Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
overvalued product and billions of dollars in subsidies. The scheme was designed to boost
incomes for rural rice farmers, a strong political base for the Puea Thai party.
Hello, Neighbour
At the end of 2015, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will unite the association's
10 Southeast Asian countries into a liberalised marketplace where goods, services, capital
and labour are shared across borders with little or no country-specific impediments. In
theory the AEC will make it easier to buy and sell goods, hire non-nationals and invest
within ASEAN. Each member country is required to meet certain standards in order to
comply with AEC agreements. Thailand is completing work on two new Mekong River
bridges to facilitate trade with Laos and has worked with Myanmar for open borders. It is
anticipated that the Thailand- Cambodia border of Aranya Prathet-Poipet will see a busi-
ness boom for trade between the two countries. But there are still impediments ranging
from restrictive labour codes (Thai law excludes non-nationals from 39 occupations), un-
developed infrastructure (in countries like Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar) and language
barriers. Thailand is expected to benefit from its proximity and ties to Myanmar for future
business investments, but critics are concerned that the kingdom lags behind its neigh-
bours in English and Chinese language skills, making it less competitive in the common
pool. Many analysts cite the EU as a model, but it is unclear how effective a single market
will be in a region with greater disparity.
