Thailand beyond Phuket & PadThai

Mr. Kitirat Panupong

First Secretary, Royal Thai Embassy, Canberra

Guest Speaker atThe Rotary Club of Canberra Burley Griffin

7 June 2012

“Asia’s where the action is,so wake up Australia!”

Matt Wade (SMH Easter Weekend Edition 2011):

“Several Asian economies that now receive passing attention in Australia will become major economic players. By 2050, some forecasts say, the six biggest members of ASEAN – Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – will have a similar share of the global output to Europe’s big four – Germany, France, Italy and Britain.”

Why is Thailand important to Australia?

Thailand = regional / geographical hub

4

Diplomatic Relations• The diplomatic relations between Thailand &

Australia were established on 19 Dec 1952=> 60th Anniversary in 2012

• The Royal Thai Embassy in Canberra• The Royal Thai Consulate General in Sydney• 4 Honorary Consulate Generals in Adelaide,

Brisbane, Melbourne, Hobart and 1 Honorary Consulate in Perth

• The Australian Embassy in Bangkok(5th largest in the world)

Australia-Thailand Security Cooperation• Thailand is the biggest international partner of

Australian Federal Police (AFP)– Bomb Data Centre

• Australia is Thailand’s second largest partner in military cooperation

• Australia-Thailand Regional Security Dialogue(annually, since 1998)

• Close partnership in various regional / multilateral fora:– East Asian Summit (EAS) / ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) – Bali Process (people smuggling and trafficking)– Counter-international terrorism– Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism

6

Economic Relations

• Australia is Thailand’s first comprehensive bilateral FTA partner

• Thailand is 1 of 5 countries with bilateral FTA with Australia (New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, USA, and Chile)

• According to a survey by the Australian Industry Group in 2010, TAFTA was ranked as the most beneficial FTA through the eyes of Australian businesspeople.

Trade Statistics(Million USD) 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Value of Trade7,944.68 10,333.68 13,147.28 12,404.1

0 15,277.62 15,942.23

Thailand's Export to Australia

4,722.64 6,629.49 7,982.57 8,578.63 9,369.47 7,997.08

Thailand's Imports from Australia

3,222.04 3,704.19 5,164.72 3,825.47 5,908.15 7,945.15

Trade Balance:Surplus for TH 1,500.60 2,925.31 2,817.85 4,753.16 3,461.33 51.93

• Since TAFTA’s enter into force (2005), bilateral trade volumes have increased continuously/significantly.

• In 2011, Australia was Thailand’s # 6 largest trading partner while Thailand was Australia’s # 9 largest trading partner.

9

ที่��มา: Trade at a glance 2011 , Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade

10

ที่��มา: Trade at a glance 2011 , Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade

Key Trade Merchandises

• Key imports from Thailand to Australia:o Gold & jewelleryo Automobiles incl. light

trucks & partso Heating and cooling

equipments & partso Computers & partso Processed seafood

• Key imports from Australia to Thailando Gold / Precious Stoneso Aluminium / Coppero Coal / Crude oilo Iron / Steelo Pharmaceutical productsoWheat / cerealsoWine !!!

Australian Investment Projects (1997-2009)

• Total number of projects approved by Thailand’s Board Of Investment (BOI) was 147 projects valued at 1 billion AUD (approx.)

Key Australian Investors in Thailand

and LinFox, Kingsgate, PanAust, etc.

Thailand’s Investment priorities

• Thailand welcomes Australian investment particularly in the following sectors: Renewable energy, Bio-technology, Automotives / parts, Logistics, etc.

• Thailand’s outbound investment strategy focuses on the following sectors: processed food, mining, construction, tourism-related industry including hotels, etc

Thai Investment in Australia• Increasing trend of Thai investment in Australia:

– PTTEP Australasia (oil & gas)– Banpu’s investment on Centennial Coal– Ratchaburi Holding’s investment on electricity generation plant

(coal, wind and solar)– Mitrpol’s investment on Maryborough Sugar Plant– Minor Group: Oak service apartment / Coffee Club– Carry Boy (customized utility vehicle / light truck)– Siam Steel International

• Total value of Thai investment in Australia is 2-3 times more than Australian investment in Thailand.

Total number of Thai Expats / Thai restaurant in Australia

State # of Thai Expats # of Thai RestaurantNew South Wales 25,000 1,000Victoria 18,000 400Queensland 8,000 360South Australia 5,000 85Tasmania 500 15Western Australia 10,000 100ACT 700 40Northern Territory 1,000 10

Total (Approx.) 65,000 2,100

International Students in Australia

• Australia was #1 destination for Thai students studying abroad, but strong AUD !!!

• Thai students in Australia ranked #6 in 2010 with 22,414 students, barely surpassed by Vietnam / Malaysia.

2010

156,193

93,386

31’427

22,414

20,103

Thailand’s Position in ASEAN

• Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) = 10 countries, with total population of almost 600 million people and total GDP of 1 trillion USD

• Thailand = regional / transportation hub, linking Indochina, southern China and South Asia (India) with the rest of southeast Asia

• Thailand = ASEAN’s regional HQ for various IOs and MNCs

Thailand’s central position in ASEAN

19

Dawai: Myanmar’s new deep sea port

Singapore-Kunming Rail Link

Toward ASEAN Community in 2015

• Blueprints for– ASEAN Political Community– ASEAN Economic Community– ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community

ASEAN Political Community

• ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM)• ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM)• ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)• Defence• Law• Transnational Crime

ASEAN Economic Community• ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM)• ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA)• Energy• Food, Agriculture & Forestry• Finance• Investment• Minerals• Mekong Basin Development Cooperation• Transport• Telecommunication & IT• Tourism

24

ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community

• Culture & Arts• Disaster

Management• Education• Environment• Haze• Health• Information

• Labour• Rural Development &

Poverty Eradication• Science & Technology• Social Welfare &

Development• Women• Youth

Australia

• ASEAN’s oldest Dialogue Partner• An active member of ARF• ASEAN-Aus-NZ FTA• Expansion of EAS to include the US and Russia = Asia

Pacific Community (APC) ?– Hoped to become a forum for leaders of all key players in

the region to discuss global / relevant issues– Opportunity for Australia to push for further discussion on

political and security matters, such as Maritime Security, Non-Proliferation, Disaster Management, Trans-National Crime, Terrorism, Climate Change, etc.

Official Visit to Australia by H.E. Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra, Thai PM

26-29 May 2012• Friendly and wide range of topic discussion• PM accompanied by 4 Ministers (Foreign

Affairs, Commerce, Education, and Industry)• PM accompanied by 70 business delegation• 2 MOUs signed:

– Education– Young Political Exchange

Official Visit to Australia by H.E. Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra, Thai PM

26-29 May 2012• Strategic economic / business partnership

– Agriculture / Food industries (Food Security)– Energy (Energy Security)– Automotive and parts– Tourism / hospitality & related services– Logistics

• Strengthen people-to-people interaction and understanding– Education: esp. promote Australians to study in Thailand– Strengthen Thai communities in Australia

Conclusion

• Australia’s “Asia Literacy” will need to expand beyond China, Japan, and Indonesia, but to include ASEAN as a whole.

• Australia’s preparation / repositioning to take advantage of the ASEAN Community ???

• Thailand as Australia’s key ally and strategic partner !!!

• A need for Thai Studies in Australia.

Q & A

• For further information, including the results of the recent official visit:http://canberra.thaiembassy.org/

• Thank you very much !!!