Border trade hike planned

Thailand and Myanmar aim to raise border trade to US$20 billion (693 billion baht) over the next five years from an estimated $6 billion this year.

During the first meeting of the Thailand-Myanmar Border Trade Committee held yesterday, Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn said the two sides had agreed to set up single stop inspections to ease bilateral trade and restrict illegal trade at the border.

The two parties agreed to deploy the single stop inspections later this year, starting at the Myawaddy–Mae Sot crossing and the TachileikMae Sai gateway.

Mrs Apiradi said Thailand and Myanmar also agreed to develop hardware and software systems that enable online registration for certificates of origin.

To support the baht and kyat as official currencies for border trade after the US dollar, Euro and Singaporean dollar to reduce financial costs for trade and investment between the two countries, the central banks of Myanmar and Thailand are now negotiating a currency swap agreement.

Mrs Apiradi said the countries had also agreed to continue the Young Entrepreneur Network Development Programme (YEN-D).

YEN-D features familiarisation trips and special training courses for young business people in five countries to help them better understand each others’ cultures and regulations.

The YEN-D project is in line with the government’s policy to encourage Thai entrepreneurs to invest abroad and gain a better understanding of the markets, trade and investment regulations of Thailand’s neighbours.

The state launched the YEN-D programme in 2015 and has already provided eight classes. Some 560 young entrepreneurs have attended.

This year, the scheme aims to provide four classes to 240 young entrepreneurs, 120 of whom are Thais.

The Thai government aims to raise border trade to 1.8 trillion baht this year from 1.47 trillion in 2016, driven by the growing economies of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.