Thailand: Executives call for use of local currencies at borders

  • Business leaders from the lower Mekong River are calling for their governments to use local currencies for border region trade to facilitate transactions and reduce exchange costs.
  • The lower Mekong River includes Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand (CLMVT). The local currency plan will be proposed at the upcoming Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) Summit on 15 and 16 Jun 18. Thailand is hosting the summit in Bangkok.
  • Sanan Angubolkul, chairman of the ACMECS business council, said business leaders from each country believe that using local currencies will ease the trade process and reduce currency fluctuation.
  • “We expect that the Thai government will agree with our currency plan,” Mr Sanan said.
  • At the upcoming summit, business leaders will propose that their governments provide multiple-entry visas to facilitate overseas tourists that come to Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Only Thailand and Cambodia have multiple-entry visas.
  • Mr. Sanan said the leaders are also calling for their governments to set up single-stop investigating centres at checkpoints in border areas, expecting to facilitate trucks to transport goods across Southeast Asia. Many trucks have to wait for long periods for staff to conduct border checks, meaning fresh products spoil before reaching their destination.

External Link: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1482665/executives-call-for-use-of-local-currencies-at-borders

11-Jun-2018