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Thailand is now ranked 15th out of 178 countries throughout the world by
the World Bank as the most attractive place to conduct business,
according to Gianni Zanini, a leading economist of the World Bank.
Mr. Zanini said Thailand's ranking was obtained from the World Bank's
world trade indicator for 2008, launched recently and covering global
trade.
Information obtained from the indicator showed that Thailand stood at
15th place out of 178 countries for doing business. However, there are
also obstacles which include too many rules, lack of skilled personnel
and poor infrastructure, especially in areas outside Bangkok.
According to Mr. Zanini, Thailand's trade and service growth in 2007
earned 7.8 per cent and was ranked at 69th out of 160 nations.
Thailand's market share in the global trading in 2007 fell 1.5 per cent
due to the appreciation of the Thai currency, the baht, between
2006-2007, but its exports, especially electronics goods, were still
impressive as the country could penetrate new markets including the
Middle East and Russia.
He said countries which practiced fewer trade protectionisms and imposed
low tariffs enjoyed better trade earnings.
The rankings are
based on 10 indicators of business regulation that track the time and
cost to meet government requirements in business start-up, operation,
trade, taxation, and closure. The rankings do not reflect such areas as
macroeconomic policy, quality of infrastructure, currency volatility,
investor perceptions, or crime rates. Since 2003 Doing Business has
inspired or informed more than 113 reforms around the world.
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