and draft policies to promote local businesses that invest overseas.
       "We do not have any body that oversees this issue in particular but the government realises that local operators need support," she said."The first subcommittee on this will meet next month to discuss what should be formed."
       She admits Thailand is behind many countries in promoting overseas investment.
       asana Mututanont, executive director of the BoI's International Affairs bureau,said the sub-committee on overseas investment promotion would study incentives offered by China and Singapore, two countries that successfully support their business sector investing abroad.