The Eastern Economic Corridor Office (EECO) said on Monday that they will introduce a “business bubble” scheme to the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA)’s meeting on Friday.
Kanit Sangsubhan, secretary-general of the EECO, said after their meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha, the bubble will allow businesspeople within the EEC to fly to Thailand after the entry ban is lifted.
The ban on international flights is currently scheduled to be lifted on midnight of June 30.
However, the Thai government is now considering extending the State of Emergency which will allow them to maintain the entry ban – or they may use alternative restrictions such as a travel or business bubble instead.
For the business bubble, only eligible businesspersons will be allowed to stay within the EEC area which covers three provinces, including Chachoengsao, Chon Buri, and Rayong.
Kanit said it is up to the CCSA to consider which countries to partner with for the bubble but the proposals so far have included the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and South Korea’s business sector.
Thailand is also currently in travel bubble negotiations with China and Singapore.
He added that other support measures for the EEC business bubble are the Fit to Fly program and the ongoing Alternate State Quarantine.
For the first five months of 2020, the applications for the Board of Investment (BOI)’s incentives to invest in the EEC has only decreased by 10 per cent year-on-year, from 82.47 billion baht during the same period in 2019 to the current 74.15 billion baht between January and May.
Foreign direct investment from China accounted for most of the inflow into the EEC in the first five months valuing at 8.44 billion baht. In comparison, the amount was 18.34 billion baht during the same period in 2019.
FDI from Japan came second at 8.11 billion baht, down from 10.87 billion baht in 2019.
On the other hand, FDI from Singapore increased from 1.05 billion baht during the first five months of 2019 to 6.63 billion baht in third place.
Most of the inflow (76 per cent) in the first five months went towards the electronics industry in the EEC.
BOI’s applications from the EEC accounts for 67 per cent of all applications in the country while FDI into the EEC accounts for 53 per cent of the country’s total.
