Message from the President

The Japanese Chamber of Commerce, Bangkok (JCC) is, currently, one　of the largest Japanese chambers of commerce abroad consisting with a　membership of over 1,763 companies. Since its establishment in 1954, the JCC has actively engaged in projects that contribute to the economic development of Thailand, such as investment in environmental improvements, trade promotion, and social contribution activities for the Thai people, such as education support, for 66 years.

Regarding the Thai economy in 2020, things have been getting worse from the latter half of last year due to the US-China trade war and the strong baht. To make worse, we are seeing the spread of COVID-19 and border closures of many countries including Thailand. Unfortunately, the Thai economy is experiencing a more serious economic impact than ever and the outlook still remains uncertain.

In order to give our first priority to the safety of everyone who work at the Japanese companies doing business in Thailand, the JCC is fully cooperating with the Thai Government's measures to prevent the spread of the virus by working closely with the relevant agencies to share information and provide our members with information through our website and e-mail. In the same time, to make the Japanese companies in Thailand continue the minimum business activities, we are seeking improvements of the serious obstacles for their business with the relevant agencies to the extent that it does not conflict with the measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

Although the situation is still too serious for comfort, they say. 'No night lasts forever.' I believe that the world will overcome COVID-19 and we will see the path to economic reconstruction. At that time, we would need to take the initiative in the reconstruction of the Thai economy as soon as possible, and shift to an aggressive stance to secure the demand for reconstruction. I would like to ask you to share what would be necessary for the reconstruction of the Thai economy so that we may request the Thai　Government to implement the necessary policies.

Despite this difficult time, we should apply the necessary effort for the long-term growth of the Thai economy. The current crisis has revealed the adverse effects of concentrating the supply base in China, and I believe that Thailand's position as a supply base in place of China will be recognized again. With the continued Thai governmental policy to focus on the sophistication and enhancement of value-added Thai industries, such as "Thailand 4.0", we believe that Thailand would maintain its position as an attractive　investment destination. As before, we would like to contribute to the business growth of Japanese companies in Thailand through our activities such as meeting with the key personnel in the Thai government to convey the requests from Japanese companies in Thailand. Especially, as the human resource development should be the cornerstone of Thailand's economic growth, we will continue to support "KOSEN-KMITL" with the long-term perspective, which is the first college of technology in Thailand　opened last year with the cooperation of Thai and Japanese governments.

Even though Thailand has ever experienced several economic crises including the Asian financial crisis in1997, the financial crisis in 2008, and the Thailand floods in 2011, the Japanese companies in Thailand have persistently overcome these crises by cooperating with Thai people. I am confident that the current serious situation will surely be overcome through the mutual ties between the Japanese companies in Thailand in cooperation with Thai society.

We would appreciate your warm support and active participation in the JCC's activities.

May 2020