World Bank wants cross border portal
An online regulation portal would help reduce cross border trade complications, says the World Bank director in Thailand.
Ulrich Zachau, the World Bank’s Southeast Asia country director, has called for a cross border regulation portal in CLMVT (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand) to promote transparent trade.
Mr Zachau said that regulation needed to be transparent to allow businesses, suppliers and consumers to be aware of their obligations and responsibilities and thus abide by them.
“Any country has the ability to put relevant trade regulation online that affects businesses, import, export and related investments,” he said.
“If all five countries do that consistently, covering the same range, then you have a regional trade portal.
“The big advantages for Thai businesses will be, for example, when a truck crosses into Cambodia, they know all the applicable tariff and non-tariff restrictions that would apply.
“We believe this can be done, with any combination of countries. It can become an Asean wide portal. It can become a global portal in principle.”
His comments were delivered at a Thailand Institute of Justice conference on the rule of law and sustainable development.
Mr Zachau said that businesses needed predictability to be able to have the confidence to invest for the future. He criticised the lack of transparency in the present system, whereby many trade barriers, especially non-tariff restrictions, are not public.
In its blueprint for the Asean Economic Community 2025, Asean said it aims to promote “the principles of good governance, transparency and responsive regulatory regimes”.
Thailand has made a systematic effort to simplify regulations, Mr Zachau said, however, issues related to doing business need to be resolved, especially in obtaining credit.
Thailand is currently ranked 46th in the ease of doing business table, but only 82nd in the category of getting credit. The ranking is based on how conducive the regulatory environment is to starting a business.