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Market Briefing – Thailand

Bangkok
Money Expo 2010 in Pattaya
Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre

Overall Economic Situation

Thailand is located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula in South-east Asia. It borders Myanmar and Laos in the north, Laos and Cambodia in the east, Gulf of Thailand (Pacific Ocean) to the south and the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) to the west.

Thailand has a liberal economic policy, an export-orientated economy and relies mainly on external markets such as Europe, Japan and the U.S. It major source of foreign exchange earnings is from its agricultural products as agriculture is predominating. In the 1980s, the manufacturing sector, especially the electronics industry sustained rapid economic growth. In 2009, Thailand implemented the “Strong Thailand” stimulus programme to actively respond the international financial crisis and promote economic development. As of the end of 2010, Thai foreign debt was US$96.5 billion and foreign exchange reserves were US$172.1 billion.

Opportunities

Industries

Export-orientated industries. The main categories are: mining,textiles, electronics, plastics, food processing, toys, automobile assembly, construction materials, petrochemical, software, tires and furniture. The share of industy to the GDP has been rising continuously. In 2009, the contribution of industries to GDP was 39.0% and industrial growth in 2010 was 13.9 %.

Agriculture

Agriculture is a traditionally strong economic industry. The number of people involved in agricultural is around 1,530 million. Arable land covers an area of approximately 1,600 square metres, accounting for 41% of the total land area. The main crops are rice, corn, cassava, rubber, sugar cane, green beans, tobacco, coffee, cotton, palm oil and coconut.

Fisheries

Thailand has a coastline of 2,705 kilometres The Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Bay are Thailand’s teeming with marine life for the fishing industry. In addition, freshwater aquaculture is carried out in an area of 1,100 square kilometres. Bangkok, Songkhla and Phuket are important distribution centres for the fishing industry. Thailand is one of the world’s major fish suppliers and is the third-largest marine fishing nation in Asia, following China and. Around 500 thousand people are engaged in fishing.

Service sector

Tourism is an important source of foreign exchange earnings. The main tourist spots are Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Pattaya. Chiang Rai, Hua Hin, Samui Islands have become more popular for domestic and foreign tourists in recent years. The service sector accounted for 33.8% of GDP in 2009. In 2010, a total of 15.8 million foreign tourists visited Thailand in 2011, an increase of 12% compared to the previous year.

Source: http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/chn/pds/gjhdq/gj/yz/1206_30/

Main Economic Indicators 2011
Gross Domestic Product(US$ billion) 609.8
Real GDP growth (%) 1.5
GDP per capita(US$) 9,700
Inflation (%) 4.1
Land area (sq km) 513,120
Population (Million) 67

Foreign Trade From 2006 to 2010

Year
Total Trade
Exports
Imports
2010 $331,200 $174,300 $156,900
2009 $268,700 $150,700 $118,000
2008 $332,100 $174,800 $157,300
2007 $242,800 $123,500 $119,300
2006 $212,800 $105,800 $107,000

major exports: textiles and footwear, fishery products, rice, rubber, jewellery, automobiles, computers and electrical appliances

main import commodities: capital goods, intermediate goods and raw materials, consumer goods, fuelssource: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/th.html

Main Destinations for Exports %
China 11
Japan 10.5
US 10.4
Hong Kong 6.7
Malaysia 5.4
Australia 4.8
Singapore 4.6
Main Origin of Imports %
Japan 20.8
中China 13.3
US 5.9
Malaysia 5.9
UAE 4.7
South Korea 4.4

Source: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/th.html

Mainland China –Thailand

(Unit: $100 million)
Year Total Exports Imports
2011 647.37 256.97 390.40
2010 429.47 197.47 332.00
2009 382.04 133.07 248.97

Source:Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China,http://yzs.mofcom.gov.cn/static/date/g/date.html/

Macao- Thailand Bilateral Trade 2011

Type of Trade Weight (KG) Patacas
Imports 64,830,374 758,822,022
Exports 40,146 5,046,184

Source:The Statistics and Census Service, http://www.dsec.gov.mo/

SOURCE:

1.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China

http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/chn/default.htm

2.The Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China

http://www.mofcom.gov.cn/

3. The Economic and Commercial Counselor Office of the Embassy of the

People’s Republic of China in Malaysia

http://my.mofcom.gov.cn/index.shtml

4. The Statistics and Census Service

http://www.dsec.gov.mo/

5.The World Factbook

http://www.cia.gov/

6. Tourism Authority of Thailand

http://www.tourismthailand.org/