Excellencies,
Distinguished Participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Nei Hao!
I am most delighted to be here in the city of Guangzhou — the beautiful capital city of Guangdong Province and centre of the buzz and vibrancy of modern China. I am also very pleased to attend this seminar under the theme “Amazing Thailand, Amazing Value” to outline what Thailand can offer in terms of tourism and business opportunities, and why you should come to Thailand.

Soon to be sister-cities, Guangzhou and Bangkok can further develop their relations and this will be part of the broader picture to promote the already good and cordial relations between China and Thailand, dating back many centuries.

In just a few days, it would be the 34th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-Thai diplomatic relations. To celebrate our 34 years of this friendly relationship, Thailand has organised cultural and tourism promotion activities throughout the year, beginning with the Chinese New Year festival in January of 2009. We have also received kind support from the Chinese Minister of Culture to have arranged Chinese cultural performances from 7 provinces of China in major cities throughout Thailand.

Since 1987, the Chinese government has placed Thailand on the list of First Approved Destination Status. As a result, nearly one million Chinese visitors come to Thailand every year for their holidays. We love to share with our Chinese friends our cultural tradition and heritage, our beautiful beaches and mountains, and, of course, authentic Thai food. In this regard, I am grateful that nearly 40 per cent of the total number of Chinese visitors comes from Guangzhou. In the previous years, Chinese tourists ranked 4th among the tourist groups to Thailand in terms of number, and 8th in terms of revenue the country received. In recognition of the importance of the Chinese tourist market, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has opened three overseas offices in China — Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

To make travelling in Thailand as convenient as possible for our foreign visitors, the Airport Rail Link — the latest transportation option in Bangkok — will be operating at the end of the year, linking Suvarnabhumi Airport to Makkasan Station, right in the heart of Bangkok. This Rail Link is also connected to the underground and SkyTrain and will help tourists to get around Bangkok with greater ease.

Thailand has always attached great importance to the tourism industry, and in April this year, in the wake of the decline in global travel, the government declared tourism one of the key priorities on our national agenda. One important measure that has been introduced to promote this industry is the exemption of visa fees for tourists, initially effective from March until June 2009 and the government is in the process of extending this measure until March next year. Moreover, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has been working closely with the private sector in China to promote more cultural exchanges, trade and investment, as well as two-way tourism between our two countries. And this has resulted in various initiatives, such as the launching of direct flight between Shenzhen to Bangkok that started in March this year and Charter flight between Guangzhou and Phuket which will begin next month.

Around the same time, the ASEAN + 4 Chinese Clans Meeting will be held in Thailand, and will be attended by over 600 ethnic-Chinese visitors from the ASEAN and East Asia region. This meeting will undoubtedly strengthen relations between Thailand and China, and will bolster the development of future socio-economic and educational ties between ethnic-Chinese communities in the region.

While the government is working on facilitating measures for tourists to visit Thailand, we also work on improving the quality of our tourist-related service sector. In this regard, the Tourism Authority has been working closely with the Thai-Chinese Tourism Association (TCTA) and the Chinese private sector to promote quality tourism in accordance to the Royal Decree on Tour Operators and Tour Guides 2008 and also the new Chinese government regulations on tour operators and travel agents. These initiatives will directly contribute to the development of quality tourism for both countries. The government is also working on diversifying our tourism industry. Tourists can now combine their cultural excursions with other activities like spas, sports, medical check-ups and eco-tourism.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
I understand full well that one of the factors for most tourists in deciding their holiday destination is not only the comfort and convenience, but also safety.

I regret that the internal political situation in Thailand over the last couple of years might deter tourists from coming to our country. But rest assured that the government has every intention and determination to bring back Thailand’s reputation as “the land of smiles, the land of the free, and the land of opportunity”. This is why as soon as my government took office, we have worked very hard to achieve reconciliation, unity and stability in our society. We have swiftly restored order. The country is now stable and peaceful, and we are as ready as ever to welcome our foreign guests.

As for the global economic crisis, which of course is not a problem of our own making, it has very little effect on our financial and monetary institutions which remain fundamentally strong and stable, due to intensive and vigorous reforms undertaken after the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Nonetheless, as an open economy, Thailand has felt the adverse impact of the current economic downturn, in particular the drops in export as well as the number of incoming tourists, as these two sectors are very important for our economy. Still, our liquidity remains high and we believe we have enough reserves and resources to achieve economic recovery in the near future.

To help our people withstand the consequences of the global crisis the government swiftly introduced and started implementing the first stimulus package, worth 3.3 billion USD, which encompasses several short-term measures, such as cash handout scheme for the low income earners, monthly income support for the elderly and free 15-year basic education programme, as well as training programmes for the unemployed and new graduates. I am satisfied with the progress made so far in implementing this package and most of the money has already been disbursed. And, indeed, with the picking up of the consumer’s confidence and spending plan, this shows that we are moving on the right track. Notwithstanding our political problems, the implementation of this first stimulus package has been “on track and on time”.

Together with short-term measures that I have just mentioned, the government is also engineering medium and longer term measures to improve Thailand’s strength, including socio-economic development, so that our country and our people will be competitive when the global economy recovers. Therefore, we have announced a second stimulus package worth 45 billion USD. This package will focus primarily on infrastructure development, water distribution, alternative energy, communications as well as logistics and transportations, particularly dual-track rail system. Moreover, the package will also be geared towards improving our healthcare centres, educational institutions, service sector — especially tourism sector — creative economy and productivity in our agricultural sector. Besides the domestic loans that will be used to fund these projects, the government will also be seeking public-private partnership. So, there will be a great deal of fresh opportunities for foreign investors, including of course investors here. And my visit to China this time shows that there is a potential for Thailand and China to collaborate on a number of projects.

What I have just mentioned is about putting our house in order politically and economically. I am pleased to say that we are confident that recovery is on the way. Despite the first quarter GDP number shows the contraction of 7.1 per cent, which is pretty much in line with most regional economies, we believe that in the second and third quarters the degree of contraction will reduce and we will be seeing positive growth by the end of the year. Our stock market since the beginning of the year has also gained by 30 per cent. Furthermore, big companies, like General Motors, and businesses from the Middle East have not ceased their interest to invest in Thailand, and there are plans on expansion which have been discussed despite these difficult times.

At the same time, we remain fully committed to fulfilling our responsibilities as Chair of ASEAN, especially in leading ASEAN under the new Charter towards the ASEAN Community by the year 2015. Thailand also attaches great importance to Sino-Thai strategic partnership and will continue to work closely with our Chinese friends in implementing the plan for our mutual benefit and prosperity. At the regional level, of course, China is one of ASEAN’s main Dialogue Partners, and certainly the ASEAN-China FTA — which covers cooperation in trade, services and investment — will help boost the economy of the region as a whole. Furthermore, given the fact that China is widely recognised as the engine of the global economic growth, together with ASEAN, we can be a significant part of the global efforts to address the current economic crisis.

As far as foreign direct investment in Thailand is concerned, our country is always open for investment from China. My government will make sure that doing business in Thailand will be easy and simple. We are already ranked very high in the global survey on the ease of doing business but we will see to it that the existing laws and regulations are approved in such a way that they are conducive to foreign direct investment. The government, indeed, is about to establish what we call a “One Start One Stop” Centre, which will be operating from October this year, to provide a single point of contact to facilitate the setting up of foreign businesses and contacts with government agencies.

This, together with the promotions that are currently being offered by the programme “Thailand Investment Years 2008-2009” on various projects, the investment in Thailand, therefore, is an excellent opportunity that should not be missed. As all visionary businessmen know, the early bird catches the worm. Thus, the sooner you come to Thailand the sooner you can take advantage of our skilled and highly adaptable workforce, abundant raw materials — especially for alternative energy and food industries — and our world-renowned Thai hospitality. And in terms of living in Thailand, there are schools, hospitals and recreational facilities that will allow expatriate investors and their families to continue enjoying the quality lifestyle in Thailand. Our country also serves as a gateway to ASEAN and beyond for Chinese businesses, given its strategic location in Asia.

In terms of trade, Thailand and China have enjoyed excellent trading relations. Our bilateral trade has quickly developed since the establishment of our diplomatic relations over three decades ago. Last year, China was Thailand’s second largest trading partner, totalling 40 billion USD, in which one-third came from Guangzhou. With the signing of the Agreement on Expanding and Deepening Bilateral Economic and Trade Cooperation between Thailand and China during my visit, our bilateral trade will be expanded even more.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have given you some picture of what Thailand can offer in terms of tourism, trade and investment opportunities. And from my visit to China this time, I am very pleased that President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and I are in agreement that there is tremendous potential for expansion of the Sino-Thai bilateral cooperation in trade, investment and tourism; and I do believe that Guangzhou and its people will be instrumental in this endeavour.

In closing, I assure you that there are great opportunities for you in Thailand and I am waiting to welcome you all very soon.

Thank you very much.